Helmets: one of life's new necessities

My sister in law sent us an email with some sweet questions about our new home that were fun to reflect on... here they are along with some additional questions I've gotten from a few friends:

1. What is weather like during this time of year? What is weather like in other seasons?

Tory: Weather has been very pleasant. Really hot when we arrived and in the south. But now it is the beginning of rainy season that means chillier temps and somewhat consistent train showers where it pours hard for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Nobody really let's it change their routine though.

Rachel: We thought we would rock climb in the south of Thailand for most of the day... turns out it's really hot! We ended up usually starting around 3pm and getting in a few hours before dark. Even though it's relatively cooler up here, I have definitely become a sweaty person.

2. Are you staying in one location or do you move when you feel like it?

Tory: We are in the midst of an apartment search right now and likely have a winner that will be a 12 mo lease. We have been house-sitting since we got back to Chiang Mai 10 days ago. Before that, we stayed on Koh Phi Phi for 3 weeks.

Rachel: The apartment search has been a pretty big job... our best method so far has been to scooter around in little neighborhoods and if we feel like we could live there, take pictures of for rent signs we find. My coworkers at ISDSI have been a big help weeding through the photos of signs we took, letting me know what the Thai words for "for rent" look like (and what "for sale" or "no parking" look like instead!)
          I can't imagine how hard this would be without a landing pad, I am really grateful for the house-sitting opportunity even though we are excited to find a place of our own that will finally be a little bit more permanent! 

3. What do you do for food - do you go out to eat or do you go to markets and take food back to where you are staying?

Tory: A mix. I still like cooking and we just found an organic market so that is still part of life. But we eat out once or twice a day right now. It is very cheap and delicious to do so.

Rachel: I buy fruit every few days to take home, and we make mango smoothies often! 

Here was our first haul from the local market:


And our first visit to the fancy grocery store:


4. Are you making lots of friends?

Tory: We are diving into many things and saying yes whenever possible with people. Casting our nets wide. We will see how the plan is working after a few months I guess. There are lots of really nice people here and many expats and locals alike are surprised and excited when they here we will be here for years not weeks like many of the foreigners here.

Rachel: I feel like we are, yeah! I am surprised at how nice and gracious people are... even though that was one of the reasons we picked Chiang Mai, it is nice to feel like it is truly a friendly place. We also have some previous connections, host family and coworkers, plus REB returns soon I hope! 

5. Are all of your bug bites healing? :)

Tory: Bugs are less of an issue in Chiang mai:)

Rachel: AGH yes, thank you for asking :)

6. What does a typical day look like for you two?

Tory: We have yet to have a typical day. Right now we are starting pretty late, looking for apartments online and on the scooter, maybe rock climb, and then I work from 8-midnight. In bed by 1 or 2.

Rachel: That's accurate. I think we're both looking forward to finding our rhythm. A place of our own will help establish that - our house, our local market, our corner coffee shop, our climbing gym, etc. Some of this is falling into place, like the gym, but it's exciting to visualize where we'll be located for the next little while and build around that. 

7. What is your favorite Thai drink?

Tory: It's it's a divide between mango smoothie and Thai ice tea which costs about a dollar.

Rachel: Completely agree.
Thanks Kaylee!

Other questions from dear friends...

Has it been a lot of time with just the two of you? 

Tory: Yes. We knew this would happen at first and we also know that it can be a little toxic. Minor steps have been taken to adjust but we are hoping future routine will help to correct it. Also, friend-making is not difficult so far so that will help.

Rachel: YES. We found a balance on Koh Phi Phi so by the end of three weeks felt in sync but independent. Now we've had about 10 days in Chiang Mai and so much of it has been setting up a life here, taking care of basic needs or logistics, but I think we're getting back to a balance. Now that I found a bicycle I feel a lot more mobile and independent.

Is Chiang Mai where you'll be for the most part now? 

Tory: Yes. Right now just excited to get our feet on the ground.

Rachel: Yep! We are loving exploring the city. There's all these little neighborhoods with their own charm, food, and markets. We come home pretty exhausted from doing simple things like grocery shopping, speaking Thai for extended periods, or just riding around house-hunting in the bustling traffic. I feel like a kid, where everything is interesting but also unfamiliar and people are constantly using big words you don't know yet :)
        There's a sweetness to this state of being though. I feel blessed, and guided, and cared for through the actions of friends and family near and far. Thank you.

I wrote this poem down that same week and it feels very applicable:

The same week we left the west coast for Thailand, my parents left for a whirlwind trip through the Bible via Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, and my old friends Brandon and Fiona left for a cross country move that parallels ours in some ways. Life has changed so much for us this year already, it's hard to have any sense of what the rest of it holds. I've managed to accomplish one of my most passive goals that I had when I was overwhelmed by a very consistent routine:

I have no idea what day it is.
I have no context or reference points. My days are different from another, but not aligned with any particular day of the week.

Like a lot of things these days (tastes, smells, feelings, sights), I wish I could bottle some of it up and send it back to my former self, the one who craved this freedom and variety so much because I would be able to to better appreciate the sweetness of it all. I am trying to remain present and grateful in the midst of all this abundance.



Here is a video from our time in Seattle - I'm going out of order because I left some footage in Chiang Mai that I'll use to complete the middle of the story. Soon: Thailand! It's just so beautiful.

In the days and weeks surrounding our move, it was hard to think straight. Life consisted primarily of great hangouts, so many good-byes, and hard work finishing up remodeling projects and clearing out the house. I managed to jot down a thought or two over the days leading up to our ride out.

4/23 - Life is getting full and empty all at once.
Stark white primed walls and rich blues.
Deep connection and hollow awareness of impending separation.

4/24 - The most 'real' step towards the move today, the cats left with their foster momma.

4/25 - Our goodbye party is winding down outside as I decompress. So many wonderful people! It's just when you try to leave that you realize how connected you are, and it makes the tearing apart that much harder.

4/26 - Our sendoff at Solomon's Porch was beautiful. Shelley blessed our feet. My friends were holding my hands and arms and shared meaningful blessings. It was so beautiful to be sent off in the same place we were married, surrounded by love.



4/30 - Tory has had our "ride off" playlist ready for months. But Grooveshark died today! We'll have to piece it back together the best we can, yikes.

5/2 - Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has blessed us and helped us make this move happen!

Here is the first video in a series I am trying to do about our travels and global move. So much energy was hurtling towards riding off together at this time towards an unknown future. More to come!

We had a lot of fun at Tory's company party this spring. It was a red and silver masquerade theme, and Tory's only red clothing is his go-to Waldo costume. The entertainment was one of those traveling casino's where you get a certain amount of chips to play and the chips add up to raffle tickets to win prizes. I ended up doing alright with the higher scoring chips and had a little pile for myself at the end. We went to go look at the things you could raffle for and realized that since we're moving, we have no need for any STUFF. Big screen tv's, waffle makers, gadgets, and appliances. Winning would land us with more stuff on top of all the stuff I still need to sell or donate. So I gave my chips away to the nice girl who was trying to explain the process to me.

She was excited and I was excited. And it felt so free!

That's when I realized what giving money away could feel like. Often it feels so tight, when we have goals or bills. It makes me more committed to simplifying what "needs" are so we continue to feel the richness of this freedom of abundance.

I have been trying to figure out a way to insert intentionality into our upcoming life in Thailand.... all along Tory and I have been talking about being open to ways to have positive impact in a developing country, but we have also been really careful to make sure we're not trying to define those needs ourselves or insert our own judgements or "solutions" in a country we are new to.

But this "missionless" vision has the potential to set us up to lose focus and get swept up into a new equally fancy lifestyle there without ever re-establishing ways to live well there. One idea we had was that we could create a little fund that we would use to help out people and organizations as we encounter direct needs.

A few things I believe about giving (money).

- It is very complex. I would prefer the world be a fair place where everyone has enough and humans with extra money don't get to play 'god' and decide how to best allot it. Since this is not the situation we find ourselves in, I believe giving is better than not giving at all.

- A dollar can go really far in the developing world. GiveWell, a really helpful resource, outlines my suspicions well: http://www.givewell.org/giving101/Your-dollar-goes-further-overseas

- Giving within relationships often makes the most sense and impacts both the giver and receiver in unique ways.

- Our circles of influence are often segregated, making it hard to connect people who have money to give with people who would most greatly benefit from it.

We have so much money compared to the rest of the world and we are excited and blessed to be able to venture out into it. I'm inviting you on our journey (literally - come visit!) and hope to build a little network where people who want to give are connected across country borders and other lines, to people who can directly benefit.

I have no doubt that our move will connect us with people who will enrich our lives. I hope we can use all of the blessings we've received in ways that enrich the lives of those we meet as well. I don't think that money can help everything, but I love that this plan gives us a lens to be avidly looking for ways we can be a blessing to the world.

Friends and family, in just over a month, you will know someone who lives in Thailand! If you want to be part of our attempt to spread the love on the other side of the world, sign up on the Common Change website and join our group, "P2P Global Giving". 

When people find out we're moving to Thailand (!!!), there's a lot of questions, understandably so. A lot of times people ask if I'm nervous. At this point, my overwhelming emotion is excitement for our big move. It's a new chapter, a new place, a new lifestyle we get to build, and ultimately we are opening ourselves up to so many new opportunities for growth that are harder to come across when you're living in relatively the same patterns for 5+ years. It's hard to imagine leaving our friends and community, but I know this is the right time to go. I have no idea what we will be opening ourselves up to, but I'm excited.



So I am not nervous to go but I have been dealing with a fear that we won't make it. I trust Tory and I both that we are committed to the move. At this point, more and more pieces are falling into place and it feels guided by God. Like we've asked and now we shall receive. We're so close. So because I trust our desire and willingness to step into the unknown, I fear the unpredictable. The things that God does not wish upon us, but that he will guide us through. Hard lessons, natural disasters, skiing accidents, airplane crashes, letting my sweet love out of my sight. It's not an overwhelming fear but it's there, nagging me in a way that it wasn't before. Similarly, I sometimes tremble at how beautiful it is to have someone to love and to know. And with my whole body and spirit I glimpse and fear the deepness of the potential loss. I trust that God is guiding our path, but mainly because I have seen so many blessings. I don't know what it means to trust and follow him in the face of unbearable loss, or even in the face of small, unmet, human expectations.

All this points to how really truly blessed we are. I'm in awe of it. What I desire is gratefulness without fear. Without wondering when or if the bubble will pop. I want to trust God, not our own plans, to lead us through this beautiful, messy, wonderful life. This is my prayer for 2015.