Leaving Baan Dada

Leaving Baan Dada was hard but we were ready in a way.  It has become a home to us and we could easily spend more time here but there is still so much to see in Southeast Asia.  We spent the morning getting our stuff together and squeezed in one last meal.  Everyone joined together […]

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For Dionne

This was one of the most difficult yet rewarding days since we started our Gypsy Givers venture. As Linds and I have mentioned numerous times, Sue and Judy instantly shared a special place in our hearts. From their quick one liners and their don’t take things too seriously attitude, to their deep routed soul sister […]

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All for the Kids

Today went down a little differently than the other days here at Baan Dada.  We didn’t have much interaction with any of the kids but we did a lot to help them inadvertently.  We also got the chance to learn a lot more about the sponsorship program they have instated here. We left for our […]

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Do All the Good You Can

During the weekdays breakfast is served after the kids take the bus to school. It’s a leisurely meal. Volunteers stumble in around 8 Thai time but not me. I’m putting coffee on waiting to see what Mame made for me this morning. We take the hour and talk about the day ahead, what needs to […]

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Music Lover’s

The amount of love we feel in our hearts today is probably the most full we have ever felt. Today, we recognize our loved ones back in the States but we also have over 30 valentines here at Baan Dada.  They celebrate like we do, showing appreciation to those we love with flowers, letters, music, […]

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Our hearts have been awakened 

Monday in Thailand is a national holiday but it’s not recognized here at Baan Dada other than kids having the day off from school. With Sunday being an exhausting day of cycling, we were told breakfast would be served a little later. This was the first evening I didn’t have to set an alarm. Still […]

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Thailand Bikathon

We have been biking since we were little but we’ve never considered ourselves cyclists and never thought we would be cycling in Thailand.  Mel has biking in her blood as her dad, Duke, bikes every Friday and Sunday and has participated in many bike races during his life so far.  When we arrived at Baan Dada we found out […]

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Thai Time

Early to rise, early to yoga. Malina, the volunteer coordinator and our instant friend has been experiencing some back issues. Naturally, when she asked us to take over her weekly yoga class we didn’t hesitate, OK maybe we did a little, but we didn’t want to say no. We love yoga and it’s been a […]

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The Good Kind

Not only are we here to volunteer and share our love with the children but we are passionate about learning from them and embracing their lifestyle, too. That means we are sleeping on thin mats under mosquito nets and taking cold bucket showers.  For the next week we are vegans who do not drink alcohol and […]

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Welcome to the Jungle 

Twelve hours total in travel. A train, a shuttle, a bus and a hitch hike. Yes, mom, we hitch hiked, but in our defense we missed the connecting bus. Before we get into that I’d like to start from the beginning. Having worked our bums off to make this trip into a reality we needed […]

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