Fabulous Fino Fun

So I rented a Yamaha Fino for 3 days. The first day I went with several others out to the country side to ride. K rode on the back with me. It was a beautiful day and the drive was awesome. Yesterday I went with A (who owns a Fino) for a night on the town. We weaved through traffic from one place to the next, safely of course. It was a great night!

Today was the highlight. In the afternoon I found the campus area of CM University. It's alongside a mountain on the west side of CM. I drove all around and up into the mountain a bit. It was awesome! I discovered that the rush I get from riding is similar to the rush I get from skiing. I love swishing down the hill on skis and taking a corner just fast enough to throw some snow up. I get that same feeling when zipping around curves on the bike, especially on hills. I had to return the bike this evening. I don't know how I'm going to go back to Bkk and walk. Should I get a Fino to drive around in Bkk?

Chiang Mai Half Marathon

I sure was nervous. I stayed in a different place the 5 nights before the race which meant only half quality sleep. I was really careful not to drink alcohol which was difficult especially when we were camping. Then the night before the race I had some pizza. The cheese did not sit well in my tummy. It was rumbling throughout the night and I was sure it would come back up. At 11pm K gave me some chinese meds that helped. But I still didn't sleep well. 4:20am came around quick. The race started at 5am. My tummy was still not quite right so K gave me some more chinese meds. By the time I started running I felt better. In fact, I was surprised at my pace. I chose a person with a good pace to follow and then eventually passed him. I was able to keep a good pace the whole time and finished the 13 miles in 2:00:42!!! I was thrilled with that! K finished her 10k in 54 minutes, best pace she's ever had. The race was a huge success!

We went to the English mtg here in CM at 11:30 (strange time). K and I were both feeling sick. I think I had a fever and my tummy was rumbling again. So after the meeting I took an ibuprofen and got a massage. I was able to sleep some during the massage and felt 100% better afterwards.

Then last night we went to my favorite market in all of SE Asia, the Sunday night walking market. So much fun!!!

Today we're going to rent scooters and driver around CM and maybe outside the city a bit. Tonight the other girls head back to Bkk and I'll hang out a few more days with G and A.

When I get home Friday I'll post the pictures from our trip up north. It was such a great time and so beautiful! I'll write about it later too.

"Trail Running" in the city

I love trail running! Following a curvy path, dodging stumps in the ground, up and down hill. And of course there's nothing like being out in nature! Well, I have found the equivelant here in the middle of the city...kinda. I went to Lumpini Park for my weekly long run. K and C were coming too. On the way I noticed traffic was really backed up around the park. Once I got to the entrance I discovered why, there was a "Street Show" going on. There were people EVERYWHERE. But I thought maybe the path around would be clear. That's where the "trail running" comes in. I had a curvy path to follow, around little shows in the middle of the street. I had to dodge people watching the shows and walking around. I had to go up and down the sidewalk and into the grass to avoid people. One thing I really like about trail running is how it works different muscles because there's more terrain. I had a similar feeling with this. It was also entertaining to have so much to look at. Next week is the half-marathon. I'm ready for it!

Tonight I leave on the night train to Chiang Mai. I'll get there tomorrow around 1pm. Wednesday we leave to go camping in Mae Hong Son. I'm really excited to go, there's some great hiking there and lots of small villages. We get back Saturday and that afternoon I'll meet up with the others for the race Sunday. Next Monday we're all supposed to go on a hiking trip outside CM. I've done the hike twice before and it was really amazing. Then Tuesday and Wednesday I have plans to work in service with a sister learning sign in CM. I'll head back to Bkk either Thursday or Friday. I promise to get lots of photos!

Long Days

I'm tired! Fortunately I'm now on my winter break from school. Yipee! I pulled some long days last week between school finishing (parent/teacher conferences and concert prep) and Bible studies.

It seems funny to have parent/teacher conferences for a 2 year old. But my week was packed with them. The biggest dilemma was how to get one kid off his pacifier. And of course the topic of potty training came up. Sigh. But all went well and I survived the week. Friday was the concert. In dealing with 2 year old kids the expectations aren't so high. They did a little dance to "I'm A Friendly Snowman". It's a song to the tune of "I'm A Little Tea Pot" (I have to get a little creative since I won't teach a Christmas song). I dressed the kids as little snowmen, they were really cute! Which is actually the most important part of the concert since we don't expect them to actually perform, just so they look cute (sorry, no pics).

So this week should be great! It started out well, we went to the Giants vs Cowboys game at the pub this morning. Too bad the Giants lost. But we got some in-house entertainment by a drunk guy vomiting in the booth he was sitting in. Stupid guy, it was 9am. He looked really bad. The only person to go near him was a waitress, an older Thai lady who scolded him while making him clean up. I bet he was wondering where all the young Thai ladies went off to. By the end of the game he was a bit better, swaying back and forth seemed to help him.

The rest of the day is my own. I think I'll go get a smoothie and read in the park.

A Finnish Brother Using Thai Sign

So we had a special meeting yesterday. There's a couple from Finland here for 5 weeks. They work in the sign-language department at the Finnish Branch and were sent here to help organize things. He gave the talk yesterday in sign and then we had our own WT study. We've had our own meeting twice before and it's always a great turn out. Yesterday was awesome! We had at least 20 deaf, and out of the 20 there were 4 or 5 who had come for the first time. The brother's parents are deaf so his sign-language is excellent. He did a great job at changing the signs to Thai sign and everyone was really into it!

One neat thing about some of the Bible students is how much they preach. One young girl has had 4 of her friends come to the meeting before and 3 of them are now studying. There are some girls from a local university who started studying. It started out with 1 girl. Then she invited her friends and her friends invited friends. There are now 8 girls studying and a few that have just come to the meeting but not yet studying. That's another thing so neat about things here, they usually come to the meeting before agreeing to a Bible study. Once the come and agree to study, they usually end up coming regularly. Amazing! So they had all invited people for yesterday's meeting.

Back to yesterday. We have our bookstudy at 3:00 on Sunday afternoon. So after the morning meeting and lunch we usually study with some before the bookstudy. But yesterday there were so many that came for the whole day that it was just too crazy to try to study. So we all just talked.

After the bookstudy we ordered some food in and ate together. Then played some games and talked some more. I didn't head home until 7pm! And people were still there when I left. I collapsed when I got home, it was long day. But a really awesome day! It's so neat to see all this growth.

We'll probably have another meeting like this in a couple months. There's a couple coming from Canada from an ASL cong. He actually gave the very first talk in sign 2 years ago. I'm sure he'll give another one. There's another couple coming from an ASL cong in Pennsylvania. I'm not sure how long they're staying. But I'm sure he'll give a talk at some point too.

In January we'll start to break away from the Thai cong some. We'll have our own bookstudy and ministry school and then join the Thai cong for the service mtg. We may possibly break away for our own WT soon too. I hope we do, we already take over the study with all the deaf commenting. I think we'd already be having more of our own meetings if we had more brothers. But I guess that's the need everywhere. Anyone want to come and learn Thai sign?

Race Crashers

Just 3 weeks till the half-marathon in Chiang Mai! Today was a 9-mile run. We had a special meeting today (which I will write about later) so I couldn't run in the evening with K. So I had to run in the morning. C (who just got back from Malayisa on Thursday) was willing to wake up at 6 to run the 9 miles with me. Since our run was going to be a long one I thought it would be neat to run all the way to Lumpini Park, go around the park a few times and then head back. As we got to our first major intersection we noticed some runners with numbers pinned to their shirts...it's a race! There were traffic police along the street to make way for the runners. Well, since the sidewalks in Bkk are as dangerous as running in a mine field, I thought we should take advantage of this "street running" opportunity.

Then we realized this meant joining the race...cool! However, EVERYONE was passing us. Well, not just passing us, leaving us in the dust. We had thought our pace was good, but not compared to theirs. They were really cool about it. A lot of them would give us a thumbs up as they passed us. One intersection we passed there were people cheering us on. That's when we decided to stick to the race. We also enjoyed the water station and traffic control. We passed the turn we had originally planned on taking without a second thought.

The funniest part of that whole thing was how people, including the traffic police, responded to seeing us. Even if they didn't give us a thumbs-up or cheer us on, there was always some kind of acknowlegement- a grin, a nod. One group of 4 runners waved for us to join them (we tried to keep up but they ran on ahead). There were a few other foreigners in the race but somehow we must have stood out. Maybe because we didn't have a number pinned on our shirt. haha

The race ended at Lumpini Park. But we were only half finished. So we did a lap at Lumpini Run (where ANOTHER shorter race was going on) before making our way back. Lumpini is a great place on a Sunday morning. There was so much going on. Lots of tai chi and similar group exercises on the grass. Families with kids riding bikes, groups eating together and setting up for karaoke (really!)

So todays 9 miles was fantastic! It was so much fun crashing the race, made the time go by fast. I'm going to check local race calendars more often.

Running + Beer = Sundays

It's official. Sunday is now the official running/beer with K night of the week. We just enjoyed our 3rd Sunday of running together. And since you can count the third study an official study, I'll apply the same concept with running too. :) We're meeting up after our mtgs at Lumpini Park. Following the run we walk to Silom Road for a beer. It's perfect! We were really proud of ourselves yesterday, we ran hard and fast. K was espcially excited because she had a new "uniform" on that made her look "professional". She says the funniest things!

Regarding protesters, I don't know. I'm really surprised the protesters are still at the airport. It's a nervy thing to do to your own country's economy. It's hard to say how long it will go on. Both sides are determined not to use violence but are also determined not to back down. Life continues as normal around my neighborhood. I'll keep you posted.

More Protesting

There was a lot of protesting this weekend and more today. Apparently the protesters have shut down part of the expressway near the international airport. I just saw on the news that airport authorities decided to cancel all outgoing flights due to the protesters coming into the airport terminal. The PM who has just been in Peru is due back tomorrow. I guess the protesters are early.

The government buildings, where the protesters are camped out, is on the opposite side of Bkk from the airport. I still haven't seen anything where I live which is in between the two places. The foreign community here is very cautious about the whole thing so if there was any danger I would know quickly. School would be canceled and I would probably get a few phone calls and emails. I'm supposed to have 3 studies at a university near the government buildings on Thursday. All classes were canceled yesterday through tomorrow so we'll see what happens Thursday. I promise I won't go if there is any possibility of danger.

Just to mention also that I've been told by Thais that this kind of thing happens every 5-10 years here. It's not that big of a deal to them for the most part. If I didn't have internet I wouldn't really know what's going on. It's not talked about that much. So to you, reading it in the news, it probably seems like a huge big deal. The average Thai is just going about their daily activites not giving the whole thing much thought. It's of course wise to be cautious but I'm also not that worried about the whole thing. I've been told it'll eventually blow over.

A is supposed to be flying in from Malaysia next Monday and C & S will return on Tuesday or Wednesday. Another couple is arriving from the states next Thursday. So hopefully this airport issue will be cleaned up quickly. The Thai economy is suffering from all this so I really can't see it lasting that much longer. Time will tell.

Nothing in particular...

Not much has happened this week other than service and work. A sister from the sign group is getting some training from the Branch about how to interpret so she asked me to look after three of her students for her. And I have two new students. So this week has been study after study. Now I'm home sick. I was sick last week and never quite recovered. I kept pushing myself but finally hit a wall today. So I'm home from the meeting. I have a few studies to go on tomorrow so I'm hoping I'm better by then.

School is going well. In the past month I've had 4 new students. They've all finally gotten through the crying stage, thankfully. It's so exhausting! But they're all happy now and I'm enjoying them.

We have had some violence though. Last week a little girl scratched one of the boys on the face, left a mark even. She did it again to another boy this week. Then yesterday a little girl from another class bit one of my students. Left a huge mark and bruised. Fortunately parents are very understanding. But I have to nip this in the bud. So I've implemented 'time out'. When I taught 4-year olds I had a 'thinking chair'. If anyone did something violent they went straight to the thinking chair after I scolded them. But 2-year olds don't really have the 'thinking' concept down so I have to give them a time out. It's the first time I've had to deal with this so I was kind of unsure if it was working or not. But the mom of the scratcher told me the girl had talked about it at home and understood what she did was wrong. That was a relief. The 'time out' thing is working! Here's a photo of the kids.

Then there were none...so I went on a run

The final visitor has now left. I'm back to me, myself and I. But not for long. A, who visited last week from Malaysia, is coming back. She has 3 remaining months in SE Asia and she'll spend 2 of them in Bkk. She comes back Dec 1st, just 2 weeks away. I'm looking forward to her coming, it'll be fun. But I must honestly say that I'll enjoy 2 weeks on my own. It's been really crazy, especially the last 3 weeks. So I'll use these few weeks to collect my thoughts and then be ready for whatever comes next.

I ran with K today. She just started running about 6 months ago and is really into it. She's running the 10k in CM next month. Today was the first time we've ever run together. (I'm generally a morning runner and she's an evening runner.) We met after our mtgs at Lumpini Park, Bkk's biggest park.

So K and I set off. Within the first half mile it starts to sprinkle. From my left I hear this squeeling "Oooohhh nooooo, it's raaaaiiiining!" in a high pitched Japanese accent (I'm not making fun of her, just trying to convey how funny it was). I told K that running in the rain is what makes a runner a 'hardcore runner'. I told her about my personal favorite run in the rain (you were there N and S) and how exhilarating it was. It worked, I saw her face tighten up in determination. The rain didn't actually last that long and K went on to break her personal record. Previously the most she had run is 6k's. Today she completed 7k's. She was excited and even sprinted the last bit. She had never run with anyone else before and was amazed at how much energy you get from a running partner. So we're planning on meeting up again next Sun. I really loved it too. Tonight was not one of my better runs, I've been fighting a cold all weekend and forgot my water bottle today so I hadn't drank enough water. But I enjoyed running with K, her enthusiasm and excited definitely rubbed off on me.

A story for the books

Last weekend we had a great time in the ministry! Every year the Thai governments hosts a social event for the handicapped in Thailand. There's entertainment and free food. It's open to anyone but the free stuff is only for the handicapped. A group of us went 2 years ago to make deaf contacts and it was very successful. Well, I found out Friday night the event this year was being held on Saturday. One problem, it's near all the government buildings which is where the protesting has been going on. After thinking about it, I decided to go in spite of the protesting. I would be cautious and aware. Plus I figured the protestors would be respectful of the fact that this was an event for the handicapped. Surely they wouldn't cause problems. So I made plans to go with 2 other sisters. But I was coming from the opposite direction so I was just going to meet them there.

So I started on my way around 11am. After waiting for the wrong bus (I did have the chance to witness to a lady for about 10 minutes) I finally figured out the correct bus and got on. A man sitting behind me overheard me talking with one of the sisters about the right bus that would take me there. He said the bus I mentioned won't go because the roads are blocked. But he lived nearby and said I could follow him and he'd show me the way. I was also able to witness to him.

So it's almost 1pm by the time we get off. He shows me where I need to go. I follow the road and then see all the roadblocks. But I could just walk through. Then I see where I need to turn and go straight up towards where the event was being held. The problem was that's exactly where the protestors are set up. They've been camped out there for a few months. So I proceed with caution. At the main entrance (which is the only way to go) I see a guard letting cars through. I very politely tell him who I am and where I'd like to go and ask if it's ok to go through. He said it was fine. He asked me a few other questions (where I'm from, what I do for work, etc. I didn't witness to him.) All was quiet so I walked through. It was actually really quiet. Almost ghost-town quiet. The tents were set up like they were expecting an army of people but NO ONE was there. I could hear someone make a speech off in the distance but didn't make too much of an effort to see where it was coming from. The few people I did see looked at me funny and I just smiled politely and kept going. When I got through to the other side, near the entrance of the park where the event was, I couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief and laughing. I just walked through the protesting area! Whoa! This is the same area 2 people had been killed and soldiers had sprayed tear gas! Whoa! Whoa!

Now, before you say "Julie, that was so stupid! Why would you do something so risky like that?!" I was very cautious. I would not have gone through if I'd seen people actually protesting or rallying. If the guy at the entrance had given me the least bit of trouble, I would not have gone through. If the event wasn't for the handicapped, I wouldn't have even thought about going. But the whole time I was very aware of my surroundings and was ready to run if it was necessary.

Finally, the event. It was really good! We met 2 deaf people who used to attend meetings regularly but haven't been for over a year. We were able to give them the special tract and invite them back. We also met lots of new people. We had such a good conversation with one man that we made arrangements to continue the conversation the following Saturday. Another person, a young guy, ended up coming to the meeting the next day! And he commented during the Wt study! Going to the event was so worth the effort!

I wish I had pictures to show you, but you of course would understand why I didn't take any of the protesting area. But I should've gotten a picture of some of the deaf we met. Oh well, next time.

Motigating

The list of running participants in the Chiang Mai race is growing. K from Japan started running about a year ago and is really getting into it. She decided to run the 10k in Chiang Mai. This is her first race!! K who is here from NY is also going to run the 10k. A, who was just here from Malaysia is coming back and running the 10k. All those are in addition to C and I who are already signed up for the half marathon. So there are now 5 of us running! We should start a SE Asia running team! Any suggestions for a team name?

So running has been good so far this week. It feels great to be adding the miles on! This is actually the best time of year here to be running. The "cold" season has just started. Thais have their jackets out. In the morning it's usually in the low 70s (brrrr!) So running has been really comfortable. The great thing about living in Thailand is the availability of massages! I plan on taking advantage of this during the training period. I got a Thai massage last week and plan on getting one every other week. It's really great for my legs of course and also for stretching. They fold you like a pretzel...it's great for stretching!

A Sad and Happy Day

I took Jesta to the airport this morning. She's on her way back to Ohio. I'm really going to miss her! We had such a great time together! It's actually really impressive how well things went. Neither of us had a whole lot of personal space sharing my one bedroom apartment but it never seemed to be an issue. So I'm really sad she isn't here anymore but I'm also really happy with how her visit went. So that's what I'm focusing on. Plus, I'm almost sure she'll be back (no pressure, Jesta!)

So our week didn't go quite as scheduled but we accomplished all the important things. We ended up going to the Sunday night football game on Monday morning. A few others had planned to go that day so we wanted to join them. It was really fun! We went to a pub called Bully's. There were only about 4 other people there. Kinda funny to go to a football game with such a non-roudy crowd. I miss the roudy crowd! But I'm determined to go to the Superbowl this year so hopefully that will bring the roudy crowd.

Here we are in front of Bully's. The second photo is our little group (excluding C who was taking the photo). I think I was concentrating on the food. It was really good!

We didn't end up going to the Tiger Temple. We found out it was going to cost $100 just to get there! I was actually kind of glad. As cool as it could've been, I've heard that they drug the tigers so they aren't aggressive. Some friends of mine who visited said it isn't true but I'm still leery. I feel better not contributing to something like that.

Last night we went karaokeeing. It's really popular to do here and Jesta has been wanting to do it so we finally went. It was such a great time! We went to a restaurant where they also rent rooms for karaoke. It's like renting a living room. Pretty cool!

I must admit that I haven't been on top of running this week. But I have a visitor from Malaysia right now and her visa run who wants to run. So we'll go several times while she's here. It's always helpful to have a partner!

Jesta's last meeting

Today was Jesta's last meeting. I've been really impressed with how well she has done with Thai sign language and getting to know others in spite of the language barriers. She will be missed by everyone. The most asked question was "When are you coming back?" She didn't have an answer but I think she really does want to come back. Tomorrow we're visiting a school that a friend of ours works at. They hire part-time English teachers and provide a visa. So maybe that will give her some incentive to return sooner than later. We'll see.

So Jesta's last week is quite busy. Tomorrow we're going over to someone's house. Tuesday I'm going to take the day off work and we're hoping to go watch a football game somewhere in the morning. There are pubs that will show the Monday night game in the states. Then in the afternoon she wants to go to the Tiger Temple. It's a temple outside Bkk where monks raise tigers. You're supposed to be able to walk right up to pet them and everything. I'll make sure to get pictures. Thursday we're hanging out with some friends. Then Friday morning is her flight back. sniff sniff

I'm registered

I officially registered today for the Chiang Mai Half-Marathon (www.chiangmaimarathon.com). I'm actually in the 4th week of training. But I had a few bumps the past 2 weeks. The first week of training went fine. The following week I got sick and missed 3 runs. I took my gear on the trip last week...ready to run. But while visiting the waterfalls I slipped on a rock and smacked my big toe. It took half my toenail off (sorry for the icky details). I ended up going to the hospital that night because it was so painful and I was worried about infection knowing there wouldn't be a hospital on the island. The doctor told me not to get it wet for 5 days (ha!) He gave me a local antibiotic and a regular antibiotic to prevent infection. I was hesitant for the regular antibiotic, I hate taking them. But since I was absolutely going to get wet, I thought I should take it. So that put me out of running for another week.

But I'm back on schedule and feeling motigated!!!

BKK D.C. 2008

The DC was great! The sign-language interpreting went the smoothest ever. We even had 3 new elders involved. We only have 2 brothers in the group so having the other 3 was a HUGE help. I actually had a fun part to interpret. I was the witness girl at school who is tempted by the cute boy. Unfortunately the boy's part was interpreted by a sister. But it got the point across.

The highlight of the convention was having 3 deaf baptized. They are the first deaf to be baptized since our group began. It was thrilling to be a part of!


Then Sunday I went to the English session. It was so much fun seeing everyone! On Saturday G and A came over with C. It was so fun hanging out with them. C has grown so much since I saw him last. He calls me "Auntie Julie" with his Aussie accent. It's the cutest thing! Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of C. Sorry. But I'm heading up to Chiang Mai in Dec so I'll be sure to get some then.

So, here's a few details of the DC:
Peak Attendance:
Thai - 1889
English - 320
Japanese - 200
Deaf - 20

Number Baptized:
Thai - 33
English - 3
Japanese - 2
Deaf - 3

There were 3 other conventions held in Thailand previous to this one in Bkk. In the South there were 377, up north there were 916 and in the northeast there were 883. Total attendance of all 4 conventions was 4065. Total baptized 82! One of the older missionary sisters was interviewed and mentioned how in 1963 there were only 300 JWs in Thailand. This past service year the peak was 2826. So to have nearly double that at the conventions was amazing!

There are more photos of our trip south and the DC on my Picasa Web Album. Just click on the photos on the top right to get to the site.

Back to Bkk

After a long day of traveling we're back in Bangkok. Hard to imagine we woke up on a remote island this morning. We traveled on 6 different modes of transportation all in one day. First we took a speed boat from the island to the pier. Then a song-tao (truck with a covered bed lined with benches) into the nearest town. Then a mini-van to Hat Yai. We had a few hours to kill in Hat Yai. Then took motor bike taxis to where we would take a taxi to the airport. And finally the flight back to Bkk. Sigh.

We have our District Convention this weekend. J and I both have assignments interpreting tomorrow and Saturday. Then Sunday we'll go to the English session. It's always fun to meet up with my pals around Thailand. Saturday evening I'm hanging with G and A from Chiang Mai. I'll be sure to get some photos of them. Those of you who have visited will be excited to see photos of C, he's almost 4!

By the way, the island was great! The Porn Resort was closed so we ended up staying at the Andaman Resort (www.andamanresortkohlipe.com). It ended up raining some (dang monsoons) but we still had a really great time. I got some great photos! I'll try to post them on Monday.

Trang

It's been a fun weekend in Trang. One thing I love about coming here is riding around with K on the back of her motorbike making RVs. However, I've never visited during the rainy season before. On our way back to her house yesterday afternoon, it started to rain. We pulled over to put rain jackets on but then it started raining even harder. So we decided to wait it out for a bit under some shelter. After about 45 minutes of continuous hard rain, we thought we may as well head back even though it hadn't let up at all. We got pretty wet! Fortunately we were on our way back instead of to another RV. I must say, though, riding on a motor bike in the rain is a pretty cool sensation!

The meeting went well today. J had a song, K interpreted the talk and I read half the WT. There was 1 deaf lady that attended. Even days they don't have a deaf person come, they still interpret the meeting for practice. The sisters down here work really hard!

After the meeting the cong went on an outing to see some waterfalls. There are only 24 publishers here in Trang and about 15 people went. After having lunch and waiting out a quick rain shower, we climbed some rocks on steep banks and followed the rocks into the water. Most everyone, including the older sisters and young kids (2 yr olds!) got in the water. J and some others braved the rain and, getting a head start, climbed up the river to where the highest waterfall was. I say "climbed" because you literally have to climb the rocks in the river up towards where the waterfall begins. K and I tried to catch up with them but only got as far as their shoes. It was a great time!

So tomorrow morning we're off to the beach! Yipee! Here's where we're staying: http://www.pornresortkohlipe.com/ Awful name, I know. But porn is actually said "pawn" and it means "blessing". I'm sure we'll have a blessed time.

To blog or not to blog...

I chose to blog. I've always enjoyed writing and find it to be a kind of outlet. So I'll be letting myself out on a more public level now. Although I'm hoping my blog address doesn't get passed around (hint;)hint). I like the idea of my friends reading this but I'm hoping to keep it on the down low.

Since you, the reader, are likely a friend and not a stranger, there's no need for me to write my life story and how I ended up in Bkk. You already know. I'm just still doing my thing..teaching kids, preaching, more teaching, etc. You know all that's involved in the lives of us JWs.

I am heading down south tomorrow. J and I are going to visit K in Trang. We'll be there for the weekend and then on to an island called Koh Lipe. I'm sure I'll get some great photos! The coolest thing we did the other time I went to this particular island was kayak around the entire island. We stopped along the way to snorkel...it was amazing! I'm hoping we'll get to do that again. Here is a photo taken the last time I was there. The land in the background is a different island. Amazing water to snorkel in, hey!

So, to my invited guests...I hope this helps us stay more connected and gives you an idea of what things are like here. To strangers...c'mon, it's boring if you don't know me. So just move on.