First, on Wednesday we saw the Water Puppets at Than Long Theather. In the introduction to the performance, they announced that the troupe had performed in Spain, France, Germany, and the United States. Maria turned to Mark and said, "How do they know where we have already gone?" As always, it's all about her!
A few minutes ago, we were looking for a quick snack before mass. We have a plate of fresh fruit here in our hotel room. I tried the longans for the first time and told the girls, "You should taste these. This is something we would never be able to eat back home." Maria pointed to the basket of M&M's, Pringles, potato chips, and Oreos. "We should eat that. You'd never let us eat that back home either."Saturday, March 3, 2012
From Hanoi- a few quick Maria comments
Sunday, February 26, 2012
A Thai Education
Yesterday, I was walking through the Wat right behind our apartment. I saw a wealthy couple who had a private guide. He was telling them the history of the place and explaining some of the Wat's elements. I wished I was able to listen into the conversation- it's a pity that we've been here 2 months and don't understand a lot about the building we see from our balcony and walk through every day.
We may not have learned about the history or the architecture of the Wat but we have learned how the trees change with the season. We have learned that when the monks chant late at night there is a funeral. When the tables go up in the front selling all sorts of stuff, we know to expect the bus loads of Thai tourists. We have learned which dogs are lazy and ignore you as you make your way across the grounds. And, we have learned which dog to avoid because he is mean and likes to pick fights with the other dogs and with people. Maybe the guide and the couple could have learned something from me too before the dog started to growl at them. Such is the benefit of local knowledge!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Shoes
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Just a little more about Sarnelli House...
All of those living at Sarnelli House have not had an easy life so far. There are many who have been relinquished by their parents because of drug use, poverty, or abuse. Six of the girls have been raped. I'm sure that all of the children must have psychological as well as physical needs that would overwhelm most adults. Yet, what is remarkable is that this is a place of hope! We were surprised at how matter of fact Father Mike talked about all of this with us. But, it was also a sign of his ability to look past these horrors and focus on the future of the kids!
While there, I recalled the story in the bible of the blind man. The crowd asks Jesus if he is blind because of his sins or the sins of his parents. Jesus doesn't answer them and instead heals the man. He addresses the need and goes to the core of the person's suffering and anguish. With a disease like AIDS, it is easy to ask if the sins of the parents or perhaps (but not likely) the child is to blame. Sarnelli House echoes Jesus with an attitude of love and healing. It's not about the disease, the sin, the evil. It's about the human and about the love that God has for all of us.
If you'd like to learn more about the Sarnelli House and Father Mike Shea's work, here is their website: http://sarnelliorphanage.jigsy.com/
Dtong
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Mass with Bishop Phimphisan
Saturday, February 11, 2012
After 6 Weeks in Thailand- Culture Shock!

A truck loaded with cows.
Yesterday we flew from Chiang Mai Thailand to Udon Thani and Nong Khai. Chiang Mai is in the northern part of Thailand and is the 2nd largest city in Thailand after Bangkok. Nong Khai is in the eastern part of the country- across the MeKong River from Laos and is really, really not on the tourist circuit. We have come here to visit the Sarnelli House which is run by an American Redemptorist priest.
Father Mike Shea has been a missionary priest in Thailand for 46 years. Twelve years ago he was approaching retirement and was asked to go to Bangkok to retire in a parish there. Instead, he asked for permission to open up an orphanage to care for the children left behind by AIDS. Now, the Sarnelli House has grown to include 165 kids. Most of the children have not been affected by the disease. Some have been made orphans through poverty, others sold by their parents, or abused. Not only do they care for these children, they see that they are provided for through college or vocational training. Currently, they have been purchasing land and working it to become more self sufficient in their food.
We have known about the Sarnelli House for over 5 years and have been able to support a girl by the name of Dtong. It has been exciting after 5 years of receiving her letters, photos and hand drawn pictures to finally see her face to face. But first- let's get back to yesterday's culture shock.

Even the tuk tuks look different here- this one is a motorcycle with a trailer hitched to it.
We arrived early in the morning and were instantly noticing the heat, the lack of Western faces, and the more rural surroundings. Also, there was no English on signs and very few here seem to speak English. (Very different from Chiang Mai.)
We needed to cross the border into Laos due to some interesting Thai visa laws. We enjoyed all 2.5 minutes we saw of the country. Then it was off to find lunch here. After 5 trips to Asia, 5 weeks in Hanoi, and 6 weeks in Thailand so far, Mark and I were just amazed at the amount of culture shock we were feeling. We have struggled to find food that he and I would eat here, and have thoroughly struggled through the language gaps. The most "Western" food we have seen on a menu was American fried rice. Yesterday, we were asking some tuk-tuk if there was a good Thai restaurant in town. We were told, "Thai food, we no have." Now it makes sense, as the food here in Issan Thailand is very different from the rest of the country.
It is interesting going through this culture shock as a parent also. It's hard to know that we are setting the tone for the kids experience, and also to figure out how to make this all easy on them. Mark did a great job yesterday of hiding the fact that a huge spider was crawling by his feet while he was taking a shower. (So we changed hotels at 7pm to the hotel that costs more than $20/night.) We are now the only Westerners in this hotel. Breakfast this morning was noodles, rice, or fried rice. The staff though is very kind and made us scrambled eggs and hot dogs- the "American" breakfast! As Maria was eating her hot dog she told Mark - in a straight face, "You don't know what you're missing! If you put enough ketchup on this, it hides the taste."
We were supposed to be picked up for mass this morning at 9:30. While still eating breakfast at 8:30, our ride showed up! And we didn't even know how to talk about the miscommunication. What a way to start day two of our time here!

This woman's shirt reads, "Por- All experiences Road only of me." Our thoughts exactly!




















