WHO AM I
Moving overseas.
Why did I do it? Well, like many people, my love of travel hijacks my plans and I'm almost ashamed that I am unable to escape it. Like a bad relationship, It takes my money, it bruises my ego; I become a child again in a new place. I can't speak the language. I don't know where I'm going to stay next. Why is this so addicting?! I am recently discovering I can be addicted to short term happiness too, and I spend way (way) too much time dreaming about epic destinations out there waiting for me. It's all happening out there, without me! But I don't get off on hopping countries; I like to dig in and find my local spots and learn some of the language. That's when I feel I've really conquered a country. None of that box-ticking border-hopping to just to fill your passport and say you've been there.
So my story. I quit my job with a long-awaited plan to backpack SE Asia for 4 months. I had been wanting to see Thailand for a few years by then, after only recently switching my interest to Asia from Latin America. Backpacking was phenomenal and I consistently traveled through 4 countries, stopping sometimes for a week or two to recharge, almost always taking my breaks in Thailand. This area of the world is like nothing I'd ever experienced; any newcomer to Asia will tell you the same. It's thriling. So I extended my ticket home by a month. And let's be honest here, I did meet a Thai guy. We were very realistic about possibly not staying together after I went home, but we weren't quite ready to call it quits and it was a damn good reason to return. The idea of getting a job again in my tiny (and then trashed - surprise!) apartment I had come home to in Portland, OR seemed really mundane, and the truth is I found it really difficult to adjust back to life as I knew it after experiencing such a sensory overload. I know that sounds like a privileged statement, but it can be a struggle changing environments. Everything about SE Asia was fascinating; the good, the bad and the smelly. The grit and uncertainty, yet the the ironic kindness of the people; I loved it all. And it was far easier to travel around than I expected. Many people have some knowledge of English and the backpacker's trail around these countries is well-worn, making it incredibly easy to catch any mode of transport, all of it safe. Although I was starting to hate living out of a backpack after the second month, so I loved the idea of staying in one place and stopping the travel game.
Two weeks after I returned home, I bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok leaving in 5 months. I worked a nanny job until then to save enough money for a TEFL certificate and I would find a job teaching English. I've been talking about teaching English for years. It's a simple solution to wanting to try living abroad, but I always refused. I didn't want to be a teacher. I wanted to be an NGO worker and save the world. But teaching jobs are just WAITING for you. Unfulfilled positions dangle money in front of you with appealing packages are offering perks and benefits. There never seem to be enough teachers and the whole world wants to learn English. So I took the bait, and I was excited. I didn't go with a program or package, I went independently because I'm stubborn and that's always how I roll. You won't find me on a tour.
When I arrived I took a month to travel with Thai Bae before settling into my new home city of Chiang Mai. I met some great people during my TEFL course, some of whom I still see today, and I got a job immediately after I finished the program. I worked quite a few different jobs boosting my experience, from teaching a horrifyingly confusing English camp seminar to 200 hormone-ridden shy adolescents who couldn't understand basic hello's, to the head teacher of a preschool program spending my days falling in love with bilingual kids and teaching them important life lessons of being a human.
And the rest is history. 6 years later, I'm still here, tapping out this silly blog between teaching classes. This blog is a way for me to document some of what I've experienced and learned, and it's a creative and reflective outlet for me. I'm not always good at talking about myself, so this is my space to learn.
Before this phase in my life, let me squeeze in some history. I was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, USA. I had a fantastic childhood in the outdoors and was an exchange student in Argentina for a year in high school. I attended Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon where I took 5 years to complete my BA and double minor, get riddled with debt and take a break to volunteer in Costa Rica somewhere in there. When I graduated I bought myself a backpacking trip to Argentina and Chile to visit old friends, then moved to Hawai'i for 2 years. I worked an internship for the State in Forestry and Wildlife, then moved to Portland, OR when Hawai'i got too damn expensive. I fell in love with Portland but struggled to find employment that made me happy. I worked a desk job in energy conservation long enough to buy myself a ticket abroad, take a break from chasing money and see a new side of the world. Nothing was the same again.