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.