Traveling Companions
I must admit that having someone to travel with is much more fun than traveling alone. I have been having a really nice time with Karen. At my penpal ad, I mentioned more than once that I’m not looking for love on the internet…only penpals. The first couple of days we spent together, I could tell she was a bit interested in me. I am happy that I was a ‘strong man’ (which goes against the grain…hehe) because I don’t think our holiday together would have been as stree free as it has been.
It’s so nice to be able to have normal conversations with someone…especially because she is a normal American and a female. I normally never have the opportunity to enjoy the company of a normal American, let alone conversations with a normal American feline. It’s been quite nice. I normally spent the nights partying while she heads to bed. We meet up later in the days and discuss what we want to do. The cool thing is that she kick boxes and is totally into Thai Boxing as am I. I was worried that I’d not be able to check out the boxing events…but she’s totally into it, which is cool.
Today is our last day here. We’re going to take in some jet skiing later in the day, then some more boxing this evening. The meals we’ve had have been pretty excellent.
I think this is my last trip to Samui. If I do return to this region, I think I’ll spend time checking out the smaller islands. I also think that this will be my last trip to Asia for a bit.
Jimlim and I still continue to talk daily. I really like her, but she just can’t seem to commit to a relationship. The calls and emails are pretty magnificant but the bottom line is she is young. I am continually disappointed when I come to see her after we make plans to spend time together, then she always seems to have something else come up, which results in me only seeing her for a couple of hours every time I come here. I think I would like to again have a relationship with her, but she won’t commit. It’s sort of an odd situation. She tells me she loves me and so on but won’t commit because of other obligations…which I understand with her being in university and all. It’s just that we make plans of time to spend together while I am in Iraq, then I end up coming here only to be disappointed with so many changes in the plans we created. It does hurt the heart a bit. It’s also a challenging situation because of language barriers and cultural differences. Her feelings were a bit hurt because I was ready to bolt out of Thailand because I doubted that I would get to see her so I again changed my plans so we will be able to spend more time together in BKK before I leave. Last night we had another language barrier, which resulted in me almost changing my plans again so I could spend even more time with my bro and his family. After speaking to her on the phone just now, we clarified things and will be spending more time than I initially thought. It’s just that it’s so damn difficult to understand what exactly she means when I’m listening with an American ear. I really like her and would love to spend much more time with her in the future. She graduates from Uni soon, which should result in more time we can spend together.
I’m the sort of dude who requires commitment: If dinner plans are for 1700hrs, it means 1700…not 1715. I know…perhaps a bit anal…but it’s the way I’m wired. I don’t like to do things ‘half ass’. It’s all or nothing; I’m beginning to think this mind-set can be considered a flaw to people who operate outside of the world I live in. I say -make a decision and go! I am beginning that many people aren’t like this…something I need to work on, I suppose. But at the same time, I’m very flexible with many things, but not so flexible with other things. If one makes a decision, by god, follow through! Commit! If it’s for dinner or whatever…just follow through. I like people who are ‘what you see is what you get’. My closest friends are like this, and I greatly enjoy this trait in all of them. They aren’t flaky. They are decisive and genuine. They make decisions and do. All of them…Ken, Lora, Amy, Richard…they are all the same, and I truly appreciate this.
I am very excited for Peru! My friend Tanya is very fun to hang out with. We will be going to many different places. Coiuntries I’d like to visit during the next year include Morocco, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Egypt, Greece, and Russia. Hopefully it’ll happen…