Organizing can be FUN or a pain in the A$$

(Setting up beach umbrellas and chairs on an early morning on Cha-am beach)

After a suprisingly eventful January, I came back from Australia to a slight buzz in the air preparing for a conference for the Canadian organization that sent me to Thailand.  Whether I’m a control freak or not, I took on the responsiblity of planning and organizing this conference, and a great experience to try to make sure everything went smoothly for the people who came.  Even with the minor stress and headache of trying to please people (i.e. dietary needs, hot water showers, transportation, etc.), I think everyone had a good time and lots was learnt… I even had time to snap a few photos.

If you didn’t know, I was sent to Thailand by CUSO, an independent non-partisan development agency, funded mostly by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).  While there are some internal political issues with the organization, the people I’ve met are fun, passionate and dedicated to positive social change and development.

(Our first day on an outing, we came to a lotus conservation wetland “park”, where the local community was trying to conserve the natural environment through sustainable agricutlural practices… even though we didn’t get to see the fish farms, we took a 2-hour boat ride through the wetlands to learn about the environmental issues they face)

(One of our guides taking a break from rowing our boats – after 2 hours in direct sunlight, we were all hot and sweaty and in need of a shower)

(On the last day of the conference, we went to visit a local community that use non-violence tactics to stop the building of a power plant in their community… unfortunately the leader of the group was shot dead (allegedly by a school friend who was paid-off by the power plant company)… many more activists have been killed since because they oppose development that’s harmful to their way of living… we then went to lunch at the wife’s restaurant located on a deserted beach… a nice way to end the conference)
(Taking a break in Lumpini Park after a very fun, but painful Saturday afternoon of Capoeira… the humidity is rising again and I’m not looking forward to the dry/hot season.  Its been really comfortable the last couple of months, but it’s back to sticky skin, sweaty shirts, and stinky armpits!)