about Tirian
My name is Tirian Mink and I was born in Portland, OR in 1976. I still live there and love it. I play soccer and futsal competitively. Futsal is a Brazilian style of indoor soccer that is all the rage these days. I enjoy outdoor activities like climbing, hiking, camping, and hanging out at the coast.I've had a few careers already in my short life- scientist, carpenter, international aid worker, project manager in a construction company etc. Currently I am exploring opportunities in international relief work and am considering going back to school to pursue a Masters degree that will help me get involved in this type of work on a long term basis.
I guess I can't say I just got back from living in Thailand anymore. It seems amazing to me that I've been back in the States for over a year now- mostly in Portland. Time has blown by like a winter wind through the Columbia Gorge.
One year ago I returned from Thailand where I had been working and volunteering in tsunami affected southern coastal communities. I was living there when the tsunami hit- the effect on me was pretty heavy- life changing perhaps.
My year of work at the ( Tsunami Volunteer Center )in Khao Lak was a blessing. I now know what it feels like to make a positive difference in the lives of people in need. I learned that there are right and wrong ways of helping. The wrong ways create dependence and can break apart communities and can even cause people to lose their culture and traditions. The right ways strengthen communities and create self sufficiency. Good initiatives are always driven by the community members themselves. Even though creating a consensus within a community can be difficult, this process itself can be more important the actual results of a project.
For the last year in Portland I have been doing construction work- remodeling and restorations mostly. I was remodeling houses independently for a few months and then took a job with a local company doing much bigger jobs on apartment complexes in the area.
In my spare time I am working with a partner to develop a cultural-educational-eco-tourism program in Nepal. We are shooting to start that in the fall of '07. Let me know if you?re interested in going on the first trip. We will be giving major discounts for the first few trips while we work out the kinks.
(This link is not active yet but it will be:( nepaldiscoverytours.com ))
If you want to communicate with me, please feel free to Contact me with this form , or Find me on MySpace and be my friend!
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