Introduction - Peter Chatteris

Hi... I am your blogger for the Cambodian trip. Most of you know me but here's a quick intro.

I have been associated with St Heliers Church since being baptised there in 1959. The font is still the same one... how cool is that!

I teach music and hire out Remote Control Cars for a living... yeah kinda a boy thing huh!

I am married to Sharyn and have three stepkids, 4 cats, 2 dogs and ... various strays from time to time...

Cheers!

Cambodia Trip

Only a few weeks until we are off to Cambodia. This is the source for news of the trip

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!