The Beach in Front of Casa Lunita, Mexico, September 2009
Bret and Kristin are currently caretaking a home in Columbia City, Seattle, Washington for a family that is taking sabbatical in Costa Rica for six months. After moving here in December they have enjoyed being active in the local community and working on art and projects for the coming years. Kristin is showing her work in multiple galleries in the city and developing a large body of work, while Bret has been studying spanish and other subjects, preparing for graduate school. They are happy to be spending time in the NW again, exploring all the city has to offer and the natural environment of Washington.
In 2010 Bret and Kristin were caretaking and working on a property in the Sian Kaan Bio-reserve, Yucatan, Mexico for 6 months. In addition to regular maintenance, grounds keeping and house keeping they developed advertising for the owners and created a comprehensive manual for the many systems and intricacies of the newly finished off-grid ecological rental.
Previous to their job in Mexico, Bret and Kristin were volunteering as teachers in the Burma Volunteer Program (BVP) and spent February through June of 2009 living with and teaching three separate in-exile political groups in Thailand. It was an incredible and rich experience, full of exchange of knowledge, culture, customs and many smiles and laughs. Strong ties were made and poignant lessons were learned that will long remain with Bret and Kristin. While improving English abilities was the goal, the focus of class was often the complex challenge that Burma and the students face in their struggle to finally dispose of the repressive junta that has controlled the country for too long and what will happen after.
Kristin assisting one of her advanced students, March 2009
Bret and his advanced students discussing ethnic struggles, identity, and rights through studying Native American history, March 2009
