honk if you love buddha

i realize an update is way overdue, but please give me an opportunity to explain myself:

when i first arrived in thailand, i had no idea what to expect and held very few expectations, so as not to be disappointed. nevertheless, i was shocked when i arrived. but it wasn't culture shock that i was experiencing so much as a shock from the lack of (culture) shock. things were too easy. aside from not speaking thai (which isn't a problem here because every thai person knows at least 'nit noi' English), i encountered very few differences. yea, you might have a squatter instead of a toilet sometimes, and you have to get used to constantly being confronted by unique smells...but that's about it. i figured i would get here and be blown away by the difference, so that lack of that experience dealt me somewhat of a blow. i wanted exotic, exciting, inspiring, life changing, adventurous, surreal. but what i was met with was just a more humid version of home.

but about 2 months ago i realized that if change and difference is what i want, then - as cheesy and cliche as this sounds - it has to come from within. i started looking at things differently, embracing more and ignoring less, being creative, learning Thai, bought a motorcycle, and all around just opening myself up to the new potential for new experiences that drove me here in the first place. with this mindshift my world became bigger. and i can truly say that, as it were, i've never been happier in my life. i keep reminding myself that we all get jaded at times, and that's ok, but it's up to ourselves to actively combat such a mindset less it become a lifeset.

so basically, my silence over the last couple of months was merely just a pause in an attempt to sort out my heart and better understand my story so that i could share it with you.

and with that, i leave you with an absurd video from my last teaching experience at a nursing college.

love & bless,
cresa