Sawatdee!!!

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I can't believe I'm finally here! It's been about 3 months of anticipation and now I am here. All my worries that I had before have disappeared. I've been here for 2 days now and so far I am so thankful that I decided to do this! It really feels like an adventure. Thailand is such a beautiful country and with all my worrying before getting here I completely forgot just how beautiful it is. The land is so green and hilly and the water is so blue and powerful. It's a humid as humid can get but I was expecting that.

The flight to get here was a long one. I flew from Nuremberg to Dusseldorf and then had a 6 hour layover before my flight to Bangkok. On that flight I ran into the same couple that I met in Munich at the Thai Consulate. They are going to the U.S first but arriving in Bangkok in November. We are going to try and get dinner together. I love how life works sometimes! My flight from Dusseldorf to Bangkok was a little more than 10 hours. Our pilot announced to us that we would be flying over Iraq and Afghanistan. I thought about how it would feel to be a soldier having to fly there from the U.S and go to war. My trip didn't seem so scary after that. I now can say that I have been around the world completely. I have officially crossed every single longitude line. During that layover in Dusseldorf, it really started to sink in what I was about to do. After three months of waiting the trip began to feel abstract and sitting at the airport it became a hit of reality. This is my first ever trip where I am going somewhere completely alone. I have no one traveling with me or anyone waiting for my arrival (minus the program people). I am on my own and I know I will be fine. Since being here I have already made friends and they are all great people. I'm really excited to see what the next 6 months have to offer.

At the Phuket airport I waited forever to get my bag from baggage claim. Come to find out, international trips have a separate baggage claim belt in another room. There my bag was waiting patiently for me on the floor. Hostel address in hand, I went to the mini bus desk to buy a 150 Baht ticket. The mini bus takes 10 people to their hotels all around Phuket so it can take up to an hour to get to your destination. On my mini-bus I met two German guys who were traveling for 3 weeks. They were pretty fun and little did I know but I was going to run into them again. The world truly is a small world. My hostel, Bogeda Hostel, was in the middle of the action of the most touristy spot in Phuket. It's a 5 minute walk form the Patong Beach and to get to the beach you have to go down the road that is most known for Phuket's sex industry. Remember, Phuket is sadly the world's sex capital of the world. This road, Bangla Road , reminded me exactly of Khoa San Road in Bangkok. There are a lot of bars, clubs, restaurants, and shops. Once I settled in my room that I was sharing with two other travelers I was too excited to sleep. I decided to check out the area and get a feel for Phuket. Downstairs I met a really nice girl who is in Thailand to do a missions trip for 3 weeks. Once she found out I was alone, she invited me to have dinner with her and her friend. I was so happy to not have to eat dinner alone! I had two hours until dinner so I made my way to the beach. Before I even made it to the beach I got suckered into looking at a tailors catalog to have custom made suits made. I'm too nice and can't say no! lol

Once I excused my way out of the tailor's shop, I made it to the beach. It was outstanding! I walked along shore just taking it all in. That moment of looking out to the blue ocean gave me that feeling I've been searching for. It calmed down my nerves and insecurities and re-sparked my excitement and sense of adventure. I'm here and I now know that this is where I am meant to be. I counted my blessings on the beach and thanked God for allowing me to have this life that I live. He is great!

I stayed at the beach until sunset just people and wave watching. I met up with the girls, Gabrielle and Kristin, and went to a really nice Thai restaurant right on the beach. I drilled them with questions about their missions trip. It was so neat to hear their story. They are going to Chaing Mai to teach 40 women. These 40 women are coming from a country that bands Christianity so they have to have underground services and such. It's so neat to see that this mission isn't just throwing a religion into someone's throat, but these women want to learn more about Christianity and bring it back to their country. I think that is a wonderful thing to be doing and I hope that their trip is successful.

Once we got back to our hostel I truly thought I was going to crash and finally go to bed. I had been up for 34 hours by that point. After a couple of hours of hearing everyone downstairs partying I decided to check it out by buying some water from the front desk. I knew I was going to get persuaded to go out and after a while I finally agreed to join in. Heck! I'm in this area for one night, I had to check it out! You only live once! I knew I could easily go home at anytime and that I wouldn't regret going out and I didn't. The road completely transformed from day to night. There are a ton of promoters on the street trying to get you to go to a strip club or ping pong show. Ping pong shows are not your typical ping pong game but rather something very disgusting. It breaks my heart that women have to do this kind of work to sustain a living. It also makes you wonder how many are doing this on their own accord or how many are being forced. Today I heard about a non-profit here in Phuket that is battling sex trafficking and working with women who used to be in the system. I really want to check it out.

I left the club with my hostel rommie so that I wouldn't have to walk back alone. On the way back I ran into the two German guys. Who would have known?! The next morning I almost broke my ankle going down the stairs with my heavy backpack. The very last step is slightly longer than all the rest and my left ankle is weak to begin with. As I took that last step my ankle gave out on me and I fell to the ground with everything in hand. I couldn't even get back up without the help of a person nearby. Embarrassing! I'm so glad that nothing happened! I don't need to be breaking any bones while over here.

I caught a taxi to get to my program's hotel. It took about 20 minutes to drive there and the views were beautiful. Phuket is very hilly and has many different beaches. Along the way I even saw elephants! When we arrived to my hotel that I will be living at for 3 weeks I was completely astonished. You literally cross the road and you are at the beach! This beach is much less touristy than the Patong Beach. My hotel room is very nice and I have a roommate. She didn't arrive until tonight and she's very nice. She's from New York and also just graduated from school. I have a feeling that we will get along really well. I'm excited to meet everyone in the program. On the beach today I met two girls who are in the group before my October group. They gave me the full low down on what to expect. They were just as confused as I was on many things that the program entails. The lack of information didn't make it easy for us. They have yet to be placed and still don't know where they will be come November. We all start teaching at the same time though so I think we will all find out around the same time too. They told me a lot of great things and I'm very excited for this all to begin! So in final words, I'm happy, safe, and really excited for the future.


Sawatdee!!! (Goodbye!)

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Photos

Patong Beach
The beach that's 5 minutes away from my hostel

Patong Sunset
the moment that let me know that this is where I am meant to be :)

My hotel room
This is where I'll be living for the next 3 weeks. Cross the road and you are at the beach!

Naiharn Beach
The beach right outside my door. The water is bluer and the waves are amazing!

Sunset at Naiharn
so beautiful!

Comments

[Dian]

Dear Carolynann How are you? Wauw I'm a little jealous that your traveling again true Thailand. Still thinking about our time together there in Chiang mai! I'm gonna follow you for sure! Wish you all the best and have a save travel. If you ever come to holland than you are welcome anytime and I will show you around! All my love and all the best from you little dutch friend Dian.