Last Entry! for a while anyway.

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Well, I passed the massage course. Turns out that despite the insane amounts of memorization necessary to do the massage properly, they're pretty forgiving on the exam. I'm proud to say I only made one mistake on the exam! A minor one, I lifted the wrong knee or something fairly inconsequential. I think my massage skills have improved too; my hands are stronger, more precise, and now I get told "ooh, sabai, sabai," which means "it feels good." I'm proud of this I guess. I've had girlfriends tell me my massages aren't worth much, so I spose I've really turned that one around.

It's my last day. Not just Thailand, or SE Asia, it's the last day of my sixth month voyage. Am I a different person than before I left? I hope not - I was already pretty great before I left.

Joking.

These last few days, I haven't been as sad as you might think. I'm not walking around in a haze, all pissed because I'm going back to reality. I'm actually really happy to be going home, to seeing everyone I know, the smell of my house, my neighborhood and my city, my bike, my guitars.

I do sometimes feel sad to be leaving, of course. But it comes at weird moments. I look at a wall, painted imperfectly, maybe some of the paint has made it's way onto the adjoining wall of another colour, or there's some on the floor. There's a yellow hue that's lent from the pollution in the air and "neglect". Or when I go into the bathroom, turn on the tap and the water runts down a pipe where it is release onto the floor, to nanchalantly make it's way to the drain, or evaporate, whichever comes first. When your order comes back wrong and you don't say anything about it, because it doesn't really matter. These smaller moments, these differences of culture.. maybe mindset is a better word. These are the things I'll miss about Asia.

I'll be back, of course. With a motorbike next time:D

Thomas

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