one. incredible. day

Last night's sunset.... I took this out the airplane window flying north from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  I still can't quite believe that I said goodbye to Matt and the kiddos and LEFT THE COUNTRY(!!!!)  but I did!

Mom and Dad were the first faces I saw as I exited the arrivals area.  We did what everyone who walks off an airplane in Thailand should do - EAT!

Early Thursday morning we loaded up and headed south for Tak, the town where Mom and Dad taught English as Peace Corps volunteers almost 40 years ago.

Three and a half hours later we pulled in the gate of the girls' school (where Mom taught and they lived on campus).  Dad had done his google earth research and knew the house was still standing.

The second person we talked to (who now lives next door to their old house) started looking at old pictures.....  And this is incredible but.....

less than a minute later he recognizes someone!  Dad's best friend Pirrom from Thailand days.  AND, he knows where he is living now (he used to live on the other side of Mom and Dad's house) and has his phone number so.....

we called him!  Can you imagine?  {and made plans to meet him for dinner... which will be a separate post}

We all sat together in a little porch area by his house and I kept thinking, "I can't believe this is happening.  How do you walk back onto a campus you haven't seen in 38 years and find someone who knows someone you knew?!?!"

After the morning's excitement we ate lunch by the river (gorgeous).

We headed back to campus where we found the head of the foreign language department (who loves Peace Corps and also had a Peace Corps English teacher!)

Showing the old pictures to some current students.

Mom and Dad's house

In front of the school gate.  The school has more than doubled in size since Mom taught there.  It was an all-girls school then, co-ed now.  Dad taught at the boys' school across town.

Late afternoon we walked around town.  It's not a big one :)

Clearly, some of the buildings were older than others :)

and then we headed out to dinner.... which will wait til tomorrow because it's too late now!

We are still on the search for Mom's good friend.  It's a bit of a treasure hunt, we run into people who know her, and just later this evening found out what school she teaches at, in a town an hour or so down the road.  We might be heading there tomorrow to look for her.