Surat Thani from Nicole

As Kim said, we were so sad to leave our new friends and "family" in Chumporn; it's a smaller town with a very close-knit feeling. I can certainly understand why Maria (a former GSE team member from the west coast) has just moved to Thailand and why Chumporn is one of her favorite places on earth (it's the people)!

In Surat Thani, Eileen and I are staying in the home of a Past District Governor and it's very lovely. They have three very enthusiastic guard dogs at our house- Sugar, Honey and Jam. We were able to visit the local temple, and I enjoyed a peacful moment of reflection and positive intent. Yesterday we walked downtown and went through the Afternoon Market, and tonight we shopped for fruit at a night market.

The fruit here is amazing! Today we saw or ate pineapple, jackfruit, durian, rambutan, mangosteen, mango, papaya, saala(cca), green apples, rose apples, tangerines, oranges, grapes, coconut, bright orange coconut?, watermelon, pears, lemons/limes, strawberries-- and most of them before we even got to the fruit market. We were able to tour two suans or fruit gardens. The vegetables here are also delicious and varied and everyone enjoys Pad Pak Ruam, a veggie stirfry dish with a (relatively) light oyster sauce. We are really enjoying all the food, including the spicy and rich dishes, but Pad Pak Ruam and cow (the Thai word for white rice) makes a great staple that's healthy and easy on our stomachs.

We're looking forward to touring the local dam tomorrow, and spending more time with the rotarians and Youth Exchange participant Masha, who speaks great Thai.