Samuel Benoit

All of my 2003-2004 Baha’i youth year of service was to be in Macau, China but visa problems eventually led the government of that city to kick me out.  While on exile in mainland China I made arrangements to continue volunteering with the Thai Baha’i community.  I was sent to a small town in the North-East to help the local Baha’i youth with their children’s classes and other activities.  While there I also worked on the library at the Baha’i-inspired Santitham Witthayakhom School, had my first Songkran, learned to carve pineapples and almost Fasted to death.

Some of the most mind-blowing and eye-popping images were taken by be during my recent return there to scan pictures, I tell you.  Better pictures than I have ever taken – nay, will ever take.  I’m going to have to ask you to take my word for it because I accidentally deleted them.  Every last one.  To mark the stop and get closer to completing the documentation of my year away I have scanned and posted some of my old photos from 2004.  Click here to view them.

In related news, the semi-autobiographical rhyming illustrated children’s travelogue that I have been working on with my BFF Chloë Filson for the past three billion years is finally finished and will be consumable somehow somewhere at some point by someone.  The below drawing is one that I started back then in Yasothon and is the last one in the book.

For a more dramatic return, see my Return to Panchgani story from India.