Do something today that takes you somewhere tomorrow...

No caption needed. 

Everything you have ever done has lead you to the very moment you are right now in life. This post, forgive me if you can, will be less of Thailand and more of the idea of the aforementioned statement. It does indeed have something to do with how I managed to arrive here in this wonderful place, experiencing unimaginable things. First and foremost though, I want to thank my parents for everything they have given me, for every time they have done without so I did not have to. I know that we have not always been so fortunate, but we are surely better off than many. So I am indebted to them for the rest of my years.

I think about it, a lot actually, if things had been slightly different one way or the other. If I had gone to a different school, if I had a different roommate in college, and heaven forbid if I had not come across all the inspiring and just awesome people in the Peace Studies community at Manchester University I can almost say without a doubt that I would not be where I am today. I would not be doing what I am doing. There are many people who have helped to shape my character over the years. Some I still know, some have come and gone. I have had ebbs, and I have had flows. Cliche or not, I can honestly say that I would not change things in my life.

Thailand has been treating me tremendously well. I teach 24 classes a week (and finally things are starting to settle into a groove). My students are behaving better, I am not battling with them any more. I just take their student ID number and pass it on to my superior. Then she takes care of any and all the problems. It is a pretty easy system from my point of view.

This past weekend I was able to escape from my province and head south for five days. I went to an island called Koh Phangan (try as I might, I still cannot pronounce it correctly). Such a conflict with the island. It's enchanting beachsides, it's wonderful mountainous interior- sheer beauty. This beauty was juxtaposed with tourist-y trash; parties, over priced drinks, and farangs. Seas of farangs dotted with Thais. I have not heard more English spoken in one place since leaving the states.

I was thirsty. I went to get some water from the lady selling them on the side of the road. I asked "tow rai, khrap?" She just looked at me sort of confused. I asked in English, "how much?" She replied with "ten baht." It is almost so infested with farangs that Thai is the unspoken word. The West has raped yet another beautiful space on earth.

This admittedly is annoying. I am a farang. So what right do I have to rant about such a thing? Well I hope that I was not as annoying as some of those Westerners I saw there just for the Full Moon Party (a mega party on the beach with thousands of drunk farangs who stay up until the sunrise). Stumbling around, speaking English to Thai's like they are deaf and dumb ones. Where is the respect for these people? This was the one thing that just bothered me during the whole of my stay at the island. What was it like before we showed up and ruined it?

I am the one in the air there. 

Sunset. 

So I return to my point I made prior. Everything you have ever done has brought you where you are today. So do something today that will take you somewhere tomorrow. You never know, it might be Thailand.