Christmas will be a little sparse this year

1 week ago, in the wee hours of the morning my time, our family dog died.

Gabi came to us the Christmas I was 14. Mom and dad decided that every boy needs a dog, so that was Jem's  gift. He spent many trips to the city pound searching for our new family member. The pound said that Gabi was aggressive and bad with men, children, and other pets; Jem knew that wasn't true. She was rough around the edges. She was insecure and hurt. She needed a home and stable, consistent love. She got us (and obedience school!).

We had a wonderful 10.5 years with our girl. She entered a family of non-dog lovers. She left us devastated.

I have two parts; half of my heart is home, with my family. The other half of me is here, happy and completely content in life. At least, that is the usual balance. This week my 'home half' feels empty. It is sad, homesick, and missing my dog. My 'here half' goes to work, teaches, grades, spends time with friends, and functions normally. It is happy and thankful for the life I live. But this week, just this week, everything has felt not quite right. My 'home half' aches. My life has been blessed by my wonderful dog. Right now there is a hole, but I know that that hole will be filled with more blessings.

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2010

I'm thankful for so many wonderful years with, in my opinion, the greatest dog on earth.

City Wide Photo Scavenger Hunt

You may gather from my silence that the new term has started. I find it fascinating that it takes me so many hours of prep to be ready for each hour of class time. I had heard that this was the case, but now I am experiencing it.

This weekend Jason Mraz was scheduled to perform in southern Thailand. Several friends and I had tickets and were excited for a road/concert trip. On Thursday, however, Jason canceled the concert because he was worried about travel for his fans due to flooding in Bangkok.

In an attempt to cheer up my gloomy friends I organized a photo scavenger hunt yesterday in Old City, Chiang Mai. It was a huge hit and we hope to do it again next month. We even met some people through the hunt who would like to participate next time!

Here are some pictures.

Anisha and I at Three Kings Monument

Justin with a squatty potty (we were lucky enough to find one in a toilet store!) Angela mailing a postcard to her mom

 Our entire team dancing "Single Ladies"

Our entire team eating ice cream!

Us at a Wat. For some reason we're all making ridiculous faces

Angela and I as guards at the city gate. She chose to be a human guard while I chose to be a meerkat guard