Family, snow & holiday baking

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It has been almost a month since I’ve returned to the good old USA. A lot of people have asked me “how is it being back?”, and I feel like I say the same thing every time. I say “it’s great to be back!” or “it feels like I never left!”, both of which are true. It is interesting how quickly a trip or an experience abroad can come to seem like a distant dream after you go back to your old routine. But of course, when I think about it, my feelings are much more nuanced. There are highlights and lowlights (just like in my hair) that I have found when it comes to transitioning back to a different country, climate, etc.

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Highlights

• Being home for the holidays: This was one of the main reasons I wanted to come back, and it has felt so nice to be back with the people who I missed and thought about a lot over the past 6 months. There is something so cozy about Thanksgiving and Christmas in cold, snowy upstate New York.

• VIPKid: I am so happy that I learned about online English tutoring while in Thailand, because it is genuinely so much fun. I get to stay in my pajamas and teach English lessons with kids as young as 5 through video. It is one of the few things that can get me out of bed before 6am (with the time difference, the prime teaching hours are so early!)

• Food: As much as I do love Thai food, I was ready for a change. I missed cooking and especially baking, and so far I’ve made oatmeal cookies and a crazy amount of various pumpkin things. Also, my sister and I made a gingerbread house over Thanksgiving.

• I have a car! I missed driving, especially in upstate NY where there is hardly any traffic.

• Yoga: I missed my favorite yoga studio Breathe Yoga. The hot yoga is especially crucial in the winter, and I can almost pretend I’m in Thailand with the 90 degree heat!

Lowlights

• Did that really happen? Being back home, my life in Thailand feels so far away and sometimes like it didn’t even happen. I want to make sure to honor the experience I now have and take it into what I do next.

• Where are my teacher friends? Similarly to #1, I miss my friends who had the same experience and can identify with what life in Thailand is like. I do enjoy telling people about it, but it is special to have people to talk to who can relate to such a unique experience.

• Darkness: It is incredibly dark in upstate New York in the winter. The cold surprisingly hasn’t bothered me too much, but the darkness before 5pm definitely makes me tired. It almost feels like a different world where the sun is in very limited quantity…

• “Adulting”: The downside of leaving a job is that now I have to find another one! I am still planning to apply to grad school, but I have also been looking into jobs as a plan B. I am someone who likes having a plan, and the uncertainty can make me feel anxious. I have found that a good approach is to take things one day at a time as much as I can, and to avoid letting uncertainty hold me back from doing things I enjoy. I am also working on trusting that something will come together for me if I keep trying (that is actively applying to things that interest me). Still, you can expect a celebratory post once I do have things figured out!

Until then, more yoga and baking is in order!

Thank you for reading and happy holidays 🙂

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