Leaving Tak

Friday, March 11, 11:00am

All of our bags are packed; tomorrow morning Molly and I will leave the life we created for ourselves here behind. I will be living out of a hiking backpack and a daypack while traversing through 12 countries over the next 10 weeks. The thought of embarking on this adventure together is exhilarating, but it is sad to leave behind a place we have enjoyed so much over the past five months.

There are things large and small that I will really miss about this place. It has been so much fun exploring the city and becoming regulars at our favorite local restaurants and bars. The food is outstanding here: I will never forget getting “pad Thai by the river”, eating with friends at “the steakhouse”, going for a night out at “milkshake bar” or going to “the purple place by Big C” after a workout. Each place got its own special English name from us American teachers. I have probably ran the loop at the local sport complex over a hundred times since I have been here. This is the first, and maybe only, experience I will ever have in assimilating into a completely foreign place. When I consider that first day here in Thailand, when I had anxiety over ordering food from a street stall in Bangkok, it is crazy how much more comfortable I am here in only half a year.

Hot Pot by the river: one of our last meals together in Tak

Graduation ceremony for MEP 3/3 class

Teaching at Takpittayakhom School is another experience that I am sure will be unmatched for the rest of my life. Learning to communicate mathematical concepts to students that don’t speak the same language was an exercise in patience and creativity. It was so satisfying when I could get my point across, but it definitely has made me a more patient person. It has been so fun getting to know the other teachers at the school; it is sad to leave them behind: there have been a lot of goodbyes over the past few weeks. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and get to know so many great people in Tak and through OEG. Over the past semester we have even grown close with the dogs that live outside our apartment. One of them who was just a puppy when we got here is fully grown now. It has been such a joy to have them come running to say hello when we depart and arrive at home every day. I am happy to say that I feel like a part of the community here; but it does make it harder to leave. Molly and I have also grown a lot closer through building a life together here, and I am very happy about that.

With all of that said, I am glad that these feelings of nostalgia are mixed with feelings of excitement and anticipation of what is to come. After the next two and a half months Molly and I will have traveled a complete loop around the globe. The map below shows where we have traveled so far and where we will be headed. Corners represent stops along our trip, dashed lines lead to/from layovers while solid lines lead to/from places that we have stayed/will stay at.

First we will go to Pai, a town in the northern mountains of Thailand, before meeting up with our friend, Grace, in Chiang Mai and heading down south to island hop for a couple weeks. Then Molly and I will go on to explore many others countries in Southeastern Asia. After that we will visit my family in India and see the Taj Mahal. Lastly we will stop in a few European cities before heading home at the end of May. I have never lived as a nomad for such a long stretch and I am looking forward to adventuring all across the world. I will continue to update this blog with stories from our trip; I am sure I will have a lot to share. As always, thanks so much for reading!