20 Things I Miss Most - 2

Its been in the last three weeks that we have experienced unbearable smoke conditions. From what I've learned, every year in March and April, the natives will burn the underbrush to help mushrooms grow and to hunt the animals. What kind of animals I'm not sure. They also prepare the rice paddies to be planted by burning them. Here is what a normal day looks like here in Chiang Mai. This is at our pool here on campus.... see the beautiful blue skies?

This is what it looks like now.... 

It has gotten so bad it's hard to breathe and it's made everyone sick. I don't get bothered by much but this has really been bad. I asked one of the teachers who has been here for awhile, about 8 years, how this compares to years pasts.  He said it hasn't been this bad in a very long time.

Night before last I was on duty in the girls dorm and I heard a commotion upstairs ... what's new when you have 19 teenage girls living on one hall. I went upstairs and they were freaking out because across the street on the hillside the fire was burning and it looked so very close. Here are a few snapshots.

The girls were so hyped up afterwards it was hard to get them to bed. It's always hard to get them to bed though. I love these girls .... most of the time. ;)

I'm so glad we're heading out of town this next weekend. We're going to Hua Hin which is a beach below Bangkok. We'll be there for about 4 days and then we're headed to Japan. We don't have that part mapped out yet but we'll get it done.

I miss home but know this is where I need to be for awhile. Take care of one another and love on those who need it ... especially those you don't know.

Elephant Parade Outing

Every weekend we plan outings for those who board here at American Pacific. This weekend some wanted to paintball but some didn't .... me. I don't think getting hit by round objects filled with paint sounds like fun. I've done it once and that was enough for me. It's very painful PLUS its 95 degrees here. 

I found this place called Elephant Parade and I told everyone we were going to go paint elephants. Most of the girls actually thought we were going to paint live elephants. I've been known not to give enough information and I believe this was one of those times. Here's a little info about how Elephant Parade started.

Mosha

Elephant Parade was founded by father and son Marc and Mike Spits in 2006.
Whilst on holiday In Thailand, Marc met a baby elephant named Mosha, who had lost her leg after stepping on a landmine. Mosha inspired Marc and Mike to create Elephant Parade.

“We wanted to help Mosha and create something structural that would be profitable in the long run. This is the only way in which we can provide the elephant a sustainable future”.

The first Elephant Parade exhibition was held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in 2007. Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital, Mosha’s home base in Lampang Thailand, was the first organization to receive contributions generated by Elephant Parade and structurally continues to receive funds for taking care of Mosha.

We arrived at Elephant Parade about 2:30 p.m. Joanna, the person I had made contact with, met us at the door of this beautiful art gallery of ceramic painted elephants. We found out they have over 200 local artists who paint for them. They also sponsor a contest with their ceramic elephants and the winners get a weekend stay in Chiang Mai at a resort. The girls got busy painting their elephants. Here are some pics of the day.

 This is Sheng Li, she is from China and is a fun young girl, she's in grade 10.

 
 This is Stephanie, she is from China as well and is in grade 10.





This is Nina, also from China, she is very quiet and she struggles with her English. She makes me smile.

This is Prim ... She's beautiful, inside and out. She is a very good student and works hard to get good grades. 

 Shell is from China and is in grade 11. She's a gamer ... she would play computer games all day long if she could. She painted her elephant red and it had a black mask across it's eyes.

 This is Michy, he is from Japan and he's in 12th grade. I am helping him with his entrance essay for college. He was born in Japan but raised in Thailand.

This is Cindy, or as we call her Cindy-lou-who. She works very hard in school. She plans on attending Hong Kong University. I'm not suppose to have favorites but she would be one of them if I had one. :)

 This is Vern.... she's in 11th grade and has a sister in 9th, Yong. Both are mischievous but in a good way ....  

Us working hard on our elephants.

 This is Pop ... she has a beautiful smile and loves to cook. She wants to study law then open a restaurant. 

This is Helen ... she's a sweetie.

 Anna .... what can I say about Anna? She's makes me want to pinch her sometimes. Her elephant turned out beautifully!

 This is Jessie ... my co-worker in crime. She loves God and is so wonderful with the girls. They respect her and listen to her. She makes a difference. I'm so thankful she's here. Love her

Here's my final painted elephant. I could have painted all day. It was relaxing and fun. 

20% of the proceeds of our time at Elephant Parade goes to help Mosha. She gets a new prosthesis almost yearly as she's growing.

International Fair

Every year at American Pacific International School there is an International Fair. The families of the children who attend are invited, as well as, prospective students. There are over 20 different countries represented in our faculty and students. The teachers and students work together and present food, facts, and fun from the country they represent. 

The festivities begin with a flag parade, almost like the Olympics ... okay, not like the Olympics but you get the idea. Booths are set up all around the grounds. Each booth is decorated to represent the Country that was chosen. The students and staff dress accordingly. The best part was the food, there was so much food ... wonderful food.

Here is some of the pics of the days events.

                      Two or our wonderful teachers at APIS

Nacho eating contest ...... they had fun.

Our Principal, Iva Scott, representing Thailand

I had to take a picture of my heritage country, Greece. For their food item they  had Greek Yogurt ..... ummmmm

These guys are representing France .... don't they look French?  

One of the girls who boards here at APIS, her name is Shell. She's a sweetie.

One of the art pieces in the silent auction. I bid on it but didn't win ... I was sad.

 

Another art piece .... I really wanted this one but again I didn't win. 

One of our students drew this. 

Pat is showing you his road rash from laying his motorbike down. It could have been worse. 

Pat helped with the "dunk tank", which we didn't get because it was too expensive so they improvised. They took a toilet tank and rigged it with a hose and string and made a redneck dunk tank. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. If it didn't they just flushed anyway!!

The day was a success and everyone had a good time. I helped at the end auctioning off a sewing machine. It cost about 6000 baht which is $180. The one who won the bid got it for 2500 baht. Can you figure how much that is?