Anyone ever tried taking a trip with a large group of Thais?  Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?  Well, let me tell you something.  It is a confusing process.

The school generously decided to do a two-day team building trip to Trang and Nakhon Si Thamarat in December for Father’s Day.  All expenses paid.

Here’s how the plan went originally:

Meet at the school at 8:30 am on December 5^th.

Take a VIP bus.

Tour S-Tech College in Nakhon Si Thamarat that same day.

Go to dinner that evening.

Second day, go to Trang and have a relaxing day in the islands.

Return home.

Have another four days off.

Here’s how it ended up going: Continue reading →

As I was saying…

Pohnpei is a Micronesian paradise.  It has a barrier reef encircling the island that, in calm weather, keeps the lagoon as flat as glass.

The island doesn’t have long, sandy beaches. Mangroves own this piece of land.  It is a mountainous island, covered in green, with the prominent Sokehs Rock and Sokehs Ridge dominating the northwestern landscape.

Sokehs Rock and Sokehs Ridge

Over a 100-year period, the island saw Spanish, German, Japanese, and American occupation, only regaining its independence in 1986.  Remnants of these foreign invaders can still be seen on the island, from the Spanish wall to the bell tower of the old German church to the Japanese guns on the ridge (and the rusty tank in Kolonia). And, of course, the fact that they use the US dollar).  Continue reading →

Pohnpei is a Micronesian paradise.  It has a barrier reef encircling the island that, in calm weather, keeps the lagoon as flat as glass.

I know what you are thinking.  I’m skipping a few parts.  How did I all of a sudden go from Kwajalein to Pohnpei?  Well, that’s easy.  By airplane. (rim shot) Continue reading →

12.25.12

I know that I never finished regaling you with the excitement of my holiday in the Marshalls and Micronesia, but as it is now the end of my first Christmas away from the hearth and home, I figured I would go out of order for a change and talk about Christmas in Thailand.

I have had a difficult time wrapping my mind around the reality that it is, in fact, late December and Christmastime.  It could be because I am not with family for the first time in 32 years.  It could be because it’s not treated as particularly special here in Thailand. It could be because it’s still 85 degrees most days.  Most likely it is all these factors and more that have conspired together to make this the “Christmas That Wasn’t”. Continue reading →