Leaving for the Unknown

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Geo: 44.9701, -69.0787

Thursday, November 10, 2011 was the day I left Exeter, Maine to drive to Montreal, Canada to begin my journey to Bangkok, Thailand. Since I do not want to fly anywhere within the US anymore, because of their abusive, non-Constitutional, and cancer-causing terrorist-screening techniques, I chose to fly from Montreal, where people are still treated with respect. The drive was pleasant, pretty, although bittersweet. I had planned on leaving for almost six months, half a year away from my family, my home, our cats, to teach English to Thai children. I would miss Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why? I had been laid off from my well-paid Special Education teaching position with the Bangor Public Schools; along with many other states in the US, the state of Maine is also in dire straits financially, but to cut services to those who need them most seemed shameful to me. In addition, my hours working with preschoolers for CDS, Child Development Services, were also cut; again, for the same reasons: not enough money allotted for those who need it most. As for my other professional jobs, being a certified Classical Homeopath, and tutor for The British Institute of Homeopathy, plus also offering my services to homeschooling families as certified teacher support, those I could continue online. The TEFL Thailand program introduced itself, and I thought, why not? At worst, I would get to teach in a foreign country, and get paid enough to travel and explore other countries nearby. So I thought. I signed on.

Things did not turn out as planned, but after over 24 hours in airplanes and airports, plus losing half a day in transit, I made it to Bangkok, Thailand by almost midnight on November 12. And there the adventure starts.

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