Pizza, Absent Friends and the Slums – Part II
15.05.2010
Shakespeare wrote, “The friends thou hast and their attention tried, grapple them to your soul with hoops of steel.” John O’Donohue said of this, “…a friend is incredibly precious. A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.”
I am blessed to have many friends who can be classified this way. Two of them departed my company today to make their way to Bangkok for a well deserved break and ultimately back home to Colorado.
Last night, Pam and Ashley brought a little bit of Italy to the kids of the CPDC. For our last night together with the kids, they brought in lots and lots of pizza for the kids to enjoy. Pizza like we are used to back home is somewhat rare in these parts. But they managed to find a place that does it really well and the kids enjoyed several slices of pizza along with an American-style salad. Dessert consisted of ice cream (not easy to keep cold here) and a little treat I picked up at a local street market, an interesting fruit called a Mangostene. Ashley told me about these rare little fruit gems and I bought some at the market to share with the kids. They are Ashley’s favorite fruit and I can see why. A strange looking little item, cracking open the outer shell reveals a small white bundle of fruit that melts in your mouth. I can’t describe the taste because it is truly singular. Fantastic! They got eaten up pretty quickly and I enjoyed a couple myself. Found only in Thailand and perhaps some areas close by, they grow only in April and May. A real treat.
After the big meal, Pam and Ashley handed out their customary gifts to the kids and teachers and a good time was had by all. Lots of smiles on the kids’ faces at simple gifts to call their own, offered by people who love them unconditionally. So they clearly got greater gifts than the goodie bags could contain and they knew it. As with all departures, this one was filled with the sweet sorrow Shakespeare also writes about. To be moved to such emotion by the impending separation is a gift as well. The cool night air and the ocean born breeze graced the last few moments of the evening to send everyone on their way to close this chapter of this adventure and prepare us for the next one.
I am returning to the CPDC today to get some last few pictures and say my goodbyes to the kids as well. Never an easy task for me as anyone who knows me will know. But I will return in June and I look forward to the smiles, hugs and laughter that each parting we endure now prepares for us all in the future.
I have many people to thank and will do so in my next blog entry. But a special thanks is due to Pam and Ashley. I couldn’t have done this trip without their support and generosity. I gave it my all while I was here and to have two friends who impressed to me their need of my being here was very valuable to me.
Pam and Ashley, thank you.
I also promised an update from our return trip to the slum a couple of days ago. Things have been so busy and pictures and such take a lot of time to process, edit, work-up, etc. So my apologies for taking a little longer to get to that.
The return trip was successful in that the kids and a few adults that needed flip-flops we couldn’t get to the day before were taken care of this time around. Lots of gratitude from the kids and the adults who have something to cover their feet. There were still more people that we didn’t get to. Most were people who we hadn’t seen before and we will have to address that on our next visit.
Pam took a few moments to spend some time with the bedridden woman in the slums I photographed her with before. Pam gave her a gift of a beautiful blue silk blanket. A gift of protection, a blanket says a lot. One of shimmering silk is especially nice. While not necessary at the moment to keep out any cold, it does offer other protection. In practicality, it will help shield her from the almost plague quantities of flies that burden Thailand this time of year. They are prolific and ubiquitous in general but even worse in areas like the slums. In spirit, the blue silk will serve as an adornment to hope to let her know that someone out there is thinking of her and cares for her.
We have had so many long days, Pam, Ashley and I have had so little time to actually talk about business or personal time with each other. This trip went so fast and although the work has been difficult, exhausting, sometimes a little discouraging and seemingly perpetual, it has been gratifying and fulfilling. My friends depart after a time spent here of service and calling. To see two souls in this realm has been a joy and to show you their experiences and time here has been an honor.
I wish Pam and Ashley safe travels, to return refreshed and awakened more by the gifts their time here has given them.
I will post more over the next day or so as time and circumstances allow. However, please know that just because we are not in Thailand in the weeks to come doesn’t mean the end of the blog entries until we return. I have SO much material and history of the trip to recount that I haven’t even had time to mention, I will certainly be posting more in the weeks to come as though I were still here.
Take care and drop me a line with any questions you have. I would be happy to address anything anyone wants to know about.
Namaste’
it looks very nice of P’Pam and P’Ashley
but sad when they back to U.S.A.
I love Pizza…
My heart is filled with joy, knowing the love you all give to these beautiful people. Thank you and blessings to you all.
Thank you for your blessing of kind words and encouragement. It is greatly appreciated and we are delighted you are following along with us. Take care.
When I come back in June, I will take you out for Pizza. Or some to the U.S. and we will get you some pizza here! 🙂 Thanks so much for your friendship, help and work for us and for the kids at the CPDC. I love my CPDC shirt and I am grateful for such a kind gift. See you in a month!
Thank you so much Matt, for your images that move me. Hope to meet you someday and share time in Thailand. Much love