One of the great things I love about being an expat
(although I’m currently on expat-life sabbatical leave right now) is that I
love feeling my little world grow. It’s
like watching a little seed that sprouts into a wee seedling and eventually grows
into an old oak tree, full of life and branches and twigs and foliage. (The
branches would be roads, twigs – side streets and alleys, foliage – interesting
shops and cafes…hopefully you get the picture here, I’m shit at properly describing
it.)
When I first visit a new country, I’m usually pretty
nervous, maybe even a bit apprehensive while sussing out my new surroundings. I tend to frequent the same places, which are
not too far from my home base. But ever
so gradually, I venture further and further afield. Until after a few months’ time, I think back
at how I timidly started out my explorations and how far my, what was once
small, world has grown. It’s such a
fulfilling and confident feeling. What
once had seemed like an enormous city from the space of a few blocks, turns
into a small and easily accessible city in a country I want to explore more of.
For example, I remember the first times I had to take the
subway solo in both London and Seoul.
With complicated-looking maps, the process seemed so dubious (or just
terrifying). But once I figured it out,
it was simple and allowed me to build my world even more. It’s so silly to think that something like
taking the subway can be daunting at first, but when you come from a place
that, while growing up, had a lack of public transportation, it can be
anxiety-inducing.
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| The London Tube map...when you first see it, it seems pretty unreadable. |
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| The Seoul Subway map is even worse...most of the time they're written in Hangul o_O |
I think back on my time in Chiang Mai. I absolutely refused to try out a motorbike.
The drivers in Thailand were crazy as hell (of which my broken ankle can
attest to), I felt that the city had a crazy layout (it actually doesn’t), and frankly, I was just too
damn scared. When I went to Krabi, a
small city in the Thai peninsula, I bravely decided to try to learn how to
drive a motorbike. Easy. As. Pie. I still wasn’t sure about motorbiking-it
around Chiang Mai though. That took the
peer pressure of a friend I’d met in the islands to get me to do it. Once I did, though, the big city of Chiang
Mai shrunk and I was zooming myself about all the soi’s (streets) and back
alleys. Slowly, I ventured further out
of Chiang Mai and drove the Sameong Loop.
I loved to feel the polluted wind on my face (through my face-mask, of
course!). I loved speeding around and I
turned into one of those crazy drivers myself.
Not really. (For that I’d need
about 4 other people on my motorbike and, while I’m driving, I’m holding a baby
in one hand, mobile phone in another, with the person sitting directly behind
me holding an umbrella over my head, because in this scenario, it’s monsoon
season. Or I would be driving around
with a dog sitting on the back of my motorbike, wearing sunglasses). I became addicted to driving my motorbike…so
much so that I can’t wait to get one in Colorado.
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| I couldn't make this up if I tried. We saw this guy and dog (wearing sunglasses!) on our first trip up to Doi Suthep. At least the guy is wearing a helmet...that's rare! |
I really love how my world has grown over the last ten
years. From discovering various
countries in Europe and Asia, it definitely gets easier the more you do
it. And once I’ve given my leg a proper
rest and let it fully recover, I can’t wait to grow my little world even
more.
Adventures on the horizon: Cuba (woohoo for opening up
Cuba to Americans!!), Iceland, Norway, and Kilimanjaro in December 2016.
Happy Trails!
While writing this blog, I kept singing the chorus to this song, which I haven't heard in AGES (and it makes me nostalgic for my Leicester days, for sure).
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