Okinawa, Japan and then home

Phyllis and I parted ways in Narita Japan.  I detoured with a trip to Okinawa, Japan to visit Katelyn and Alex who are stationed at the Kadena Air Force Base.  I had a wonderful time with them and also going to see the places that I had been to almost 30 years ago as a young navy girl-wow-time flies :)

Amazing is the perfect word to describe my time in Thailand and Japan!  I feel so privileged and blessed to have been there and to have seen God at work in so many ways including my own heart.  It feels good to be home but part of me is still there with my students in Thailand and I look forward to keeping in touch with them all via e-mail.  

Damnoen Floating Market

On Saturday we spent the day with my morning students.  Blue organized the entire day with her dad and his friend driving us out into another southern province.  We left Bangkapi (our town) at 8:00 am and headed out to the Damnoen Saduak floating Market in Ratchaburi Province.  We arrived at 10:30.  It is a rural area and was so refreshing to be out where it was green and open after the crowds in the city.  In the past daily commerce in Thailand was mostly conducted along the rivers and canals.  Bangkok water network was busy and served as the principal means of communication causing Bangkok to be called the "Venice of the East" by early european visitors. Today the floating market is a "must see" destination.  Hundreds of boats crowd the market area paddled by women in awesome hats because the sun is hot!  We took a boat road through the vendors to savor the sights, smells and sounds.  It was an incredible experience.  If you have ever experienced a traffic jam in a vehicle, think about on a boat and we didn't have life jackets!  (Safety precautions are non existent here)