It's 2.35 a.m. and I'm Too Darn Excited to Sleep...

Sawadeeka, Bermuda!
Well, I guess I should start off by saying 'Good Morning, Bermuda!'.
While everyone is snug in their beds, despite the sounds of some good "Bermuda Tank Rain" outside, once again, I can't sleep. After this afternoon's weekly B.H.S. Tsunami Relief Project meeting, I am finding it very difficult to stop my mind from whirling around at all that has taken place in my life since December 2004. It is with mixed emotions that I look at what will soon be the pinnacle of over a year and a half of solid fundraising and planning for this, our first ever B.H.S. Round Square International Service Project on the island of Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand.
I remember watching from the comfort of my home with absolute helplessness and horror as hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, injured, separated from loved ones and ultimately perished in the tsunami that followed the Indian Ocean Earthquake on December 26th, 2004. I still find myself with tears in my eyes and an ache in my heart when I think of all that destruction - all that loss - all that unfulfilled human potential - all that pain...and then...somehow, in all that chaos, hope. Hope, love & support from people all over the world - including our little island of Bermuda. Twenty-one miles long and never a mile wide at any point, Bermuda pulled together and raised over a million dollars in donations for several local and overseas Relief Agencies - not bad for an island whose population (approx. 65,000) is smaller than many Universities and whose land mass is smaller than Heathrow Airport!
But most of all, I remember how my friend & colleague Susan Donovan-Gorbutt sat with me in our Faculty Room at school when we returned from our Winter Break, and immediately began planning what we were going to do as a school to support our fellow sisters & brothers across the world from us suffering from the worst natural disaster in recent history. It was so easy - so natural. You see, Susan has the heart of an angel, the mind of a fox and the spirit of a sunrise.
I remember how effortless it was when we asked our students & colleagues to sell 'Bands of Hope' (see first Blog entry) to family & friends. The money started coming in and we were learning that our simple rubber band bracelets were being sold to people all over the world! People were supporting our Project by purchasing and then wearing them in the U.S.A., Canada, Botswana, South Africa, England, Scotland, France, and even Peru!
I remember with amazement and pride at how many students offered to give up their Wednesday evenings to help us sell our 'Bands of Hope' to our cruise ship tourists during Harbour Nights in Hamilton. For an entire summer, students & teachers joined together to manage a booth, kindly donated to us by The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, where we wore our school's uniform with pride and told travellers to Bermuda and Locals about the devastation, destruction & pain that followed the Indian Ocean Tsunami & that we were raising funds to try to bring some relief to the people most affected. I watched with an overwhelming sense of wonderment at my students, including a very confident & toothless Year One student named Mya, approaching with confidence & conviction the hundreds of people visiting our booth. Those moments shared with them on Front Street working towards a common goal are memories that I will remember forever. They are true "Sheroes"!
I remember with a thrill in my belly when I met Mr. Paul Crouch, the Round Square Coordinator at Regent's School in Pattaya, Thailand (www.regents.ac.th) at last year's Round Square International Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Being only inducted as a full-member school the previous day, I so clearly remember Paul's response when I informed him of my school's Tsunami Relief Project and that we were able to raise about $US 25,000. I also remember his reaction when I asked him if his school could help us spend it on a worthy project! Yes, indeed! Paul and his Team at Regent's School have been instrumental in organising this partnership between our two schools and Bonn Koh Phi Phi School. We are eternally grateful to them for supporting our dream and allowing us to be a part of their dream as well! Korp Koon Ka, Khun Paul!
And so here I am now, it's 3.46 a.m. and I'm still not tired! I have so much to do at school before we leave next Saturday...here come the butterflies again...but I am not worried. I am travelling to Thailand with the most amazing group of people you could ever wish to travel with. We have a team made up of seven students, six teachers & two husbands; all of whom have been intimately involved with this project since the beginning.
As we promised those who supported our Project by purchasing 'Bands of Hope', 100% of those funds raised would go directly to rebuilding a school & community, so everyone has been doing their own fundraising to get us all to Thailand. Biology teacher-extraordinaire, Julie Gunther, has been instrumental in collecting corporate donations, by far the largest portion of our Thailand Project travelling expenses. Teachers have organised weekly lunches to sell to colleagues & Fun Raffles. Students have organised Bake Sales, Environmental Clean Ups, Walk-a-Thons & Grocery Packing Days. My husband, Mark, organised a breakfast fundraiser for the group of re-insurance offices that he works for and one of our parents organised a Dinner & Social Evening at our local Thai Restaurant. A heartfelt thanks to each of them for their continued support & enduring energy! Korp Koon Ka!
We have had complete support from our school's Administration, generous support from many Corporate Members from Bermuda's Business Community and, of course, friends & family! Please check the local businesses that have supported us on our side banner. Without them, travelling to Thailand would have been next to impossible. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude goes to each of them and the many personal sponsors that have so generously donated to help us make this dream come true! Korp Koon Ka!

So, as you can see, these are some mixed feelings, indeed! But as we say here in Bermuda, "It's all good!"
We leave in about 10 days & 8.5 hours, but who's counting!

I'll sign off now & try to get back to sleep...wishful thinking, perhaps...but as you have read above, dreams can come true...

Good night, Bermuda!