Wandering on soon

Only 8 more weeks of teaching (plus one week of vacation) left before I'm on the road again. It's amazing how fast a year can pass by without even realizing it. It has been fun (and continues to be fun) but my feet are itching to start moving again. I don't have much longer to wait. Four days after my contract is over I'm on a plane bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A friend from Malaysia whom I met at university in Australia (has it really been three years?) lives in KL and has invited me to come visit. The planning for this trip is still in it's infancy, but I thought I would make KL my home base and then travel around Malaysia and Thailand for September, October and November. (If anyone out there has any beautiful, mysterious, or exciting hidden destinations in either of these countries, please send me an email about it!) I now need to pay for my plane tickets, get insurance (World Nomads) and do all those other necessary but boring tasks. The fun part for me is packing my bag, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I just sent most of my belongings back to Kansas with Barbara so everything I own here in Korea can now fit into my large backpack and a small carry-on suitcase (which I'll probably mail home soon).

In the meantime, I still have a lot to look forward to in my last couple months here. I have a friend from Australia coming to visit next week for a month. We always have exciting adventures together so I'm expecting nothing less on this visit. (Be afraid Hilly, be very afraid!)In July, I have a three day weekend and a week-long paid vacation starts the last week.

So, when am I going home? Hmm... Good question, although I don't consider it a pressing one. I honestly don't know. I do know that it most likely won't be for at least another year though. But I do have an old lady (aka "Granny") in the mountains of Colorado whom I promised an extended visit to and also a mountain there that I promised myself I would climb. Wandering around the world internationally has sparked my interest in exploring the U.S. so at some point I would also like to Kerouac around the States to the many places I haven't yet seen.

Speaking of all this travel, a phone conversation yesterday with an operator made me realize what a global world we're living in. Yesterday at 7:00 in the morning I called the U.S. 1-800 number for Expedia and spoke with a man located in the Philippines (time zone one hour ahead of Korea). I was buying a ticket from Korea and he asked where I was calling from. When we were finished he told me to, "have a nice night!".