Umm...Milk!

Liz and Ana with their students

Santisuk arranged an outing on Friday for teachers and students to Farm Chok Chai - a dairy farm two hours outside of Bangkok.  Both Thai and American alike enjoyed the fresh air of the countryside - not to mention the elevation that brought cooler temps! 

Farm Chok Chai was started in the 1950s by a Thai man who'd dreamed all his life of becoming a farmer.  He started this farm, and in the process introduced the very first pickup truck to Thailand.  The farm started as a beef farm and eventually changed into a dairy farm, importing Holsteins and crossing them with local breeds to create a cow that can do well in the tropics.  The Thai king worked with the farm to start programs which introduced milk into schools to promote good health. Some of our group - both Thai and American - got a chance to milk a cow by hand! 

We watched a Thai rodeo presentation, reminiscent of the Wild West (complete with "Texas - Don't Mess with It" t-shirts in the gift shop), followed by an opportunity to ride horses.  There was also a show featuring monkeys, various dogs, sheep, a 3-week old calf, a parrot, a pelican, and others.  On the way out we enjoyed FRESH milk and extremely creamy ice cream.  Umm...milk!

All it all it was a fun, relaxing day to hang out with our new friends!