Susan Freund is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) who currently blogs about her experience volunteering outside of Nong Khai, Thailand. She is Volunteering through Good Shepherd Volunteers (GSV), working with the Good Shepherd Sisters, and primarily working at Hands of Hope .
Welcome to our New Year's Eve experience, in the quiet rural outskirts of Nongkhai - where we live. Read on to learn about the new illness I got (don't worry, Mom; it's not serious). I share the surprising moments of our New Year's experience, along with some interactions with patients. Hope it brings a little contentment to you, as it did for me upon reflection!
Christmas preparations and parties continue here in Nongkhai. I also share about what privilege looks like to me here. As usual, there are some good photos from the week included, too... Merry Christmas!
This blog post explores our Christmas experience so far here in Nongkhai. It's a thorough post, but I think it gives you an idea of what our last week or two has been like: full of joy and busyness!
This week I share some of my observations of the culture here in our region of Thailand so far, from some more macro-observations to little things like eating with your hands. I include some photos from John's birthday and an assortment from the week. Hope you walk away with a little snapshot of the Issan!
Read on to hear more about what a typical/ideal day looks like for me here in Thailand. And see a photo of my favorite meal this week!
I list the many things I am grateful for this week, as a way of celebrating a bit of Thanksgiving abroad, along with sharing a little about our most recent Thai-Buddhist holiday.
This week I write about finding the joy in my new life in Thailand, with some big news about the Care Center and some photos, too.
I share about our spirituality nights and how I hope to use my extra amount of personal time here. Plus, there are some photos of our observation of the rice harvest.
This week, I describe our experience at the Naga Fireball Festival briefly, along with some observations on the heat and transportation, and an update on how I'm doing. I also added a bunch of photos to my photos area finally. Check them out! There shouldn't be too many duplicates from my previous blog posts.
This week, I share some of the lowlights of the week, but read on; I share the highlights, too. I write about the various activities that I help lead for the patients and children.
This week, my marine biologist friend was asking about the animals here, after I already started writing a few blog notes regarding our animal encounters. So here it is: a brief, unscientific study of our experience thus far with the animals and insects here in Nongkhai.
I go a little deeper this week... dare I say more like a John blog post? I talk about death and the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS. I also talk about why our blogs are so important (for us and for you): "so when we drop back into your lives in a year, you will have some idea of what we went through. So please keep reading."
This week, I write about homesickness, and at the same time, learning about the people here and beginning to become grounded in Thailand. It's a little longer post than usual for me, but I think it reads fast enough with stories of the people here...
This week I write about how I attempt to assist the workers at Hands of Hope, with quilling. Read on to learn what quilling is (if you don't already know) to get an idea of the hard work done at Hands of Hope, and my usual highlights of the week.
I describe some limits of healthcare here in Thailand and how that affects the people we are serving. But please read on: I share some highlights of the ordinary, too!
Here's a little taste of what our everyday life is like right now, with some photos of our volunteer home...
I am so inspired by Good Shepherd Volunteers (GSV), the Sisters of Good Shepherd, and all that they do. I had already fallen in love with what GSV does in Thailand and their overall focus on women, adolescents, and children. However, in the midst of preparing to go away for a year, I didn’t have a chance to fully explore all that GSV does before orientation began...
Life is good, but could it be better? A brief reflection as the flurry of preparations winds down...
