The Aftermath & Realizations of Living in Asia for over a Year
For those of you who have been away from our so called "civilized world", you know how different life abroad is and specifically, life in Asia. For those of you who have not had a chance to take Asia for a test-drive well, pay attention. It is a whole new world out there. From your daily routines, to grocery shopping. Nothing is the same. Asia has its charm and many of us have called that part of the world "home" for quite some time. But just like any place where you stay for a while, you find things that bother you and you will also find things that you love. It's a roller coaster ride so turbulence can be expected.
As I was sipping on some wine with my mother on a cold Sunday afternoon, I was reading an email from a friend I met in Arambol, Goa, India, which reminded me of the random, fun, wonderful times I had there with those guys. Learning Russian, watching fire shows, riding around on the back of motorcycles. It's funny how entire weeks and months escape our memory, only to be triggered by random conversation or a sound or a smell. I miss those days. They were simple, they were lovely and easy. Fun conversations about anything and everything. Alien invasions, government conspiracies, parties, love, life and everything in between. Thinking of those times, I remembered another time in the same place, spent with lovely people who rented a beautiful home on a hill near the main beach in Arambol. They were both much older than me, retired, an American man and his lovely girlfriend from Holland. I spent quite a few beautiful evenings with them, talking about life while watching the sun disappear in the horizon over the Arabian Sea. How do those moments take precedent over bad moments or memories that might have happened after? I guess we just must keep reminding ourselves of those beautiful precious moments which made us so happy and hold on to them, Keep them close to us on days when the sun seems to shine on everyone else but you.
Thank you lovely French wine, my dear mother, Anton, and everyone else who helped me make those life-saving beautiful memories to which I would be a fool to not hold on to.
I was considering about opening a cheese factory in India because India was lacking some good cheese and the cheese that they had was overpriced and not that good. My older and wiser American friend told me to do what makes me happy, find something that is new, that is different from what everyone else is doing, to make it my own. Well, I never ended up opening a cheese factory in India, but that advice is still with me and I will keep it close, to remind myself of the wisdom I have acquired and of the good times I had. To remind myself that there are many more good times to be had with more wonderful people that will come into my life in the future and with those whom I have already had the privilege of sharing my thoughts and ideas with.
So let's go back to this world and to the realizations I've had since I've been back. Nothing profound, just silly things mostly.This is what I noticed right away or soon after spending some time back in the good old US and A.
-When I see something on the floor (indoors) I right away assume that it's a bug and grab it cautiously, quickly and with the intent to squish it. Every time that has happened, it has been a piece of lint or something like that...
This one comes after living on Koh Rong, a remote island in Cambodia with giant spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, rats, bats, termites and snakes. No wonder!
-When I leave one room to go to another i.e. kitchen to living room, I make sure that I have everything with
me.
"Where is my iPod!?" I turn in panic to my mother. She looks at me funny and continues making lunch...
- An indoor temperature of +23'C, 73'F feels cold to me. I wear wool socks and a warm scarf.
Fair enough with this one. I wore a bikini most of the time to work which was at a bar and I was nice and comfortable. In the evening I would wear clothes, which means that I was chilly. Normal day temperature would be a nice thirty something and sunny. You can't blame me. It's always -2'C, 28'F or something like that here and there is always snow. I have snow depression, I miss sun!
-I not only fit into my skinny jeans from when I was 16 years old, but they are loose on me now. Score!
I can definitely give thanks to Dengue Fever for nearly killing me and my boyfriend while on a holiday in Thailand for that. I lost A LOT of weight after that ordeal. Thanks crazy Asian mosquitoes for biting me and giving me a horrible deathly disease. I survived. Ha! And now I can fit into childhood clothing. Saves me money and makes me look younger. Excellent!
-I can do a headstand or Sirsasana and sit in lotus or Padmasana very confidently and comfortably now. Thank you Ashtanga Yoga Mysore in India!! And all of my yoga partners in crime who pushed me and gave me confidence to not only continue, but to succeed on days when all I wanted to do was quit. You're my flexible beautiful angels :)
-I say "same same" as a response to people here in America. They don't get it most of the time and think that I reverted back to my teenage self, when I didn't speak much English and lost the ability to speak English.
I still speak English, it's just a common phrase, although it's silly, it does tend to simplify things.
-Every time I take a shower, I get excited about there being hot water.
This comes after months of living on an island where hot showers were non-existent and the only hot water source was on the mainland in Sihanoukville, which was always a two and a half hour boat ride away.
-Watching the news in America is pretty pointless if you're looking to find out anything about the rest of the world. They pretty much don't show anything about any other country besides America. A bit selfish don't you think?
-I get excited when I open my dresser and see more than five pairs of undies and more than two bras.
Living out of a bag for a year, there is not much space for extras and if there was, it wouldn't be allotted for underwear haha
-I have a closet! This one goes with the whole thing of living out of a bag for a year but still, pretty crazy and way too convenient, all of my things are in one place! What?
-I still try to throw toilet paper in the bin and then look around for a bucket to flush the toilet with...Oh Asia :)
-I can speak Russian now! Still improving and continuing to learn how to read and write.
Thank you India and my lovely Russian friends I have met there! Who would've thought that? India
-Other people's lives have not stopped since I have left over a year ago... Marriages, engagements, babies, new homes, new jobs, new cars.
This realization hits me every time I come back from traveling though.
-I don't really like snow anymore.
I was born in December, on a snowy winter night in Lithuania, a cold ex Russian Soviet country with freezing temperatures dominating most of the winter season. Preferences change I guess. I am definitely meant to live in a warm climate. Cold just doesn't do it for me anymore. Sorry Santa.
-My friends and family don't ask me IF I am planning to go somewhere else again. They simply ask when I am leaving, right away.
Smart cookies! Well, from experience, I have not been known to stay back in the states for too long. The rest of the world is calling me and I will be sure to answer.
-The first time and then a few times after that, when I laid down in my old bed, I made pleasure noises for about 3 minutes, not exaggerating!
I've definitely slept in some not so comfortable beds and places so yes, some comfort goes a long way after Asian adventures.
-I still refuse to drink tap water even though my mother insists that it's good.
Come on, this one isn't hard to understand for those of you who've lived anywhere else in the world, that includes Asia but also some places in South America and I am sure many others. You DON'T drink tap water!
-There are no mosquitoes, cockroaches, scorpions, snakes or giant spiders inside the house! Strange... Suspicious. Hmmm
-I can leave my toiletries in the bathroom and no one will use them or take them.
Hostels and other shared spaces, you just never know who will walk in drunk or sober and use something of yours. Same with food items left in the fridge. Well, that one I guess, you can't guarantee if you live with anyone else in the house.
-Cooking in a kitchen with proper utensils and spices is so much fun! Oh how I missed that! :)
-Wearing clothes is fun. I would choose a nudist beach over any clothing at any time of the day, however it's nice to not have to rotate between the same two t-shirts and couple of long sleeve numbers all the time. Awesome!
-Makeup, jewelry, perfume, dresses, jeans, shirts, shoes...Wow! I feel like I am at a shopping mall and it's all in my closet. Craziness...
-Going out to a bar is such a mission.
While living on the island, pretty much everything was within a five minute walk: the bar, the fruit lady, the soup guy, the restaurants, the places that have internet, my bed, puppies, etc. And the sea was the only exception because it was always only about ten steps away from wherever you were.
So these are my ramblings for the aftermath and the memories after a year of living in Asia. I do miss it, I can not lie. I miss a lot of things and people and the feelings that come from being in certain places. But there is time for everything and now it's time for me to be where I am now.
Oh and one more thing I forgot... I know what happens when someone messes with me. Like a certain Chinese man tripping on several drugs for several months in Gokarna, India stealing from me and stalking me. That is another story for another time though. Stay tuned. There are so many countless stories to be told still. And many new memories to be created.
 |
| One of the lovely evenings on their porch up on in the hills in Arambol |
 |
Thank you lovely French wine, my dear mother, Anton, and everyone else who helped me make those life-saving beautiful memories to which I would be a fool to not hold on to.
 |
| Sunset in Arambol |
I was considering about opening a cheese factory in India because India was lacking some good cheese and the cheese that they had was overpriced and not that good. My older and wiser American friend told me to do what makes me happy, find something that is new, that is different from what everyone else is doing, to make it my own. Well, I never ended up opening a cheese factory in India, but that advice is still with me and I will keep it close, to remind myself of the wisdom I have acquired and of the good times I had. To remind myself that there are many more good times to be had with more wonderful people that will come into my life in the future and with those whom I have already had the privilege of sharing my thoughts and ideas with.
So let's go back to this world and to the realizations I've had since I've been back. Nothing profound, just silly things mostly.This is what I noticed right away or soon after spending some time back in the good old US and A.
-When I see something on the floor (indoors) I right away assume that it's a bug and grab it cautiously, quickly and with the intent to squish it. Every time that has happened, it has been a piece of lint or something like that...
 |
| Goa goodness |
-When I leave one room to go to another i.e. kitchen to living room, I make sure that I have everything with
me.
"Where is my iPod!?" I turn in panic to my mother. She looks at me funny and continues making lunch...
- An indoor temperature of +23'C, 73'F feels cold to me. I wear wool socks and a warm scarf.
Fair enough with this one. I wore a bikini most of the time to work which was at a bar and I was nice and comfortable. In the evening I would wear clothes, which means that I was chilly. Normal day temperature would be a nice thirty something and sunny. You can't blame me. It's always -2'C, 28'F or something like that here and there is always snow. I have snow depression, I miss sun!
-I not only fit into my skinny jeans from when I was 16 years old, but they are loose on me now. Score!
I can definitely give thanks to Dengue Fever for nearly killing me and my boyfriend while on a holiday in Thailand for that. I lost A LOT of weight after that ordeal. Thanks crazy Asian mosquitoes for biting me and giving me a horrible deathly disease. I survived. Ha! And now I can fit into childhood clothing. Saves me money and makes me look younger. Excellent!
-I can do a headstand or Sirsasana and sit in lotus or Padmasana very confidently and comfortably now. Thank you Ashtanga Yoga Mysore in India!! And all of my yoga partners in crime who pushed me and gave me confidence to not only continue, but to succeed on days when all I wanted to do was quit. You're my flexible beautiful angels :)
-I say "same same" as a response to people here in America. They don't get it most of the time and think that I reverted back to my teenage self, when I didn't speak much English and lost the ability to speak English.
I still speak English, it's just a common phrase, although it's silly, it does tend to simplify things.
-Every time I take a shower, I get excited about there being hot water.
This comes after months of living on an island where hot showers were non-existent and the only hot water source was on the mainland in Sihanoukville, which was always a two and a half hour boat ride away.
-Watching the news in America is pretty pointless if you're looking to find out anything about the rest of the world. They pretty much don't show anything about any other country besides America. A bit selfish don't you think?
-I get excited when I open my dresser and see more than five pairs of undies and more than two bras.
Living out of a bag for a year, there is not much space for extras and if there was, it wouldn't be allotted for underwear haha
 |
| Arambol Serenity |
-I still try to throw toilet paper in the bin and then look around for a bucket to flush the toilet with...Oh Asia :)
-I can speak Russian now! Still improving and continuing to learn how to read and write.
Thank you India and my lovely Russian friends I have met there! Who would've thought that? India
-Other people's lives have not stopped since I have left over a year ago... Marriages, engagements, babies, new homes, new jobs, new cars.
This realization hits me every time I come back from traveling though.
 |
| Sunset in Arambol, India |
-I don't really like snow anymore.
I was born in December, on a snowy winter night in Lithuania, a cold ex Russian Soviet country with freezing temperatures dominating most of the winter season. Preferences change I guess. I am definitely meant to live in a warm climate. Cold just doesn't do it for me anymore. Sorry Santa.
-My friends and family don't ask me IF I am planning to go somewhere else again. They simply ask when I am leaving, right away.
Smart cookies! Well, from experience, I have not been known to stay back in the states for too long. The rest of the world is calling me and I will be sure to answer.
-The first time and then a few times after that, when I laid down in my old bed, I made pleasure noises for about 3 minutes, not exaggerating!
I've definitely slept in some not so comfortable beds and places so yes, some comfort goes a long way after Asian adventures.
-I still refuse to drink tap water even though my mother insists that it's good.
Come on, this one isn't hard to understand for those of you who've lived anywhere else in the world, that includes Asia but also some places in South America and I am sure many others. You DON'T drink tap water!
-There are no mosquitoes, cockroaches, scorpions, snakes or giant spiders inside the house! Strange... Suspicious. Hmmm
-I can leave my toiletries in the bathroom and no one will use them or take them.
Hostels and other shared spaces, you just never know who will walk in drunk or sober and use something of yours. Same with food items left in the fridge. Well, that one I guess, you can't guarantee if you live with anyone else in the house.
-Cooking in a kitchen with proper utensils and spices is so much fun! Oh how I missed that! :)
 |
| Goats have rectangle shaped pupils. Did you know? :) |
-Makeup, jewelry, perfume, dresses, jeans, shirts, shoes...Wow! I feel like I am at a shopping mall and it's all in my closet. Craziness...
-Going out to a bar is such a mission.
While living on the island, pretty much everything was within a five minute walk: the bar, the fruit lady, the soup guy, the restaurants, the places that have internet, my bed, puppies, etc. And the sea was the only exception because it was always only about ten steps away from wherever you were.
So these are my ramblings for the aftermath and the memories after a year of living in Asia. I do miss it, I can not lie. I miss a lot of things and people and the feelings that come from being in certain places. But there is time for everything and now it's time for me to be where I am now.
Oh and one more thing I forgot... I know what happens when someone messes with me. Like a certain Chinese man tripping on several drugs for several months in Gokarna, India stealing from me and stalking me. That is another story for another time though. Stay tuned. There are so many countless stories to be told still. And many new memories to be created.
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