One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster...

Actually, to be precise, it was one day I spent in Bangkok, but I've had that song on the brain for days!

The last few days have been extremely positive and uplifting. I really enjoyed spending the last couple of days in Tashbaan at home with the family, and on my last day we talked a lot about possibilities for the future - and for the first time it felt like we were talking about really serious possibilities, which was very exciting and encouraging. I also had some more encouraging interactions with locals within the last couple of days there, which left me feeling much more comfortable with the idea of living there.

Some of the ideas we brain- stormed for me working there are:-

• Teaching at a language school that Ash (my host) is hoping to set up
• Setting up a budget-travel company
• Working as a freelance Australian client liaison for some of the travel businesses already set up by workers there
• Setting up a cafe that's aimed at female patrons (because there are a lot of eateries/coffee houses that are male dominated, where local women aren't really free to go)
• Working on a liveaboard dive boat that one of the other workers is planning to set up, either as a divemaster/deckhand or doing the catering

I could potentially do a combination of a few of these things. And I could get all of you excellent rates for holidays there!! :o) As far as a work permit goes, there would be no problem. Both Ash and the team leader already have businesses set up which are entitled to issue work permits to 2 more foreigners each.

So, all in all, Tashbaan is looking like a very real long-term possibility. I did have some quite down times while I was there, which you may have picked up in my emails, but at my lowest points I had a couple of moments of clarity that were comforting... there was one day I was sitting on the beach near home, feeling quite frustrated and negative about the local people and the prospects for forming relationships with them, and I read some Psalms and prayed a while, and out of the blue the words of a song we sing at church came to me - "In His image we have been made, though we see shattered remains...", which swept away my critical thoughts and left only compassion for these people. And there was another moment sitting on the beach on the village island feeling quite alone and like I was in a spiritual wasteland... and then I noticed a big column of cloud lit up by the setting sun and was reminded of God's presence with His people even as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.

I left Tashbaan the night before last and flew to Bangkok, arriving at 6:30am having not slept a wink. I had booked myself on a cycling tour for the day, as I felt I should have a bit of a look at Bangkok but actually wasn't that interested in the main tourist sites or the city centre - the cycle tour was just what I was after, we were well off the tourist trail, visiting a very local produce market, a shanty town beneath a motorway flyover, and cycling miles along raised concrete pathways among canals and swamps (which was a bit hair-raising!). After the tour, I headed for the main railway station and got the overnight train to Chiang Mai. Sleeper trains in Thailand are quite good and I had a much better night's sleep than I had on the plane!

In Chiang Mai I'm staying with the Tilley's, an Australian family who are with Pioneers and have been here about 14 months. The family consist of Tom, Ann, Emily (12) and Thomas (11). I was picked up at the station by Tom and Thomas, and taken to their house near the university, where I have the luxury of having a bedroom and a bathroom all to myself! I feel quite spoilt! Nearby there is a bakery and a coffeeshop, both run by Pioneers team members.

After lunch (they mostly eat takeaway from one of the restaurants or foodstalls that line the road, as it's cheaper than cooking at home), the team leader Russell, who's my supervisor for my college fieldwork, came to meet me and talk me through the plans for the next 4 weeks. I wasn't too sure what to expect, beyond helping out with some English classes, but they're quite accustomed to having short-termers here so they've put together a very good schedule for me, just the right combination of structure and flexibility, and lots of variation, meeting with different people to discuss different topics. I'm really looking forward to getting into it!