Images from Camping, part 2

p.s. the red has mostly faded from my hair. even though the feedback was positive, i don't think i'll recolor. Thanks to all who voted. -H

Images from Hilltribe Weekend, part 1

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

Christmas this year was a little different than any other. Jeff and I didn't open any presents or have a big dinner with friends or family. We didn't see a movie or play borad games or do any other "normal" Christmas traditions. The interesting thing about it is when you remove all of our American holiday traditions you realize just how little our celebrations have to do with the purpose of Christmas.

There is a huge movement in the US to remove the word "Christmas" from anything related to the season. What if this weren't such a bad thing? Maybe our father isn't too upset about it. After all, if father really is a jealous father, why would he want to share his son's name with a tree or gluttonous eating? Perhaps, he wouldn't even want to share his name with good things like family gatherings and reciprocal gift giving if those things overshadowed him. Maybe, just maybe renaming a Christmas Tree to a holiday tree and exchanging overpriced "holiday" gifts instead of Christmas gifts might bring to light the real purposes of the day.

Our Christmas celebrations this year began on Dec. 21 when we gave presents to some kids whose Christmas wish was for some milk. These kids are from villages far away from our city and they stay at a youth hostel during the week so that they are able to attend school. Lest you think these are highschool students, they range in age from Kindergarten to 12th grade. It is heartbreaking to see a 5 or 6-year old who only sees his/her parent on the weekend and does not have someone to hug them every day and read them a bedtime story every night.

On Saturday, we loaded up medicines, blankets and school supplies and drove four hours to another village in the mountains. The roads were dirt and impassable during the rainy season. The village has a small school for younger kids and the older kids walk 3 miles every day to attend school. It is solely an agriculture society who use a trade/barter system between the villagers but they are unable to afford basic medicines or school furnishings. The children were so excited to sit in desks to study. Some of them did this for the first time in their lives. One family provided us with a wonderful meal and then we camped with some friends of ours before returning home.

We were able to share a Christmas meal with some friends of ours on Sunday night and the office had a big feast last Friday. We even mailed some small gifts home to our families. But none of those compared with the joy of giving meaningful gifts to people who were truly in need that will never be able to return the gift. Someone once said that the opposite of greed is not poverty but generosity. The purest form of generosity is giving to someone who can never repay. Didn't the first Christmas mark the beginning of the ultimate generosity?

Next year, I challenge each of you to spend a holiday-free Christmas.

Sometimes you just gotta go a little CRAZY

Last week I got the idea to do something a little out of the ordinary. Actually, Jeff gave me the idea. Since he and I are normally cautious and sane people, we have to do crazy things every once in awhile or nothing exciting would ever happen. If you exclude our recent journey around the world, our trip to China and having a kid, I haven't really done much too interesting the last few months. So I thought it might be time to loosen up and quit acting like such a mom.

My options were:

1. Body piercing: But I was a little afraid of the pain and sometimes the piercing boutiques can be unsanitary.

2. Tattoo: same objections as above but add to it the permanent, never-leaving-your-body factor and that was out as well.

3. Hair color: Ding, ding, ding. Not permanent, no pain involved and no health code violations to worry about.

So, I am taking a poll. I am interested to see how many of our friends and family still check out our blog and I am also curious as to what you think about my new hairdo.

Please take a second and vote just to the right of this entry. You have until Midnight Christmas Day to decide the fate of my hair.

So, what do you think? Should I keep the red streaks?

I was just think ing about how I needed to post something but not much has really happened the last couple of weeks that would be blog-worthy. I took a peek at a friend of ours blog to see what was going on with them as they live on this side of the world as well. I hadn't checked their blog in a while and realized that while we were livin' it up in China he was passing a kidney stone and while I was trying to think of something to write about his wife was being diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Needless to say, I am thankful for not having anything to write about. :)

So here is my long blog to tell you that nothing has really happened over the last couple of weeks since returning from our trip. Pretty much the same daily routine. Our time here is passing very quickly. We only have a year and a half left before our term is up but we can extend if we wish. Chloe isn't quite walking yet but she is very close. She is very cautious and too afraid to let go of our hands.

For Christmas this year we are going to drive out to a hilltribe village and deliver some medicine and blankets and supplies for the school and then camp in the mountains. It's a little chilly at night but the weather during the day is wonderful- 70's and sunny.

We miss everyone and hope you all enjoy your holiday celebrations.

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Why me?" Then a voice answers, "Nothing personal... your name just happened to come up." - Charlie Brown

Happy Loi Krathong

Instead of celebrating Thanksgiving here, they celebrate a festival known as Loi Krathong. All the people fill these giant balloons with a candle and let it float into the night sky. Some do it for fun. Others for good luck but many do it to release their sins for the year into the air.

In our city they also float incense candles weighted with money down the river to pay for their sins. It is a really spectacular sight to see everyone's "sins" rise high into the darkness.

The city streets look a bit like Christmas with lights and paper lanterns strung anywhere there is a free space.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We made out with three Turkey dinners this year. Everyone felt sorry for the poor little couple so far away from home for the first time. It was great. I am so stuffed!

You might be an international traveler...

If you can change a baby’s diaper on your lap while taking off in an airplane- you might be an international traveler.


If you can simultaneously eat French fries while avoiding the phlegm the guy walking in front of you just hacked up and spit out right beside you- you might be an international traveler.

If you can fit everything you need plus two weeks worth of diapers in one carry-on backpack- you might be an international traveler.

If you know how to use a squatty potty and you automatically bring your own toilet paper wherever you go- you might be an international traveler.


If you bring your own sterile needles because you know most places in the world believe in reduce, reuse and recycle- even medical supplies- you might be an international traveler.

If you can say “hello” in at least three languages and “how much?” in five others- you might be an international traveler.

If you can avoid panic when complete strangers remove the cigarette from their mouths and the child from your arms to parade him/her through the entire airport/bus terminal, train station or restaurant- you might be an international traveler.

If you think split pants aren’t such a bad idea- you might be an international traveler


If nothin’ says lovin’ like a bowl from the rice cooker- you might be an international traveler.

Our Trip

Thanks so much for being patient with us as we traveled the last few weeks. I (Heather) started in Pattaya on Oct. 29 doing some work on a big event we host in February. Then I returned to Chiang Mai to wash clothes and repack and we left for China. We visited 5 cities in 11 days. I am so proud of Chloe for being patient the entire time. Below are some pics.





The first city we visited was Chongqing. The pic below is of the historic, tourist district where you can buy all kinds of "tourist" goods.







Then we hopped on board a four-hour train ride headed for Chengdu. Chengdu was definitely a very cosmopolitan city. We were able to stay downtown and we visited many friends while there.

Chengdu is also home to the "Giant Panda Research Center" where zoos around the world get their panda's.

After Chengdu, we took a bus to a smaller city just north of Chengdu and stayed for a couple of days. Then we flew to another even smaller town about 300 miles south of Chengdu. Poor Chloe, no matter where we went she was a star.

Our final stop was Lhasa, Tibet. What a site!! Lhasa is situated at 12,000 feet above sea level which means that if you don't get sick from the altitude, you will be very winded just walking around. And if the altitude doesn't get you the sun will. Chloe and I both had a sunburn on our noses from the intense light.

The giant building in the background is called "The Potala." It is the former residence of the Dalai Lama and former government center for Tibet. It was quite interesting walking around inside it and seeing all the tombs of former DL's which I thought was ironic considering they believe in reincarnation.

We were able to stay in Lhasa a few days and then returned to Chiang Mai with only minor complications. (We almost didn't make our last flight but it all worked out in the end.)



My next post will be a "You might be an international traveler if" list.

New Pics

We will be traveling over the next few weeks and I may not be able to update our blog but I promise to give a full report when we get back.

Here are some new pics as well as video for you to enjoy while we are gone.


Chloe meets a new friend at the market.





















Same market different friends.




















Really cool old ruins outside of a really cool cave.





















Chloe's babysitter, Kuhn Pui




















Chloe loves bath time. Just kidding. we have a real bathtub.





















This is a message from Chloe:

Jungle Driving

Editor's note: I have been having writer's block lately and our drive today was so scenic that I thought I would practice my descriptive writing skills and express our experience in words instead of just pictures. Enjoy!

Jungle Driving
The gentle hum of the diesel engine struggles to carry its passengers up another incline. The pavement stretches before the wagon like a thin, silver snake winding through the hills of northern Thailand. Vines drip from trees. Ivy consumes everything until tree and bush alike are covered in the same leaves. Underneath, the jungle floor lays barren where sunlight and rain seldom enter.
The car coasts down the other side. Light pellets of crystal rain dot the windshield while the wipers rhythmically squeak across the glass. A dog belonging to no one strolls across a narrow bridge lined with tiny flags honoring the king and his kingdom. Ahead, a cow turns his thick head to acknowledge the approaching vehicle while others concentrate on the feast below their hooves.
The rain increases and becomes a deafening sound on the tin roofs that guard its inhabitants. Motorcyclists take refuge under a grass hut restaurant. The Coke sign out front beckons weary travelers to stop for a .50 cent meal.
Skinny hill tribe workers walk along the narrow road ignoring the cool glass stinging their arms and faces. Unfamiliar vegetables stacked high in straw baskets cover their backsides. Dark-faced men and women seem to pay little attention to the heaviness of their load. Wrinkles cover their faces from years of walking this path with the same load.
Up another steep incline and the driver downshifts. They round a sharp curve and through the rainforest trees the passengers catch a glimpse of a hidden valley.
Rice fields cover the valley floor. Squatty bamboo shelters dot the green fields with brown relief. Banana trees spring from the earth in the background. Their oblong leaves resemble helicopter wings that if spun could pull their tree from the world.
The passengers admire the scenery as quickly as the car’s engine will let them. They begin their descent into a small village. A few moments are spent perusing the shops, enjoying the local flavor and consuming their surroundings. It is time to return to the jungle.

New adventures

Sorry we have not updated in awhile. Here's what we have been up to.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the zoo. Here's a pic of Chloe and Jeff. We have a really nice zoo with all the usual animals plus Koala's, panda's and white bengal tigers.











Then, last weekend we went to some caves just north of us. We saw some ancient ruins. The plaque on them said they were built in the 2nd century!










And here is Chloe and I in front of the cave entrance. The caves were pretty cool inside and you get a private tour through all the crevices.











We also found a great spot to go running. Here's a pic:

Fun Photos from Jeff

Thailand is in need of experienced electricians if anyone is interested. This is the electrical box leading into our building. I'm thankful we have power after seeing that. Not alot of saftey regulations going on around here.

Thailand has a King that everyone loves and adores.
But Thailand also loves Americas King. Have you ever
seen a Thai Elvis? I have.
















I had roast duck the other night and it was really good. This was before I saw them hanging from the neck next to the kitchen.













Chloe was so worn out that she fell asleep with the bottle still in her mouth. This was taken a couple of hours after giving her the bottle!













Don't feel too sorry for us. We have KFC and Sizzler! Did I mention KFC sells ice cream. When we want an ice cream cone, we go to KFC!

Nong Yim's 1st Birthday

Chloe is a little hard for most asian people to say so a couple of friends of ours gave Chloe a nickname. This is not unusual in our country because most people's names are so long that everyone is given a shorter nickname that they use on a regular basis. In fact, most people do not even use their real names except for legal documents and driver's licenses. Everyone just knows each other by their nickname.

Our friends gave Chloe the name "nong yim." It means "little sister smile." This is because she smiles so much and her little dimple on one cheek is so noticeable. I like it.

Well, last week was nong yim's first birthday. We celebrated a little early with some friends who were in town that we knew from training. We received packages from both our families just in time to bake brownies and for Chloe to have presents to open from family.


The brownies were awesome!! Thanks so much.



Chloe liked opening the presents.

Then, on Saturday we went to some other friends house who have a baby the same age as Chloe. In fact, they have the same birthday. There was another little boy who also celebrated with us. He has the same birthday as well!! All three really enjoyed playing in the swimming pool of balls. Chloe's friend Keeley is in the background.

Chloe was feeling a little cocky after getting so much attention on her birthday.

Apartment Pics

Here are a few pics of our apartment.

This is the living room. We are very fortunate that our apartment is on the corner of the building so we have tons of windows.


And here is the kitchen (notice there is not an oven, the refrigerator only stands to my chest and the stove is a two-burner hotplate) :)

This is our bedroom. Once you add about 4 inches of foam to the mattress it's not bad to sleep on. Asians like hard beds.

And here is little Chloe's room. The mat on the floor is the Thai alphabet. We are able to hire a lady to watch Chloe one day/week and she is teaching Chloe how to speak Thai (she is also teaching me Thai, how to shop at the market and get a good price and how to live like a Thai- we are very glad to have her)

We are also fortunate to have a wonderful balcony on which is a washer and dryer. This is also where I hang out our clothes to dry because the electricity for the dryer is too expensive to use much.