New Adventures...: California Dreaming

Sawadee kha! I have somehow survived my two week trip to California and am now back in my bed listening to the rain dance on my roof. I went for a nap at 5pm and woke up at 2am...Jet lag is the end of me. So figured now is a good time to write in my blog :) I started on my journey to California with a ride to the airport from Shet, the PE teacher at my school. A rather tall (6'4) and attractive Thai man that I have a tiny little crush on. It stops there because he speaks as much English as I speak Thai. Needless to say our conversations are limited. But smiles are universal and work for me. After lots of charades and the help of my Thai app, we had a somewhat painless English/Thai conversation to the airport. He taught me Thai and I helped his English. Arrived at the airport and I was on my way! However I booked a flight the day before my flight to the states so instead of going out in

Bangkok, I got a nice hotel room by the airport, got some Thai food and settled in for a movie and chatted with friends in California- wanted to start figuring out what was in store for me. Like if my friends were picking me up at the airport and I had a place to stay, little things like that. All was confirmed that my two friends and their bfs will be at SFO to pick me Saturday evening. Perfect! So I settle in for a night of YouTube clips and drifted off to sleep. I catch the shuttle to the airport and get my bags sorted and boarding passes situated and tried to prepare for this long journey. I had two hours to kill before my flight so I settle into a restaurant and FaceTime a bit. I have the bridesmaid dress with me as a carry on, basically handcuffed it to me so I wouldn't lose it. So finally I board my first flight and since it's the afternoon and I want some sleep, I opt for a glass of red wine and I am sound asleep. Wake up somewhere over the Pacific Ocean and we are about to land in the Philippines. Now I tried to exchange currencies in my town on Friday, but all the banks had already sent out their dollars to the city so I was left with baht. I didn't want to use the airport exchange because they are expensive and I'm on a Thai budget. So I just decided to exchange in the states. Well I didn't factor in that I have a layover in the Philippines and it was a national holiday so everything was closed. Tired and hungry I just sit down in the terminal and a worker approached me and asked if I needed anything. I explained my money situation and he said he could help me get dollars. Oh and I wasn't allowed to leave the airport because there wasn't enough time to ensure that I would get back in on time. Oh traveling...so I he's totaled a bit, but just shrugged and gave him 2,000THB (about $60) and just hoped he would be good to his word. After awhile I just sighed and figured I would just have to use my ATM, when he appears and hands me USD! This would NEVER happen in America! Oh I love Asia. After I basically promise him my first born, I get some food and head to my gate and make some friends that are from SF. Helps make the time go by faster. Finally it's time to board and I settle into my seat and am so thankful for my superpower, after take off I fall asleep for 6 hours. Again I wake up somewhere over the pacific (the big blue) and turn a movie on. Which apparently is how I sleep because I slept again and woke up with 45 minutes till landing. This is a 14 hour flight. Plus the flight to the Philippines (4 hours). I really don't know how I do it. Excited about California, I get all my stuff prepared to book it to customs to get to my friends. Well customs has a different plan for me, nothing like "quick" and "efficient" to describe US customs. No wonder people hate visiting our country, we treat people like prisoners and make them stand in lines for days. I was there for almost two hours and I'm a citizen! The "visitors" line was easily 6+ hours long. So I finally get through customs and only a small remark about my small luggage I lunge out of the terminal and am reunited with my friends! Oh felt so good to see familiar faces again :) after getting over the initial shock of seein them and the freezing temperature, we head to Santa Cruz where I was going to see some more friends that drove up from San Diego to see me! It's 10pm PST which is 8am to me, but I slept so much I have no idea what time zone I'm in. I suck it up and after some wine (god bless you America) we change and head to Ideal to meet up with them. After shrieks and squeals and tears, we settle into a table and we all talk a million words a minute. Finally the travel has worn on me and we all leave around 12:30am and I crawl into my bed at Meredith's (a futon on the floor) and have four blankets wrapped around me, I drift off to dreamland...

And that was my first 24 hours in California. Santa Cruz was perfect, I saw my friends for breakfast at cafe Brazil, got an acai bowl which wasn't as good as I remembered because I'm spoiled with thailands produce so the fruit tasted sour to me, but I ate it still haha. I saw Sarah and baby Emma who isn't a baby anymore. I reunited with my Santa Cruz loves as well as Mexican food...burritos...are the end of me. Aroi mak! (Delicious) so after a few days spent eating my way through the city, laughing with friends, drinking wine with the girls, and putting my toes in the ocean (which is freezing btw, never again). I headed over the hill to San Jose where I met up with an old college buddy and went for a drink at a wine bar (I forgot those exist!) and got a ride to the airport. I love my life, so blessed. I looked like quite a sight walking in downtown San Jose (think men in suits, and only men in suits) and I'm in bright orange shorts, blue top? My huge backpack, bridesmaid dress cover, bright pink box, and a backpack just walking with my friend who is dressed for wall street. Haha. Parted ways at the airport and headed to the mountains. Well I have a struggle and it's world wide, the plane bounced around as we got to Reno because there was a thunder storm and rain started to come down. After I feared for my life again, we landed and we ran off the plane. Found my mom and crawled into the car and was finally headed home!

We caught each other up and phoned dad to tell him I made it and ventured home to a home cooked seared ahi tuna dinner with fresh tomatoes and basil on my favorite bread. White wine as a dessert. I slept soundly that night. My week in Quincy was full of everything from excitement, disappointment, sadness, happiness, and amazing. Reconnected with friends and spent afternoons by the river, naps in the afternoon, started a new book and just relaxed. Wedding festivities began on Thursday and so I went over to help with flowers and to see my BFF! The next few days are a whirlwind so will do my best to summarize. Met the other bridesmaids and helped make the center prices for the tables and just got to meet Jenna's family and new friends. Felt like a broken record saying I was living in Thailand and here for the wedding, so started to just lay low a bit. Honestly it was weird for me to switch back into California culture after living in Asia for the past ten months. But also surprised at how quickly I adjusted to being back. Thailand felt like a distant dream. Started to feel guilty and selfish for moving to Thailand when I was surrounded by amazing family and friends. Why would I leave? Why did I leave? Should I just stay and begin my life in California again? I wrestled with these thoughts daily. I didnt talk to my friends in Thailand too much because I didn't want to admit what I had been thinking. Maybe settling down isn't such a bad idea afterall. Especially after visiting with my older relatives, I should move back for them. I can adapt and adjust easily enough.

Needless to say my thoughts were all over. Loved seeing my friends and laughing with them, seeing their smiles and how their lives are thrilling. I hate that I compare myself to my friends, we are all so different and value different things. It's unfair to compare, they are my friends and love me for me.

The wedding was perfect, Jenna is the most beautiful woman ever and watching Dennis see her when she walked down the aisle, waterworks happened. A few times. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was lively. Yet freezing, dropped to 10C which meant I was in a big sweater most of the night.

The rest of my trip was spent with family. Saw Pat and Danny (they have known me since I came home from Peru in 1988). Grandparents. Aunts, uncles, cousins. And my last full day was spent in SF, one of my favorite cities. We got lunch by the marina, explored the Japanese tea gardens and the botanical gardens. Chocolates and SF keychains for my friends in Thailand. Postcards to show the kids. Time flew by and it was time to head to the airport.

My mom helped me with my bags and after a long hug I said goodbye to my family and walked into the airport. A feeling of knowing rushed over me, I knew I was right where I should be. Thailand has been the best decision for me and I am happy to be back.

I will be back in California September 2016 for another wedding! The big pink box was a gift from my friend Ashton and inside were pictures of us through the years, a little bottle of bubbly, a candle, makeup, nail polish, a charm bracelet with the initial "c", and a note "bridesmaids" that said "cailin, I can't say I do without you...will you be my bridesmaid?" So after shrieks of giggles from us I said of course! So San Diego next year. Who knows where I will be then! That's the exciting part :)

Renewing my passport next week and applying for the Oz work visa shortly after. Starting to plan my island/Bali trip for October and settling back into Thai life. Happy to be in my own bed, and now to try and sleep again...

Until next time!