Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Maybe not so "breaking" as many of you probably know my plans already.. in all honesty I've been lazy busy lately and haven't had much time to update. But heres the dealio!

School is out in 36 days from today and as of last week, I still had no flights or anything booked to leave Thailand. Before the holidays, I was playing with SO many different ideas including staying in Thailand but moving to a new city, moving home to California (which seemed to be the done deal before my holiday traveling), traveling to some other far-off land and was getting a little frustrated with myself.. my problem is there are SO many places I want to go and SO many things I want to see and do, I have a serious issue deciding which one to do first!  When I made the decision back in June to extend my contract, I did so in hopes of buying myself more time to figure out a plan. And here I was.. months later.. plan-less.  I was getting anxious, restless, and overwhelmed with figuring out a plan as well as the pressure from American culture to settle down and get a "real job". My school wanted me to stay.. DUH, I'm the best teacher ever!  Kidding.. kind of.  Finally while I was traveling at Christmas and after talking to friends and other travelers, a light bulb went off in my blonde head.  It was like I had just been slapped in the face with the most perfect idea ever and it was under my nose the entire time.. Australia!

AUSTRALIA! Its first world, it has beautiful beaches and cities, international cuisine, its real life and from what I've heard its a lot like America only BETTER! There are plenty of jobs and the wages are high (as is the cost of living but I'm not worrying about it yet). Shoot, sounds like its exactly where I want to be!  As of now, I'm planning to move to Sydney for my first few months and I'm SO excited! Finding Nemo.. I'm coming to you! What I'll do and where I'll live are still big question marks (anyone have Australia/Sydney connections?!) but I feel SO confidant about this decision and I know Australia is for me.  Plus I'm in that mindset that if I can live in Thailand for this long, Australia will be a piece of cake.. I hope. I'm still young, no obligations, and want to see more of the world. Australia is my ticket to do it all!

After debating if it made financial sense to fly home for a visit then all the way across the world again a few weeks later, I decided to go for it.  I can't go another year or two without good Mexican food, seeing the Pacific Ocean, and getting an amazing grilled cheese from In n Out, and seeing friends and family of course! After running between the travel agency and my computer, I landed a great deal with EVA air and booked my flight for the second week of April!  I'll be home in California for a good 8 weeks and plan to do every Taco Tuesday, visit UCSB for alumni weekend, have some friends come visit me in San Diego, and run the Rock n Roll half marathon early June! Vegas could be thrown in there (who's down?!) but I'll be on a strict budget and getting used to America prices will be a challenge. I can see it now.. "WHAT! 7 bucks for a burrito?! In Thailand, I had dinner for a dollar every night!". Yep, when I start complaining about prices please pinch me and remind me that I'm back in America.

So this brings me to another point.. my visit in California may be short but I'm hoping to be able to find some gigs to help me fund my need to buy new clothes and Australia gear (I've been wearing the. same. thing. for a year and a half) as well as help me fund my Mexican binge I'll be unhealthily taking part of. I'll be living in San Diego those 8 weeks and will be prowling Craigslist for any babysitting jobs and any other part time work that I'd qualify for. Friends and family, if you know of anything or have any leads/connections of any way I could make a little money while I'm home between April and early June, please please let me know!  I'd greatly appreciate it!!!

WOOOWIE America, see you in 59 days!

My thai-ffic journey is coming to an end.. but I'm ready to begin another AUS-SOME adventure!!!  :)

I LOVE Dr. Suess and this story inspires me to keep on keepin on.