*Usual sentence about how I haven't posted in a while* I am already more than halfway done with my second semester and I can't believe it. This semester has flown by, but I knew it would. Everything seems go by faster when the end is in sight. My official end date is Friday March 17th, and I will be on a plane home March 18th! That leaves me with around 40 teaching days left, and around 60 days in total. I find that I have a greater appreciation for things that I have enjoyed about my time here, and even for things that I have not. I am going to miss a lot about Thailand when I am back in America, even if I am ready to be home. I have done and seen so much since my last post. I have been frantically trying to cram as much as I can into the little time I have left. Our site director was kind enough to give us a week off for Christmas, which coincided with national days off for the New Year. We took advantage of this gift and traveled. I went from nearly one end of Thailand to the other during the week and a half we had off. Emily and I spent a few well earned beach days in Hua Hin in Southern Thailand, and then spent around 16 hours on a bus to get up to Chiang Mai in time for the New Year. New Years in Chiang Mai was something that I had been looking forward to for a very long time. There is a New Years tradition throughout Thailand of lighting a lantern and sending it floating into the sky with your wishes for the New Year written on the lantern. It is practiced in the North and South, but the biggest gathering can be found in Chiang Mai. The thousands of lanterns being released to create a trail of bright lights and wishes was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced. After releasing our (many - not all of which were successful) lanterns we went to a temple where we rang in the New Year with peace and meditation while being blessed by monks. New Years 2017 will be a hard experience to beat. After New Years we traveled to Pai, which is a little town a few hours North of Chiang Mai. Pai is a cute little hippie town, and has a very relaxed vibe. I really enjoyed the walking street there, with its mixture of Western and Thai street foods and handmade crafts. 2017 has been very good to me so far, and though I am on the last leg of my journey here in Thailand, I have so much to look forward to when I get home!
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AuthorGeorgia girl teaching English in Thailand Archives
January 2017
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