Halfway Around the World and I've Never Felt Closer to My Love.

On Friday Nikki and I spent the day/night on the island of Koh Chang. While on this brief overnight stay I realized that the topic of relationships has been coming up quite often. We spent much time with the manager of a restaurant on Lonely Beach (which seems all too fitting) and he shared many stories of heartache and loneliness.

My own thoughts have been drawn to this topic after learning about the prostitution that occurs here and spending time with Thais my own age. I have been wondering what a true Thai relationship looks like for someone who is in their twenties/thirties…I still don’t think I have the answer. From what I have observed, though, they appear to be taken pretty loosely. Distance plays a key factor. If the boyfriend/girlfriend lives far away that leaves room to have the freedom of someone who is single.

When I tell most guys that I do indeed have a boyfriend, their first question is, “Where does he live/is he Thai?” I reply, “Chicago.” It seems that when I say that, they take it as I’m available, but as soon as I tell them, “My boyfriend is coming to Thailand in 1 month” they start to back off.

After hearing these dejected stories for San, I felt extremely bad for him. The reason I felt so bad was because he has not seen what a relationship should look like. He sees boyfriends and girlfriends fighting, cheating, and breaking up as well as experiencing it first hand himself. Girls traveling through on holiday are out for a good time and a one-night stand and end up using and abusing him. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to live on an island where you are continually saying goodbye to people. As I sat there and listen to his stories I couldn’t help but to think about my own relationship and how grateful I am for it. I have an amazing boyfriend who supports me, trusts me, and loves me. While distance may be what destroys the relationships of some, it has only made mine stronger.