🌎🌍🌏 Lessons from the great book of the world

A letter to my past self a decade ago (Letter 241)

Aloha fellow learn-it-all 👋

Greetings from Chiang Rai, Thailand

TGIF or “TBIF”, Thank Buddha it’s Friday the phrase I’ve been using to make some more morning giggles.

I was the first one in the office yesterday and the last one to leave busy grading my midterms and contacting absent students about making up their missing speeches. It’s been a lot of coordination. Project manager and system organization for papers and file names has been activated. 🫡

Anywho it’s another day, another dollar. Or shall I say another Thai baht?

I chomped my red apple down. I bite it with my front teeth, instead of cutting it. Such a minute cultural difference, yet still makes me different. I might be the only person at my school who also likes to spoon my mango out from the skin instead of peeling it and to swirl my noodles with my chopstick instead of piling then into the flat soup spoon. This morning, because it’s Friday and I stayed up too late watching a Korean Drama Netflix show, I regretfully got my second tiny cup of instant coffee with a dollop of Ovaltine and milk powder. This turned my day into some jitters.

This morning I greeted a slew of coworkers by saying Sawadee-jow with a bow followed by saying “good morning” in English with a smile and wave. Pi Kristy keeps laughing that I’ve learned this Lanna northern Thai language phrase.

My coworker Boom was the first person I met in Chiang Rai who picked me up from the airport at 10pm. I do not address her as Pi Boom (older) or Noong Boom (younger) because she is the same age as me. Boom sits in front of me in the foreign language office. Tomorrow, she defends her ~30 page research paper (that I tried my best to proofread) to receive her Master’s in Education from Chiang Rai University. She just asked me how to pronounce “enthusiastic”. It’s five syllables: [in- thoo-zee-as-tic]. I’ve been getting into phonetics more this week.

Boom is getting better at the “th” sounds. This sound is hard to make for Dutch and Thai people alike. I also taught my students how to say “passion” and “extra-curricular” this week for their midterm speeches. Every time they get it right, I smile so big — what a satisfying feeling that is.

Now, let’s dive into letter 241 from a learn-it-all. Enjoy!

~~~

If you are reading this for the first time, I’d love you to sign up below to join the other learn-it-alls:

~~~

❓Question to think about

What would I tell my younger self 10 years ago?

🌟Quote to inspire

“I entirely abandoned the study of letters. Resolving to seek no knowledge other than that of which could be found in myself or else in the great book of the world, I spent the rest of my youth traveling, visiting courts and armies, mixing with people of diverse temperaments and ranks, gathering various experiences, testing myself in the situations which fortune offered me, and at all times reflecting upon whatever came my way to derive some profit from it.”

―René Descartes , 'Father of Modern Philosophy' from A Discourse of a Method in 1637 translated from French

🖊️Writing

Dear 18-Year-Old Jen,

It’s January 2, 2015. A frigid Friday afternoon at DTE airport. You’re about to waddle down the slurf in a long puffer parka onto a plane for your first trip abroad without family for a civil rights course at a castle in Luxembourg. I know you’re nervous. Watching Taken with mom last night probably didn’t help (spoiler: Liam Neeson won’t need to save you). But here’s the thing—this isn’t just a trip. It’s the first chapter in what Descartes would call “the great book of the world.”

You’re about to taste freedom and novelty in a whole new way, and the best parts? They won’t be in the syllabus.

Once you arrive, you’ll lean on your French to navigate the unfamiliar—ordering croissants, buying train tickets, asking locals for directions. It’ll feel awkward at first, but with every “je voudrais,” you’ll become more confident. You’ll realize that language isn’t just about verbs and nouns; it’s about connection.

And then there’s the new friends you make— Steph, Meg, Darby and Lauren. You’ll meet them in Luxembourg. Steph in particular will become one of the coolest friends. Steph is charismatic, flirtacious, and goofy. Many things you wanted to be. She’ll show you what it means to embrace spontaneity. Together, you’ll dye your hair in a quirky salon where a Chihuahua lounges at your feet and bubbly water is served on a silver platter. You’ll take a spontaneous Wednesday-night train ride to Germany to visit an all-you-can-drink winery and skip down the streets with your matching Long Champ totes until the ice becomes too slick

You’ll bond over pesto gnocchi, and watch late-night episodes of The Bachelor in matching white faux fur hoody vests in the castle’s dungeon. Steph will remind you that some of the most exciting friendships are born in unexpected places. She’ll see things in you—confidence, curiosity, and a spark for life—that you’re still learning to see in yourself.

This chapter in Luxembourg won’t just teach you about civil rights; it’ll teach you about how to live. You’ll learn that adventure isn’t about doing everything perfectly but about showing up, staying open, and letting the unexpected guide you. Being without a plan opens vast opportunity.

Now, fast forward ten years.

I’m writing this letter from Thailand, another chapter in the “book of the world.” This time, believe it or not, you’ll be the teacher, helping students dream about their own adventures.

You’ll be living with a roommate who’s devout in beating last year’s goal of reading 52 books and is obsessed with Muay Thai. You’ll eat lunch with the math department, who don’t speak a single spec of English, and you’ll show your appreciation for pork-blood noodle soup by rubbing your tummy and saying “ahroy” (delicious) several times. Ping Pong, one of your star students, will help you order lunch when the canteen cooks can’t understand your Thai.

Some days will feel overwhelming—like when you collapse on your bed after being the first in the office and the last out grading midterms, or when you’re fumbling through a language that leaves you with nothing other than confusion. But this is just another chapter. Just like in Luxembourg, you’ll discover new ways to connect, grow, and find joy.

Your students will inspire you with their big dreams—traveling the world, meeting people from different cultures, and living out useful ambitious and happy lives to support their parents who farm. They’ll teach you TikTok dances, and you’ll guide them through university interviews, cheering them on as they reach for their goals. Watching their excitement will remind you of yourself at 18, boarding that first plane, wide-eyed and ready to leap into the unknown.

They’ll spark memories of your own dreams and remind you how thrilling it feels to stand on the edge of possibility. In helping them prepare for their futures, you’ll see the same sense of adventure that first brought you into the “book of the world.”

Here’s what I want you to know: life will teach you more than any classroom ever could. The book of the world is messy, yet deeply rewarding. You don’t need a plan for every chapter—just dive in. The logic will catch up to those “yes” moments someday.

So, go. Board that plane. Say yes to dyeing your hair, laughing with a new friend, fumbling through train schedules, and sitting with people whose language you can’t yet speak. These are the moments that will shape you.

Keep exploring every chapter in this divine, unpredictable, beautiful book of the world. Let curiosity be your guide, and let life surprise you.

Right now, you are about to become a broad studying abroad, and in a decade, you’ll be a broad living abroad as a teacher. Keep livin!

Xoxo 💋

Your ~wiser~ funky-fresh self

📖Reading

It’s been sparse. Many many thoughts on this to come. Reading goals have not been being met. I have not been in the woman in the reading arena.

🎬 Watching

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

Jee whiz, I am glad that Thai Netflix has some classic American romcoms. This movie is so cheesy, and yet, makes me feel so good.

My favorite scene is where Kate meets Matthew’s family for the first time, and they all play cards together. Kate commits to a bit with Matthew’s family to cheat in order to beat him at his favorite game. This scene is referenced in the movie's last scene, and it feels so beautiful. I aspire to be able to write in this way, where references are beautifully woven throughout a story, making the consumer familiar with the references being made. Even more so, as a teacher, I am trying my best to inject games and review as much as possible to boost confidence.

🎧Listening

Live Before I Die by Mike Posner

I stopped smoking weed a year ago
Maybe I'm less cool now, I don't know
But I talk to pretty girls now
Instead of sitting there all stoned
I stopped smoking weed a year ago

And I stopped drinking Hennessy on ice
I thought it made my fans think I was tight
I'm still up in that nightclub
On way too many nights
But I stopped drinking Hennessy on ice

See I've been running from my past
But my future's just too fast
He don't stop for no one, that's no lie
So, dear Lord, won't You please
Give me wisdom, grant me peace
'Cause I just wanna live before I die

🎨 Creating

Despite what my words and photos depict, for a slew of reasons that in the grand scheme of it all don’t matter, I’ve been feeling in a bit of a funk. Somehow unlike myself.

I’ve found that creating helps me feel inspired and closer to my source.

This past week I’ve created:

• an ongoing list of ideas (nearing 100 soon) I want to write about someday

• created a red, yellow, green graphic for future relationships in my life. A red flag is if someone refuses to learn to swim 🚩

• a new running playlist called “Mai Pen Rai Miles” with a silly album cover that I designed. Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Mike Posner appearances are prevalent to no surprise.

• more “December dailies”. These are notes to myself to improve my mood to feel inspired

• moments of smiles during selfies with each of my classes after their midterm presenations

• Tiktok dances with some of my classes during free time

• Updating my list of “12 Favorite Problems”— an exercise inspired by renowned the physicist and jokester Richard Feynman via David Perell and Tiago Forte courses circa 2019

🔍Word to define

Abroad: (adv) in or to a foreign country or countries.

Etymology

mid-13c., "widely apart," a contraction of on brode, from Old English on brede, "in width," literally "at wide" + broad (adj.)). From c. 1300 as "at a distance from each other," hence "out of doors, away from home" (late 14c.) also "at a distance generally" (early 15c.), and the main modern sense, "out of one's country, overseas" (mid-15c.).

📸Photos of the Week

Some selfies with each of my classes this week and a random photo op in a banana suit because why not? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

🙏Shoutouts

• to my students who all inspire me so much on their effort and confidence in speaking English. I’m getting sentimental already with the semester half way over

• To my parents for affording me the opportunity enter the book of the world and study abroad at age 18

---

I appreciate you reading this!

If ideas resonated, I’d love you to press the heart button, leave a comment, reply to this email, or reach me at vermetjl@gmail.com.

Keep on learning 😁

Ka Poon Ka 🌺

Jen

PS- if you’d like to see a curation of my favorite letters, the best way is to buy my book on Amazon here.

PPS - if you missed last week I wrote a letter on acceptance called ♥️ Everything Is Okay

If you’re reading this because someone shared this newsletter with you, welcome! I’d love it if you signed up: