Before I knew it three weeks had gone by and it was time to leave Hua Hin and move to the city where I would be teaching. This had been the plan all along. I had prepared to go on this adventure on my own and face the challenges that were to come. However, I did not realize how difficult it would be to say goodbye to this place I had begun to call home and the people who had become my family here in Thailand. So much had happened and we had all grown so much in those few weeks. 

We each found out where we would be living and teaching and we were spread out all over the country. Some of us were closer than others to friends and that was a little upsetting, with me being one of the only people without a friendly face in my city. We spent the next few days packing and spending time together, stressing out and supporting each other. We were all saying goodbye but with the caveat that we would be visiting each other, traveling together, and cherishing our friendships for years to come. I can honestly say that the bond we formed as a group is something so incredibly special and I feel grateful to have been a part of it. 

The people that you meet while traveling fall into a category of their own. Forming a friendship when you are both in a foreign place incites a bond that is unique to that experience. I’ve found that those bonds are the kind that don’t fade even after long periods of time without seeing one another. Each person I met had an impact on me that I will not forget. I had everyone sign my traveler’s guestbook that was gifted to me for exactly that reason(thanks Sam and Jenny:). It was hard to, once again, say goodbye to the people I care about and go off on my own, but like I said, that was the plan all along. I realized that being alone was a part of the adventure and it was only just beginnng.