I meant to write this post yesterday, but hey I’m not perfect. So today is actually my 101st day since leaving the US. I thought I would do a little post on how it feels to be away for so long.

Reflection #1

My first and probably my biggest reflection is how much more I appreciate my family and friends. I like to think that I was already appreciative of my friends and family before I left, but it’s a tough thing to go through Thanksgiving and Christmas without being around family. There probably isn’t a single day that goes by with out an occasion that makes me think, “Oh hey this friend would laugh at this or find this interesting.”

Also, I feel pretty fortunate to have a family that is cool with me just doing whatever it is I’m doing. I hope I haven’t caused my parents to many grey hairs.

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, or at least that’s what my dad says, and it seems pretty true! So to any friends or family that are reading this (that’s probably the only people who read this) I miss and love ya!

Reflection #2

A culture can seem completely different, the buildings can look different, the climate can be different, but the people are essentially the same. Most people, no matter where you go, are kind, generous, and super caring.

I have a lot of friends who will make small comments in passing about how the people must be or the dangers of being a foreigner in a strange land. Let’s be honest, how much worse can it get then certain parts of Saginaw and Detroit? In reality the people are just as nice and well wishing as people in your hometown. I honestly find them more hospitable. Maybe they enjoy the novelty of meeting a foreigner.

I couldn’t tell you the amount of times I’ve had grinning old men shadowboxing at me as I pass them on my morning run from the gym. They love to see foreigners embracing their culture.

Reflection #3

Visas are hard…

This is the exact picture I used for my Cambodian visa and the Chinese consulate says its to far away. It needs to be more of a close up on my face.

The amount of insignificant paper work they need is frustrating too. I had to put together the “return” flight for my Thailand visa and I have to figure out some type of hotel reservations and return flight for my Chinese visa. Visas work fine if you have an exact itinerary and know exactly what your plans are. That’s not really how backpacking works though. So hopefully with my scrappy paperwork put together I can sneak into China!

After I get my Chinese visa I have to focus on my Russian visa, which is apparently harder for US citizens to get. You are supposed to only be able to get a Russian visa in the country you are citizen of unless you have an affiliate like a work visa with a third country. I don’t have that so we’ll see what will have to be done to get into Russia.

I’ve been really blessed to have over a 100 days of experience out of the US and I look forward to who knows how many more! Thank you to everyone who has supported me while I’m doing this. Just know I miss you more than you think and it’s always a comfort to know people are thinking of and praying for me.

In other news, I did get the job in Bangkok and will be cutting my Muay Thai training a week early to fly to Bangkok on January 22nd. I’ll probably talk about that more later. In the meantime I have some super exciting news that will be popping up next week. Stay tuned! It’s most exciting thing maybe to happen this whole trip!

Since the start of 2018 I haven’t had anything exciting happen, so I will just give you a quick update!

There is a random picture of a boat going down the river near my apartment just to add a little visual appeal. Basically, I spent the whole week training at the gym. That job I mentioned in previous posts is still up in the air. I did finally receive an email back after about a week of silence. Chalk it up to the holidays, but I still am not holding my breath for this job. Though I apparently got it, they are “figuring out things on their end.” So we’ll see where that goes. It could be a month stint in Bangkok with accommodations paid which might be nice. However, after being stationary so long, I am itching to get back on the road.

My only question right now is finances. Either way I will make it work. A job would definitely help with that, but hopefully I can get back taxes files ASAP and maybe use up some of that refund money. Maybe I do some acting in China? Construction in Germany? It’s all a possibility!

Hopefully this video will make this blog post worth it. I figured people would be interested to see what Thai worship music is like. I have no idea what they are saying, unless then have the translation up on the projection. Sometimes they have the karaoke version up so I can sing along in Thai, but either way it sounds beautiful.

Speaking of music the most popular music in Thailand is this strange RnB genre. They will listen to it for any occasion; at the gym, at a party, alone by themselves. There have been so many occasions where a trainer will have his phone hooked up to the speakers and they will play a song I really like during training. It’s the worst when it gets stuck in my head, because then I have to try and find it. But I can’t google any of the lyrics…

I spent countless hours going through Thai top 40 playlists to find this song:

This was playing when going through a vigorous Muay Thai workout. I know what you’re thinking. Doesn’t seem to fit the mood? I have completely gotten used to it and now I think I prefer this type of music for working out. It keeps me lose and relaxed. I am still looking for my favorite song. Can’t seem to find it, but who knows what other songs I will discover looking!

Tonight I am going to look into getting a massage. I know a spot that has an hour massage for 150 baht ($4.66). Until next time!

NYE

On New Year’ Eve I spent the day out at a farm event venue. I was bartending for a NYE party. To me this was perfect, as I was getting paid to hangout with people opposed to me staying at home and falling asleep at 10:30pm.

It was a very relaxed party, but there were a couple of rowdy people. There was a fella from Brazil who drank quite a bit, but he was really into the NBA so it was nice to talk sports. Really nothing to exciting about the party, but at midnight we started setting off a bunch of smoke bombs and then I got to sit and watch the fireworks.

Along with the fireworks there were a lot of lanterns being sent up into the sky. It was nice. It was also strange. For most of my family and friends, who reside in the eastern time zone, it was only noon. I felt like I was magically in 2018, in future, while all my friends were still stuck a year behind.

There is something magically about looking back on a whole year and seeing all the crazy stuff you went through and accomplished. I hiked around Italy, graduated college, spent all summer in New York, took a cruise to Mexico, Honduras, and Belize, I got to be the best man at my brother’s wedding, and then for the last roughly three months I’ve been doing my thing in south east Asia. Not a bad life!

I’ve been blessed in so many ways! I am truly to blessed to be able to be doing all these wild and crazy things that I really want to do.

Resolutions

I didn’t think that I would be doing a New Year’s resolution this year. Last year my resolution was to buy no new clothes in 2017. Just used clothes. I almost made it, with the exceptions of a pair of dress pants and a dress shirt for my brother’s wedding.

This year I thought I would use the new year as a starting point for forming some new habits. I want to think more creatively and see opportunities in more places. I essentially want to train my entrepreneurial mind. So my idea this year is to come up with one idea for every day of 2018. Some ideas might be bad. Are you interested in a toilet with Bluetooth?  However, hopefully some ideas will be good. Doesn’t matter as long as I am thinking more creatively and looking for inspiration in everyday places.

New Year’s Day & Wedding

I also had the opportunity to bartend on January 1st as well. This was a fun one, because I was with one of my good buddies from the gym as my co bartender. We joked around a lot and the wedding guests were incredibly nice. The groom was from Singapore, and the bride was from Florida.

I learned that people form Singapore are incredibly nice. They are also required to learn English there so there wasn’t a language barrier which was nice. So many of them chatted with us at the bar and were just genuinely great people. The caterer also made sure we didn’t go hungry. It was nice to be able to gorge on some gourmet wedding food. I just felt so blessed to be able to share that special day with wedding couple and their families.

Towards the end of the night they all went out into the clearing and sent up some lanterns. It was beautiful. Man, weddings are just the best. So many happy faces!!!

Here’s to another year of blessings and adventures!