Thailand Bound

A year ago, I had this crazy idea of going to Thailand. I was about to graduate, and I was beginning to apply to grad schools. But I had always wanted to take a gap year, to travel, to do something outside of academia before signing up for six more years of school after having just completed four.

A year later, I’m sitting on a plane bound for Bangkok, still a bit unable to wrap my head around the fact that this idea is becoming a reality. (This is the current view from my window!) I’ll be spending four weeks in Bangkok to complete orientation with the 15 other Fulbright ETAs from the U.S., after which I’ll be heading to the Kalasin District in Northeast Thailand to teach English at the Khammuang School for a year.

So many of my friends have been asking me: what are you the most excited and nervous about? I’ve given a different answer each time, but I think each answer is as valid as the previous. At first, I always said I wasn’t nervous about anything. I was so excited at the prospect of spending a year in Thailand, and I genuinely couldn’t think of a reason to be nervous. What I was the most excited for was always Muay Thai, to get the opportunity to train Muay Thai in its native country. I was so excited to meet the local community in Khammuang and to completely immerse myself in the Thai language. I was excited to have a complete change in lifestyle in a different country, surrounded by different people, and in a different language. I was always faced with surprise when I said I wasn’t nervous about anything, to a point where I began questioning if I should be a bit nervous.

Some nerves did develop once I learned more and more about what I would be doing: I began to be nervous about the giant bugs. I was nervous about living by myself in a two story house with no housemates. I was nervous about living up to Lauren- the previous ETA at Khammuang- who had clearly developed such a special relationship with all the students. Despite these nerves arising, they never outweighed the excitement I felt- the excitement of living a completely new lifestyle that I had never experienced before for a year.

Now, I think what I am most nervous about is that the year will be completely unlike anything I’m expecting. Despite all efforts not to, I’ve painted a picture of what I envision my life will look like in Khammuang, and I have a feeling that the reality will be completely different. But I think what I am most excited about is also that the year will be completely unlike anything I expected. I took on this opportunity to challenge myself to learn and grow in ways I haven’t before. I want to begin this adventure with a completely open mind, with no assumptions of what anything will be like. And I’m so excited to see what this year will bring!