2006 – Friends’ Kindness That Carried Us Through

 

When I tried to enroll Koh in the small local school near our village, the answer was disheartening — they only accepted very young children as new students.
It felt like yet another setback, but giving up was never an option. Koh needed to continue at the school in Chiang Mai city, the same one I had earlier found for him when we stayed briefly near the town.

​

The problem was the distance — more than an hour each way — and by then, I no longer had a car.
But, as so often happens in Thailand, kindness appeared in a very quiet and unexpected way.

​

My Danish friend Lennart simply handed me the keys to his Honda motorbike and said I could have it.
No discussion. No conditions. Just a friend who understood.

​

For the next two years, Koh and I rode through the countryside every weekday morning, rain or shine, to reach his school. I waited nearby until the afternoon, and then we rode home together.
It was tiring, but it gave our days rhythm, structure and purpose.

​

More than that… it reminded me that even when life feels uncertain, the kindness of others can keep you moving forward.

​

Very few people knew how difficult life had become for us after the tsunami.
I did not speak about it. I did not ask for help.

​

But those who knew… came forward.

​

Some across oceans.
Some from old friendships.
Some from the time of Scandinavian Divers.

​

With quiet compassion and strength.

​

I would like to acknowledge them here with deep gratitude:

My aunt in Australia, Gudrun Meling, Pastor Suchart, my former diving students and friends Morten Parmo and his wife Jannekke Ludt, my dear friends in Norway, Kari Monsen and Eilif Holte - and my sister Lotte together with my brother-in-law John Snowden.

​

In later years, I was also touched by the kindness of my old friend Helge Qvigstad and our friends from Gimle Rotaract, whose support meant more than words can express.

They all came when it mattered most.

And I will always carry their kindness with me.

​