GCF Thailand site visit missive 1-13-09

The following missive continues Campus to Campus Connections activities between the campuses in Vermont USA and the Campuses in Chiang Mai Thailand.  We hope that the reader enjoys these short updates and information to enhance their further understanding of the educational work on behalf of GCF.  As we conduct this current site visit the successes and challenges experienced by all involved continue to demonstrate the value and importance of this work. Thank you for your interest and participation. JRT


Sawadee Vermont Global Campus participants,

Greetings from halfway around the world. We are in Thailand-hurray! We hope all of you enjoyed the holiday season. Happy New Year 2009!


Congratulations on your travels:

We are happy to be sending you this travel update as we know all of you are beginning your Winter Interim Travel adventures. It is great to think that all of us are learning more about the world we live in. How exciting to know that all of the Vermont Global Campuses are traveling in many different countries at the same time. Please enjoy your adventures and have fun learning about the people and places where you travel.

Living in Chiang Mai:

As many of you know we love to travel here in Thailand. We are living at the base of the mountains of Doi Suthep. The weather is quite warm and everything is green here right now. As we look out our windows we see much activity on the roads with many motorbikes and cars whisking about. We use a small motorbike to get around but also enjoy walking the small side streets ( called sois). As we walk around we see families working in their yards and preparing their meals, many in outdoor kitchens. Children are off to school riding their bikes or riding in small taxi/trucks.

As we walk around many people greet us with a smile and they say Sawadee. Some ask us where we are from and when we say America they smile and are excited about our new President. Many want to practice English, so we stop and chat a bit. Even though this is a very modern city the old ways still continue so you get to see what it was like 50 years ago and you also get to see the modern changes like shopping malls, coffee shops, and American fast food restaurants. We like Thai food so we eat at the traditional places and enjoy the tastes very much.

News From Global Campus Chiang Mai:

Ka and Non send their greetings and best wishes to all of you. They are very well. Soon, Non will be attending his graduation ceremony in the big city of Bangkok. He completed his Bachelor’s degree and will receive his diploma directly from the Prince, who someday will become King. This is a great honor for Thai students. Non began his formal studies many years ago when his grandmother gave him some money to enroll in Open University. Over the years while at Global Campuses, he has studied hard and spent his money on his books and tuition. He is the first Global Campus participant to receive a Bachelor’s degree. We know you are all very happy for him and proud. We are very excited for him too. We will share more about the Global Campuses here in Thailand in future writings to you.

For now we will say goodbye. Please know that we are thinking of you and enjoy sharing with many people here about your campuses and what you are doing. Please also know if you have any questions about Thailand, about the campuses here or about our adventures and work, let us know and we will be happy to respond. We are looking forward to talking with you in the near future using the computer and Skype (we get to see you and you can see us).

Peace and love from Thailand,
Khun Sherry and Khun Jim