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So many things have changed there, some good and some well not that great. I was away from there for a few weeks because the kids had mid-term exams and then a 3 week holiday break. When I was living there I would get to see all of the kids all the time but now having Hilltribe in the CIty, I am really busy. It was nice to have a break from the but when I got back I was amazed at all of the changes.

Now the boys and girls eat separately and the food is cooked in 2 different kitchens. The girls have tables while the boys eat on the floor but this is not a big deal here in Thailand. At the Hilltribe in the City house we eat 95% of the time on the floor, picnics everyday. The new school is built and the old school is now being used for more girls dorm rooms. The boys dorm is getting an extension built on it as well as some new toilets and more space to bathe and wash clothes. They have planted more tress and cemented a few other areas where the kids can play on a flat, not to dusty surface.

The only thing is now they have room for more kids and they are getting them. There were about 640 this past year and the plan is to have about 900 next year. When I asked if they were getting more Monks or other helpers since there will be so many kids, I was told, “not sure”. Really, I mean 250 more kids and no more help! CRAZY! I was also told that they do not want to have any more foreign volunteers there to help, why I don’t know, again, CRAZY! I will always be allowed since I have been helping so long and I love those kids so much so I will do my best with what they allow me to do. There is a picture of where the garden I planted with the kids was, you will see it is totally flooded and everything is gone.

Mainly I have been teaching English to the older kids and we have plans to do a short course about ice cream making, coffee and fruit drinks (these are very popular here) and some baking too. I hope this happen sooner then later. Unfortunatly since there has been so much flooding in Bangkok some of the budget for these classes have had to go to Bangkok to help the schools there. The kids are still super sweet and always bring a smile to my face when I see them.

As you can see from the pictures, the bear is still there, sad. I was told she will soon go to the Zoo and I hope this is true, I think she would like some other food since she only eats cabbage, bananas and coconuts. Lucky the monkey is still there too but not going anywhere and he love bananas…..

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The kids are so sweet and we are so happy to see them doing well in school. When Bon got here he could not even write his name, he is almost 6 years old and now he is doing so good. Nopamot and Sudaporn could not speak to much Thai, they are from the Karen hill tribe and only spoke Karen and now they are chatting up a storm in Thai. The teachers tell us they are improving everyday and they are pretty well behaved in class, we are grateful.

We have been very lucky to have some people come over on weekends and teach some Thai, English and Art, they really like to have visitors. Also from 6-7, 5 days a week we do little lessons for them too, math, Thai and some English. Two weeks ago a couple of people came over with a projector and we watched a movie on the side of our garage and we ate popcorn and just had a blast. They plan on coming over once a month to do this, thanks John and Lois.

I have been doing most of the cooking so you know they are eating well and staying healthy. I have taught myself how to make many Thai dishes as well as introducing them to other foods, egg sandwiches, burgers, tacos, salads, pasta, oatmeal, etc. It is funny to see them eat some of these things over rice, I mean oatmeal and spaghetti over rice, LOL.

The kids just got back from a 10 day holiday from school, they went back to their villages. We feel it is so important to have them stay connected with their families and their culture. At the Wat I was at the kids only got to go back to see family for 2 weeks every year, not enough. We plan to have them home for even holiday, summer break and since we plan on helping in the villages, we will take them once a month when the weather is OK. During the rainy season it is hard to get them there since the roads are really poor and there are land slides.

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May 5th, 10 days before the kids come to the Hilltribe in the City house, I am leaving and heading to the states for 2 months. I had mixed emotions, I was so excited to see my friends and family but sad that I was going to miss the first few months of the kids being in the house. It was definitely weirded out when I got in to LA, culture shock. It had been close to 2 years since I was in the states. Jenna picked me up, it was so great to see her then we headed right to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, Herb special #2 please, extra hot sauce, AMAZING! The next day, Joanna picked me up, so great to see her too, gotta get a phone then on to Venice Beach…….

When I got to my old hood it was amazing to see everyone and all of the changes there. Wade and Erin left my old place (sad to give that place up) and moved all of my things to their place, thank you guys, I know it was a ton of work. 4 days of seeing people, WARREN and ROSA HAD A BABY and SUSY is PREGNANT! preparing for the East coast and planning all kinds of sales and yard sales since I needed to get rid of everything.

The East coast was amazing, my folks look great. I got to see so many people, met tons of new people and reconnected with family. My buddy Jim from Blue Plate in Jersey let me plan a fundraiser at his place. We had a blast finding all of the ingredients and cooking all kinds of Thai food for the event. We had 47 people, food, raffles slide shows, and stories about all the kids here, it was a great night, I even had a friend from college drive all the was from Connecticut for it. Thanks Mikey and thanks to Jim and Michelle for the use of Blue Plate and all ou always do for me. Then I was back to Delaware to speed more time with my folks and more planning for the Philly fundraiser.

That was another great event, it was at the White Elephant. They gave us an amazing deal and 68 people came. A big thanks to my folks for calling a bunch of friends too. It was like being on This is Your Life, everyone was there. My third grade teach, friends that I have not seen in as many as 25 years and several new people were there to support the cause too. Also other friends from college, Anna, Joe and Leslie. Some friends even helped by getting me a projector and raffle prizes. It was just the best, we got to catch up but sad we did not have more time together, they were so great to show up and support, www.hilltribeinthecity.org.

One more day to see people and it’s back to LA to sell the rest of my things and have a fundraiser at the new Bodega, in Hollywood. The yards sale were great, friends came by and also sold things and donated the money to our cause. I also got to go cook for Larry Hahn again, I was his chef for 9 years. Larry and a friend of his each us a huge donation, thank you, thank you, thank you, we are so grateful. Fun, fun, fun everyday and planning for Bodega. For this one we had 90 people and everything was donated from Susina Bakery, Bodega Hollywood, Adam, Wade, the Bodega crew as well as all that gave raffle prizes. The Farm, DNA Studio, Greenhouse Smoke Shop, Aunt Jackie, Casey, Westside Tavern, Jar, Susina Bakery, thank you so much. I raised much more money then I thought I would. THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone that came out to support us.

I got to eat well and see so many amazing people, I even got to go to the Conan show. That was sweet, my buddy Mark-Paul was promoting his new TV show and asked me to go watch it live. We got picked up in a really nice car, did the show (backstage and all) then had a great dinner and a bunch of wine, thanks to TNT for that, LOL. Now in between all of the fun, I would talk with Greig and hear how crazy it was at the house. 6 kids starting school, living in a new house, not even speaking Thai that well (they speak Karen, they are Karen children from Northern Thailand). I was excited and nervous to be going back. One last party for the 4th of July at Clubhouse on Venice Beach, the 6th is when I left to go back to Chiang Mai…….

So after our Hilltribe in the City fundraiser we headed up to the village to bring the kids here to see the house and the school to make sure they were happy with everything and we planned to bring their families here too. When we got to the village no one came to us and this was weird, the always come running, strange right. We had a translator with us and he helped us to find quickly that a woman that I used to volunteer with told everyone horrible lies about Greig and I. She said that we might sell there kids, crazy, I know. This was one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. I would never ever hurt a child. There were other things too but I am over it and I need to keep my focus on helping these kids and not worrying about why or what she has said. Things are great right now and we are gaining the trust of the village again. We have one kid from there now, Sakorn. He is going to university to be a science teacher. Needless to say I no long and never will work with Toys for Thailand again. I wish them well in all they do and thankful for the lessons, good and bad while with them.

We then met kids from Mae Cham that needed and wanted a better eduction, we met them through a teacher near their village. Their families want them to have a chance to have choices with what to do with their lives. They are here now. We have 3 from the village, 2 from Muser Nai in Om Koy and 1 that used to live at the Wat Don Chan. We have a Karen woman, Siporn living here and helping with all of the days to day things. She is great to help us translate from Karen to Thai, thank you Siporn.

When I came back, it was instant Mr. Mom. Driving to and from school, cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, laundry, bed time, you parents know what I mean. We are now a super fun, mixed family. I have even got the kids liking some other food, other then Thai. I mean I cook ton’s of Thai but also pasta, burgers, tacos, salads and sandwiches. On Saturdays we try to get someone to teach to the kids or we go to a swimming pool or to the park. The kids also really like going to the market, Big C and Makro. Sunday nights we go to the market to collect donations. During all of this I am still volunteering, teaching English at the Wat Don Chan, 4 days a week and doing some private teaching too, BUSY. Once and a while I also do a cooking class or 2 at a school for other kids.

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Ok so it seems like every time I start a blog post it starts off with “sorry it has been so long” or WOW, so much has been happening”. Well it is true again, both of those statements.  About 6 weeks ago we had our Fundraising/Launch party at Westside Restaurant and Pub, it was a TON of work but so worth it and a lot of fun. We had lot’s of food donated, volunteers to work the bar, sell tickets at the front door, sell raffles, grill sate’s, sing, set-up, clean-up, etc.

Here is where I try to thank everyone….Thank you so much and I love you all for your help and support. It mean so much to everyone involved with www.hilltribeinthecity.org. Lynn, Charles, Ester, Sondra, Game, Book, Scott, Paul and the Mrs., Steve, Richard, Jon, Bruce, Menno, Wisit, Mr. Sawang, Nick and friends, David and Bpuy, Gallery Bar, Butter is Better Cafe and bakery. And also for the people that helped us to sell tickets before the event and those who gave us prizes for the raffle, Jiriporn, Vishian, John, David and Bpuy from Yokka Dok, Justin, Tony and Eve from Red Mango, Scott from Soho, Krit from Nimmon Kitchen and Nimmon Massage, Mark from Miguels, and Flight of the Gibbons. I sure hope I have not forgotten anyone.

It was a super fun night, people came in went to see the beautiful people serving drinks at the bar then moved on to get some really good food, of course, LOL. We had pictures and a good mix of Thai and Farang music, as well as several singers and they were great. Greig and I both spoke a couple of time through out the night, to fill everyone in on all of the happenings and the intention for Hilltribe in the City. Everyone also loved winning massages, dinners, zip-lining adventures, wine and whiskey from our raffles. I was running around like crazy and hope that next time I will get to speak to each and every person.

I am so bad, 6 weeks and no thank you note yet….I am sorry and feel bad but I do plan to do it this weekend, so important. I will also post another blog this weekend since there is so much more going on, good and bad….

Last night was really great, we had another meeting with 2 of the kids coming and their families, they got to see the house and loved it. We are so looking forward to having that good, fun, kid energy around and getting them into a good school, good tutors and to have chances that they never could have had before. Thank you also to the supported from all around the world that have sent donations, love to you all.

I will be going to the states very soon and having 2 or 3 fundraisers so if you are near by, please come join me…..Until next time, -peace.

Ok so since I have been here in Thailand there have been lot’s of up’s but also lot’s of down’s. All of what has happened has now lead me to Hilltribe in the City. HitC is a non-profit charity that Greig and I have recently started. We will begin by bringing 6 kids from the Om Koi village (that I have been involved with for 15 months now) down into the city of Chiang Mai. Next year we plan to have more kids in the house, some may be from other villages or from the Wat Don Chan as some of the kids really do not like living here. We will provide them with a safe, loving home to live in, send them to a good school, have tutors available, medical care when needed and help them to have choices and a chance at a better life. This is something most of their families have not had. We will also be buying rice and vegetables from them for our house and we will be teaching the family to make some jewelry that we will then buy from them along with their Lahu hilltribe bags. We can sell these things to help us with the up keep of the house and to help the villagers have a chance at more income.

See the kids only go to school 10 days out of the month and at the age of 13 most of them then go work in the family fields. There are only 2 teachers in the the Musser Nai village and all of the 45 kids are packed into 1 classroom. I have been in there during class time and let’s just say a little more structure could be helpful. Most of the people in the village cannot read and write Thai and this makes it difficult to make enough money to provide for their families. There is also a bit of a problem with drugs and alcohol in the village. See we are not trying to tell them what to do we are just providing this for the families that want something better for their kids and for themselves. We want to help out as much as we can, we love this village and the people in it.

Where I live right now, the Wat Don Chan, only let’s the kids with any family go back home for a visit 2 weeks every year, I think this is unfair. Hilltribe in the City plans to send the kids home every summer break (2 months), every holiday (total about 6 weeks) and we will visit about once a month. We want the kids to stay connected to their families, their village and their Lahu culture. As well the families are welcome to come and visit with us and stay in the house whenever they like. This may get them to do more with their farms and then come to Chiang Mai to see the kids and sell their crops…More money. Yes, I know money is not everything but I am just talking about enough to feed the family and maybe buy a blanket for the winter, you get it.

We have a management team, official visitors to check up on things from time to time and just to hang out with us at the house and we are looking for ambassadors  (people that will help us to spread the word about HitC and help to raise funds all year long) that consist of foreigners and Thai’s. We are in the process of getting all of our paper work together for the recognition of the non-profit here in Thailand (ton’s of paper work and lot’s of jumping through hoops) as well as looking for the house, getting the bank account, planning the fundraiser  here in Chiang Mai and hitting the markets for donations. Lot’s more to info to come….check out our under-construction website, hilltribeinthecity.org. Peace always, -Stu

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Well, this weekend was AMAZING! I am having some really bad back pains and I did my best, thank goodness Greig was feeling fine. Today is worse, I guess I over did it a bit, oh well anything for the kids. So we went to Om Koi the village that we help out as much as we can, the plan, give out clothes from the students at Chiang Mai University and fix all of the desks in the school.

The desk were topped with large pieces of wood which were not even so it was really hard to write anything on them and they were very shaky. We went to Global Home (Thai Home Depot) a few days before, we bought wood, screws, sandpaper, paint, brushes and all the rest of it. Friday morning after stopping to pick up some food and coffee, off we were. After 5 1/2 hours of driving to the village we were greeted by a very nice family 14 of them that was at the village for 2 days, it was a surprise to us, a nice surprise. They spoke pretty good English and told us that they go there once a year to make a donation and bring some school supplies, food, clothes, etc. They shared their food with us and then set off some fireworks, which the kids loved. Later that night we sat outside by a fire, grilling and eating pork ribs and we drank a bit of whiskey, it is Thailand after all, LOL.
The next morning we were looking forward to speaking with them more over breakfast but it was raining all night and I think they felt it was better to get on the road sooner then later, good idea. We were not in a 4×4 so who knew how we would get out of there or if we even could get out. I will tell you about this soon.
After 2 cups of coffee we were off to the races. We had about 15-20 kids around to help us and it took about 8 hours to repair the desk. We were able to do one coat of paint but since it was raining and lot’s of moisture in the air, we would have to wait until the next day to do another coat. Greig and I had so much fun and so did the kids but it was a lot of work. Cutting, hammering, painting! None of the desk were the same size so it took a while to have to do everyone custume. We were also lucky that there was some power from the solar cell to power the drill, it could have taken a lot longer.

Later that night after Na Nu made us diner we met with some of the kids and parents to talk about future projects and they are very keen on the future and us helping their kids, us too.

More rain, oh no, it is going to be hard to get out of here….We laid out all of the donated clothes and let 5 people in the school at a time and they could each take 3 things but after several minutes of this many more people came in so we said have at it, you are all on your own, just be nice and fair. Not one thing was left, if they can’t wear it, they will make something with the fabric. We checked out the coffee plants that were planted last time, cross your fingers for them to have coffee to sell in a few years, it will be a lot of work. I did get to eat a few beans from an older plant, who knew, well I didn’t but it was sweet.

Now it is time to leave and it is raining a bit so the teacher said we should take some of the kids with us to help IF we get stuck and that they will walk back to the village after. I felt bad that they would do that, it is 16 kilometers and raining. So glad they came, we got stuck several times because it was very scary and dangerous at times. I thought we were going to have to sleep on the mud road and someone would have to come rescue us but these kids would not give up, I LOVE THEM. These kids were amazing, pushing, shaking, digging, they were covered in mud. Greigs car was damaged a bit, sorry buddy. When we finally got out we took them for noodle soup and ice cream and we came upon someone in a 4×4 form the village going back so they took the kids and the teacher with them. The end, for now…Next trip planned for 3 to 4 weeks from now, stay tuned.

So since it has been sooooo long since I have had time to write I will fill you in with some quick rants, LOL.

Halloween was really fun here even though they do not celebrate it here. I hung out with a bunch of friends from the states and we went out and did it big. We all wore costumes and found a few places that were having parties, what a fun night, I was a Thai Boy Scout. LOL

There has been a funeral going on here at the Wat for a week (this is normal for Buddhist) for a policeman, he was 50 years old. I am so sorry for the family but they seem to be doing OK as they feel his next life will be great. Today is the last day and they are getting ready to take him to be cremated shortly. The thing I find crazy is at 8 AM, I saw 9 police officers drinking a huge bottle of whiskey, they were getting the party started. You can make your own opinion on this.

Then class was cancelled for some teacher program, I hate when they do this last minute. The kids only get English classes once a week and they NEED it. I really wish they could find a better time to do this so the kids can get what they need.

I had the time so I went to do my “90 day immigration check”, you just have to show up and give your address so they can keep tabs on you. I can take a long time and be a pain in the butt. They have made changes to their office and I was in and out in under 10 minutes, AWESOME!

Last week I got 12 new beds delivered for the little boys here at the Wat. The beds are really bad here and full of bed bugs and dirt. It is now cold season so it will be better but we still need a lot more beds but it is a good start. I want to thank Ruth, Keith, Pam Jackie, Neal, Deb ans Jim for their donations that made these beds possible.

I also got some money from Jemma of DCCT to use for Chatree and the boys bakery kitchen. They need some new equipment and supplies and this will go a long way, thanks Jemma.

Sasha and Maria from Toys for Thailand are here in Thailand doing more good and they will be spending x-mas in Mae Hong Son with some Hill Tribe schools. They really do some great work and I am happy to help them whenever I can. I got the kids from the Wat to make them some hand-made thank you card, they are really great and they will be given out to some of their donors in the states. I am looking forward to seeing what else in in store for T4T…..

My old PC died after 6 years of pretty good service, RIP, PC. Larry Hahn my former boss and till great friend helped me to buy a new Mac Book Pro, it is amazing, I love it, thank you so much Larry. I will now hopefully be able to put more videos on this site now, Mac makes it so easy.

Happy Hanukkah! This is my second year here during the holiday and I want to send all of my love to all that celebrate. Last year was really hard, my Dad had to go in the hospital and it did not look good for a few days, so hard being here when things like that happen. I spoke to him this morning, one year since this happened and he is great and it makes it much easier this year.

I am sorry to say that I am no longer involved with that hill tribe hostel that I written about before, I am sad and miss the kids but there are so many things there that do not make sense. I will fill you all in on more about this when I write my book. I have a friend living here now, Charles and he is a writer. Now that he is finish with the first draft of his book, he is going to help me out YEAH!

I have had several friends here to visit over the past few months and I hope more of you come here, you will fall in love with Chiang Mai, the people, the food the culture, it is amazing. Good to see you Joanna, Patrick, Sandra, Doug and Andrew. Please come back there is still more to show you.

We also had a big holiday here, Loy Krathong. There are pictures from last year on here and I plan to put some up from this year. So many people in town, tons of fireworks and fire kites. Next to the Song Kran New Years festival, it is the best. The kids had so much fun, not the safest celebration but fun. If you can imagine 650 kids with matches and hand-made fireworks, OK nuff said, lol.

My friend Greig (yes that is how you spell his name) and I are working on something BIG, well big for us. It is going to be a great project to help kids from the hills to get into good schools here in Chiang Mai and give them a better chance at a better life for them and their families….Stay tuned for more info on the next blog

If I can think of anything else I will add it but for now, now you are up to date.

Peace and blessings to you all. -Stu