My new 4th grade friend

Sharman and I participated in an exchange with fourth graders at Louisville Elementary, where older citizens told about their lives and responded to the kids' questions. We each wrote three responses and then met with the kids and their families this week for a pot luck dinner and talent show at the Rec Center.

 

Here are my responses, compiled into a single report. Warning: It's nearly 30 megs in size:

Brent's story to Javier

It was a lot of work but tons of fun really, trying to put together something that a kid would understand. And so rewarding to see the kids and their affection for us old folks! I think it wouldn't work quite so well with sixth or seventh graders!

Silas and Grampa Brent

Sarah took this picture of me and Silas just a few days old - mid-September. I like the deep look on his face!

Family picture - August

Paul and Shea bought a Prius (first car in their lives really) and drove out to see Seth and Lauren last August before they returned to Thailand. That's Otis and Natalia forefronted - fun time!

Two weeks in Turkey!

Sharman and I spent two weeks in Turkey late June/early July: Three days in Istanbul seeing the impressive big sites, three days in Trabzon at a conference, hosted very kindly by the family of my doc student Aysenur, then another week touring sites in a rental car.

 

Here we are overlooking Trabzon. And here is a nearby monastery, which we visited along with Aysenur's father and brother.

More pics to follow.

Driving in Turkey was a blast! I hesitated after seeing people's raised eyebrows, and the drivers in the narrow Istanbul streets. But everyone was very aware on the roads, with tractors and overloaded hay tracks driving alongside new vehicles going 120 km/hr. Sharman and Garmin were great navigators, and we only rarely got lost!

Money was another adventure - our debit and credit cards seemed to work about half the time, which was enough to get us home safely, but only barely!

The Turkish people were amazing - good solid hard-working people with good family values. It took me 12 days before I found one I didn't like (a restauranteur being mean to his waitress!). We miss you Turkey; hope to get back to visit sometime!

Natalia - Major attraction!

Seth and Lauren told us that people stop them in the store and kiss Natalia - without saying a word to them. But we didn't get it until we saw it for ourselves. Here is Natalia at the Bhutan exhibit within the flower festival, where she became the major attraction - see this 2-minute video clip!

More from Chiang Mai

Here are some more pics from Chiang Mai.

We've had such a marvelous time - Seth and Lauren have been our personal escorts the entire week.

Here we are with a monk at a chapel near Wat Saket at the Golden Mount in Bangkok. This new sanctuary is being built by a matron whom we call Oprah - because she bears a physical and spiritual resemblance. Here is a short video.

in Chiang Mai with Seth and Lauren (and Natalia)

We've been in Chiang Mai Thailand since Wednesday, visiting Seth and Lauren and 9-month old Natalia. Lots of stories to tell.

Here are some early pics.

Sharman in Bangkok prior to Chiang Mai. She's a lioness!

Little improv portrait at the flower festival in Chiang Mai. The flowers were gorgeous - it's a world-class festival that runs a couple of weeks.

Sharm with Seth and Natalia at the Elephant Camp. More later on those elephants.

At the Queen's Garden above the Elephant Camp. Beautiful mountain drive.