Thailand Days 4-10

If you couldn't figure out from the lack of a new post that our time in Thailand got pretty busy, then let me tell you how busy it got. Patrick ended up getting sick and was pretty much bed ridden for 2 days straight and not 100% on the 3rd day. This caused for me to try and watch Zachary as well as help out with the Family Education Conference Children's Program. I was very thankful that this year we were just observing and didn't have a set job in a classroom so it gave us a little more flexibility.

The FEC is a conference that AERC (Asia Education Resource Consortium) puts on for homeschooling missionary families. The conference was so much bigger than I could wrap my mind around. We had over 200 kids in the children's program from 7 weeks old to 18. Not only did we have this many kids but many of them have never been in a 'classroom' setting with other children, not even in Sunday School because of the areas they live in. What a challenge! But what these kids lacked in classroom knowledge they made up for it in Biblical knowledge. Some of the little ones could put me to shame. Sadly, I don't have any pictures from the conference. Once I get some from some of the helpers who are in the states. I will post a bit more.

The public transportant in Thailand is not what I call 'safe' and would highly be banned in the United States but is very normal here. Needless to say, Zachary thouroughly enjoys no carseat in Asia. Below is a picture of the street behind us as we are riding in a 'songtow.' The ride truck in the picture is what we are riding in. Yes, we are in the back of a covered truck sitting on benches and holding onto a bar on the ceiling. The back is WIDE open. If the truck is full, people actually ride on the back. Patrick got to experience that one night but came inside when I insisted because Zachary wanted to join him.

Zachary's favorite form of transportation was the 'tuktuk.' it is pretty much a glorified motorcycle that has enough room for three people in the back. The sides are open so you get to enjoy the lovely smell of all the fumes and exaust from cars around you. We had to buy Zachary his own little 'tuktuk' to play with because he loved them so much. (Think our child is becoming a true 'third culture kid'? When he comes home to the states in the summer, I don't think his friends will know what half the things are that he plays with.)

A highlight of our time in Thailand was getting to have dinner with some friends of our who serve in Cambodia. We were thankful for the "short" walk (haa haa-maps are deceiving) to the delicious Miguel's mexican restaurant and the "short" (haa haa) wait for our food so we had plenty of time to spend with the Strongs. It amazes me how we move to Korea, travel to Thailand to spend time with friends from home who live in Cambodia! It really is a small world!

Friday night of our trip we went to dinner with the AERC staff. We ate at a beautiful Thai restaurant on the river. We had 'traditional' Thai instruments to serenade us at dinner. Most of the music was Thai but somehow "Happy Birthday" ended up in the mix.
Zachary enjoyed is tropical fruit plate :)
I did enjoy some Thai food while I was there. Here is my Cashew Chicken. I also enjoyed the mango sticky rice. Yummmmmmm.
The AERC staff at dinner. From left to right- Karen- Phillippines, Chiyon- Phillippines, Shelly- China, Martha- Phillippines- our director, Kate and Chris- China


From left to right- Shaunda- China, Earl-Malaysia, Jan- Thailand, Moira-Singapore, Regina- Taiwan
The AERC staff is an enjoyable crew. They instantly made me feel like family and brought me into the world of consulting. Many of the consultants will not be returning next year due to furloughs or retiring or moving on. We will miss them and value all they have done for AERC. In Asia, Zachary seems to be royalty wherever we go. He is given things all the time and is potted, picked up, and admired. Sometimes it gets to be a big bother and he even has a hard time with it and doesn't always like to be touched. The staff at our hotel really enjoyed Zachary. Every morning or evening when we would walk by the desk, they would say hello to him. Of course a trip would not be complete for Zachary if there was not a play ground somewhere. In the mall connected with our hotel there was a huge playground with an enormous ball pit that he could play in as long as he wanted for 20 baht (less than $1.00). You can imagine his enjoyment with the huge ball pit. I don't think he has ever seen this many balls in one place in his little life span.

We had a great trip in Thailand. Thanks for all your prayers!