BAMBI News September 2017
View PDF Dear Members,September has always been my favourite time of year. If I were back home in Ireland, I would be wrapped up in my beloved jumper while enjoying the cool autumn air and strolling through the crisp fallen leaves. As it is, September in Bangkok is altogether a much sweatier humid affair, trying in vain to dodge those trick-tile paving stones that, when stood on, will project dirty rainwater right up your legs!Despite the challenges of living in this great city, this time of year also brings with it great opportunities. As little ones (and a not-so-little one in my case) return to school or kindergarten, us mums lucky enough not to have to work outside the home find ourselves with precious time to ourselves. Mornings to fill with catch-ups with friends and chances to learn new skills and try new hobbies, and maybe even the odd BAMBI playgroup. It’s true that those school hours are the fastest of the day, and I will likely spend many of them with the community of pregnant and new mums at the BAMBI Bumps meetings. This year, I have also set myself the challenge to make a real effort to learn to speak Thai. I will soon be entering my fourth year living in Bangkok and I’m fast running out of excuses to learn the language, wish me luck!The BAMBI Committee have reconvened from our summer break, and we are looking forward to taking BAMBI through the remainder of its 35th year providing support and friendship to families in Bangkok. We are working on exciting opportunities to expand our regular weekday playgroups and to continue to expand our pop-up weekend playgroups which have proven very popular. We will work to strengthen links with our BAMBI Pattaya community as well and look forward to also identifying and supporting grassroots community charity projects to improve the lives of families throughout Bangkok and further afield.As ever, BAMBI welcomes new volunteers, so if you find yourself with some spare hours this September and need a new challenge to fill that precious free time, why not consider joining our team of dedicated volunteers. It’s a fun and rewarding way to give back to the community and meet new friends. As for me, I intend to curl up with my faithful jumper with the air con on max and put the brain in motion to finally learn Thai!Emma McNerlinBAMBI Vice Chairwoman View PDF