I've been thinking about all the opportunities that a new year brings and making many "resolutions". I am proud of my past year in Thailand and ready for the next. Last year, had many highs and lows as I have described in this blog and it also allowed for many opportunities to travel for meetings, additional training, and time spent with volunteers. Many times I would only be at site for 3 weeks at a time before I boarded a bus to go somewhere else. It was hard to get anything done this way. When I returned from such an outing, I wouldn't really allow myself to start on anything project wise because I knew I would be leaving again soon. I also realized that I was living for those times away and when I was actually at site I would just be thinking about the next time I would leave. I would write out packing lists when bored, or think of things I wanted to do or see in the city. I realized I have been to Bangkok every month since May.

This is not to say that I was unhappy at site, but I was definitely "living" for my road trips.

This year I will have fewer Peace Corps required trainings, and though I serve on a committee will probably be traveling less. I look forward to finding myself at peace while I am at site. This will provide for better relationships with my community and my projects will definitely prosper by spending more time at home. It is a welcome change and I look forward to seeing what comes of it.

Though, thanks to a nice Christmas gift, I was able to afford a ticket to Vietnam for a week-long vacation, and I can't wait!