Repatriation Part 2

Late last night I finally made it into Las Vegas. The jetlag is near crippling, and I have no time to adjust. My head is pretty fuzzy and emotions are running wild. Just trying to function at this point is tricky. My energy level is running at the lowest it's been in years. I remember this feeling, and I remember that I really don't like it much. Trying to put it into words is even difficult. The only thing I can compare it to is that it's like going from the frying pan to the fryer. I'm trying to stay positive as I run down potential employment. I'm too tired to move and too broke to stop. What a combo.

The one thing that it is really difficult to get my head around is the cost of living in the fryer vs the frying pan. In the last 24 hours that I've been back in the states, I have spent more money than I did the last month in Thailand. Here's a quick comparison if anyone is interested.

Taxi from the Airport to the low rent district:

Las Vegas - $39

Chiang Mai - $3

Cheap Hotel in the low rent District:

Las Vegas - $30

Chiang Mai - $5

Quick Meal on the street:

Las Vegas - $5

Chiang Mai - $1

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. The real indicator of what things were ahead was the money exchange in Korea. There I was, all cashed up and going home. In my hand I held just a little over 10,000 in Thai currency. A large sum of money for most of the people I know. It was time to turn it into US Dollars. So, what does 10,000 Thai baht get you in US dollars? About $300 bucks ...OUCH!! For what I will end up spending in the next few days, I could have paid the rent on my apartment in Thailand for 3 months!! That's a hard thing to come to grips with.

More updates coming as soon as I can.

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