National Geographic Day!!

January 19th was kind of a weird day. Liz and I were coming back from a trip to Laos and spotted a sign that pointed to a road where there was a natural fountain located. We decided to turn off onto the little dirt road and see where it led. Not too far down we saw the small bubbling natural fountain coming out of the ground. But the really amazing part was when we noticed we were being watched by a couple dozen wild monkeys. It was like a dream! We grabbed our cameras and had a thrilling time taking photos and video of our new friends. We also noticed a spotted Tukay lizard. While eating lunch at our next stop on the way back to Ubon, there was a green snake poking down from the tree close to our table. Besides these animals, we found ourselves among some of the usual Thailand creatures that day too...water buffalo, spiders, cows, elephants, and even a rat at the little noodle stand at the train station.

Cooking Class

I got to know Mee Tik and her daughter Prae through the Pittman Family. Now I spend every Monday night with them. I teach English and then we share a meal together. This past week, my roommate, Liz, and I came early to learn how to make Curry Chicken. It was a little spicy, but very tasty!

Tiger Zoo

This week I've been spending a lot of time with my new roommate, Liz, showing her around Ubon and helping her to experience different aspects of life here in Thailand. Today we had a whole day free, so we went to the Tiger Zoo which is about 45 minutes outside of the city. We also took along the two children of a family that has recently moved into Ubon.

Country in Mourning

Princess Galyani Vadhana, elder sister the reigning King of Thailand, passed away January 2nd at age 84 from a battle with cancer. Right now Thailand is in the midst of a 100 day period of mourning. For the past 15 days, the government has requested that business people and all civil servants wear black or dark colors. Many memorials to the Princess have been set up in government buildings, and some stores and businesses.

International Fellowship

One Sunday a month, workers from around Ubon province gather together for a time of prayer, singing, and fellowship. This month our team hosted it at the Bergman's house with about 23 people in attendance.

Kim and Evy

Last week I had a good time spending time with Evy, my teammate's daughter, while the rest of the family was on a short vacation down south.

Happy New Year!

I spent my New Year's night with some Thai friends. Mot is one of my longest Thai friends. She and her husband are university professors and had some students and friends over at their house to celebrate. It was a good evening and I really enjoyed myself. There was A LOT of meat being grilled along with sticky rice and hot sauce. In the last picture you might notice the karaoke set-up in the back. In my two years in Thailand, I have managed thus far to avoid the humiliation of singing in front of groups of people. But I couldn't avoid it New Year's Eve. Thankfully, there were some choices of songs in English and Mot agreed to sing with me. The experience wasn't too awful...although I feel sorry for the rest of the group who had to listen to our song!

December Gatherings

Here are a few of my times with different sets of friends in December. The top picture are relatives of some good Thai friends. The woman in the gray shirt behind me is Isaan, but lives in Missouri. After she visited Thailand for several months, her family gave her a going away party before she returned to the States. The second picture is of my team and another team that works in Ubon enjoying a meal together. And the third picture is of the good Thai friends I mentioned above. Their son and new daughter-in-law were visiting Ubon from Bangkok so I came over to meet them and enjoy a meal with some of their other relatives too.