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Published: January 24th 2008
Denver Sunset
from my parents' house before ChristmasIt may be approaching the end of January, but I'm still trying to capture Christmas on this blog. Here goes...
As I mentioned in my last entry, I was heading to Denver, Colorado to visit family for the holidays. A series of flights (3) from Bangkok to Denver found me at my destination on the night of December 22, 2007. The flights were basically uneventful, and thankfully, not full. I had plenty of room to stretch out.
Upon arrival in Denver, however, I quickly found myself with yet another cold. Those have been coming often recently, what with all the public transportation I've been using and the amount of students coming through my classroom (about 350!). However, it didn't dampen my trip much.
We went out for my birthday dinner with the adults (mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law) the night after my arrival. Every year we check out a trendy, high-end restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Where to this year? "North", an Italian restaurant in Cherry Creek. Consider me impressed. Good stuff.
The next day was Christmas Eve, so there was the annual service at
Cherry Hills Community Church (I missed this one because my cold was at its worst),
After the Snow
view from my parents' house the day after the arrival of more snow. followed by dinner at my parents' house with my sister and her family (and my mom's mud pie for dessert).
You know what? There really isn't a whole lot to cover in this update. I spent most of my time with family, but not lots of stories to tell.
I will say this...it was a white Christmas in Denver, and after all the heat in Bangkok, I'll take it!
Ok, a little more...
What's Christmas Day like for me? It's family time. For Christmas morning, my parents & I went over to my sister's house to join them for brunch and opening the remaining gifts (most gifts were opened the night before at my parents' house).
Then we went to visit my grandma in the hospital (she's getting up there in years, and her health has been shaky recently - leading to this hospital stay). I have so many great memories of my grandma. She's been a blessing to me.
Later that afternoon, we went over to my uncle & aunts' (Gary & Ann) to spend time with them and my cousin, Mark, & his wife, Debra, who were visiting from Massachusetts. Mark and
Uncle Dave
with my nieces & nephew. Debra are both teachers so it was good being able to get their perspective on teaching in America. That might be my path in the future. Teaching English in Thailand and teaching in America may be very different, but still, I'm seriously considering it. I enjoy working with kids, and the long breaks are enticing. Still, only God knows.
As for the rest of my week in Denver, I spent most of it with family, and got in some shopping too. Not everything is available in Thailand, so it was time to restock and buy gifts for Saai.
I also hung out with my friend Roman and his family. Roman is the senior pastor at
Galilee Baptist Church in Denver. I ventured over to his church for the first time (he's been there for 2 years), and heard him preach on the Sunday before I left. It was good to catch up with him. I'm only sorry I wasn't able to see other friends during this trip.
On December 31, I was back on a plane. Amazingly, I didn't arrive in Bangkok until January 2 (over 20 hours in the air plus layovers & a time change). Still, considering
Saai's Birthday Dessert
at one of our favorite restaurants in Bangkok - Crepes & Company. the amount of time it took, it wasn't too bad. Again, thankfully my flights weren't full. After a day of rest, I was teaching again in Bangkok.
The following day, January 4, was Saai's birthday so we celebrated that night at one of our favorite restaurants -
Crepes & Company.
A few other tidbits before I finish up this entry - my parents are coming to Thailand in mid-March, and I am traveling to Hanoi, Vietnam for a visa run in late March.
That's all for now. Look! There goes Dave!
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