I just wanted to let you know that we're back home, safe and sound! :) We arrived this afternoon off a flight from Tokyo. Thank you to Uncle Ernie and Karmen for the ride back! We're all jetlagged and stuff, so the house is in a strange state right now... but we'll talk to you soon!
Jacqueline
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Our last day here
Sa wat dee ka!
I feel prompted to note that I've been making several spelling mistakes on Thai names... so please excuse that! I also forgot to include our new friend, Bank. We'll tell you more about him when we're there in person, but this guy is awesome! He's 18 years old, a Christian, and a member of the Life Center church. For the past several months, he's been teaching the boys at the orphanage how to break dance..... for free! He's never asked for anything. He has spent a few hours every week with the boys, and even us newcomers could easily tell how much he means to those boys. He's like a best friend and big brother to them. He also taught himself how to break dance from watching it on tv! A cool guy.
We've just checked out of our hotel in Phuket and have a few hours to kill until we start the long trip home. We rented a van for the day to go see a few things around here and do some shopping before we have to be at the airport.
I'm guessing this will be the last blog written from here in Thailand. How bittersweet. We have met so many wonderful people and seen such beautiful things here. But personally, I miss home so much. It's made me realize so much more many of the things I take for granted there. I know this trip is significant for us all, and we will come back with so many new things: souvenirs, pictures, memories, new friends and many lessons learned.
Jacqueline
I feel prompted to note that I've been making several spelling mistakes on Thai names... so please excuse that! I also forgot to include our new friend, Bank. We'll tell you more about him when we're there in person, but this guy is awesome! He's 18 years old, a Christian, and a member of the Life Center church. For the past several months, he's been teaching the boys at the orphanage how to break dance..... for free! He's never asked for anything. He has spent a few hours every week with the boys, and even us newcomers could easily tell how much he means to those boys. He's like a best friend and big brother to them. He also taught himself how to break dance from watching it on tv! A cool guy.
We've just checked out of our hotel in Phuket and have a few hours to kill until we start the long trip home. We rented a van for the day to go see a few things around here and do some shopping before we have to be at the airport.
I'm guessing this will be the last blog written from here in Thailand. How bittersweet. We have met so many wonderful people and seen such beautiful things here. But personally, I miss home so much. It's made me realize so much more many of the things I take for granted there. I know this trip is significant for us all, and we will come back with so many new things: souvenirs, pictures, memories, new friends and many lessons learned.
Jacqueline
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
in Phuket
Hi, friends and family!
You are missed! But 4 days, and we get back home. We're now on the Thai island of Phuket (pronounced as if there was no "h".... like Puket). Maybe I'll write about this place later, though. We have so much to share about Chonburi..... I can't even begin to tell you half of it now. Maybe you can join us when we get back home for some photo sharing and story telling :)
We miss Chonburi, the Life Center church, and the people SO much. (We don't think or talk about it too much, to avoid crying spurts). We met so many wonderful people that we quickly have come to love.... the Sanchez family and the other families of Team 2000, Ganiga, Apilak and all the other kids in the 2 orphanages (including the 3 girls: Noon, Oil, and Deon), Elaina and family, Damm and Si, Wow.... and many others. We have all grown pretty attached to many of these people. One of the week's highlights, for me (Jacqueline) was attending the church service and activities on the Sunday. Everyone was so open and welcoming and smiling. I had a great time upstairs with the kids during their Sunday School time. I absolutely loved the family feel of the church. Everyone was super friendly, and it truly felt like we were all connected. Everbody's kids were sitting on random other's laps, and everyone treated everyone else like brothers and sisters. I hope to feel the same way at my home church, Bakerview. I have felt it more and more over the years, and I hope to grow even closer to the congregation in the time ahead.
I have so many pictures to post and I can hardly wait to get home to edit and post them all. I'll update you later on that end.
Down side of current vacation: we are all horribly sun burned.... I stupidly thought yesterday (while out in the burning sun for hours) that since I hadn't gotten a tinge of any apparent sun-caused-color on the entire trip thus far without wearing ANY sunscreen, that I didn't need it then!!! Bad idea. I am in SO much pain! I look humorously white and red... with plenty obvious white markings of where my swimsuit and clothes were. But almost every movement hurts! Ouch!
Today we visited several islands around Phuket. They are GORGEOUS. One of the main beaches we stopped at was featured in the Leonardo diCaprio movie, "The Beach" (which I now really want to see because of that). I'll show you some pictures laters - the water and the jutting islands are INCREDIBLE. I'm really in awe and wonder of God's diverse and rich creations. He is amazing! Praise the Lord!
Signing off for now,
Jacqueline
You are missed! But 4 days, and we get back home. We're now on the Thai island of Phuket (pronounced as if there was no "h".... like Puket). Maybe I'll write about this place later, though. We have so much to share about Chonburi..... I can't even begin to tell you half of it now. Maybe you can join us when we get back home for some photo sharing and story telling :)
We miss Chonburi, the Life Center church, and the people SO much. (We don't think or talk about it too much, to avoid crying spurts). We met so many wonderful people that we quickly have come to love.... the Sanchez family and the other families of Team 2000, Ganiga, Apilak and all the other kids in the 2 orphanages (including the 3 girls: Noon, Oil, and Deon), Elaina and family, Damm and Si, Wow.... and many others. We have all grown pretty attached to many of these people. One of the week's highlights, for me (Jacqueline) was attending the church service and activities on the Sunday. Everyone was so open and welcoming and smiling. I had a great time upstairs with the kids during their Sunday School time. I absolutely loved the family feel of the church. Everyone was super friendly, and it truly felt like we were all connected. Everbody's kids were sitting on random other's laps, and everyone treated everyone else like brothers and sisters. I hope to feel the same way at my home church, Bakerview. I have felt it more and more over the years, and I hope to grow even closer to the congregation in the time ahead.
I have so many pictures to post and I can hardly wait to get home to edit and post them all. I'll update you later on that end.
Down side of current vacation: we are all horribly sun burned.... I stupidly thought yesterday (while out in the burning sun for hours) that since I hadn't gotten a tinge of any apparent sun-caused-color on the entire trip thus far without wearing ANY sunscreen, that I didn't need it then!!! Bad idea. I am in SO much pain! I look humorously white and red... with plenty obvious white markings of where my swimsuit and clothes were. But almost every movement hurts! Ouch!
Today we visited several islands around Phuket. They are GORGEOUS. One of the main beaches we stopped at was featured in the Leonardo diCaprio movie, "The Beach" (which I now really want to see because of that). I'll show you some pictures laters - the water and the jutting islands are INCREDIBLE. I'm really in awe and wonder of God's diverse and rich creations. He is amazing! Praise the Lord!
Signing off for now,
Jacqueline
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Sang Baen, Chonburi
Sorry it's been so long since we've posted. And when I say "we" - it turns out to be only ME again.... why am I the only one posting!!!
We are now in Chonburi, Thailand. This is our main stop for the trip. To be more accurate, we're in the Sang Baen suburb of Chonburi. This is where Team 2000 has set up their mission base. They currently have running a church (The Life Centre), and 2 orphanages: one for boys, and one just started up for girls. The church, we found out, is wonderfully situated on a really main road in the area! (Great location!) We met another local group out here to visit - Trek... of which some of the members are familiar. (For those of you that go to Bakerview, Nicole Horch is one of these members!)
I (Jacqueline) haven't been able to take part in all the activities here so far, but am looking forward to spending some time with the girls at the orphanage this afternoon/evening. The other day my family looked after the Sanchez and the Owen kids while their parents had a meeting (The missionary families include the Sanchez's, the Owens and the Sinclair-Peters). It was really fun! We spent the time at a swimming pool - the kids swam a bit, had ice cream, and we made some bead bracelets, too. I still think it is EXTREMELY hot here. Apparently, after a while here, your body can get adjusted to the climate, but I think I'd need an extra long time here for that to happen with me. The missionary kids seem to do just fine in the heat, though! Oh yeah! Another kid also there was a new member... an adorable Thai baby boy who has recently come into their care. He's so cute! He spent some time in the water, and then later fell asleep on my dad. It was a great time, overall.
Our time back in Chiang Mai was fun - it was quite sad to have it come to an end. We are very grateful for the help of a wonderful lady there (the manager of the guest house we stayed at), named Dang. She was so great! I had a massively large and infected foot from some nasty insect bite that swelled up when we got to Chiang Mai. (So for those of you at home complaining about pesky little mosquito bites.... hah!) (Oh, I've got pictures, btw, for those who are interested). Anyway, she was so helpful! She got some creams to put on it for me, wrapped it up with bandages, and even took us personally to a skin doctor!! She also arranged lots of our taxi rides in the area, and told us lots of helpful information that we naive tourists had no clue about! We were so much better off with her help! Thank you, Dang! (Her whole first name is something like "Tassannee" which means "red").
Thanks to all of you who are keeping us in your thoughts and prayers - we really appreciate it! We're here in Bang Saen for a few more days, and then it's off to Phuket. We booked some plane tickets to get there, because we REALLY do not like the overnight train rides. Ew ew ew. I'm looking forward to some beach time. The Phuket area is said to be GORGEOUS, so I'm REALLY looking forward to it.
Missing you at home very much!! And Lori, I miss you and the daycare so much! I can't wait to come back to work!!
Jacqueline
We are now in Chonburi, Thailand. This is our main stop for the trip. To be more accurate, we're in the Sang Baen suburb of Chonburi. This is where Team 2000 has set up their mission base. They currently have running a church (The Life Centre), and 2 orphanages: one for boys, and one just started up for girls. The church, we found out, is wonderfully situated on a really main road in the area! (Great location!) We met another local group out here to visit - Trek... of which some of the members are familiar. (For those of you that go to Bakerview, Nicole Horch is one of these members!)
I (Jacqueline) haven't been able to take part in all the activities here so far, but am looking forward to spending some time with the girls at the orphanage this afternoon/evening. The other day my family looked after the Sanchez and the Owen kids while their parents had a meeting (The missionary families include the Sanchez's, the Owens and the Sinclair-Peters). It was really fun! We spent the time at a swimming pool - the kids swam a bit, had ice cream, and we made some bead bracelets, too. I still think it is EXTREMELY hot here. Apparently, after a while here, your body can get adjusted to the climate, but I think I'd need an extra long time here for that to happen with me. The missionary kids seem to do just fine in the heat, though! Oh yeah! Another kid also there was a new member... an adorable Thai baby boy who has recently come into their care. He's so cute! He spent some time in the water, and then later fell asleep on my dad. It was a great time, overall.
Our time back in Chiang Mai was fun - it was quite sad to have it come to an end. We are very grateful for the help of a wonderful lady there (the manager of the guest house we stayed at), named Dang. She was so great! I had a massively large and infected foot from some nasty insect bite that swelled up when we got to Chiang Mai. (So for those of you at home complaining about pesky little mosquito bites.... hah!) (Oh, I've got pictures, btw, for those who are interested). Anyway, she was so helpful! She got some creams to put on it for me, wrapped it up with bandages, and even took us personally to a skin doctor!! She also arranged lots of our taxi rides in the area, and told us lots of helpful information that we naive tourists had no clue about! We were so much better off with her help! Thank you, Dang! (Her whole first name is something like "Tassannee" which means "red").
Thanks to all of you who are keeping us in your thoughts and prayers - we really appreciate it! We're here in Bang Saen for a few more days, and then it's off to Phuket. We booked some plane tickets to get there, because we REALLY do not like the overnight train rides. Ew ew ew. I'm looking forward to some beach time. The Phuket area is said to be GORGEOUS, so I'm REALLY looking forward to it.
Missing you at home very much!! And Lori, I miss you and the daycare so much! I can't wait to come back to work!!
Jacqueline
Thursday, July 5, 2007
I don't know why I'm the only Quiring adding blog updates here, but apparently I am! (The rest of the family is lazy...... I AM joking, mom...) Anyway, we're in Chiang Mai right now (northern Thailand). We arrived this morning on an overnight train. Ew. The bathrooms were holes in the floor to the passing train tracks. Gross. But on a lighter note, I thought I'd try and post some travel pictures.... let's see..... (15 minutes later).... okay, so this is difficult not doing it on the computer I'm used to... I think I'll only be able to get one photo up right now. This particular shot was taken at some ruins in Ayuthaya (not sure about spelling) we visited 2 days ago. We took this awesome boat ride around the area canal and stopped off at some places along the way, this being one of them. It was one of the most amazing places I have EVER seen. This structure was square or rectangular and housed TONS of buddha statues like these. It was incredible to see.
I had hoped to write and post up more pictures, but I'm running out of computer time here.
Until next time!
Jacqueline
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Arrival
We made it! It's HOT here! The air was so noticeably humid as soon as we stepped off the plane in Bangkok. I must say that I'm not loving the heat at this point! But at least we're here safe and sound. The plane rides were horribly long - we were in the air for about 18 - 19 hours total.
For those of you that may not have heard, the van that we were supposed to drive to the airport on Friday morning, broke down the night before. Yes, panic ensued. We are grateful to my grandparents and great aunt for getting us to the airport as our emergency option. Things are still trying to be arranged for us to get home when we arrive back on July 22. If anyone has any ideas, please email me (Jacqueline) at faith_and_promise@hotmail.com. We earlier wrote that you could write to Maryanne at her shaw account, but last night I realized that she can't access that account from here... so nevermind that!
The rest of the family is out by the pool, maybe I'll go join them.
But first, I'll give you my first thoughts on Thailand:
- the humid, hot air that I already mentioned
- the crazy driving! The roads are in opposite order to ours (like the British, as well), so we found it very strange driving down the LEFT side, instead of the RIGHT. Our taxi van drove VERY fast (and seemingly crazily to us). The traffic lanes and intersections seem so weird, and the vehicles travelling on it seem quite strange, too. You see a lot of motorbikes... not Harleys, though.... all those sport types of bikes. Some of the riders are only in sandals!
- The street scenes.... mind you, I've only seen them during the night at this point, but there are still people milling about! There are a lot of dogs, too, and lots of food vendors. They are alive with movement. The buildings are a mish mash of age and quality. There are tall, fancy towers next to tiny little rundown shacks. You can never tell what you'll see next.
Ok, time to go. Hope you're all doing well at home. Today is a "taking it easy" day. (I spent most of the afternoon so far trying to get some sleep). Tomorrow we will probably to a palace tour and hopefully get to see the Floating Market.
Jacqueline
For those of you that may not have heard, the van that we were supposed to drive to the airport on Friday morning, broke down the night before. Yes, panic ensued. We are grateful to my grandparents and great aunt for getting us to the airport as our emergency option. Things are still trying to be arranged for us to get home when we arrive back on July 22. If anyone has any ideas, please email me (Jacqueline) at faith_and_promise@hotmail.com. We earlier wrote that you could write to Maryanne at her shaw account, but last night I realized that she can't access that account from here... so nevermind that!
The rest of the family is out by the pool, maybe I'll go join them.
But first, I'll give you my first thoughts on Thailand:
- the humid, hot air that I already mentioned
- the crazy driving! The roads are in opposite order to ours (like the British, as well), so we found it very strange driving down the LEFT side, instead of the RIGHT. Our taxi van drove VERY fast (and seemingly crazily to us). The traffic lanes and intersections seem so weird, and the vehicles travelling on it seem quite strange, too. You see a lot of motorbikes... not Harleys, though.... all those sport types of bikes. Some of the riders are only in sandals!
- The street scenes.... mind you, I've only seen them during the night at this point, but there are still people milling about! There are a lot of dogs, too, and lots of food vendors. They are alive with movement. The buildings are a mish mash of age and quality. There are tall, fancy towers next to tiny little rundown shacks. You can never tell what you'll see next.
Ok, time to go. Hope you're all doing well at home. Today is a "taking it easy" day. (I spent most of the afternoon so far trying to get some sleep). Tomorrow we will probably to a palace tour and hopefully get to see the Floating Market.
Jacqueline
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Contact Information
We'd love to hear from you while we're away, or before we leave, or after we get back!!! If you have a blogging account, you can leave a comment here. If not, please feel free to send us an email!
Maryanne's email: mquiring@shaw.ca
Jacqueline's email: faith_and_promise@hotmail.com
Maryanne's email: mquiring@shaw.ca
Jacqueline's email: faith_and_promise@hotmail.com
launch of the Quiring blog
With the countdown to Thailand at 5 days remaining, it is time to launch the Quiring blog! From here, we will hopefully be able to add occasional updates (blogs and photos) during our Thailand trip (June 29-July 22, 2007). After that? Well, we'll just have to see!
Welcome Quiring family, to the 21st Century Communication World!
Welcome Quiring family, to the 21st Century Communication World!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)