Last day

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Thursday-Friday

Today was really hard, seeing as we all knew it was the last day to do anything and everything. I savored every moment, saying "guys! this is the last time we'll be able to do this!" I'm pretty sure everyone hated me. Oh well, can't win them all. This morning, we headed over to the market at Nakornping Hospital. We all walked over and had to cross a pretty intimidating street. No one got hurt so all is well. The market is very similar to all of the other markets that we've been to. There were tons of tents and tables set up with different products that you could browse (I don't' know why I'm explaining what a 'market' is on the last day). I got the famous iced cocoa at my favorite coffee shop in the hospital (tbt first week!) and headed back to the college. Em and I sat outside for a while, trying to soak up as much sun as possible. We had the course evaluation around 1 with one of the instructors from BCNC and that went well. We just talked about what we liked (mostly everything) and what we didn't like (we just wanted more time in the hospital) and what improvements they could make to the program for the future. After the evaluation, we all went our separate ways to pack our bags. This was rough. I acquired a full suitcase of goods thanks to all the market visits, so this was going to be a problem. I managed to fit most of my clothes into one suitcase (with the help of Emily laying on top of it to close it). The issue was the next one. I got judged hard for how much I got (I don't blame them because I forgot some of the stuff too). Each time I thought I was done, I looked back and there were more things waiting to be put in. It's like when you think you're done washing the dishes but then you look back and see 12 dirty dishes on the stove. That bad. We managed to fit everything in and I didn't even have to sneak anything in to anyone else's suit case! We had pad thai and mango and sticky rice for our last meal. It was quite memorable, seeing as that was our first meal here, too. 730 rolled around and it was time to head to the airport. Kim came up to help me with my suitcases. They were probably heavier than she is, but she was a champion carrying one down.

On the way to the airport I asked her how she got into nursing, because a lot of times, people in Thailand are told what they will by their parents and don't really have a say in it. She shared with me how she watched her father pass away from liver failure (alcoholism is a big problem in Thailand, too). She saw how the nurses cared for her father and she said that she wanted to do that. This all happened 2 years ago. She broke down in front of me and we cried together. This is exactly why I decided to get into nursing. I was actually surprised by how similar our stories were. My dad didn't die, but people close to me have and I've seen how nurses care for them and their families. So there we were, holding hands on the bus on the way to the airport. It was an amazing and terrible ride. We got exponentially closer in a matter of 8 minutes and yet I probably will never see her again. I am overwhelmed with emotion. As we pulled into the airport, everyone started to break down. It was a beautiful time because it's where everything started and now ends (physically). Of course, we're going to talk. We even pinky swore, so it has to happen. They all kept saying "forget me not" and this hit me hard because how could I forget the people that opened up their homes and shared their culture and lives and loved me SO MUCH? I could never forget.

Onto the 24 hours of travel. It was rough, especially with all of that on my mind. The first flight (4 hours) felt like 5943059 hours. The second flight (13 hours) felt like 2935894357934875394875 hours. It was the longest day of my life, and I had to relive it since the whole time zone thing that I still don't understand is a factor. In other news, the Incheon airport in Korea is beautiful. There's straight up wildlife growing inside.

Overall, I think you all got a pretty good understanding of what it was like in Thailand. I have learned so much about the Thai culture that I want to bring back to the US. Things like respect, kindness, friendship and unconditional love that we as Christians claim to know so well but have a hard time living out. It truly was a life-changing experience.

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