I'm Homesick.

[gisele]

It's been a long time since I've posted, 2 years I think.

I'm terribly homesick, so I'm back to the forum.

I'll be back this summer for a bit, working on making it permanent (again)

So catch me up, what's new with everyone who have been around for ever?

[Boo]

Great to hear from you again Gisele, sbk & I were not long ago wondering (on skype) how you were getting on.

Well what to report, we have a ouple of new lady mods, Mig & eek, Donna & Khall retired as they were busy int he real world & sadly ex mod Seoani passed away a year ago this month. Can't think off the top of my head any news, sbk is much better at remember things than me, so I'm sure she'll be along to update some more.

Welcome back & glad to hear things are working out & you might be back on our shores again. Where have you been, china still?

[bina]

gisele, actually amazed u remember your log on codes... i cant remember mine from one week to another if i dont post or somethng....

been that long for seonai?..........

whoaaaaaaaaa!!!....

bina

[Boo]

actually was June 2009, I thought May cause my & her son both have bdays in May & I know she passed shortly after her sons bday but have checked & it was 23rd June.

[sbk]

Welcome back gisele, indeed, perhaps your ears were burning and thats why you needed to post again

Hmm... well, its a forum -- people come, people go. people get promoted. we had a really great thread with all sorts of the usual nastiness -- you would have loved it

Where are you now?

[gisele]

Hi,

It is sad to hear about Seonai, was she sick?

I am teaching theatre in Dhaka, Bangladesh at an international school.

It has been a journey, I didn't last long in HongKong, too hectic for me

especially after living in Nakhon Si Thammarat (which I miss)

living in Dhaka is challenging,

it is like being in a National Geographic documentary

I ride a rickshaw home everyday, I see women in colourful saris everywhere,

the people are nice

so much poverty, pollution and garbage

it is an adventure being here .........

I really really really miss Thailand

[sbk]

She had TB. Sadly too late to treat fully

I've heard Bangladesh is pretty hardcore. Sounds more peaceful than Thailand at the mo tho!

[Boo]

Gisele, I would have thought with your experience, qualification & past knowledge of Thailand that you would have your choice of jobs in Thailand?

[Goinghomesoon]

Hey Gisele, welcome back. You sound like you have healed great and really moved on. I would love to live in Bangladesh, you know it's my kind of place... If you are at the main international school there then I know it's got a good reputation and is the reason a lot of families extend their tours there. Have you made it back to Thailand for holidays?

[gisele]

Hey Gisele, welcome back. You sound like you have healed great and really moved on. I would love to live in Bangladesh, you know it's my kind of place... If you are at the main international school there then I know it's got a good reputation and is the reason a lot of families extend their tours there. Have you made it back to Thailand for holidays?

You should come visit. It's quite an interesting adventure being here,

I really enjoy what I am teaching, the students are great, it's a good school and Bangladeshis are very nice people,

but I really hope a position teaching Theatre will open up next year in Thailand,

There's too much I miss in Thailand to stay away too much longer.

I was in Samui for a few weeks at Christmas, and in Pattaya for Songkhran,

and I will be in Samui again in July.

Can't keep away, but those were just a few weeks of holiday,

it's not the same as living there and just makes me miss it even more

[gisele]

Gisele, I would have thought with your experience, qualification & past knowledge of Thailand that you would have your choice of jobs in Thailand?

got lots of experience and qualification but there are limited openings in my field,

so it's more a question of luck, being at the right place at the right time

keeping my fingers crossed

so, where are you now? back in Thailand?

[gisele]

She had TB. Sadly too late to treat fully

I've heard Bangladesh is pretty hardcore. Sounds more peaceful than Thailand at the mo tho!

Living here, sure makes you appreciate what you have a whole lot.

Bangkok is not peaceful from what I see on the news

but it's peaceful on Koh Phangan right?

[sbk]

Parts of Bangkok are a war zone, rest of thailand remains relatively peaceful, I doubt any reds would dare kick off south of say Prachuab, tbh, you know how much surat and nakhon love thaksin

[Boo]

so, where are you now? back in Thailand?

Was back for a while but am in UK again for a few months working & visiting the family but pretty much planning to be full time in Thailand again after this trip. Sonny is due to start school end of next year so want to get him in pre school again & improve his thai language before that.

Def keep popping in & when you get back we can meet up Sbk, eek & I have a regular Bangkok girls (well, wolfie always likes to tag along too ) weekend going on regularly so when we are all in country we can arrange another one.

[fletchsmile]

... Seoani passed away a year ago this month. Can't think off the top of my head any news, sbk is much better at remember things than me, so I'm sure she'll be along to update some more.

Welcome back & glad to hear things are working out & you might be back on our shores again. Where have you been, china still?

Very sad to read that as I was away "wandering" at the time. Sadness and loss seems to have been in abundance lately. Seonai was a lovely lady with some great perspectives. My condolences to her family.

Gisele

Life is about happiness - giving and sometimes receiving it. Ours is only to make the most of the time given to us - as old friends often remind us, even across great distances or from one life to the next. Being unhappy (or homesick) comes to us all at some point - yet in reality it is only a choice. Appreciate what you have, and try not to dwell on what you don't. Good luck

[gisele]

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Gisele

Life is about happiness - giving and sometimes receiving it. Ours is only to make the most of the time given to us - as old friends often remind us, even across great distances or from one life to the next. Being unhappy (or homesick) comes to us all at some point - yet in reality it is only a choice. Appreciate what you have, and try not to dwell on what you don't. Good luck

I'm homesick but I am not unhappy

I am enjoying the adventure I am presently living,

and trying to get the most out of my time here

I love my job, my students

I have started a charity where I help very poor family men who are rickshaw drivers, these men rent the rickshaw they use so on a bad day they might pay out more than they earn, on a good day, they are lucky if they've made 50 baht. So giving them a second hand rickshaw changes everything. I find people who want to be a sponsor, it costs less than 3,750 baht to buy a second hand rickshaw but it means a better future for everyone, he's is own boss. 100 % of the money goes to help the rickshaw driver. The sponsor gets pictures of the man and his family so they are happy to see who they helped.

and selfishly, it makes me feel good.

Happiness all around.

Homesick for Thailand

because in my heart that is my home now

Edited May 20, 2010 by gisele

[mssabai]

I was thinking about you the other day Gisele too. Weirdly! I haven't been posting much recently either, but I am still here. I moved from Trang to Bangkok recently...mainly due to financial reasons and I was getting very lonely. BF was working away and I was really feeling the lack of farang girls. So now I am in Bangkok living with and working with my best mate so life is a lot jollier. Not the best time to move to BKK though (sorry mum!). Was back in Trang for a funeral this week though and I missed it as soon as I landed. It smelt soooo amazing. Didn't miss the heat though...how I lived there without air con I really don't know.

Gisele the sound of your charity is so lovely. It just goes to show that it is so easy to do these things if you have the drive. I always seem to be waiting for the right opportunity to do something more with my time here, but you have shown that we have to make the opportunity ourselves. Thanks for that.

If you all make it to BKK let me know!

[bina]

Was back in Trang for a funeral this week though and I missed it as soon as I landed. It smelt soooo amazing.

mssabai, what smelled good? the funeral or trang?????? ... just kidding but remembering my first time in thailand i was invited to a tamboon for some very old man that had died, but the inviter's english was horrible so they invited me to a 'bbq' (cremation)... hope this funeral wasnt too sad for u so my little play on words is ok>>>

bina

[Goinghomesoon]

Ohhh no Bina! Like we were invited to a "party" in the village. Turned out that a distant relative's 6yo had been killed when crossing the road after school. The "party" was apparently the disco-lights and loud music emanating from the rent-a-refrigerated-coffin. Even Thai hubby had a few choice words to say about THAT invitation Gisele after nearly 4 yrs in Thailand I'm feeling like an 'oldie' so it's great to see some people return, at least for a visit!

Edited May 21, 2010 by Goinghomesoon

[meme]

Hi Gisele! Great to see you back. I too am very homesick, been in Canada and away from Thailand for a year now which is the longest duration of time I have been away in 8 years. Still not sure when I will get back but for sure after surviving a Canadian winter my husband is heading back next winter if I am with him or not!

Although both my husband and I are doing well in Canada I desperately miss Trang and the South...I still haven't figured out if its getting easier or harder homesickness comes and goes I suppose (who knew I had such a poetic gift! ) .

[gisele]

Hi Gisele! Great to see you back. I too am very homesick, been in Canada and away from Thailand for a year now which is the longest duration of time I have been away in 8 years. Still not sure when I will get back but for sure after surviving a Canadian winter my husband is heading back next winter if I am with him or not!

Although both my husband and I are doing well in Canada I desperately miss Trang and the South...I still haven't figured out if its getting easier or harder homesickness comes and goes I suppose (who knew I had such a poetic gift! ) .

Was it his first time seeing snow and experiencing the whole bit?

I remember my Thai students wanting to experience snow, how beautiful it is,

yeah, well, beautifull yes but

all the while I'm thinking how throughout my childhood I had to shovel the driveway after a snowstorm, how hard the snow was difficult to shovel after the snowplow had gone by,

or yet again the morning I spent half an hour clearing my little red Mazda only to discover

it was somebody else's little red Mazda

do I miss Montreal winters?

what do you think!

[sbk]

I hate snow! I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and snow was something you drove to the mountains to go play in, then we moved to Colorado and I had to live in it! Walk to school in it, shovel it, freeze in it. I remember walking to school all wrapped up against the cold, apparently the condensation from my breath had frozen on my eyelashes and when i walked into the warm building it melted leaving mascara all over my face. How horrifying in high school, to look like a raccoon. I vowed then and there to leave and find some place warm!

[fletchsmile]

Hi Gisele

Think you are the sort of person that could make anywhere "home". Seems like you are doing wonderful things where you are now. Be careful you don't just move for the "grass is greener" or based on rose tinted spectacles. Thailand is not what it used to be and even the Thais are admitting reality these days. Home is where the heart is and you sound like you have a heart big enough to make it anywhere,,,

Edited May 23, 2010 by fletchsmile

[gisele]

Hi Gisele

Think you are the sort of person that could make anywhere "home". Seems like you are doing wonderful things where you are now. Be careful you don't just move for the "grass is greener" or based on rose tinted spectacles. Thailand is not what it used to be and even the Thais are admitting reality these days. Home is where the heart is and you sound like you have a heart big enough to make it anywhere,,,

Thank you

that is so nice of you to say

I've had some really great times and some really not so great times in Thailand,

still I feel at home there more than anywhere else I have ever lived

warts and all