Skatbos in Thailand

Just to update all our friends and family, we are aware of the violent clashes with protestors in Bangkok that just happened today and are currently revising our plans and doing what we can to be informed, stay safe, and still get our adventure underway! So don’t worry, and we will keep you updated about what we end up doing. Check back later…

Jed Anderson and I put this video together for Eva’s first birthday on March 25th.  Happy first year, favorite niece!

Eva 1 Year from Tim Mosbo on Vimeo.

Everyone knows that travel requires a certain number of official documents.  Photo IDs, Passports, boarding passes, are all pretty common documents you must carry with you while attempting to enter another country.  Tim and I (Meghan) are learning about how many actual “official” documents are out there.   Actually we will probably have at least one of each by the time we attempt to depart. Here is a list of documents we are required to have:

-Passport (obviously)

-Diploma

-Verification of College Degree Certificate

-Official College Transcripts

-Visa Clearance Letter (Basically says you have no criminal record……whew…we passed.)

-Travel or Non-immigrant work Visa

-At least 2 letters of recommendation

Okay, that list actually isn’t to bad, BUT if you are a married woman who changed her name and some of the “official” documents are under your maiden name, there is a HUGE extra step.    I basically have to prove that Meghan Helene Skattum is Meghan Helene Skattum Mosbo.  I had to have all my documents with my maiden name notorized here in IL.  They are now on their way to Washington D.C.  to be authenticated by the US Dept of State.  They will be stamped, signed and sent back to us in IL.  We then have to take all these documents to the Thai Embassy in Chicago to have them write an affidavit letter stating, again, that I am ME.  My diploma now has several extra signitures and seals on it and it will have traveled all over the world by the time this is done.  Another reason why women shouldn’t change there names, nobody knows who you REALLY are.

12 days of work left.  35 days until we fly to Bangkok.  So much left to do.

With every day, the reality that we’re actually leaving the country sinks in just a little bit more.  We’re packing up our apartment a box or two at a time, slowly returning it to it’s un-home-like state.  It’s getting ugly in here.  The nice thing is that the less this feels like home, the easier it’s going to be to leave.  Of course, leaving friends and family is NEVER easy and that’s going to be the hardest part of this change.  We’re packing in friend-time as much as possible, going out for movies, musicals, dinner and just staying in for fun have been huge parts of our last couple of weeks.