Who We Are

A heartfelt thank you to everybody who replied to the first post. It was encouraging to receive your positive comments and e-mails.

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North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) was founded in the days after the tsunami by a young visionary named Bodhi, who had been working as an environmental educator at Golden Buddha Beach, an eco-resort on Koh Phratong island. Bodhi was spending the holidays with his family in the US when the tsunami struck, and returned to find Golden Buddha, as well as many nearby villages, completely destroyed. These rural villages are not well-known coastal tourist destinations like Khao Lak or Phuket, and little aid was initially directed here. Bodhi identified the need to assist this specific area; to give back to the communities that had shown him so much kindness before the disaster. NATR--an initialism designed to invoke the word "nature"--was born.

I first learned of NATR through my friends at Crooked Trails, who were helping recruit volunteers. My schedule and commitments at the time didn't allow me to come until April, and I couldn't remain here much longer than three weeks. But that was long enough to form a powerful connection. NATR's model of community empowerment and self-reliance immediately resonated with me, and to witness so many people come together and toil so hard out of pure kindness and concern, frankly, overwhelmed me. When I left I felt as though I was abandoning a crucial mission in my life. So last fall I completed my certification to teach English, and when I was done I applied for only one job.

In the year that has passed a lot has changed here. We're in a new office that's equipped with a computer lab and classroom, and the focus of the organization has evolved from disaster relief to community development and long-term sustainability--we teach English and computer classes at TREC on weekends and are in the process of expanding these programs; we're working with several villages to create local community-based tourism programs through training guides and developing homestay programs; and we're identifying long-term markets for locally-produced handicrafts.

What hasn't changed here is the energy. Everyone comes together and is focused on only one mission: helping the people of these communities. It's an amazing team and I'm privileged to be a part of it.

It's not all business around here, though--we certainly have our share of fun. (I hope this works; regardless, wear headphones if you're at work.)

The Training, Resource, and Education Center (TREC) in Khuraburi--the new home of NATR's offices and classes.

The Tararin bungalows in Khuraburi--I stayed in one of the rustic ones last year.

The English classroom at TREC. I teach this group on weekends.

A recent party for a departing volunteer. Farewell Phyllipa!

A longtail boat at Mu Koh Surin, home of the Moken Sea Gypsies.

A view of downtown Khuraburi.

Welcome to Thailand

My first job was teaching--I was about eight years old introducing such lexis as "dog" and "cat" to my three-year-old brother Nate on a small slate blackboard that dated from my Dad's childhood. By the time Nate reached Kindergarten he was leisurely reading works by Nabakov and Dostoevsky; he learned to play the piano and guitar and now fronts a Boston rock band when he's not performing research at MIT. The only logical conclusion is that I'm a great teacher. Now let's see what I can do for the rural, tsunami-impacted villages along the north Andaman coast of Thailand.

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I told you I was going to start this blog before I left California. Maybe I even promised you the simple courtesy of a thank-you note for supporting me with donations, storage space, mail forwarding, advice, or encouragement. I vowed I'd keep my karmic balance in check. But one distraction begets another--oh blissful rain on the window pane that last morning--and I found myself frantically packing the last of my things a mere five hours before my flight to Bangkok, as the gracious woman driving me to San Francisco airport and the wise-cracking bloke taking over my room patiently waited. Three weeks later and I'm still struggling to catch up. Please forgive me--I don't love or appreciate you any less.

I'm not going to put either of us through the odious task of recapping the past three weeks. Instead, think of this as a movie you walked into twenty minutes late because you got caught up in a philosophical debate outside the theater with a homeless person about the ramifications of passing Hubbert's peak on population dynamics (you never could pass up a friendly exchange on this topic). Take a deep breath and settle into your comfy seat and let the buttery goodness of that tub of popcorn coat your esophagus and soothe your insides (You glutton, you!). You'll figure out the plot and maybe even stick around to see how it ends. I'll try and make it worth your while.

Welcome to Thailand.