Alice's post trip chat!

Hi it's Alice here.  I'm home from Thailand and Pakpingai now but I wanted to write about what the trip has meant for me and tell you about some of the highlights for me.  

It was very hard to leave Pakpingjai because all the girls were really sad and it had been such a wonderful time there.  I loved taking the kids to the zoo because they enjoyed it so much and we got to see animals that I have never seen before.   The girls were all so happy all the time and friendly to us and they made us feel welcome and special.

It was fun trying to teach people English at the school we visited and they were all so excited to see us.  I thought it was sad when we went to the hill tribe because the houses are really small and made out of bamboo.  Life there looked hard.

Travelling to the river Kwai was also sad because we knew that people from our country had been prisoners there and there were lots of deaths  while they built bridges.

The trip was good for me.  I learnt that you don't have to have everything to be happy.  I enjoyed helping people and seeing the smiles on the children's faces.  I liked that we have helped and that the children enjoyed our visit.

I'm really thankful that I got to go to Thailand and have this opportunity to visit the children of Pakpingjai and learn from them.

Alice

20 and 21st January

The last couple of days have been so busy and so full that we haven't had a chance to write much! However the youtube channel and the web album have both been updated... I will write some thoughts later today but meanwhile have a look at this video for some personal views on the trip to daye..


Cheers


Your Blogmaster Peter


(Posted when home meant for the dates)

From the plane!

OK.. on the plane now... what has happened to the past few days (daze)?  Well... it's been full of life changing experiences and full of exhaustion... must keep this short so to ALL of you that have taken the time to be part of our adventure from afar .. a huge thankyou to all of you and may God bless you and yours..


We will see you soon... I'll be behind those drums on Sunday and there will be much to share


Take care and all the best


Your Blogger


Peter Chatteris

From the Kwai

we are off now from the Kwai River area...  off to begin our long journey home.. thanks for viewing our pictures videos and updates... see you all at home... we have so many stories to tell.. take care!

Pete Speak 19/01/12

I am sitting here with 20 people who make up our group. We are sharing photo albums and learning about each other. It's interesting to me that we ALL have a story to tell. 


Then my mind wanders to the pooir and needy of Thailand...


Do they have stories to tell? 


Without a doubt these people have enough to fill a book several times over. If we could somehow tap into the life stories of the Thai people, we could learn a huge amount of wisdom, a huge amount of knowledge, and a way of enjoying life despite having little.


I know I have mentioned this so many times but it seems to me that there's very little difference in the smiles or frowns of the supposedly "have's" and the apparently "have nots". There is sadness amongst the "rich" and happiness amongst the "poor". There is also happiness amongst the "rich" and sadness amongst the "poor".


So where does that leave us? Should we feel guilty? Should we feel as though we should change our ways completely? 


I don't believe so... but I do believe in education and I do believe we can learn from each other.


Cheers


Peter Chatteris
Blogmaster!

The Last thoughts of the day with Peter

Well...it's 11pm and tiredness is setting in. I am quite emotional about various things at the moment... This trip is different in many ways from the previous one in 2010. The team is great, we are working well together and no major anger eruptions have happened.


However, there seems to be a faster pace, there seems to be so much to do and so little time to do it in. I am far more tired than last time, and yet at the same time have more energy. Strange, but perhaps we rise to the occasion when stressed.


Tomorrow will bring new challenges.. new things to face and new experiences. For example we are visiting a Buddhist School and many of the team are going to have their first taste of this way of life. I hope they see what I and the others saw in 2010.... a way of life that whilst very different from our Christian traditions, has also many of the same aims.


If only we could learn one thing from this trip... to have peace in our lives and in our hearts... would that not be a fantastic outcome...


Have a great day... and may God bless you and your families..


Your Blogger


Peter Chatteris

Cherry Chats!

It's me, Cherry again :)


I can't believe how exhausted everyone is right now.. Didn't expect it to be a tiring trip along with everyday being 15 hours long! IM SO TIRED. Every morning, we wake up at 6am, get ready for the day and have breakfast at 7am then we leave to our destination by 8am and start our full-on day until around 6pm so we come back to the hostel, then we have dinner which is at 6.30pm and after that (when we're completely knackered and nearly falling asleep on our beds) we have the girls knocking on our door wanting to play or dance! sounds like a long, tiring day doesn't it? It's now our 6th day following this daily routine.. Oh my gosssssh. I feel like we've done so much since we got here! Going to heaps of different markets, a zoo with the girls, a few Buddhist temples, other villages, and we've even taught English at a school... 


Today was quite an emotional day for us all. We visited the Hill Tribe Village in Phu Him where the houses are made of sticks and rope, the village people don't have very nutritional food to consume, the dogs limping around are weak and diseased. For me, the dogs made me sadder than the anything else. With the passion I have for animals, this made me very emotional that these dogs have nothing to eat or drink and they don't have any vet check-ups, vaccinations or medication. They are left to breed, then the puppies aren't under any care so they are to catch diseases easily while they're very young. There was one skinny, weak puppy on a hunt for water (probably only a few months old) that had a broken paw which the bone was completely detached and was only hanging onto the outer skin and flesh! Seeing this was very emotional for a lot of us :( I just want to bring all of them home and treat them!!! But unfortunately, I can't do anything about it right now.. Anyways, the happiest part of the day definitely was the waterfall trip! On a hot, humid day, that's exactly what you need.. Nature is SO amazing :)


Yeah... So, it's 10pm now and I'm already half asleep. KEEN TO WAKE UP AT 6AM! YUSSSSS... :/


That's me for now :)