Now that Em and I are posting separately and boasting our living conditions, I guess I should submit something about my new home. Well, the new home (as in structure I sleep in) is not quite up to the contemporary luxuries of Em's. I live in a bamboo thatched bungalow consisting of an ~80 sq ft bedroom/living room which is attached by three stairs to my very own concrete bathroom w/traditional Thai toilet and western shower head. It is better than fine (maybe just wish I didn't get to see those granite counters in Em's place) and does boast a great covered deck with table and chairs made of tree stumps.

And my new home (as in every day living) is truly fantastic. I feel very lucky to step into an organization that receives well-deserved credit throughout the local communities. I have heard from more than one local how indebted they feel towards NATR for granting them renewed livelihoods. I look forward to contributing to our efforts to feel some of those rewards. Thus far I have been getting acquainted with where we came from, what we are doing today, and what we want to be doing in the future. I have also been looking into some marketing strategies for our community-based tourism (CBT) programs. Ya, look out, I know this role (marketing) may make everything I say from here on out seem suspect. We are hosting a large conference this Friday which has taken lots of our staff's time so I've been pretty independent. Looking forward to next week where I will begin to visit the villages and do some "voluntourism."

While the NATR crew shares a passion to work hard for our cause, we also share a passion to enjoy life. A day does not go by where I am not invited for some extra-curricular activity...whether going for a swim in the river, viewing the current Vegetarian Festival, playing Snooker, a quick trip to Phuket for a local friend's birthday party, a visit to a local family's home to celebrate the end of Ramadan, or one huge celebration for Gordy's (a current volunteer's) birthday.

This celebration began with most of the NATR staff leaving work for the beach. We made it there just in time to see a large red sun falling into the Andaman sea. A few of us went for a quick swim before joining the watermelon baseball game. No real outs here...swing the cricket paddle at half a watermelon and try to run around the bases without getting hit by one of the obliterated pieces of watermelon the opposing team is throwing at you. The crew then migrated towards the fire that Erik had created, had some beverages and ate chicken and roti. Before we left the beach, some of us went for another swim and enjoyed the most incredible phosphorescence experience of our lives. Some swimmers had never seen it before, and those of us who had definitely had never seen it that intense. Besides the bright illumination made in the water when moving around, there were shining particles left glimmering on arms and bodies for a few seconds after removed from the water. The party was then transported back to town to Jep's place where we helped setup an industrial size disco ball and then it was dance time.

As we are focussed on community empowerment, the majority of our staff is Thai and fortunately they also partake in all the fun, giving me a chance to learn the language. Sure enough, a word I've gotten pretty good at using is ting-tong (crazy).

Labels: Kuraburi, sustainable tourism, Thailand