Tak, the visit continues.

This highway view was not unexpected. I had seen it on the google. The road right in front of Patt's old school, and where we used to live on campus, a major multilane road now exists. Used to be quiet two lane road. Stoplight intersection, divided highway and all that stuff. Just this side of that post of the pedestrian cross over used to stand a wonderful restaurant that sold moo-dang (red pork with rice). We would get it "take out" wrapped in a banana leaf.  Oh so good.  

This is the guy, Ajan, (teacher) Kriangsak, who got us started on finding people. We are so indebted to him, his friendliness, willingness to help, and just being a nice guy was just a great way to start being in Tak.  He lives in the house next to our old house on campus.

And some time in the recent past they snuck an "h" in Padung Panya and have made it one word.  Unless the old sign maker is in error — another possibility.  So we are unchanged on the spelling of Patt's old school despite what the sign may say.

And these halls, pre-paint, and pre-walls, certainly pre- a/c, Patt once walked to get to her office and a few of her classes.  Most were in the bamboo building (long gone) just up the road.

The woman with Patt is also in the photo Patt is holding.  Wattana, Patt's student, is now a home economics teacher at Padung Panya and remembered Patt of course. Wattana called several of her friends and of course there is now much talk in town about teacher Patt.

This is what Wattana used to look like.  These current students loved having their photo taken. There were lots of them here back then and still are- in fact over twice as many now.

Patt and Laura on the main street in front of some of the old buildings.  Stop sign, new.

street view again

After many phone calls made by lots of people and talking to lots of people we finally made connection with Patt's best Thai friend, Siriporn, who now lives in Mae-Sod, about 90 minutes west of Tak on the Burmese border. Siriporn had been lured out of retirement to manage the English language program at her former school in Mae-Sod, but school had let out and she was in Bangkok. We are making plans to meet her in Bangkok in June.

At Tak Pittayakhom, we walked into, by accident, a graduation ceremony of the English immersion program.  Met their current foreign English teacher a guy named Paul from Philadelphia, a contract hire. Also there were language teachers from Burma and Guatemala. We had lunch with the three of them.  They thought there were over 20 full time foreigners living in Tak, quite the change and up by a zero at the end of that number from when we were last there.

And the graduating boys. And quite large too. And a year older as a year of school has also been added.

That building was under construction while I was there and I taught in it my second year. Ground floor just behind Laura was my classroom. I taught pre- exterior walls on the ground floor and pre-windows on the rest of the building.

It was good to ride a bike in town and back on campus.

This stupa and the buildings in the back of it were, by happenstance, in several of the photos we brought.  So we knew where we were for sure.

And we also knew where we were at dinner that evening by the wonderful visit we had together.  Pirrom and I tried to show one another photos of our grandchildren on our cell phones. His daughter now lives in Bangkok.

Pirrom worked hard at taking a selfie of the two of us and sending it to his daughter.  Imagine me doing that — now imagine me being successful. (Note he has on his flashlight). He was successful and did text with his daughter but it was a slow process.  Like I said imagine me doing that — successfully.

We did indeed have a wonderful dinner evening and visit with everyone and Laura was such a good traveler with us and took so many good photos — (as did Patt),  It sure helped make this post a better one than relying on my efforts with a camera.