A group of 26 ladies met up at Foodland to board the 3 vans organised for this welfare tour.  We set off for the first visit along Sukhumvit Road and the vans pulled into what I can only describe as a tin shack town built to house hundreds of mainly immigrant, therefore not entitled to government health or education, construction worker families.  This is a new project being developed by a British Lady who has lived in Pattaya for 10 years.  Her idea is to provide care for the construction workers children (a total of around 60, including 14 babies and a few more due shortly) while their parents are at work on the construction sites. This lady arranges for some of the mothers to work in the care facility, for the 120 baht daily wage they would have earned at the site, and discourage the children from accompanying their parents onto the construction sites or being left unsupervised in ‘tin shack town’.  This lady has persuaded the construction company to provide the building for this with facilities including bathrooms, kitchen, nursery, office, clinic room and a large play area which will also be used for teaching purposes.  Some equipment for this project has already been donated but many more items such as children’s and baby clothes, nappies, infant formula, books, toys and games (good chance to de-clutter the kids toy boxes before Christmas) and volunteering time to assist this very worthwhile scheme are needed.

The next visit was to the World Vision ‘small house big jungle’ project which was featured in the November issue of the Tropic Topics newsletter.  We were entertained by a couple of songs from the band some of the boys have formed, they were very good, although their style of music is definitely aimed at the younger generation!  Lynn from Fairtex arrived with a presentation of a punch bag and boxing gloves, one of the suggested items they would like PILC to provide.  Other items required are bookshelves, a television and volunteers to assist with English and music lessons.

The final visit of the day was to Ban Jing Jai, which is home to 50 children whose parents are either deceased or unable to care for them, and it was nice to meet a lot of the children as it is the school holidays.  Ban Jing Jai consists of two houses, one each for the boys and girls, and a large playground area.  The children attend local government schools and are encouraged to further develop and expand their knowledge and abilities through activities such as crafts, music, cooking, household duties and swimming.  To generate extra income and pocket money the children make lovely jewellery and candles, and they also collect items for recycling.  They also have a very good music group, which has twice won first prize awards in a couple of music competitions, and we can all look forward to them entertaining us with festive music at the Christmas lunch.  After refreshments and purchases we set off to leave and were all presented with lovely, traditional Thai flower garlands from the children.

All in all it was a very good tour with plenty of opportunity to donate your time or goods required for any of these, and other welfare projects, just see any of the welfare team for information.

Dot Knowles

Cecile donated monies collected from Burapha Group coffee and lunch ladies, and this time they have decided to donate towards this project.This project is situated in Soi Sunny Plaza, an area well known for its high concentration of bars, involving younger workers, and has one of the highest levels of prostitution, crime and drugs in the city. Many boys are exploited and under-age boys are especially sought. This center is for the boys and some girls to visit at their own discretion with their friends. Activities are provided, with English, Thai and math being taughtThe most popular activity is music, and the instruments that Pattaya Sports Club recently donated together with PILC are proving very popular!
The Welfare team, on behalf of PILC, would like to thank Cecile and the ladies of Burapha for their generosity and support for the projects we involve ourselves in. A new fridge was purchased with this donation, and a boxing bag and gloves, which I am sure will be utilised well by the lads! Thanks again and we look forward to your continued support.

Ingrid Cunliff

A Newfoundlander would say (as I am a Newfie Girl). It’s a day when you have fun, excitement, new experiences happen, or accomplishments of the day!! Well, that’s what we all felt at the end of a long day out in the Thailand Gulf off of Sattahip, deepsea fishing!!

We filled two buckets with plump good pan size fish! Tasty as could be, straight from the sea!! Fortunately, my husband Richard doesn’t mind cleaning them or cooking them. I just like catching them!! The thrill of a tug on the fishing line, they nibble and pull and sort of tease you, trying to get the bait, testing you, to see if you can catch them. There’s a skill to it but they were plentiful that day as well!!

After the bait was caught, the fisherman we were with, set up mighty poles, and anchored onto the boat firmly attaching at least 5 kilos of weight to the lines with hefty bait attached!! I looked at that and realised only the men were gonna be hauling in anything that is hooked as already it was too heavy for me! (well maybe Roseanne or Cindy can do it).

It was a very refreshing atmosphere; the cool breeze, relaxing, lovely scenery of little islands in the distance, peacefull…. when suddenly we heard one of the fishing rods making a reeling noise and the pole was bending. Mike, Roseanne’s husband grabbed the pole and began struggling with the almighty weight on the end, excitement in the air waiting to see what he was going to pull up!! After some time of it wriggling and flickering about in the water up comes a Baracuda WOW the look on Mike’s face said it - all it doesn’t get much better then this!

Then suddenly, with all the excitement, one of the fisherman was adjusting another rod, and realised there was something grabbing at the bait and in no time up comes a shark about 3 feet long! He was a hard one to kill! These fish were unexpected catches indeed! I got brave and had my picture taken with him (the shark), so did Roseanne and as she held him by the tail he came to life again, he was a powerful one. The fisherman grabbed it and then threw him in the ice chest to keep him nice and fresh for steaks later!

Craig’s turn was next; another rod went reeling and after a big fight with this one out of the depths came a 6-8 kilo grouper fish that shone silvery like Mother of Pearl! A little while later a smaller grouper was caught and the fisherman had it, cleaned and in the pan with his tail still flapping! You can’t get much fresher then that! Delicious!

A good time was had by all! Wonderful company, great experience and as they say in Newfoundland…it was a large day!

Patricia Foulstone

On Wednesday October 17, the Regent’s Primary school held a special fun day for the children as part of their book week celebrations.  Everyone was asked to wear their pyjamas and bring along a favourite soft toy.  (It’s not often you get to wear your pj’s to school!).  As you can imagine the focus was on books and it was a happy day of reading and being read to.  One of the activities was “The Mad Hatters Tea Party”.  The Mad Hatter is a character from the well known story “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.  A special area near the library was decorated with scenes and characters from the book.  The Rayong Bakery Project was asked along to sell cakes, biscuits and lots of other yummy goodies to the children when they came to the library for a storytelling session.  The Mad Hatter himself welcomed the children and entertained them with excerpts from the book.  Helping us with the bakery was “Alice in Wonderland” (we think she was really one of the teachers!) and Sohini and I wore our rabbits ears. (The rabbit was another character from the story). Over 400 children, teachers and parents visited the Tea Party and it was fun to see so many excited faces.  It was a very busy and tiring day but one we were happy to be a part of.  The Regent’s school is a great supporter of the Rayong Bakery Project and we thank them for asking us to be a part of their special day.

The weather was great, the venue grand on Saturday 6th October for the PILC annual Holiday Bazaar.  The day started early (7am to 8.30am) at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, and it was abuzz with vendors delivering their wares to display and sell at their stalls.  This hive activity was intense, organised chaos, but approaching the magical hour of 10am (when the Bazaar opened officially) calm was restored.  Every table stood proud and twinkled and shined just waiting for the people to come and look at what they had to tempt us with.  The opening ceremony entailed speeches from the PILC Special Events Chairwoman and Bazaar organiser, Cindy Logue, our intrepid President, Rosanne Diamente, and the guest of honor, the wife of the Governor of Chonburi, Dr Tipawan Taerat.  After the ribbon cutting ceremony was so graciously performed by Dr Taerat, the doors to the Siam Ballroom opened with gusto to a festive holiday atmosphere.

The Bazaar set in the fabulous Siam Ballroom was a wonderful sight.  The Ballroom was decked out to the nines in Christmas shades of forest green and cherry red.  The vista looked and felt luxurious, and had a calming yet festive quality to it all.  As usual the agreeable Khun Panga and her staff, notably Khun Pomthip and Khun Joey assisted in numerable ways.  A small army of ‘helpers’ were on hand to assist the vendors with all their requirements too.  All this was done with precision and a minimum of fuss.

The anticipation was high as this year saw 70 plus vendors from across Thailand graciously taking part in the PILC Bazaar.  Needless to say, there was a mammoth selection of goodies to select purchases from: wine, cards, Christmas decorations, hand made paper, home-décor, baked goods, stationary, perfumes, jewellery, fashion accessories, candles, clothing, rugs, crafts, food vendors, gourmet food and beverages, a children’s playroom, superb model planes & boats and beaten stainless steel bowls etc. just to mention a few.  In addition, each and every one of the vendors’ bigheartedly donated gifts to the PILC to be used in future raffles to raise additional funds for the PILC Welfare projects.

Parents were able to shop ‘child free’ as the Children’s Room was busy, busy, busy entertaining all the smalls with games and a colouring competition with colouring books sponsored by Nancy Chandler.  There were clowns in attendance, provided by the generosity of Capt. and Mrs Steve Ponter of the Jesters.  Also a huge thank you is extended to Kim and her fantastic staff from Jameson’s Pub who supplied lunch for the 60 plus Baan Jing Jai Orphanage children and staff. Also many Thanks to Amber with the Party Shop and Mr Tuxedo and his magic show troop, they had the children spell bound, it was fantastic.  Thanks also to Marg and the ISE children who came and did beautiful face painting.

This was a seriously good opportunity to purchase high quality Christmas gifts, or just gifts in general.  I know I got a bit of Christmas shopping done!  How exciting!!  It’s only October and I have started to conquer the Yuletide shopping.  Many a power shopper was spotted in the early hours, snapping up lots of bits and pieces with fans of shopping bags in tow in both hands.  I know I thoroughly enjoyed my shopping experience; nice to know I was able to purchase some unique and special pieces, but also that in the process our numerous PILC charities will benefit. The more we spend, the more we make.  Now who could (surely not even our husbands!) complain about that?
 
Thank you, thank you to the generous souls that donated such wonderful and so many prizes to our enormous Raffle: there were in excess of 50 prizes on offer.  Amazing; these included a luxury holiday, dinner for two at several well loved restaurants, escapes to charming destinations, jewellery etc.  Your kind gifts are the backbone to our fundraising event and we humbly salute you all.  Merci beaucoup.  Khorp khun mak kha.  Dank schon.  Grazie mille.  Efharisto poli.  Tackar sa mycket.  Our deepest and sincere thanks.

The raffle prize winners are as follows:

All prizes must be claimed by Tuesday, November 6, 2007, or they will be used by PILC at a future date to raise more money for their charities.  To claim your prize, contact Cindy Logue 086-039-7811, or Rachel Hoag 081-782-6118.

Our immense gratitude and appreciation is also extended to our most magnanimous sponsors: Transpo International Ltd., Foster Wheeler & Volclay Siam.  Their continued support of PILC is much appreciated and most welcome.  Your generosity is astonishing.  Thank you all. 

The 2007 PILC Bazaar raised in excess of 400,000 Baht.  Well done everyone. …In total, 580 people passed through our doors to enjoy the shopping, eating, browsing and colourful displays. Finally, our especial thanks and appreciation are extended to Cindy Logue who worked tirelessly planning and executing this (her inaugural) Bazaar and to her dedicated committee members: Judy Clausen, Rachel Hoag, Janet Seale, Alvi Sinthuvanik, Ingrid Cunliffe, Rosanne Diamente, Elaine Poole, Kathleen Petras, Kavita Lamba, and a host of other PILC members.  Cindy, it was great and an immense amount of work.  And you did all this whilst still remaining sane; a grand effort and wonderful success!!  Bravo ladies!
 

On Friday evening, 5 October, Tony and I were relaxing in the lounge watching TV and doing a crossword.  At around 5.20pm we heard a huge bang and two of our three small windows exploded and glass flew in two directions - into the lounge and out into the courtyard.  The window in the large sliding door cracked from top to bottom.  The TV died.  Naturally, we both jumped to our feet and rushed outside to see what had happened.

One of the tall pin oaks (over 20m in height) at the opposite side of the street had been hit by lightning and the main trunk, presumably full of sap in the springtime, had literally exploded.  The main part of the tree was now blocking the road and the top part had come to rest on the wall surrounding our swimming pool.  Large balks of splintered timber, pieces of bricks, mortar, bark, twigs and leaves were all over our garden and in the swimming pool. Some of these huge bits of splintered tree over 2m long had traveled up to 150m or so and had knocked down garden walls. The smaller pieces were around by the thousand but all were sharp, jagged splinters. Anyone standing in the way at the time would have surely been killed.

People from neighbouring houses were coming outside to see the damage and the ones opposite us had fared much worse.  Their wall was badly broken in two places, another tree in their garden was flattened and the side of the house and roof were damaged.  Other houses all around had their windows broken.  We noticed large pieces of splintered timber were in our front garden, on the road and in other people’s gardens.

When we went back inside to check for more damage, we noticed that the ceiling light in the guest toilet had fallen to the floor and smashed into tiny pieces.  The fax/copier/ scanner was not working.  Luckily both computers were OK, we still had electricity and the burglar alarm was working.  We started sweeping up the broken glass and could not believe how far the tiny shards had traveled.  We were still picking up pieces a day later.

The local municipality and police were soon on the scene and the clean up began.  They started to clear the road and used a chain saw to make this more manageable.  The next morning they were back early and loaded the chopped up tree on to a lorry, bit by bit.  It took all day.

The glass companies were very busy replacing all the broken and cracked windows and the burglar alarm people were fixing the faulty systems.  All day we listened to the chain saw as the tree was cut into logs and then taken away. People from all around were also fetching nicely sawn logs on wheelbarrows – presumably for log fires. Many were also driving in their cars to look and the neighbours kept walking around the site.

It took us a long time to clear the pool.  We found whole bricks from the wall, as well as broken bricks and mortar.  There were lots of pieces of bark, some large and some small, as well as twigs and leaves. Strangely enough, the pieces of the tree which had been hit by lightning did not float. They all went to the bottom of the pool which made it doubly difficult to get them out. One piece of timber in the pool was 2m long and weighed about 20kg. There were other similar sized pieces that had come to rest by the side of the pool and stuck in the surrounding shrubs. For the next two days, the Kreepy Krauly kept getting indigestion on splinters of tree and bark and bits of masonry. It would stop and have to be cleared out. We also had to clear the surrounding brickwork around the pool and this took ages. 

We have lived here for 27 years and never seen or heard anything like it.  We consider ourselves lucky for a number of reasons:-
• we could have been hit by flying glass as we found large pieces under the chairs where we were sitting
• we could have been sitting on the chairs close  to the windows
• we could have been closing the curtains and been in direct fire of the flying glass
• we could have been in the guest toilet when the light fell
• we could have been driving home when the tree exploded
• we could have been in the garden when the large pieces of timber shards were flying about

It was a very scary experience but it could have been worse.  Everything is fixable and hopefully the insurance will cover the damage.  The main thing is that we are both unharmed and the house is still standing.

Sheila and Tony Bagnall (7 October 2007)

The 2007 Holiday Bazaar coloring competition results are as follows:

3 years old - Isabelle

4 years old - Rerske

5 years old - Sam, Twan, Jessica, Natcha & Eloise

6 years old - Puck & Victoria

7 years old - Aidan

10 years old - Charlotte & Salayana

11-13 years old - Suppaitva

2007 PILC Holiday Bazaar is a Fantastic Success By Rachel Hoag

On Saturday, October 6, the Pattaya International Ladies Club held its annual Holiday Bazaar and what a phenomenal success it was! From early morning ‘til late afternoon, families and friends came together to shop, relax, and enjoy refreshments all in the name of charity.The locale, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, was incredibly suited to host this event as they have done for several years running. It is always a pleasure to work with Kuhn Panga and her staff, especially Kuhn Pornthip and Kuhn Joey. They were there every step of the way, from the organizational meetings, to the smooth execution of the day’s events. They are true ambassadors to “The Land of Smiles.”At the opening ceremony, we heard speeches from the PILC Special Events Chairwoman and Bazaar organizer, Cindy Logue, the PILC President, Rosanne Diamente, and the VIP guest of honor, Wife of the Governor of Chonburi, Dr. TipawanTaerat. After the ribbon cutting ceremony was so graciously performed by Dr. Taerat, the doors to the Siam Ballroom opened with gusto to a festive holiday atmosphere.

In all, 578 people enjoyed a day of shopping amid the colorful stalls. Over 65 vendors brought their wares, and many thanks go to them for making available such a remarkable variety of fine quality indigenous and imported goods. Among the items available were clothing, handbags, jewelry, home-décor, baked goods, stationary, perfumes, and of course, holiday decorations. All generous 66 vendors also donated gifts to the PILC to be used in future raffles to raise additional funds for the PILC Welfare projects.

The magnanimous sponsors this year were Transpo International Ltd., Volclay Siam, and Foster Wheeler. Their generosity is astounding and to them we offer our deepest gratitude in making this event a charitable accomplishment.

The combined efforts of Special Events Chairperson Cindy Logue, joined by her hardworking committee members, including Judy Clausen, Rachel Hoag, Janet Seale, Alvi Sinthuvanik, Ingrid Cunliffe, Rosanne Diamente, Elaine Poole, Kathleen Petras, Kavita Lamba, and a host of other PILC members (especially the craft ladies) and volunteers were rewarded by raising over 400,000 Thai baht, all benefiting PILC local charities. The Welfare Projects adopted by PILC that benefited from the funds raised last year are as follows: Street Kids’ Home, Scholarships (Several Local Schools), Fountain Of Life, Garunawayet Home For Disabled Ladies, Baan Jing Jai, Our Home, Huay Pong Protection Centre, Koh Pai, Ban Chang School Projects, Emergency Shelter In Chonburi, Kao Bai Sci School, Nikom 9 School, Tamar Centre, and Ban Mu Eire.

Mom’s were free to shop without worrying about their kids, as the Children’s Room saw loads of youngsters, joining in games and a coloring competition with coloring books sponsored by Nancy Chandler, and to enjoy the antics of special clowns, provided by the generosity of Capt. and Mrs. Steve Ponter of the Jesters. Also a huge Thank You goes to Kim and her wonderful staff from Jameson’s Pub who supplied lunch for the 60 odd Baan Jing Jai Orphanage children and staff. Also many Thanks to Amber with the Party Shop and Mr. Tuxedo and his magic show troop, they had the children spell bound, it was fantastic. Thanks to Marg and the ISE kids who came and did beautiful face painting.

Now, the PILC membership are preparing for its second major fundraiser of the year, the 20th Anniversary Masquerade Charity Ball to be held on Saturday, November 17 at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort Siam Ballroom. Tickets are still available, which includes a welcome cocktail, a 4 course meal with wine, and dancing and entertainment until 2 a.m. If interested in attending, contact Cindy Logue.

The Mercy Center children and staff receiving from PILC Welfare team members the monies raised from the Opium Art Gallery night.

Wat Nongkeit Noi School is supported by PILC for scholorships and recently we funded the tiling of 4 class rooms.  This is the handing over of monies raised with the Opium Art Gallery night we hosted a few weeks back and the PILC book club bought 2500 baht worth of great books for the childrens library at the school, which is fantastic.

In the photo are Por Or and PILC members with children from the school enjoying the books already!!  Thanks to the PILC Book club members and PILC look forward to continued support for this school.

North Star Library: PILC Welfare team members and Khun Bic handed Marco from the Camillian Center 55,000baht to go towards the building of the Ban Eire 2 project.  This will be the second Irish Village built at Ban Chang.  Ban Eire 1, which was completed, last year, is going well with the 10 families loving the homes that they now have.  The building will commence shortly for the second project and the 10 homes that will be built will be filled with needy families that currently have no homes in the area.  PILC is proud to be a part of this worth-while project and I will keep you updated of the progress made with the homes.

Khun Tiew’s “Our Home” at Phuluang: PILC Welfare team members including Kathleen, Fiona and myself are handing over the monies raised from the Monster garage sale recently held there.  With these funds Khun Tiew has nearly reached her target of 450,000baht to extend the home so she can accommodate in more homeless girls and teach them the art of quilting and give them a warm and loving home environment.  PILC looks forward to continued support for K Tiew and “Our Home”.

Fountain of Life: Sr Joan and some of the older children receiving the monies raised from the Opium Art Gallery exhibition.  Many members were present as it was the Wednesday which is the card making afternoon at the center with the older children.  If any members would like to join the card making, please feel free to drop into the center, Wednesdays between 1pm and 2pm.

Fountain of Life Center: Dr Tassanee, the Head of the dental at Bkk Pattaya Hospital, and her team came again this year to check the children’s teeth at the Center.  The afternoon ran smoothly, with only a few tears!  Unfortunately, the diagnosis for most of the children was not so good with many having 10 to 20 cavities on their milk teeth already!  I can see we are going to have another busy time this year ferrying the kids to the dentist!

If you would like to help with this mammoth task, please either phone the center or Ingrid on 087-063-1807.

Being away from all things familiar can never be easy, irrespective of whether it happened several years ago or just yesterday. Yet, most of us at PILC know what it means to leave our homes, our parents, neighbors, school and college friends, and move to distance places.  We also know what it means to struggle with a new language, culture, food, people and different ways of doing things. We know what it means to run to a Thai tutor. We also know what it means to teach our children a language we don’t know, or may never need once we move out of Thailand. Still, there are some of us who do manage to turn our long stay overseas into something meaningful. Many members here at PILC are living proof of that
Today, I wish to introduce you to two such women. They are Debra R. Bryson and Charise M. Hoge. I have never met them, though they have lived in Bangkok for part of their ex-pat life.  Both are now back with their loved ones.  Debra is in Austin Texas, where she lives with her husband and two children, spending time on things she loves most: outdoor activities, weightlifting, biking, journaling and spending time with friends and family. Charise lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and two daughters. She teaches SynergyYoga and performs with the Ancient Rhythms Dance Troupe. She enjoys writing, getting together with friends and going with her family to the wilds of West Virginia for the occasional weekend getaway.
Now you may wonder why I chose these women to talk about this week. It is because of their indomitable spirit that keeps them still connected with those of us left behind. The two have co-authored a book. It is titled, “A Portable Identity: A Woman’s Guide to Maintaining a Sense of Self While Moving Overseas”.
In the introduction, they describe an ex-pat wife’s life as a loss of connection to familiar surroundings, and a loss of contact with people who have been central to their life. “Overnight she becomes an expatriate spouse, the ‘wife of,’ or a ‘dependent of,’ her husband or partner. She must make new friends and carve out a new path for herself.”
These are words which are likely to touch a chord in many of us.
What makes the book interesting is that the writers draw heavily from their own life experiences. What could also be interesting to PILC members is that their stories began in Bangkok.  Debra moved abroad when she got married to a diplomat. Charise joined her husband overseas as a military wife. Both were highly qualified women. In terms of academics. Charise held two Masters degrees, one in Dance/Movement Therapy from New York University which she received in 1984, and another in Social Work from the University of Georgia which she got in 1992. Debra had a Master’s Degree in Social Work with specialization in mental health counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University.
As professions, Debra was a licensed clinical social worker with experience in providing mental health, educational, and vocational counseling and services. Charise was a holistic health practitioner, who was an expert in social work, dance therapy, polarity therapy, and yoga.
Both prided themselves on their jobs and drew strength from their work. Their personal identity, to an extent, came from what they did.
Understandably, it never crossed their minds that when by saying “I do”, they were giving up that part of themselves which gave them such pleasure—their identities.
Yet, arrival in Bangkok brought them face to face with their new realities. Both discovered that they could not work. Debra’s problem was more pronounced than Charise’s. As a diplomatic wife, she was forbidden from working outside the US Embassy premises.
Charise found an outlet by reconnecting with her school. She thought that Bangkok could provide opportunities for students from the University of Georgia, from where she had graduated. The end result was the creation of the first overseas internship opportunity for the University of Georgia Social Work Program at the Community Services of Bangkok.
Debra’s task was tougher. North American diplomatic wives, who had preceded her, had not taken on the issue of spouses working while their husbands were overseas. So it fell on her to take on this battle.
Today, the wives of US embassy officials can work in Thailand. This is on account of an agreement between the US Embassy in Bangkok and the Royal Thai government, made possible in part because of Debra’s effort.
Once the doors were open, Debra sought employment as a mental health counselor in an organization in Bangkok. This organization provides services to the expatriate community. Here she met Charise. This work opportunity also provided both of them the experience of working with people of different cultures. “Our paths crossed and lives touched primarily because we each moved overseas in support of our spouse’s career,” the two say.
As counselors, and as expatriate wives, the two women had a special interest in the concerns of ex-pat women. “We were distressed to discover the lack of in-depth information available to women about how moving and living overseas affects their identities,” they say.
This concern led them to independently research the effect of an overseas move on a woman’s identity. They developed a model, which they called “The Wheel”. This model was a method, which helped ex-pat wives to reconstruct their identity in a foreign country and culture.
Their concept of how an ex-pat wife could handle transition and transform their lives met with such a success that they were invited to conduct workshops for women. Charise also presented their work at the Asia Regional Counselors’ Conference. This resulted in several requests asking them to provide written material on the subject. 
Thus, the idea for a book was born. After returning to the US, the two collaborated on developing their material into a book. Debra moved twice (out of the 15 times she had moved in her life overseas) during the writing of the book. Charise moved once out of the 10 times she had relocated in her life.  That should speak volumes for the kind of challenges that lie before us, just as Debra and Charise’s stories are inspirational and motivating for those of us who wish to make their lives overseas both rewarding and worthwhile.
 
http://www.aportableidentity.com/auth.htm