Miss:  Low Cost of Living and Entertainment.  The last item on my list is how cheaply I live here.  I have already talked about how little I pay for food, but did you know I can go see a movie in the theater for $4 (add another dollar for 3D)?  Continue reading →

Miss:  Fresh, Delicious “Street Food”.  I mentioned a lot of food when I was writing about the people I will miss.  It may seem that all I do is eat.  However, I have actually been able to LOSE more than 20 pounds in my time living in this country.   This is a combination of hitting the gym regularly for 3 years and also avoiding western foods (except for the occasional cheat).  When I first got here, I started drinking a lot of Coke and Fanta and eating Snickers (familiar foods).  I also had no bike and didn’t really know how or what to order, so I ate mostly Pad See Ew (saucy fried noodles) from the lady in the restaurant downstairs (in Songkhla) or Mu Ping (pork on a stick) from the man I passed on my way home.  When I moved to Hat Yai, I bought a hot plate and started making pasta at home a lot.  Then I made the change.  I was wasting money on terrible food.  Time to start eating like the Thais (sort of). Continue reading →

Won’t Miss: People.  Now hold up before you get your panties in a bunch about this.  While there are lots of specific people that I will miss, Thailand is a country of contradictions.  They can be nice as pie while simultaneously talking smack to their friend about you (because they don’t think you understand them).  Sure, this happens at home, but we have recourse in our home countries where we speak the language and don’t have to worry about someone “losing face”. Continue reading →

When I started this journey, I only expected to be here for two years.  Three maximum.  Every time someone asked me “How long do you plan to stay?” I would answer them with “I just take it one year at a time.”  I never felt any compulsion to move home and even when I would visit, the trips became shorter and shorter each time.  However, over the last year, some unknown force has slowly been pushing and gnawing at me to move back.  I don’t know if it is loneliness.  Possibly being tired of missing out on important events in the lives of my friends and family.  Perhaps a need to get back to a place of logic and structure and Chipotle.  Whatever the reasons, it’s time for me to get back to the “real world” and start adulting.  I mean, I AM nearly on the wrong side of 35… Continue reading →