You're going to Thailand???

Yes! I'm going to Thailand!

When are you leaving?
March 20 at 9am, i fly out to San Francisco and will leave for Thailand at 1am on March 21st.

when are you coming back?
I'll be back to SF on May 1st to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. I'll head to DC around may 9th or so.

why are you going?
my chinese grandfather is 90 and i haven't seen him in 9 years since he left the USA (after 40 yrs!) when Bush was elected. i'd like to hang out with him before it's too late.

why does he live in thailand?
my great-grandfather moved from china to thailand for work and sent for his chinese wife (my great-grandmother). they then had my grandfather in thailand and he grew up there . my step-grandmother is also thai. so my grandfather considers thailand his home and has fond memories of water buffalo and mango.

what are you going to do there?
hang out w/the fam, sleep, take mandarin lessons from my gong gong (grandfather), learn to cook thai food, volunteer at a local NGO. if you know of one, let me know!

so you quit your job?
yes, i did. while i enjoyed my time at EB, i need to make this trip.

are you crazy? in this economy????
no, i am not crazy. i know. but the business of saving kids will unfortunately be around for awhile and will always be hiring. i'm looking for something in international development/policy/law, preferably something to do with saving the kids. i'm looking in DC, NYC and SF. if you know of anything, let me know!

are you going to travel while you're there?
yes, i'll travel around thailand and head to cambodia and vietnam April 19-April 30. you should join me!

i miss you already.
i miss you more! you can hear my voice on my podcast Red Pandas For Real! here: www.yourfriendsmusic.com

....wait, you're half-Chinese???
yes. it's like you don't even know me. sigh, here we go again:
Bolivian father + Chinese-American mother = Bolivinese-American nattyq