Jody's Moving Where?! Thailand?! How did that Happen?!

written Dec 31, 2007:

Happy New Year to all!!

I hope everyone’s holiday festivities have been decorated with love and time with friends and family. I have felt blessed to still be here in Seattle because my original departure date was in November….but now its Jan 3rd. So I sit here on Dec 31st at my mom’s kitchen table admiring the gorgeous blue sky that is shining in Seattle today, taking in these last few glimpses of the city I have called home for over 30 years. Some of you might be asking, how did this all happen?! You’re moving to Thailand?! Well, here is the story…

After 5 years of intense study, I graduated from Bastyr on June 25th and officially became a board certified Naturopathic Physician (or ND) on some date in September (when I received notice that I passed my board exam!!). I had been traveling to 5 different NW states, trying to figure out where the next city I was going to call home would be. Just for fun, I went to an astrologist to see where ‘the stars’ said I should go. The response was that I was meant to live abroad. Well, that’s nice, I thought…but moving that far away isn’t exactly what I had in mind. I told him that if the opportunity presented itself, I suppose I’d take it, but I certainly wasn’t just going to pack my bags and move half way across the world… The main criteria I knew I wanted was more sunshine and less traffic. Other criteria for my ‘ideal’ place would also include, being near the water and working with a community focused on health and wellness…but that seemed like a lot to ask…

One day I received an email from Bastyr for a job as a Medical Wellness Advisor at some place on the beach in Thailand. I replied to Bastyr to ask if they knew anything about it. They said ‘no’ and that they were just forwarding on the job posting for the folks who requested they do so. I checked out the website and it seemed quite impressive. The posting requested a resume and a photo. I figured, ‘why not’ and sent it in. A week later I was set up for an hour long phone interview with someone in Thailand. At the end of the interview they asked, ‘When can you start?’ One additional phone interview later, I was making plans to sell almost everything I own, find a new home for my cat (never want to go through this again, that’s for sure), and find someone to rent my home to (that I have owned for 9 years). My boss is from California and he knows about the reputation of Bastyr so he sent the job posting directly there because he knew he wanted a Bastyr grad.

So for the last two months, I have been letting go of almost everything I own and saying good-bye to everyone I know, and in 3 days I will be flying away to start my new life in Thailand. A very cool part of this story is that 2 of my other recently graduated classmates also were hired on and are already there and say its great! How cool is that?! So that’s the story of where, how, and why I’m moving to Thailand! Stay tuned for more postings once I arrive!

And in the meantime, go to www.skype.com to sign up! This allows us to call each other on our computers and talk for free via the microphone on your computer! Also, I have a video cam on my laptop so when you call me, you will actually be able to see me live and then I can walk around with my computer to show you my surroundings. So please sign up! Talk to you then!…