Wow. It’s all happened so quickly! The semester officially ended for me today when I had my final oral exam for my Thai II class (which went well by the way). My last class was yesterday, as was my other final. And with my Thai teacher bidding me “chokdi” (good luck), my semester in Thailand had come to an end. I really can’t believe it! All good things must come to an end though. Alas alack…in a month and 2 days will be my first day of school back in St. Louis. Part of me was ready to go back…until today that is. But I will be going back to exciting things…so it won’t be in an exotic land like Thailand. But it’s time to get on with my life which I more or less put on hold for the time I’ve been away. While I’ve been here I’ve hardly had a care in the world! And it’s been great…like one big long vacation!
Aside from my incredible experiences while I’ve been here, during my time here I think I’ve grown immensely. Yes, I’ve turned into an independent traveler, which has given me more self-confidence as well. But this also put me completely out of my element, in a strange land where I didn’t know anybody. This was my new chance at starting over, and I did quite well! Far better than I’ve ever done before…especially socially. I overcame a lot of social barriers I’d created throughout my life and it feels good.
So am I ready to take on the world? Not quite. I’m still quite nervous about the prospect of graduating in May. I’ve gotta start looking for my big boy jobs. Okay, okay, I’ve already had some big boy jobs, but this somehow feels different. I certainly won’t be looking for my first theatre job, but I’ll be looking for my first theatre job as a college graduate. Now I’ve just gotta find something that I can life off of that’s not totally out of my league!
Though my school in Thailand has come to an end, my adventure is not over yet, as my parents and grandmother are coming on Sunday! And then my brother and his fiancee arrive on the 28th. I’m still here for another action-packed 3 weeks. And what a time it will be! I get to play tour guide around Bangkok again. Also, I’ll be traveling to Chiang Mai and also to Siem Reap in Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat. We’ll see what other little things I can squeeze in as well…I still never made it to an island…hmmm.
I leave Hua Hin for good tomorrow evening. I’m sharing a taxi up to Bangkok with some friends to offset the cost (2,500 baht…roughly US$70…which is 14 times the price of the bus or van!) . We’ve all got a lot of luggage so this is far more practical…and divided by four, the price isn’t quite as bad. In Bangkok I’ll stash my luggage at the hotel I’ll be staying at with my parents. I’ll probably spend tomorrow night in the vicinity of Khao San Rd again, which is within walking distance from the hotel. Saturday I’ll return to Ayutthaya (remember, the capital before Bangkok?) and spend Saturday night there before returning to Bangkok on Sunday and heading to airport to meet my folks!
Wow, Nino’s (the guy who owns the restaurant where I get Internet here) 4-year old son is playing with fireworks! Oh, Hua Hin, I will miss thee! I’ll be back some day though, to Thailand at least….just as soon as I can save up the money (might take a while)!
Fear not though, this is not the end of my blog. I’ll be updating it throughout the remainder of my travels. This is, however, my last post from Hua Hin and V.I.P. Condochain, my home for the last 4 months!
