Wow, it’s almost time to go back. One week from today. Of course I’m excited, but I’m also a little nervous. Before I left, I was finally starting to make friends and start a new life. But I’ve been back for so long, I feel like I will be starting from scratch in a strange country. But, that’s what makes it exciting.

All the hurdles have been cleared. I finally received my acceptance to ECC’s CELTA course, and I got my passport back today with a triple-entry tourist visa attached ($75, ouch). I’ll have a week to re-acclimatize and buy some shirts and ties (Thais want their teachers to look like Mormons), and then I’ll be busy with school for four weeks. Very busy. Many people say the CELTA was the hardest four weeks of their life. Whatever the case, it will be very intense, with class and teaching all day, and homework and lesson preparation all night. I look forward to the challenge (famous last words, I know).

It took so long to get the acceptance, I thought I wouldn’t get into the February session, and would have a month to kill. I wasn’t looking forward to sitting around Bangkok for another month, so I started thinking about a little trip. But where could I go? I could see some of Thailand. Or I could go to Vietnam. But then I remembered what I was denied: the mysteries of China. China’s pretty close to Thailand. You can actually take a train from Bangkok to Vientiane, Laos, then bus your way (I think) to Yunnan, China’s most exotic province. Yunnan’s got it all, from tropical rainforests to Tibetan villages, and I want to go.

So, now I’ll be busy for a month, but I can’t stop thinking about China. Maybe I can take a little trip before I look for employment. So stay tuned, Trek fans…