Spatafora Family - The Thailand Sabbatical

Oct. 20




We arrived at Luang Prabang, which is located at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers and is essentially situated on a peninsula, about 5 pm. Luang Prabang is the ancient capitol of Laos and served in that capacity until the capitol was moved to Vientiane in the 1700s. The architecture is a mix of Buddhist temples and French colonial dwellings and it is considered to be the most "architecturally intact" city in SE Asia. Somehow it was spared the destruction of contemporary wars and development. In 1994 the entire city was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and no development can occur that is not historically accurate. It is one of the more special places we have visited anywhere. Oddly enough, because of the French architecture, some of streets and alleyways reminded us of some parts of New Orleans and other older cities in south Louisiana.

We stayed at the Apsara Hotel (pictured left). It is an old rice warehouse that was converted into a school and then into a meeting place/hotel. In the 1990s it was bought by a British businessman, Ivan, who converted it into a boutique hotel. Unknown to us, it was recently rated as one of the "hip boutique hotels in SE Asia" in Travel Magazine, but it is still very reasonably priced. Our rooms had beautiful teak floors, long shuttered French doors, locally woven silk fabrics, and huge bathtubs. It is located along the banks of the Nam Khan River and the view from our balcony was of the river, fisherman in their slender wooden boats setting out their nets, and farmers working the impressive terraces of the fields on the opposite bank. Standing on the balcony was like going back in time 50 years. We really enjoyed the hotel and highly recommend it.

After checking into the hotel, we went for a walk. Luang Prabang is a small city that is easily walkable. The streets are lined with French colonial buildings with most of the current ones built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Interspersed among these buildings are many temples, one after another, many of which also serve as monasteries and schools. The young monks are quite friendly, inviting you in to the temple grounds and wanting to talk. Most of them are from northern Laos and have not traveled much, if any, out of the country. But what is amazing is that many of them spoke English. In fact, a higher percentage of people we encountered in Laos spoke English than do in Thailand. We just happened to be at this temple (above) at 4pm. This is significant as they have major prayer services at 4 am and 4pm. The 4pm service involved some chanting along with drumming and cymbals.

For most of the first afternoon we simply walked around town enjoying the scenery and talking with people. We eventually happened upon the night market which was just setting up. Like most cities in SE Asia, there is a night market which typically takes up a few city blocks. For this one, they block off several blocks of a street and all the vendors lay out mats and blankets and put out their goods. Most of the items are crafts such as textiles, clothing, wood working, paper products, etc. I would have to say that the products at this market were pretty nice. After you have been to several markets like these you start to see many of the same items and wonder how many are actually made by some villager and how many are mass produced in China and bussed across the border. Anyway, this market was nice and we had a lot of fun looking at crafts, eating street food, and doing some quality people watching.

After walking and seeing much of Luang Prabang all afternoon, we were hungry so we headed back to our hotel for drinks and dinner. The hotel's restaurant is quite nice and a bit upscale, resulting in a very pleasant French/Lao fusion meal. The pupmkin bisque with coconut cream and lemongrass and the whole fish, deep fried with sweet and hot chili sauce and cilantro were especially tasty. Afterwards we were all exhausted so it was showers all around and a much-deserved early bedtime.

October 19th
We had read in our guidebook about a Lao women's silk weaving cooperative founded by an American woman named Carol Cassidy, and thought we would check it out before leaving Vientiane. The business is located in a beautiful old colonial mansion in a semi-restored neighborhood near our hotel. The house reminded me of the Olive Street house in Baton Rouge where Joey lived when I first met him. With the French influence, hot and steamy weather, riverside location, and spicy food, Vientiane is similar to Baton Rouge in many ways. It is like a smaller B.R. without any traffic (unimaginable!).

Carol Cassidy, like Jim Thompson decades before her in Thailand, fell in love with the colors, patterns, and quality of the local silks. She set up this cooperative to promote this cottage industry and give these women a place to produce these very high-end weavings featuring old Lao tribal patterns. She has also developed many original designs inspired by the old motifs. The whole process takes place on site and it was nothing short of fascinating to see the fabrics literally take shape.

The one man we saw working there was preparing the raw silk by boiling the cocoons to release the "glue" that holds them together. The glue is cooked off and the strands unraveled as you see him doing here as he rinses the silk after boiling. It is then hung in the sun to dry and be cleaned of impurities before being dyed. They use German chemical dyes here, but some producers use natural dyes and a lot of the undyed threads in their styles. We were told that although the silkworms will eat many kinds of leaves, if they eat only mulberry leaves, the silk they produce will be a pale buff-yellow color which is most prized.

This (at left) is the quality control room for the dye batches and these threads are being inspected, sorted, and bundled for the spinners. Our guide, Phone, told us that it can take five or six years of practice to become a proficient spinner. She said that young girls begin learning the process at about age six when they are taught how to prepare the bundled strands that are then spun together. The woman in the white shirt in the background of the photo is an apprentice preparing the bundles for these spinners.

Once the threads are spun, it is inspected again and then sorted according to thickness and colors for the various patterns. The thicker threads are used to thread the looms, a process that can take several days for a large, complex piece. Phone told us that this job is the most difficult and requires the most skilled weavers in order for the piece to be properly made. We were amazed with the speed and precision with which the pieces were taking shape as we walked among the looms, particularly with the pieces that had many colors and intricate patterns. The weavers were working away, some with many colors of thread and a lot of detail, seeming to have memorized the patterns. It really was not any less amazing when Phone pointed out the pattern guides that were woven into the upper weft threads (seen at left). You can see now why the loom threaders are considered the true "master weavers"! The whole thing was really quite magical.

Joey was particularly enthralled by the overall process and took about a hundred pictures. He also hit the gift shop pretty hard, so you will all be able to view some of Laos' finest silks in our home in a few months! These pieces will be treasured souvenirs to help us to remember our wonderful first trip to Laos!

Shopping makes us hungry, you know, so we stopped off for a light lunch before heading off to the airport. As you can see, Nick is a big fan of Lao snack cuisine. Here he is enjoying a big plate of delicious garlic bread and a frosty banana fruit shake at a sidewalk cafe while I catch up on the news with the Vientiane Times. (I learned that there is a softball game every Sunday afternoon on the firehouse lawn, so bring your gloves!)

We checked out of the Inter City Hotel (did I mention before that the fantastic rooms there, with breakfast, were only $30 each?) and went outside to get a cab to the airport. When we saw that the taxi was a 1970s-era two-door Peugeot, we decided to hop a truck taxi instead! Fortunately, the airport is only about 10 minutes from downtown and, despite some formidable potholes, we made it there with everything intact.

Please do not tell our Thai friends this, but we think that we have now encountered an airline whose staff, and uniforms are even more beautiful than those of Thai Airways. Even Nick, who refuses to wear or own anything green and/or yellow like the Oregon Ducks' colors, admitted that the deep green and gold patterned silk sarongs and golden yellow blouses of the stewardesses were stunning. The flight to Luang Prabang was quick - 40 minutes - and the driver from the Apsara hotel was their to pick us up. What service. Next blog - Luang Prabang.

October 19th - Naga and Garuda at Pha That Luang

We spent today exploring a few of the major attractions of Vientiane. Vientiane is the capitol of Laos, but it could not be more different than any other capitol city I have been to. It is small, very laid back and is often called "the biggest village in SE Asia". Although a couple of people we had spoken to did not give particulary glowing reviews of the city, we really enjoyed it. In many ways it is the antithesis of Bangkok and it was nice to have a break from the hustle and bustle and crowds.


After waking up and having breakfast, our day started with a quick trip to one of the few banks and money changing booths. Although financial transactions have become a lot easier in Laos - they even have a few ATMs now - we decided to travel with cash on this trip as we had received mixed reports on how reliable finding the elusive ATMs could be. The Lao currency is the Kip and the current exchange rate is approximately 10,000 Kip to the dollar. The largest bill is a 20,000 Kip, so a trip to the exchange makes you feel very rich with a huge wad of bills. Furthermore, the US dollar and the Thai baht are readily accepted and I think even preferred by the vendors. The end result is that you can not physically carry around just Kip, so you end up operating in all three currencies. Anyway, after getting loaded down with Kip we headed off to Pha That Luang, a temple that serves as the national symbol of Laos. (Nick did not actually drive us there in the tuk-tuk, but the driver really wanted us to take his picture on the driver's seat.)

Pha That Luang was originally built in the 1500s but destroyed by the Thais, along with most of Vientiane, in the 1800s, and then rebuilt by the French in the early 1900s. It is by far the most architecturely unique temple in the region and is pictured on all the money, government stamps, etc. as the symbol of Laos.
The temple, like much of Laos, fell into disrepair after WWII and only recently has there been a concerted effort to refurbish it, along with many of the country's other historical and cultural landmarks. The result is that many of Pha That Luang's accessory buildings are scaffolded and cannot be visited. Elizabeth was wondering if our friends at Sprick Roofing are sorry they missed out on making a bid on this re-roofing job!

At the temple there was considerable activity by both tourists and locals, including an art exhibit by a local artist and a school group (below) bringing a donation that they had raised as part of a fund raising effort. All around the temple were innumerable images of the Buddha. This is fairly typical of a Buddhist temple but these were mostly of the traditional Lao style, which to me appears more feminine. Pha That Luang was a good place to start our visit and provided us with an excellent initial insight into Lao culture.

Next we went to Patuxai, which could be best described as the Arc de Triomphe of Laos. (Remember, they were a French colony.) Patuxai is a four arched edifice that is situated on a very large boulevard quite similar to the Champs Elysees. (Again the French theme.) It was built in the 1960s with concrete from the US that was supposed to be used for an airport. Because of that, the Patuxai was given the nickname "the vertical runway". At the Patuxai there are loads of clothing stalls that hock Communist memorabilia in the finest capitalist fashion. Quite amusing if you think about it. Inside of the Patuxai are a series of narrow staircases that you can climb up through the five levels of gift shops to the top for some excellent views of the city. The windows have beautifully wrought screens that provide a great frame for viewing. Although the arch is structurally sound, the builders ran out of concrete and the detailing was never completed. There is even a sign on the inner arch apologizing for its incompleteness. It is a hilarious sign (wish I had taken a picture!) that says in part, "From a closer distance, it appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete." We found it to be quite charming really.

After visiting the Patuxai we began our walk back towards our hotel and the Mekong, stopping along the way for food and postcards and stamps. We passed the US Embassy and two of the more prominent temples in town, Wat Si Saket (pictured left) and Haw Pha Kaew (pictured below). Wat Si Saket was built in the 1800s and may be Vientiane's oldest surviving and operating temple. One of the memorable things about this temple was the detail of the Buddha images and the grotto-like walls that contained thousands of small Buddhas. Haw Pha Kaew was originally built in the 1500s and housed the famed Emerald Buddha, one of the most sacred Buddha images in Asia. It actually is not emerald but jade and is only about 1 meter high. When the Thais sacked Vientiane in the 1800s, they destroyed the temple and took the Emerald Buddha back to Bangkok where it resides today. Again, the French rebuilt Haw Pha Kaew.

We wandered back to the hotel and took a much needed nap. It was hot and we were tired. After our nap we went - yes, that's right - bowling. If you have not bowled in Laos, under the hammer and sickle (check out the banner), you have not bowled. Actually, it was the only place other than on t-shirts at the markets that I saw a blatant communist symbol. Bizarre. We had a great time and Elizabeth bowled a turkey and beat us all.

After bowling we had an equally interesting adventure -- the girls got their nails done. I mean DONE. They got extensions that were then elaborately painted. The best part however was that the person who did their nail art was a "katoey", the term used for a transvestite. Having your nails done by a transvestite in Communist Laos. Priceless! (Anna's hand pictured below.)

Bowling and having your nails done can work up an appetite, so we finished off our day at an outdoor restaurant that seemed to be heavily frequented by locals. It was a really good dinner and while Lao food is very similar to the food of NE Thailand, it is generally not as spicy. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and caught some soccer on TV and collapsed. What a day!!

Oct. 18th

The trip to Laos was really an adventure for us in many ways. It is a bit of a hop, skip, and jump from Bangkok and involves a good bit of maneuvering. There is a direct flight into Vientiane from Bangkok, but that would be too easy! It is also only in service three times a week and is (comparatively) expensive. We contemplated taking the train, but it was an 14-hour trip to the border and not all that cheap in order to have five air conditioned berths, so we scrapped that option, too. We ended up flying to Udon Thani, Thailand, and crossing the Mekong River over the Friendship Bridge into Laos. This is the abridged (no pun intended) version of the trip and the way most people enter Laos.

Here is how it really happens. We left the apartment around 9:15 am and took a taxi to the new Bangkok airport, Suvarnabhumi, (pronounced "Suwannapoon"--could it be any more confusing to travelers?), which in itself is a feat as it has only been open three weeks and rumor is the taxi drivers don't even know quite where it is. We got there just fine and after exploring the new airport for a bit, took the 45-minute flight to Udon Thani. There we got a minibus at the airport that drove us to the immigration point at Nong Khai, about 50 km north. This was a very pleasant drive and we were surprised how much the scenery looked like Alabama with the lush hilly terrain and very red clay soil. It was almost like home!

At Nong Khai, we got out, filled out our five forms, paid our exit fees, and got into a second minibus that took us over the Friendship Bridge (seen here at left). The bridge was built in the 1990s as a joint venture with the Laotians, Thais, and Australians. We must admit, we thought it would be a little fancier given its importance to those on both sides. It is kind of interesting because Thais drive on the left side of the road and Laotians on the right side, so you have flyover bridge exits to deposit you on the correct side of the road. Once on the other side, we filled out another set of papers, paid our fees, and got our Lao visas. Other countries could learn a thing or two from Laos about cool visa stamps. These are by far the fanciest ones in our passports, complete with holograms! After the visas were obtained, we hired another minibus for the 20 km ride into Vientiane.

We were glad to finally make it to our hotel, the Inter City Hotel, (seen here at right), and get cleaned up. Staying at the Inter is like spending the night in your favorite museum. It has beautiful oiled teak floors, louvered French doors to the rooms, gorgeous woven silk wall hangings and glass cases in the hallways with all sorts of artifacts: Buddha images, silverwork, jewelry, pottery, and wood carvings. Nick and Joey had a huge decorative sword rack outside their room with a bunch of 7 foot long swords standing in it. Cool! Joey took this picture of the hotel and was very happy that the two monks (in orange) walked by the front just as he snapped the photo.

We got to Vientiane just in time for an evening walk along the Mekong riverfront and dinner. We were famished after our long day of short jaunts and decided to take advantage of the great French food that is a happy remnant of Laos' colonial past. We had an absolutely fantastic dinner at a place right down the street from the hotel, Le Cote d'Azure. The smoked duck salad and roast lamb shoulder were especially nice, but we all agreed that the burgundy beef stew was the best. Nick really enjoyed the bananas au rhum, and not just because they set it on fire on his plate!

Full and exhausted, we stumbled back down the street to our beds. So far, with its clean, quaint streets, beautiful riverfront walkways (see at left), and fine French cuisine, Laos was already looking pretty good to these travelers! We drifted off to sleep with anticipation for more adventure in Vientiane in the morning. I know that Nick dreamed of brick oven-baked baguettes and hot chocolate and maybe even a sword fight, too.

Oct 18th.
Today we began our trip to Laos. Thailand shares its northeastern border with Laos and virtually the same ethnic groups populate Laos and NE Thailand. Much of present day Laos was part of - or at least controlled by - the Siam Empire until the mid 1800s, when it was ceded to the French and became part of French Indochina. Prior to Siam control, Laos consisted of a number of city states whose autonomy was often fragile and short lived. Even longer ago - circa the 12th century - Laos, like much of Thailand, was part of the Khmer Empire based in what we recognize today as Cambodia but extending almost to Burma. The upshot of it all is that it is only recently that Laos has emerged as a country (mostly) independent of outside rule.


The French were kicked out of Indochina in the 1950s which led to the US involvment in Vietnam and SE Asia. We left in 1975 with Laos in a state of revolution. It over threw its monarchy and established a communist government. The result was years of isolation and little contact with the west or its neighbors. In the mid-1990s Laos significantly changed its course and joined ASEAN, Association of SE Asian Nations. It relaxed its borders and developed normal relations with most of the world, including the US which has an embassy there. Today Laos it is now one of the best kept secrets of SE Asia with incredible people and hopefully a bright future.




Laos is easily one of the best countries I have ever visited. The people are fantastic. Even though it is one of the poorer countries in the world, you do not see people begging and hunger is almost non-existent. The family unit is strong and intact with generations living together. The people are also some of the most beautiful you will ever see. The culture is of course Asian, but with strong French influences in food and architecture. And of course the Mekong River; it defines much of Laos' borders and is the center of much of Laotion life. The result is a place like no other. Go to Laos! Go soon before it is over developed and inevitably loses some of what makes it so special. You'll love it!

Several of our friends who read the blog have emailed us asking about our friend Mark Patterson. It is with heavy hearts that we write to say that Mark died at his home surrounded by his family on October 19th. He fought a long and valiant battle against multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer for which there is no cure. During his illness, and up to the end, Mark, Virginia and their children showed a level of courage and grace that we have rarely witnessed. Theirs is a strength we should all hope to emulate in some small way.

Mark was a plant ecologist and one of the most engaging teachers at OSU. His enthusiasm in the classroom was contagious and students who took his classes received the best OSU had to offer. We consider ourselves so fortunate to have known Mark as a friend and colleague. -- Joey & Elizabeth

Oct 15

Today we went to Mass at the Assumption Cathedral. We have gotten pretty good at getting there so we can actually make it from apt to cathedral in about 30 min. The first time it probably took us 1.5 hrs. After mass we had lunch and came back to the apartment for a swim. It was hot today and the pool felt great. (It is going to be tough to give up the pool.)


This afternoon and evening we went to Lumpini Park and the Bangkok Night Bazaar. Lumpini park is named after the birth place of the Buddha and is one of the few really large green spaces in Bangkok. At the entrance to the park is a statue of Rama V. He is considered by many to be the greatest King of Siam and credited with initiating the "westernization" of Thai culture. Lumpini is a large park with a nice manmade lake in the middle. The park was filled with people exercising, picnicking and generally hanging out. The exercise classes are fun to watch. They play funny music (jingle bells) and do aerobic routines. Quite the spectacle, but everyone was having fun.

Nick and I rode a paddle boat around the lake and had a great time. The park offers great views of the skyline, but the highlight were these large Monitor Lizards that were bout four feet long. They were swimming around the water and climbing up on the banks. You could paddle right up to them. Very cool. During the paddle, one of my colleagues from BIOTEC called – yes I have a cell phone. Her Mac computer had just crashed and I had to talk her through booting it back up.

We really enjoyed Lumpini Park. Excellent place and we will visit again. Next to Lumpini is the Bangkok Night Bazaar. It is smaller, tamer and less crowded version of the big weekend market, Chakuchak Market. At the Night Bazaar they have the “Rue de Paris” Ferris Wheel. As its name implies, it is from Paris and is traveling around the world. The ride was fun. I had not been on a Ferris Wheel in years and it provided a good view of the city. They also had a log ride, which was a blast as well. The kids really enjoyed the rides and it set a good tone for the evening.

At the night bazaar there is a large food court. They way these work is that there is a coupon booth. You buy a certain amount of coupons – say the equivalent of $20 – and then you walk around to the different booths and exchange coupons for whatever you want to eat. Why coupons and not direct cash? I don’t know. The food court is centered around a beer garden so you sit eat your food and drink beer. Not bad. At one end of the beer garden is a stage and there were a number of Thai rock acts performing. Thai rock – like a lot of rock music in Asia - is very pop oriented and theatrical. Imagine Spinal Tap meets Abba. It’s fun to watch but I am not rushing out to by any CDs.

The Night Bazaar itself is fairly predictable but not bad. It was not too crowded which is a welcomed relief as compared to other markets. They had some nice stuff and a lot of junk, but we did pick up a set of nice place mats for the dinner table. Ah the creature comforts of domesticated life.

A very good day. We look forward to visiting Lumpini Park again. -- Joey

Oct 14

Erawan Shrine is a small but active shrine in Bangkok. The Erawan shrine was built in 1956 for the Brahman (Hindu) god Than Tao Mahaprom. This is a good example of the numerous Hindu elements in Thai Buddhism. Most of Southeast Asia was Hindu prior to the Buddha and Thai Buddhism has retained many Hindu elements.

Than Tao Mahaprom has four faces which represent kindness, mercy, sympathy and impartiality. Erawon is the 3-headed elephant
that I think believe was ridden by Than Tao Mahaprom. After a while the shrine became known as Erawan, supposedly because it is easier than “Than Tao Mahaprom” for foreigners to pronounce. Personally I think it is because the Thais love elephants. They are treated above all other animals and in the past were used in cavalries like we used horses.

This shrine is especially active with locals and tourists “making merit” to the statue of the Brahman god. “Making merit” typically involves making some small offering and praying for something you need. For example, at Erawan shrine people offer small replicas of elephants, flowers of marigolds and jasmine, and burn incense. A lot of incense. You can smell it for blocks. Apparently you can also offer a dance. There are about six traditional Thai dancers there and people will pay them to dance. While they are dancing the person who bought the dance will pray towards the statue. (Or take pictures of the dancers.) People will typically pray for help in some aspect of life, but what I have read seems to suggest it usually has to do with business. Apparently it is bad form to pray for something you want – it should be something you need.

After Erawan we visited Narai Phand, which is a large shopping area where you can buy all things Thai. Jewelry, textiles, furniture – you name it and its there. It is very popular with tourists who have a limited time in Bangkok and want to buy a number of gifts. (Say if you were shopping for your Mom’s birthday.) The items here were very nice but a bit more expensive than if you went to other shops and markets in town. But the craftsmanship was quite good and everything was there. One-stop shopping.

After Narai Phrand we continued our elusive quest for protective gear for baseball. Yes that is right – a jock and a cup. Nick is going to be playing baseball soon and we just did not think to pack that equipment. A number of department store clerks have been quite amused by me trying to communicate “jock strap and cup” in Thai. It does not seem to be in any of my dictionaries. You would think with Thai kick boxing it would be essential. But I guess those guys are tougher than they look. The search continues... -- Joey

Oct. 13

We had seen advertisements for a large “book barge”, the Doulos, that would be docked at the Bangkok Harbor. It was billed as the world’s largest floating bookstore. Apparently it travels all around the world and now it was docked in Bangkok. We went with several friends from BIOTEC including Jennifer, Suchada, Air and Boonchan.

Well as it turns out it is an evangelical Christian book barge, a fact that was not provided in any of the advertising we saw. The purpose of the book barge is to convert people to Christianity and fund it by selling books. I guess what really bugs me is that a little truth in advertising seems appropriate here. I also think everyone, including Christians, stands to learn something from the Buddhists. As it turns out the “deck hands” were not too intense, they had ice cream and they had a lot of books. Probably half were Christian books – all the music was - but there were plenty of general literature, textbooks, cookbooks, etc. After perusing the books Elizabeth and the kids did find books that they wanted and that were good resources for home schooling. I even saw a small group of books by Oscar Wilde, which seemed a bit out of character for this book barge. Anna is a teenager now so I gave her a quick lecture on alternative authors of the 19th century.

It was interesting being down on the docks. Bangkok is on the Chao Phraya River. It is the major river of Thailand and is the river that drains almost the entire country. (Some of the east drains into the Mekong.) The Chao Phraya is definitely a working river. I would not want to swim in it and I don't want to know how much fish I have eaten out of it. Hopefully all the sweating I've been doing has a purifying effect. Up until recently most of the city lived along the river and its canals or klongs. Bangkok was often referred to as the Venice of the East. But now with cars and highways, much of that is gone.

After the book barge we headed back to our section of town (Ari) and we all had lunch at one of the street cafeterias. The BIOTEC gang was leaving the next day for Vietnam for a research trip so they left right after lunch to pack. It was hot so after lunch we enjoyed a nice refreshing swim at out apartment pool. We are getting spoiled by the pool. Its going to be tough giving it up when its time to head back to the States. After swimming we had dinner and watched a movie – Wild Wild West. -- Joey

Oct. 12

Today we had a bit of East meets West. We went to a Broadway production of West Side Story at the Thai Cultural Center. This was the first Broadway production ever in Thailand, of any show, so it was a fairly big deal. We were somewhat surprised by this fact, as Bangkok is a large, cosmopolitan city and Thais love a splashy dance show. We rode the subway to the Thai Cultural Center stop and then walked the rest of the way to the actual TCC, which as it turns out is not exactly near the subway stop. At least, in my humble opinion, not close enough to warrant naming the subway stop after it. Anyway …

After sweating and slogging it out we arrived at the TCC. It is a very elegant theater with beautiful decorations. But this is Thailand and as Elizabeth says “the whole country is decorated.” The performance was good – not great but worth the price of admission. In case you do not remember, West Side Story is a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that was choreographed by Jerome Robbins and written by Arthur Laurents, with music by Sondheim and Bernstein. It involves a white gang against a Puerto Rico gang and takes place in New York in the 1950s. The movie won 10 Academy Awards in 1961. The kids did a bit of web research on the play, thus how I know anything about it.

The play was well received by the audience and the actors did a good job. Perhaps the biggest applause, however, came at the end of the show. When the cast was taking their bows, their final salute to the crowd was to “wai”. (Wai is pronounced like the letter Y.) This is the classic Thai Buddhist greeting of hands in a prayer position and a respectful bow. It is how you make a formal greeting to someone. The crowd loved it.

After the show we caught a cab back to the apartment. Although I have been practicing my Thai, half of the taxi drivers still look at me as if to say “what the hell did you just say”. Anyway after a little negotiation the cab driver finally understood where we needed to go. I was a bit worried at first as he took a route none of us were familiar with, but we did arrive safe and sound back at our apartment. It was another good example of how often we must rely on and trust in complete strangers. -- Joey

This is a "shout out" to our good friend Mark Patterson. Mark lives in Corvallis and is in the last stages of multiple myeloma. Thankfully, he has been admitted to hospice care and the hospice angels are lavishing their special attentions on him. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family every day.

This picture was taken by Mark's wife, Virginia Weis, the day before we left on our sabbatical journey. We had a very pleasant visit on the deck with them and met some of Mark's childhood friends, Bill and M.J. We all enjoyed the balmy August afternoon and the floor show provided by a family of wild turkeys who were roosting in the neighbor's back yard. It was a nice visit, though bittersweet, as we were leaving and were sorry we could not there to help them out right now.

Mark and Virginia, and their kids, Will and Elizabeth, have been our friends for several years. They came to Corvallis not long after we did and Joey has enjoyed having Mark and Virginia as colleagues. Even though our kids go to different schools and have different outside interests, they have always enjoyed hanging out together and are glad to have each other around when they are all dragged to Botany and Plant Pathology Department functions.

Virginia is the strongest person we know. She started writing a blog about their journey with multiple myeloma back in June of this year. Her blog was, in fact, the inspiration for this one. I loved the way she was able to let people know about Mark's status so easily and with no one who was concerned left out of the loop. Mark has a big family and they, along with his many friends, are scattered about. With the blog, Virginia has been able to give all the details of Mark's treatments, share with us all their trials and frustrations, and not have to repeat things a million times. I have been so taken by her openness and humor in telling their story that I check the site first thing in the morning and the last thing at night before going to bed. This has led to some sleepless nights (as you know, I am a Worrier by nature) and also to some big laughs. Turns out that people have a much harder time talking about cancer than they do about baseball!

Mark is an amazingly brave man. I say this not only because he has battled this painful disease for so long and so bravely, but he has also given up his privacy and pride to allow us all to know about his struggles and to get to know him through the blog posts. That takes real guts. I have really gotten to know him and his wide circle of friends in the process.

If you can, check out the Mark Patterson and Family blog at: weisv.blogspot.com You should make the time to read this as it will restore your faith in community, family, and love. It has certainly done this for me. It is a real gift to us all. Thank you Virginia, Mark, and all who wrote in to post comments.

Take care Mark. We are thinking of you!