Sunday, November 02, 2008

A New Adventure: Thailand



It was a somewhat remarkable and wholly unexpected set of circumstances that brought me to Sweden and now it is a remarkable and wholly unexpected set of circumstances that will take me to Thailand, my first stop in my post-Sweden life. I fly to Bangkok tomorrow.

I can just hear all you Swedes saying “one last vintage Swedish experience for Sean, because flying to Thailand has indeed become a very Swedish experience.” It’s estimated that 4% of all Swedes went to Thailand last year (360,000!), but I assure you that my plans don’t include sitting on a beach all day every day, okay maybe just a few days…

As this is the final blog entry about this country that I have come to appreciate and enjoy so much, I want to extend a word of “tack så mycket” to the many Swedish, American and other readers for their contributions and faithful reading of Linköpinglivin’ over the past two-plus years. This blog, and the enjoyment I have found through it, has been one of the most unexpected highlights of my Swedish experience. You helped make this a rich and rewarding Sunday/Monday evening exercise.

And to emphasize the point once again, though the Swedish influence on this blog will be concluding with this entry, the blog itself will continue, so if you’d like to stick around and see what the next adventure has in store, you would be most welcome.

Svenskar, jag har kommit att älska dina land och människor. Jag kommer sakna er, Linköping, Stockholm, fika, sommar ljus, vinter snö, köttbullar, prinsesstårta, Santa Lucia, Domkyrkan, Kanevad, Åbacka, Mjellerums Gård, Norins Ost, Äntligen bröd, Bilar, Stora Torget, Bosses Glassbar, LHC, röda sommar stugor, Ryttargårdskyrka, kanelbullar, Svenskaspråket och så mycket om Sverige. Tack så jätte mycket för allt. Ska komma tillbaka snart!

Hej då Linköping, hej då Sverige. Vi ses.

To Thailand. Please come along.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tack så mycket Sean. Det har varit roligt att läsa om hur du upplevt Sverige och oss svenskar. Jag vill önska dej all lycka och välgång i ditt fortsatta liv och Guds välsignelse. Och jag ser fram emot att läsa om din Thailandsresa, jag är en av de få svenskar som inte varit där. Må så gott!!!

Anonymous said...

Tack Sean! Jag följer med till Thailand via bloggen=) Jag är också svensk men har inte varit där!

Todd said...

Tack Sean! (I finally was able to write in Swedish without going to Google translator!) Ok, seriously...which is a stretch for me...Thanks Sean. You have had quite an adventure in Sweden and your "little update blog for the family" has taken on a life of its own. We've all enjoyed it every week...even though it is sometimes a pain in my...

We look forward to your next adventure and hope "Thailand" is all that you want it to be.

Ang said...

Looking forward to reading about your continuing adventures!!!!

Anonymous said...

Tack Sean! Det var trevligt att lära känna dig och väldigt roligt att läsa din blogg! Jag hoppas att du får det bra i Thailand och att vi ses igen någongång. många kramar från Jennifer i Uppsala

Anonymous said...

Lycka till i Thailand och tack så mycket för att du velat dela med dig av dina upplevelser här i Sverige. Det har varit roligt och intressant att läsa och följa din blogg. Jag kommer fortsätta följa dina betraktelse av ditt nya hem på andra sidan jordklotet.
Ha det bäst Sean!

Anonymous said...

jag fortsätter att läsa :) men tack för 2 mycket underhållande år, även om jag inte har haft nöjet att träffa dig utanför bloggen :)

/linköpingsbo forever

Anonymous said...

Best of luck in Thailand! I've been reading your blog every Monday in my Seattle office with my afternoon fika and imagined you would återvända to the UDub and continue the blog from here. It's been entertaining and nostalgic to read about Linköping where I've been an exchange student 20 years ago. Lycka till!

Anonymous said...

I'm from Linköping, have been reading your blog for over a year. It has been very interesting and fun, and it's good that you seem to like Linköping and Sweden so much :)
Best wishes

Chris said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

A new glorious page for you is opening ! Wish you the best in this new adventure !

I'll be for sure one of the numerous readers of "Thaïlandlivin" !

Bon Voyage ! ;-)

Christelle

Dianne Whiting said...

Sean - as you leave Sweden many of us thank you for the many, many insights you have given to us. This country that I never thought I would visit, I have indeed visited for a wonderful 5 days. And this country that I never thought I would know much about has become quite familiar, thanks to your blog. Thanks for your consistency of thought and observation. I know Sweden will always claim a very special place in your heart. As you leave for Thailand, may this next season of your life be very, very special. God's blessing and love be with you. Much much love, Mom

sapphire said...

Hey Sean.

I stumbled to your blog when searching for fun facts about Sweden. And being from Berkeley, I had to see what a fellow Californian wrote about their adventures in Sweden (I'm in sthlm). And then I read about the move to Thailand, and the engagement in the US.

It was really cool to just stumble to your blog, read a piece of history, read a piece of someone's life, and feel enlightened.

Good luck dude.