Having received over $1,000 of vaccinations I leave for the Thai life...

Hi Everyone,

Here is an apology in the first line. I'm sorry to all of you who are taken by surprise that I'll soon be blogging from overseas again - I should have kept in better touch since the holidays! Here's hoping I can make it up to you with some good stories from the other side of the globe.

I took a job as a consultant with Save the Children UK in January as my less than illustrius short-term career with World Vision came to an end. Since my consultancy project takes place in southern Thailand I am moving there until the 30th of June.

Here are the basics:

Who: Me + Save the Children UK (which I will refer to as SCUK from here on) + a team of Thai and Burmese social workers + UNICEF (to what extent I am not yet sure)

Where: Bangkok from the 15th-20th then the big move south to Khao Lak - located one hour north of Phuket on the coast, this was the area hit by the tsunami 2 years ago

When: Now! until the end of June

What: I will be working to train my team in basic social work and case management for children who were orphaned or abandoned after the tsunami - we'll be piloting a project to motivate community participation in resolving these cases.

Now you all know about as much as I know!

I have packed my bags, stuffed myself with chocolate and cheeses, which I feel sure I am saying a long goodbye to, and, in a ridiculously last minute panic decision repainted the dining room (in almost exactly the same color) as waiting until July to do this seemed completely out of the question.

Jeremy will be dropping of the dogs in Texas (via American Airlines) and joining me from March through the end of April. So if you'd like to plan your vacation to visit please please come in May or June and give me something to look forward to. Khao Lak has great beaches and diving...

Ok, so here I go again. I hope you enjoy my Thai Life blog and send me some love from home!