Home?! Part of the journey

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Well I never got around to writing another blog and thought it was too late by the time I got home... Adele has reminded me that it is part of the trip so here I am 2 weeks later writing.
Back track... so our last week we spent in Ko Pha Ngan where it is known for its full moon party! Unfortunately, I missed the party due to flight scheduling and birthday stuff but I did get to experience a lead up party to the full moon party with 2 English girls that we met on the island and spent the week with. The girls were a riot and after a night of the ever so famous 'buckets' which are mixes of redbull, vodka or rum or whatever with a little bit of soda... (i think we had 7), we somehow made it back to our rooms where 3 out of the 4 of us were a wee bit sick...nonetheless, it was one of my best nights out!
So leaving the island to make my way back to Canada started on Sept 5th quite early in the morning after a wild night of drinks! We had a 30 minute mini van ride to the port where I was then catching a 5 hour ferry in order to get back on yet another bus (my last one wooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooo) to Bangkok. Again the bus to Bangkok was 15hours or so overnight and we were supposed to arrive around 6am but instead it was 4:45am I think which really sucked since I wasn't spending another night here and didn't have the money to pay the fee to sleep in a room and go shopping.... tough call.... shopping it was!
It was quite a nice day so I snuck into a hotel that had a roof top pool and I just lounged up there until I felt it was time to conqueor some shopping. I walked around contemplating every article of clothing I saw, I had such a difficult time deciding on what to buy (now that I am home I wish I bought sooooo much more, but what can you do when you have a budget and a backpack!). I also had to remind myself that no matter what price they say and how much I bargained, I was still getting a good deal in comparison with shopping in Canada where the price of something in Thailand is maybe the equivalent of the just the tax you pay on a shirt back home.
Later I made my way to the airport to catch my 2am flight. I was really excited and looking forward to the stopover I had in Korea because that meant I could see my students and see some of the people I worked with... and have one last taste of Korea ... for a while anyways! It was a quick stop but I was happy to get a chance to see some of my kids and how much they have changed in a couple of months... "teacher, why are you so black?"... "I'm not black I just have a tan".... teacher, but... why are you so black?"... ok so I didn'y teach them that😊 Next stop Korea to San Fran... I am thinking... "ok this can't be too bad".... While waiting 12 hours in San Fran Airport I am now thinking "this is the dumbest decision I have made to agree to 2 stopovers with HUGE delays between the flights"... live and learn right! I won't be doing that again.
So now I am home and I have finally got over the jet lag and actually adjusting to things quite well. People always said you will have more culture shock when you return to your home country after being away for so long but I think I was prepared for all the changes and updated throughout everything when it was happening via telephone and emails. So nothing is too shocking or too different. I have not been able to shake these new allergies I picked up while in Korea just yet but maybe with the help of YeeOld Health Shop I can cure myself!
I am happy to be home, happy to see all of my family and friends and happy to have had the opportunity to enjoy such an amazing experience abroad. I enjoyed everyday (ok almost everyday) of my trip overseas and would highly recommend it to anyone who has the desire or wants a bit of change in their life.
Thanks for reading my blogs and sharing your comments with me... it made a difference to know that you guys were in this with me.

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