Sukhothai - Saturday July 3

Today we took seventy-four passengers — Inside Thailand 2010 plus one other adult and sixty-four Thai kids in grades 3 through 9 — on a three-hour bus trip to Sukhothai. We picnicked together, then rented bikes and explored the 700-year-old ruins of Thailand's original capital. More about that later, but for now I just want to point you to this summer's first few pictures.

http://cantaloupeschool.smugmug.com/Inside-Thailand/Inside-Thailand-2010

Marina is the only American included in this first set, and this is because she has, by the un-luck of the draw, been underrepresented in the pix I've shot to date in the classrooms. I will work on correcting that this week, and also on posting pix of everyone from other days and other destinations.

Sukhothai is always a special day. Even though it's usually the hottest and always the longest of Inside Thailand's day trips, it's always the one I look forward to most. I've chosen to share these twelve pix first because several of them are of this year's 9th graders.

When we lived here from 1992 through 1994, I taught grades 7-9 full-time. 9th is the highest grade in our village school, and for village kids whose parents cannot afford to send them to high school it marks the end of their formal education and the beginning of their working lives. Our trip to Sukhothai is their one big outing, in many ways far more significant than a senior class trip in America, so I'm feeling somewhat emotional as I honor these wonderful kids by sharing their photos with you.

Rest assured that I have many exciting pix of your own kids too, and hope to get some of those posted as this week rolls along.