Jun 19, 2007

Trip to Thailand

Shauna and I had the opportunity to attend an agricultural conference in Thailand. We were able to catch up with some of our friends from ECHO. (The organization we did our internship with in Florida.) It was a good time to learn how to set up community farmer groups, work with small scale farmers and learn about some appropriate technologies. We also got to experience a little bit of the west. Paved roads with only a few potholes, McDonalds, BurgerKing, Starbucks, and Shauna's favorite ... Malls! We were also able to get to know another American family who lives in Thailand a little better, and experience Chang Mai with them.
It was interesting seeing the Thai people and culture but it didn't take us long to miss the Mongolian people and the culture we are learning to love here. It was nice to use our VISA card at restaurants, eat highly processed beef patties, and wear shorts all day but it is good to be home where the evenings are cool and we understand some of the language. It was interesting seeing the faces of the ticket counter workers when they noticed we had no return ticket from Mongolia back to the USA. One asked how long we were staying in Mongolia then kept repeating to herself, "They live in Mongolia" until if finally sunk in.
Thailand is a great place to visit but Mongolia is a great place to live :-)

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