Exactly ten years ago – November 1, 2005 – I arrived in Bangkok as an expat. After five years of visiting regularly and a bit more than a year after Tawn moved back after completing his studies in the United States, I moved here.
Shortly after moving, I met another expatriate American. In response to the most frequently asked question, he replied that he had been here three years. I was astounded and couldn’t imagine living here so long. In the years to come, I met expats who have lived in Thailand for twenty, thirty, and even more than forty years. Now that I have reached the decade mark, those lengthy tenures do not seem as unimaginable!
November 1, 2015 is not just a milestone date, it is also a fork in the road. As the recently-departed baseball legend Yogi Berra is quoted as saying, “When you reach a fork in the road, take it!” Today marks my official start in my new job as a regional training manager for the world’s largest market expansion services company, DKSH.
As is my habit, I will not write in my blog in any detail about my job or my employer. Those specifics are not for public consumption. Let me just say that in my new role, I will be traveling extensively throughout the Asia-Pacific region to create and implement strategic leadership development programs.
In the final weeks in my previous role, I’ve had clients, colleagues, and direct reports share stories and thank me for the work I have done. Relating these experiences to my mother and sister, both of whom are teachers, I realize that the work I do is akin to their profession. The opportunity to help another person to more fully reach their potential is a humbling privilege. It is also enormously rewarding.
Passion and purpose are crucial to a sense of fulfillment and meaning in life. I’m honored to have met each of these people over the last two years as a consultant and I cherish what we have learned from each other. Our relationships will be part of a larger network in the years to come.
And now that I have reached that fork in the road, I am taking it. I move boldly and confidently in a new direction, knowing that new adventures and opportunities await and realizing that, when looked at from enough distance, there is really only one road and it really is the journey itself that is important.
christao408 
I look forward to your new adventures..as you are always so kind and generous about sharing your travels and experiences with us!!! ( And THINK of all the new restaurants you can explore!!! 😉 Congratulations on this new leg of your journey!!!
Thanks for your congratulations. Yes, I am hoping to use my newly increased travel as a way to get back into blogging.
I look forward to reading about your future job and new places you’ll be visiting!
I will do my best to keep you informed!
Congrats and this is wonderful that you are off on a new adventure.
Many thanks!
I’m not surprise to read that you’ve helped so many people in your work. I think that’s one of your defining traits and it’s good to find a job that complements it. All the best in your new job Chris!
Thanks for your kind words.
Thanks for sharing Chris. This quote from Robert Frost came to mind: “Two roads diverged in a wood and you – you took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. Enjoy the journey! – Jos
Although, I wonder if I’m actually taking the fork with more travel!
Congratulations, Chris! This position sounds amazing and you do seem like the kind of person to really get into your role and make things happen with it.
Many thanks for your congratulations.
Congratulations on making it 10 years. My own decade-jubilee is also just a few weeks away. Same as you I never thought I would stay that long. Well, how quickly (or slowly) things have changed.
Wish you all the best for your new role at DKSH. Pity you won’t be writing about them, but of course I can understand the reasons.
Yes, as fascinating as they are, they have a strict “no social media” policy!
congratulations! it’s been five years for me being away from home and i’m itching to return. enjoy your new job!
congrats on your tenure. to me, you are more of a local thai than you realized. and i look forward to keep visiting you and tawn in bangkok for more years to come. congrats again on your new job. if you ever find yourself in jakarta, feel free to let me know. i would love to treat you and tawn for some indonesian delights.
I will likely make it to Jakarta in 2016 on business. Stay tuned.