All Good Things Must Come To An End

I DID IT!!!! I cannot believe it’s time for me to leave the place I have grown to love and call home. I’ve fallen in love with a country, its people and its culture. Looking back on the past 10 months I am in awe of what I have learned: about myself, about traveling and about another country.
It feels just like yesterday I received my acceptance letter into my TEFL program in Cambodia/Thailand. Had someone told me a year and a half ago I would pack up my life, leave my family, friends, boyfriend and my 8 month pregnant sister, I would have told them they were nuts. But I did and I am SO thankful I made the move! I came out here on my own, without a job, not knowing what to except and from these experiences I believe I have grown so much as a person. I am a stronger, a wiser, a better person then before (hard to imagine I know). I’m not going to lie, times were tough, but the good days outweighed the bad and I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for this experience. My heart was broken twice while in Thailand: once by a boy, and once by the country’s people. I healed from the first, but my heart still aches for Thailand as a whole – what an experience to be here during times of turmoil. I’ve witnessed a country come together as one and unite to rebuild and it’s been eye opening. I could write for pages and pages about my time here, but I will leave it at this. I am truly blessed to have done what I’ve done and seen what I’ve seen. This is not goodbye – not to Thailand or my traveling days. I am not sure what lies ahead, but I am excited to see what’s next in the life of Sarah Earp!

Island Hopping: Final Day

All I’ve got to say is thank God for Dramamine.
This morning I packed my bag and headed to my 9am ferry back to Phuket. This was the beginning of a never ending day(s) of travel. Phi Phi to Phuket, Phuket to Bangkok (last minute dentist appointment, dinner w/ a friend, trip to the night market to buy yet another suitcase, then a few hours of sleep), Bangkok to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Seoul, Seoul to SEATTLE!
After taking the world’s craziest boat ride of my life, I have set up camp at the Phuket airport as my plane does not leave for another 4 hours – what a dud. I still feel as though I am rocking back and forth and want to puke (but I won’t as I hate it). Thankfully I was one of the few that didn’t lose my breakfast on the ride here (thank you Dramamine aka my new best friend). Waves were crashing over the bow and at the windows in every direction. I felt like I was on an episode of the Deadliest Catch minus the whole crabbing/fishing thing.
Safely on dry land to the airport I went. Having made it through security with no problems I was feeling pretty good. Tomorrow will be the real test. I am scared out of my mind to tell you the truth. Hoping and praying the visa/custom people just make me pay a fee for overstaying my visa instead of locking me up in some Thai jail like I read they might. Here’s hoping.
See you all very, very soon!!!

Island Hopping Day 8

Apparently living in Thailand and not working out for 10 months causes one to become out of shape.
This morning I decided to be ambitious and get a head start on the day. The weather looked as if it was going to hold up (atleast I thought it did) so off I went to tour the island. My first stop was the Tsunami Memorial.

The 2004 tsunami hit Phi Phi hard and the aftermath was devastating. It practically wiped out the entire island and took many lives of locals and tourists alike. A major rebuilding program in recent years has left the island looking remarkably better – if you were unaware that such a catastrophe had taken place, you might think Phi Phi is just another beautiful island under a lot of development, rather than one that was destroyed and is being rebuilt.
After walking up and down beach where the memorial park was suppose to be, a local finally told me they have taken down the sight and are in the works of building a much bigger/better memorial. Since there was sadly nothing to see, I went to my next destination: the view point. This is where I discovered how out of shape I am.
I felt like I was climbing the Great Wall in China – there were seriously an absurd amount of stairs to climb before reaching the uphill trail that would eventually lead me to view point #1. Sweaty doesn’t even begin to describe the condensation streaming down my body. I finally made it to the first view point where a cute little Thai man was selling water - I had never been so thankful in my entire life! After taking a few pictures I decided to make my way to the next view point despite the dark grey clouds rolling in. I should have just stopped there. Picture me hiking up a mountain in flip flops on an unpaved trail in a torrential downpour – it was quite the sight. Somehow I managed to stay on two feet and not slide down the slippery path along the way. The rain stopped by the time I made it to view point #2, however the wind did not. Soaking wet and freezing (well what I consider freezing now) I stayed only long enough to take in the amazing view and snap a few pictures. It was well worth the hike, but boy am I out of shape. Two more days until I hit the gym back home – thank goodness for that!

By the time I reached my hotel it was as if the rain storm never hit – clear blue sunny skies. Off I went to the beach where I intended to gain as much sun as possible before going home. No one is going to believe l lived in Thailand for a year when they see how pale I am! I can’t say I got a good tan, but I can say I managed to fry myself. We’re talking Kentucky fry chicken fry myself. My poor massage lady I went to (yes I treated myself to another massage) did an all over aloe vera rub on me and kept saying “oh, so red, like barbeque”. Her and I both were rather entertained by it all.
A great hike and a good burn – just how I imagined spending my last full day on the beach. Life is good!

Island Hopping Day 7: Part 1

I did NOT sign up for this!!

Near death experiences definitely were NOT on the brochure I looked at when signing up for my day long island tour.

The girls I met up with in Krabi were now in Phi Phi and we decided to make the most of our time here and do a day trip around the nearby islands. We found a great deal: 500 baht ($15) for a full day tour of snorkeling/kayaking around all 6 islands in the Phi Phi area. This program started at 10 and ended at sunset. It included breakfast, lunch, snacks, dry bags and fresh fruit. What they failed to tell us was that we would have to risk our lives to get to some of these destinations!

We were all a little hesitant to go on the trip to begin with b/c of the terrible weather, but we figured screw it, what else were we gonna do, sit in our rooms and watch TV in Thai? No thanks. Rain shmain - I'm from Seattle for crying out loud.

Our first stop was awesome! The rain had briefly stopped and we jumped off the boat and snorkeled around amazing coral - I think I saw more snorkeling than diving! I got tired of snorkeling and decided to go back to the boat to get a kayak to ride around. I went back into this secluded area where big boats could not fit through - it was incredible!!!!! My neck hurt from straining so hard to look up at the enormous limestone cliffs. It was so peaceful back there! I will never forget it!

Sadly that was about the only enjoyable thing on our trip. Originally I was really looking forward to our next stop: Maya Beach. This is where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. What the tour failed to tell us was that we were going to nearly die getting there. Our boat anchored and our guide explained to us we needed to leave our flippers behind (but carry our shoes on our hands) and swim to those stairs over there...okay, I thought, I can do this, it's not THAT far. Little did they let on that there was the STRONGEST current I have ever felt in my life. They didn't bother to ask anyone if they are strong swimmers or not. Had they asked or let on that it was going to be tough I would have taking the kayak option for sure. I kid you not I nearly died. Sure the first 2-3 mins were fine, but soon I was struggling against the current and the number of longtail boats nearly running over my head. I started to panic and let me tell you, panicking and water do not, I repeat DO NOT mix (I found this out last summer in Moses Lake - thank you Bonnie for saving my life - I could have used you again today!!!) After freaking out, crying, and nearly drowning I made it to safety or so I thought. Just when I thought it was over and I reached the rope that lead to the stairs, huge crashing waves threw me against the rocks and it hurt like hell! After risking my life again on the other side of the stairs (more rocks and water to navigate through) we made it to Maya Beach. Not going to lie, it looked nothing like the movie, but that's b/c they obviously did not film this movie during the monsoon season!!! We got hit with a crazy rain storm which left our bodies stinging - for the first time in 10 months I had goosebumps. We had a full hour at this location, so to stay warm we jumped into the water where we were constantly battling the waves. I held on to a bouy and got massive rope burn on my hands, but it was better then the needles being pelted into my body from the rain so I took it. Stinging, freezing, and badly bruised I was ready to move on to our next destination.

I wish it got better from there but it didn't. We ended up skipping the next island b/c when the tour went there yesterday there were too many jellyfish around. Fine with me I thought. Well unlucky for us, all those jellyfish must have made their way to our next destination b/c we got attacked by them. Oh man - the pain, not fun!

I am sure I can think of other stories from the day like when our huge boat stopped and the all the Thai men (minus the driver obviously) jumped into their Zodiak and went to grab the dead fish floating a few hundred feet out (there's their dinner for the night) and how I was turned into a mermaid, but I will save them for in person.


Crazy Thailand adventures were what I was after my last week here and I think I achieved atleast one today. More to come I'm sure of it.

Island Hopping Day 7: Part 2

All I've got to say is thank goodness I was wearing cute underwear!

After a supposedly relaxing day turned quite stressful I decided I deserved a little R&R, so off I went to get a massage.

My favorite massage has got to be the oil massage. An hour (sometimes longer if you're lucky) of complete relaxation where someone rubs warm oil over your entire body...yes please!

I cannot count the number of massages I have had in my time here so far - they are SO cheap that I've taken full advantage of them. My first few massages were a bit interesting, but since then I have learned the ropes and am comfortable with what they entail...until tonight.

I went to a new place (as I have never been to Phi Phi island before) and lets just say their rituals or whatever you want to call them were a bit different than what I am used to. For example, I was taken up to a dark room where beds were strewn along the floor and asked to take off my cloths - normal procedure EXCEPT this time they did not have anything to cover me with. The towel I eyed at the foot of my bed was to dab the oil off my body once the lady was done NOT to cover me up with like I imagined. There I was, in the nude, other than a really cute pair of Victoria Secret underwear (thanks to a good friend who sent me some undies in a care package). Did I mention a totally hot European guy was in the bed not even an arms length away for me...too bad his girlfriend was downstairs getting a pedicure - haha. Anyway, all was fine until I had to turn over and lay on my back. Yup, you can imagine it...tits up. I was so uncomfortable all I could do was laugh (and cup my boobs of course). So awesome.

Another experience to log. Gonna get myself a massage tomorrow as well - may try out a new place where they don't make me expose myself to all the strangers around me though.

Island Hopping Day 6: Phi Phi

I wish I had something exciting to report, but I don't.
Today was a bit of a dud.
I left my cute little hostel in Koh Lanta and headed off to Phi Phi in this order of transportation: minivan, ferry, more minivaning, more ferrying, minivan once again and finally a large vessel (passenger ferry maybe?) to Phi Phi Don.
The views were breathtaking as usual - HUGE cliffs everywhere, white sandy beaches and crystal clear aqua water.
I checked into my hotel and was pleasantly surprised - everything is much more expensive here, yet I managed to find a decent place for 1,000 baht a night ($30).
After unpacking and setting up camp for the next 3 days, off to the beach I went to catch some afternoon rays - not going to lie, I am a bit depressed with how "white" I am for living here for 10 months. I thought I'd get a great tan these last 8 days, but between the rain and the traveling from island to island, I haven't had much beach time - mai pen rai right?
Once the dark clouds took over I went back to my hotel to shower for dinner - I was meeting up with the girls I went to Krabi with my first day.
We had a delicious meal and walked around town - its a cute little place with lots of shops.
Oh, I almost forgot...I saw a monkey in 7-11 today. Yes, a monkey. I have now seen bunnies and a monkey in 7-11, what's next, an elephant?
Off to bed I go as Phi Phi has left me depressed - I feel very old and alone here. Seriously everyone here is MAYBE 20 and here with their boyfriend/girlfriend. Awesome.
O well, I need a good nights sleep as I have a big day tomorrow - snorkeling/kayaking tour around the islands from morning til sunset. Should be fun!

Island Hopping Day 5: Purple Earple #2

I cannot stop grinning from the day I just had. It may go down as the BEST day I have had in my Thailand experience thus far - that's a pretty big statement considering I've had some amazing times these past 10 months.

After having a restful night, I woke up bright and early and ready to start my day. I had arranged for a motorbike to be delivered to my hostel by 8am so I could start my tour of Koh Lanta.

There she stood - bright purple and ready to take me for a ride. I named her Purple Earple #2 (#1 was a rental car an ex had to drive around after someone t-boned him dropping me off). Anyway - she was a beauty and all mine for 24 hours.

I'm not going to lie, the beginning of our relationship was a bit shaky. I haven't driven a car in over 10 months, let alone a motorbike EVER, so I (and her) were in for a treat. The lady at the hostel looked a bit concerned when I shared with her the fact I have never driven a motorbike before, but after a quick introduction she handed me the keys and I was off...until it stalled.

I said a little prayer (no need to get injured 5 days before coming home, let alone a hospital visit as I am on an expired visa) and I eventually made it to the main road. Once there it was a piece of cake, except for the fact I had to remind myself to drive on the opposite side of the road then I am used to.

With no map to go by, it was just me and Purple Earple off to explore every inch of Koh Lanta. I think we may have achieved that - I literally saw everything and it was amazing!

With Bob Marley and Slightly Stoopid blasting in my ears, the sun beating on my face and the wind blowing my hair, I was in my happy place. Life seriously couldn't get any better. I went from one end of the island to the other then back, oh and around the whole thing later that day.

When I was hot I parked my bike and jumped in the sea. When I needed a break from the sun I climbed into a nearby cave (there are some amazing caves out here). When I was hungry I stopped at local street-side stands where they were impressed with my Thai. When I wanted to take a break I found a secluded beach and plopped down with my book.

At one point tears were brought to my eyes from the beauty of this place and from pure happiness. I hadn't a care in the world and I loved every minute of it. Oh boy, here come the tears again - I'm sure going to miss this place I have come to love and call home!

PS Rethinking the whole car thing when I get home - gonna save up for a dirt bike or quad instead - WAY more fun and Seattle has a good metro system I can work with :)

T.I.T. party

As a going away party for Donna we threw a "This is Thailand" aka T.I.T. party.
After living here for nearly a year you learn some things happen only in Thailand, thus being a "T.I.T" moment.
For example, it's okay to cram a family of 5 on a small motorbike with a two month old in the front basket on the highway and it's okay to make and wear the most degrading t-shirts ever. For example, I saw a cute, old little Thai man wearing a "I F*** on the first date" t-shirt while exercising. Sad thing is he probably has no idea what it says or means.
We decided to have a little fun with these t-shirts and host a terrible "T.I.T." t-shirt party.
Surprisingly enough all the shirts we turned up in were rather tame compared to what is out there. Don't judge me or my friends by our shirts, it was all for the party. Here are some pictures...




After sunset we decided to move our rooftop party to one of my favorite pubs downtown: the Dubliner.
After a few pints and live Irish music, someone had the great idea to hit up Soi Cowboy - a local "sex tourist" strip in Bangkok. Against my will I went. Our T.I.T. party turned into a real tit party. There I was sitting in a girlie bar watching naked girls get baht thrown to them by nasty, fat white men. I've never felt so sorry for the Thai women and so disgusted by western men. Definitely a "This is Thailand" moment.

Ouch

I am officially falling apart.

First my big toenail was ripped of by some chic trying to impress some dude with her muay thai moves - which by the way weren't even good. Stacey, you could totally take her with what Gun has shown you!
Then I sweat off all my sunscreen and somehow managed to burn, no FRY, the back of my knees and ass - seriously don't think there is anything more painful...childbirth possibly, but I have yet to experience that, so I am sticking with burning my cracks to being the most excruciatingly painful thing EVER.
Lastly, I have a bruise the size of a fist on my right upper arm - only thing is I can't recall being punched. All I know is it HURTS and I keep bumping it.

Say a little prayer that I don't lay down the motorbike I am renting tomorrow!

Island Hopping Day 4

Today I hopped on a minivan and headed to my 3rd destination: Koh Lanta.
I've heard amazing things about this island, but to be honest, I am not seeing them... YET!
I arrived here around 2pm and found the cutest and CHEAPEST guesthouse ever. It's run by a really cool Japanese lady in her early 30s maybe and she is exceptionally nice and helpful.
My cute little room is costing me less than 500 baht a day (that's about $15 a night - did I mention I'm paying double occupancy, imagine how cheap it would be if I was sharing it). It has a/c, cable, internet, a hot shower and a pool - this is the life!
The only problem I've come across so far is this place is a GHOST TOWN! I kid you not, the island (or atleast what I have seen of it so far) is completely empty! Restaurants, shops and bars are all closed - I had to find a local minimart to grab lunch - will try to find a Thai restaurant for dinner- wish me luck.
It is the low (and rainy) season which explains it, but compared to the other islands I've been to the past few days, it's practically DESERTED! Kinda an eerie feeling, but at the same time I kinda like it. Being here solo (not only in my hostel, but on the island as well) will give me lots of time to reflect on my past 10 months...and rest up before I hit crazy Phi Phi island before returning back to Bangkok.
Off to find some dinner and rent a motorbike for tomorrow (scary, but exciting)!
Stay tuned for my next adventure :)

Island Hopping Day 3: The four "S's"

Sunburn – The sun finally decided to come out, so I packed my beach bag and grabbed a longtail boat to Phra Nang located on Railay beach. Can I just say I LOVE Thailand! It only took me ten minutes to get to this breathtaking beach from where I was staying in Ao Nang and within those ten short minutes I was in awe of what I saw around me. Crystal clear water and sky scrapping cliffs, absolutely amazing! There are over 600 established routes among these amazing karsts (limestone formations created from a collision between mainland Asia and India about 30 million years ago) thus making Railay beach every climber’s dream come true! There was no climbing done by this girl, but maybe tomorrow!

Storm – HOLY RAIN! I know I say this every time it rains here, but seriously I have NEVER seen anything like it in my entire life. After spending hours on the beach getting burnt (oops), I opened my eyes and realized I must have fallen asleep – within that time, the weather took a dramatic turn. The sky was now dark and looked as if the heavens were about to open. I quickly packed up my bag and prayed I made it to shelter before the storm hit…no such luck. My luggage was atleast a 15 minute walk from where I was and the heavens decided to flood the beaches and streets well before that. Drenching rain like I have never seen soaked me to the bone thankfully I was in my bathing suit so “mai pen rai” (no worries).

Street food – after a much needed relaxing day on the beach I was spent…and hungry! I only have a few days left in Thailand, so I am going to make the most of the cheap street food and eat everything I can get my hands on. Tonight I had the BEST barbeque chicken I have ever ate (yes, it even beat the death by chicken at the Casa del Rio) and Som Tom (a yummy papaya salad). For less than $3 I was left stuffed, but not enough to pass up my last “S” for the day…

Snickers Gelato – can you say yum? Icecream is my weakness, especially when it tastes as good as this stuff was. Oh my goodness. Snickers gelato just might be my new favorite thing – did I mention it is 94% fat free which obviously means I can have atleast 2 scoops AND splurge for a waffle cone right? According to my dad I’m already "fat and red” so why not add to my "fatness" and live it up my last week here!
**Off to my next destination tomorrow morning: Koh Lanta**

Island Hopping Day 1 and 2

What a start to my island hopping adventure. After going to bed this morning at 5am (not by choice) I was awoken to the sounds of horrendous snoring in the other room where I was staying. You see, my friend Andy whom I did my TEFL course with 9 months ago in Cambodia kindly offered me to crash at her place in Phuket. I figured a free place to stay is always a good place to stay (unless you’ve read my Bali blog – we all learned that was a TERRIBLE experience)!
Anyway, July 10th I set off on my island hopping adventure. First stop: Phuket. I hadn’t seen Andy since we went our separate ways in Thailand back in October and it was really good to see a familiar face again. After taking the freakiest cab ride of my life from the airport to Andy’s neighborhood, Andy came to pick me up on her scooter since the taxi man had NO clue where to go (come on dude, your one job is to take people to their destinations, shouldn’t you atleast kinda know where things are before agreeing to take them?) Anyway, we spent the next few hours catching up and reminiscing about what we've learned and how far we have come since we left the States in September. That night Andy was hosting a party with her neighbor for some going away party. Since I was staying there I had no other choice then to attend, so there I was with about 20 complete strangers (15 of which were this HUGE bloaks in town doing Muay Thai training – seriously, never seen so many HUGE men in my life – it was kinda creepy) making small talk and having a good time. Just as I thought the party was winding down and I was ready to climb into bed, I was informed a taxi was there to pick us up…really? Again, not wanting to be the party pooper I rallied and joined the group. By the way, by taxi I meant pick-up truck. Picture this…10 of us (remember 8 of which were some of these HUGE men) squished into the back of the truck for our 45 min drive to Patong – a total sketch, sex tourist hang out in Phuket. Only in Thailand. I wish I could say what I saw shocked me, but nothing really does anymore. After being here for nearly a year, old fat farang men with tiny, young Thai women don’t even phase me, neither do the HOT katoys (lady boys). It’s a totally different world out here! Against my will I was forced to stay out until the wee hours of the night (or should I say morning) and trust me, it was anything but fun. Being one of the only sober people in the entire town was not exactly what I had in mind for my first night of vacation. Did I mention one of the girls I was with was showing off her muay thai moves while we stood in line for a club and as she stepped back she happened to rip off half of my big toe nail – OUCH doesn’t even begin to explain the pain I felt. Awesome. In pain and totally exhausted from my last week of school, all I wanted was a bed. After way too many hours I was finally able to convince the group to go home (at 4am) and I caught some much needed shut eye. Unfortunately that shut eye only lasted a few hours b/c I was awoken by the 15 snoring giants in the living room. I walked out and felt like I had walked into some strange ogar film. Knowing I would not be going back to sleep any time soon I decided to pack my bags and try to wake my friend to take me to the bus station and head to my next destination: Krabi.
Andy was dead to the world so I hung out in her roommates room until I heard the giants stir. I pounced at the opportunity to hitch a ride on the back of one of their motorbikes and was off to the bus terminal. Unfortunately along the way we got caught in an insane rain storm – gotta love monsoon season! We stopped at 7-11 to grab some ponchos, but apparently these are hot commodities as they were all sold out. I did manage to snag some plastic bags to wrap my laptop in. There I was, huge backpack on my back, a plastic wrapped laptop on my lap, my dive bag strung across my chest, holding on for dear life to an enormous man making my way to Krabi. What a sight.
At the bus station, I met up with some girls I met in Bangkok a few weeks ago through my dear friend Ms. Bowen and we set off on our 3 hour journey. I've always said I wouldn’t make a fun road trip buddy b/c I fall asleep anywhere and as you can imagine I was fast asleep before we even pulled onto the main road due to my lack of sleep the night before. My sleep depravation paid off though as I slept the entire way.
We were dropped off in what we thought was Ao Nang, but soon found out we were in Krabi town – about 15 miles from where we wanted to be. There we were 4 girls with gigantic hiking backpacks hitching a ride from locals. Hanging on for dear life we finally made it. Instantly I fell in love – beach, shops, restaurants, cheap lodging, what more could on ask for?
The girls and I were famished and went to this cute little Indian place were we had the yummiest chicken curry and naan bread EVER! Pretty sure I will be back there atleast once before I leave this place. Still recovering from my late night the night before I told the girls I was not going to be going out with them, yes even during the FINAL World Cup game…who is this girl? I must have been tired – I’ve barely missed a game yet! I really wasn’t having the 1:30am starting time though. I hung out with the girls for a bit, but was in bed by 11. Thank goodness I didn’t go out with them – my roommate for the night didn’t stroll in until well after 4am. I just can’t hang like they do anymore – I feel ancient! O well, an early bed time means more beach time for me tomorrow!!

Perfect Place

It shouldn't surprise you that somehow, even hundreds of miles away from home, word got out that I am one bad ass house/dog sitter.

House/dog sitting was seriously a second, no third or fourth income to my nannying, boutique shoe store and church nursery job in college. I absolutely LOVE dogs and what's better then getting paid for something you to love? Not forgetting to mention you usually get to stay in a really nice house where the fridge and pantry are stocked - the perfect thing for a starving college student OR a now homeless, soon to be jobless, teacher in Thailand.

My lease is up and a dive instructor of mine just happened to need someone to watch their house and dog on the exact dates I needed somewhere to stay before taking off on my own beach trip - doesn't get better than that!

Here I sit in an amazing house located in a neighborhood called "Perfect Place". The gardeners are out every morning and afternoon trimming the same leaf they clipped hours prior, neighbors smile and wai or wave every time you pass, the guards tell me I'm beautiful every time I come and go (always nice to hear!) and everything you need is within walking distance (7-11s, street food, community pool, work out facilities, etc). This place is seriously perfect, creepily perfect. I kinda feel like it's from the set of Stepford wives or Pleasantville. Did I mention I am with one of the best dogs I have ever met. She doesn't bark (unless she is chasing her frisbee), doesn't chew on anything, can go hours w/o having to pee and doesn't wake me up at night.

A nice house, a great dog, oh and a house cleaner who leaves me homemade cooked meals for when I come home - now this is the life.

Everything is just perfect here in Perfect Place.

God Bless America!

Happy 4th of July everyone and happy birthday Julie Hill!
This year I have learned holidays just aren't the same when spent away from family and friends.
It is 6pm in Thailand on July 4th (4am Seattle time) and I just now got wished a happy 4th by an Aussie of all people :) Thanks for remembering Michelle!
There were no parades, bbqs or fireworks this year. Instead I spent my day in Perfect Place where I am house/dog sitting for the next week.
My friend Kate and I went to Fashion Island where we had Starbucks and then went to the neighborhood pool (in between the rain clouds of course).
Dragon fruit, rose apples, mangoes and papaya have replaced burgers and brawts this year, but it was a nice change - as much as I miss American food especially summer barbecues, I LOVE the fruit here and I am going to miss it dearly!
Today was definitely different from years past, but none the less still a great day!
Don't worry America, I will be home in FIFTEEN DAYS!!!!!
Wishing everyone a fun, safe 4th!