Dear Members,
Welcome to the November issue. This is the month the word gratitude is first and foremost in my heart.
I discovered the tradition of giving thanks when I moved to New York City in 1996. Every year, on the last Thursday of November the city empties out and all the Americans go and celebrate Thanksgiving Day with their families. Traditionally, it’s a time to give thanks to God, friends, and family. I have so many sweet memories of getting together with others who didn’t have families nearby to share food and drink, and everything we were grateful for.
In 2009 we moved to Thailand and I made another discovery — on
the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month (on the Gregorian calendar this day usually falls in November, when the rivers are at their highest and the moon at its brightest). The Thai people choose this day to hold the Loy Kratong festival. “Loy” means “to float” and “kratong” refers to the lotus-shaped boats that float on the water. The Loy Kratong ritual is a simple one: light a candle and a joss stick, make a wish and let it float away with the current of a river or a canal.
In my family, November is also the month that we celebrate our daughter’s arrival. She is going to be 5 years old this year and although she looks like she is all grown up, in my heart she will always be my precious baby girl. I thank her for choosing me to be her parent in this life time.
In the BAMBI family, this month we celebrate the BAMBI Bazaar. Time for
some holiday shopping and fun with everyone.
A special thank you to Jacci Grawburg for donating her book “Bangkok with Kids” and Kristen Rossi for donating “Travel Easy Asia,” minibilingual
travel guides for Bangkok, to the BAMBI Library.
Have a grateful month.
Be well.
Eleni Petraki
Chairwoman