When people here in Vermont ask me, "Oh, Raji! How was Thailand?" I, at first, stare blankly at them wondering how the hell they could possibly ask me, or any person whose been in another country for a year of their life, that horrid question. I mean, how the hell is one suppose to answer that? "Yea, it was great." But in my mind I'm thinking wow, it wasn't just great, it was awesome, scary, horrible, shitty, terrible, and every other emotion and adjective in the world. There's no way I could answer that question, because describing my year abroad to you would be a hugely time consuming event. In simpler terms, you can't ask someone that question and expect to get a half decent answer because inside you know that their mind is casting out like a fishing rod into the depths of all the memories they have from their year, trying to make sense of it all. And you know that whatever comes out of their mouth, won't be what they’re thinking, so please, tell me, why the hell do people ask that question???  

  But funnily enough, I do have a simple way to describe my year, but it's a little different. I remember my last day in Nakhonsithammarat before I flew to Bangkok, and a friend and I went out for lunch together. He looked at me and asked, "So Raji, describe your year in two words." Now, when I heard this question, as my mind was about to cast out my fishing line into all of the wonderful memories of my year- I looked at him, and simply said, "Absolutely awesome!" Those were the two words that just fit together that encompass my "interesting" year. 

  That was exactly what my answer was. Of course, like anybodies life, it had it's ups and downs, and good times and bad, the happy times and sad - but over all I've changed as a person, in more ways than one, and it was a perfect change for who I want to be. I've learned all that you cannot learn inside the classroom, and you need time for that kind of learning as much as you need the classroom learning.