Coming Back to the USA: Things I Look Forward To The Most

- One word. Chipotle.
- Another word. Netflix!

- wholesale shopping at Costco
- the wonderful world of Target
- cheap magazine subscriptions (Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire.. here I come!)
- GREAT customer service (definitely one of Thailand's weaknesses)
- fast and reliable internet connection
- an animal-friendly environment (we're bringing 2 cats with us!)
- online shopping (Amazon, Ebay, Craigslist, Bluefly, Topshop, Asos,... the choices are endless!)
- Borders and Barnes & Noble (the selection, the coffee, the environment.. *sigh*)
- cheaper American brands (e.g. Forever 21, Nine West, Aldo, Wet Seal, Charlotte Russe) and cosmetics
- drugstore cosmetics that are not available in Thailand
- makeup that matches my skin tone
- cold weather fashion (coats, scarves, jackets, boots, layering...!)
- affordable, high quality clothing (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Value Village..)
There are tons of cheap clothing here, but the quality is very questionable, and I can't try them on!
- H&M! Urban Outfitters!

and, of course..

- seeing my family and friends :D

There are a lot of things that I am definitely going to miss about Thailand, but I CANNOT wait to go home. Can you tell? ;)

Update!

Wow. I have totally neglected this blog. It's been months and months now since my last post, and I don't think anybody is reading this anymore. I've basically been all over the place in terms of blogging. I created several blogs: a makeup/fashion blog, a handbag blog, and a book blog. I have this sporadic tendency to want to compartmentalize everything, but after I did that, I suddenly wanted everything back in just one blog. Gosh, I can be so unstable sometimes.

Anyways, I thought I'd give an update on what I've been up to in order to get this blog rolling back again.

Biggest news, which most of my family and friends already know, is that I'm moving back to the U.S.  My boyfriend ran into some visa problems where the Thai embassy rejected his tourist visa application which means that he can only be in the country for 30 days and then have to leave and re-enter. We thought it would just be easier to go home a lot earlier than we planned. At first, I was definitely not ready for it. Before the visa problem, we had decided to go home in the summer of next year. However, after looking into our options, I am now super excited and can't wait to go home.

We will be moving to Seattle into a townhome that his parents own. My plan is to find a full-time job and probably go to grad school to get a master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). After my 1 year teaching experience here in Bangkok, I've realized that I really love teaching, and it's something that I want to continue doing; however, finding an English teaching job in the States is a lot more difficult than it is in Asia. The requirements are different, and the pay is lower (relative to the cost of living). In order for me to teach at a community college, university or language center,  I need to have a master's degree (In Asia, I only need a 130-hr. certificate.).

It looks like I'll have my work cut out for me, but it's all very exciting at the same time.

I'm ready for a new change, a fresh start, and a place where I can finally feel somewhat settled.

And, most of all, I can't wait to see my family and friends! :)