1 Month Down...9 To Go

Yep, been here 1 month now. I'm not gonna lie. The first 2 weeks were rough! I was super homesick & missed my family & friends so much! But the past 2 weeks have been MUCH better! Especially last weekend! A group of us went to Kohnam, the closest beach to Surat, 1 hour away. It was beautiful! We had a beach party, ate really good food, got burnt, went swimming. Very nice & relaxing! I've me some really cool genuine people. Amy, from England, guess you could call her my bestie here, moved in with Dez & I, so that's been fun! I finally feel like I'm getting settled. Work is another thing though. I just don't feel like I'm that good of a teacher. I'm learning though. I'm not very creative though, and at SE, the teachers are suppose to be creative with our lessons, etc. We don't follow a strict curriculum, so it's up to us. I'm definitely feeling the pressure from that.
But I think it will only get better. We may go to Kohnam again this weekend, and then next weekend is a long one, so a group of us are heading to Krabi. Sweet! Then we only have 1.5 months till we are off ALL of Oct! I just found out that Chad (my friend from Dallas) is going to Singapore &/or Dubai in Oct so I'm totally gonna plan to meet up with him!
Oh yeah, 2 weekends ago I met up with my bro & Nicole in Bangkok! It was SOOO great seeing them! We stayed in Bangkok 3 nights. Every night was a late one. The first night they got in at 2am, so we stayed up till 7am! We had so much to talk about! The sun was actually coming up! Crazy! I haven't done that since....well, my going away party...guess it hasn't been that long. Yikes. My bday is 1 month from yesterday...my last year to have nights like those. So, getting back to Bangkok. We went to a Muay Thai fighting match. Was really cool, even got a little bloody (which I didn't like), had front row seats. Did some shopping on Khao San Road, ate a lot of Thai & non-Thai food (had at least 1 turkish chicken pita sandwich everyday i was there).
My friend from Dallas, Justin, that I worked with at Media Plus is coming to Thailand in a couple of weeks, so I'm really hoping to meet up with him while he's here. Hmmm...that's all I've got for now. About to meet up with some peeps to go swimming before heading in to teach 2 classes. Yesterday & today I've had the mornings off...been soooo nice! Gonna join a gym that has yoga classes this week. So excited about that! Can't wait to get back in to yoga again! I've missed it! And I found a guy that wants to train for a 1/2 or full marathon in Feb that's on Koh Samui! SWEET! Lots of exciting plans! Life is good. Love you! Miss you more!

xoxo

Gone...

So I've been in Thailand a little over a week now. Spent a full 2.5 days of traveling to get here. Good lord, I flew from Dallas to Minneapolis. One of the engines went out so we stayed in MN FOREVER! That meant that I would miss my connection in Tokyo. So Delta ended up putting everyone up in a nice hotel in Tokyo with dinner, breakfast & transportation included. I was just grateful for a real bed! I'm never flying overseas with Delta again. We didn't even have our own TV screen. From Tokyo I went to Bangkok & from there to Surat Thani. My new home. So far it's okay. I'm not overwhelmed by how amazing it is. But it's not bad either. I got in Friday evening & met most of my fellow co-workers. Everyone is really cool & laid back. Slept most of Sat. I'm not usually affected by jetlag, but this time I was! I observed for 2 days & then started teaching on Wed. So my morning classes are at a Catholic school. I'm lucky because I have 2 rooms that have AC! A true luxury in Surat! I teach 3 classes in the morning, 55 2nd graders. Sounds like a lot, but it's easy to manage actually. I have an amazing Thai teacher in the room with me so she handles the discipline. After those classes are finished I head to our private language school called Super English. I teach 2 classes there each day from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. The classes are a lot smaller but more difficult to teach. I think the reason is that the age range is so drastic. My first class ranges from 4-10 years old. And my 2nd one ranges from 8 to 16 years old! So, the challenge is classroom management & how to keep everyone engaged. Still haven't figured it out, but I'm working on it. Also, we don't really have a set curriculum to follow, which is great, but also hard.
I miss everyone back home a lot though. I was having so much fun before I left. I got super close with my friends in Dallas. Stacy just moved back. I get sad when I think of everyone back home hanging out & I'm not there.
So we have a long weekend coming up & I get to see BJ & Nicole! I absolutely can't wait! I'm meeting them in Bangkok. Surat is a really laid back town. I think there's around 200,000 people. All of my coworkers have motorbikes. I've been using a bicycle to get around. I like riding it, but I sweat sooooo much! It's pretty hot & humid here. Feel like I'm always sweating. The food is amazing! And SUPER cheap! My dinner the other night as 80 cents! There's a night market right by our school so a group of us goes every night. They have EVERYTHING! And most meals are usually around $1. I'm hoping to find a yoga studio this week & start doing yoga.
Hmmmm....what else? Not much. I've talked to a lot of people from home this weekend. I haven't really done all that much. I've been watching a lot of 30 Rock, movies, reading. I'm reading The Beach right now. I have a totally different perspective on it since I'm living in Surat. Most of the book takes place around my town! I've been able to go running at a stadium track in the mornings so that's cool. The house I'm living in is very...hmmm...what shall I call it...."modest?" We don't always have running water, it's always cold, lots of ants, found a HUGE scorpion the other day, the occasional roach, etc. My house is like a place you would stay if you were backpacking through asia. So, if you were a little bit high mateniance, it wouldn't fly for you. To live in Surat you gotta be pretty open-minded & laid back.
So, for the next couple of months we have some long weekends. Then we are off ALL of October. Then we have some time off around Xmas. Then we are off ALL March & April & maybe some of May. Then I go home! Not too shabby. Lots of time to travel. Granted we don't get paid, but still. I need to start thinking about where I want to go.
Oh yeah, did I tell you that my dad is engaged??!! I'm so happy for him! Mary Ann is an amazing woman! Congratulations Daddy Bear!
xoxo

Going, going...

I'm sad. I guess you don't realize how precious something is until it's almost gone. I leave for Thailand in 8 days. It's different this time. Usually when I leave to go abroad, I always get a little sad, but this time it's different. Believe it or not, Dallas actually feels like home to me now. I've got such incredible friends & family here. Maybe it's because we all know that I'm leaving so we've been very intentional about hanging out, making time for each other, etc. But I'm having such a blast here, and I'm surrounded by love. Granted, I guess it's not really reality since I'm not working...I get to play all the time. But still....
So last Friday was my going away party with my friends. Seriously, one of the best nights of my life! It was truly an amazing time! We started off at the W Hotel, sitting out by the rooftop pool. Went back to the room for cocktails and appetizers while getting ready. Then headed down the street to Medina's (Moroccan food). We had about 16 people at dinner. Such a good time! The food was good, but the place was insanely hot. We walked around the area trying to find a place to hang out, but that area was dead. So, Justin talked some guy into taking us in his limo to a bar on McKinney. We hung out there, danced, saw old friends...good times. We then headed back to the hotel for some more rooftop pool time! So, Jordan & I ended up staying up to watch the sunrise! We met some cool people & swam all night. I went to bed at 8:30am & woke up at 10am! Can you believe it??!! I couldn't! The next day I was seriously delirious! We hung out at the pool on Sat. It meant so much to me that people would come so far to hang out one last time in Dallas, all together before I leave! I am truly blessed to have such incredible friends!
Guess what??!!....my dad is getting married! Crazy! I'm so extremely happy for him! Mary Ann is a true doll! And to think they've known each other since high school! Just goes to show, you never know! We spent an amazing Father's Day together. I love my daddy bear so much.
So don't get me wrong. I'm excited about Thailand. I know the school is top notch. I'm excited for laid back lifestyle, meeting new people, beach hoping, diving, yoga, good food, etc. But I know I'm going to miss my friends/family so much. Tonight it killed me. We had a girls night at Sandi's. I was hanging out with Gavin & Maddox (I'm in love with those boys. They totally make me want to have kids!). Sandi told Gavin, "you know Bertdawg is going away for a long time. You can't forget her. You're going to be a big boy when she gets back...5 years old. You have to remember her." I couldn't speak or I would have bursted out in tears. And Maddox probably won't remember me when I get back. He's only 2 now. Oh my gosh, makes me so sad. Gosh...I dunno...
Sandi gave me the best advice you can give...."just pray about it." What else can you do?
So, I'm going to Austin on Thursday for Christy & JC's wedding Super excited about that. Haven't seen some of these people in years! MP reunion! And I get to see Twatney!
Alrighty...till next time.
xoxo

Back to Asia...Thailand that is

Yep. I've been job hunting for the past couple of months. I knew I wanted to go back & teach abroad again (until I hopefully start school in Norway in Aug 2011), but I just wasn't sure where. I was hoping to go to the Middle East or even Europe. Since I had spent the past 1.5 years in Asia I didn't really want to go back, wanted to do something different. But I have to say, Asia truly fascinates me! And oh how I miss the food! Plus, for most continents you have to be a certified teacher, and I'm not, so Asia seems to be the best fit for the next 10 months.
So, here's what's in store for me. I'm so excited! For the past 2 months I've applied to SOOO many jobs all over asia. I had never really considered Thailand, even though I love the the country, because they don't pay much. I got spoiled by teaching in Korea. But people don't go teach in Thailand to make money, they go for the experience! And that's exactly what I plan on doing. The school I'm going to be working for is AWESOME! I've had so much contact with the owner, Peter. It seems like such a positive, supportive, organic environment to work in! So I'll be teaching 2nd graders, only 5 teaching hours a day (unless I want to work more). There's so much room to be creative and Peter seems super flexible. He's open for the teachers to try new things in the classroom and most of all make it FUN! So, this will be totally different than my school in korea.

I'll be living in a town called Surat Thani. If you've heard of it, that's because it's a town on the east coast of southern Thailand. People only go there because it's the town you go to to get out to Ko Phanang (Full Moon Party island), Ko Tao, and Ko Samui. So, I could go out to islands any weekend I want! It's not a touristy town at all. Suppose to be super cheap! Meals for under $1!! I've already had contact with my co-teachers and they have nothing but good things to say about the town and school. One even said in all of Thailand, Surat has the best and cheapest food! I'll be living with a couple of teachers so that should be fun. The teachers are from USA, Canada, UK, Australia...good mix! I plan on doing lots of yoga and everyone rides their bike everywhere. I have a 10 month contract, will be finished in April. Oh...I forgot to mention. We have like 2.5-3 months of vacation! SWEET! Plenty of time to travel the region! Although I won't be getting paid much, the money I do make should go a long way.
So, if anyone wants to come visit, you are MORE than welcome! Or, if you want to travel around the region, my vacation times are Feb-April and all of October. I know my bro and his girlfriend, Nicole, are going to come. And Jana even said she wants to come. All you have to pay for is the flight, once you get there, it's SOOOOOO cheap! So think about it!!
So, I'm going to make the most of the rest of my time here. I want to hang out with friends/fam as much as possible. I've really been praying about what to do next. Bri & I even fasted for 2 days. She's going to China and I was trying to decide if I should take the job or not. And God made it clear and I'm so glad I'm going! I'm praying that it will be a time of rest, adventure, productivity, and to build lasting relationships with the people I know. LOVE YOU GUYS!
xoxo

Pity Party...yuk

Good lord, would you listen to me. When I was laying in bed last night I was thinking about what I blogged about. I'm throwing myself a pity party..."what should I do with my life?"..."feeling lost."...blah blah blah. There are people in the world that have a lot more problems than I do, that are lost, that don't even have options in jobs & locations to live, etc. At least I have loving family & friends, I know who my Savior is, and I have options in jobs, etc. So, sorry about that. It can be so easy to get caught up in yourself and to worry. But that's not what life is about. I should just let God take control. It will all work out much better that way than if I tried to plan it myself.
K...off to the ladies retreat!

xoxo

p.s. I got a Mac! This is coming from my new MacBook! I LOVE IT! I already feel productivity and creativity coming my way!

Hmmmmm

Nothing huge to update on. I found out I didn't get that job in NYC...there's still a possibility to work there during the summer, we'll see. I'm going on a ladies retreat this weekend with Sandi's church, should be fun! I'm applying to more teaching jobs abroad. I dunno...I guess I feel a little lost these days. Like, what am I doing with my life? I'm always jumping around. Never staying in 1 place too long. In one way, I love it. But in another, like right now, I'm not sure what the next step is. I'm still hoping to go to school in Norway next year. But what should I do till then? Stay in Texas & nanny? It would be awesome to stay here & spend solid time with family & friends...join a church, get involved. Or, I could go teach abroad again. I've got a couple of schools interested in Thailand & Indonesia. Would be another adventure! But I'm hopeful. I'm trusting that God will send me where I need to go. I just need to be open & listen to Him. And to not put my own desires before His.
Well...more later.
xoxo

Feeling Blessed

So I've been back states side for almost 2 months now. Stacy's wedding was last weekend....soooo much fun! It was like a reunion! I grew up with her family & I hadn't seen them in years! I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. Willard (Jill) & I got to be with Stacy all day the day before her wedding AND the day of. We had nail, make-up, hair appoitments, etc. It was a blast! The 3 of us got so close in just 2 days! We had so much fun together. Willard & I had our first mini annoyance with each other & we joked about it later. It only brought us closer. I love those girls.
Now I've been hanging out with friends, joined a gym, and started applying to jobs. I'm applying for nanny and substitute teaching jobs here (to do while I'm in Texas, shorterm). I have an interview on Thursday for Director of English Summer Junior Program position. Best part...it's in New York! I've ALWAYS wanted to live in New York.
I've also been applying for more teaching abroad positions. We'll see. I'd love for it to be in Lebanon, Dubai, Hong Kong, or a Spanish speaking country.
It's been so wonderful being around friends & fam these past couple of months. Makes me realize how blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life! Even though I've been gone for 1.5 years, it's so refreshing to be able to pick right back up as if no time was lost.
My mom & I are going to Enid, OK this weekend for KD's (my uncle) memorial service. He passed away a few months ago while my brother & I were still in Korea. My bro was extremely close with him so he took it pretty hard. He hated that he couldn't be there with everyone, mainly Lyn & Cody. It still hasn't really sunk in that he's gone. He was the most fun loving funny guy ever. Always cracking jokes, so generous. What an incredible guy. He will continue to be missed by everyone that knew him.
Well, that's about all for now. I'll let ya know if I get that job in NY!

Tahoe, Pittsburgh, & New York

So I'm back in the states now. I was home for 1 week & then headed out to Lake Tahoe for Kacy's wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous! Her wedding was beautiful. We went skiing the next day & it's the most beautiful place I've ever gone skiing. When you're on the mountain you have the most breathtaking view of the lake.
Next I headed to Pittsburgh to see Dianne & Megan. It was so wierd to see them on the states side! Dianne was the best tour guide ever! She took us everywhere! I didn't know much about Pittsburgh before, but I was blown away! What a cool city! Hills, rivers, old buildings, history, amazing food, cafes, artsy, etc. We had a blast. Dianne & I went snowboarding too.
Then Dianne & I took the overnight Chinatown bus to New York. Stacy had her bachelorette party, so fun! I had never met her fiancee before, Stephen, what a sweet guy! It's like they were made for each other! I'm so happy for them. In NY we just hung out in Brooklyn, Lower East Side, ate some really good food, went to Prospect Park, took it easy.
Now I'm back in Dallas. Just gonna hang out. Stacy's wedding is in less than 2 weeks. I can't wait! Oh yeah, I got to hang out with Adrian at the airport in Dallas during his layover. Was so good seeing him.
I'm glad I've got this time. I want to spend some time in the Word. While traveling I neglected it. Spend some time with the Lord. Oh yeah, I just found out that 2 people that I used to work for with PPM got in a horrible car wreck in Belize. Please keep them in your prayers.
xoxo

What's Next??

My time in Korea is dwindling down. Ida is coming tomorrow, should be fun! At least I know I'll be laughing a lot for the next week.
So, I need some advice. There's a new idea that has formed recently. Hear me out. Something that I've wanted to do for a long time is learn arabic. What better way to do it than MOVE to the middle east! I've been missing the middle east ever since I left there. I've been dying for an excuse to go back. So....I'm considering moving to Lebanon. Primarily I would go to learn arabic, but I would need to find a job. So, I'm looking in to teaching english as a means to live there. We'll see. I dunno, I feel so unstable these days. But not in a bad way. Just that, if a good opportunity came up, I jump on it! With that being said, if anyone wants to go on an adventure, let me know! I feel like at this point, I'm down for anything! No, that's not true. School is still really on my mind as well. I do know that I'm not ready to live in the states again. I want to continue seeing the world...learning about & experiencing other cultures. Before I left for Korea, I was so certain & sure about the future. I would live in Korea for 1 year, save money for school, return to the states & go to Fuller in California when I got back. Now I feel...I dunno...not so sure about the direction I'm suppose to go. Along the way, the path got blurry & right now I can't find my way back. But maybe that's just it, maybe I'm on a new path now. Things change. God steers us in different directions in life. So, I'm not worried. I'm actually excited for the future! I'm excited to see where this new path leads me! If we are too much in control of our own lives, then we get in the way. So, I'm getting out of the way for this one...I'm just gonna go with it.
I'll let ya know what happens...

xoxo

Vietnam, Laos & back to Korea

Oh my...so last night when I was laying in bed I started thinking about traveling & southeast asia & I actually lost my breath for a second. I realized how much I miss it. How much I truly miss it. But I'm grateful that I had the experience & opportunity to go. And I guess it's a good thing that I miss it so much, that means it was something worth missing. There's something about traveling...the unknown, the adventure...makes you feel alive! Like you can be anyone you want to be. Meeting people from all over the world. One thing that I loved about traveling was that when you met someone, the first questions wasn't, "so what do you do?" Instead it was something about traveling like, "how long have you been here?" "Where have you been?" "Where are you going?" "Oh you've been there?....How was it??!" It was so fun sharing traveling experiences with like-minded people. And it was such a small world in southeast asia! We'd be in 1 country, meet & hang out with some people, say our good-byes & then a couple of weeks later see them again in another country! It's never good bye when you're traveling the world! So now I'm back in Seoul. I guess it's kinda refreshing but at the same time a little disappointing to see that some things never change. I realized after coming back here that I'm definitely ready to leave Korea. I don't even like the food as much as I used to. After experiencing all of the flavor & spice down south, korean food seems kinda bland to me. Rice cakes aren't even that good to me anymore!~ I never thought I'd say that! So I'm just here chilling now. I sleep in, work out with my bro, watch Dexter, read, hang out with friends occasionally, but most of my friends have left korea by now. I'm going back to the states Feb 17. It'll be good to see friends & family, but I'm already planning my next adventure. I can confidently say that I'm not ready to move back to the states. Fuller, the school I'm suppose to be going to is in California...but even that doesn't sound appealing to me. I have several things that I'm looking into. One of which is to go to Lebanon, teach English & learn Arabic! I really want to learn Arabic, & the best way to do it is to MOVE there! Plus I LOVE Lebanon for all of it's chaos, beauty & how the Lebanese love LIFE! Okay, so I can fill you in on all of the travels after the Philippines. So as you know I was stuck in Manila for longer than I was hoping, waiting for my visa to Vietnam. Well, I ran into friends my brother & I had met at our hostel, Friendly's. Ida, from Norway, & Magda & Jens from Sweden. Ida was traveling alone so we made plans to go to Vietnam. I was so excited to have a travel buddy! I wasn't looking forward to traveling alone. And we made plans to meet Magda & Jens in Laos a couple of weeks later.
So Ida & I flew to Vietnam. We were delirious the day we left. We went out with some friends, Sagi & a new friend James an Aussie, the night before & we had to be up by 3:30am to catch our flight. We hit that delirious stage when you can't stop laughing. I could tell Ida & I were going to get along great!
As soon as we landed we booked a domestic flight to the Phu Quoc Island. It's southwest vietnam, really close to Cambodia. It was beautiful & really laid back. We just chilled at the beach, rented a motorbike, indulged in the local cuisine (pho, bun, bun mi, etc). After a few days we took a boat back to the mainland. We went to an island on the Mekong Delta. We took a boat out there. It was a tiny island! No cars really. Pretty primitive. We rented bikes & rode around the island exploring. We went on a boat trip, saw some local family business. Then we went to Ho Chi Min (Saigon) to get our train tickets to Nha Trang. We both got on the back of a motorbike taxi. Oh my gosh!...NEVER AGAIN! I really thought we might not make it to the station alive. It seemed impossible! I knew in my head that these guys do this everyday. But I couldn't help but thing of the alarming statics of how many deaths there are in HCMC! But, we made it!
So, we took an overnighter to Nha Trang. Ida had been to Vietnam the year before so she knew her way around. We got there around 5am the following day. Ida hung out at Why Not Restaurant/Bar eating breakfast & headed to the beach for a run. We then checked in to our hotel & headed back to the beach for some sun. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to swim there. The waves are HUGE & really close to shore. We kept joking that we were actually going to go out that night. We had started to become grandma's...going to bed & waking up REALLY early. So we were determined to go out that night. I'm glad we did because we had so much fun. We had an amazing dinner & then headed back to Why Not Bar. We met some cool Norweigan girls, British dudes & Lucas from Montreal. Ida showed off her fancy dance skills...she's got some hilariously funny & amazing moves! I think that night was the hardest I've ever laughed in my life! People don't know if she's joking or dancing for real. Half of the fun is watching people's reactions. I'll see if I can get her on video & upload it for you.
We spent one more night in Nha Trang then headed to Hoi Ann. This is the place where people go to get EVERYTHING tailor made. But we didn't get ANYTHING. We were exhausted from another overnight bus trip & couldn't be bothered to do it. I know, sorry excuse, but neither of us were in the shopping mood. But Hoi Ann was such a cute city! It had some amazing restaurants, cafes, markets along the river. We had one of my favorite meals there! Marinated pork skewers rolled into rice paper with lettuce, cucumber & the most amazing peanut chili sauce. SOOOOO GOOD!
Let's see, after Hoi Ann we headed to Hue to meet up with a couch surfer for some local grub. A guy & his friend picked us up on motorbikes & took us to a local restaurant. Ida & already checked out his references on the website & he seemed ok.
We get to this local restaurant & they ordered food for us (they said they already ate & didn't want to eat, but after awhile proceeded to eat some...fine). They also ordered a case of beer. I don't drink beer so they drank all of it. The bill came & they gave it to Ida & me. Couch surfing isn't about paying for things, it's about sharing local knowledge, food, etc. Whatever, we just paid for it. Then we were all suppose to go to the same place next. However, the guys split us up & took us to different locations. The guy I was with took me to this romantic setting along the river where people were making out. I was like, "where's Ida?" He said they were at a different place. I said, "ok, well then why are we here? I want to be with the others." What the heck? So he took me finally back to where the others were. They ordered beer, which Ida & I of course paid for. So we then asked them to take us to a place where foreigners hang out. We wanted to get away from these dudes. They were starting to give us the creeps. So, the same guy that took me to a different place did the same thing to Ida! He took her to a remote place. FINALLY Ida showed up where we were suppose to meet. Needless to say, we looked more into these guys & there were lots of complaints starting to rise to the service. We think they are going to get kicked out of Couch Surfers now.



From Hue, we took another overnighter to Laos. We met some foreigners on our bus. When we finally go to Vientiane everyone said they were going to Vang Vieng. We hadn't done much research on Laos so we didn't know what was in Vang Vieng. We were planning on staying the night in the capital. This dude, Monet, from South Africa told us EVERYTHING is in V.V. So we took a private van another 3 hours north with them. We were exhausted & checked in to the first hotel we go to & slept for a couple of hours. We woke up & walked outside to go find some food. As soon as we turned the corner we were like, "where are we?" The drive there felt like we were driving into the mountains in the middle of nowhere. What we saw that night surprised us! Vang Vieng is a town made up of expats, tailored to expats. You have to see it for yourself. So many restaurants for some reason play pirated version of Friends ALL DAY LONG!
The next day we met up with Ida & Jens. They told us we had to go tubing. I've gone tubing before, on the Guatalupe, in Texas. I figured we just be tubing down a river. Oh no. When we arrived it was like I had arrived at a spring break destination. Whiskey shots were offered to us as soon as we pulled up at 12pm! Yikes, a bit early for me! People were at this outdoor bar along the river & others were swinging off of a rope trapeze thing & landing in the water. So, we got in our tubes & headed down the river. The next thing I know a guy throws a rope out to me to pull me in to the next bar stop! I had no idea it was going to be like that. So basically, that's their version of going "tubing." You tube from bar to bar. It was fun, lots of people, music, mud volleyball, swinging into the water, bonfire, etc. So, we stayed a couple more days in V.V. We only did the tubing thing 1 time. Some people said they went day after day & I was like how do you do it? Exhausting! You're in the sun ALL day & most people end up getting pretty drunk.
Next, the four of us headed to Luang Prabang. I LOVED this town! Beautiful! There's a strong French influence there with amazing people watching cafes, outdoor activities, waterfalls, etc. And the most amazing food! I went to the place everyday for 2 meals! For breakfast I had the Lao version of pho...but it's BETTER! Then for lunch I had their $1 vegetarian buffet! SOOOOO good! It was pretty relaxing in Luang Prabang. Ida & I rented a city bike one day & went exploring, checked out temples. There's lots of temples there, a UNESCO heritage so everything in town closes at 11pm. There's also an amazing night market that opens EVERY night. One day we rented a mountain bike & cycled 30km to a waterfall. We were EXHAUSTED! It was up & down hill. We knew we wouldn't make it back, so we threw our bikes on top of a Tuk Tuk & rode back (everyone else did the same thing). One night we went out. Of course since everything closed at 11pm we figured there's GOT to be a place where all of the foreigners on vacation go. We found it! Everyone went to this disco first & then to.....BOWL! No kidding, everyone was at a local bowling alley because it was the only thing open! Was fun though! We ended up seeing some people we had met in Vietnam & got to hang out with them too.
We stayed in L.P. for 5 days. We then took our last overnighter to Vientiane. We checked in to a hotel, slept for a couple of hours, walked around the town (I wish I would've had more time there), got a $2 mani & pedi, then I headed to the airport...back to Korea:(
I know this blog doesn't do much for all of the travels. But it's been one of the best times of my life. Looking back...it wasn't the places that made it so awesome. As cliche as this sounds, it truly was the people (and the food;). Ida & I made a list of all of the interesting people we met. If there were just normal people they didn't make the list. Oh, Ida is coming to Korea next week to visit! A group of us are going on a ski/snowboarding trip for Lunar New Year!
Traveling changes you. I was hoping I'd figure out what to do with the rest of my life....yeah right. But I did have lots of time to think. I'd love to be a freelancer of some kind. To be able to work on some projects...then be able to just take off for months at a time. So much freedom! I met so many people that are traveling for 6 months, 1 year, some indefinitely! It's a different way of life. But it is a WAY of life. You learn so much, about people, culture, history, yourself, socially, I can go on & on. Now if feels kinda weird not traveling. Like, when I'm traveling, I feel more like myself, than when I'm not. I dunno.
And I still have been thinking so much about religion. Traveling opens your eyes to all kinds of things. You start to embrace the differences instead of comparing them. Like I said before, I can't imagine all of these devoted people, that live day in & day out, devoting their lives to God...I can't imagine them not going to heaven. Just because they don't believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, & the life. It seems to be more of a cultural thing than a religion thing. If I would have been born in India, I'd probably be a hindu, in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim, etc. But I was born in America, where most people are christians. It's like we all have our own ways of worshiping our God, due to tradition & culture. There's more to it, but I can't seem to adequately describe my thoughts. So I'll leave it at that. Alright, until next time...

xoxo

Holidays in The Philippines....

So I'm kinda stuck in the philippines right now. I'm waiting on my Vietnam visa. Due to the holidays, everthing is taking a long time. So, lets see, after Megan left, I headed to Manila. The next day my bro came & I can't tell you how happy I was the see him! He was on xmas break from Korea. We stayed 1 night in Manila & met some really cool people at our hostel called Friendlys. I totally recommend anyone staying in Manila to stay there. There's not a ton to see in Manila though. So then we took an overnight bus to Sagada, northern Luzon. It was BEAUTIFUL! We went caving & it was intense! If you're closterphobic, it's not for you. We hung out with a group of philippine girls and a cool guy from Israel, who I'm actually meeting up with in a few days here in Manila. Then we took another overnighter back to Manila to catch our flight to Boracay. Boracay was so fun! There were so many teachers from Korea on xmas break as well. We hung out with people we already knew & met a bunch of cool peeps as well. I went diving, we went on a sunset sail boat, tons of swimming, eating, lots of live music....but i must say, it didn't feel a bit like Christmas. But I'm soooo glad I was with my bro! My bro left (missed his plane, but worked it out) & I stayed another night & went jet-skiing the next day with this british guy I met the night before. Then I proceeded to make my way toward Cebu where I would catch my flight back to Manila. I went to Panay, Negros & then to Cebu. All those islands were a jumble of boat & bus rides. Everything was closed for the holidays so i didn't get to do much. For new years, I hung out with some local people from Cebu & shot off fire works.
Now, I'm back in good ol Manila, waiting for the vietnam embassy to open. Lindsey who we hung out with in boracay was here in Manila. So we took a trip to the Taal volocano. Was really cool! We hiked up it & you could feel the steam & heat on your legs! It's a volcano surrounded by a lake, & get this, there's a lake INSIDE the volcano. Pretty sweet, huh? We spent the night out there & ate canned beans & tuna (everything was closed).
I could be here another 4-6 days, depending on how long it takes for my visa to process. But some of my friends are here so we're gonna go rock climbing & possibly to another volcano. Then...off to Vietnam! 2 countries to go! I'm ready for the traveling to be over I think. I'm excited to go back to korea for a bit & completely relax in 1 place! I'm gonna get a gym membership, but other than that I plan on watching a ton of movies & TV shows that I haven't seen for the past year. And of course hang out with friends! I miss everyone in Korea so much!
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm pretty bored right now. I should be productive I guess. I'm a little homesick, I wish BJ were still here. We had so much fun together & my dream has finally come true! MY bro & I are traveling the world together! I wasn't sure if that would ever happen. But I'm so thankful for those memories!
I love you all! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Happy New Year! What's your New Year's Resolution? I'm going to give/volunteer more & train for either an Olympic Triathlon or a Marathon! Anyone in to do one with me??!!

xoxo