AYA/ATF Day 2: Surat Thani welcome

Madonna

A river behind the retreat center in Surat Thani, Thailand.

Joe and I arrived in the Diocesan Center in Surat Thani this morning around 4am.  Around noon, after getting some much-needed rest, we both found our way to the lunch, and discovered the incredibly beautiful grounds we're staying on for the next week and a half.

The conference has about 60 young adults from all over Asia.  Tonight I got to meet several participants, and am so impressed already by their breadth of knowledge and interests, with the common thread between all of us-Catholicism and a focus on social justice.

During the afternoon we had free time to explore--we walked the main street outside the Don Bosco center and found several temples, and a store where we bought local beer and sat and had a chat.  Walking back it became dusk and as the sun was setting I saw some incredible beauty.

Tonight's welcome focused on our excursions the next two days.  We will be staying with migrant families all around southern Thailand.  The options were staying on rubber plantations, palm oil plantations, fisheries, a school and a construction site.  Joe and I, our new best friend Ashik from Pakistan and a few other participants will be staying at a fishery in Phuket until Saturday.