"I've managed to avoid arrest and deportation ... so far." After months of bitching about life as an English teacher in Thailand, Tricia Purcell (known not-so-affectionately as "Teacher Cha Cha" to her students) was faced with a choice: leave Thailand before she got caught or face the humiliation of being forced to leave. In keeping with her lifelong tradition, Cha Cha chose to make things as difficult on herself as she possibly could. Sweating and Smelling in Thailand is the true story account of one woman's feeble attempt to change her life. That is, to stop hating it and start living it. After jumping at the chance to leave her job as a government bureaucrat, Cha Cha moves to Thailand to teach English (but mostly to not do much of anything). The love affair with this exotic land quickly wears off however, and she finds herself doing what she does best: writing about things and people that irritate her (everything and everyone). She meets interesting people, develops an unhealthy attachment to Singa beer and, by the end of her adventure, is able to provide a firsthand account of what the inside of a Thai jail cell looks like. Mostly, she manages to embarrass herself. If there are any lessons to be learned, they are of the "here's what not to do" variety. This is one woman's journey through a series of questionable choices, a variety of mishaps and very little personal growth. You've been warned: there's no heartwarming story of redemption waiting for you at the end of this collection of personal disasters, but there are laughs - as long as you're not offended by foul f**king language.