Dom

Everything Happens for a Reason?!

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These past few months keep surprising me with unforeseeable outcomes. Many have been so  amazing. That phrase of EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON is feeling like a reoccurring theme in my life.

In 2012 I joined a Facebook group called Bangkok Expats. I made a post about my back story and how I was eagerly planning my move for 2013. Mia replied to my post and we quickly began swapping stories of our Thai adoptions and our present life. I felt an instant kinship to her. Not wanting to go too deep into Mia’s personal story I can say that she is a Thai adoptee like me. She was adopted into a loving Australian family and raised away from her homeland.  At the age of 21, she flew to Thailand alone to travel and discover the country. I was fascinated at how many similarities we shared. I felt an insta-bond to this lady I had yet to meet. My commute to getting to Mia and her husband Eddie’s house was memorable. Meeting them for the first time was both exciting and amazing. It just refueled my joy for having made it to Thailand.

To get to Mia’s house was an adventure in itself. I had never been to her house before and FOR THE LIFE OF ME could not locate it on a map (paper or electronic!). I was nervous to have to take a taxi for the first time. Recently, locals and tourists have felt  the need to share horror stories of tourist being kidnapped or being taken on the LONGEST route possible to their destination. Mia reassuringly told me to call her if I had any hassles and gave me all the details on how much the fare should be and what possible routes the driver would take. I was feeling excited and nervous.

On a daily basis drivers of: tuk tuks, motorcycles and taxi’s honk at me or slow down to try and get me to hop aboard. I always try to look uninterested and keep walking to whatever destination I am heading towards. So the first time I need to hail a taxi I thought it would be easy! I kept scanning the traffic and standing as close to the edge of the sidewalk as possible. I knew that if I walked to BIG C and the other shops there were always vehicles hanging around waiting to drive people. I was just so stunned that no one had picked me up by the time I was almost halfway to the shops. I then spotted a green and yellow taxi (with his light on) coming out of a soi. I waved at him and he nodded his head. I confidently took the front seat and optimistically asked him if he spoke English.  He said, “Little bit”! Phewff I was able to exhale. I got a good vibe off of him and the fact that he answered back in English. I was very prepared for the, “Nitto”.

IMG_0411Well to my AMAZEMENT my taxi driver not only spoke a little English…HE SPOKE a lot and we were able to converse completely in English. It did make me slightly nervous when he told me he had to tell me something, “I have to tell you that the green and yellow taxis are private. We don’t belong to a company”.  I gave him this blank stare. He quickly reassured me that I was SAFE! He just wanted to let me know that people in green and yellow taxis own their own cars and make their own hours. So he is selective as to which passengers he takes. He bought his car from a dealer and designed the inside of it. I asked him why he chose for his car to have cable but not a gps system? He said he found them to be unreliable and got more lost with them. Not even 2 minutes into the ride I noticed a Canadian flag sticker on the meter. (OF COURSE I NOTICED it because whenever I am in any taxi I always incessantly check the number as it grows bigger and bigger!) The taxi driver told me that Canada is one of his favourite countries. For respect to the couple’s privacy I won’t share their whole lives’ histories but …again I felt like everything was happening for a reason. His wife is American, whose Dad works (worked?) for an oil company. She was born in New Mexico but did a lot of moving around as a child. Their family moved to Thailand and that is where she met him. She is now an English Kindergarten teacher. We switched contact info and was told I could call him if I ever needed a ride. I could even schedule times days in advance. So fancy 🙂
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Let’s just say I am now friends with 2 amazing couples! Both women met and fell in love with Thai men and never left Thailand. So sweet. So romantic.  In one day I welcomed 4 incredible people into my life. Thailand is really living up to its name: The. Land. Of. Smiles.

Thanks for reading!
xox
Amanda Sumalee

P.S. So proud of Kiwi Momma for all her blogging of the Singapore/Hong Kong trip. I knew you could survive without my IT services 🙂
P.P.S. Looking forward to reading all of your NEW YORK blogs DOM! This is so exciting that you will be in your “home away from home” so sooooon!!!!
What a great blogging community I am helping to create. Go Suma go!

My Super Resume Analysis

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My Thailand adventures are (hopefully) just around the corner. While I was filling out my resume for http://www.jobtopgun.com (one of Thailand’s biggest employment websites) I got my resume analyzed. I loved reading the results and thought I would share them with you all:

Year of Birth : 
According to your year of birth, you have very strong characteristics. With your level-headedness and tenacity, you will try your best to overcome any obstacle and accomplish the job at hand. Your good friends are persons born during the year of Rat (1984,1996,…), Snake (1977,1989,…) and Rooster (1981,1993,…).

Self :
Your music, sports and hobbies also reflect yourself. You always have modern ideas and seem to be sophisticated. You are optimistic, humble and peaceful. You are able to work individually. You are able to work in team and capable of beating an opponent. You enjoy competition. You are good at heart. You have good interpersonal skills.

Your hidden competencies are as follows :

  • Patient [A]
  • Decisive [A]
  • Flexible / Adaptable [A]
  • Enthusiastic / Self-motivated [A]
  • Initiative / Creative [A]
  • Good interpersonal skills [A]
  • Calm [B]
  • Skillful at planning [A]
  • High self-improvement [A]
  • Careful [A]
  • Principled (thinker) [A]
  • Enjoy taking challenges [A]
  • Disciplined [A]
  • Never give up [A]
  • Independent [A]
  • Love to explore [A]
  • Willing to take on new challenges [A]
  • Intelligent [A]
  • Organized / Systematic [B]
  • Get things done [B]
  • Ambitious / Achievement-oriented [B]
  • Competitive [B]
  • Winning Attitude [B]
  • Pleasant personality [B]
  • Artistic [B]
  • Skillful at applying knowledge [B]
  • Hard-working / Diligent [B]
  • Sociable / Extroverted [B]
  • Contemporary [B]
  • Detail-oriented [B]
  • Knowledgeable [B]
  • Good presentation skills [C]
  • Adventurous / Risk taker [C]
  • Visionary [C]
  • Role conscious [C]
  • Analytical [C]
  • Trouble shooter / Resourceful [C]
  • Fast learner [C]
  • Team builder [C]
  • Good sense of color [C]
  • Articulate [C]
  • Enjoy working under pressure [C]
  • Positive (thinker) / Optimistic [C]
  • Having connection / Networking [C]
  • Cooperative [C]
  • Good at heart [C]


Moreover, your strengths are as follows :

  1. Ambitious / Achievement-oriented
  2. Trustworthy / Reliable
  3. Enthusiastic / Self-motivated
  4. Pleasant personality
  5. Positive (thinker) / Optimistic

It was really interesting for me to read these results. One section of the resume entailed picking out 5 attributes to describe yourself out of a list of 50 or so. You then had to list them by level of importance. Compared to this analysis, I was shocked at how similar our results were!!! Out of all those options the computer generated answers were very close. 

I don’t really consider myself to be: patient, calm or decisive…BUT I do know I work very well under pressure. Ana, Emzie and Alfie know that from all of CFCS’s group work and endless assigments! I am also never ashamed to admit to my competitive nature 🙂

I have yet to book my flight or finalize my work plans in Thailand. Truthfully I have been struggling with MANY sleepless nights as I try to plan out my future. ALL I know is…at this point in my life–> I would prefer to book a flight to Thailand than Canada. I have considered writing a blog about: visas, work permits and employment in Thailand but I fear it could stress me out even more. Through my research I am slowly learning that visiting a country and wanting to live there TWO TOTALLY different things! It is nice that Dom and I are able to empathize with each others struggles. She is planning to move to New York City for a few months around the same time as my Thailand plans. It has been great to be able to vent with someone who is discovering the same issues. A strong support system during this difficult planning stage.

Thanks for all the positive vibes and words of encouragement from family and friends….especially to all my Thai friends who have proven to be such a strong network of women for me to bounce ideas off of!

Trying to feel blessed and see all the positives!
xox Amanda Sumalee

Being Blessed is Exhausting…

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After 7 months of trying to decide where my future would take me –I have FINALLY arrived in New Zealand. I can and CAN’T believe I actually moved away from Canada. After all the stressful nights and mini melt-downs, I can lay back and breathe DEEPLY. Anxiety attacks did NOT hold me back and I thank all who showed me how strong their love for me really is! Telling people you are moving away REALLY let’s you know who truly does love you!!

Thank you so much to my parents, Dom and CC for my amazing sendoff! Around at the airport with plenty of time to get my: Timmy Ho fix, shared some poutine and got to indulge in a bathroom photo session! Even had enough time to look at all the magazine covers and hum and haw over throwing my money away. (For those curious; I resisted the urge and spent no money on a gossip mag).

The plane ride was pretty uneventful. I did score a window seat with nobody sitting directly beside me. The passenger sitting in the aisle seat next to the vacant seat was just as excited as I was that no one would be sandwiched in between us. It made my travelling experience that much better! I have yet to dislike flying. Take off was 30mins late – yet we still managed to land in Auckland 30 minutes ahead of schedule. When I landed it was pitch black out and raining. The whole team at Air New Zealand Flight 83 was magnificent!! Super friendly and professional the whole flight. The plane landed around 4:35am and I was able to get through: security, baggage claim and bio hazard screening and a bathroom break all before 5:40am 🙂

Those in my host family are so gracious and warm. I already feel a strong connection and know it will be hard to leave come May. It did not take long for both girls to feel comfortable around me. They LOVED their little tutus. The fit was amazing and I can’t wait to post a picture of them wearing them. When I left a few times to go to my room to try to unpack the little 4 year old would ask her parent, “Where is Amanda?” “Why is Amanda not here?” So many memories already shared today….maybe I should buy stocks in Kleenex now?!!

During the rainy ride home, I was second guessing myself for not packing more pants and hoodies. AS A HUGE hoodie lover I was questioning why I had boxed and left so many in storage? By the afternoon the sun was out and the warmth was felt through the kitchen and living room windows. A smiled set in and I realized I had made the right decision. I packed enough clothes and no matter what I packed I was going to have an amazing experience.

I have already indulged in homemade peanut butter cookies, homemade pizza (mine was vegetarian and beyond delish), and an amazing lentil and avocado salad. Tomorrow I get to munch on homemade carrot cake!!! Thank baby Buddha they have a treadmill 🙂

It’s 2:45am (BC time) and only 9:45pm (NZ time)and having not had a nap makes me EXHAUSTED!!!
xox Amanda