One of those "You Learn Some" Moments

I had indicated in an earlier post that I would be volunteering in Thailand.  This is unfortunately no longer true because, well, teaching English in Thailand is illegal unless you have a certificate.  Admittedly, I would have never even thought of looking up something like that... but hey, stuff happens.

In addition, I completely misunderstood information about a Thai visa... and now will have to change my flight.  Luckily, it won't break the bank, but you know.

And finally, I will be travelling for two weeks after my study abroad in Thailand instead, and of course, I'm super ridiculously excited.

When I first figured out that I had done pretty much everything wrong when booking my flight to Thailand and choosing a place to volunteer, I went into immediate panic attack mode.  My first thought was, "I am not going to Thailand this summer." Of course, looking back on it, that was a silly thought, but, wow, did my heart race.  It made me realize that while I thought I had dug deep and made sure everything was good to go, I had really only scratched the surface of what I should have done.  Being that this is my first time travelling outside the country without someone making all the flight plans for me, it's somewhat understandable and luckily everything was fixed.  All the same though, my heart was racing even after I figured everything out.

So, good news is... I AM GOING TO THAILAND WOO!

However, things I wish I would have done:

1. Asked around more about the volunteering center.  I had asked a couple of sites, but no one commented that teaching English was illegal until well after booking the flight, and even then, I had really taken it on a whim. E.g. "oh, that person probably doesn't know what they're talking about, everyone else says they are good."
2. Really really looked into the visa information.  I misunderstood the extension and I should have clarified with someone that the flight plans I had made would be okay.
3. Waited to make plans and flight information until after I had contacted everyone who was going on the study abroad with me.

Basically, I wish I would have been more patient.