So sorry to be a week late with the July bulletin for Chiang Mai International Rotary Club, but the last two weeks have been wild. We've been very busy, seemingly taking two steps forward and one step back, in the application process for the Chiang Mai Rotary Club Foundation. But, as you'll read in the story, below, at last, the small Board of the gestating foundation trooped to Chiang Mai City Hall to launch the tall stack of application documents onto the path of approval, at the first of many government offices that need to, quite literally, put their stamp all over the documents.
On the Covid-19 front, conditions are deteriorating in Thailand, mostly around Bangkok, but Chiang Mai has issues as the case count steadily increases and vaccines are in short supply as they are diverted to areas more in need.
When the Chiang Mai Health Department actually confirmed to me in writing that they are prioritizing vaccination of Thai people over that of foreign residents, even foreign residents who are older and with health problems, I forwarded this email to both the U.S. Chargé d’ Affaires in Bangkok and the Consul-General in Chiang Mai.
Surprisingly, each called me to discuss this email and the U.S. position. It became evident that as foreigners without Thai family, without home or condo ownership, Roger and I were going to be last in the vaccination queue and we couldn't count on the U.S. government for assistance, despite their donation of vaccines to Thailand. Realistically, we probably wouldn't be vaccinated until 2022 if we remained in Thailand.
And the Delta variant has arrived in Chiang Mai with a vengeance.
So a good chunk of my time during the past two weeks has be in researching the most logical place to receive immediate vaccination, making travel arrangements and taking a trip. So, Greetings from Guam! Where America's Day Starts!
Thus, the delay in sending this month's CMIRC Bulletin.