Travelodge Basics - Face, Body, Hair

In this age of increasingly frou-frou hotel toiletries, Travelodge is refreshingly straighforward and unpretentious.

American Jewish World Service in Thailand

Although we are back, I'm still processing through some of the Thai photos and will include some Thailand posts for a while.


Looking to the future, I had surfed various international volunteer websites and saw that the American Jewish World Service had various projects in India and Thailand. I wasn't able to meet any of the volunteers while we were in India in November (though I had some email contact and one good phone conversation). But in Chiengmai, I got to meet the four volunteers there at the time as well as the Thai coordinator.

Mike had just arrived a week earlier, but he was already involved in the Thai non-profit he was matched with, working to develop an organic market where organic farmers could sell there stuff. He's an interesting guy who has an MBA, worked in corporate America in New York, and has traveled widely. While he speaks Arabic, he's now working on his Thai. We had dinner with him at a middle eastern restaurant in the Chiengmai night bazaar and talked about all sorts of things. A couple nights later the whole group had a dinner and we were invited too.


Grib, on the left, is the Thai coordinator of the program. She also is involved with programs involving Burmese refugees, so during the dinner I called Somprasong in Umphang and let them talk about what they are both doing. Nick, whose been in Chiengmai about eight months, is teaching photography and working with a group that promotes community theater - for both traditional and more contemporary work. As I understand, it involves the communities developing their own productions and including issues facing the community such as health and other issues. He's getting connected with a whole network of groups and sounded really into his work. I'm not doing it justice here at all. Since he teaches photography, we did have a discussion about teaching photography in the digital age. We agreed on preferring natural light to flash, even if it results in a little 'action' (otherwise known as blur) as you can see in these evening shots.


Emily and Shana were both getting ready to leave after about a year in Chiengmai. I wasn't taking notes, and it's been a couple of weeks, so I may get the details mixed up a bit, I think the general idea will be right. Shanna has been teaching English to Burmese refugee women and generally helping them to adjust and find jobs. Emily was working with a similar organization and monitoring women who were interning in jobs. She was disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to see the next round of internships. Both had very mixed feelings about leaving; they were really involved in the work they were doing and it seemed that one or both might be back in Chiengmai before too long.

If these volunteers and Krib are representative of the AJWS program, it looks pretty good.

Vote Here

We made it back to Anchorage in time to vote today. But ever since they moved our polling place from the Fire Station to the church across the street, I always feel a little funny voting. The first time I voted at the church, you walked into the building and the inside doors to the sanctuary were open and you looked right at Jesus Christ. For Christians, that might be reassuring, for non-Christians, at least for me, it is disconcerting to have Jesus and voting so closely linked. What about people from religions that don't allow them to go into other houses of worship? I know some Christians might be scratching their heads and saying, "What's with this guy? He's really sensitive." But I think about all the letters to the editors from "Christians" who complain that they are under attack, so maybe they can understand how it feels, even if they can't understand why I feel that way. I can't understand their complaint either. From my perspective, every President of the United States has, at least nominally, been a Christian. Our current President has been strongly advocated for Christian values and giving government funds to Christian churches for various programs. All the pillars of power in the US - the military, business, elected officials - are heavily dominated by Christians. So, if Christians can feel persecuted in that environment, imagine how Jews or Moslems or Buddhists feel when they have to vote in a church.

Any way, we're back after a long trip. There was frost on the car in Seattle this morning. And the temperature here in Anchorage wasn't much different from when we left February 10 (low 30s). But, according to the cab driver today (as well as emails while we were away) it's been very cold since we left, and it only got back above freezing the other day. The Canada geese are due around April 6 or 7. I wonder if they've been reading the weather reports.

Almost Home ~ Seattle

One last stop before Anchorage.






Passing by Ranier















Banking over downtown.











Cherry trees at UW.













And finally at the dog park.

Thai Designer

Pranee Sullivan was someone we met at the breakfast buffet at the IBIS hotel in Bangkok. She's a Thai married to an American, living in a small northern town in Japan. We found her delightful and enjoyed having breakfast with her. Her website Exclusive Thai Decor needs some updating, but it's a starting point for someone who wants some Thai accents in their house or office.

LA Changing Houses

We've made it to LA. Staying at my mom's before stopping in Seattle to see the kids on the way home next week.Took my; camera on today's run and here are some pictures of how this 1950's subdivision is changing as the old houses are being remodeled or totally demolished and replaced.
First a few of the houses that are basically like they were built. But imagine the trees as little saplings. And yes, we are getting really blue sky for the first time since we left.

























































And here are the newer versions. Note - this is a hilly neighborhood, so the ones that look like they are tilting are my fault with the shots.

Peace Corps Thailand 45th Anniversary Part 2

Here are a few pictures of the 45th Anniversary of Peace Corps Thailand.




This picture was taken Saturday night at the Peace Corps office. This is the same building that has been the office since the 80s near Krung Thai Bridge. But where you used to be able to freely wander in and out, now the entrance is blocked by a small security building you need to go through. There is also a recently completed new building that houses, among other things, a library, computers and internet access, and showers for visiting volunteers.





The ceremonial parts were held at the Erawan Hotel which is now a very fancy Hyatt Grand. Back in the day, as I recall, it was an elegant old dowager of a two story hotel with a wonderful restaurant at the swimming pool that was reasonable enough that even Peace Corps volunteers could occasionally eat lunch there.


Joe Hye, as you can tell from his yellow jacket, is one of the new Group 119 inductees. He's from St. Louis and headed for Trang Province.






Jim Lehman was the only other Group 19 member (my group). Of course, for anyone who knows Jim, it is redundant to say "here is Jim talking.' I don't remember all the posts Jim has had since Peace Corps, but he worked for Peace Corps or AID most of his career, including being Director of Nepal and Sri Lanka. He was the volunteer in Maesod and has agreed to help Somprasong get a Peace Corps volunteer for his school in Umphang, which is down the road from Maesod.








Pam was a teacher volunteer in the 60s and went on to teach at Cal State Sacramento for 30 years.




John Robertson is the new volunteer from Anchorage.




We've been experimenting with Joan's new digital audio recorder and so I didn't write everyone's name down. But I discovered that I pushed the record/pause button instead of the record button for a few of these. So I don't have all the names. This guy is from Group 117 and is getting ready to head home.

Learning to Bow and Curtsy for the Princess

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, from what I am told, takes after her father the highly revered King of Thailand, and longest reigning monarch in the world now. She tirelessly does good works for the poor and represents the monarchy and Thailand. She attended the Peace Corps Anniversary directly after landing in Bangkok from a ceremonial trip to Egypt. While many Americans may see the details of all the protocol as rather archaic, the King and Queen have really been a critical element of Thai national identity. They have worked very hard over his 60 years as King to improve the lot of Thailand, including those people most often overlooked. Nearly all Thais have a very strong respect for the King and would take any slights of the royal family as a great offense.

Part of the instructions before the Princess arrived at the 45th Anniversary celebration of Peace Corps Thailand on March 23, 2007 in Bangkok's Erawan Hotel.


[UPDATE October 13, 2016 - A little late, but here's a link to Part 2 of this Anniversary.]

45th Anniversary Peace Corps Thailand

We're back in Bangkok at the Royal River Hotel, with a 9th floor view of the River. Spent this afternoon at the Erawan Hotel where HRM Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening of the anniversary and the induction of Thai Group 119. Since I was in group 19, this had a special meaning for me too. I got to talk with a number of the new volunteers, with some who are just finishing, and a number of Returned Peace Corps volunteers, including Jim Lehman, the only other person from my group. Jim lives in Bangkok now.

There were formalities - we all had to learn when and how to bow when the Princess came in. But it was, overall, a happy occasion. The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about how his life was changed by Peace Corps volunteers in his town. The representative of the new group, Scott, stood up and did his whole speech is exquisite Thai. Doris, who was sitting one person over from me, and was in Thai 2 or 3 and a legend when I arrived because of her excellent Thai, sputtered when he was done, "No one can speak that well in three months." His vowels, his consonants, his tones, were right on and crystal clear. I learned from another volunteer later that he was a linguist and had written his master thesis on how to learn languages. I'm not sure I have it all accurate, but he did an incredible job. And he did it in front of 40 or so former Thai Peace Corps Volunteers, as well as the Ambassador.

Later there was a reception at the Ambassador's Residence.

Joan didn't feel well when it was time to go - headachy and nauseous. I told her she didn't have to go. She didn't. I had her new recorder with me and recorded the event and maybe we'll start our first podcast when we get back. Also some interviews with former PCVs, new ones, current ones, and old PC director and a Thai official who hired PCVs.

Mekong Cruise Part 2

Dinner in Pak Bang after the first day of boating with the Tosas and Nellie, the French nurse.











The main street of Pak Bang the next morning early before getting on the second boat for the rest of the trip to Huey Xai, on the Lao side of the Mekong.











In the Pak Bang market before getting on the boat.











A boat along the river.












We stopped several times at villages to unload cargo. Here we just stopped at the rocks. People came down from the village and carried things up to the village. Most of the stuff was from China, everything from rings to put pots over a fire to huge bags of noodles.






On the left side of the boat is Laos, on the right side is Thailand, since the border is in the middle of the Mekong.






Sunset before reaching Huey Xai.