Cultivating Childhood

Things take a while to get set up here.  One of the things that we needed is a work permit even if we are only working as volunteers.  If you are working within Thailand with people within Thailand, you need a work permit.  As a result, we found ourselves this last month spending about 10 days in the city of Chiang Mai waiting for it all to come through. Riding in a Songteauw Unfortunately, as is the case with any big move, one of our kids was sick suffering from the heat, air pollution, and new foods.  We spent a lot of our time hanging out in our hotel trying to keep a low profile for Z.  After a few days, he was finally feeling well enough for us to do a bit of exploring. Z got sick even before we left. Our most exciting day trip was going to the Chiang Mai Zoo.  They let you feed the animals here!  And the walls into the enclosures were definitely not up to American standards, but it just made it more fun. The boys loved the seal show We rode elephants at the z

Z with one of our neighbor's roosters There are some really nice things about living in the village.  People are extremely friendly here, and it really is so beautiful.  There are animals galore from roosters who give us our morning wake-up call to water buffalo, goats, and street dogs.  Geckos line our walls and ceilings, and we keep out of the way of snakes.  It is truly a wonderful place to live in this season.  Although we look forward to many of the conveniences that will come from having a long-term house in the city, the beauty of this area will continue to be cherished. Here is a little view into our neighborhood. The front of our house. A view up the street Our neighborhood shop where we can get some groceries or noodles for lunch or dinner. Some of the food that we've bought from this shop: eggs, garlic, morning glory, and cooking oil. All for less than $2. Turning right past the shop, you can see the loud speakers on the tower. Every