Coming at you live!

I’m finally settled. I think. I’m coming at you live from Lampang, Thailand. It’s a balmy 95 degrees, very sunny and humid, with the usual chance of rain. Oh, and there are geckos everywhere.

I’m sitting in my living room with the fan blasting at me trying to dry my sweat. I know that’s a super attractive image to picture. Trust me, it’s even better in real life. Not. Thankfully, we have air conditioners in our rooms, but I save that treat for when I sleep at night. The 3 bed/3 bath townhome that’s ours for the next year is actually very nice. The only thing I could complain about would be the geckos with which it turns out we share the place. I slept with eye mask and my light on last night just in case one of them tried to snuggle with me in the middle of the night. They make this creepy barking/chirping sound to announce their presence. It wakes me from a dead sleep which leads me to, ninja like, jump up on my bed while ripping my eye mask off and searching for the creepers. It makes it worse when I don’t find them, but still know they’re there. They say I’ll get used to this, but they don’t know how easily scared I get. I love nature, just not all the creepy crawlies that come with it. 

The journey to this point has been amazing for the most part. We were lucky enough to both get first class seats not only on the flight from Atlanta to Tokyo, but also from Tokyo to Bangkok. Any of you who’ve seen the movie Sex and the City 2 can appreciate the style in which we flew, for it was just that! We had seats that converted to beds, not to mention a vast collection of movies, shows, and music to choose from on our own personal flat screen TV. The best part was the never ending food and drink service. The kind of treatment we received on those flights will never be taken for granted. 

After traveling for what seemed like days (it was actually 30 hours total travel to make it to Lampang), we arrived at the tiny local airport. Dr. Nirund, the founder of Yonok University here in Lampang and director of Teach Thailand Corps, picked us up, and we were transported straight into teacher training. Nothing like hitting the ground running after not sleeping for 2 days. However, it was actually a help not to go to sleep in a way because it helped us to better adjust to the time change, which is exactly a 12 hour difference from Central time. We met the other teachers who have come from all different states (so far there are 13 of us, but I think there will be 2 others joining us later). We trained for a few hours, and then were treated to lunch at a local restaurant. I can’t tell you exactly what we ate except for the fact that it had chicken in it. I can tell you that it was exactly what I was hoping local Thai food would be like: a perfect blend of spices, vegetables, meat, noodles, and rice. I could go on all day about the delicious food. I’ll probably end up making an entire separate entry with details about it. 

Last night, we were taken to a farewell dinner (since some of the teachers will be traveling to other cities in Thailand to teach) where we were joined by teachers from all the schools at which each of us will be teaching. Two groups of students did special traditional Thai performances for us which was highly entertaining. Their culture is so fascinating and beautiful. All of the teachers were so welcoming and excited to meet us. They made us feel so at ease. 

Today, we took a trip to Big C, which is like a giant Thai version of Wal-Mart. I could’ve spent hours there, but since we had to be back for our language lessons, we had to make it a quick trip. We managed to come out with laundry baskets, toilet paper (which believe it or not, Thais do not use...yeah...), drinking water, adapters, and phones! I am making it a point to go back to this place and spend some quality time. There was so much to look at that I was almost overwhelmed. 

Things I’ve learned after a day and a half living in Thailand: 

1.Don’t rush to be on time. No one else is. And it’s ok!

2.Bring toilet paper with you everywhere you go. They don’t supply it. 

3.People will stare at you, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

4.Barking geckos. They’re always there whether you can see them or not. 

5.I’m going to be perpetually sticky due to constantly sweating.

6.There are no traffic rules. 

7.The language is so tonal. It would be so much easier put to music.

8.Everyone is generally happy. It’s contagious.

And so the story goes...

"Are you married?" is the first question I was asked when I met my 7th grade OMS kiddos.

     "Alabama or Auburn?" was the second.

     I couldn't be more single, and I couldn't care any less about roll tide or war eagle (after the kiddos get my answers, they just sit there with a stumped look on their faces as if they don't understand). I am, however, in a committed relationship with Traveling--a beautiful romance that was in full bloom this summer. I've been cheating on that relationship with my new-found love, Teaching, though. If asked, I couldn't even begin to choose between the two.

     I've always considered teaching abroad. It's a thought that's been on my brain since high school. I never set it into motion because certain obstacles wouldn't permit it. When I came back from Europe, the whirlwind trip of a lifetime that I still dream about daily, I was pretty much penniless having spent all of my savings there. On a whim, I decided to move to Chattanooga to live and work.

     The living part was going fabulously, with all the credit going to Kurt and Mary Zacharias for allowing me to have the option to try Chattanooga on for size. The work part? Not so much. I worked as a barista, as well as a sales associate at Banana Republic. However, I had a hard time landing anything else. I felt pretty much useless not having a purpose except steaming milk, pulling shots, or asking customers through the fitting room door if they needed a bigger size in the $200 pencil skirt they were trying on. One of the only positive sides to my barista job was meeting amazing people, including my current roommate/fellow adventure-enthusiast/greatest friend, Meredith Garrett.

     We gave Chattanooga hell, for lack of a better phrase. We road-biked, mountain-biked, cooked, ran, discovered music, ate, hiked, and just took advantage of everything that city had to offer two outdoor lovers such as ourselves. We made plans to sign the lease on a townhome until at the last minute we decided on something completely different.

     In the middle of a trail ride about two weeks before the lease was to be signed, I expressed my "homesickness for traveling" to Meredith. I'd done the traveling thing though, and while the relationship was a wildly successful one, I still felt the need for a purpose while doing so. Meredith mentioned teaching abroad, and I mentioned our barista job and the new lease it was barely going to allow us to afford. That's when it hit us--why not just make it happen?

     Long story short, we escaped our lease and decided to move to Jacksonville (as much as we hated to admit doing so) to save money due to much cheaper rent. I started substitute teaching once we got settled in which ultimately led to my landing my dream job as a 7th grade English language arts and literature teacher at Oxford Middle School. I never planned on staying, but then I fell in love, which always makes things difficult.

     The students had completely and totally captured my heart. After researching for months, we finally found the organization through which we wanted to teach abroad. I decided that I'd rather travel only during the summer months so that I could come back to my kiddos. However, when interviewing for the Thailand position, the year contract was all that was offered. Decisions, decisions.

     After much deliberation, I signed the year contract. How could I not? It's the whole reason I even moved back to Alabama. It's something I've dreamed about since high school. And I'm not ready to settle down yet. For anything.

     The thought process for this decision making kept me up for nights on end. But when I told one of my closest friends I'd decided to go, he replied, "Well of course you did," like there had never been any other option. And really, he was right.

     We leave May 28th for Lampang, Thailand. I have only small ideas of what to expect, but I can't wait. As with most transitions in my life, I'll be sad to leave, but so happy to go. In talking with older generations, I am always told to go and do these things now. I am listening! I've met so many inspirational people while growing up, going to school, in my travels, and now during teaching. All of these people have the common denominator of making amazing things possible.

     I want to be one of these people to my kiddos. I want to do all of the fascinating and inspiring things that other people before me have done with which they have impressed me. If I don't do it now, I never will. I may not have the answers to the two most important questions asked here in sweet home Alabama, but really in life, we're not supposed to seek the answers. I think I'll just live the questions. Live everything. Because that's the point of this life afterall, isn't it?