A Weekend's Festivities

Last weekend was my friend Nadine's birthday. We threw a huge celebration at a beautiful pavilion, on a hill overlooking the river.

Nadine is my housemate, a 9-month volunteer English teacher from Germany. She's an awesome gal, and a good friend. The large and diverse group that gathered to celebrate attests to the community's appreciation of Nadine's terrific personality and dedication to work.

Amongst the locals alone, there were Thai, Burmese, Mon and Karen guests. Then there were international expats, tourists, and volunteers, which included Germans, a Belgian, a Filipino, Australians, Brits, Americans... Needless to say, it was a very multicultural evening.

Power outages, tonight, were a non-issue because we lit the pavilion with tapered candles. Guests brought food and drinks for a buffet spread on woven straw mats. There was music, karaoke, and dancing. And Nadine and I prepared a group-integrating game (because EVERYBODY loves these--note of sarcasm?).

It was a wonderful time!

Time is Winding Down...

This is a picture of the Mon Bridge here in Sangklaburi. It is famous for being Thailand's longest wooden bridge, and connects Thai side with Mon side, across the river.

This past week I've been quite ill. At first I thought it was Dengue Fever (which two other friends have contracted), but finally antibiotics seem to be doing the trick for me. Thank goodness.

I would LOVE IT if I were able to go back and fill in the gaps in my this blog with more on my trip. This may be the closest thing I have to a journal. With a quick look back, I see that there are activities worth remembering not even alluded to, not to mention that I have a total of 2 entries for the whole of my visit to Cambodia.

In less than one week, I'll be back in Colorado. Crazy, how time flies! I'm excited to see my family and friends. I'm not sad about leaving Asia yet, because I expect to return very soon...