BEFORE LEAVING TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY FOR A FEW MONTHS...
A couple day before departing to go to Thailand, emotions were all over the place at my house. I think it makes sense, there is many unspoken feelings and thoughts going through everyone's mind. It also felt like there was this idea of what my "last night at home" should be, which is never good because you can tell when things feel forced, at least that is how I felt. I felt a lot of pressure because I didn't have any grand plans or something specific I wanted to do, but I felt like everyone was saying "What do you want to do Annie?" And I didn't care...what I wanted was for everyone to act normal and it felt very odd!
My siblings and I ended up going to a trampoline arena at 10:00 pm though...something we had never done but it was all there really was to "do" and it seemed like we had to "do" something, so to the trampoline park we went!
Let's just be honest, traveling internationally is just stressful - - there are things you can do to ease the pain which I did- such as being WELL prepared WELL in advance. I had the majority of my suitcase packed the week before, and had all my passport, visa, money, and bank stuff squared away. There are always going to be things that pop up that you don't think about, so the more you can do to prevent stress the better.
My departing (one way) flight was May 22nd 2019. One way because I thought why not? Because I felt like I waited my whole life to not be "tied down" to anything. And this study abroad was my very last semester needed for school! In my mind, I was like FINALLY. When I moved to New York, I needed to come back for school. When I moved to Florida for the Disney internship...needed to come back for school. Went to Hawaii for an internship...needed to come back to finish school. In all of those cases I remember not wanting to leave. Well, New York I was 19 years old and it was getting to be Christmas time and I was really missing the holidays back at home, and I was missing a loving community which I didn't exactly have in Queens hahaha. So I was more ready to come home for that. But I didn't want to leave Florida, I thrived in the warm humid weather and being able to explore the Luxury Resorts. Sure I didn't love my job, but the atmosphere felt a lot more alignment with me. And Hawaii, I also did not want to come back. The only thing I was missing was the singing/dancing/performing aspect of life that didn't quite get met in Hawaii. But other than that I was vibing there. So my point is, I didn't know if I would continue to travel after Thailand, I just knew that I would be mad if I didn't have the option.
Because when you go with the flow, it's hard to go with the flow when you stumble upon an amazing opportunity, but you have to turn it down because of your return ticket. That's all, I just wanted to be open.
THE TRAVELING PART
So I flew from Salt Lake City to Seattle, Seattle to Korea, from there I flew to my final destination Chiang Mai!
The study abroad group I traveled with, TEAN (The Education Abroad Network) Was very amazing at giving us all the info we needed. They created a Facebook Group so we could start to meet people before, and I got connected with two girls who we all were landing a day before the official start day so we could get adjusted!
So we met up at the Chiang Mai airport, both of them had flown from Florida but they did not know each other before. Now after an 11+ hour plane ride nobody feels like a million bucks, we were all pretty tired and it was pretty late when we landed. We chatted in line for customs as we all tried to figure out how we were getting to the hotel, what texting app we were supposed to use, etc.
For the record, I absolutely love the Korean Airport!! I love everything about it. It makes the airport security in the United States seem so old school, no offense. The Koreans were just so much more efficient! They are so kind, so helpful, and everything was so clean. I do not mind having layovers in the Korean Airport.
Korean Air: Also a very good airline! I just love the flight attendants, I love the customer service...oh I am smiling just thinking about it. If you have a choice, I think going through Korean Air is a wonderful choice!
Logistics
Thai Money & ATMS
We took care of some logistic things like go to the ATM and withdraw some baht! Note- I had literally NO CONCEPT of what the conversion rate was.... hahahaha I remember I took out so much because I remember everyone else ran out way faster than me, and we were all spending similar amounts. I think I took out 10,000 baht which is like $300 USD. That lasted me a while. But, there is a fee each time you withdraw so it isn't a bad idea to to take out a lot!
Thai Money & ATMS
The airport will have taxis waiting, it may or may not be more expensive then trying to get your own through an app..but honestly the stress isn't worth it. Just walk outside and tell them where you need to go and get in the car.
But the taxi app to use is called GRAB! (You will get very familiar with Grab)
My friends and I were so excited when we got to the hotel. It was nothing really fancy, but to us it was fancy. Pretty soon we learned that is just how everything is in Thailand! They have such an art to everything, and the tropical environment plus their attention to welcoming the guests is just so evident. For example, in the hotel room we were freaking out about this tray of fruit left for us! This is very common in Southeast Asia, but it never gets old! Again, in America it would look like this hotel would be quite expensive, but it was not. It's just the way things are there!
So the next morning, we checked out of the hotel room and took a Grab to our dorm room, where we would officially begin our Study Abroad Adventure!
I invite you to continue to the next post, to hear all about the dorms, arrival days, and orientation!
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