Media Centre for Thailand Community Development Expedition

A Memorable Birthday…

Friday 25th April 2008 was my 25th birthday and certainly one of the most memorable of my life. The day began early with my team on breakfast duty- usually eggs in some form or other; pancakes, French toast, scrambled, etc and plenty of fresh fruit. If you’re wondering how fresh- we have a mango tree on base that drops fresh mangoes daily. After breakfast we drove to a small village in rural Ao Luk to take part in a clean up at a village temple where the whole village, including the monks sat down in one big cross legged circle for lunch. A really wonderful and friendly communal experience. I ate so much fried rice it was unbelievable! When we returned to base we had our weekly one on one tutorial sessions with our TEFL trainers. I had a really positive talk and although I only signed up for the 5 week expedition originally, I am now thinking of staying on for the full 10 weeks. Trust me- 5 weeks just isn’t enough! Afterwards, I had a cooking workshop with our local chef Pi Ban. She taught me how to cook a Thai dish called Pad Thai which is just awesome- like a sweet chili noodle dish with chicken or prawns. Oh and a whole lot of sugar. I’m so happy that I can cook this now because I’m seriously addicted. A quick shower after dinner and when I came out of my room it was already dark. The palapas (palapas are like bamboo huts with tables or platforms in them) were lit up with fairy lights and blinked in the darkness. One of the GVI team, Jude, handed me a beer and we sat down. The rest of the team came to join us and then the lights went out. A birthday cake with candles made its way toward me. Everyone sang… A deep breath… A sputter of flame… And I was 25 years young and feeling very much alive. I was given a card signed by everyone and a gift. It was a sort of Thai scarf that is worn around the waist and is apparently presented to Thai boys to signify that they have passed into manhood. They might have been pulling my leg buy hey! There was also plenty of drink, ice cream and Anita’s questionable Pineapple Jam Trifle. We partied until the early hours. I have made some amazing friends here at GVI and in the local community. I felt privileged to be with them all on my birthday and I will never forget that day for as long as I live.