Sailing into the Sunset

At this time yesterday -- Thursday -- evening, we were celebrating the end of the year with a private dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River with the rest of my department and other members of the school. It was a lovely, grownups-only evening. Our son was at our friends' house near us in our neighborhood, where their cook/maid stayed over to watch our kids. We taxied downtown to the docks, where, for only about $40 each person, we had the entire boat to ourselves, enjoying an evening of lovely weather on the waters of the river, gorgeous views, great conversations, and a fantastic sit-down dinner. We could bring our own alcoholic drinks if we chose, and everyone brought so much that there was not only plenty for the entire party, but still some for them to bring home.

It was also a farewell party for those of us leaving -- two special educators (one at the elementary school and one at the high school: me), a school psychologist, two high school counselors, and two people (spouses of other teachers) hired later in the year to provide more assistance to our department. Speeches were made, and we each received some lovely compliments and beautiful, handmade porcelain.

Up to then, I had been so immersed in the day-to-day minutiae of my job that it hadn't sunk in yet that the job was ending and I was going to be saying goodbye to all these people --people who have been in the trenches with me for the past ten months -- very soon. When my colleagues told me last night how much they appreciated my contributions this year and how they will miss me, it finally dawned on me that this is it, and that I have no idea how I am going to say goodbye. It was an emotional evening, but also one full of camaraderie and friendship, a nice time outside of work to show appreciation for one another, which we don't get to do very often in the hectic chaos that comes with the job.

Here are a few pictures of the evening. It is very difficult to take good pictures on a moving and rocking boat!

Our boat for the evening.

Our own private bar.

A charming house on the river. We passed another one where people were doing zumba on their rail-less porch outside.

I don't know what this is, but I loved how it shone against the dark night sky.

A mall all lit up.

Some of delicious food we had for dinner.

The Grand Palace lit up at night.

This was breathtaking in reality.

A beautiful night with beautiful sights. Seemed unreal.

The little piece of Thailand that was presented to me.