I have spent a great deal of time this week in my Huay Mae Sai hilltribe classroom. This has been Khom Loy’s most successful Montessori classroom conversion and we owe that success to many contributing factors - hard work, dedicated teachers, long hours and incredibly supportive parents, of each attending child. This classroom is a perfect role model Montessori environment and I love spending time here.

Our six newly trained teachers have been taking advantage of this classroom and have been gaining some valuable experience in a real Montessori setting. My job these past few weeks has been to observe the teachers individually and guide them, when difficulties or questions arise. All of the teachers are doing extremely well and I am confident they will thrive in any classroom in which they are placed.

The Huay Mae Sai classroom was converted to the Montessori method in late November of 2005. I am continually impressed with how successful this conversion has been. The children have responded to the conversion with great interest and enthusiasm. They love to come to school each day and learn as much as they can using the various materials in the classroom. It is weeks like these last few, that I feel I have really accomplished something during my time here in Thailand.

This week, I have included a number of pictures from the classroom illustrating some of our new teachers giving lessons to the children.

Today is Monday, April 24th and I have had another pretty quiet week. I am back into my daily routine and working hard with Waew to get ready for the beginning of another school year. Khom Loy has recently hired six new teachers who we put through a two week Montessori training program in March and who are now working in our already established schools for experience in the classroom. In mid-May when the new school year begins, our trained teachers will be introduced to their own classrooms and have an opportunity to put all their valuable knowledge to test. At this same time, Waew and I will also introduce a new Child Care Centre to the Montessori approach, the foundation’s eleventh classroom to be converted.

With exception to the Songkran Festival, I really haven’t done much outside of work. I have gone for many bike rides, watched a lot of movies and enjoyed some quiet times out at Paul and Trish’s country home.

The weather has been very interesting and at times, quite intimidating. I have experienced some horrific thunderstorms which bring these incredibly high winds and heavy rains. I have seen some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets and was also lucky enough to see a magnificent rainbow after an afternoon rainstorm.
To complete this week’s posting, I have included a few pictures which show a sunrise, a sunset and the rainbow I referred to. All of the pictures were taken out at Paul and Trish's house in the country.

More pictures from the Songkran celebrations.....................

More pictures from the Songkran celebrations......................

It is the evening of April 13th and I have arrived home safely from an entire day of Songkran celebration. I am not sure if I can find the right words to describe what I went through today. In my previous posting from last week, I said the main theme of the Songkran festivities is water. Well, that is a complete understatement on my behalf. There was water flying in all directions, no matter where you were, in town today. The significance of the water is to cool everyone off because it is so hot. People along the side of the streets, motorcyclists, people in their cars, literally people of all ages, were all participating in the celebration. There were pickup trucks full of people with water guns and pails and even the fire engines had their hoses on full blast!!

I lost count as to how many times I got hit with pails of water while sitting in the back of our pick up truck. I originally started in the cab so I could get some pictures but finished my day in the back where it was a total free for all. I had buckets poured over my head, streams of water from squirt guns in my face and some people even added ice to the water, just to add some more excitement!! By the end of the day, I was “bpiak mak” (very wet)……. actually, I was soaked and anxious to get warm and into some dry clothes.

Late afternoon, there was a typical Thai parade to add to the festivities. The floats were absolutely beautiful, as usual. The parade however, didn’t stop the throwing of water and many people in the parade were drenched as well.

The festivities continue throughout this weekend and right into next week. At anytime you go into town, you can expect to get wet. This holiday is a real family oriented celebration and many people get together with their kin to enjoy lots of food and drink.

I have to say, I had so much fun today and can’t remember that last time that I laughed so hard. Emily, I was wishing you could’ve been part of this Festival and witnessed the celebrations. I know you would’ve had great fun soaking everyone in your path!!

I have included many pictures from the day and also a few from the parade.

This past week has been very uneventful. I have been busy getting back to my normal routine and trying to catch up on some neglected projects at work. I have been reading lots, going for bike rides, and enjoying the sun. Emily, I know it is cold back in Canada, but just be glad you are not here in the heat…….yesterday, it was 40 degrees!!! All of a sudden, the Canadian winters don’t look so bad!!

The Thai people are anxiously preparing for the upcoming Songkran Festival (also known as the Water Festival) which is a celebration of the Thai New Year and a formal welcome to the beginning of summer. This Festival is celebrated country-wide and is considered one the most enjoyable holidays in Thailand. The celebrations begin on April 13th and last for one complete week. The main theme of the festivities is water and I understand, that anywhere you go, you get wet. People literally stand all along the side of the road and throw various containers of water on passer-bys. The children have already started practicing and a couple of times this week, on my daily bike ride, I have been soaked with pails of water. Actually, a bit refreshing in the inevitable heat!!

I have included one picture.........a shot of our Khom Loy office, because that is where I have spent most of my time this week!!

Pictures from the south of Thailand.....................................

Well, I have arrived safely back in Chiang Rai and am enjoying the sun and daily temperatures of 30 - 35 degrees. A big change from the two weeks I was in Canada!!!! Emily is back at home in Canada, living with her Dad and is enjoying getting back to her daily routine, with her friends and family close by.

Before my return to Chiang Rai, I went to the south of Thailand for three days to look at some potential schools which our foundation is interested in possibly converting to the Montessori method. The schools are located in Khao Lak, a small town on the west coast of Thailand. These schools or Child Care Centres, have been opened for Burmese children who have gathered in the area. Burmese families come to Thailand, often illegally, to get away from the "political unrest" in their country and also, to find jobs in Thailand, which has a much stronger economy than Burma.

The town of Khao Lak was an area in the south which was tragically hit by the tsunami and therefore, a number of these Burmese children are orphans or have lost one or more members of their family. These schools are located in standard homes, which are very, very small. Each Centre has not only very limited space, but few select materials. It is Paul's intention, the founder of the organization I work for and my boss, to help these schools in any possible way he can. He thought by introducing the Montessori philosophy to these schools, it would give the children a chance to actually be educated and also to gain some confidence and self-esteem.........a gift any child deserves. I was incredibly impressed with the teachers at each facility and how they have compromised using the little space and learning materials and are making an honest attempt to teach these children not only Burmese, but English as a second language. I wasn't able to take pictures at any of the Centres, a policy which ensures the safety of the children and their families from immigration authorities.

The town of Khao Lak was completely destroyed by the tsunami and while I was in the south, I was able to see a number of places where the locals have been reconstructing and rebuilding and making an effort to continue on with their lives. I visited a boatyard where the fisherman and many volunteers from all over the world, have been building boats to replace all those lost in the tsunami. They use the scraps from the boatyard and send them to another location on the coast to make furniture for newly constructed homes that also had to be rebuilt. (They conveniently call this furniture making workshop "ThaIKEA!!")
I was also able to see one of the housing projects which is run by Tsunami Volunteers and still to this day, they are rebuilding homes to replace those that were lost. I have included a picture of a Police Boat, (a famous landmark) which was patrolling the ocean when the tsunami hit and washed in shore (2km!!) and deposited on the side of an embankment, just outside of town.

I was so happy to have been able to visit the southern area and see a completely different aspect of Thailand. The devastation that occurred in this area is beyond words and it was a very enlightening experience to actually be there and see and hear what many people went through. My heart goes out to all those affected by the tsunami and I wish you peace and comfort in your continued journey.

Emily and I are down to our last three days in Thailand!! We have had a very busy week, with it being Emily's last week of school and a week of training 25 new teachers for me. We had a staff party, a school graduation, and many last minute details to attend to before coming home.

We have included a shot from our "goodbye" staff party at Paul and Patricia's house, and one from the grade 6 graduation party at Emily's school. The picture at the graduation is of Emily with her grade 6, graduating classmates.

For those of you who haven't already heard, I have decided to return to Thailand after taking Emily home to Canada. Emily will complete her fifth year at home in Stratford, at the Stratford Montessori School and will live with her Dad during that time. She has missed her Dad dearly and this will give her a chance to spend some long awaited quality time with him. I will return to Thailand on March 26th to complete some unfinished projects here and then go back to Canada permanently at the end of June, when Emily gets out of school for the summer.

I will pick up where I left off on my blog, at the end of March, when I return to Thailand and will continue to update you on all my incredible adventures as before. Take care and see you in a couple of weeks!!

This is our last week here in Thailand. On Monday, March 13th, Emily and I fly out of Bangkok to come back to Canada and we are both very excited about our trip home!! We have extremely enjoyed our many adventures here and will cherish the memories forever.

Although we are busy getting ready to come home, we have still managed to get in a few more exciting activities. We had some more visitors from Canada last week. Friends of my parents came to Chiang Rai, on a private tour and Emily and I had a great deal of fun showing them around. We took Marion and Cheryl to the LongNeck Karen hilltribe village, to Emily’s Montessori school and also to my Huay Mae Sai hilltribe school in the hills. We enjoyed a feast of Italian food downtown (at Emily’s request!!) and then went to the night market to pick up some handmade souvenirs. We really enjoyed the time spent with Marion and Cheryl and wish them well on their continued journey, to the beaches in the South.

Emily and I have been swimming as much as possible, basking in the sun and just enjoying the Thailand culture in anticipation of coming home. Next week, we have a staff party at Paul and Patricia’s house to say various goodbyes, we have a graduation ceremony at Emily’s school for children who are leaving, we have a big last day celebration party at the school and in there somewhere, we will finish packing our suitcases!!

Emily and I have included a few final pictures of some of our favourite places here in Chiang Rai. They include the resort pool where we love to swim, our favourite restaurant, the local ice cream parlour, the night market and the Big C department store where we buy all our groceries………..

This adventure Emily and I have been on has been a wonderful, life changing opportunity and we will look back often and reminisce about the many exciting events we were able to experience during our trip. We would like to say thank you to all our friends and family at home for their constant support and consistent communication, and thank you also, to our friends here in Thailand, who took us under their wings and guided us, always in the right direction. Our trip wouldn’t have been so successful without all of you.

Finally, I want to thank you, Emily, my precious daughter, for coming with me on this big adventure, for believing in me and for standing by me in good times and bad. You never complained once, even when times got difficult, and I am so proud of you, of your open-mindedness and of your big heart. I am so blessed to have you in my life. I love you very, very much and thank you, for an experience we will cherish for a lifetime.


"A life-long blessing for children is to fill them with warm memories of times together. Happy memories become treasures in the heart to pull out on the tough days of adulthood." -Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century), U.S. Finding Joy, no. 73 (1994).