Thursday, February 19, 2009

Help!

(Your wish is my command, Karla- a new post!)

I’ve been feeling a little bit of a Beatles tune deep down in my soul. It goes like this, “Help me if you can I’m feelin’down- and I do appreciate you ‘bein ‘round. Help me get my feet back on the ground. Won’t you please, please help me?”

Truth: I’ve been feeling rather lonely, thus the whole “help me” bit. I hate admitting this, because I’m in Thailand. It’s incredible. I shouldn’t be feeling anything but awe and wonder and enjoyment, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but it’s still a huge adjustment, and I’m having to deal with newness all about me! It can be rather exhausting. This means one thing in particular- new community. And let’s be honest, why would I ever want to have a new community when back home I have the coolest friends known to man? Nevertheless, I am beginning to develop a new community here.

Okay- what I’m trying to get at is this- everybody needs a friend. Someone to laugh with, watch The Office with, hang with, talk deep with, you know. And it seems the older I get the harder it is to make friends. When we were young it was so easy to be cool, wasn’t it?- maybe you were the “new kid” as I often was, maybe you brought your dog to show and tell which made you extremely awesome, or perhaps your high top Chuck Taylors had glow-in-the-dark Halloween bats and ghosts puffy painted on them (Oh yeah, my brother Clarke had these. He became instantly rad at Maple Elementary, as I recall.) Either way, making friends was a bit of a sinch. But now I’m 23, in Thailand, and am without puffy paint to snazz up my kicks. So how am I supposed to make friends? Don’t worry, there’s good news- I have made a great friend, Sarah, and despite my lack of pets and fashion, and I do believe that her company will make life in Thailand all the greater. Therefore, I’m thrilled!! Things are looking up. And I am finding that it’s not always where you are, but who you’re with, that brings real life But it seems that I wouldn’t have necessarily realized this to the point that I have unless I had been here, in Thailand, away from my typical pals. So perhaps it IS about where you are. Analyze this, if you will.



Basically, this blog is a cheers to friendship. It is something none of us can last long without. It is a beautiful thing to connect and relate to one another. Cheers to new friendship, and to dear old friends who are never far from my thoughts. Here’s hoping that we love our friends as we should!





Okay, now please view this if you want to learn what real friendship is all about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVoCJJFuS60

(Note: This video was shown to me by one of my best friends, Meg. What a laugh. Love you so much!)

(Additional Note: Tom, Sarah's husband, is also very, very cool. He is a great mate (as in, friend) and he may or may not have implied that he'd be sad if I didn't mention him. Hah!)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Ray LaMontagne speaks to me. (sings to me).

Don’t let your soul get lonely, child it’s only time, it will go by..
(Ray LaMontagne)

Ah yes. Time. I’ve been a bit of a wreck as far as thinking about the fact that I will be living in another country that is completely unfamiliar (right now), for an entire year. 365 days. AHH! I often doubt that I can do it. I love my family and friends too much, I say. And all of my dreams are about being in the States- so this doesn’t help much! But each day does get easier. And I am holding to Ray’s words, “time it will go by.” It’s difficult, because I certainly don’t want to wish my days away and rush my experience, but I equally hope in the future when I will see all that is familiar, and all those that I love, again! Oh, to be able to live in the moment! It’s something I think we all aspire to do- but I often fall short of. I will continue to try and master this skill, and let you know how it goes.

While 365 days does seem like a long time, I’ve just calculated that I have already been here for 28 days! And Thailand is beginning to feel familiar. I can ride my bicycle to the post office, to restaurants, and most importantly, to the coffee shop. YES, little Surat Thani, Thailand, has a coffee shop. And a seriously good one at that. It’s called My Cup. And it is my cup of tea! (especially on weekends). The atmosphere is comfortable, the java delightful. It’s as if I’m in a little coffee shop down the street in Clintonville. It’s a taste of home, and I’m addicted (to coffee and the shop).



Oh, by the way, I am a teacher. I really am, now! It’s amazing. Amidst all of the Malay madness, and adjusting to the culture, I had forgotten that I have my first ‘real job’. It’s totally a real job, guys. Who knew it would happen to me? I work a good, long work week, teaching and lesson planning, and loving, loving the kids. Every week I adore them more. It will be hard to leave them. But because of this fact, I will warn you that my blogs may be more few and far between. But I will try hard to be faithful and blog every week. Forgive me if I fall off the face of the earth. But the gravity is the same over here in Asia, so I shouldn’t! hah. Lame humor. But seriously.



This is me being honest and telling you that I miss you and the States, dearly, today. So go out there and miss me, too. hah!

(This is Cartoon- he's totally incredible! He just learned how to write his name. Go, Cartoon!!)