Excited, Excited, Scared, Excited, Nervous, Happy

Lots of emotions floating around these days....i can't believe my time here in Thailand is coming to a close. it's such a bittersweet feeling and i will miss everyone here so much. however, there are lots of things happening in my life that compell me to believe that moving back now is the right time.

the most important reason i want to move back is to spend more time with family. if you don't know, my grandmother has been sick with breast cancer and is going through radiation right now. i really want to spend time with her and help her to get feeling better so she'll be ready to party at our wedding in the states next year. oh yeah, we picked a date for that one...may 21st, 2011 so get ready for some mad festivities!!!

also, i'm feeling a bit bored, complacent at my job right now and i just don't have the feeling that i'm moving forward in my career. my teaching at yonok is fun and comfortable but i don't really feel that i'm pushing myself to be the best teacher i can be. i feel completely cut off from the academic world (which can be good) but am also excited to get back to interacting with other academics, learning about new teaching methods and theories, doing more professional development. i often worry about getting a job when i get back. it's such a scary situation we are jumping into with neither one of us having employment lined up. i'm also at a point where i'm thinking that i want to teach so that it has an impact. i hope i can work with underprivileged people, refugees, nontraditional students. i want to work with people who are excited to learn and understand the value of education.

i've been so overwhelmed the past few weeks when i start thinking about everything that needs to get done before we move back. luckily, i'm trying to accomplish a little bit everyday so that i won't feel super-stressed in may. i feel so blessed to have this time off work to be able to concentrate on it all. i still go into yonok everyday and have lunch with nadine. it's so wonderful to be able to spend time with her chatting everyday before we leave. she has been one of my best friends here and she and her husband are getting ready to have their first child. i'm so happy i get to be here through her pregnancy. unfortunately, we won't be here when the baby is born...it's due on may 15 and our wedding is on may 22 so we'll be getting ready in ubon. this has been a hard time for both of us....we both feel really disappointed that we'll miss each other's life-changing experiences but i think we're both trying to stay positive about it. plus, nadine and la are planning to move back to the states sometime in the near future so we'll be able to visit them in boston.

last weekend i hosted a baby shower for them. it was my first time but i think i pulled it off well considering that most of the thai women who attended had no idea what a baby shower was! also, our british friends didn't really know either which means it must be such an american thing to do. we played lots of games, opened gifts, ate tons and food and had a great time just talking all together. i think everyone loved having that woman time with each other. otto and la were there though they mostly hung out on the front porch. overall, it was a success and most importantly it was a wonderful time that the parents will be able to look back on.

hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather! new growth is all around us...

Summertime

Well summer is officially here...the temperatures are blazing into the upper 90's and possibly 100's already. i've finished all of my teaching and grading so i'm just checking in at school everyday and using my free time to help otto with his fiance visa, plan for the wedding and get ready for our move back to the states.

we sent otto's visa paperwork in mid-january and heard back from them by mid-february. we were given a case number and are currently preparing for the interview in bangkok. no date yet, but we should hear from them soon. i'm thinking it will all be over by the end of april.

wedding plans are going well. right now i'm working on decorations for the reception. my mom found some gorgeous colorful butterflies that we will hang from the ceiling and put in some of the flower arrangements. i found these lovely glass star-shaped jars that are filled with tinsel. they looked pretty magical so i snatched them up while i could. we've also decided that we are going to have a table with little bells on it and let everyone write a wish, prayer or words of wisdom on a bell and then hang it somewhere around the room. i'm looking for colorful round lanterns to hang up which goes with our "bubbles" theme. also, we are going to have wonderbubbles on the tables so people can play with those throughout the night.

i figured out my wedding hairstyle. i'm hoping for something a bit like a greek goddess do. my friend is going to help me make a gold headband/ribbon that wraps around my head twice. my mom asked her hairdresser to show her how to do my hair so she'll be able to do it on the wedding day. the hairdresser said she could just curl my hair around her finger and then pin the curls up...sounds a lot easier than going to a salon and i'm happy that we won't have to use a curling iron or cans of hairspray. it's going to be hot...so i don't want a hairstyle that will fall out in the heat. plus it's exciting that mom will be doing my hair, makes me feel a bit sentimental for the times when she'd do my hair when i was a little girl.

i haven't even started packing yet though i sometimes clean out a drawer or two here and there. we finished the wedding cards and they are in the mail so hopefully you'll be getting them soon!
that's about all for now...keep you posted as the wedding plans move along.