I have arrived..
My last few days in Udon Thani were spent packing, enjoying family, and most of all squeezing all I could out of the short time frame I did have left. It seems like a strange thought to be going back to "my home" when in alot of ways I had made Thailand my home. Being brought the airport seemed surreal and unimaginable. I was greeted at the airport by a large group of my friends from school whom were all bearing gifts, and cards to give me. We shared hugs, pictures, and our final goodbye's before the female announcer came on to announce the flight to Bangkok was ready for boarding. 
As a walked through the gate I still found myself waving to my friends through the dirty windows. Something about seeing them through glass now seemed to make me realize that I wont be seeing them tomorrow in Biology, or after school on the bus. Was this really over? A year of memories coming to an end? The flight to Bangkok went quickly as I read some of my goodbye cards from friends and snacked on the salty snack they served complimentary on the flight.Ended up spending the night in Bangkok and leaving the next morning for Vancouver International airport. I said my final goodbye's to my host dad who had came to Bangkok and was on my way the west side of the globe.
I remember distincally feeling awkward around all of these white people sitting around me. Remember thinking to myself, "how should I act?". It was almost as if I didn't know how to go about having a conversation with someone in english. The flight attendant had asked me if I needed a pillow snd I found myself studdering to find the words in english. Arrived in the Vancouver airport and was able to meander my way over to my next gate for the flight to Calgary. Close to 2 hours passed and I had arrived back on albertan soil, strange thought. As I walked toward baggage claim I saw the first glimpse of my mom. She was holding a bouquet of flowers and wearing a familiar smile. I have never been so happy to see my mom. After I grabbed my luggage I headed outside to start the jouney back to the bridge.
My impression now.
I find coming back is more of an adjustment that Thailand was. I have been able to get a fresh view of things and am looking at our culture with new eyes. I see the route of our society being run around the idea of materialism and the pressure to buy more than you need. The excess makes me cringe and is hard to seewhy we have chosen a path such as this. Something that angers me most is the amount of waste we produce. Because we see everything as limitless we do not stop to cherish what we do have when we have it. Instead we toss that and go for the next best thing. Why? My questions have yet to be answered and I have been doing some searching myself.
Going away has allowed me to see our culture in another light. I am sure within a few days I will have come to realize alot of the positive things in our society but I will leave it at this for now.
Going away to Thailand was such an eye opening experience. I want to thank Rotary for giving me this amazing opportunity to go away. I realize that not all of us can get this opportunity and for that I will be forever thankful. Thank you to everyone who helped me get to Thailand and for all of you who supported my decision to go.
