Updates

Here is the rest of the story about a few things mentioned here recently:

· Cracks in the tarmac at Thailand’s biggest airport made for a big story when the place first opened. That news has disappeared from the headlines since the former airport reopened to relieve some of the domestic flight traffic, and since the coup government left office. Let’s hope that scare was overblown in an attempt by the coup leaders to embarrass the prime minister they ousted.

· At work we tried to interest Gates Foundation in partnering with us on some big-money ideas that would have doubled our budget. Those conversations never took off, but we’re optimistic that one day the seeds we planted will blossom.

· Learning Thai is still a two-steps-forward-one-step-backward kind of process. But my morning Thai lessons continue, and every day I’m able to tune in to more of the conversations swirling around me. Some advanced vocabulary is simply a stitched-together combination of basic words (medicine + numb = anesthetic; touch + horoscope = to hit it off together), so the more I already know, the easier it is to guess what I don’t know.

· Laughter is increasingly common around our place. Jip and her caregivers know each other quite well by now (no turnover for six months). When she’s relaxed, her funny side trumps her fussy side. I plan to take advantage of the stability to make a trip or two to the States this year.