Life is Good

I've moved to my new town and begun work at my new school and things are going quite well. Nong Chang is a very beautiful, friendly, and blessedly small town. It is the capital of the district of Nong Chang which is in the province of Uthai Thani, Thailand.
The "downtown" area consists of a main drag that has experienced a slight sprawl to one or two parrallel streets and to the main highway going to the provincial capital, but otherwise remains quite centralized. I can walk across the whole down town strip (even with my slight hobble) in about 15 minutes. From my home, about a half mile east of "downtown" to the school, about a quarter mile west of downtown, I can bike in 6 minutes... it's a very tiny and concentrated little existence, and I love it dearly.
When I came here I had my choice between 4 places. A townhouse, 2 studio apartments, and a regular house, all unfurnished except for one studio which came with a bed. The townhouse was nice, came with a/c (in one room) hot shower and western toilet. But, it was dreadfully dark, and large and felt like it would swallow me whole and leave me feeling lonely. The studios were both very similar, although one was certainly nicer than the other. Neither had a/c or hot showers, and I figured for 30 bucks a month extra, I would get the cute little house.
My house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a very large living room. This costs me about 2,500 baht per month, or 75 dollars. Much to my surprise and chagrin furnishing the home is turning out to be quite expensive, and will surely outweigh the cost of 4 months rent, although I plan to sign on for another semester, extending my stay.
I plan to get my own hot water heater (although installing it is a mystery...) and simply live without air conditioning, at least until the cool season ends (and I've had a chance to save some money).
The school is just lovely, although huge and rather basic. I teach grades 4, 5, and 6, seeing each class for one hour per week. Each grade level has 6 classes, and each class has 40-50 students. In total, I have about 750 students to whom I must give grades and with whom I must make progress... it is a bit daunting. Although, no FCAT, no real standards whatsoever, simply the expectation that I show up and produce some sort of grade at the end of the process.
Anno, my fellow farang teacher from the Netherlands, and myself are the only white people in town, perhaps for several towns. This gives us a good degree of celebrity status, especially among the students. At Southside, I rather liked the special status being a substitute teacher gave me. I saw each class just long enough to really have fun with them, but not long enough to sour many students against me. Walking through the halls I enjoyed a tremendous popularity.
In my school in Nong Chang, it is staggering. Shaking hands with Anno and I is quite a big deal. Students are either terrified of it (having not yet met us) or entirely over eager. Either way, there is always some sort of very strong reaction to us.
If anyone would like my new address, you can email me for it, posting it wholesale via internet doesn't seem wise (especially after finding out someone has been buying subscriptions to online dating sites using my check card, which I just had to cancel). Know that I am quite well and quite happy in my new home.