Saturday, December 17, 2011

Semester 1 Reflection

Due to school, the semester has been even better than I hoped. Learning has not been rushed, field trips lead to the greatest places, and the classes at Henessey are more fun than you would think.

The animals love Auburn. Few tragedies have occurred considering all that could easily happen. The ducks and chickens are still laying beautiful eggs. The goats have given birth to beautiful, healthy babes and are producing enough milk each day for breakfast, lunch or dinner each day. Rosie's ear has healed up nicely. And the fish love the "pond barrels."

Sophia

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Happy Holidays!

This year we are going digital with our holiday card.  Here it is:

Juliana, Joe, Grace, Eli, Sophia... and Bambi, Sugar, Rosie, and Honey

"Yesterday is history. 
Tomorrow is a mystery. 
Today is a gift. 
That's why we call it the 'present'."
--Quoted in Kung Fu Panda

May you have lots of presence, a happy holiday season, and a peaceful New Year.

Love,

The Stewarts

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

This Week: Semester's End


Our homeschooling semester is drawing to a close.  All of the children have written reflections on the semester (or will).  But we also want to share a bit about this past week.  Here is what they have to say about it:

Over the weekend, we (the kids) went to a church retreat.  It was fun.  We did a community service in which we volunteered at a party for kids whose parents were incarcerated.  At the party, there was a bingo game where every kid won at some point, got on the stage, and picked a present.  We stayed overnight at church and on Sunday we led the first half of the church service.

Yesterday we had a field trip to Grass Valley.  We went to Empire Mine State Park.  They had a display that showed how much gold was mined there in about 100 years.  It was big for gold, but only about a cube with sides as long as a person (worth about 10 billion dollars with present gold prices).   We also went on man skip (human elevator into the mine shaft).  From Eli's journal:

"Today we went to Empire Mine.  There we got a tour of the mine.  We got to see many of the different ores found all over the world.  We then were allowed to do a simulation of going down to the mines.  We also saw a huge model of the mine.  It was incredible.  There were hundreds of tunnels covering 5 square miles.  Something unique about the mine was it was shored up with steel [editor's note: rails taken from cable car tracks broken in the 1906 SF earthquake] letting the tunnel last longer."

In addition, yesterday we Christmas-caroled and gave out presents at in an elder home.  We also went bowling with our fellow charter school homeschoolers.

The next couple of weeks are vacation, though we will continue to read, do PE (skiing), and learn.  [editor's note: Learning is all around us whether we try or not, which is pretty cool].

Next semester we are looking forward to: skiing, going to New York to see Uncle Ben, going to Boston and Providence, spending time with people we like, going to Southern California, our birthdays, Eli's Bar Mitzvah, finishing the school year (and this blog, says Eli), starting our Semester 2 math books, and taking care of our animals.

Sophia, Grace, and Eli [and Joey on keyboard/editing]

Semester 1

So far homeschooling hasn't been terrible; it has actually has been pretty fun. If I had it to do again though I probably wouldn't. We had our trip to Thailand and we are leaving for Utah in a couple days. We have been keeping on track with school work and my Bar Mitzvah is coming along well. I have met a few people and my soccer team tied for first. I am excited to ski this winter even though there hasn't been much snow so far.

Eli

Reflection

This semester was truly wonderful. But, bad times have happened too. There were times when I really wanted to move back.  But if we had not moved or homeschooled, I would not have been able to do all the cool things I have done this semester.  We wouldn't have been able to watch "Babe", the movie where I saw a great dollhouse and got all my inspiration for our dollhouse.   I would not have been able to wire our dollhouse or have all our wonderful animals.  I think I will look back on this year as the best year in my life.

Grace

Electrifying our dollhouse

About two weeks ago, Papa, Grace, and I decided to electrify our dollhouse. In only a few days, all the supplies that were needed were bought and in the garage. These were: 4 LED lights, 4 switches, wire, and soldering equipment. The morning after the supplies were bought, we carried the dollhouse to the garage and got to work.

First we soldered the switches and then wired up the house using parallel circuits.

But that was not the end... Grace and I were ecstatic, so we switched on and off the switches. But some of the lights refused to turn on. "What do we do?" Grace and I frantically asked. Papa said that first we had to figure out if the lights or the switches were wrong. We untwisted the wires and took the switches off. Then, we touched the wires together and the lights still didn't turn on. Two lights were wired backwards (we hadn't realized they were one-directional).

Still confident, our team continued. We rewired our lights and prayed that it might work this time. We thought we had finally done it correctly, but when I pushed the switch it only turned on for a second--or as long as I pushed it.

So the next day, Papa bought new switches that looked real, but were mini. Triumphant again, we soldered all the connections, sawed holes for the new switches, and then glue-gunned them into place.  Thinking it would work, Papa tried to turn on the lights using the switches.  But the switches would not budge.  The hot glue must have glued the switch in place!  We scraped off the glue and nailed the new switches instead.  Finally it worked and the house was done!

Sophia

Sunday, December 11, 2011

A Rambling Story of My Weekend

by Joey


Introduction: Baching-it
This weekend I am "baching-it" at the Stewyurt.  Friday I took the time to get a number of smallish projects done and clear my desk of bills, etc.  With that out of the way, I planned Saturday more as a weekend warrior day.  Morning to Sacramento for some ultimate then a mountain bike ride in the afternoon (and ski boot shopping inbetween).  Though I followed through with my plan, the bike ride was cut short by a header I took early in the ride. 

Chapter 1: MISSING: Joey's hair follicles, blood, and memory
I arrived for my bike ride a few minutes late (lost track of time while ski boot shopping--I'm really excited about ski season.  Hopefully the snow will come!)  My friend, Patrick, was there waiting along with his regular crew.  I felt a bit bad about my tardiness, but even more foolish when I realized I had forgotten my helmet!  I figured everything would be fine though.  I haven't fallen off my bike in so long and it was just a mountain ride... [note the foreshadowing]

What I was not expecting is that the ride would start out with pretty tight single track.  It was fairly slippery and at the turns there wasn't much room for error.  Unfortunately, I made an error at a spot where there was a big branch lying off the side of the trail.  I hit the branch.  I fell.  When I opened my eyes there was a fair bit of blood splashing in front of my face on the branch and I wasn't sure exactly where I was.  After a moment, I remembered the situation.  I was dizzy and bleeding from the side of my head.  The blood flow and dizziness subsided with pressure after a few minutes and my friend and I were able to ride back to the car.  Though I had had a concussion, I was feeling pretty clear and remembered everything (except the moment my head hit) and decided to drive home.  This was done without incident.

I wrote an email to Patrick about what followed:
"When I got home, I called my nurse connections (including my wife) and Kaiser.  The recommendation was that I go to the ER to get evaluated.  So I did (first I stopped at Any Mountain and bought the ski boots I was looking at before the ride--I got a nice used pair of Nordica Hot Rod 125's for $58! Great deal).  Turned out I had an inch-long laceration that required 5 staples.  I also scraped off about a quarter-sized patch of hair which is predicted not to grow back.  I definitely had a concussion and was told to take it easy for at least a week.  They also suggested a CAT scan, but the doc didn't push it and as my symptoms were only the momentary loss of consciousness and brief dizziness after the fall, I decided to pass."

This week my dog and I both gained an inch-long scar above our hearing orifices with an accompanying loss of hair follicles (though I kept more skin than she did). 

Chapter 2: Movie Review and Philosophical Rambling
After the hospital trip, I went to a movie: "The Descendants" (remember, I'm batching it).  It is the story of a man in the midst of his career coming to terms with relationships with his wife and kids.  Though I've made lots of very different life choices than the protagonist (played by George Clooney), it was fairly topical for me.  Being in a similar life-stage, I could relate to the tensions he felt.  

Without giving much away, in the movie's resolution, Clooney's character makes some typical yet brave choices that help his family find a place of ease.  With the attainment of balance found at the end among tragedy, obligation, work, parenting, growing-up (AKA "life"), I felt a visceral connection to what the characters were experiencing.  Through the course of the movie, he made choices that affirmed his family.  Though his choices did not always produce the desired result at any given moment, it did end up creating a simple ease and closeness in his family at the end.  So often in movies it is about that "ecstatic" moment (in a family movie, for example, perhaps they achieve some unattainable goal together, or in a romance they decide to get married).  But the end of this movie was banal.  Indeed, though often barely noticeable, ordinary moments do hold great depth.  "The Desendants" is the rare Hollywood film that depicts at least one such moment.    And its relationships seem to exist within long-term lives, not just one-dimensional moments of passion and glee. 

Last year I imagined this year would be somewhat "ecstatic": a year off work, international travel, domestic travel, free time with the kids.  While I guess those moments are there, finding depth and ease in relationships and life (whether at the Stewyurt or in "regular" life) is much more subtle than just making one choice (i.e. taking a leave).  It requires choices everyday: to be present, to recognize the people around you, to balance work, to find a way to respond to set-backs.   Those ordinary moments when that happens are special; I enjoyed seeing it happen in the movie.

Chapter 3: Sunday Chill Day and More Philosophical Ramblings (a Poem, Really)
I'm taking it easy today; letting my brain rest and recover.  I had been planning to have a ski day today or tomorrow, but I'll follow my doctor's instructions and take at least a week off.  Instead, I'm puttering around and listening to the radio.  

While listening to "Prairie Home Companion", I heard a poem that moved me.  It is starts out seeming like it will be a kind of a funny poem, but it brought up some significant emotion for me.  It addresses mortality and independence and brings up a lot of the issues about making choices (especially for family men) that led me out on the trail yesterday and got me thinking in the movie I saw last night. 

I'll let you read it and make the connections.  Here it is as it appears on the "Prairie Home Companion" website (http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/11/20):

Snow


A heavy snow, and men my age
  all over the city
are having heart attacks in their driveways,

dropping their nice new shovels
  with the ergonomic handles
that finally did them no good.

Gray-headed men who meant no harm,
  who abided by the rules and worked hard
for modest rewards, are slipping

softly from their mortgages,
  falling out of their marriages.
How gracefully they swoon—

that lovely, old-fashioned word—
  from dinner parties, grandkids,
vacations in Florida.

They should have known better
  than to shovel snow at their age.
If only they'd heeded

the sensible advice of their wives
  and hired a snow-removal service.
But there's more to life

than merely being sensible. Sometimes
  a man must take up his shovel
and head out alone into the snow.


Friday, December 9, 2011

Bar Mitzvah

My Bar Mitzvah is coming up in April. I have learned 3 long prayers and I have 2 more long ones to learn. I have done some community service and other parts of my Bar Mitzvah. I think I am on good track to be ready by April. I have rung the bell for Salvation Army, made cookies for our neighbor whose husband died of cancer, gleaned, am working on a song to play at the ceremony on my trumpet, and going on a run with my dad a few times a week.

goat family

Thursday, December 8, 2011

hello again





I'm back!

It was a gorgeous vacation, and then a bunch of working after (and jet lag). Soon, back for another intense stretch of working.

My work is intense (often in the sweetest ways, but also sometimes just scary.) Being away for that many days is intense. Leaving is the hardest. Lately I find myself just wanting to slip out, not make a big deal. I appreciate that Joey notices my heavy sighs those days, and heaves some of his own.

My favorite co-workers are also breathing heavy sighs lately. There is a feeling of powerlessness to effect positive change, a lack of regard from our managers, a focus on the bottom line that's hard to accept.

I'm thinking of making a change, and ruminating about how that might look. I think because the calendar year is ending, and our year here is half done.... I wish for another year like this one, with the children around, and time to be with them.

Yesterday the girls and I let all the goats out to forage. The sound of their chewing was deafening. The kids frolicked up and down the paved drive. We collected what we observed to be their favorite weed-- clover, and tossed it over the fence into their pasture feed wagon. Sophie thinks we could save money on purchased hay and is determined to do it. The milk was more this morning, and we imagined, better quality too, frothy and abundant.

We've made good progress in finding the goat children and mothers homes in families with loving human children. They will start to move out after the holidays, and we'll miss them. We'll post photos of them soon so you can see them bigger, and with horns sprouting.

I planted some raspberry canes I'd dug up at Hillview in our fenced "orchard". They wanted more sun. I gave Joey the promise of a raspberry patch for his birthday, so this is our start. For myself, I will plant some bare root wine grapes (for eating.) The children will plant strawberries. I've also planted some Jerusalem artichoke bulbs. I plan to plant giant pumpkins and all our melons and cucumbers up there as well.

An e-mail from my cousin Barclay reminded me that I miss home-home some. I went off on a fantasy about a year living as an adult in the South. Mainly the fantasy was about food, seafood and BBQ and boiled peanuts in particular. But also involving the Grand Ole Opry and Dollywood. I told the girls "Dolly Parton is my Taylor Swift." We decided to fry some stuff-- green tomatoes and hush puppies. They were tasty.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

FOUND: Rosie's Ear

Found in the neighbor's yard where it became unconnected from the rest of the body yesterday.  Unfortunately, it will remain in this unattached state.  Some pets are declawed.  Rosie is now delobed.

Joey

MISSING: Rosie's ear

Last night part of Rosie's ear was torn off by our neighbor's dogs. Now it is our job to doctor her.
Poor Bobie!
Yesterday Papa asked Eli to walk Caleb up to his house. Then he added: "Bring Rosie, too." So off they went. About 2 minutes later, I went up to do the animals. As I got up to the hill, I heard snarls and barking. I assumed that Rosie and Caleb's dogs got in a fight. The fights between our neighbor's dogs and Rosie were seldom bad, so I kept doing the animals. But later Sophia came to me with tears in her eyes. She said the neighbor's dogs had ripped off some of Rosie's left ear! We bandaged it up and put her in the shed so the wound would not got infected.
Grace
[Editor's note: Though she lost about a square inch or so of ear, Rosie is doing fine.]

Monday, December 5, 2011

Sophia's Thailand Essay

Click on the photos from the blog site to enlarge.




Grace's Thailand Essay

These photos will enlarge and should be more readable when viewed from the blog site.





Eli's Thailand Essay


Eli Stewart

Great Experiences

            Last week we were in Thailand. There were lots of things to see and do in Thailand: snorkeling, great food, beautiful island formations, Hongs (Hong means room in Thai) and many other things. Of these things the most exciting experiences were with animals.
            By far the best experience I had was feeding a baby tiger. We were at a show called “Fantasea”. Fantasea is a mix between a circus and a Thai version of Disneyland. On the way into the show there was a booth were you could pet and feed a baby tiger, then you could buy a photo of yourself for about $30. This was really exiting because I’ve been fascinated by tigers since I was a little kid.
            Another thing I did in Thailand is a classic tourist activity: riding elephants. The elephants we rode were Asian elephants and weren’t as big as the ones you see in the zoo. While we rode, the driver let me come down and sit on the elephant’s neck. We went on a long hike through the jungle on its back. Along the way, we saw lots of rubber trees collecting rubber. Later, at Fantasea we saw two very friendly baby elephants. The next day, we saw another baby elephant getting taken on a walk down the beach. As with the tiger, all these elephant experiences were extremely memorable.
Throughout the trip we also had many interactions with monkeys. The first pair of monkeys we saw was very polite and watched us as we watched them. The next family of monkeys wasn’t as polite. They were very bold and would sit on you and accept food. If they didn’t get food though they got mean and one pulled my hair. The final troop of monkeys we encountered was very aggressive and would attack you for food. These episodes with monkeys both good and bad were very interesting.
These were just some of the great things I did with animals in Thailand. Probably the best thing I left out was how I swam with a turtle. All of the best experiences I had involved animals. I have realized this is often true in the rest of my life as well.

Last Week at the Stewyurt

Last week we returned to our "regular" schedule.  A big part of our schooling last week was writing five paragraph essays.  I asked each of the kids to come up with a theme related to their observations and/or experiences in Thailand.  The posts that follow this one are their final drafts of those essays.  The girls' essays are photographs which can be enlarged by clicking them (if you read on the blog site).  Please consider posting a comment regarding the essays on the blog itself.  [Note: Posting a comment can be tricky.  If you choose "Anonymous" as your ID, this seems to work--just sign your name in the text of the comment.  Clearing your browser's cache sometimes helps also.]

Since the kids were busy writing their essays, they did not have time to blog.  (You will get some from them this week...  Spoiler alert!  Look for some discussion of how Rosie lost part of her ear).

Since we are short on written descriptions, here is some more of what went down last week in and around the Stewyurt:
 Eli made cookies from scratch for our neighbors and us.  Note pertaining to shirt: Eli and the rest of us are planning to see a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in May (though let the record show that he is a Giants fan).

 Sophia learned about electrical circuits (as did the other kids).

 Grace made a puppet for a show she will be doing about the the western trail.  She also harvested the rest of her pumpkins.

 Sophia is showed off where the kids take their music lessons.

 We solicited donations at the grocery store for holiday food baskets.

 We also collected donations as bell-ringers for the Salvation Army, but I don't have a photo of that so here is the bucket we collected the food donations in.

Sophia made a puppet, too.

Joey

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Another Memory

A late arrival to the photo archives; they are pretty excited about this one, so I thought I'd add it.  Not too often you get to hold a tiger!
Joey

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Home Again

We are back.  It is good.

We reunited in Muir Beach with family for a lovely Thanksgiving.  All of our animals are alive and well thanks to Caleb, Ruthie, Moses (heal quickly!), Tracey, Mark, Darcy, Lou, Gretchen, Mike, and all of the associated children who assisted their aforementioned parents.  In Auburn, the air is crisp and from the ground has grown green and soft.  Ski season is near. 

We had fun, learned together, grew closer.  It was good.

It was so nice to relax, read, swim, see and experience amazing natural and cultural things.  For one, this being my first and only adult experience in a primarily Buddhist country, I was interested to see the shrines, temples, and other overt signs of the religion.  I studied Buddhism fairly extensively in college and have always had a strong draw to its teachings.  I was struck by how the religion influenced the culture.   Thailand is well known for having "smiley" people.  They spoke of peace and had a gentleness about them.  There was ease in their ways; in particular in relation to money (as tourists, a lot of our interactions with locals involved purchasing), that I haven't seen in similar circumstances.  Most of my previous international travel has been in poorer countries in Latin America, so some of the difference could be attributed to that: maybe people are more financially comfortable in Thailand.  Maybe in general, Thailand is more enamored of America in general than elsewhere. But in Latin America, I am also able to speak the language and that tends to put people at ease.  In Thailand, I felt like that "ease" came automatically; even without the language connection.  People smiled, made the effort to communicate even when only gestures were available, thanked us for visiting their country.  I attribute at least some of this generosity of spirit to the Buddhist way that teaches moderation, deemphasizes dogma and differences, strives for detachment from material things, and in no way promotes aggression (for example, in the name of religion).

Now that we are home, I can share some images as well (see below).  I have also added some to our previous blog entries (go check them out!).

Joey

An open air market in town.  Juliana's favorite place.

Krasts (limestone islands) in Phang Nga Bay (a James Bond movie was filmed at this one).

 Beach life.

 The captain and admiral of Quantum Leap (Tom and Bette Lee).  Thank you!

 A "hong" (room) within one of the islands in Phang Nga Bay.

 Sailing.

 Crafting.

 Animal encounter.

 These shrines are at every business and many residences.  Note the open Coca Cola offering.

 Typical longtail boats with bow decorations.

 Kayaking at Maya Bay.

 The crew (minus the photographer).

 Riding.

 Duran Duran.

Sunset.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

More News from Thailand


November 19

There were Stewarts on the elephants' backs... 

So our Thailand adventure has continued.  We've seen more beautiful islands, surfed the waves, ridden elephants, swum with a sea turtle, frolicked on white sand beaches, created hermit crab habitat, received Thai massages, eaten well, read a lot, enjoyed each other's company. One could quickly come to love this type of homeschooling.  If only the money and health insurance could hold out! We are presently on our way to our final port of call in Thailand (on the east side of Phuket) where we will spend our last four nights here.

It has been a wonderful trip on so many levels.  The kids have had fun exploring, we have had time to relax and enjoy eachother's company, it has been eye-opening learning about another culture and place.  As our time here draws to a close, We look forward to being back home to celebrate Thanksgiving, see all of you, start ski season, care for the animals, and continue our special year (taking shape: a January trip to SoCal and the Southwest, a July trip to the Northwest and BC).  I've been having dreams about my return to work at Redwood (nothing approaching nightmares--it will be fine), but adventuring sure is cool!

Here are some selected entries from the kids' journals since I last updated the blog:

November 18, Eli
For the last two days we have been anchored near a beach with huge waves.  Today my grampa found two boogie boards.  While the rest of the family went ashore on the dingy, I dragged behind on one of the boogie boards.  When we got to the surf line, I caught a huge wave to shore.  After a couple hours at that part of the beach, me and my dad went down the beach to some bigger waves.  Some of the ones I caught were so big that the board buckled and skipped.  After lunch I wasn't able to catch many more.

November 16, Sophia
An Unexpected Swim
When the sun finally almost had set and everyone knew it was time to eat, Mana, Bapu, Mama, Eli, Grace and I piled into the dingy and rode halfway to shore.  We only went halfway because as I looked back from the beach, a big, salty, blue wave was coming right at us.  Then the boat tipped and a second later I found myself (fully dressed in wet cotton clothes) in the surf.  Eyeing the others and laughing was Papa [who had gone separately in the kayak].  We looked at our drenched clothing: we were going to go back to the boat and Papa and Eli were going to bring us food [delivered back to the big boat from land via the kayak].

November 15, Eli
A Turtle
Today me and my dad were snorkeling.  I was watching some parrot fish eating coral.  Then my dad yelled "Eli!"  I swam over and saw a green turtle swimming near the surface.  We followed it until we were close enough to call my sisters over.  By the time they got to us, it had gone to the bottom and was taking little bites of coral.  Sometimes it stayed at one feeding spot for a while, sometimes it would move on quickly.  One time, I was very close to it and reached out to touch it. Despite its normal, sluggish pace, it darted away.  We watched it for about 20 minutes but during the whole time it breathed only 3 times.

November 15, Grace
Oh, Goody!
This morning Eli, Sophia, and I were bickering when Papa's voice surprised me: "We have a surprise for you!"  Sophia and I scrambled to meet our gift-bearers/parents.  When we got there, we saw a sweet, speckled hermit crab.  "Oh, goody!", I exclaimed happily.  We made a habitat as quick as a flash.  Sophie also named it Johnny.

November 14, Grace
A Pool by the Sea
Last night we sailed to a new island.  Last night was stormy, but in the morning when I woke up, the warm sun was shining brightly.  We did our school work and set off to the civilized island.  When we got there, we (well Mana and Bapu) got Mama and Papa (*only*) a room at the nearby resort.  The resort had a pool!  I was very excited to swim in the pool!  But we had to wait 'til after lunch.  Lunch was good!  *Finally* we swam in the pool.  It was fun!

November 14, Sophia
A couple days ago, the boat was anchored in a pace called Monkey Beach. Monkey Beach was great.  It had good food and swings.  There was only one problem...monkeys.  For example, I was enjoying a cool, yummy coconut when a monkey ran at me, nearly grabbing the coconut out of my hand.  For the rest of the day, I ate in the water.  Another example was when Mama got a grilled corn and an obese monkey shot up her leg, leaving a sandy red handprint on her upper thigh.  That's when Mama and the other corn and coconut eaters joined me at water's edge!

*

At this point, I encourage you to stop reading and go on with your day.  What follows is my record of our trip.  You are certainly welcome to read it, but I post it here primarily for my own benefit (this is our journal for the year, after all).
Joey

*
DAY DATE, ANCHORAGE, ACTIVITIES OF NOTE: FIRST ANIMAL SIGHTINGS OF NOTE

Mon Oct 31 Halloween, Departure from San Rafael
Tu Nov 1 Departure from SFO

PHUKET ISLAND
W 2 Yacht Haven Marina, Ko (Island) Phuket, Arrival, Hat Nai Yang Beach (Sirinat Nat'l Park) [blog post 1]
Th 3 " , Beach again, Ceramic Kitchen for dinner

PHANG NGA BAY
F 4 Ko Phanak, Cave visit
St 5 Ko Hong, Really cool hong ("room") & inlet @ Koh Phanak, Touristy hong @ Koh Hong: Monkeys, Reef heron, Brahming Kite
Sn 6 Ko Phra At Num, Visit to "James Bond" Island (Ko Ping Kan) w/ small pinnacle, circumnavigation of island in kayak: Cuddle fish, Bats, Sea eagles
M 7 Ko Hong #2 National Park, Visit to fishing village @ Ko Pan Yi
Tu 8 " , Hong visit, walk: Coral and reef fishes

KRABI PROVENCE ISLANDS
W 9 Ao (Bay) Nang, Touristy bay and town: Sea snake @ Ko Hong
Th 10 (North) Koh Dan Hok, Thai food boat at small island: More monkeys
F 11 Ko Phi Phi Don @ Monkey Beach, Rude monkeys: Cuttle fish, trunk fish, good coral
St 12 " , Ton Sai town visit [blog post 2]
Sn 13 Ko Phi Phi Don @ Holiday Inn Beach
M 14 " , Room at P.P.E.Palms Resort, Massage, Pool :)
Tu 15 Ko Phi Phi Le @ Maya Bay, Beautiful National Park--site of "The Beach"

PHUKET ISLAND (ANDAMAN COAST)
W 16 Nai Harn Beach, Cruiser boarding @ Maya Bay and Dingy flip
Th 17 " , Surfing, Windsurfing, Lunch in town
F 18 Kata Noi Beach
St 19 Ao Sapam near Royal Phuket Marina, Elephant ride @ Kok Chang (near Kata Noi): Elephants, Gibbons [this blog post 3 typed]

Sn 20 Royal Phuket Marina, Nice Italian lunch
M 21 Bang Tao Beach (Kris Resort), Island drive to Patong and more
Tu 22 Bang Tao Beach (Kris Resort), Frisbee at the beach, Thai pancakes, FantaSea: Tigers
 W 23 Gift shopping, Departure

Language:
korm kun, krap (thank you [male]) ...ka [female]
sa wat dee, krap (hello [male])
tow rai (how much)
kai (egg)