ICU Thoughts on Returning

The semester has come to an end too quickly. I feel that there are so many things that I have not done in Chiang Mai and now I am too swamped with work to go out and do them. When I first got here it seemed like I had an infinite amount of time to enjoy what Chiang Mai has to offer. Not only have I not seen and done many things, but now I’m too swamped with work and stressed out to efficiently plan my summer.

I have vague yet amazing plans for the summer after the Thai Studies program ends. I intend to fly to Nepal and travel through Northern India before returning to Thailand and beginning my travels through Southeast Asia. I have yet to plan, budget, and pick a return date. I feel an overwhelming amount of personal responsibility and I feel ready. Over the past year I have arranged visas, booked plane tickets, traveled solo, filed insurance claims, budgeted money, and nearly completed two successful semesters at universities in incredibly foreign environments. I have undoubtedly grown an immense amount and I feel like a new and more capable person. After all this I feel like returning home will be so simple.

But it seems strange that I will return with such a radically different outtake on life and the world. The world seems larger to me now, and I’m worried about relating to people back home in the same way. By the time I see my friends and family I will have done and seen so much I can’t even imagine I’ll be able to articulate it.