I can’t believe how fast my time here in Thailand has gone! I also can’t believe how easy the transition was.

Getting through customs was a breeze. Both of my bags arrived quickly and then right as Meggie and I walked out, OEG staff greeted us with a big smile.

A few other girls arrived at the same time, so we all hopped in the van together.

Immediately I knew I packed too much. Classic.

The rest of the girls had only one suitcase and of course me and Meggie were struggling with our two suitcases. But to my defense, one suitcase was filled with shampoo and conditioner and many many bottles of sunscreen!!

Everyone in the van had their eyes glued outside. This was our new home.

Crazy drivers. Families pilling onto one motorbike together. 7/11 stores everywhere. And street vendors. My god are there so many food vendors and markets!

I was nothing but excited.

During the next few days of orientation, I meet some pretty incredible farangs (Thai word for foreigner). It already felt as if I knew some of them for years. These friends helped make the transition so much easier because it wasn’t all a walk in the park.

Throughout orientation I had panic attacks, mostly about teaching.

The first day I was pumped. It sounded like the kids we will teach are incredible. But as we started learning how to make lesson plans, I freaked. I had no idea where to start or what to do. I was discouraged. I felt like I was the only one who didn’t know what to do.

It kept happening throughout the week. One minute I was fine, then the next I was like WTF did I get myself into? I realized I would be teaching nursery students, who can be anywhere from 1.5-years-old to 4. WTF?!

But I kept breathing. I took time to write in my journal to get out my feelings.

Just because I’m in a new country, doesn’t mean I can’t practice my normal self love routines. It’s even more important now as I’m about to be starting a new challenge.

I know I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. We were all scared. We all had no idea what to expect. But instead of freaking out all week long, we enjoyed our time and offered support to each other.

We took crash corse Thai lessons, learned to cook, dance and fight like a Thai, and experienced traditional ceremonies.

At night we took to the streets of Bangkok, ate some scorpions and finally, karaoke.

But instead of explaining this all to you, it’s easier to just show you that despite all my worries, I had an incredible first week!  Enjoy!