Listen to Your Body

I could get all spiritual with you. I could tell you that the body is a vehicle for our souls. I could tell you how much appreciation and awareness are owed to this amazing platform for life. 

I could tell you these things, but you probably won’t listen.

It doesn’t matter; your body is a sneaky little beast. Your body will act like a psychotic child crazed for attention. Even when you persistently ignore it, your body will stamp its feet and make a scene.

And you still won’t listen.

But in one form or another, be that an accident, a sickness, or a disease, your body will dropkick your ass. With the wind knocked out of you, you will try wrapping your head around what’s going on. All the while, your body will be in the corner, shaking its head, saying, “I told you so.”

It’s in this state of total exhaustion that you finally take notice of your body.

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For me, my body made its testament on my way to dinner Friday night. In the surroundings of oncoming traffic, my body said enough. I fainted, taking a hard nose-dive to the pavement.

Just like that, my body provided the wake up call I had been ignoring.

You see, I’m the type of girl that’s go, go, go. I’m in the classroom playing superhero making airplanes out of 3 year olds. Five days a week I have at least seven monkeys crawling on me trying to find their own space of Teacher Nola. I am daily over-saturated with Patience; Nurture comes knocking at the door every five seconds; Laughter soaks my skin; Creativity is chief in command. It’s a crazy cacophony of emotions.

When the weekend arrives I quickly switch out the rewarding but taxing life of education for adventure. Within 36 hours I have packed in reuniting with friends, exchanging with locals, experiencing the lands diamonds and relishing in the beauty of Thailand. It’s always too short and so worth it. The Senses are in constant disbelief of how extraordinary it all seems.

Taking perspective on my stimulating lifestyle, I can understand why my body did what it did. I mean, it scared the living shit out of me. But I get it. I have to slow down. So, I canceled my planned trip and did something I should have planned a while ago.

 Rest. 

I stayed in for once. It was the first weekend in months waking up in my own bed rather than in a dorm, a hotel, a guesthouse, or a bus. I took a breath of normality. I watched a movie at the mall. I relaxed at the nail salon. I drank Starbucks. I ate a hamburger. I let my body take a freaking break from the hustle and bustle of my overflowing routine of work and travel.

My friend described me as the celebrity who cancels their tour due to exhaustion. And she was so right on. Because we can’t all be rockstars everyday. We’ve got to give ourselves some time once in a while.

Our body damn well deserves it for all the work it does for us.

Koh Samet & Khao Yai: Rolling Deep with the Wanderlust Academy

Out of all the great things my teach abroad program has provided, above all is the college-esque experience.

And who didn’t love college?

It’s the friendships that thrive without constant attention and connection. Where you can bump into someone on campus you haven’t seen in months, and pick up right where you left off.

So, for me, Thailand is like that. It’s like this college campus I’m still exploring and discovering. It’s like this Wanderlust Academy glittered with friends in different regions. But there is bound to be that party, or that Beach Week, or that Mountain Weekend where we will reunite.

It’s the ability to be connected to a vast population of colleagues in a foreign land. It’s the camaraderie that helps limit moments of loneliness and homesickness.  It’s the fairytale that could be denied, but that is authenticated by shared association.

Did that really happen? Yes, it did.

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Beach Week. Koh Samet is a beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand, popular for Thais and void of the party backpacker. Actually, every Western stranger I met was currently a teacher or had previously been one. A long weekend enticed groups of us from the Isaan region, the North, and the Bangkok area to join in on a beach vacation.

I hadn’t put on my mermaid legs in over 3 months, my excitement was clear. The half-day journey to arrive was worth it the moment we jumped on a boat with fellow program friends already onboard. This crystal blue longboat ride landed us on an island guarded by mermaids. Need I say fate?

Despite rainy season forecasts, the weather was perfect every single day. We shared buckets for breakfast, cocktails couldn’t really wait until happy hour. We ate Thai food on English menus, a true rarity for us Isaan girls. We floated in the ocean, chilled on the beach. A perfect combination of sunshine and laughter. There were moonlight fire shows, where a six year old performed. There were Naga nights body painting, and late night swimming. It was a solid beach vacation.

                                      

Maybe I’m spoiled, maybe I’m oversaturated on saltwater from years by the ocean. I know, I can’t believe I’m saying it. . . but the Caribbean wasn’t giving me the cultural feel of Thailand I’ve become accustomed to. I could have been anywhere in the world. I’m surprised that sand, sun, and sea don’t bewilder me as much anymore. 

Still, the backdrop was perfect for the occasion, it really was. It’s just what I needed, to relax and chat with friends to the soundtrack of waves. And it was groovy to see that, personally, my location in the Northeast, what they call the “Real Thailand”, is perfect for me. I hadn’t really acknowledged that, until then.

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Mountain Weekend. Khao Yai National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers three provinces making it the third largest park in Thailand. It’s a very popular vacation, so our timing of the rainy season helped relieve worries about cabin availability. Cool mountain air, roadside monkeys, two private songthaews and a 40-person cabin all to 17 teachers set the mood for a perfect vacation.

Driving around, up, and into the mountain. We visited a monstrous waterfall, where we discovered pythons, and took in the epic scenery. Unlike Hollywood daredevils in the The Beach we did not jump off it, but we still pushed the edge. We received history lessons on Thailand and Buddhism from our driver situated in picturesque farmland. We watched as millions upon millions of bats flew out of a cave like ballet dancers in the sky. The spectacle was amazing but the company enhanced it tenfold.

We only scratched the surface of the park. But we sure had fun. Monkey business. Laughter. Dancing. Laughter. Like little kids at camp, we built tents, or at least tried.  The trip was short, but we are always able to pack legendary memories within 24 hours.

Traveling deep, with so many people, might seem like an overwhelming experience to some. And yeah, it is a lot of people. Totally. But bringing together mass amounts of friends just provides an opportunity to celebrate.

And it’s not like we just celebrate. We celebrate with backdrops of the most beautiful places in the world.