Dear Family and Friends,
This will (probably) be my final post from my past incredible adventure-of-a-lifetime 15 months. This blog originally started out as my Fulbright/ Thailand experiences blog, and over the past few months it's become a travel journal. Now that my travels are over, and I move to NYC on Saturday to start a consulting job that has been held for me for the past 2 years (!), I think that it's time that I say "fan dee ka" (goodnight) to my wonderful, magical year, and all of the stories that happened during 2012- the best year of my life. (23 years old...you were the best year ever :)!!!)
I arrived at Suvarnabumhi airport around 3am on January 4, 2013 for my 6am flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota (and then onto Chicago!) I had been to airports, and this particular airport, so many times over the past year- and even recently over the past few weeks with India and Sri Lanka, that it felt very familiar. However, as I checked into the Delta airline counter, things started to feel different. Due to the fact that this was such a major flight (almost 24 hours of travel time) and due to the fact that American airline carriers generally have much stricter security than most Asian carriers, I had to check in before the actual check in counter. They gave me a "Delta" sticker that I had to wear on my sweatshirt until I boarded the plane. It felt so serious and strict to me!
This sounds bad, but one of the first "shock" signs for me as I took my seat on my flight to America was that the Delta Airlines flight attendants were not all young, gorgeous, Asian women. There were middle aged women and even some men! They were not dressed in tight sexy outfits. America- non-discrimination laws :)
As the plane descended into Minneapolis, I just remember staring out the window at the white snow-covered ground, the specks of cars moving along highways, and feeling like it was some far away place. That's what's so strange about coming back home after a long time away in a different country: You feel both at home and very "not" at home all at the same time. It's a very surreal feeling. Once the culture shock leaves and you begin to acclimate back into the life you used to know and lead, it almost feels like your time away never really existed. It did though, it's just a strange, strange feeling.
Upon arriving in Minneapolis I thought that the customs line was crazy interesting! It was so strict, too, and everyone around me spoke fluent English! (Well, with that weird/ charming Minnesota accent :)) This also sounds bad but I don't mean it in a bad way: There were black people! I can count on one hand the number of black people I saw during my travels in Asia, so it was really refreshing to be back in America. After passing through customs (and making English small talk with the man checking my passport!) the first thing I saw that shocked me was a Caribou Coffee. I don't know why, probably because I hadn't seen one in so long, but it was very weird!
I wish I still had a picture (my old computer ran out of memory and deleted it :/ ) but I thought it would be a great idea to wear bright blue elephant alibaba pants on my flight. So comfy right? By the time I landed in Minnesota I looked like an idiot. Waiting in the quiet customs line, I felt like a complete freak. People stared.
Landing back at Chicago's O'Hare airport was both wonderful and surreal. In some ways it felt like the past 15 months "didn't happen" and like it was a "dream" of sorts. Before I left I had been talking with my Mom about where she was going to pick me up. I will never forget coming down the escalator to baggage claim, in my blue elephant pants, and seeing my Mom standing at the bottom of the escalator smiling relievedly (again, so sad that our photo from the airport was deleted!) I will always remember though. I made it home after one full year in Thailand, and 14 countries later...in one piece! So happy :)
Believe it or not, my reverse culture shock only lasted about a week. My first week home I just stayed inside- miserable with the bitter cold weather. Then I was thrust back into "American life" when one of my best friends visited. I remember going to her friend's house to watch the Broncos game, and there was beer, pizza, chips and onion dip. That onion dip was so good. Football! America! Whoah...
I had a bit of a hard time with some comments people would ignorantly make. For example, at a party after a friend introduced me as "just coming back from Thailand," the person then asked, "Oh cool! How was Taiwan?" I also dealt with people saying things like, "You traveled alone?! I would get so lonely!" (These people don't get it :)) Another person said "What are you up to now?...Readjusting will take 2 days!" Comments like these were hard for me at first, but I finally feel like I'm pretty adjusted and less critical of some of these comments.
Some things that I appreciate and enjoy SO much now, even after 6 weeks home:
-HOT showers
-Showers with water pressure
-Plentiful rolls of soft toilet paper next to the toilet
-A stocked refrigerator
-Drying machines
-Delicious varieties of cheese and real baked goods!
-Watching TV shows in real time! ("The Bachelor" anyone?! I used to not be able to go on Facebook for a 24 hour period after it aired in the US haha)
- Impossibly fast internet
Some things that I found shocking up my return to America:
- Paying for things on a credit card (I've been a cash-only woman these past 15 months!)
- Fancy electronic credit card swipers (like the kind they have at Target)
-Tipping (!)
- Your (tap!) water being refilled automatically at restaurants. Bye bye bottled water!
-HUGE serving sizes at restaurants
- Huge people
-Getting carded again
- A fork, knife, and spoon all set on the table (Thais don't really use knives, and they use chopsticks)
-Cars that actually drive in traffic lanes
-Cars pull over for ambulances and police cars when the lights and sirens are flashing (refreshing!)
- Microwavable popcorn!
-Wearing makeup again, straightening my hair, manicured nails, old clothes and jewelry
-American yellow school buses...how shocking are they?!
Things which I find freaky:
- American supermarkets. They are huge! They are so clean and there is so much processed food!!!
- Many Americans' obsession with celebrities. I just heard the term "Tottlewood" in reference to babies whose parents dress them up to look like celebs. So creepy.
I initially did not want to keep a blog while I was abroad, and boy am I grateful that I did!!! Do it :)
Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me ^^
This will (probably) be my final post from my past incredible adventure-of-a-lifetime 15 months. This blog originally started out as my Fulbright/ Thailand experiences blog, and over the past few months it's become a travel journal. Now that my travels are over, and I move to NYC on Saturday to start a consulting job that has been held for me for the past 2 years (!), I think that it's time that I say "fan dee ka" (goodnight) to my wonderful, magical year, and all of the stories that happened during 2012- the best year of my life. (23 years old...you were the best year ever :)!!!)
I arrived at Suvarnabumhi airport around 3am on January 4, 2013 for my 6am flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota (and then onto Chicago!) I had been to airports, and this particular airport, so many times over the past year- and even recently over the past few weeks with India and Sri Lanka, that it felt very familiar. However, as I checked into the Delta airline counter, things started to feel different. Due to the fact that this was such a major flight (almost 24 hours of travel time) and due to the fact that American airline carriers generally have much stricter security than most Asian carriers, I had to check in before the actual check in counter. They gave me a "Delta" sticker that I had to wear on my sweatshirt until I boarded the plane. It felt so serious and strict to me!
This sounds bad, but one of the first "shock" signs for me as I took my seat on my flight to America was that the Delta Airlines flight attendants were not all young, gorgeous, Asian women. There were middle aged women and even some men! They were not dressed in tight sexy outfits. America- non-discrimination laws :)
As the plane descended into Minneapolis, I just remember staring out the window at the white snow-covered ground, the specks of cars moving along highways, and feeling like it was some far away place. That's what's so strange about coming back home after a long time away in a different country: You feel both at home and very "not" at home all at the same time. It's a very surreal feeling. Once the culture shock leaves and you begin to acclimate back into the life you used to know and lead, it almost feels like your time away never really existed. It did though, it's just a strange, strange feeling.
Upon arriving in Minneapolis I thought that the customs line was crazy interesting! It was so strict, too, and everyone around me spoke fluent English! (Well, with that weird/ charming Minnesota accent :)) This also sounds bad but I don't mean it in a bad way: There were black people! I can count on one hand the number of black people I saw during my travels in Asia, so it was really refreshing to be back in America. After passing through customs (and making English small talk with the man checking my passport!) the first thing I saw that shocked me was a Caribou Coffee. I don't know why, probably because I hadn't seen one in so long, but it was very weird!
I wish I still had a picture (my old computer ran out of memory and deleted it :/ ) but I thought it would be a great idea to wear bright blue elephant alibaba pants on my flight. So comfy right? By the time I landed in Minnesota I looked like an idiot. Waiting in the quiet customs line, I felt like a complete freak. People stared.
Landing back at Chicago's O'Hare airport was both wonderful and surreal. In some ways it felt like the past 15 months "didn't happen" and like it was a "dream" of sorts. Before I left I had been talking with my Mom about where she was going to pick me up. I will never forget coming down the escalator to baggage claim, in my blue elephant pants, and seeing my Mom standing at the bottom of the escalator smiling relievedly (again, so sad that our photo from the airport was deleted!) I will always remember though. I made it home after one full year in Thailand, and 14 countries later...in one piece! So happy :)
Believe it or not, my reverse culture shock only lasted about a week. My first week home I just stayed inside- miserable with the bitter cold weather. Then I was thrust back into "American life" when one of my best friends visited. I remember going to her friend's house to watch the Broncos game, and there was beer, pizza, chips and onion dip. That onion dip was so good. Football! America! Whoah...
I had a bit of a hard time with some comments people would ignorantly make. For example, at a party after a friend introduced me as "just coming back from Thailand," the person then asked, "Oh cool! How was Taiwan?" I also dealt with people saying things like, "You traveled alone?! I would get so lonely!" (These people don't get it :)) Another person said "What are you up to now?...Readjusting will take 2 days!" Comments like these were hard for me at first, but I finally feel like I'm pretty adjusted and less critical of some of these comments.
Some things that I appreciate and enjoy SO much now, even after 6 weeks home:
-HOT showers
-Showers with water pressure
-Plentiful rolls of soft toilet paper next to the toilet
-A stocked refrigerator
-Drying machines
-Delicious varieties of cheese and real baked goods!
-Watching TV shows in real time! ("The Bachelor" anyone?! I used to not be able to go on Facebook for a 24 hour period after it aired in the US haha)
- Impossibly fast internet
Some things that I found shocking up my return to America:
- Paying for things on a credit card (I've been a cash-only woman these past 15 months!)
- Fancy electronic credit card swipers (like the kind they have at Target)
-Tipping (!)
- Your (tap!) water being refilled automatically at restaurants. Bye bye bottled water!
-HUGE serving sizes at restaurants
- Huge people
-Getting carded again
- A fork, knife, and spoon all set on the table (Thais don't really use knives, and they use chopsticks)
-Cars that actually drive in traffic lanes
-Cars pull over for ambulances and police cars when the lights and sirens are flashing (refreshing!)
- Microwavable popcorn!
-Wearing makeup again, straightening my hair, manicured nails, old clothes and jewelry
-American yellow school buses...how shocking are they?!
Things which I find freaky:
- American supermarkets. They are huge! They are so clean and there is so much processed food!!!
- Many Americans' obsession with celebrities. I just heard the term "Tottlewood" in reference to babies whose parents dress them up to look like celebs. So creepy.
I initially did not want to keep a blog while I was abroad, and boy am I grateful that I did!!! Do it :)
Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me ^^
SALAD! My first meal home :)
Mango, veggie and pepper soup!
(There was also a cheese-filled lasagna and birthday cake,
per request of course!)
PEOPLE I LOVE!!!
Ellen decorated my new room with roses and cut out hearts,
and my Mom had boxes of candy corn for me
(per an October request also!)
In downtown Chicago again. The Art Institute :)!
One thing that was pretty bizarre for me: Getting my
old jewelry back, and having painted nails again!
(I haven't had nailpolish on my nails for 15 months!)
The THIS girl came to visit me my first month back :)
(MOLLY!)
More old friends, and a very "Western" dining experience ha
Yes, yes I am back in Chicago!
Go Cubs!!!
Saw this guy (Craig) who I met on a bus in Cambodia
in Chicago. Reminding me that the past 15 months were
not a dream, that connections can last, and it's a small world.
A very hearty American cinnamon roll brunch
at Ann Sather's in Lincoln Park!
The following weekend Gwen came to Chi to visit me!
I hosted a welcome back party with my friends
Chi town friends
Steph!
Picture of shrine??
Georgia!
People chatting hehe
Some special ladies I haven't seen in 15 months!!
My old babysitter Georgia and her husband Michael!!
Holding a Chang beer 55!
Then Anne and Anuj came to visit from Wisconsin!
We took lots of cheesy pictures at the BEAN!
Then I was Dara's date to her med school formal.
Unfortunately, I did not meet my future husband.
But I did take jame-o shots, so I was happy ;)
My second to last week in Chicago, I started visiting
local 2nd grade classrooms to teach them about Thailand.
I show up dressed in traditional clothing, present a slideshow,
and end the presentation by passing out a few articles from
Thailand: a Thai rice lunchbox, a hat that protects your entire
face and neck from the sun, my jarred formaldehyde baby Durian,
a pendant of the King, and some colorful Thai money (Thai Baht) :)
Sawasdee from Chicago, USA!
(Posted this picture on Facebook for my old Thai students,
teachers and Fulbright. The kids are in their winter coats!!)
I start off my presentations by showing students where
America is, and then ALL the way where Thailand is :)
The colorful cars of Bangkok! Students ooh-ed and ahh-ed :)
Two classes combined to join this presentation.
(Definitely in America...no uniforms on the students,
and I am standing under an American flag!)
The beautiful umbrellas of Chiang Mai :)
Teaching students how to greet or show gratitude
through the Thai "wai"!
BUGS!
(Ant eggs...students unanimously screamed, "Ewwww!"
Showing students the elephant God "Pikanette" on my
necklace from Mahh Lahng :)
A winter wonderland in Chicago!
Yellow school bus!!!
The snowy drive home. Definitely not in Thailand any more.
Nicole (old friend) and Liliana (new friend) in Chicago!
Abbey! My old Ithaca bartending buddy.
(Feels like ages ago...)
Trick question: Cousins or sisters?
It's been a wonderful, friend-jam-packed return to America!!!
