Well, this is my first blog post ever.
And this year is going to be full of a lot of "firsts."
Recently we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary in the Detroit area, and 5 of us 6 children were there. That's the first time in many years we had been together.
John tells me that I keep on using the word surreal. But it feels like the right word right now. It was a little surreal to see my family all together. It still feels surreal that we are going to Thailand in a couple of months.
My hope is that this blog will be one way for us both to process and chronicle our journey as we prepare, experience Thailand, and then re-enter American life. And although I love the stream-of-consciousness way of journaling and use that regularly, I will attempt to distinguish between my personal journaling and my blog posts.
We also hope to take you, the reader, along this journey - so you can get a glimpse of us and our time with the people of Nong Khai, Thailand.
As we prepare for our first trip to Thailand, we have a lot of other "firsts":
- We have had our first couple of Thai language lessons. We can now say hello/goodbye, ask basic questions (i.e. What is your first/last name? What is your nationality? What is your job?), and count.
- We will be saying goodbye to our friends and family for a full year: the longest we have ever had to say goodbye.
- We used skype for the first time with my parents to do a trial run before we depart.
I am excited and a little nervous about all of the firsts that are sure to continue over the next 15 months. Perhaps it will be a little easier knowing that I'm connecting with you all via the world wide web. Please come along for the ride!