Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Fifteen

I love me some sniffers.

When I first moved to Thailand I noticed that people would have bizarre white plastic sticks in their noses while traveling.  Busses, song teaws, tuk tuks, or just hanging out, there were white sticks hanging out of their noses.  Occasionally, a person would simply pull the stick out of his or her pocket, take a whiff, and put it away, but they were everywhere.  Koreana and I couldn’t figure it out for the life of us.


After lots of questions and some 7- 11 research, we figured out the mystery.  Sort of.  The plastic sticks are called “aromatic inhalers.”  They are usually peppermint, and Thai people believe they will cure just about everything.  Vertigo, stomachaches, headaches, motion sickness, and boredom, these aromatic inhalers are the cure-all.  And, when Koreana and I realized that every single Thai person suffers from motion sickness, the inhalers made a lot more sense.  But did Koreana and I ever purchase inhalers?  No way.  We were content enough knowing what was dangling from the locals nostrils, we didn’t need our own.

Jokingly, I bought a few inhalers for Garvey for his birthday last year.  And, the rest is history.  He immediately became obsessed with the sniffers, as I have learned to affectionately call them.  Soon, I was shipping the sniffers to my other siblings, and a second shipment went to Garvey.  I realized I needed to see what all the hype was about.

They are great.  You know that smelly neighbor on a bus?  Take out a sniffer!  Someone nearby farted?  Sniffer time!  A stinky local fish market?  Open up that sniffer and take a whiff!  

Heather forgot her sniffer at the market!

Garvey came to visit last Christmas, and while he won’t admit it, I am convinced that he brought a second (and mostly empty) suitcase just to fill it with sniffers to bring back to the States.  Heather also became a huge sniffer fan when she came to visit, and she bought a large variety of colors before her flight home.  And when I experienced some stomach trouble in New Zealand, it was the sniffer to the rescue!  


When I arrived home Erin immediately asked if I had brought her any new sniffers.  Shoot.  I meant to spend the last of my Baht on sniffers at the airport, and I completely forgot!  It looks like Paul will be bringing an extra suitcase back in April!

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Fourteen

Living in the same time zone as friends and family is a blessing.

Time differences are a pain.  After school I would always have the motivation to call friends.  But, not so fast, Meaghan.  It is 4:30 am at home.  Can’t call now.  So I would wait.  But by the time 7:00 am rolled around to catch people before work, I was out to dinner.  And the opportunity was lost.  The twelve hour difference with the east coast was frustrating, but at least it was easy to compute.  The west coast was a different story.  I had to start with the time on the east coast and then subtract another three hours.  I finally found the perfect window from 10:00- 10:30 pm to call Bri while she drove to work (7:00 am- 7:30 am).  Unfortunately, we only had this figured out for the last month or so of my time in Thailand.  

Then there was daylight savings time.  I was usually okay with the 11 hour difference, but I did have a few mishaps.  I called my mother at 5:00 am, when I thought it was 7:00 am.  Whoops.  

And weekends were also a pain.  Sunday mornings were a great time to talk to friends on the phone, but all of my friends in the US were still out, enjoying their Saturday nights.  Phone calls from Thailand to a noisy bar in the US?  Impossible.  

My few weeks in New Zealand were even more frustrating.  An 18 hour difference?  No, thank you.

I love that I don’t have to schedule phone calls now.  I don’t have to do math to figure out what time it is for someone else.  It’s almost too easy, and I’m loving it.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Thirteen

I don’t like being stared at.

Thai people have a staring problem.  I have an obsession with people watching, but Thai people make me look like an amateur.  They crane their necks, stop and then walk backwards just to stare at you for a little longer.  It worked for me while driving, because my blonde hair escaping from the bottom of my helmet was enough to stop traffic and allow me to proceed.  But, in life, I tired of it.

I was the only blonde girl in my city.  Everyone recognized me.  And for some reason, I was always fun to look at.  For over two years!  As far as I can tell, I didn’t change much, and I’m not all that exciting to look at.  My hair is nearly the same, and always boring, my weight only fluctuated a few pounds, my clothes are solid colors, cotton and conservative, and I don’t have any weird growths on my face.  So what gives?

Being the token blondie, I was a sight.  Thai people couldn’t get enough of the light hair, light skin and freckles.  Blue eyes that look different colors in different light were only on television, until T. Meaghan came to town.  And, the entire culture stares.  They stare at each other!  So of course they are going to stare at someone “interesting.”

I am so happy not to deal with it anymore.  It gets creepy.  There was always someone looking, examining, gawking.  And then, of course, there was the pointing.  They would point and whisper, say or yell, “farang!  Farang!”  (Farang means ‘white person’ in Thai)  So, for those people that weren’t already looking at me, they were now.  

I am so happy to be just another American face on the streets of Saratoga.  Now when I get stared at, I know that I should smile back at the cute boy, or look in the mirror for whatever might be on my face. 

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Twelve

I love dressing conservatively.

When I first started working at the school and learned that my shoulders and knees needed to be covered I was not pleased.  Did the school even realize how darn hot it was outside?  How was I to cover my shoulders and knees without drenching my outfit in sweat by second period?  It didn’t matter, it was a rule, and I followed it.

I also soon learned that the shoulder and knee rule applied to life in general in Khon Kaen.  With very few foreigners, and even fewer foreign women, it was in my best interest to keep myself covered up.  I was more relaxed with my friends, or when it was especially hot outside, but I still kept my outfits very modest.  If it was hot enough to wear a tank top (over 98 degrees) I would wear capris or a long skirt to keep my knees covered.  If I wore shorts, I always wore a high neck shirt that covered my shoulders.  

When I went home the first time, last October, I thought I would be excited to not worry about what I wore. I was right, I enjoyed not worrying.  But, I also enjoyed dressing conservatively.  I liked being covered up.  It wasn’t a rule that only pertained to Thailand anymore, it was the way I liked dressing.    My friend Dave mocked me one night when we took a trip to the bars downtown.  He asked me if I got enough Vitamin D because my fingertips were the only part of my body that was exposed.  And, he was completely accurate.  My wrists and ankles were covered, and my shirt had a crew neck.

Since that trip I have been back and forth many times, and my personal modest dress code remains in place.  My sister is appalled at my lack of style, but I have my own reasons to be appalled by her outfit choices.  To each her own. 

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Eleven

I want to open a bakery.

It always felt like a dream.  The idea of opening a bakery seemed so grandiose.  Before I left for Thailand the idea was nothing more than that, an idea.  It felt impractical and silly in a lot of ways.  Even though I loved to bake, I knew I needed a profession, and the baking would be a hobby.

Of course, I couldn’t get through my time overseas without baking, so I purchased an oven.  And a mixer.  And a blender and a food processor.  I bought wooden spoons, spatulas, graters, peelers, knives, mixing bowls, cutting boards, measuring cups, oh gosh, the money I spent!  But, I was loving every second of baking, just as I always had.  Every time I baked, I would bring the treats into school.  Of course, all of my male coworkers, who had spent way too much time in Thailand, ate everything I brought in.  Thailand does spicy food, noodles and meat exceptionally well, but baked goods are another story.  Every brownie, muffin, cake and bread that I brought into the staff room was devoured, and I was showered with compliments.  I thought nothing of them.  Of course the chocolate chip cookies tasted delicious- you haven’t had a half- decent cookie in more than six years!

As I continued to try new things, and I continued to rake in the praise, I continued to think about a bakery.  But still, not seriously.

When my coworker, David, and probably my biggest baked goods fan, asked me about selling what I baked, I thought he was joking.  It was only a matter of days from when he suggested it, I brought a few things into a nearby coffee shop, and I was hired.  The owner of the coffee shop would take whatever I felt like baking, and charge whatever prices I decided on.  Then, she would keep 10%, and I would walk away with 90%.  

The first pan of brownies I brought in sold out in two days.  

It never mattered how many tests I had to grade, how many hours I had to teach after school, or how many errands I had to run, when I received a text message saying that something was sold out in the coffee shop, I baked that evening.  It was my way of relaxing.  I looked forward to it.

It didn’t take long for David to start asking me about opening my own bakery.  Keith chimed in with his support.  Paul and Andy were convinced I could do it.  And, the wheels started spinning.  

I have an ongoing list of ideas for my dream bakery open on my desktop.  And, while I still like the practical career path of being a teacher, my bakery will be awesome.... Someday. 

I haven't missed television one bit!

For the last year at my house in Khon Kaen, Cait and I did not have television.  For the first few weeks we debated getting it, but eventually we agreed it was a waste of money to spend to waste more time.  Coming home, I quickly learned how little we were missing.  I will always love the Food Network, but if it is one of their competition shows, I turn it off.  There is so much junk on television, it makes my head hurt.

Yesterday, while I was on the treadmill, I had a particularly terrible experience with television.  Now, I am not one to really watch the television while I am on the treadmill.  I listen to my own music, but often I read the ticker or subtitles as I glance around the fitness center and then occasionally back to the screen.  When I am cooling down and walking, I read my book, so the television is just background motion.

When I hopped on the treadmill yesterday the Dr. Oz show was on in front of me.  I have never watched the show, and I know very little about it.  I think Oprah has some bizarre obsession with him, but I don't know.  One of the bloggers that I follow had just made an appearance on his show, and I love what she writes, so I knew the show couldn't be all bad.

As soon as I started running, the commercials ended, and the camera zoomed in on feces.  Yup, you read that correctly, feces.  There were all sorts of feces on a table, sitting next to large vats of urine.  I thought I was going to throw up.  Then, a woman walked out of a port-a-potty on the stage to ask Dr. Oz a ridiculous question about her own feces issues, one that I will not repeat.  I tried to look away, to look for cute boys working out in the area below, but it was so hard.  I had a 50+" screen of poop in front of my face.

Next thing I knew, everyone in the audience put on purple rubber gloves, and pulled out small cups of their own urine.

I pushed the Emergency Stop button and the treadmill lurched to a stop.  I turned, on a mission, to find the remote.

I quickly changed the channel, flipping until I found anything less repulsive.  I settled on ESPN, and spent the rest of my run glancing at the ticker....  The Islanders won...  Kris Humphries (the fame- crazed giant who married Kim Kardashian for a day and a half) signed an 8 million dollar contract with the Nets...  And the entire world is absolutely obsessed with Tim Tebow- the Sports Center host mentioned him running for president.

Well, that was better.  Still a bit ridiculous, but better.

But, honestly, do people watch this junk?  Gross.  I don't need television.    

Me Time

Today is my ninth day at home.  But, considering we ran away to Arizona for a few days, we will call today  my sixth day at home.  And even though I am living in a very full house with three siblings, two parents and two dogs, I have had a heck of a lot of “me time.”  Usually the family is gone for the day, and the dogs rarely interrupt what I’m doing, so I have been doing a lot of thinking.  On top of that, my body is completely rejecting any and all US time zones, and I often lie awake between the hours of 1 and 5 am, which just means more thinking time.  But for all of the time I can, and do, spend thinking, I am still so lost.  

For the first time, in as long as I can remember, I don’t have a plan.  Starting on November 1 of my senior year in high school, I had a plan.  I knew, on that day, that I would go to the University of Tulsa.  My mom didn’t want to admit it, but I knew it would happen.  From that day on, I always had the next flight home booked, the next semester of classes picked out and registered for, summer jobs lined up, and racing schedules set in stone months in advance.  Graduating early was unexpected, but I still had a plan.  I knew that I would begin traveling the following summer, so when going home I planned to babysit and work in a restaurant to save money.  While I spent those five months at home, I was planning Thailand.  And the day after I celebrated my 22nd birthday in Paris, I knew I would be moving to Thailand in October.  Once again, flights were booked, and plans were made.

So, here I sit, exactly three years after my graduation from university, without a plan, and terrified.  I don’t have a flight booked (thank goodness- I am sick of flying!).  I don’t have classes scheduled.  I don’t have anything scheduled, for that matter.  The only reason I know the date is because it is two of my very good friends’ birthdays!  

*Happy birthday, Dtoo and Maya!*  

So, what next?  Three years after graduation, and all I have is passport pages to show.  25 passport pages, to be exact, but that isn’t exactly a resume booster.  But, what does that mean?  For starters, it means that I have had three pretty incredible years, and not nearly enough frequent flyer miles, but what now?  In so many ways, it feels as though running away to a far away country would be the easiest thing at this point.  I loved New Zealand.  It would be very simple for me to get a visa.  Should I move there?  Living in the US is so much more intimidating.  Living in the US means that my real life is starting.  And, I am at a standstill at the moment, and it’s driving me nuts.  With the wedding last weekend, Christmas this weekend and New Years the weekend after that, job hunting is not really in the cards for the time being.  Then, my parents had to go and plan an amazing vacation for the week of January 8, so my job hunting is pushed back again.  No one is going to hire me on January 2 just to hear I need the week of January 8 off.  All this means is more not working, more baking, and more “me time.”  

Fortunately, the dogs like to be walked, and I splurged on a very expensive month at the nearby fitness center, so those activities can keep me a bit busier.  And, Kareem comes home today for a week and a half... Yay!  All of these are good things, but I’m still stuck in my head.  

My newest plan: grad school.  Secondary math education.  Any and all comments are welcomed.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Nine

Coffee and food will never be as cheap anywhere else in the world.

13 baht for breakfast, 30 baht for lunch, 20 baht for coffee and 30 baht for dinner.  That is a total of 93 baht for the day, or $3.10.  Need I say more?

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Eight

I love driving where there are rules on the road.

Driving has always been my thing.  If the group was going somewhere, I always offered to drive.  I love being in control.  I love being behind the wheel.  I also love to drive fast, much to my parents’ dismay.

In Thailand, as you all know, I drove a motorbike.  And, I always drove.  Cait and Koreana were regular passengers, and I loved it.  There was the accident setback, but I still loved the act of driving.  What I didn’t love was the driving conditions.

The driving age in Thailand is 18 and you must have a license.  But, this is merely a suggestion.  People will drive their cars and trucks to the DMV equivalent, take a road test, fail the road test, and get right back in their cars and drive away.  Does anyone stop them?  Nope.  If someone without a license gets pulled over, he or she will often just have to pay off the officer on duty, and all is forgiven.  It should now be pretty obvious as to why the driving conditions are not ideal.  People never learn to drive.  They just do it.  Turn signals are used unnecessarily for the most mundane maneuvers and not used at other essential times.  Lanes are crossed without looking.  Merging is frightening.  Speed limits... Hmmm... I don’t know if there are speed limits.  Speed is whatever you feel like driving.  Red lights are a suggestion to stop within the next five seconds, if you feel like it.  Right of way doesn’t exist.  You go when you want.  And driving under the influence of alcohol is commonplace.

There are tons of accidents every single day, but far less than one would imagine, reading what I just wrote.  Without any rules or any rule enforcement, there is no assuming while driving.  Everyone is always prepared for something to happen.  Maybe someone will turn in front of you, cut you off, merge without looking, stop unexpectedly, swing open a car door, drive on the wrong side of the road, you get the picture...  But, driving in Thailand, you must be prepared for any of these things to happen, and be ready to act accordingly.  My heart races every time I drive.  It’s stressful.

I am so happy to be back in the States.  With rules.  My guard is not completely down, and I don’t think it ever should be, but I am far more relaxed.  I can expect people to stop at a red light.  I always look before going, but I don’t have to expect people to run the red light for ten seconds after it changes.  I can pass a car with a bit of confidence, knowing that there is a good chance the car will stay in its own lane.  

Driving in a car in the States is a breath of fresh air.  

Scratch that.  

Driving in a car in the States is a breath of filtered air coming through the dashboard and without a helmet.  That’s nice.

Sleep

Sleep was underrated.  Well, it was underrated for me, until I suffered from jetlag, as I had never experienced it before. 

I flew in JFK on Monday evening, and then drove back to Saratoga.  I didn’t sleep much on my flights from Thailand, and I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep in my old bed.  My mom drove the entire way home, but I was wide awake, and we chatted the whole time.  When we got home I wasn’t tired.  We stayed up for about another hour and a half talking with my dad before going to bed at 2 am.  But guess who didn’t go to sleep?  That’s right.  This girl, right here.  I laid in bed until about 4:30 am.  

When my mom woke me up at 10, asking if I wanted a car for the day, I was completely confused.  I got dressed in minutes and dropped my mom at work, and took the car for the day.  I ran a few errands, had lunch with friends, and ordered my new phone (Siri is in the mail!).  In the evening the family went to Ellie’s for dinner.  Even though we were home before 10 pm, I couldn’t fall asleep.  And, it was well after midnight when I fell asleep.

Next thing I knew it was 5 am, and time to drive Chip and my dad to the airport.  I had volunteered to take them, and I was wide awake before my alarm even went off.  It is as though my body was allergic to sleep, and was excited to be awake again.  When I got back from the airport, I sat in the living room for a while, mostly talking about how crazy my dad has been lately, and then going upstairs to “try to sleep.”  With Wilbur as my foot warmer, I slept until 1 in the afternoon!  I was ecstatic.  It was just what I needed... Until that night rolled around.  My mom and I decided to go to TJMaxx to look for dresses for the wedding, to see if we could find anything better.  I fell asleep in the store.  While I was waiting for my mom to finish shopping I fell asleep standing by the door, waiting for her.  We immediately went home, and I went straight to bed.  I was so overtired that I had a minor freak out session.  I started crying, and my mom laughed at me.  But I went to sleep, and was out before 9 pm.  

...Until midnight.  And at midnight, I was wide awake.  I tossed and turned, knowing I would fall back to sleep.  And when I didn’t, it was time to pull out the big guns.  Sleeping pills.  My dad gave me two different types of sleeping pills to choose from.  There was one for a full night’s sleep: 7- 8 hours.  And the second would be more of a “nap” sleeping pill.  At 1 am, I chose the full night’s sleep.

I woke up feeling refreshed at 7:30 am.  I felt great.  Until the afternoon hit.  And I passed out on the couch for about an hour.  Okay, feeling better again.

That night I went to a Christmas party with a few of my friends.  I knew I had an early flight on Friday, so Nicole and I were home by 11 pm.  I finished my packing and was asleep around midnight.  I set my alarm for 5, but I was wide awake at 3 am.  Ridiculous.

I caught up on my television shows, read a handful of the blogs I follow and wrote a few emails.

Just as we were boarding our flight, at around 7:45, I decided to take a “nap” sleeping pill, to make sure I slept.  I am usually very against sleeping pills, but this jetlag has been painful.  And I really didn’t want to crash for the wedding weekend.  So, I took a “nap” pill.  Of course I fell asleep, but I barely woke up until we landed in Phoenix.  I was nearly comatose when we had our layover in Chicago.

But, here we are, in Scottsdale, and I feel fine.  Granted, that seems to change pretty quickly, but it’s 7:48 pm, and I’m still awake and communicating well.  

It looks like it will be a good weekend! 

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Seven

I love wine.

I knew this before I moved to Thailand, but it is now more true than ever.  While living in Thailand I was swimming in beer and whiskey.  Wine was hard to come by, expensive, and not very good.  Coming back to the States has only made me appreciate its amazing tastes and flavors that much more.  I love the variety of wines.  I love a big glass of red wine and the foods I associate it with.  I love a chilled glass of white wine and the foods and places that I associate it with.  I love that one glass of wine will satisfy my thirst.  I love the sounds that wine glasses make when clinked together in a cheers.  I love the way wine glasses look and feel.  I sometimes love wine charms.  I love the way wine sticks to the glass when it is swirled.  I love using a wine key to open a new bottle, and the scent when the cork is first removed.  

It has been said that distance makes the heart grow fonder.  This cliche has been very appropriate for my relationship with wine.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Six

Food will never be spicy enough for me, unless New makes it.

I always knew that I liked spicy food.  Buffalo wings, Franks Red Hot Sauce, Tobasco, cayenne pepper on my pizza, you name the spice and I will tell you I love it.  But there are plenty of foods in the States that aren’t spicy and you can’t douse with Franks.  I would usually add some black pepper, and be satisfied.  This method no longer suffices.  I crave the heat.  I yearn for the burn.  New makes it right every single time.  

The first time I ate New’s food was December 26, 2009.  Yes, the occasion was that momentous that I remember the exact date.  We were sitting in Paul’s backyard, under his canopy of bamboo plants.  New had cooked at her apartment, two doors down, and brought the food over to his house.  She was shy and nervous, meeting and cooking for two new white girls, and I was thrilled to have new Thai food.  I took my first bite, and I nearly died.  Paul had warned me about the heat, but holy smokes!  This was like nothing I had every tasted.  Immediately the roll of tissue was brought out, and I alternated between wiping my tears and my runny nose.  But, I couldn’t get enough of it.

My hunger for New’s spicy food, and the spice of authentic Thai food, is insatiable.  The times I have visited the States, I was ecstatic to have bread again.  But it never took more than a few days for me to miss New’s cooking.  Som tam.  Yam woon saen thalay.  Moo ping gap naam jin.  Plaa paow.  Oh.  My.  Word.  My mouth is watering just to think of it all.  I am going to start saving money for the “New Needs To Open A Restaurant In The States Fund.”  I promise that she can also make food at a level of spice on a more humane (read: Western) level, so you too will want her to open this restaurant.  

Donations can be mailed to my home address.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Five

I miss seasons, but I don’t miss short days.

I have always known seasons.  When the weather starts to get hot, it is time for school to end and trips to the lake to begin.  When the weather starts to get cool it is time for apple- picking and leaf- raking.  When the weather starts to get really cold it is time to get the sweaters and boots from the basement, start Christmas shopping, and get my skis tuned.  When the weather starts to warm up again it is time for dirty snow and beautiful blossoming trees and flowers.  Each season has its own list of pros and cons, but they created order in my life.  And then I moved to Thailand.  

Thailand has the hot season, the hotter season, and the hot and wet season.  It is monotonous.  And it is pretty darn hot.  Over the years I grew used to the heat. I rarely used air conditioning.  I started to shiver in temperatures below 75 degrees.  I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes in any temperature lower than 68.  (No, I didn’t feel my fingers or toes most of the time I was in New Zealand.)  But it gets boring.  Seasons don’t mean anything there.  There aren’t different activities associated with different seasons.  Well, let’s be serious, there aren’t any activities at all.  But, I was thrown off.  All of a sudden my dad’s birthday would be a week away, and I had forgotten to get him a present.  It was just as hot as it was the month before, and the month before that!  How was I to know it was August already?  And Christmas, forget it!  The country was not only stifling hot in December, it is Buddhist.  There is no snow on the ground, and there aren’t any Christmas tree stands throughout town.  And that is where the homemade paper wreath came in!

Short days, however, those are a thing I didn’t miss.  When I went to New Zealand there was still light in the sky at 9:45 pm.  I was utterly confused.  I had spent the last two years living my life in light and dark.  If it was becoming light, between 6:00 and 6:30 am, I needed to be in the shower and getting ready for school.  And if it was getting dark, between 6:00 and 6:30 pm, it was time to start thinking about dinner.  In New Zealand, it was never dark!  How was I supposed to know when to shower, eat and sleep?  And now in New York, it is always dark!  It feels as though I should be sound asleep just as my mother asks me what I want for dinner.  (Yes, my mom is making me dinner, and I have no shame telling you that!)  The long and bright days of summer are wonderful, but the dark days of winter are going to take some getting used to.       

So, seasons, I am glad to be back.  Short days, I’m not especially thrilled to be back to you, but I’ll do my best.  

And for those of you looking to buy me presents, I will happily accept socks and mittens!  This winter is going to be rough.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Four

I will miss the ingenuity of Thai people.

Whether a car needs to be fixed with a twist tie, a leaky roof with bubble gum, or a fence with a coat hanger, a Thai person will figure it out.  Or, are you hungry?  Someone will be more than happy to jump in the pond behind New’s house to gather some snails and catch a few fish to grill.  

No matter what the problem is, the Thai people will fix it with whatever is readily available.  And often, what is readily available is pretty limited.

My favorite little tricks, however, are those that are used with some regularity.  Opening a beer bottle without a bottle opener?  No problem.  Ask me to demonstrate sometime, I have plenty of Thai party tricks.  And my other favorite is music.  No speaker system?  No problem.  Stick a cell phone in a glass, and it is an instant speaker.  Sticking the makeshift speaker in a nearby tree is even better!

Freshly found snails for dinner.

And a homemade speaker in a tree.  Surround sound- Thai style.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Three

Traveling alone can be pretty great, but I think I’m all done with it.

Traveling alone has given me an amazing amount of confidence.  You name the country (within reason), and I will be happy to go.  And I will be happy to go alone.  I not only have the courage and “life skills” (as my friend Maya’s mother calls it) to travel alone, I enjoy it.  I appreciate traveling alone for what I can gain from it.  I have the freedom to go where I want, when I want.  I have the opportunity to experience things without the influence of anyone else.  I then have the power to tell the story of my travels any way I please.   But, as much as I can, and do, travel alone, I don’t want to do it anymore.

I want to experience the world with other people.  I want to stop taking gorillapod photos because that is the only way I will be in a photo.  I want someone in photos with me.  I want someone to share experiences with.  I want someone to eat meals with.  I want someone I know to sit next to me on the plane, bus, train, ferry, van or in a cab.  I want someone to talk to that I don’t have to recite my one minute autobiography to.  I want company.

So does anyone want to travel with me?  I’m a pretty awesome travel buddy.  I can attest to that.

Family is great.

I received a facebook message while I was waiting to board my flight in Bangkok.  All it said was “true or false: you and garvey will both be in attendance at next week's wedding-palooza in phoenix.”  It was from my cousin, Mike, and it made me so happy.  Family is awesome.  I love that my cousin is excited to see me.  I am so excited to see him.  I’m happy to be back.

Things I learned while living in Thailand- Part Two

I do not want to become addicted to my telephone, but I do want an iPhone.

I spent the past two years with the simplest of telephones.  Every time I left Thailand, I didn’t have a working telephone at all.  And, last time I checked, I was alive, and my friends and family knew that.  Somehow, I have been able to survive without the newest appendage the majority of humans seem to have sprouted- an iPhone.

In my handful of trips back to the States I have seen human interaction shift dramatically.  Face to face conversation is now a lost art.  Cellular telephones are never in purses or pockets.  They are in hands, thumbs in motion and an epidemic of carpal tunnel becoming inevitable.  I was unable to be with friends without being “tagged” or “checked- in.”  I was unable to question something for more than thirty seconds before it was googled, and the answer was found.  I was required to repeat myself with frequency as friends held simultaneous text conversations and couldn’t multi- task well enough to listen.

When I visited Bri in San Francisco this spring she had an iPhone.  We sat on the lawn of the University of San Francisco campus.  As we were talking, something came up that neither of us knew the answer to.  I held my breath, knowing that she would pull out her phone, google it, and then check her email, facebook notifications and Words with Friends while she was at it.  But she didn’t.  We continued talking.  The conversation flowed, as it should.  Bri even said, “we can look it up later, if we remember.”  She didn’t even type herself a note as a reminder!  I am so happy we are friends. 

Part of the reason, I have realized, that I love traveling so much is the authentic human interactions.  Most people don’t have working cell phones, or simply choose to leave them at home.  The people that are traveling have to, and want to, have conversations.  All of the people I met in my “It’s a small world” post were met through conversations.  And I hope to meet many more people for another small world post.

But here is where I have potential to come off as a hypocrite- I want an iPhone.  First of all, they are awesome.  GPS, camera, iPod, and Siri in a telephone with a built in speaker?  That’s pretty cool.  And secondly, they are quite practical, as all smartphones are.  In this era of instant gratification, being able to respond to emails, without being at home with my laptop, will definitely be helpful.  Will I check facebook?  Yes.  Will I play Words with Friends?  Yes (if it works).  Will I tweet?  Yes.  Will I check in?  No, probably not.  It creeps me out.

I won’t pretend for a second that I won’t use my iPhone a lot, I just don’t want to become obsessed.  I want to make eye contact with people.  I want to talk to the people in my here and now.  I want to look at the world that is happening right in front of me.  I want my iPhone to know what the inside of my purse looks like.  I want to know that if I forget my phone at home, or in the car, or the battery dies, I won’t have a panic attack.  I want to people watch. 

Wish me luck!  

And please, tell me if I become crazy.  I don’t want to be that girl.

Things I learned while living in Thailand

Now that I am living back in the United States of America, I feel it is only appropriate to reminisce about all things Thai.  Therefore, this blog post will begin a series of posts about the many things I learned while living in Thailand.  The posts will by no means be an exhaustive list of things I learned, just those that I think are worth sharing.

So, number one on my list is:

I always need a man in my life to save me from scary creatures.

I know that living in Thailand made this more of a priority than it will be in the US, but it doesn’t make it any less valid.  Luckily I had Paul and Andy to save me from the creepiest and crawliest creatures, but now they live many states and continents away, and I need to find a new hero.... fast!  

There was the snake.

And the other snake.

And the humongous gecko.

And the rats.

And the ticks all over Manao.

And the dead bird.

And the centipede!  This one was in my downstairs bathroom...  Yikes!

I never took photos of the mice, cockroaches, scorpions or various other creatures, but you get the idea.

It’s smelly. I must be in the right place.

My final stop on my little getaway was to Rotorua.  Rotorua is known for its strong Maori culture and its strong scent of sulphur.

Jennifer emailed a friend from the Department of Conservation to ask for suggestions for my time there.  Nicki was kind enough to not only offer me suggestions, but a place to stay!  She told me I was more than welcome to stay at her house as long as I didn’t mind three noisy children.  Clearly she doesn't know me very well, because noisy children will almost never be a problem!

When I arrived in the town I put my backpack in a locker and wandered around.  I walked along the lake, getting whiffs of stinky Rotorua as the breezes came and went.

I also walked through Kuirau Park which most recently had an eruption in 2003.  Now, the pathways bubble, the water is warm, and there are plenty of warnings!

After I shopped around the town, and found presents for my mom and Erin, I called Caleb, Nicki’s oldest son, to pick me up.  He brought me to their home just as the three kids were sprinting in the door after school.

Manahi, Hinetaapora and Pokaihau are all still in primary school, and an absolute riot!  Hinetaapora, the daughter, is the Milky Bar kid!  She won a nationwide contest last year and became the first female Milky Bar kid.  When I told her that I had never had a Milky Bar she seemed confused.  And she said, “oh, well I don’t think we have any right now.  But, I can tell my dad to call Milky Bar!  They will send us more!”  Unfortunately, I was still on the two day schedule, and the shipment would not arrive in time.

Hinetaapora was quite thrilled to have a girl to play with in her family full of boys.  We jumped on the trampoline, drew pictures, played games and talked about Justin Beiber.  He is soooo handsome!

The next day Caleb and I walked to the museum.  Caleb, who is very passionate about his Maori heritage, was kind enough to walk me through the museum.  He explained certain stories, tales and histories in more depth, and told me which were his favorite.  Caleb graduated from high school last year, spent a few months in Australia, and is currently enjoying his time back with his family.  He was a wonderful tour guide!

The Rotorua Museum.

Later that evening Caleb had practice for his haka competition, and he invited me along.  I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that, so I gladly went with him.  Over the next two hours I watched as the men and women practiced for the regional competition in February.  It was amazing!

Unfortunately, the video I took of the haka practice isn't loading.  So here is a video of one of the more famous haka performances, The All Blacks performing at the Rugby World Championships against France this year.

I stayed with a family where all four children are fluent in Maori (and the parents are learning), the daughter is the Milky Bar kid, and watched and intense haka practice.  If that isn’t an awesome trip to Rotorua, I don’t know what would be!  Once again, another two days well spent.