Eleven Hours Ahead

Hey there - welcome to my blog! For those who don't know my name is Amy. I'm 22 years old and a student at Hampshire college. As part of my undergraduate career I'm studying in Southeast Asia for four months; two in Thailand, two in Cambodia, and hopefully a handful of days in some of the surrounding countries (Laos, Vietnam, Myammar). The decision to keep a blog through this experience is honestly just as much for my benefit as it is for yours. I've always loved to write but I must admit, I'm pretty awful at journaling. There's something about having an overactive mind and handwriting in a notebook that don't go well together for me. I can never get my thoughts out as fast I think them, so what I end up jotting down are bits and pieces of my thoughts, which makes my writing feel unauthentic and incomplete. Thus, as much as I hate to admit my addiction to technology, for efficiency's sake I much prefer typing over handwriting. I've also recently decided that I want to be a journalist (ha - lets see how long this phase lasts), or at least an author of some kind, so keeping a blog and holding myself accountable to an "audience" if you will, really makes sense to me. 

​

I've only had one other blog in my life - during the ten months I lived in Miami back in 2012-13. I wrote only every few weeks, but when I did I received nothing but positive feedback from friends and family. Besides being personally rewarding, the blog also kept me committed to my writing because if I hadn't posted in awhile I would begin feeling guilty and the stories that warrnated telling would pile up overwhelmingly in my head. By sharing stories through posts, I avoided forgetting and relaying the same details over and over again to those outside my circle in Miami. I also got to brag about my students and share cute pictures... it was really a win-win-win for everyone. 

​

This time I will be on the other side of the world, eleven hours ahead of my loved ones in the US (and no I cannot tell you the future, so stop asking people). This forum may be one of the only ways for others' to stay updated on what I'm up to. So for my sake and yours, I will try to post often and use this space as a quasi-journal throughout my travels. 

​

I hope you enjoy my (very basic) website! And please don't hesitate to reach out. I looooove comments and I will definitely respond when I can. 

​

Until December America.. peace out :) 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​