I'd rather be in Kuala Lumpur...(Not Really!)

This week I’m missing a big annual meeting for my team in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That is, my team at my “real job” that I do in Thailand. I’ve been to every one of these meetings since the tsunami recovery program began, but I wasn’t able to take my annual leave any earlier this year, and I decided that volunteering for the campaign was more important to me right now than this meeting. Luckily my bosses were pretty supportive, and in some ways, a few of them wish they were able to do what I’m doing instead of sitting in meetings all day. I hope they’re reading and living vicariously! Frankly, in just over a week of volunteering I’ve heard so many inspiring stories about community mobilization, volunteerism and pure American sense of civic duty that I hope I’ll be re-energized even for my own regular job when I go back.