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A while ago Christy and I spent the day with neighbors at Pattaya, a nearby beach. It is a favorite Thai hangout, as well as heavily frequented by Western tourists. It was a bit surreal to see foreigners who look like me staring at the white girl hanging out with a group of lower class Thais. And to hear my Thai friends make comments about the farangs walking by and then turn to me and say “oh yeah– I forgot you’re one of them!”
I was having a bit of an identity crisis. While I look and talk like the Westerners with their sunscreen and guidebooks and cameras, in some ways I am more like my slum-dwelling, Thai-speaking, sticky rice eating neighbors. When I’m in Thailand there are things about the States that I long for, but when I’m in the States I feel a little out of place and confused by the culture. In Bangkok I long for the quiet countryside of my hometown, a good deli sandwich, and the ability to blend into the crowd; in the States I’m always craving rice, shocked by prices, and sometimes translating my thoughts from Thai into English.
It’s amazing how much this place, language and culture has become a second home. And how much my neighbors have accepted me as one of them. This tension between identities is one I kind of enjoy.
… for my former slum community of Permsup. The long-threatened road construction that is evicting the community is now becoming a reality. As I walk from my community of Phothong to the bus stop every day I pass these bulldozers and am reminded to pray for the many inhabitants who do not have plans yet of where they will relocate to. At the pace I’m seeing the construction encroach on the sports park adjacent to the slum, Permsup has weeks left at best. Please keep them in your prayers.
In the back you can see one of Permsup’s houses and just how close the bulldozers are.
Go to my photo album page to see photos from our May team retreat to Kanchanaburi. This is such a beautiful country.
I had meant to post these photos sooner after I started my furlough, but only recently have I felt rested enough to be somewhat productive. 
Me playing the Thai instrument I’ve been learning (sah duang), wearing a Thai silk outfit my former neighbor in the Permsup slum made for me (she is amazing). This is at our monthly combined worship, a few days before I left on my furlough.
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