The truth is that its been difficult for me to return back to my previous existence, though what I'm feeling is not strange - its akin to what I felt my first month on the road. Namely, its thinking about how my friends are doing and realizing that I'm far away from them. I felt like this when I moved to New York, thinking of my friends back home. I felt like this when I was on the road, thinking of friends left behind in New York. And now, I think about my friends in Thailand, the girls, and the fact that they are there and I am here.
So I thought I'd use this space to share some good news about my Thai friends.
Chuan, my Thai teacher, is 11 weeks pregnant. I was delighted to learn yesterday that her due date is just one day before my birthday. Her Thai language school, which she only founded last year, is the largest its ever been, forcing her to bring in a second teacher. She's continuing to pursue her business degree.
Dat had the misfortune of opening a new bar just months before the rainy season came and is struggling. Lucky, his full time job is dealing out liquor licenses for the government, so he keeps ever busy. He still sends me emails with the subject line reading: "Hey Pornstar!".
Amy, Rung, and Orr came to the states last month through a local Christian organization who set them up with 2 weeks of tours and meetings with successful female businesses. The goal was to show them that there is life beyond Udon Thani. I had the fortune of taking them all home to my parents, who had prepared a banquet of traditional Korean food, their first taste ever. My grandmother was so delighted to see me bring home 3 women that she immediately broke out into smiles and started babbling, ignoring the fact that they understood not a single word.
If all goes well, I'll be back in Thailand for a short time in April to visit them.
As far as future travel plans, I can say with confidence that I plan on staying put here in Washington for a while. Three years of upheaval has taken a bit of a toll on me, something that I was surprised to learn about myself - I am looking forward to a little stability and my own bed for a bit.
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