It's been a while

So sorry for not posting in over 1 month.....I have had no motivation. It's like when you are at the end of a school semester and you are tired of studying and working hard and all you want is for things to end...that's how I feel. I even had 2 posts already saved as drafts since mid June. All I had to do was add some pictures and couldn't motivate myself to even do that! Pitiful, yes, I know, but it is the truth. But to make matters worse, I no longer have an operational computer. Initially I was using Doris' old one but it died in January, then I was using another old one and it died in June. I have an Ipod but that is most ideal for reading emails , etc not typing blog posts and long emails. Therefore, unless I end up on an actual computer, you still will not hear much from me, sorry.

Now I will fill you in on what I have been up to! On June 25th, a good friend of mine came to visit! We went to the south of Thailand where the beautiful beaches are. We visited an island called Koh Phi Phi. It was breathtaking!! However, it was also party central. We stayed away from the wild side of town but you could still hear the party going at times. We met some great people and had the opportunity to share the gospel with them. There were definitely some divine appointments! We were there for 5 days, which did not seem long enough to me and Doris. There were many things to do, but I could not be bothered to organize any excursions, which is very uncharacteristic of me. I was content to live in the water floating my life away :-) After that we headed back to Umphang where Carolyne got some much needed rest (she is a school teacher and flew out the day after classes ended). The fact that it now rains here all day every day helped keep up in the house. It's just not pleasant to go out in the rain. After 1 week here, we went to meet up with another friend of mine who came to visit. Doris stayed behind to host 2 volunteers that came from the States. She knows them through a mutual friend. Carolyne, Andre and I went to Chiang Mai. We did a bit of sight seeing. It was very hot there so it was tiring walking around during the day. The highlight of my time there was visiting a place called Tiger Kingdom and visiting an elephant farm. At Tiger Kingdom, you get to actually pet the tigers because you are in the cage with them. I got in the cage with 3 and 6 month old tigers, I loved it!! At the elephant farm, each person had their own elephant to take care of. We had to do a health check, feed, bathe and play with them! It was very informative. They really emphasized educating us about elephants. We learned how to mount them and rode on their neck....which was scary. I had a huge elephant and if I fell off it was going to be a big fall, so I tried my best to stay on. After that Carolyne left and Andre and I headed back to Umphang. While here we taught my English classes and hung out at the orphanage. The children's reaction to Andre was so funny! He is tall (6'1) and has a lot of hair on his arms and legs....Thais do not look like this! The men are mostly short and everyone here is hairless! They really like him. He stayed for a total of 3.5 weeks and left the other day.

Now the countdown begins. We fly out on August 26th! We might be leaving Umphang in 1.5 weeks. As expected there are mixed feelings associated with me leaving. Part of me wants to stay but then I really miss home and all of it's comforts. I will make a concerted effort to write you more about this.

Rainy season is in full swing! It has greatly cooled the temperature, I think on most days it's only in the upper 70's. I rarely see the sun anymore and I miss it. I no longer have the option of not going out because of the rain since it's always raining. I have rain boots, a poncho and a helmet..they keep me fairly dry. The rainy season has brought along a nasty friend.....mold! Our house has been invaded and I am not exaggerating. I have been having bad headaches for about a week and I knew it had to be the mold. I cleaned out my room yesterday and there was mold on so many things! Books, shoes, bags, clothes, luggage, dried flowers..you name it, it had mold on it. I can't even sleep on my pillow due to the smell. Some stuff I threw out and some stuff I am trying to salvage. Vinegar is my new best friend. We are trying to keep the house well ventilated now. We will not keep anything in our rooms anymore, so most of our stuff is in the living room where there is better air circulation.

I will post those other 2 drafts that I have saved in the next couple of days. I hope that you are all enjoying your summer.