Shifting Focus

Well, hello there.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Eric and I are back in Wisconsin, trying to re-acclimate ouresevles to living in the United States. It's been an interesting process to say the least. For me, I think the reverse culture shock was amplified by a multitude of  factors; being jobless, missing my friends in Thailand like crazy, and generally feeling lost and purposeless. Plus the food here is so bland! I felt like The Observer pouring pepper and hot sauce all over my food ( Bonus points for those that understand that reference)

After six months though, things have definitely gotten better. I found part time work, we reconnected with friends we have here, and we are about to move into our new home. Pro tip- if you don't have awesome in-laws that will let you crash at their house for six months, I would advise that you don't try to buy a short sale home. Thank you Tim and Becky!!

The last six months have been a time of reflection and adjustment. This applies to this little corner of the interwebs. I thought about just abandoning the blog because I am pretty sure the only people that read it before were family members who wanted to keep tabs on what we were doing. But, I really enjoyed writing the blog-  I was torn...

So, the blog will continue- although with a shifted focus. I am not exactly sure what that will be yet, but I envision it being a place for me to showcase our creative endeavors, things that amuse me, and the trips we take.

I have already made a few design changes and I am currently working with the awesomely talented Emma at QuirkieCraft to redesign the header, which I am I am stupidly excited about.

I hope you continue reading and if you have any suggestions or words of encouragement- I am always happy to hear them!

Creativity Soothes

Flood wall along Rama IV

Flood themed painting on a wall near Khao San Road

As I walk along the sandbagged and barricaded streets of Bangkok, I love seeing images like those above. Instead of seeing concrete flood walls as a barrier or a hindrance, some people see them as an opportunity to be creative.


For me personally, when times are tense and everything seems to be going wrong, I always seem to find solace in being creative and expressing myself. My form of expression usually turns to something fiber related, and this time was no exception. 


During the height of the flood, I would sit in my apartment, constantly checking Twitter and other news sources about flood information. Knowing that I needed a break from that, I spun the yarn below. The methodical focus needed to spin the yarn helped me relax and take my mind off everything that was happening.  It's brown, blue and green colors remind me of the river that so drastically changed my life.

I call it "Screw You, Chao Phraya"

Only One Wish

This year, as I released my krathong into the pond at Benjasiri Park I made only one wish, that Thailand would recover quickly from these devastating floods and that one day Eric and I would be able to return to Bangkok. (Ok, I know that is technically two wishes, but math was never my strong suit)

Happy Loy Krathong!! And as the song says:

Each one with this krathong,

As we push away we pray,

We can see a better day

To better days ahead!

Breakdown

Well it's finally happened- I've had my first breakdown/freak-out as an expat in Bangkok. The kind that leaves me crying uncontrollably, unable to move from the couch, cursing everyone and everything, etc. The cause of this breakdown- the fact that we have to leave Bangkok.


Ever since the floods hit Ayutthaya and the Rojana Industrial Park, our future seems to be changing so quickly and nothing seems to be under our control. Eric's company kept changing their mind about what they were going to do with the expats here in Thailand, but finally they've decided to move everyone back to the United States. 


This is not how I imagined our transition back to the US would go. I though we would have plenty of advance warning to prepare, both mentally and logistically. 


I focused so hard on making Bangkok our home, that having it ripped away so quickly makes my heart hurt.