Year two begins today. Its hard to believe that we have been in Thailand for 12 months already, but the calendar doesn't lie. As I look back on this last year, it has been what you would expect your first year to be......full of doing new things, trying new things, exploring new things, and generally just trying to learn the ropes. It was a good year. We saw Koh Phi Phi, Phuket, Bangkok, Korat, Koh Chang, Koh Samui, Surat Thani, and of course, Pattaya. We travelled by bus, car, motorbike, tuk tuk, airplane, song tow, mini van, bicycle, boat, kayak and foot. We learned the ways of our school, and got our feet wet with the many moving parts it has to offer. We taught guitar, piano, tutored, ran marathons, volunteered in sports events, sampled many ethnic foods and customs, and met many new friends along the way. Oh, and we also had family and friends come and visit us here as well. It has been a great first year.

As we look ahead to year two, we are filled with a desire to get a little deeper into this great country, and its vast need for people to help in certain areas. Jasmine and I are hoping to get our hands much more dirty than last year, and our school has many avenues to do it. We have connections to orphanges, elderly homes, school building projects, and organizations of all sorts to help the poor, crippled, diseased and dying. This was important to us when we got here, but the first year seemed to go by so quickly, and with such a learning curve, that we never really got started. I am hoping on this blog this year as well to introduce you to a number of the organizations that I previously mentioned so that you can, if you would so choose, go to their websites and see what they are all about.

Its going to be a great year. I can feel it!