Oh the Places

It is getting to that time. The time where I have to begin thinking about the real world back in America. I thought I would have more time to focus on Thailand without worrying about the future but, the future is sneaking up on me very quickly.

I have less than two months left of school at Anubanchonburi.  I just had a hectic week of midterms, and finals will be here before I know it.  I am going to cherish every minute of teaching while I am here, since I don’t know if I will even find a teaching job for the next school year when I go home.

As I begin to prepare for the second half of my time in Thailand, so many thoughts are running through my head…

Before heading home:

          -Polish up my resume.

          -Apply for my literacy certification, because of course I put that off for a year after graduation.

          -Join Olas so that I can actually start looking for jobs.

          -Network. I am willing to take a job next year almost anywhere.  Inside the state of New York would be my first choice, Boston second, but teaching beggars really can’t be choosers.  If you are a teacher in America and I know you, watch out because I may just be sending you a message soon enough.

          -Find a summer job.  Back to the daycare?  Nanny?  Waitress?  Maybe I’ll find something new?!

After Anuban:

          -Plan travel in Asia.  As of right now, the last day of school is non-existent.  That’s just how things go in this country.  Our last day of school may be any day between the last week of February and March 14^th.  That is a difference of two weeks, so that could mean two more or two less weeks of traveling in Asia.  I am definitely going to Cambodia and Vietnam, but for how long, where to go, etc.  If I have an extra two weeks, that could mean checking out another country as well. Indonesia? Singapore? Malaysia?  Also, is it possible to have a mess-free travel experience?  Probably not, but I am going to try to plan buses, trains, ferries, and flights so that I can avoid the chaos as much as possible.

          -Save money.  Something I have never been good at, but something that has to be done.  The first two months of living in Thailand were filled with travel every free second I had.  It was amazing and I loved every second of it, but I am happy and satisfied with the places I have seen.  The next two months of living in Thailand will be filled with cheap day trips and a semi-boring/normal life in Chon Buri.

          -Luggage.  On the airplane to Thailand, I checked a large suitcase and a backpacking backpack. I carried on a normal-sized backpack.  There is no way that I could ever cart around all of these things during my Southeast Asian travels.  Bringing a suitcase while backpacking is travel suicide so, where will I leave my over-sized luggage while I’m backpacking for a month?

One thing that is very certain so far in my travel plans is that I am leaving Asia for good on April 17^th and I am headed to London.  From the second Kristen told me she was moving to London, I knew it would be a pit stop on my way home.  Why wouldn’t I take advantage of visiting my best friend while she is living in Europe?!  She is more than willing to put me up in her flat for as long as I will stay, and I am planning on taking her up on that.  So far, I am staying in London for one month, but I have no intentions to book my flight home for a while, so you never know!  I think that one month in London is two weeks too long because of how expensive it is, but this is my last hoorah as I will never have this much time to take for a vacation again in my life.  Having a small debt when I get home is something I will quickly get over.  I’ll never change my mind.. The experience is worth more.

The weekend of April 17^th just so happens to be a 4-day weekend for Kristen, so we get to spend a quality Easter weekend together!!  Unfortunately, Kristen can’t take a month off of work to hang out with me, so for the rest of my time in London I will be re-exploring the familiar from my first visit in 2010, getting happily lost wandering the unknown, and visiting friends that I have made over the past several years who reside in London.  Em, Dana, and Al will be joining Kristen and I in London the first week of May.  I can’t even explain how excited I am for this great reunion.  I have been lucky enough to talk to these friends practically every day and I miss them always. They are my people (I have been watching too many Grey’s Anatomy reruns) and I can’t wait to be with them on the final leg of my journey abroad!