Hi folks, Kevin here.  Sorry for the delayed update.  As most of you know, there’s been some major developments since the last post.  Mainly, I’m writing this from Koh Samui, Thailand, where we now live.  Let me back up and explain how that happened.

When I returned from my Kiva Fellowship, Jennifer was happily working at Wild Willow Farm, right near the Mexican border:  https://www.facebook.com/wildwillowfarm/  or  http://www.sandiegoroots.org/farm/index.php.  She has always had a green thumb and enjoyed working with plants and animals, so while I was away she took the opportunity to volunteer at this organic farm.  She also took a few courses on horticulture at a local community college.  While volunteering at Wild Willow, she was eventually offered a part-time position, which she happily accepted.

As she was enjoying her new outdoor lifestyle and had been the one with the “serious” job in Kauai, we agreed that she could keep on working at the farm and that I would find a full-time “serious” job in San Diego upon my return.  That was the plan, and I started applying for jobs as soon as I recovered from my jet lag.  Well, funny thing about plans, life frequently has other ideas.

After a few months of sending out endless applications on the interwebs, I had exactly zero responses.  I finally connected with a human professional recruiter who promptly got me an interview for a contract position.  The interview went well and I was told I would hear back within two weeks one way or the other.  I followed up weekly with the recruiter for the next four weeks, always receiving the same response: “They don’t have any updates and I don’t know why they are taking so long.  I’ll call you when I hear from them.”

After a month, I started to lose hope.  Around this time, Jennifer and I went to Lahaina Beach House (Lahaina’s) a popular waterhole right on the beach in Pacific Beach.  It was on the beach right in front of Lahaina’s that Jennifer got her job offer in Kauai, so when we were there she wondered aloud if this would be our good luck spot and that maybe I’d get a job offer today.

Literally minutes later, Jen checked her phone and found an email from an old friend she knew from hotel management school long ago.  Wouldn’t you know it, it was a job offer.  The friend had been following our travels through this blog, so she knew that Jen had experience with children (teaching in India) and had not yet gotten another hotel job.  Lahaina’s had struck again!  Much to her vexation the offer was for her again, rather than for me this time.  Still, it appeared to be a tremendous opportunity which she couldn’t refuse.

So, soon after returning home, we decided to leave again on another adventure.  Jennifer will be working at the Santiburi Resort as the Wellness Manager.  She’ll be in charge of opening a new kids club, as well as organizing various guest activities such as yoga, meditation, etc.  She will also work with the spa to figure out some consistent branding for the hotel and update their services.

We decided that I might be able to teach English while I’m here, so I quickly signed up for a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course so that I have a certification to show for interviews.  Between that, accounting, and possible social impact jobs, we’re hoping I’ll find something eventually.

So, that’s a brief recap of the brief 4 months we spent back home.  Future updates will let you know what we’re up to in Thailand.  Thanks for keeping up with us!