This weekend we took a brief hiatus from the center up in the Khao Lak area and traveled down to Phuket. We stayed at a beach front called "Kata." It was the exact same beach that Chris and I (Scott) stayed at on our trip here last year. It was not what we expected. The beach was in tons better shape than anything up in Khao Lak and there were a lot of foreigners hanging around. Most of the buildings seemed to be unaffected and completely intact. We were really excited though when we came across a worker who we met when we were here last year. Phuket has bounced back in a way totally unlike Khao Lak.

The weekend ended as we saw Chris off at the airport as he heads back to The States.

In the morning, we went to Bang Sak School to give the P6 students their photos back. We sat them all down in the front of the class, and then showed a slideshow of some of our favorite photos that they had taken on the television. The kids laughed at some of the photos, and by some they were even awestruck. It was an awesome experience to talk about the photos and to recognize some of the truly talented students in the class. After the presentation, we returned their photos to them, and everyone was really excited. Many of the children in the other classes wanted to know when we would be doing the project with them. Unfortunately we do not have enough funding currently to put together another photography course. Hopefully that will, however, change soon.

Late, in the evening, we screened a popular movie in the village of Thap Tawan. It was much more successful than our first screening, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

We woke up at 6:30 in the morning to meet with the fishermen in Baan Nam Khem. When we arrived, we were greeted by a group of 10 or so Farangs (foreigners) who were tagging along on our trip. They were able to go out in another group of boats and watch our crew filming the fisherman. The shooting went well. We often felt as if the boat was going to fall over, but it never did. Ot and Montrii shot footage on one camera and Rob shot on the other. The trip turned out to be a lot of fun.

In the afternoon we met with Saag and Sam. Saag had a pretty good cut of his film and we were able to give him some tips to help him tighten it up. Then we filmed an interview for the beginning of Sam's film, and helped him gather his photos together. While filming with Sam, some kids came up to us and asked us if they could make a movie. We looked at each other and were like "Totally". After talking about possible topics, they decided they wanted to make a film about the Tsunami and Baan Nam Khem. We talked to their parents and told them we would meet them at 4pm on Thursday.

At 6pm, we went to a BBQ party at Ot's house. It was with all the Farangs that we had met earlier. The event ended up being kind of a test run for Ot's homestay program activities. The food was really good: Crab, Fish, and Shrimp all cooked by a man who was a cook at a hotel that was destroyed by the tsunami.

In the morning we traveled to Baan Nam Khem to shoot the first portion of Ot's fishing documentary. When we arrived Montrii, Ot and a couple of the fishermen greeted us. They informed us however, that it was too dry in the river for them to get their boats out. We would have to film the fishing the next day. In the mean time, we filmed the first portion of the interview. Ot wanted to create a conversation between two of the fishermen, so that they could talk about how fishing had changed since the tsunami. After taking some time to find a good spot to film, we finally settled on a dock. The wind picked up, however, and the lavalier microphone could not handle it. We might have to re-shoot the interview. Rob was frustrated with our lack or good sound equipment so he went into town to try and rig up a boom microphone. He also got a haircut in the process.

After returning to the center, Saag and Sam showed up and we began teaching them to edit. We also talked with Sam about his script.

In the morning, Jade and Dave tagged along with the Zaugg's to work on a documentary. They interviewed them and formed a better idea of the projects that LDS Charities is undertaking in the region. Later on, Jade, Dave and Chris met with Sag to review some more of his footage. The footage looked absolutely wonderful, and they were really excited about the progress of his film. Chris taught Sag how to log and capture it into Final Cut Pro, and they scheduled a time tomorrow to meet with him. The group also reviewed some of Sam's footage, which was a bit rougher than Sag's. They gave him a few pointers on how to improve his filming for future shoots.

While Jade, Dave, and Chris were working on those projects, Scott and Rob traveled to Baan Nam Khem where they talked to Ot about his film. They talked with Ot about his objectives and directions as we continue to work to find the best way to help him. Finding the best way to teach and aid the people that we are mentoring is a delicate process and one that we have to remember the importance of viewing each person individually.

After Baan Nam Khem, the group did some more oral history interviews as well as delivered some finished VCD's to a group in Thap Tawan.

Tonight we went to a camp where the Wave of Hope volunteers have been building homes for fishermen and their families, etc. Scott translated for both groups and it was quite a special experience as they shared their love for each other and just talked. Because of their service, their words carried much more meaning as they were finally able to communicate with each other via Scott.

Particularly touching (and I mean this in all seriousness) was the love that the villagers had for this one volunteer named Adam. Adam has been building and volunteering at the village continuously for the past 4 months helping build homes and do whatever needed doing. They adore him- and his humility and love for them is probably one of the purest and most supreme examples of pure charity that I've seen out here so far. It was a unique and wonderful experience to witness that.

Today we prepared a bit for Tuesday night's movie screening at the market. We decided to show a short film beforehand that featured someone who worked in the market. One of the locals, named Frik, makes roadies at a stand in the market. (A "roadie" is a bit like a crepe with egg topped with sugar and condensed milk then rolled and cut up. It's not too healthy, but so delicious.) So in lighthearted fashion, we made a 40 second film where Frik falls in love and then must save his kidnapped girlfriend from "certain doom" by making a roadie and throwing at the villain and hitting him in the eye. It was a lot of fun. The people in the market loved watching Frik and the other two act. Everybody was laughing so hard. A nice diversion for the majority of the people who have been working so hard.

We're moved in! We were able to finally move our stuff in and get settled somewhat. It's a nice feeling. Soon we will have this operation fully under way. The neighbors have agreed to help us as well.

Today we went to a refugee camp and discussed coming and doing the story-telling booth as well as the photography workshop with children.

The more we are here, the more we realize that another way we could help out is by making videos for other aid organizations. By highlighting their activities and working to raise awareness of their projects, and thereby help them out. It could be a promotional video of sorts. We would make them a master and a copy that they would then make copies of and distribute as needed. Maybe these videos could even be made by Thai people who we teach how to use digital film-cameras and software editing equipment. Organizations like 4Kali and others as well could benefit.

We also met Scott Carter (the "boat-building guy"). He is awesome. We should be moved in and in full operating by next Tuesday.

Today we moved from our hotel room to Baan Nam Khem and looked at places to stay. We also filmed two interviews in conjunction with our Mobile Story-Telling Booth to test out V-CD capabilites and file conversion from NTSC to PAL. We also met with a foundation that works with at-risk youth (both those affected by the tsunami and not). We talked about the possibility of working in conjunction with them in doing our photography program. We are still working to finalize where we are going to set our center for operations.

Today was a long day. We spent the better part of the day going around to different refugee camps and surveying the current situation. We visited the both the Red Cross of Thailand's and the Mercy Foundation's centers here in Khao Lak.

Our chance meeting Ot was obviously no coincident, God guided him us to him. He is exactly the type of person we have been praying to find. He is in his twenties, energetic, is computer-savy, artistic and has a wealth of information and knowledge combined with talent and capability. We are looking at staying at his house in Ba Nam Ken. His village, Ba Nam Khem, is a fishing village and one that was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami. The army is rebuilding homes for the people there, and some are beginning to return. Many are, however, not returning out of fear of another tsunami. Ot is, however, working to help stimulate community growth and self-dependence. He is very community-minded.

Meeting him and getting to know a little about Ba Nam Khem has given us a much different appreciation and understanding of post-disaster relief efforts and the effects of international aid and foreign presence in areas unaccustomed to it. All-in-all, today was a lot to take in for all of us. The magnitude of the tsunami and of our undertaking is beginning to sink in a little more. It's quite overwhelming.