JAWhite1587

Welp. Here we are again. I'm back in the blogging seat and I am ready to provide an update. Many of you may recall my post from May 1, 2014 stating that I was ready to serve. I had been nominated to Peace Corps service, and had been placed for service in Indonesia. Ultimately, I ended up deferring that nomination in order to better stabilize my personal and professional situations in preparation for such a commitment. Well, at the end of July of this year, I returned to the States in exactly just such a position. Currently, I am a Master's candidate at American University where I'm studying International Training & Education (heretofore to be referred to as "ITEP"). Part of my specific degree program includes a massive field research component. Of the 27 in my ... read more

All right! Hooray for stable WiFi! Ok... so after a quick change of plans, I ditched out on the Bangkok idea and headed straight to Koh Samui yesterday. My flight was painfully at 6am, but that meant an entire extra day here on the island. Good call. My change of plans came as a package deal with a travel companion as an added bonus. It's been a pretty good setup having two of us as I've still been able to stick to my solo beach plans while she gets a feel for the social scene, and we meet in the middle once in awhile. So, Koh Samui! I apparently decided to come to an island during its monsoon season. I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter of timing, but it does find me imagining ... read more

Week 2? Check. The CELTA course has gotten nothing but more intense over the past week. On the one hand, this made the 5 days fly by, but on the other - as days fly by - there's a faster climb necessary to keep up. I'm hanging in there. Like most people, I've run into challenges with the written assignments and am overwhelmed by the workload. But, I came here with a go-get-em attitude, and that adjustment is definitely paying off. Work Hard, Play Hard As a collective group, we are finding plenty of time to play. For one, we live at a resort with a pool. This leads to plenty of opportunities to relax outside, and hopefully talk about something other than class for awhile. On the weekends, we're also taking advantage of opportunities to ... read more

Sawatdeekah!!!! I arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand last night - around 9pm local time. Arriving was exceptionally easy, and I'm already feeling completely at ease being here. I tried to come into Chiang Mai with a completely open mind and zero expectations. That's incredibly hard to do when you have a bajillion people telling you how exciting Thailand is, and everything that you're meant to expect from this place. But, try I did and I'm glad for it! Coming in with zero expectations meant that everything, so far, has been a complete surprise. The attitudes of the people, the sights, the sounds, even the smells. Zero plans and expectations means a million surprises a minute, and that's what Chiang Mai has held for me so far. Now, I really only have today to be in Chiang ... read more

When I started preparations to come to China, I knew that this experience was the first step in the direction of the rest of my life. Almost two years ago, I applied for this position in China because I had the itch: I needed to get back out into the international community; I needed to test my limitations; I needed to learn new things about myself and about the world; I needed to rebuild my confidence. Something about the job description with this company called Disney English had me knowing that this experience was a step in that direction. My experience with Disney and with China has delivered all of the above with great success, and for this I am eternally thankful. Last night - about 12 hours ago, in fact - I was nominated for ... read more