A Year to Rival the Last.

Around this time last year, I was sitting bored and stressed out of my mind in a comfy swivel chair at a bank. As I sat at a desk, barricaded behind stacks of files, I let my mind wander to what I knew would be a life changing 2012. And now, here I sit. Albeit still behind a desk and in a surprisingly comfortable swivel chair, I don't get up and walk 10 yards away to make copies. I get up and go to a class where eager ears (and some distracted, naughty ears... there are still trouble makers in Thailand) are waiting to hear me speak, even if they don't exactly grasp everything. Whether it's English camp, normal classes or extra lessons, it's all so gratifying. Even if some don't listen or learn, I've built relationships, and that's what truly matters.

At this point, I've surpassed every prominent holiday, and I'm not curled up in a heap eating candy from home and wistfully singing Auld Lang Syne. The holidays have spring boarded me forward into the last leg of this adventure, and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Due to miscommunication and perhaps too much wishful thinking, we were not given the Christmas holiday off from work. As surprising as it sounds, we enjoyed it. Waking up extra early to an authentic crackling fireplace DVD, drinking hot chocolate in the air condition room with my best friend and opening small gifts my Mamaw had sent was just what I needed. And it was sufficient. The day itself was comfortable and unseasonably cool (a gift we credited to be from Santa himself), we were both able to talk to our families, attend a foreigner Christmas party and have dinner with our dear friend, Off.

Finishing up that week with midterm testing, I looked forward to the upcoming New Year, a time Thais do, in fact, celebrate despite its lack of coherence to their own Buddhist calendar. So we hopped aboard a 5 hour bus ride to our home in the north, Chiang Mai. After hearing, "Chiang Mai, again?" from our families, Kelsey and I considered what an unusual thing it would be at home to travel so far away nearly every month. Something unconventional at home has become the norm here, and it had me reflecting on how shockingly different our life here really is. The attraction of Chiang Mai is its slightly milder weather, its non-Thai restaurants and, essentially, its fast pace, different scenery. Funny how normalcy puts on a cloak of extravagance when you're dealt a modest hand.

So we arrived, having already planned our meals for the weekend, none of which included a Thai word. Doing more damage to our meager bank accounts than intended at the local market, we called it a night and went back to our guesthouse. Diva Guesthouse has become another safe-haven for us here in Thailand. We practically have VIP access to the 6 room hostel even if the website says they're all booked. The downstairs restaurant/lounge is decorated with eccentric kink knacks, secondhand books and guestbooks overflowing with praise. The keeper, who we've affectionately named "Diva," is a lovely woman with impeccable English who awaits our every visit with open arms and a warm hug. The rooms are nothing special. Brightly painted walls, clean sheets, a fan and a sputtering toilet are more than enough. Even the giant rat who waved at Kelsey in the lobby one night won't deter us from staying in such an inviting place. We've consoled ourselves with the fact that a rat that size could never squeeze under the crack of our room door. He'd have to knock first.

On New Year's Eve day, we dodged the crowds on foot and trekked to a nearby Starbucks to meet some Thai friends. I use the term "friend" tentatively, as I've only met the sweet girl once on a bus ride to Chiang Mai Immigration. Kik-Kik so bravely struck up a conversation with me, frantically looking up conversation ideas on her phone, kept up a somewhat steady conversation. This was several months ago. When I received a message from her shortly after, followed by a Christmas gift in the mail, I couldn't help but want to meet with her again. She had so graciously remembered how important the Christmas holiday was to me and my beliefs, and she sent me a hand woven bag and a journal with a note wishing that "my Christmas festival" be very happy. A 21 year old college student from Chiang Mai, who had no investment other than a bus ride together, turned out to be one of the most precious people I've met thus far. After coffee, we met her and her friends for an English movie and later joined them for a gift swap and the countdown to 2013.

So much has filled the gap between this and my last blog. A trip to Sukhothai, the country's first capital, a wonderful English camp weekend with enthusiastic kids and staff, a 3 AM departure on a school trip to the northern border of Thailand, seeing Burma and Laos. And as much as I long to write each detail, I couldn't possibly. Life is what happens between the blogs, and I use these entries merely as landmarks on such a grand journey. 

Resolutions have become cliché code for intentions that have crashed and burned, so I hesitate to create a list. I just know that I want this year, and every year hereafter, to be equally as fulfilling. With the possibility of Graduate school and more of life's steps on the horizon, my only hope is to see them fall into a steady pace as easily as this past year has. Whenever I voice my concerns or worries about what's next, Kelsey is quick to smother them, saying, "Those worries aren't even an issue to me, really. We were brought 8,000 miles across the world more smoothly than we'd ever imagined, so let these next decisions make themselves."

And she's right. I know, and God knows, the desires of my heart, so if the sparrows are being taken care of, I know we will be too. So here's to what I'm convinced will be a year to rival the last. Happiest of New Years, everyone! With love...