So I think its only proper for a travel blog to have at least one posting before the actual trip itself starts to give some insight as to the writer and what he hopes for in the coming trip. So here goes...
On the off chance that someone who doesn't know me already finds this blog: Firstly, I'm sorry if its not funny...I'm trying! Second, a bit about myself. I recently graduated from college with a BA, I majored in Political Science. After four years of an AMAZING college experience I have NO idea what I want to do now. So naturally, I've decided to go teach English in a country that I've never been to, that speaks a language I can't, having never taught a day in my life. Sounds fun, right? (That reminds me, you should know two things before you read any more: 1. I'm a little ADD sometimes so if you are expecting logical flow or a well organized masterpiece then stop reading now...you won't like this. 2. I have the punctuation skills of a remedial high schooler. I get it. I won't need you to critique it, just get past it. If, you, cant', stop; reading, now> This blog is really gonna, piss, you off (sometimes I'm going to punctuate sentences (or fragments) incorrectly just to keep you guessing at how remedial remedial really is.)
I am not the kind of person that one would expect to embark on this kind of experience. I enjoy being in an environment where I'm comfortable. I like knowing everyone around me and being able to make them laugh (with me or at me, it doesn't matter). I have lots of friends but they are all truly my friends. I can open up to them and they (hopefully) feel like they can open up to me. I love these people and it is a little ridiculous to even begin to imagine being away from them for 10 months. But that is exactly why I'm going on this trip. To find out who I am, separate of all of that. It's really not as existential as it sounds...I promise.
This trip is organized through at new program at the school I've just graduated from so it has been all the things you would expect of a new program. Details have been (and still are) sparce, but the excitement is definately there. I'm traveling with 5 other recent grads from my school and honestly, I shit you not, we know little more than what plane to get on, and that once we get to Thailand we will be teaching at some school, maybe together, maybe not. Which is where the title of this blog comes in.
"Mai Pen Rai" is a very popular Thai phrase that from what I've learned really sums up Thai culture. It means "nothing really matters that much", "nothing is that important", "Hakuna Matata" or "chill the fuck out." Which is interesting because things REALLY DO matter that much to me, things ARE that important to me. When I said "SEMI" high strung under the title, it was really just to make myself feel better. So Mai Pen Rai will be a huge challenge for me. But hopefully an interesting one to read about for you.
Wow...all that and I wasn't even sure I wanted to post before I left. Hopefully future posts will be shorter. I leave Monday July 19th 2010. After that, my goal is to post weekly...we'll just have to see how that goes. Follow the blog if ya want, I hope you enjoy reading it almost as much as I enjoy my trip and hopefully my struggles provide you some comic relief.
Until next time,
Mai Pen Rai!
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