Goodbye Thailand! Last adventures and Travel (January 25th and 26th)


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Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
January 25th 2018
Published: January 30th 2018
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January 25th and 26th – Thursday & Friday Travels

Our last day in Thailand and I wanted to soak up every moment of warm, sunshine, and love from the land and the people today. We started the day off slow and I brought my work outside to bask in the sun for a bit. I have been packing my things over the last day or so, so it wasn’t too overwhelming task as I thought. The main problem wasn’t space but weight in each bag and right up until I put my bags downstairs was I readjusting and moving thing around to get my one bag under the 50 lb limit comfortably. So many souvenirs to pack, we shopped so much! Today all the food has been our favorites: pad thai, mango sticky rice, moo ping for breakfast, and dessert! These are the food I will miss the most and crave later, though I am now ready to put them to rest for a little while. I haven’t eaten this much pork and rice in my life! One thing I will most definitely miss is the juicy ripe mango we have eaten, it is so much better than all other mango I’ve had. In the morning we went down to the hospital market to explore and I was thankful to get to stretch my legs and exercise before the inevitable long flights. We completed our official course evaluation with Ajan Jojo and Ajan Greg and share our experiences and preferences, though many people chose not to talk much. I felt like I had to speak up more and talk for us, a personal responsibility I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to express despite our critiques, the trip was amazing and life changing. I got my last Thai drink from the stand and before we knew it, it was time for us to begin to move things downstairs and pack the blue bus. Our buddies came over and helped us and I wanted to enjoy every moment with Meji and my Thai friends. We boarded the BCNC mega bus and Meji sat with me. We asked each other questions and talked about our next few months ahead and our plans for our futures. He gave me more snacks for the plane and I told him how much I appreciate him and would miss him. I told him how I hoped we could stay in contact over social media and stay close until we saw each other again.
Once at the airport, it was a little chaotic and busy getting us checked in right and making sure we sat near other on the flights. I exchanged my extra baht into US dollars and stood with Meji. It was all a blur: I remember taking a group picture and getting ready to say our final goodbyes. Meji hasn’t really hugged me, just casual side hug style hugs and mostly initiated by me. But here, he gave me multiple really great hug and I could feel his sadness, though he kept it together well. His eyes teared up but he never let himself get further upset in front of me. He kept saying “just dust in my eyes” and giggling while the other Thai students prodded him with tears in their own. The sadness and goodbyes were so painful to watch for me and many buddies were very upset. I was thankful Meji and I were both sad and said sincere “goodbye for now” yet he wasn’t bawling. I couldn’t really define my emotions, I was sad and going to miss the people and places of Thailand but I wasn’t as devastatingly sad I feel like other BCNC and MC students were. I think I am ready to return back, get back to a schedule, and see my family and fiancé. We also just confirmed our wedding date, so I have been thinking a lot about the other details to plan now. My experience was amazing and I’ll miss it but I’m listening to some of the others and I don’t feel the weight like they are right now. They have such heavy hearts and I almost wish I was with them to feel that, but am actually more ready to move on and get ready to do everything else. I don’t think my emotions are wrong, but I do see a difference.
I don’t have much to say about the traveling! I thought this set of flights went better than the first and I enjoyed the food much more. I was sitting in aisle seats for both flights, which I thought was really nice other than being right in the line of fire with those coming up and down the aisles with carts and to the bathroom. I slept a lot on the 14 hour flight, which I though gave me a huge leg up on the jet lag. The 5 hour flight, I tried my hardest to stay up and wait to sleep and was mostly successful until the last hour, which I succumbed to sleep. Our experience in the South Korean airport was really great and the terminal was amazing and new! Once arriving in D.C., I thought customs was a lot easier than I was told it could be and we got through overall unscathed. All of our bags arrived, praise God, and sooner than I imagined I was getting into my parent’s car and concluded my trip in a blink. To be back in our family minivan was so comforting and though I was tired I couldn’t help to share some stories and feelings overall. My first meal was a Red Robin cheeseburger, a heavy but delicious choice! What memories and reflection will need to occur over the next few days and weeks as I think about my experiences in Chiang Mai, Thailand with the BCNC!

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