I Heard the Bells

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

This was the first Christmas carol I learned to play on the piano when I was a girl. It's a bit depressing as it was written at the beginning of the civil war by a man who had just lost his wife. The verse I have copied second came to my mind many times during the week past. Last week I was talking with my secretary and she told me the following story: Her neighbor is married to a senior army officer. She is a very pretty woman, but her husband no longer lives with them. This woman has two children, one in middle school and one in high school. In spite of this, she likes to party and goes out nearly every night. As a result, she had gotten pregnant four times and each time aborted the child. My secretary noticed a couple of months ago that her neighbor was again drinking the solution that is a common remedy to pregnancy in Thailand. She went to her and said, "Don't kill your baby, I'll take it in." She later noticed the woman beating her stomach my secretary went to her again. The neighbor said to her, "The other four babies were so easy to kill. Why is this one so difficult?" My secretary again begged for the life of the baby, saying, "I'm not rich, and I already have two children, but please, don't kill your baby. I will give it a home." The woman said, "When I found out I was pregnant, I went the temple to pray. I asked the monk what to do. He looked at my past and future and did not see the baby there. I cannot keep it." In the end, she succeeded in aborting her child. I try not to think too badly of the monk. Perhaps knowing that this woman has HIV he thought it better for the baby to die now than to be motherless in the not-too-distant future. At the same time, my secretary told me of several family members dying of HIV. One is her sister, who is now pregnant and will likely die shortly after her baby is born, leaving three small children. I was depressed because this is such a common story lately. HIV is leaving so many children without parents in this country. Unprecented sexual promiscuity is giving HIV plenty of opportunities. During the same week we were helping our landlords to buy the house adjoining to ours. We hardly knew the family that lived there. It was a grandmother and her many grandchildren ranging in age from young school-aged to college age. This woman worked at her own restaurant and worked very hard. She and her family were usually out the door before we were up and often returned late at night, usually around ten. Not being often there, we hardly saw them. When they did arrive home they quickly locked the door and turned out the lights. They were not particularly receptive to conversation and seemed to want to kept to themselves, an uncommon trait here in Thailand. To be honest, I never really tried to break down the barriers. When I found out they were to move, I heard more of the story from my landlord. The grandmother's mother's ex-husband was 3,000,000 baht in debt and due to the laws of this country, the great-grandmother was liable. The townhouse that her daughter and great-grandchildren lived in was to be sold to ease this burden. It was also revealed that the grandmother was raising them for their mother who was on drugs and had run off. On the night the sale was completed, the great-grandmother took us out for dinner. The grandmother looked weary with all her grandchildren around her, facing the prospect of raising them in a much smaller apartment. Unfortunately, even selling the house would only reduce their liability by 1/4. It was a depressing night, not only because this woman was in the middle of troubles loaded on her by the generation above and below, but also because we hadn't done anything to help her by sharing our source of hope during the time we were neighbors. As I reflected on these depressing situations, the problems I see around me all the time seemed far worse. We help out with an orphanage where few of the children are really orphans. I have come to realize that this is a common situation and many parents who can't or won't take care of their children put them in orphanages where they are fed and clothed and schooled, but are also vulnerable. All my efforts to try to ensure accountability for the safety of these children and perhaps try to restore them to their families have come to nearly nothing and on every side I meet indifference. It's hardly surprising since most organizations who deal with the rights of children are spending all their energies trying to stop the worst of the child exploitation. The children at our orphanage are fortunate by many standards.

I could recount many more stories just from the past month, but I think you get the idea about my frame of mind. I was feeling cynical, discouraged and evil seemed to be taking over.

The past week I took time off from work and stayed home most of the time. This helped, but I think it was only because being at home helps me forget about the needs in the world outside. The cynicism remained.

Every year, I read the Christmas story, and since I was home sick today from church, I thought I'd get a head start. I decided to start with Malachi. Being the last book in the old testament I thought it might give me an idea of the frame of mind that Israel was in before Christ came, in spite of the 400 year gap.

In Malachi, I found an Israel feeling much like myself. God had not yet returned to the temple and they were feeling abandoned by God, discouraged and were barely hanging onto their faith.

Here are some excerpts:
"I have always loved you,” says the Lord.
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”

You have wearied the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

“You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15 From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”

But in spite of all this, God makes a promise: “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. 18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

And I saw that it was true. In spite of my faithlessness God had always been merciful. I look around and see that the enemy offers no mercy, only death.

Then as I continued on to the gospel of Luke, Zechariah has this to say,
78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

How do I forget that without Christ, we truly would be abandoned and without a hope? We would be ending with Malachi, in despair and empty observance of a God that has not yet come back to dwell with us. But God's great love gave us the rest of the story and because of Him we can continue on to read the only event that gives us any hope in this world filled with sin. Blessed be the God who did not leave us.

Christmastime

Here are some pics from our Christmastime. The first is of one of the many groups that has caroled at our house. People seem to do it more here. Could it have anything to do with the weather?
The next is a picture of the little party we had for our preschool. At the end, we had a Christingles service. It's a British tradition if you want to look it up. The third is Eric showing Gabe how to make funny faces into the Christmas ornaments as we decorate the tree. The last is Gabe playing an angel in the preschool play called "The Grumpy Innkeeper." The kids did a great job in spite of having only practiced the play twice and it turned out very well.


I have to admit, I kind of almost didn't want to be around to celebrate Christmas this year. This is the third year we've been away from family for the holidays and I was feeling really sad about it. I think at this time of year I remember everything about Christmases of my childhood. I remember seeing our tree with red lights as we pulled into the driveway. I remember buying $1 gifts for my siblings at the "dime store" downtown. I remember going to the city to see the Marshall Fields display. I remember going to the do-it-yourself Messiah at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I remember mittens drying in front of the fireplace. And of course, I think of our families getting together every year to celebrate and how much we enjoy being together. I think of them getting together without us and makes me very homesick.

I tried very hard to get Eric to let us go away before Christmas so that I wouldn't have to think about it very much. But as Christmas has gotten closer, I've realized, I think I've come to terms with it. I don't like being away very much, but I think I can still enjoy the Christmas season here. I took this week and next off from work and we'll just enjoy being together and making cookies and relaxing. With so many people scattering for the holidays most of the parties are over. We'll spend some time at the orphanages (the one we work with and one that our organization works with) and then go to BKK after Christmas.

Thanksgiving

We had a lot to be thankful for today. This was one of the nicest Thanksgiving holidays we've had in Thailand. We celebrated with our next-door neighbors and many other friends. Our neighbors have been like family to us and we were so glad to be hosted by them. I was very pleased that they had invited so many people that they needed two turkeys. She used my oven for one of them and smells of a cooking turkey filled the kitchen while I made dinner rolls and corn casserole. It can be hard to get into the Thanksgiving spirit here as it's not an official holiday and of course the weather is not right, but smelling turkey all day helped a lot. We were also thankful for the beginning of cool season. Last night, for the first time, I felt that just a sheet was not enough; we will take out our blanket tonight. This afternoon as I was cooking, it was very pleasant and not the sweatbath that cooking in the afternoon usually is.

All the same, we missed our family back in America more than ever. Every holiday I think of what a fun time you must be having together and I miss it so much.

Trip to Green Lake

This week-end we went to "Green Lake" to celebrate Lahu Thanksgiving. The Lahu are one of the hill-tribes of northern Thailand. The Lahu originated in China and they often seem more Chinese than Thai to me. Green Lake (translated from the Thai Nang Kiaw) is a village of 600 people close to the Burma border. We were invited by a Lahu family in our church. Their son David, the boy in the pics with Gabe, goes to our preschool co-op. We went with our English friends, the Coes, who are Stanley's family. We arrived to a Lahu feast prepared by our hosts, who appeared to be reasonably well-off with a small cement house and numerous pigs & chickens. While the farang adults tried to figure out how not to offend, Gabe, Stanley & David ran and screamed. It's amazing how easily a little child can fit into any culture. After dinner, at about 8:00pm, we went to church. We all had to go, even the kids. The church was a simple cinder block structure with wooden benches. Women sit on one side and men on the other. Although Bronwen (Stanley's mom) and I sat with our children, David's aunt had to sit across the aisle from David and he was able get into all kinds of mischief. It's a great system for little boys who seem to take full advantage of their freedom. After numerous choral numbers by special groups in a church of about 200 people Stanley's dad spoke. He did very well as most people stayed awake, remarkable considering that it was 9:00 at night and most people had been out in the fields working on the harvest all day. For the first time, I felt I got a real glimpse of the joy of the harvest. Food was plentiful and varied, probably not usual for people who live at subsistence. That night after more singing, we finally went home, but it was impossible to go to bed as the Lahu friends stayed up talking, eating the harvest, and drinking tea. In a house the size we were staying in, avoiding the party wasn't an option. We were a bit worried about the kids as they were still up at 11:00pm and they don't take long afternoon naps like Thai children. Although they were harvesting many crops, we mostly snacked on fresh nuts. I've never eaten fresh nuts and they're quite different than the roasted kind. Fresh peanuts are almost juicy. People were in a very good mood as peanuts are selling at a high price this year. Most families will earn about $750 for their harvest, a huge sum for families who mostly live on what they can grow or find. This harvest truly was a time of Thanksgiving.

I have to admit, I'm one of those people who always thinks life would be less complicated if we all lived at subsistence level. Of course, it's very silly for me to think so since I've never actually had to live at subsistence, but I do like the simplicity of life. On the other hand, they are almost slaves to their animals and their land. They can never travel as the animals can't take care of themselves. You have to work nearly all day long to prepare & preserve the food that you harvest. It's a difficult life and not particularly peaceful. In the small house, everyone sleeps in one room. We were fortunate to be given the tiny bedroom, but since the walls don't go up to the ceiling, you can hear everyone. When everyone finally did go to bed, I thought we'd sleep well in the peace and quiet of the country, but roosters crowed all night and at 5:00 am our hosts were up feeding the squealing pigs who sounded like they were being murdered rather than eating. At various intervals during the night dogs got into fights, seemingly right outside our screenless window. Anyway, it just helps to remind me what a wimp I am. However, I was the only courageous farang who showered. Many people in this area of the world do not bathe inside. They wear a sarong and bathe in the open. It was a little weird, but it was great to be clean. On Saturday we attended more church services and a football match. On our way out of town, we tried to cross the border into Burma, but it was closed. Another attempt to travel outside of Thailand was foiled. On our way, we passed this nightclub which is certainly making a brave attempt at glamour, especially since by Thai pronunciation, it would be called "Hollywoose".

Back to School

I haven't been so good about updating this blog, partly because of bad internet connection, but also because we've been busy with the fall schedule. We arrived back on July 20 and I immediately oriented my first new teachers of the year. They were a couple that taught in PNG previously and even spent time with Eric's dad when he was there.
School started for Eric over three weeks ago and in addition to teaching 7th grade social studies, English and religious studies he's teaching comparative gov't for high schoolers. On top of that, he's also still very involved with the chapel program and coaching an intermural ultimate frisbee team. Above is a picture of Eric's students doing a class measuring project. I continue to gain respect for his creativity and energy in coming up with interesting ways to teach year after year. It's as much as I can do to plan creative lessons on my one day a week in Gabe's preschool co-op, but Eric does it every day. I always think his students are fortunate to have him for a teacher.

We've already had a "snow day" this year, due to flooding. Last week we had downpours for days on end and it was too much for our sewer system. We woke up last Thursday and saw that our street was flooded. While we were eating breakfast a teacher drove by and shouted in all the houses of students and teachers that class was cancelled. What had been a quiet Thursday morning turned into a raucous celebration on the part of the students. In the front of our neighborhood, where the water was above the knees, a hundred students gathered to celebrate their freedom. It's strange, since we do have week-ends, but it was an extra special day. Kids and parents enjoyed the leisure all day long and at night many of us in the neighborhood gathered to play games in the candle-light (the power was out).

Gabe's preschool co-op started last week and as you can see from the picture above, he's enjoying himself. He is one of the "veterans" and takes his responsibility seriously. He makes sure that the other kids know what they should be doing. Tomorrow is my day and I just finished making a double batch of play dough. It's the best I've ever made:)

Back to our reality

We're back to Thailand and have hit the ground running. I suppose that will have to be my excuse for not posting. Sometimes our trip to the States feels like a short but sweet dream, so I'm glad we have the pics to prove we were there. Though it was busy, it was a wonderful & encouraging trip. We saw so many friends and family and felt blessed by them all. We got to experience summer in the Midwest again. I will always remember the perfect days we had at my Camp Taylor (as I call my parents' place) with all my family around. I'm so glad we got to spend the time with you all.

Back in the USA

It's been nearly 1000 hours since my last post on this blog. In celebration I will finally write an entry. Of course, I have an excellent excuse in the travelling that we've done in the last month. In case you don't know, we're on vacation in the US. As we've been gone 2 years, this is twice as long as the longest time we've ever been out of the country. Lots of people ask us about reverse culture shock, and I can't really say that I would call it shock. Maybe it's more culture surprise. So here are some of the things that have surprised me.

1. Rudeness: As we came in through immigration at LAX, we cringed to think that this was the first impression many people have of America. Throughout the airport people were cranky, complaining, unaccomodating, loud and stressed. I suppose it's not much worse than LAX has always been, but coming from Thailand, where one of the highest values is a quiet and polite manner, it was jarring. We were glad to arrive in the midwest where several people smiled at us for no reason.
2. Forgetfulness: We've only been away 2 years, but Gabe remembers almost nothing from America. Dishwasher and garage were new vocabulary words for him. This I expected, but I didn't expect my own forgetfulness. As we landed at O'Hare, I went to call my parents to let them know where we were. As I picked up the phone, I realized that I didn't remember how to dial a phone number in the US anymore. It was a strange feeling. After a minute I figured it out, but I've had similar experiences since then. I couldn't remember how to use the debit machines at the grocery store, I frequently find myself searching for words I used to use frequently, I can't remember names of streets in towns I lived in for years, I can't remember whether it's acceptable to wear a bathing suit in public (away from the beach) or not, I can't remember whether the cultural norms that I now practice are for America or Thailand. On the flipside, sometimes I find myself remembering things that didn't happen. We spent a week at my parents' in a somewhat rural community outside Chicago. As we hung around Big Rock and Hinckley I found myself getting nostalgic for the small town life of my childhood. Unfortunately, it's a complete fabrication. I spent my entire childhood in a large suburb much closer to Chicago than Big Rock. How does that happen? Maybe I've been watching too much "Andy Griffith Show."
3. Choice: For everything I could possibly want to buy, I have more choice than I can handle. I spend ages looking at the choices and as often as not, leave without picking anything because I don't know how to choose after years of having no choice in many things.
4. Never sweating
5. Gary, IN can be a nice vacation
6. Beauty: I can't get over the pleasures of the midwest: The pleasure of being outside in the early morning chill, walking on green, green grass in the afternoon under the sun and not feeling too hot because a cool breeze is rustling the trees, cornfields sparkling with thousands of fireflies at dusk, laying on a blanket and being dazzled by fireworks, the clear waters of Lake Michigan and ripples of sand underneath, mounds of cherries, blueberries and raspberries at the farmer's market, concerts in the park with families in lawn chairs. These are just a few of the things that fill me with joy.
7. What we know and don't know: Why is it that we know about "Lost", but we don't know about Sudoku? "Lost" certainly gets no publicity in Thailand.
8. Stress: When we're in the US, whether for our 2 year furlough or a month long vacation, our lives our full to the max. We rush around and feel perpetually busy. I don't know if that's the experience of everyone in the US, but I look forward to not being quite so stressed in Thailand.

new blog photo

Wan Sutthai

Wan Sutthai is Thai for "the last day". Though wan sutthai is a distant memory for Thai children,(summer vacation ended in May for them) for international school children wan sutthai is almost here. Gabe had his last day of preschool on Thursday. We took the kids to the zoo, had a picnic and a little graduation ceremony. Though Gabe will be back in preschool next year, he got the same certificate and gift that everyone else received. Above you see the picture that one of the teachers had made for each child. She had a friend paint a portrait of each child doing something they love along with their name in Thai. The likeness isn't characteristic of Gabe, but it's a remarkably good copy of the photo they used for painting the portrait.

Surgery

Yesterday I went to the hospital to make an appointment for Gabe, who has a plantars wart. While I was there, I asked the Dr. to take a look at the cysts on my head, which have gotten bigger. I've had these cysts before and they are completely benign, but as they get bigger, the skin gets more and more irritated. The Dr. asked me to consult his friend, who was a surgeon. He said that he was right downstairs and could take a look at me. As I laid down on the surgeon's examination table, I was preparing for an exam and possibly scheduling at time for removal of the cysts. I felt a nurse doing something with my hair. She said she was cutting my hair. I thought she was cutting a few strands to make it easier for the Dr. to see, but when she showed me a large hunk of my hair, I realized she was shaving my head to prep me for surgery. I was quite upset as I wasn't prepared to have surgery that day, nor had I consented to the procedure. However, I was not able to escape and the Dr. went ahead with removing the cysts. I was pretty upset and even more so when I saw the bill. All in all, it was not such a good day, but as many people have pointed out, it is one of those things that happens when you live in a foreign country and don't always know what's going on. I have bought a few hairbands to cover the bald spot underneath the bandages you see. It's either hairbands or a big comb-over.

Cambodia

I have just returned from my trip and wanted to post a few pics. Unfortunately, the trip was mostly business, so I went to very few picture worthy places and most of my pics were taken in the car as we drove from place to place. Cambodia is a lot like Thailand in many ways. Going to Cambodia is for us what going to Canada is like for many Americans. Sure, they have a different currency and they have Tim Horton's instead of Dunkin' Donuts, but it's not really that different. However, there were differences. Cambodia was a French colony and still bears the marks of colonialization. Architecture, food, education are just a few areas that still show French influence. The English is very good in Cambodia compared to Thailand. Thailand, never having been a colony, has a low standard of English despite being more advanced than Cambodia in many ways. Cambodia is a bit of a wild west as well. I don't want to say anything negative here, but you've probably heard stories before. One obvious sign of this was the black-market goods so readily available. The gas in Cambodia is heavily taxed and is about $4/gallon. As a result, lots of people sell smuggled gas by the roadside. I wonder how long before this starts happening in America. You can see that they're selling the gas right out of the drums. I saw hundreds of such vendors. Crime is a bit higher and cars often get stolen. People either park their cars behind strong bars and barbed wires or park their cars right in their living room. Most houses are all French doors in the front, so this is easy to do. It was strange to look in houses and see people watching TV next to their car.

In spite of these downsides, Phnom Penh is rapidly improving. They are working on paving all the roads in the city and major roads outside the city. It's not nearly so crowded or crazy with traffic as Bangkok. The riverfront is lovely and well-plannned. We ate at a riverfront cafe that was right across from the unfinished structure that is supposed to be the courthouse for the Khmer Rouge trials. Apparently some foreigners had donated the money and been the driving force behind the trials but the Cambodians don't want it so no progress has been made on it for years. It's a bit eerie to look at.

Going Away

Just to let you all know, I'm going to Cambodia for the rest of the week. Pray for Eric & Gabe at home and me on the road.
I'll put up some pics when I return.

Gabe, the ring bearer

Over the week-end, Gabe was in the wedding of two of our friends. We met the groom, named Man, through a friend of Derek's about 5 years ago. When we returned this time, he was dating Eaw, whom he married yesterday. It was a lovely wedding, though a very heavy rain prevented us having the reception outside, as had been planned. Gabe did a very good job. He had to stand in the front for about 15 minutes until they got to the part with the rings. I was very proud of how well he did.

Gabe's Wrting

If you don't want to read a long account of Gabe's new accomplishment, skip this post:)

For at least six months, we have been trying to get the kids at the playgroup to learn to write their own names. We haven't been trying very intensively, but we make worksheets so that they can trace their names and provide opportunities to see how it's done. Gabe is the only one who never seemed to pick up on it in any way.

The other day, I was having lunch with another mom from the playgroup. Unlike the rest of us, she actually is a professional early education teacher. She was talking about the learning styles of each kid, and mentioned that Gabe was a mostly auditory learner. I had recognized previous to this that Gabe's auditory memory is amazing, but had never thought about trying to teach him in this way. So I thought, "I wonder if I told him how to make the letters, if he could do it." It seems very difficult to me for a 4-year-old to learn to make letters by description, but nothing else had worked with Gabe.

The next day, I sat him down and described how to make the letters of his name. Sure enough, on the first try he made crude, but recognizable letters. This was a great improvement over previous attempts which were basically scribbles. He even makes them in the right direction. After he worked on his letters, he asked me about how to draw people. I told him what he should draw, and he drew it. It's pretty amazing because he's never drawn before. So here is his first drawing ever. His portrait of mama & papa is surrounded by some A's, E's & B's.

Public & Religious Life

What would you think if on your next trip to Jewel-Osco you saw people lighting votive candles to an image of Mary next to customer service? How about a minister offering communion in Meijer? You'd probably feel uncomfortable and strange. Why? We (westerners?) think of religion as mostly private--as not belonging outside church or our homes. However, Thais don't see religion the same way. For them, religion is very public. As often as Westerners talk about quiet times, Thais talk about "making merit" which involves public actions that better the karma.

Yesterday I went to Lotus (like Walmart) and right in front of the store were placed some shrines to a bunch of golden idols in the shapes of various animals. I'm not exactly sure how people worship them and I didn't stop to watch, but it wasn't the first time I'd seen worship of an idol at Lotus. Sometimes they have shrines set up inside the stores and people worship right there in front of everyone coming into the store.

Despite the obvious issues here (idolatry, for starters), I did think it somehow refreshing that they aren't ashamed to bring their religion into the public sphere. I realize that there are corrupting factors in public religious practices, but in the West we are often embarrassed to bring our beliefs into the public. I would be nice to feel that displaying our faith wasn't impolite. In many workplaces the employees make offerings at shrines and burn joss sticks first thing in the morning. It is a normal part of their routine. I just can't imagine anything similar in most American workplaces.

Octopus hat & fishy sunglasses.

Candyland

Eric had the students of his chapel team over for dinner. While waiting for dinner, Gabe organized a game of Candyland. He was in his element, telling the bemused students where to move their pieces.

Gabe with his best friends

Gabe at last night's basketball game with Leah (his favorite baby-sitter and next-door neighbour) and baby elephant, his constant companion. Grace won the tournament.

Chain Saw Gang

I haven't posted much lately as there hasn't been much to write. However, yesterday I was reminded that there's always something a little unique to see. On my way to work I crossed paths with a caravan of old men riding motorbikes while carrying chain saws under their arms. Since riding a motorbike in Thailand requires quick reflexes and lots of tricky maneuvering, a chain saw is not something I'd like to be carrying toting while riding a motorbike. An accident of such a caravan brings up images of severed limbs.

Gabe finally has another little boy living in our neighborhood. His name is Stanley & he lives behind us. Stanley's family just moved here (you can probably guess the country they came from by Stanley's shirt) and he has all the latest Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank engine toys. Of course, this made an instant friendship. Between our next-door neighbors who Gabe visits daily, Laura and Stanley, Gabe has developed quite a social life in our neighborhood.

V-day at the playgroup

Valentine's day bingo, played with bottle caps. The kids were more interested in the bottle caps than in Bingo. They hoarded them and refused to use them lest another kid steal from their stash. One man's trash...

Here are some pics from mini-golf last night. The theme was around-the-world. Each hole was a different country. It was actually quite creative and one of the hardest mini-golf courses I've ever played on. There were several holes that none of us were able to complete. Anyway, one of the holes had this jeep as a prop. Gabe was enthralled by this old jeep and his expression in the first picture pretty much captures his rapture over pretending to drive it.

Eastern and Oriental Express

For those who have read the account of Kev & Jen's trip to see us, you may want to skip this entry.

Last week, Eric's brother & sister-in-law came to visit us here in Thailand. We met up in Bangkok and took the train down to the beach, Hua Hin. We had decided on Hua Hin because it's a good place for families, fairly inexpensive and the train to get there is about 160B/per person (about $4). Hua Hin was very nice, but the train trip wasn't exactly luxurious. The train compartments were completely open to the air, which at this time of year, was quite nice. However, much of the trip, we travelled at about 30 miles per hour. What was supposed to have been a 3 hour trip dragged on and on. Each time I asked the conductor how much farther we had to go, he'd say, "One more hour". We finally arrived 3 hours late. We felt bad about it because Kev & Jen had just finished the 24 hour flight to Thailand and we reassured them that the sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiangmai that we had already booked had always been reliably on time.

Famous last words. About 7:00 am we woke to find that the train had stopped. After about 45 minutes I asked a passing conductor why we were stopped. He responded that the train was broken down and we wouldn't be able to leave for at least 3 hours, maybe 4 or 5. Our 12:00 arrival time was changed to 5:00. We were in the mountains with only a small village in sight. About 15 minutes later the conductor came back to say that they had contacted a songthaew driver to take us to the nearest town with a bus station. Looking out the window, we weren't too excited about getting of the train. On one side we'd have to cross a rickety, thin bridge on the other, we'd need to climb down a steep hill covered with brush. In addition to our luggage, which was a lot, since Kev & Jen had brought us two large suitcases of things from America, we also had a four-year-old and a 2-month-old. Kev & Jen chose the rickety bridege and we chose the hill. Safely on the other side we climbed into a songthaew that was at least 30 years old. It moved faster than it looked able to and we arrived in town about 20 minutes later. At the bus station, we could see that getting out of the town wasn't going to be easy. We were in a small town in the mountains that didn't have many buses come through. In addition, there were about 100 backpackers who had gotten off the train before us and had reserved all the earliest buses. It was beginning to appear that five hours late on the train would have been faster. Thankfully a few Thai people we met on the songthaew decided to rent a van and invited us to join them. Thankfully, we got back to CM only an hour after our scheduled arrival time.

At the train station in Bangkok we saw the train we should have taken. The Eastern and Oriental Express looked like a train straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. Beautiful wood and soft lighting filled the train. It had the gleam of careful maintence that our train unfortunately didn't have. Sadly, at $1000 a ticket, I don't think we'll be taking it.

Winter-time

I haven't been writing much lately mostly because I feel I don't have much to write about. I think it's the post-holiday feeling. After a month of constant parties, it's straight back into all the work you've missed. It's still "winter" here. We thought it wouldn't last long but we're still wearing sweaters in the evening, so it's been a nice long cool spell. Though it's quite hot in the sun, you can take a walk in the afternoon and feel quite comfortable, as long as you stay in the shade. Here are some pics I took from my walk this lazy Sunday afternoon. Since I don't have a lot to share I'll list some random things we've done this week.

1) We went to the darkest, most forlorn looking restaurant to eat in a back alley, where the waiter reminded me of Igor from Frankenstein. He had a high pitched giggle and 5 teeth.
2) We went to a new supermarket in town and were overwhelmed by how much it seemed like an American grocery store until we looked for the bathroom. It was outside and we had to pay for TP. I think I'll put indoor bathrooms in their suggestion box.
3) We welcomed several new families to our group. Lots more time at the airport.
4) Gabe studied moose, mittens, magnets, marbles, & mice at preschool.
5) Eric & Gabe dj'd a nacho party for GIS students.

Back to Reality

I haven't written in a while because life's been so busy since the school year started again. The holidays are always so different than January. As soon as Eric returned to school he found out he would be teaching an additional class, government. He has also had to take a larger role in the chapel program at school. Other than these changes we've just gone back to the routine: work, school, preschool, eating, sleeping, grading, etc. This is also a time of year when we get lots of new members so our lives also include lots of airport runs, showing people around the city, looking at new houses, used cars, etc.

The above pics is of Gabe with his very favorite toy, Chang. Gabe has discovered what fun it can be to have a mute friend. One of Gabe's notable characteristics is a desire to control conversation completely. He is always telling Eric, me & his friends exactly the words he wants us to say in a conversation with him. Eric & I oblige sometimes and his friends occasionally, but Chang (the elephant) always says exactly what Gabe wants him to say even if his voice does sound remarkably like Gabe's. Because of his excellent conversational skills, Gabe & Chang are inseparable these days.

New Year

We did some cool things for the New Year this year. On New Year's Eve we went to a reservoir a little north of Chiangmai and rented a house boat with about 20 other teachers from Grace. The reservoir is huge and much more like a lake than anything else. The scenery was beautiful. The word house boat is somewhat modest for the barge that we stayed on. The "house boat" included at least 10 rooms, each with a bathroom, 3 large common areas, a restaurant and a small fish farm. This complex was anchored but small boats were available for rental. We had a really lovely time. We played games nearly the whole time we were there. Gabe had some friends to play with as well. After we arrived home the next day, we prepared for a trip up to a village populated by the "B" tribal group. The "B" people had New Year celebrations going all day. We were invited to participate by a couple who has been translating the scriptures into "B" language for many years. The "B"people tend to have a harder time assimilating into Thai society, but are actually able to be self-sufficient for the most part. They make just about anything you can think of out of bamboo and they showed us all the different types and what they were good for. For the occasion, they killed a pig. That was probably the worst part of the trip. They bludgeoned it's head till it died. Still, we ate the pork and it was delicious. Eric also was able to pick up some of their dances and danced with them. I can't begin to describe everything we saw, but perhaps sometime we can show you the videos we took of the day.