OceanicThai

Gliding Gecko Originally uploaded by oceanicthai We found these amazing creatures in our open-air (kind of) bathrooms. It really glides from tree to tree using its aerodynamic skin flaps all along its tail, body, and webbed feet. Beautiful!

Sweet Moment of Love on Ra Island Originally uploaded by oceanicthai Brotherly-sisterly love, and it delights & warms our hearts to have children that love each other so much.

Super-giant jellyfish, big spiky pufferfish, a poisonous sea-snake...wow! We saw all these wild things our first day at the nearly deserted (except for us and a few cabin caretakers) Island of Ra. We stayed 2 nights and 3 days; mainly to get our Thai co-workers out of their working environment for a bit and do a simple debrief of the past 10 months of working here in the South. We played together, ate together, and fished together. By the end of our time we were all dirty, smelly and all our clothes were damp and stinky. They say the family that camps together stays together...so maybe the team that camps together stays together too! It was a good time and we feel closer to each other. Our western co-worker Dean and his interns went, too. Dean made us a yummy breakfast. It was hilarious to watch Trevor and Kory, the interns, have fun. It has also been a blessing to watch them bond with our Thai co-workers, and start using some of the Thai Ning has been teaching them! We also ...

Another tsunami alarm that was later recinded here...makes everyone a little nervous. "A magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra early Thursday. The quake 135 kilometres west of Bengkulu on the coast of Indonesia's island of Sumatra occurred around 4 am (2100 GMT), the US Geological Society in Washington said. The Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a "very small possibility of a destructive local tsunami." The US Geological Service said the quake was in the same area as an 8.4 undersea earthquake last month. "Since the September 12th earthquake, this section of the subduction zone has remained very active, producing more than 8 events greater than magnitude 6.0," the USGS said. The service said today's quake occurred at 4:02 Thailand time (the same as Indonesia time) only 135km (85 miles) west of the Sumatran town of Bengkulu, or about 675km northwest of Jakarta."

I felt it before I heard it, and I never saw it. I was trimming plants in our garden, felt the sting and heard the buzz. You wouldn't believe the size of the wasps and hornets here. I have a potato-sized red splotch where it stung me, and I thought for sure it was the same kind of horrid thing that stung our puppy. When I showed it to our Thai partner, Tanom , he laughed at me and told me there was no way it was a wasp. "It's too little! If it were one of those big wasps you would be in a lot more pain, and it would be huge!" I just kind of stared at him. Then I thought about our puppy, and how his entire leg was swollen, and the sting site turned into a big infected pus-filled crater. Hmmm ....mine just itches a lot and feels swollen. After that I went out into the garden to do a little more trimming. When I went to put the tools away I felt a little stingy thing on my hand. I looked down and there was a miniature worm on me. I yelped and scraped it off m...

It has been many months of hard and stressful works for our Thai partners, and as we approach a year's time together we have decided to take them on a retreat to take a breather and debrief. I've written up a simple schedule with some debriefing points to ponder and discuss. The park we planned on going to is closed because of an accident that left 7 dead. We weren't really sure where we were going to stay, but our partner Dean, providentially, found a wonderful little island getaway with bungalows. We will be the only ones there and for the 12 of us, it will be an amazingly low price. We will bring all our own food and drinking water, though. There are no stores there, and no restaurants. Should be an adventure, we will be there by ourselves except for 2 workers. If we need a boat to leave, we'll have to call for one. Wow! Last night we did a bunch of shopping, today our partners will finish it. Tomorrow we will park at the dock and take boat rides in on little...

Possessed Blessing Originally uploaded by oceanicthai The possessed bless people and pose for pictures.

Possessed and skewered Originally uploaded by oceanicthai One of the thousands of participants in the Vegetarian Festival here in Southern Thailand.

click title above to go to site Phuket Vegetarian Festival : 11 - 19 October 2007 The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song". The afternoon before the festival begins, a great pole at each temple is raised, called the Go Teng pole, with which the gods are invited to descend. At midnight the pole is hung with nine lanterns, signalizing the opening of the fest. Two important gods are al...

Nam Kem christmas party 101 Originally uploaded by oceanicthai

Poppy and Gai getting baptized 012 Originally uploaded by oceanicthai This was right after Gee's baptism. She's on the right, with the little bun in her hair. After this she went out to play in the water with Poppy. Gee turned 26 a few weeks ago. She has 3 children, the youngest is 2 and she was pregnant with him when she ran from the tsunami. Her oldest is 8, she has 2 boys and 1 girl. She is Southern Thai, born & raised in a neighboring province.

Poppy and Gai getting baptized 013 Originally uploaded by oceanicthai Happy Day! It was a very special day for us as a family to see Poppy be baptised...and it was a gorgeous day on the Andaman Sea, too.

Poppy and Gai getting baptized 002 Originally uploaded by oceanicthai They were baptised the same day across the street from our house at the ocean. It was such a happy moment for me, to see my beloved daughter make this step of obedience. It was a joy, too, to see Gee get baptised, too, in a sense my spiritual daughter.

Love it when it rains here, it means cooler weather. I went biking this morning at 6:30a.m.-I should feel proud of myself but I just feel kind of groggy & caffeine starved. My trusty poodle Froot Loop is on my lap, and it's time to get ready for another day of life in Thailand homeschooling my kids. Ahhh...I smell coffee