The Sunshine-y State

Truly, the sunshine state. It was so beautiful in Florida the past few days! Sunshine-y the whole time, and super warm. I actually wasn't prepared for such nice weather. I had been stressing before leaving about needing socks and a coat and it turns out that I really should've brought a pair of shorts and flip flops for the past couple days. Visiting Ryan was lots of fun! We did an early morning 5k benefiting the unknown, some relaxing kayaking, and a couple art museums, including a roadtrip down to St. Pete to the Dali museum one day, which was very cool. It was fun meeting all Ryan's friends and seeing where he lived and grew up. It's weird to think that I got to know a few people so well over the past year in Thailand, but I don't know them at home! It was a great long weekend in Florida. Now, I'm in South Carolina visiting a couple cousins! They live in Columbia and I think we might take a day to go to Charleston! I'll update you later!

Packing

Hi! I'm going on a trip tomorrow! I'm very very excited for this adventure! The only problem is that I have to pack. I'm a horrible packer. I never know what to bring or what I'll want and blah blah blah. This time it's even worse because I'm leaving for an unknown amount of time and unknown events. (I mean, I have a general idea, I'm not just getting on any old random flight or anything), plus I'm taking trains and buses and planes and they all have different luggage guidelines and I'm just completely compluxed about what to do.

So to put off packing, I've been making snacks for my travels, cleaning, and spending most of my time making copies of my itinerary and decorating it with motivational stickers for my mom.

Next stop: Florida.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Texas!

That's right my friends, I am back in the states for 2010. A quick recap of the last few weeks:

My last week in Bangkok is a blur. I ran around the city doing last minute things and going to some favorite spots. There were lots of goodbye parties and Christmas celebrations and I ate a lot of exotic fruit for fear that I would never see it again. haha A few friends left a few days before me and the last two days were just weird. It was very very quiet and it made me do productive things like pack. Then I boarded a plane to Hong Kong where I met my dad for the weekend. It was lots of fun. We spent one night in Hong Kong and then headed to Macau for a couple days. I tried out the gambling thing and it was fun for a little bit, but I'm not sure if it's for me. The day I left to come home was full of transportation. haha I look back on it and realize how long of a day it was and then I get exhausted. We started the morning in Macau and left that afternoon, took a ferry to Hong Kong, a train ride to the airport, and then I boarded a plan at midnight. I would say that I've become a very good traveler. haha

I got home a few days before Christmas, which was wonderful. I've gotten to see all my homies, roommates, drill team friends, Anna, mom, sister, and cute cute Kaysen! Christmas time is def the best time to have a homecoming, because literally everybody is home. It was perfect.

I don't have a lot of plans right now. Short term for sure, but long term plans... not so much. I'll figure it out. Something will come along, I'm sure, right? haha I have all these ideas in my head but really, I have no idea.

Traveling around Thailand made me really want to travel around the US, soooooo I should be off on that adventure soon! I want to check out some cities that I might want to move to and just explore for a little bit! I'll keep you updated!