Countdown to Departure

    Welcome to the first official blog post of my career as a master blogger. A quick recap for the audience- I have accepted a ten month teaching position with the Srisawatwittayakarn School in the Nan Province of Thailand to teach English to Secondary School aged Thai kids. Okay that being said, I guess this is where I should talk about how excited and anxious I am as I get closer and closer to my departure date. Then take you through the process of packing for a ten month trip (which is impossible), but then I thought I don't really want to do that. So, I thought I would start by talking about why I'm embarking on this adventure in the first place. It all started with a simple idea I got one day around the 2013 Holidays. I thought, "Oh traveling? Yeah that sounds like something I'd like to give a whirl", but this decision has developed into so much more since then. Deciding to live and teach in Thailand for a year is giving me an opportunity to expand my experiences, my understandings, and my faith. Instead of sitting in a nice comfortable house in East Cobb, Georgia, looking at breathtaking pictures and reading beautiful quotes on my Pinterest boards, I will be the one on the other side of that camera lens the pictures come from, and I will be the one writing beautiful words about my experiences. On top of all the personal experiences I will gain, I am also presented with the opportunity to give back to the world community. I will be spreading the power of the English language with hundreds of Thai children and teenagers. No, I'm not helping heal sick children in the Bush of Africa, but I am still given a chance to change the life of the children I will be teaching, and that is enough for me. And God willing I will be able to share some of my faith with the people I meet along the way.

    So does the idea of living in a place with millions of people who speak a language I do not yet understand and surely cannot speak scare me? Duh. But it's exhilarating at the same time. I've never been in an unknown place alone, and had to rely solely on myself to figure out how to get by. I have had tremendous experiences throughout my life, but I have a feeling that nothing is going to compare to this one. I've been told I will learn 10x more about myself and life by traveling/living internationally. I can't say for certain that's a true statement but I'll let you know in ten months, and until then I'll keep bringing you only good vibes on this blog thing.