1 post from June 2008

Hello everyone! This is my first official post on my Thailand blog. Woo Hoo!

Yesterday was my farewell dinner with friends. Fun night filled with movies, spaghetti and hard hugs. I'm so incredibly sad to be leaving Hawaii for 7 weeks (I'll be taking off to LA on Monday then to Thailand).

However... as sad as I am... I'm so very excited for this experience. I am staying with a host family in Thailand (all the family members look so friendly!) and will be assisting teachers in teaching English at a primary school. This is quite the experience for me, seeing as how my dream career is to teach children in a foreign country. And for that, many thanks are sent out to my family, friends, teachers and AFS for the opportunity.

So the agenda for today (I'm leaving tomorrow!) is to lounge around my house and PACK. Lots of packing to be done... My main worry is that I'll pack so extensively that I'll forget to bring the most important things. In the blur of my excitement and packing frenzy, I might forget to bring my traveling documents... or a toothbrush! Ah, now that would be a traveler's hell.

So far, after lightly researching the Thai culture, I have a very surface-level expectation of what Thailand will be like. I say "surface-level" because I can only imagine what my Thailand travel books tell me. "The Land of Smiles," the books praise, is filled with smiling Thai folk, spicy foods, and wonderful cultural events. And, it's definite: I am beyond excited to immerse myself into this culture and meet, talk, make bonds with the people there. I do hope they are as friendly as the books say.

Current Mood: Excitement.

Mood after 3 seconds: Nervousness.

Gosh.. I'm actually really nervous about this trip. I hope everything goes alright: the flight, the volunteer work, my interaction with the host family...

Ah, but even if they don't, I'll just keep something my friend said to me in mind: that no matter what happens, it will still be an experience and that this experience will be life changing and very valuable. Words of inspiration straight from the turtle's mouth :)

I will definitely post again once I get to a computer, but till then- wish me luck on the flight!

-Cecilia