Feeling At Home Far Away

Lindsay from Scotland is the only other foreigner in town. She is teaching for two months at a different school and, as you can see from the poster, is getting the star treatment.

Nam's daughter Bai is dressed to perform at the children's day celebration in the village.

We are learning to make a Thai lunch. To prepare the food, we sit on a rush mat on the floor and work with the mortar and pestle. The cutting board is a section of tree trunk. Jennifer is making Som Tham or papaya salad (a spicy specialty of this province.)

The crowd at Children's Day. Groups of children go to the stage to dance and the town council gives away bicycles to the best students.

Next door to our home is the property of a very friendly farmer. He cuts coconuts from his tree for the girls to drink and lets them feed his pigs and hold his chicks.

Eating lunch Thai-style in Nam's home. Nam is on the left with her husband Pom beside her. We are seated on a mat on the floor and the food is placed on a low table.

Timmy teaching with Pi Piggy, one of the English teachers, and a great friend to our family. Timmy teaches the students conversation skills. When you ask any Thai student how they are, they answer, "I'm fine thank you, and you?" Timmy is teaching them other responses..."I'm fantastic!"

The girls play with a bucket of boo (crabs) at a storefront across the street from our home. The crabs will soon be part of dinner. Missing from the picture are the 600 flies that surround them.

The all-star Sompoi volleyball team. The infamous WaWa is in the back with the ball on his head. Nancy is in front of WaWa and he taught us not to underestimate "ladyboys" on the volleyball court-he's got a fierce spike!

Our view from the classroom across the rice fields. Rice is out of season now, so the farmers use the same land to graze water buffalo and cows and grow onions.