Back in the US

Since finishing my rotation in Thailand, I've returned back to work in DC until going to post later in the summer.  But before getting deep into the work at headquarters, I took a week off to return home to get married.  Just a few pics from the wedding.

We had a somewhat nontraditional, do-it-yourself wedding.  Our ceremony was in the Botanical Gardens with a good friend serving as the Officiant.  We wrote most of the ceremony ourselves incorporating TV show quotes or books that had sentimental value to us and a very "Up" influenced reception.

The beautiful Japanese Garden where we had our ceremony.

Table numbers my wife made.

Our travel themed cake.

Various other decorations.

Songkran Celebrations

Songkran or the Thai New Year was celebrated at the USAID Asia Mission (RDMA) as well as the Embassy last week.  The actually holiday falls between the 13-15th; however, since there are multiple holidays in Thailand next week, the celebrations occurred in the Embassy community earlier.

At the RDMA, staff celebrated with a water pouring ceremony to the office directors of the Mission.  Before and during that, Thai staff used a chalk mixture with water to mark everyone in attendance and splashed water. 

Traditional desserts.

The next day, the Embassy had their Songkran celebration.  The event was attended by many from all agencies and their families with events such as a paddle boat race, sand castle building, dancing, and food.

Pagoda and lake.

Paddle boat races.

Cheering on the racers from the bridge.

USAID's entry into the sand castle competition.

Dancing.