Interview Questions

Back when we lived in Wiang Kaen, there was a teenager who was particularly motivated to learn English. Lai was a Hmong girl who lived about 12 kilometers up the valley from us.

Us with Lai while she was at university

Lai's motivation was this: she wanted to apply for a scholarship for which only a handful of people from across Thailand would be selected. The scholarship would allow her to attend a special high school in Central Thailand, that was under the patronage of the Princess, for her senior year. It would also include university studies in India or Thailand.

As part of the application process for the scholarship, Lai had to do an interview in English. She asked for help preparing for this, so I tried to think up kinds of questions they might ask. I don't remember what was on the list, but it was probably things like, "What hobbies do you have?" and "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" I had her write out the answers in English, then I helped her correct any language issues. When she came back from the interview, she was all excited. She was the only applicant that did the interview entirely in English. She said that all the questions they asked were on the list that I made up for her, except for one. That question was, "What would you do if you got pregnant while living in India?" Now why didn't I think of that?

Lai won her scholarship, and while she was studying her senior year in high school, she was one of six students who appeared on national television with the princess. In the end she opted to do her university studies in Thailand, because she could find a better program for what she wanted to study than in India.

I praise God for the wisdom He gives us to be able to help people like this. As we read in James 1:5 (ESV), "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

For the last time

About 8:45 am we walked into the bank. We were there to get documents we needed to renew our visa. According to the immigration rules, these documents have to be prepared the same day one applies to renew the visa, so one hopes the visa renewal process goes smoothly so that one does not have to repeat the process (and having to pay another ฿300 bank fees in the process). We had to wait a bit to see the person who could prepare our documents, then it took about 1/2 hour to prepare them. Altogether, we were there about 45 minutes.

From the bank, we drove a couple kilometers to the immigration office. We always go with a bit of trepidation, because we don't know if the rules have changed since the previous year, which would require us to prepare more documents than listed on the website. This time around they didn't give us any extra copies back, so at least I got that part correct. We did have to sign one extra form, which they didn't have us do last year but which we did have to sign in years prior to that. We only had one snafu in that they wanted our landlords phone number. They had never asked for that before, and we didn't have it since we usually contacted her using an app on our phones. I was able to find a number for her employer though, and got hold of her assistant who got the number for me. We walked out of the office at 10:45. Not bad, 2 hours for the whole process, plus a couple hours the previous day preparing the all the papers.

Then it was off to celebrate, this year we went to Boonme Coffee.

Celebration at Bounmee Coffee

Custard Cake

This has been our annual ritual for the past several years, but it was a bit more poignant this year, because it will likely be our last time doing our annual visa renewal here in Thailand. Twelve years prior, almost to the week, we landed in Thailand to make this tropical paradise ou new home. Now, in the coming year, we are looking at making the transition back to North America. While we have been thinking about this for a while and have already begun the process of planning for the transition, this visa renewal routine reminds us that things really are changing—the first of many lasts that will happen over the year.

There will be a lot more lasts coming up over the next few months. There will be the last time we sleep in this apartment. The last time we drive to Khon Kaen. The last time we buy a huge bag of lettuce for 50 baht. The last time leading worship at Tha Ban's house. The last time bicycling through the rice paddies. The last time we get a moccha frappe for under $2. The last time we go unwind by winding down the twisty farm roads of Isaan. And so many more.

The reality is, though, that we often don't know when our last of anything really is. Jesus told the story of the man who invested all his energy saving for retirement; then the day finally came that he retired and he died without ever being able to enjoy it. (Luke 12:16-21) None of us know what our future will bring or when we will take our last breath.

There are some things about Thailand I know we will miss. We don't know when we will experience the last of these things. Of some, the last may have passed already. But here are a few:

Mango Season

Rice Paddies

Sunsets Over the Ponds

Storm Chasing

Longan Season

Ubiquitous Inexpensive Coffee Shops

Windy Country Roads

Church in a Circle

Tha Ban's House Church

Caves Everywhere

Sam Roi Yod and Other Beaches

Dipterocarp Forests

Banana Trees and Many Varieties of Bananas

Flambouyant Trees

Asian Openbill Storks

Plumeria Trees

Rain Trees With Their Beautiful Spreading Canopies and Pink Powderpuff Blossoms

Rain Tree Blossom

Crazy Tourist Sites

The Trails, Geology and History of Phu Phrabat Park

Pink Water Lilies

Rambutan Season

Karst Mountains

Cheap Cell Phone and Internet

Grilled Salted Tilipia

Stir-fried Asian Kale for less than $1.50

We can get Khao Soi in the US,
but here we can afford it

Bic C Shopping Experience

Rubber Plantations

Mekong River

Fishing, Thai Style

Grey-headed swamphens with their huge feet
that hang out at our local ponds

Bronze-winged jacanas
that try to disguise themselves as water lilies

Charcoal Kilns

Water Buffalo

The Thai Brahman Cattle
That make my wrinkles look not so bad

Fresh Markets

Even with this, internet is faster, cheaper and more reliable than in the US

Traditional Festivals

Colorful Fishing Boats

Scary-looking Beetles

Big Rhinoceros Beetles

Shiny Jewel Beetles

Printers with refillable ink tanks

Rolling Hills of Corn

Rice Drying in the Road

Wild Monkeys

Connecting With Youth Through Music

Crazy Times at Camp

Visiting Teams Bringing Joy to Kids

People Eager to Tell People About Jesus

The Smiles

Mountain Flower Parks
(I'm taking the prettiest flower with me)

Rainy Season Sunrises

I'm especially fond of flowers in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) and spiral gingers (Costaceae). There are many species in these plant families throughout the tropics. We will miss seeing all of these in various gardens and in the wild.

First the Ginger Family

Alpinia malaccensis

Alpine purpurata - red ginger

Alpine siamensis - Galangal

Alpinia zerumbet - shell ginger

Boesenbergia Licata

Boesenbergia rotunda

Curcuma alismatifolia - chocolate tulip

Curcuma latifolia

Curcuma sp.

Etlingera elation - torch ginger

Globba sp.

Globba sp.

Globba sp.

Globba winitii

Globba winitii

Hedychium flavescens

Kaempferia parviflora

Kaempferia sp.

Kaempferia sp.

Zingiber officinale - true ginger

Zingiber spectabile

Zingiber zerumbet

Unidentified Zingiberaceae

Next the Spiral Ginger Family

Crepe Ginger

Costus lucanusianus

Costus sp.

Bamboo Ginger

Scarlet Spiral Flag

Tapeinochilos sp.

We will miss our orchids as well. Here are some that we currently have or have had in some of the places we lived.

Orange Vanda Orchid

Laelia orchid

Dendrobium bigibbum

Dendrobium bigibbum

Dawson's Staurochilus Orchid
This is a species that fell out of a tall tree and that we transplanted around our home, first in Wiang Kaen, and then bringing with us to Phon Phisai and then to Kamalasai