Joanne get's the credit. In 1961-62 I was in Asia, courtesy of the Marines. It wasn't until Lisa moved to Cambodia in 1994 and Lars and I went to visit her that I got hooked on SE Asia. Travelling back to, and around, SE Asia several times Joanne finally said "If you're going to go there regularly, do something worthwhile." Taking that challenge to heart I began teaching in Thailand.
For thirteen years I taught in Thailand, twelve in the same school. For eleven of those years I lived with the same Thai family. That teaching was interrupted by COVID. In 2020 I came home two weeks early, the end of February, becasue of it, and haven't been back. Initially Thailand had very little COVID but now they are experiencing a huge wave of infections and deaths.
It is most unlikely that I will go next year. That raises the distinct possibility that I may never get back. There are multiple layers of grief in this reality. There is the grief of separation from many persons with whom I'd formed relationships over the years. I miss the school; teachers and students, the family with whom I stayed.. The Christian Guesthouse in Bangkok where I often stayed had become a home away from home. Confronting the reality that I might never return makes me sad.
The thought that I may not return also reminds me of how fortunate I am to have been able to travel and teach there for so long. The learnings and insights, the experiences of kindnesses are blessings I savor. Every years as I sat in the Mpls airport waiting to board my plane I though "Wow I can't believe that I'm going again!" Yes, I'm blessed and grateful.
Takk for alt,
Al
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