Picture a day July 31

This is my lovely Thai clothes dryer, which I adore. They do make electric dryers here, but they are expensive and rare. Air drying my clothes is something I really enjoy about life here. The year round warmth makes things dry quickly, even if I hang them in my living room during rainy season instead of on the balcony. This particular sight, of the rack filled with clean clothes, is one of my favorite things to come home to on the day that my helper (maid) comes! 

Resettling

I've been back in Bangkok for about eight days now- five days of freedom and then back at work for the last three. It's always an adjustment coming back, and the first week is the worst of it. When you live in another country, you always keep your big toe back at home- a small connection and a vague of awareness of what is going on. But that first week of transition it's not a big toe, it's your whole foot still in that world, and it takes time to pick up the rhythm of the new place again.

But the last few days have been good in several ways. First, I've been able to connect with friends in real and meaningful ways that remind me that even if my family is far away I do have friends and people here who love, care, listen, share, laugh, and invest. Second, I get a chance to remember why I am here and why I believe in the mission and vision and philosophy if my school. We are able to pray as a staff for our school, our students, and the year ahead. I get to remember that this thing I do, teaching, I love it for all it sucks out of me, and I'm good at it. 

There are still things to figure out of course, and I have my goals and things I want to work on this semester, but it's a good start and a good place to be. Now if someone could just get this Tigers game online to stop pausing and freezing and restarting we'd be all set! 

Picture a day July 30

This flower vendor is frequently parked across from my apartment complex. The flowers and flower chains he sells are primarily related to Buddhism, though I don't fully know their significance. For me, it mostly reminds me that I miss the corner flower vendors on the streets in San Isidro, though I doubt I could get a decent bouquet for 10 pesos anymore! 

Picture a day July 29

First day back at work includes a big lunch for all the families, so I got a few minutes with my favorite munchkins. Maybe not the best picture, but it was the best we could do with a squirrelly 10 month old, and true to this blog experiment, it's real life! 

Picture a day July 28

Signs in Michigan ask motorists to share the road with bicyclists. In Bangkok they often share the road with food carts, motos, bikes, pedestrians, and of course, oncoming traffic. This is a back street near my house- I was quite impressed with my friend who was driving for one of her first times in Thailand, and in a stick shift no less! 

Picture a day July 27

Passed by McDonalds while doing errands today. I love that all the Thai Ronald McDonalds do the Thai greeting, called a wai. 

Picture a day July 26

I went to Amphawa floating market, which doesn't really float so much, but is a nice canal side market. We went on a boat ride which ended up being a temple tour, the last of which had a zoo/petting farm on its grounds. Strange, so strange. It was a nice way to use my last weekday before work begins! 

Picture a day July 25

Stopped in my classroom today to do a few things- doors were painted brown over the break (Brown? Brown! Not blue to match the rest of the trim or every classroom known to man since the studies about blue and the brain?). Lots to do in this room in the next ten days! 

A picture a day, a photo today

There has been a trend recently for bloggers to do a 365 photo blog- a picture a day for an entire year. I'm not doing that, but it did inspire me to something along those lines. I haven't considered doing a photo blog because I am not a big picture taker and because I don't really think I have something interesting to photograph every day. Mostly, I just go to work. But I was reminded by someone this summer that in my daily going to work, many things have become normal to me over the last two years that might make interesting pictures for others. So, I will do this: I will attempt a photo a day, looking for things that are ordinary in my life that were not so ordinary to me two years ago. It's a chance for me to see my world with fresh eyes, and a chance for you to see my world. And if there are days I forget, or haven't got anything new or interesting to take a picture of, I'm not going to be a stickler for the everyday. And instead of going 365 days, I will stop when I run out of pictures to take, or motivation, whichever comes sooner. Starting this evening I will try to post the picture the day of, but for now, here is yesterday's pic: 

I found this snail sharing the bench with me while I waited for the nail salon to open- I got there at 10:50, not knowing they didn't open till 11:00. There was no sign on the door with the hours, but a guard/parking lot attendant told me they opened at 11 when he saw me starting to walk away, so I waited. The snail shell was about the length of my index finger- not a common Michigan find! 

Dreams

This Langston Hughes poem has been running through my mind a lot lately. One of my biggest childhood dreams slowly died a few years ago and it has taken awhile for the loss to really sink in. But as it has, and the tears have fallen, I have been reminded that I have to keep dreaming, even if it opens me up to the possibility of more hurt. That one dream has passed and died, which I guess just means it is time to replace it with a new one, and hold fast. 

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow. 

Langston Hughes

Seattle area visit

Last week I had the chance to fly out to the Seattle area for a few days to visit my friend and and her family. It was my first trip to the Pacific Northwest and I love it, even if it was a bit cool out. My friends live in Poulsbo, a small town across Puget Sound from Seattle. It was an ideal base for exploring, and it was also nice to just have some down time with them, especially their three month old, Jack, whose life is a little miracle. Like many trips to new places, I have now added about ten more places to my list of places to go and things to do.

Setting off on our hike on Hurricane Ridge

Doesn't it just make you want to bust out with The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music? 

Flowers at Pike Place Market- huge bouquets for $5 or $10! 

Seattle from the ferry

Happy smiling baby Jack

Poulsbo marina as we walked into town

I tried to capture the charm of downtown Poulsbo but cars kept getting in the way! I loved all the unique shops, cares, and restaurants- not a chain store to be had. 

More or Less

While Up North this summer I wandered into a bookstore and stumbled into a book titled More or Less, which deals with the question, What is enough? And, how much is enough? It was a book about generosity and generous living, about what we do with the bit we have that is more than enough, the excess. It reminded me a lot of a verse I read earlier this summer that really struck me: The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out- but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity (1 John 2:17).

One advantage of living overseas, that I have stated before, is that each summer I have the chance to completely step away from my regular life, my day to day life, which gives me a unique perspective and chance to evaluate how I live. This book gave me lots of think about in that regard, without being judgmental or condescending. It has caused me to look again at the words need and want and how I confuse them in my life. It has caused me to look at my wardrobe and wonder just how many shirts and shoes a person can actually wear. It has caused me to look at how I spend my time, and who I am spending it on- myself or others. 

Our More, our Excess, does not always come in physical material ways. It also comes in time or connections or opportunities. And while I have certainly thought before about how I can be generous with my time, I had never before considered how I can be generous with my connections or opportunities.  I have long craved a simpler life (I am sure in no part because I somehow think it will also be less stressful) and this book encouraged me to do so in ways that would not just be for the goal of simplicity, but generosity.  

And it's not all about downsizing, which I like. For example, it might be a 'simpler life' if I moved back into my studio apartment and didn't keep a guest room (where in addition to guests I also store a lot of stuff). But if I moved, I would also lose a lot of opportunities for generosity and hospitality. It's not about how big your house is, it's about what you do with the space you have. 

Anyway, it's a good book and quick read and I highly recommend it. I am excited to get back into life and clean out my closet and make dinner for people and live more intentionally in many areas. 

Unwind and recharge Up North

For most English speakers, up north is a direction. For Michiganders, it is a place. The day after the wedding my mom and I went Up North to relax and unwind after the craziness. My friends, their munchkins, and their mom were able to join us for the first few days at Lorien. I loved having ample downtime with them, and Lorien is an ideal place to give kids lots of freedom. The days were a bit chilly, but the kids swam and we sprinkled our days with the playground, walks, happy hour, and campfires. The kids were really into roasting marshmallows (i.e. setting them in fire and trying to blow them out) before proudly presenting them to one of the adults, who in turn tossed it in the fire. You can only eat so many marshmallows. Cheap entertainment. On Tuesday night my brother and sister in law joined us, which means my brother took over the grilling and made us slow smoked ribs. Yum. On the fourth we went and visited my aunt, uncle, cousins, and Grampa who were staying about an hour away. At my uncle's hunting lodge, I celebrated America by shooting a gun for the first time, actually, two guns. Petty fun. 

We had great weather the entire week and I loved the lazy mornings (and afternoons) and a chance to be Up North n the summer for the first time in quite a number of years. 

Beautiful lazy afternoon to sit and read

The boys playing on the slide

I shot some sort of rifle thingy, and this revolver 

Wedding day!

I must confess, I have quite a back log of blogging, but only because I've been too busy having fun to stop and write about it. It's a good problem to have. My sister's wedding weekend was awesome. We kicked off the family fun Thursday night with a birthday dinner for my dad and brother before Friday's rehearsal and the big day in Saturday. I had great fun being her personal assistant, I mean, maid of honor. For those three days we were practically attached at the hip. She was an amazing bride- calm, organized beyond belief, and totally stunning. The entire evening was a huge success and a ton of fun, especially once I got past my toast and could start to relax. I didn't take any pictures, but my sister in law did, so here are a few of hers. 

At the rehearsal dinner

At the church, waiting for the show to start! 

 

Our bouquets

 

 

 

Delivering my toast 

At the end of the night, we hugged and she said, "Thanks, I couldn't have done this without you." And at first I responded, "Anytime."  But then it was like, wait, no, "Anytime, but never again!"