Here we go....

Life continues to move along around here. Now that I'm past the year mark I do feel an odd sense of time speeding up and an urgency to really try to get things done in my community. I'm friends with many of the volunteers in the group before me (Group 120, I am Group 121) and they are in their last weeks and months of being a volunteer. It's strange because next year at this time, that will be me. Now I realize another year is still a substantial amount of time, but even so, I'm realizing more and more that a year isn't that much time.

I was talking to one of my closest volunteer friends here and she was telling me how she recently found out her school is starting a recycling bank, but she had no idea until someone translated that into English. She was frustrated because of the immense language barrier, proving the fact that life is a bit more challenging here. She exclaimed, "My life would be so much easier if I just spoke Thai!" Now we aren't complaining, but it's true. I forget how difficult the simplest plans or arrangements are because of the language difficulties. In my region, it's not just Thai, it's Laos that causes more problems. Everything just seems to take longer than it should and that's why a year left here seems a bit daunting.

In other news, the hot season has arrived. Again, it's a symbol of a full year here. I remember last year during training, when each day in February and March seemed to be hotter than the day before, leading up to the scorching month of April. I laughed at the "cold" season this past fall when it was in the 70s and 80s and I slept with only one fan aimed at me at night. Now, I'm back to the two fans and waking up to 90 degree weather already at 7am. I sort of forgot how hot the hot season is here, and here it comes.

Along with the heat, comes the yearly cycle of fruits. The fruits I once found so exotic and new last year are once again coming back in season and I am excited. It's time for mangoes, mangoes, mangoes, rambutans, and mangosteens. It's like getting excited for apples in the fall in America, but Thai fruits are somehow more fun.

So here we go, another year in Thailand is before me, and so far, it's already better than last year.