I know what you're thinking, "I thought he was moving to Taiwan or Singapore?" And you're right, I am moving to Thailand next Friday, but the great new adventure, I think, should start with ridding myself of the old. I'm writing this right in the midst of my yard sale because its very boring sitting here in my garage looking at most of my belongings with price tags on them. Years of memories fill these clothes and books and window unit air conditioner. Man, if these items could talk, right? I went on countless dates in these clothes and ran some 5Ks in these clothes and even spilled some spaghetti sauce on these clothes. Obviously it's not about the clothes, its about what the clothes represent: my past. People are always telling you to leave the past in the past, but is it really that simple? No! Everyone has a crap ton of junk that has sentimental value! Do you know how many tears have been shed over movies watched on that TV? Or how many tears have been shed on these blankets? Or how many tears have been shed on these shirts? Yes, I clearly cry a lot. I remember that episode of Grey's Anatomy where the shooter comes in the hospital and kills a bunch of people (spoiler alert, no one you like dies). And I remember the exact shirt I sweat through as I eagerly waited for hopefully no one I liked to die!
Anyways, the point is, it's hard to get rid of stuff that provided you with so many memories. But it's also important to know when to let those memories go and move on to the next thing. I think its therapeutic for me to get rid of all this junk, because when I start to miss home, there won't be any material things to miss or wish I were back home with. I'm taking everything I NEED, and I guess I'm selling everything I have that I want. It's rough, but it's good.
People keep asking me if I'll get homesick. So I give a witty little answer. But truthfully, DUH! I get homesick when I'm at work! Homesickness is just a phase of culture shock and I'll have to go through it just like the rest of those folks embarking on this journey with me. I think the first month will be great. I'll be in a nice little beach town learning how to teach English to Thais and hanging out with what I hope will be really awesome people on the beach at night drinking the local beer. That part will be easy! But then when I get my placement after a month and have to somewhat uproot again, leaving all the new friends I've made and re-starting over somewhere completely new, THAT will be difficult. I mean, yeah, I'll go through the honeymoon phase again, but I think after another month, it will hit me that I'm there for a year. All the way to my birthday in 2015 when I turn 25. That'll be weird. I wonder if I'll stay in the same city or town I had been that whole year or move somewhere else in Thailand, or even move to a completely new country! I hear South Korea's pretty fun. Same thing with Indonesia and Myanmar. But who knows?
I'm not quite sure I'm ready to eat a while new kind of food. The food in Cambodia didn't phase me one bit, so I think it's safe to say Thai food won't be any worse. I think the restaurant I'll miss the most is Chickfila. The service makes me feel like a king and the food makes me feel like a dog who was just served food from the human table! I was about to describe the food, but I don't want to die of lack of a chicken sandwich when I come back and read this in a few months. Maybe I should just say their food is crap! Aww who am I kidding, they have the best fast food ever!
So far in this memory sale (that's what I'm calling it now), I've made $115. And only one of those dollars was for a shirt. So now I have 999 shirts and other clothes that need a home and will probably end up going to the Salvation Army, which is fine. I like those pacifist soldiers. I also like the thought of someone else making more memories in these clothes, and then one day having a yard sale and reflecting on their past, while also looking future square in the face. Whelp, here we go!
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