FAQ

I really don't address a lot of things in this blog - I like to keep it about what's definite, which pretty much means the past, or what I know is coming up in the next day or two. However, that means that people are always asking me about what I'm doing next. Here I am to talk about it, and get it out of the way in one go...

Q. When are you coming back?
A. I am currently scheduled to return to the United States on May 24, 2007. When my Seattle friends ask me this, the answer is a little unclearer to me. I could be back as early as June, but possibly later.

Q. What did you do in [insert country name here]?
A. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm behind in blogging - and the level of detail I may ever reach differs for each country for various reasons. I've created Google My Maps for several legs of the trip, including India (private), SE Asia #1, Australia, SE Asia #2, and even upcoming travel (private). Please wait patiently while I get the blog up to date at my own speed. If you have any specific country questions, feel free to email me or comment.

Q. Where are you going next?
A. I have plans to go to the south of France, Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Bay area, Seattle, Dallas, CT and MN. I am also thinking about going to CO and maybe NY and Boston as well. Beyond that I don't want to say much more (partially b/c it's less certain, and the other is, despite not being superstitious, it does seem that every time I write too much about something before it happens - it doesn't end up happening).

Q. What are you doing with your life? Are you going to go back to your old job/old town?
A. Tough question. These are the answers I'm still looking for. I have very vague ideas now...so vague that I still sound like a mumbling idiot when strangers ask me this. The short of it is that I'm still looking for meaning - and hope to find it in this time off. If I can't figure it out in time (before the money runs out) or it isn't a financially viable solution, I will have to reconsider all my options. I do love living in Seattle - but it may not where I end up short term. I have even less confidence in discussing where I will be long term - who comes to mind is a man I met in Penang, Malaysia, who left Australia 17 years ago to "take a year off" and had since spent most of his time sailing around Indonesia and other parts of the world. Sometimes you don't know where you'll go in life, who you'll meet, or what you'll end up doing. I could certainly build a particular type of life in Seattle, but that's not what I'm looking for right now. Maybe later.

Q. What was your favorite country?
A. This is the unanswerable. I could handle a narrower question, like what were the highlights of each country?

• France - spending time with my sister's family, eating home cooked meals
• India - spending time with an old friend, being immersed in family life, the food, the heat, learning about a different culture
• Singapore - cha sau bao, blending in
• Malaysia - learning about a tricultural country, the food, meeting my cousins for the first time, seeing my aunt (who always reminds me so much of my mother), spending time with Indhu's Grandpa
  
• Australia - mangos, talking with Christina, seeing the nesting loggerhead
• Vietnam - spending time with Tuyet's Grandma and other family members in Da Nang, the food
• Thailand - exercising, dancing with a village woman, the caves
• Cambodia - riding my bike through town
• Taiwan - talking with my grandmother in broken mandarin, learning about my family history from my aunt and uncle, the food