The Temple Was Empty - But for the Abbot

We went to visit the monks today and found that most had made the long drive to Alabama to celebrate the Kathin Ceremony. We will celebrate this same ceremony next Sunday. Only the Abbot remained in the Wat today. It was a little chilly in Augusta (about 68 or 70 degrees F) and the Abbot was cold. Can you tell from the photo? He was inside and wearing his ski cap. Of course his head is shaved so he doesn't have any hair to keep his head warm. One person showed up besides us. She also thought that all of the monks would be there and made lots of food. John and I brought fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. We ate rice (steamed and sticky), baked catfish, Chinese bean cakes, fresh mint, fish sauce, etc.

Next week will be a very large group. There will be food, Thai dancing, and celebration. Ten monks and hundreds of people are expected to celebrate the Kathin Ceremony. People and monks will come from Atlanta, Florida, South Carolina and I don't know where else. The ceremony occurs at the end of the rainy season is Thailand - this marks the end of Buddhist Lent. At this time monks throughout the country receive new robes in an annual presentation ceremony - "Kathin". The timing of the ceremony is based on the cycle of the moon but it falls in the months of October - November.

During Lord Buddha's lifetime, thrifty orthodox monks from the city of Patha, walked to the city of Sravatthi to meet the Lord. It was before reaching Patha that the Buddhist Lent started. All the monks had to stay in the monastery for three months. At the end of the Lent, the monks set out on foot to Lord Buddha's place in spite of the rain. The path they took was muddy due to incessant rains. Their robes were drenched in water and grime. The Lord, realizing the difficulty of his disciples, granted permission to accept a new robe at the end of the Lent each year.

Besides new robes, the laity present monks with Buddhist literature, kitchen equipment, financial contributions, building materials. In a word, anything deemed necessary for the monks' upkeep during the monastic year.

Kathins are generally preceded by a village festival just outside the monastery grounds - perhaps on the village school grounds. On the eve of the Kathin, shortly after sunset, village monks seat themselves beneath a canopy at one end of the grounds. As the monks chant religious stanzas, villagers and visitors are free to donate money for the temple upkeep. They also sample various shows and entertainment among themselves.

The above description is from "Thai customs and Beliefs" issued by the Office of the National Culture Commission, Ministry of Education Thailand.

Munchkin Halloween

Our version of Jaws. Everybody knows sharks don't like to brush their teeth. Ours is no exception. But didn't eat lots of candy so it should be OK.

Our Rides Continue

About 4 times a week we load up our 14 year old Saturn and head off to the bike path. Although we do this in preparation for our assignment in Thailand, we have found that it is fun to do something together that is also good for our health and longevity! John can't come to Curves with me - it is for ladies only. We owe the Peace Corps more than we could ever measure and we haven't even left yet! 79 days to go for liftoff. Whoopie.

Delicious Thai Food for Dinner - Again

Tonight we got brave and ordered "spicy" at our favorite Thai restaurant. We met the owner at the temple we visit. We practiced a few of our phrases on her and she graciously helped us with our pronunciation.

John ate: Pad Kra Prow Moo - Pork with green chili peppers, onion and basil.
June ate: Gai Pad Med Ma-Muang Him Ma Parn - Chicken and cashew nuts sauteed with onions, mushrooms, and dried chili peppers in a tasty gravy sauce.

Although the dishes are called "spicy" John and I both found our reaction to be the same - warmth in the tissue of the mouth, tingling lips and a runny nose. But boy were those dishes good. We can definitely get used to this. Another interesting thing - we have read that in Thailand food is typically eaten with a spoon - not a fork and chop sticks are used only for soup.

A Special Day at the Wat (temple)

Today was a very busy day at the temple. People from many places were there. All brought food and gifts for the monks and to share with each other. We met a large family originally from Laos who now live near Charleston, SC. They come to worship and visit about every 3 months. Others came from Colombia, SC and Atlanta. There was sooooo much food.

One photo is of Duong our friend and student. There were so many people some ate outside at picnic tables while others ate in the kitchen and more ate in the worship area. Our friend Bunyoung, one of the monks, will be leaving for Thailand at the end of the month for a two month visit. His English is limited but his heart knows no bounds!

Ever Been to Curves?

This is Jan. She always greets you with a smile just like this one! And when you are finished working out - she gives you another one and wishes you a Great Day! What more can you ask for?



Here are Jan and Terri. They work at our local Curves gym. What a great team. Encouraging us all to stay in good health, limber and have a positive attitude! My nickname for Terri is "Tigger". She is a wonderful inspiration to us all.

Unfortunately, today was her last day at our Curves gym. She will be missed by all.

Blue Ridge Elem Fall Festival 2007

Today we all went to Caleb's school for the Fall festival. He tried and tried to dunk a teacher but . . . His little sister, Tanner, did dunk a teacher once. We made name bracelets and tie dyed t-shirts. There were lots of games. The fishing pond was a favorite where you could catch a lollipop or maybe a small toy. Then all three little ones posed in a real horseless carriage. There was also face painting and lemonade. Lots of fun.

Reunion!

That old gang of mine! We met for dinner and it was great! (l to r) Loretta, Bill, John, me, Pam and Beverly. The second photo is of Loretta and Anna - her very beautiful daughter.

We want to get together again before we leave. Bill is already retired but the rest are still putting in their 9 hour days. What good guys. We sorely missed a few who couldn't make it but hope to see each other again before Jan 20th (and our flight to Thailand) rolls around.

Thai Food Tonight!

Tonight we ate at one of our local Thai restaurants. John had Kang Kiew Whan Goong (Shrimp. pineapply and green beans in green Thai curry). On the menu it had a picture of two hot chili peppers. I had Kang Dang Gai (Chicken, bamboo shoots, and green peas in red Thai curry). This item also had two hot chili peppers next to the listing. Both dishes were good - and left the mouth tingling for about 20 minutes after eating.

In case no one noticed - John has shaved his beard in preparation for our assignment in the Land of Smiles.

Tutoring - Augusta Tech

Here is John reviewing blended letters in English e.g. bl, ch, sw, st, etc. Our classes have such a variety of students in both ability and background that one concept may be really easy for someone from Columbia and at the same time difficult for a native speaker from Korea. But we do have fun and laugh a lot. This is our Monday/Wednesday group. Sometimes there are more and sometimes there are less. After the phonics review we tried reading some books aloud. We have children's books we pick up at the local dollar stores that are of varying difficulty. But we are making progress! All of us including John and me!

A Visit to the Temple - 10-7-07

Visited the temple today (Sunday) and saw our friend Dong. She let me work with the mortar and pestle and prepare what she described as a salad. It was not one I had seen before. The monks grow a small green vegetable in their garden. It is round ball shape, about the size of a silver dollar and has seeds in side. I mashed and mashed and she added some of the bottled fish sauce, chopped scallions, parsley and MSG. Then came the infamous small red peppers. Dong said that as with som tam, each maker puts in the ingredients they like best. Today there were three different makers of the papaya based som tam. One lady used only 4 red peppers, another used 10+ (said she likes it hot) while the third was also only 4 red peppers but was heavy on the sugar. Dong likes her som tam sour. Me? I think I will like it best with 4 peppers and sweet.

Today we took the monks two hanging pots filled with light blue/white pansies. We hope they liked them!

Temple Visit - Wed 10/3/07

We had a wonderful visit today to the Augusta Temple. We arrived at about 11:00 am in time to see the monks sitting down to their last meal of the day. We brought a gift of dessert - doughnuts, chocolate eclairs, pastries, etc. I was allowed to place them on 5 dishes (one for each monk) and take them to the table. When placing the dishes on the table I get down on my knees and place the tray on the table making certain not to touch the monks. John can shake their hand etc. but I cannot.

Another photo is of the little peppers that give the Thai food its "kick". They are grown here on the temple land. The temple sits on 13 acres of beautiful softly rolling hills.

I had the opportunity to get a first hand lesson on how to make Som Tam. Note that the salad is made using a large mortar and pestle. This is a salad made with many ingredients but the main one appears to be grated papaya. We have read about this salad and talk about the rotten fish sauce. Actually the sauce is not at all bad. It went into today's salad in two forms. One was a dark almost black solid and the second was a liquid in a bottle. In addition there was lime, tomato, sugar and MSG. Oh yes, and I almost forgot - some of those darling little red peppers. Yes, we both actually tasted it and survived.

The photo of John and the monk, Bunyoung shows them sitting at a computer. Bunyoung copied two CDs he has from the Tourist Office in Thailand. We are going to try and upload them and offer a link to our group members for viewing. The images are gorgeous. Buddhists are believers in reincarnation. 39 years ago when I first met John I told him that I believed we had loved each other in a former life. Could have been as friends, brothers, lovers, parent and child but we had known and loved each other. He kind of looked at me and thought secretly what a kook I was. Well, Bunyoung apparently took one look at the both of us during our first visit and decided we have been family in a previous life. His English is the most limited of the 5 monks and the ladies who cook and serve them said he is the most withdrawn of the group. But . . . Bunyoung always wants to talk to us and give us whatever few worldly possessions he seems to have. He is the sweetest guy. He insists that once we are settled he wants our address and will come to visit us.

The last photo is of the meditation hall. The hall is where instruction takes place. The interesting part about the hall is that the money for it to be built was donated by the professional golfer Vijay Singh. He visited the Temple one year (I think it was 2001) before participating in the Augusta National Golf Tournament. He visited with the Abbot. The Abbot told Singh that this was the year he would win the National. And he did! He apparently won a car which he gave to the temple. In addition he gave a gift of $100,000.

The current Abbot is to give a talk to a class on World Religions next week. I typed up a list of about 15 questions I thought may be asked by the average high school student. I gave him the list today and we will return to the temple to see if we can assist him in his preparations.

A Visit to the Temple

Yesterday we visited our local Thai Buddhist Temple. There are five monks in residence. One of our ESL students, Dong, helps prepare the Sunday meal for the monks each week. She invited us to join her. First we were introduced to a visiting monk. He will be here for about two years and then return to Thailand. Then we met the Abbot. The Abbot has been here for about 10 years. The Thai are truly a people of smiles and a gentle nature. We spoke with several of the monks for quite a while until it was time for them to eat. Soon after the group that had brought the food sat down to share a meal. John and I joined them. We tried to spend the majority of the time sitting on the floor with the others but did fall back to sitting chairs for a little while. There must have been 15 to 20 different dishes on the table for us to try. There was also steamed rice and sticky rice. The food was delicious. I am afraid I am going to gain weight living in Thailand!

Next we went into the temple proper while the monks chanted and prayed. This was another 2 hours on the floor! We wiggled a little bit too much but all were patient with us as we moved our old bones around finding a new position every 20 minutes or so.

The Abbot is scheduled to speak to a world religions class at a nearby high school in about a week. We promised we will return to see him and try asking him questions in English that high school students might ask. He said it will give him a chance to practice his English. The Abbot also gave us a number of books and color brochures on Buddhism and the Thai culture. He is most gracious. We look forward to our next visit and plan to take some photos.

Our Two Favorite Ladies in New York

And Here's John

Time is Growing Short!

As January approaches we are trying to see our family as much as possible. All kids realize we will not be returning to the States until April 2010. Even then we will be returning to our retirement place on Oahu and not back to the old homestead in GA.

Here is a of snapshot with one of our daughters and her son. He is growing taller each time we see him.

And today is our youngest daughter's birthday. Took her out to dinner last night in Atlanta. She is 30! Don't even want to think how old that makes me feel. She is going to make one heck of a nurse. Dec 2008 is not that far away.

Our Daily Rides

Here we are at the entry of our local Greeneway bike path. It is 3.3 miles in (and slightly up hill) and 3.3 miles out. Have been doing the entire length now for the last three days after a total of 8 days of riding. By January we may be ready for the Tour de France! Ya Think? AND today is our 39th wedding anniversary. Love that man.

Biking 101

Our assignments in Thailand require the ability to ride a bike. June 1-3 miles daily. John 3-7 miles daily. We now each have a bike and a helmet. Yesterday we tried out our skill in a large parking lot. Today we went to a bike path in a local park. The bike path is good because it has been measured. To each of our suprise we rode 1.7 miles up a slow grade and 1.7 miles back down. Hooray for us! Don't be mistaken - it was work for me but not so much for John. We plan to do this daily for the next 4 1/2 months - until we leave. Please send positive thoughts our way! We need them.

Our Invitation Is On The Way!!!

Pinch us please! Don't know where we may be assigned as yet except just "Asia" but we are making progress. Now off to practice up on bike riding. Start off on flat hard surfaces and work up to off road dirt paths. Got the bikes, got the helmets gotta go and get started NOW!

Here We All Are - The NYC Contingency 9-1-07

ASIA - Hooray!

Received a call from our Africa Placement Officer. We are being assigned to a new Placement officer - the one for ASIA! During the call the officer indicated we should be leaving the U.S. on January 20th, 2008. All we know is a region of the world but not a specific country. We expect to receive additional information in the next few weeks. To borrow an expression from the young ones - Wooooo Hooooo.

Our time in NYC has drawn to an end. We fly back to Augusta, GA on 9/2. :>(
Having this month with Leah has been fun. She is now turning two years old and she qualifies for attending Day Care now. When we return from our assignment she will be pushing 5 - it will be interesting to see the changes. Our other "grands" will also have changed a lot. Life goes on.

The photo is of Leah and her Dad yesterday in the NYU Hospital Childrens' Garden. She loves the sandbox. A sculpture structure above the sandbox is made of mirrors that reflect the sunlight and throw rainbows in and around the sandbox. Fun!

Discovering The World - When you are 2 years old!

She loves to look through this box.  Each time she does it she seems surprised by what is on the other side.  Babysitting a little one at this age is such a delight.  New discoveries almost every minute.  Her name is Leah.

The Big Apple

Went out walking today.  There is a street fair on Broadway from 42nd street up to the high 60's.  Walking in the street fair for me was like a blood transfusion.  I did not realize how very much I missed the city.  Yeah I talked about it and dreamed about it while living other places but being back here is literally like receiving an infusion of life.  This city is the life's blood of many people - including me.  

There was a stage set up at Broadway and 50th by the EEO Coalition.  Rap music was playing and two kids were on the stage.  One was singing while the other was dancing.  They were great!  Then a street musician joined them.  He played the clarinet.  He also was really good.  The spontaneous response of total strangers to each other that results in a wonderful performance - a typical scene here in the city.  The girl dancing on the stage reminded me very much of our youngest - DeaSha.  Same moves.  Good stuff.

New York Adventure and PC Update 8-1-07

Well, we are in the Big Apple for two weeks babysitting a sweet 22 month old.  Lots of walking and visiting neighborhood parks.  It is great to be back home even if it is only for two weeks.  But as you would expect . . . you go on a trip and stuff you have been waiting for suddenly decides to happen.

We heard from the Peace Corps.  Our placement officer is back from vacation and she called to let us know we are not acceptable for placement in South Africa.  South Africa was one of our real hopes due to the great cardiac care they can offer if needed.  So . . . PC has decided we can potentially qualify/match only two programs in the "near" future.   The two programs are due for staging in March of '08 and the Fall of '08.  At this point Julie does not know if we will have a skill match -- that is IF the in-country medical director is willing to accept us in the first pace.  If we receive a March invitation it will fall on the 4th year anniversary of our application.

So we have some news but no real news.  Guess we will have to hope and look forward to March of 08.  Hope springs eternal!  We will see what comes to pass.

Dental Clearance - Again!

Dental clearance in the PC is only good for one year. Our dentals were issued in August 2006 so . . . We just completed a new round of exams and x-rays. Now we are currently medically (6/11/07) and dentally (7/07) cleared and awaiting an invitation.

As of 6/30/07 we have both retired. Whoopie! Still volunteering with TESL three nights a week. The students seem to come and go but we stay. This week we have had a number of countries represented in our classes: China, Korea, Thailand, Mexico, Costa Rica. Fun. The (salaried) teacher has quit so John and I are now on our own -- with no curriculum. It is getting interesting. We bought some books and are winging it according to the ability of each student.

I'm Back.

It has been a while. But . . . we were medically cleared for service on June 11th. Hooray!

Due to John's Pacemaker we are limited to potential countries of service. We hope that some country will accept us Pacemaker and all. We are both now retired (as of last week), our house is up for sale, the furniture is promised to various kids of ours as well as the car. Raring to go! Now just need a place to go.

Whoopie.

Girl Scout Cookie Time!

Am boxing up about 40 boxes of Girl Scout cookies tonight to send to our favorite 2nd Lt (and friends) in Iraq. Hopefully they will arrive without too much breakage. Many very kind people donated a box or several boxes.

Hope this little touch of home brings some smiles to some far away Cookie Monsters!

A Couple of New Photos

Some current snapshots. I hope to have a new one to post of my student nurse (youngest daughter) soon.

We continue to tutor three nights a week. The Sunday night group is strictly an exercise in conversation. I try to find a short but interesting article to read out loud to the group and then we talk about it. Last week's group was comprised of a Chinese couple, a Venezuelan lady, a Columbian lady and a Korean lady.

On Monday John had his regular Korean lady and I had a lady from Haiti. My student needed help to count American money. We played "store" for 2 hours. Her English is quite limited but I felt she really needed to work on survival skills first - like maybe grocery shopping!

Tutoring English as a Second Language

A really nice guy in the Placement Office at the PC headquarters suggested we may want to get involved with a TEFL program in our community. Called the local technical college and they seemed pleased that we wanted to be volunteer tutors.

We started last week and it was a great experience. I think we will both really enjoy tutoring. I worked with two ladies from Korea on the phonetic alphabet. They both have a good command of speaking English but now want to be able to read and write. John worked with a Korean lady who is further along in her writing of the English language. She had work sheets she had completed at home and John reviewed them and helped her with questions that came up.

Our medical deferral is up on May 7th. This is a special day for a number of reasons. It is John's birthday and it is the day one of our girls graduates from college. We are going to see the cardiologist soon after the 7th and she will "interrogate" John's Pacemaker so see how his body is doing in accepting and working with it. She will write a letter to the PC medical screening office with her conclusions and we will see if that helps us. Oh yeah, and we also need new lipid profile and BP checks on him. That should be a no-brainer. The man is healthy as a horse. Out playing golf today in 50 degree weather! Yeah, and he played yesterday too!

Pacemaker n Peace Corps!

Received word this week. John is on medical deferral for 6 months.
That takes us to May 7th, 2007. We were to go to staging in June '07.
Once/if he gets medical clearance then we will be on medical restriction
for countries we can be posted to - it is our understanding there are
three or four countries that can support cardiac monitoring. The
Pacemaker has to be checked once a year. In the interim we are to
rewrite our cross-cultural essay as well as our motivational essay.
Guess that is what has to come next. (Besides waiting)

The Package Is In The Mail!

Woo Hoo! Mailed off another 20 pages of medical forms and information this morning to the PC Office of Medical Services. Now, once again, it is waiting time. BUT, in the meantime we now each have a bicycle and will start a routine to build up stamina on riding. I never should have given up riding a bike when I was 8 years old. Its a little daunting to start again at 63. Did do it though and will continue. It is good cardio on top of going to the gym. If only it could also take some years off (Ha Ha). 8o)

Hello. This is me.

Functional Orthopaedic Evaluation

Got through this part of the medical information requirement today. What a relief! We both had to physically demonstrate our abilities to a physical therapist in the orthopaedic practice.

Good to know we can both lift 40 pounds, squat, lunge, ride a stationary bike, go over and under what looked like a bunch of limbo sticks. We can only hope that the rest of our documentation is found in favor by the PC and we can go to our assignment in June '07. We are trying hard not to get too stoked!

Grandkids

Got to show off the little ones at least a tiny bit.

The Medical Clearance Saga Continues

Medical clearance for the PC can be a long and patience-testing experience. But - God Bless the Medical Staff. They asked for more information shortly after Thanksgiving. First on the list was a follow up with our cardiologist. While in the office, hooked up to the EKG she observed a dangerously irregular heartbeat. We are now the proud owner of a Pacemaker! His heart could have just forgotten to beat at any time. No heart attack just no heart beat. The Peace Corps saved John's life.

We have a check up in early Jan with the cardiologist. She will write a letter as to John's medical needs and we will see if PC can use our skills. We have our fingers crossed.

I promised a regatta photo. Here is one of many. The boat represents Georgia State University.