A good traveler has no fixed plans And is not intent upon arriving. (Tao Te Ching: 27) Sunset in San Sebastian, my friend Ali and I sit on the sea wall overlooking la playa de Zurriola, the surfing beach. The throngs of tourists and sun-seeking beachgoers have retired to shower and rest before eating their late Spanish dinners, leaving only the committed surfers and a smattering of people to watch while night creeps in. Rain falls to the west, behind Castillo de La Mota, and covers the squat green seaside mountains with grey clouds. Ali and I are happy that the rain has decided to fall over there; we're happy with the three-euro bottle of wine we bought, which we decided to drink without glasses; and we're happy to be sitting on a beach in northern Spain in August with nothing better to do. At this point, I had backpacked alone for four weeks, after a three-week stint as a teacher’s assistant in Oxford, England with my friend and former teacher, Ben Hale, and a group of Woodberry Forest boys. I had visited cities in seven countries, met scores of excellent, interesting people, and prided myself on staying away from the most touristy areas. My plans were outlined but flexible; my arrivals subject to change. In short, I believed I was a good traveler. Ali first crossed my path in Cinque Terre, Italy weeks earlier while hiking. She too felt the urge to roam. As we hiked we talked about our travels, future plans, interests, and our lives back in the States. We both agreed that the time to travel was now, and that soon enough we would each be living and working somewhere abroad. Five hours and several mountainous miles later we parted ways. I suggested we reconvene in northern Spain where I had heard the hiking was good. Her follow through surprised me. Plenty of people take the European backpacking pilgrimage. Plenty return with a sense of reinvented self, or an exquisite taste of culture, or a hatful of stories about wild nights in strange places. Far fewer decide that they need more than their allotted month to explore. Not so with me. I realized very forcefully that I am not intent to arrive at the office in Raleigh or Charlotte or Atlanta just yet. The impulse to go out into the world stems from moments like the one in San Sebastian – the magnetism of friendships made and held, however briefly; exposure to different places, cultures, peoples; and escape from routines. Traveling alone played a huge role as well, I’m convinced. That said, this trip is by no means what William Finnegan, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Barbarian Days, refers to as a “hopelessly New Age wish” to “learn new ways to be” by experiencing completely different people and cultures. Rather, it’s an opportunity for me to experience a different occupation in a different setting. I get to teach, and in teaching hopefully be taught a thing or two. I get to travel too. The journey begins on the island of Koh Samui. Koh Samui sits just off the east coast of mainland Thailand, Surat Thani Province, in the Gulf of Thailand. It is one of the largest islands in the Gulf and the second largest of all Thai islands after Phuket on the west coast. Pristine white sand beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and luxury resorts make Samui a popular tourist destination. Despite considerable development around the coastline, apparently the interior remains mostly undisturbed natural tropical jungle. I'll spend my first month here, getting oriented with Thai culture and language, while taking courses to become certified as a teacher through a TEFL/TESOL program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Nineteen fellow students join me on the program; they hail from Europe, Australia, across the US, Canada, and South Africa, among other places. My hope for this blog is to let myself become a lens through which friends, family, and followers may catch a glimpse of the Thai experience. It should read more like an online magazine than a personal diary. My promise, after this first submission, is to remove as much ‘I’ from the agenda as possible and instead put the reader in a position to see the sights, whiff the smells, hear the clamor, taste the spice, and touch the fabric of life that I’ll be enjoying. With luck, these observations, entries, and reviews will keep you entertained, interested, and engaged. Thanks for reading, -Collier
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Collier ConnellA traveler gone to teach English in Thailand who is far less interested in himself than the fascinating people, places, and things I'm ready to encounter. Archives
December 2016
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