Meeting up with American friends

(CNN) -- Newey is the head of Thailand's Youth Venture program, located in Bangkok.

Youth Venture, a global organization and partner of Ashoka, is dedicated to supporting and encouraging Ventures that benefit society, proposed and run by young people across Thailand. The vision behind the program is that everyone can take initiative and address social needs. Young people form the basis for this.

Newey will be continuing her work with the program to further the impact it is having on Bangkok society. Follow her efforts in her blogs and video diaries.

December 20, 2007
I seem to write a lot at the airport. I'm on my way to Minneapolis, where I will spend some time before Christmas working.

Before switching back to normal working mode, I really need to write about my six days in Florida, where I feel so warm and not only because of the weather (which is a lot warmer than New York, my previous destination).

I stayed with Maria, my best friend whom I met in calligraphy class at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center in 2001. Maria is very kind and crafty. Most people might hang out at bars drinking wine, but we mainly strolled along the aisles at Michael's -- an art/craft supply store.

Then I spent another half of my six days at Sally's house. Sally is my book arts teacher, my mentor and my family. We constantly talked about making books and catching up on what's going on with our lives. Also, she made me fall in love with the slow cooker.

Sally and Maria are so special to me. If I ever think about my source of energy I think it comes from these two people that I have to come and visit every one or two years. Just to remind me that even if I'm not working to create any social changes, I am still somebody. I really feel recharged and ready for any challenges, and look forward to returning to see them again next year.

Two days before I left, I helped Sally take photos of her handmade books -- which I did pretty well at 685 photos. Going through Sally's hundreds of books, I saw life. I've made books myself and I know that it takes time, inspiration and skill to create a book.

Those books tell stories about the book maker and also have lives of their own. They told me a story of Sally and Harry (her husband) and their four children. They told me a story of an American who appreciates eastern culture and has been living a life of running a business of creation.

It's a life I wish to inherit -- her dreams and determination, to take pride in living such a life that we simply choose to do what we really love, even though people around us will never understand. E-mail to a friend