“In October 2018, I visited my friends and fellow PiA'ers in Chiang Mai, who warmly welcomed me to their new home over dinner at a local restaurant. Thanks to their recommendations, I spent the next three days learning how to cook Thai food, ziplining through the jungle, and feeding elephants in their jungle sanctuary. My short four days in Chiang Mai made it easy to see why Thailand is known as "The Land of a Thousand Smiles" because I couldn't stop smiling while I was there!”

“Too many stories to tell: having my first real job, as a teacher at Prasarnmit in Bangkok (1979–80); attending a student's wedding, and the funeral of a teacher's husband; having a front-row seat at the college graduation ceremony, where King Bhumiphol handed diplomas to every graduate; taking Thai lessons at the AUA Language Center; volunteering at the Sa Keo Cambodian refugee camp; traveling throughout Asia, pre-Internet; staying in a thatch hut, for $2 a night, on the beach of still undiscovered Koh Samui; enjoying the incredible hospitality of the Thai people; singing "Yesterday" to my students before class, at their insistence; acclimating, sort of, to the tropical heat and tongue-searing Thai cuisine; being the (undeserved) guest of honor at the homes of students; keeping in touch with one of my students, who is now a retired teacher; learning that having fun should be a major part of life, as I sometimes have to remind myself.”