The End of an Amazing Journey...

Well I am in shock my summer in Thailand is over... Very bittersweet. These past ten days have been spent traveling all over Thailand. First, we spent a few days in Chiang Mai. Then we took a ten hour bus ride to Bangkok. While we were there we saw the huge city by taking a river-boat tour, it was awesome!! Our final stop was down south to the beautiful island off of Phuket, ko phi phi!! I have never seen such a tropic, picturesque phenomenon... The huge cascading limestone cliffs, the vivacious turquoise water (Chrystal clear), white sandy beaches, and our very own secluded private beach. While we were there we sat on the beach, snorkeled, and soaked up the tropic sun waves. I honestly felt like I was in what could only be described as the ultimate paradise. The fish we saw while snorkeling were the bright neon rainbow fish, it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books :)
All in all it was the most ideally-perfect way to end this journey! I have has the time of my life in the "land of smiles" which couldn't be a more fitting name for Thailand... Can't wait to return home to family and friends, but will forever be impacted by this once in a life time adventure!!!

"life's a journey, not a destination."


"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived."

7 Weeks Come and Gone!!!

Well I had my final week teaching English at the mirror foundation!! Bittersweet for sure... I feel ready to be coming home, but at the same time I have met some of thee most amazing people. I have been blessed to work with some of the mirror staff over the last five weeks and have really gotten to know them really well. This week I learned the greatest lesson of all from this whole summer... And that is to strive to have a pure, giving heart in all that I do. Some of the staff members have traveled half way across the world and made Chiang Rai Thailand their new-permanent home. All out of the motif that they wanted to give and keep giving... And their impact and great influence leaves me speechless. I felt impacted and influenced by the culture just in 7 weeks, I can only imagine what one year, five years, a decade can do to change several lives.

We were able to go to some of our favorite places for our last week. We enjoyed the temple, hospital, and a few of the primary schools. It was a great week to end on... And now we are off to the islands can not wait!!!


“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.” ― Bessie Anderson

Thailand peeps :)

So I have officially been here 5 weeks!! So crazy to think about... The longer I'm here the more I fall in love with the incredible people. I have never been happier and felt so blessed to be here. I catch myself at moments sitting there in silence with a huge smile on my face... Feeling nothing but blessed and grateful for this experience! Don't get me wrong I'm still human haha, there are times mainly the moments I realize I have to go to the bathroom (which means squatter time) that I find myself asking "what are you doing to yourself?!" All in all though I feel blessed to be here...
We are lucky enough to be teaching at a variety of places... A few primary schools, a few temples, some child care villages, an orphanage, and volunteering at the hospital. They each offer such phenomenal experiences and many memories are made every time I am in the presence of the people I teach. I enjoy the presence of the students at the primary schools and their eager attitudes to learn English. The monks are such happy people with kindest hearts I have ever met. The village children are adorable and always happy to see "white people." the place that melts my heart the most is when we attend the hospital. We go there once a week to make crafts with some of the children there. All of them are terminally ill with cancer or other various diseases. Although heart wrenching I feel blessed to spend time with these special children!!