Skip to main content

Going to Thailand!

On Friday, November 29, 2013 I was officially accepted to the CARM DTS in Bangkok, Thailand! 

I saw the email and said, "Huh."  A little underwhelming of a response, I know.  But I had just been so stressed out for so long, being unable to make plans for my trip and frustration had been building.  So seeing my acceptance was more of an exasperated "Finally!", than a "Yay, I get to go!".  Of course, the news started to sink in throughout the day and I began to get excited about going to Thailand for five months.  At least I was excited when I wasn't looking at the overload of information and extensive lists of things to do, sending me into full on panic attacks.

Then I had to figure out how and where and when to apply for my visa.  We conveniently have a Thai Consulate right in Edmonton, so the how and where was very simple.  The when on the other hand - not so much.  My work schedule, which includes three respite families and Famoso, is difficult to work around.  And then I had to wait for a letter from YWAM confirming that I was going with them and all that.  That took a little while...  And all the time I was just getting more and more stressed, because everyone is saying how visas can take a long time to come through and I'm sitting here like "I leave in less than a month, don't tell me these things" and freaking out freaking out!!!

But I finally got the letter from YWAM and miraculously didn't work Monday morning, so I drove in to the Thai Consulate in downtown Edmonton.  Walked into the office.  And walked out WITH MY VISA in twenty minutes.  And the lady at the office was so nice and helpful, and made sure I understood everything about my visa.

So now I know I am going and I can get into the country!  I am finally starting to get excited, because all the hard paperwork is done!  Still lots to do, but it's gonna get done!
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 17, 2013 at 4:46 PM

    Shaneen ! Thailand rocks congratulations

    ReplyDelete
  2. stephanieDecember 19, 2013 at 8:12 AM

    Congratulations! That's really exciting news!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownDecember 28, 2013 at 6:43 PM

    I'm going tooo! see you in about 13 days.. eeks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dale IbsenJanuary 25, 2014 at 5:07 PM

    Count your blessings Shaneen. If you were doing this in Asia (like you probably are doing similar things now) you might take 2 or 3 days!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Storm Chasers

Another non-fiction writing course composition. This project was a revision of the manifesto we did a while back. ( http://shaneenstravels.blogspot.ca/2016/01/new-year-new-adventures.html ) This is based on a true story - one of the greatest nights I've spent with some of my best friends. The night we chased the storm. The Greatest Adventure Story The night was enticing and full of potential. A storm raged outside, a call to the heart of an adventurer.  However, the young band of heroes curled up safe and dry in their lair, where the sounds of the wind and rain could not reach them.  The adventurers were taking a night off of their usual daring deeds, choosing instead to idly watch the night pass them by.             The hero of a great adventure story must be more interested in experiencing life than they are in merely passing the time.  Excitement comes far more easily and frequently to the active adventurer...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Magic of HoCho

(Just a fun little writing project from my class to keep you warm on this wintry day.) Winter can be a tough time for everyone.  Days are shorter and often darker, bringing about seasonal doldrums.  The annual battle against the elements is a struggle felt by everyone, whether working out in the blizzards, driving on the icy roads, or hauling a toboggan up the slippery hill.  When the frosty grasp of winter works its way past toques and scarves and settles into the bones, the cold can seem impossible to escape.   But fear not!  There is yet a beacon of light and warmth in the vast wintry plains, a small comfort, bringing hope to even the most frozen of winter sufferers.  It is hot chocolate!  That glorious miracle of a delicious hot beverage, come to restore feeling to the extremities and joy to the heart.   In the beginning days of hot chocolate, Mayans and Aztecs believed the drink to have medicinal properties, probably du...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Year, New Adventures

My last writing assignment of last semester was to write a manifesto.  The topic could be as broad or specific as we wanted - topics chosen by my classmates ranged from general advice on how to live a good life to enjoying rain to internet trolling...quite the range of characters we have in that little class. Honestly, this assignment was giving me a lot of issues, and I still am not happy with the way it turned out.  There's maybe two lines in this whole composition that I'm mildly proud of.  However, the message behind it, I am entirely supportive of (obviously, or I wouldn't have made it into a manifesto).  So, here it is, my manifesto for adventure. Manifesto for Adventure                 Nowadays, people are focussed on all the wrong things: money, status, acquiring material possessions.  People are surviving and thriving, but no one is really LIVING .  As residents of t...
Post a Comment
Read more