Kuraburi: Welcome to Thailand!

What to say- An amazing first couple of weeks in Thailand.  Have absolutely loved spending time in Kuraburi and am so sad to leave tomorrow.  I'm confident, however, that the additional experiences that await me will be just as great! I'll have to write more about the Thai culture and some experiences soon, but I thought I'd slap on a few photos at the blogspot. Cheers.

Welcome to Kuraburi. This is basically the main strip of town.  Got here by bus, just 5 hours north of Phuket.

The lovely little bungalow third in from the left has been my place of residency for the past couple of weeks. Love love it.

A peek inside the bungalow . . .

The main purpose of Kuraburi: teaching English at a learning center for Burmese refugees through Andaman Discoveries.

Beginning the day with their "stretches". Hilarious.

Something new to me: you alwayyyys take shoes off in Thailand before entering any home, business, etc.

Grade two, the kids I spent most of my time with. These kids aren't permitted to attend Thai school due to lack of citizenship.

The nursery babies!

I liked the way this photo turned out.

Lining up for some grub.  Loved how they all waited for each other to portion up and then offered a prayer before eating.

Bon appetito, baby.

Putting the hands together and bowing is a common sign of thanks and respect.

I.

Love.

These.

Children!

Ollie, the Burmese teacher's son. The youngest at the learning center.

Some of the local Catholic commisioned volunteers were super hospitable and showed me around.

They took me to Greenview Resort up the road for some treats and visiting.  Returned the next day for a swim. (Pool at left)

They also took me to the beach another day- gorgeous! And empty- Thai people aren't much into sunbathing.

The watermelon festival was a huge deal here.  HUGE. Went on for ten days. I think I attended eight of the ten??

Rain or shine, they had a huge turn out every evening.

And, unfortunately, just could never bring myself to snacking on these critters. Maybe next time. :0

I helped the local volunteers with their booth. Lady on the bottom left greeted me with an "I love you" every day.

Another Thai friend, Toon, showed me around some of the gorrrgeous back country via her motor bike.

The pier in Kuraburi, where you can catch a boat to the Surin Islands.

She also took me on a separate day to visit her father's fish farm.  Entertaining, to say the least.

Have enjoyed countless fun and delicious meals with locals and tourists. "Aroy mak mak!" 

And today. Said goodbye to the kiddies. No fun, but so great getting to know them and feeling like I contributed in some small way.  Loved working with Andaman Discoveries and the Muan Mit Thai Foundation. 

Off to Thai Mueng tomorrow for another adventure at the "Home and Life" orphanage for a couple of weeks. About a 4 hour bus ride south. Wish me luck!