A Walk Through Bangkok

Ruined For America

...two eggs scrambled...

...perfectly seasoned noodles...

...fry it up...

...toss in the bean sprouts and the chives...

...tofu...

...preserved carrot...

...dried shrip...

...peanuts...

...PHAD THAI...

!!!!DELIGHTFUL!!!!

'Thai Food' in America will never cut it again!

Coffee Shop Musings

It's raining

The coffee's hot

Soft sounds of sultry jazz music

The grind of a day's work

New faces in usual places

The familiar green circle

It's Home

It's Starbucks. Sitting in a faded brown arm chair watching the rain fall on a rainbow of brightly colored taxis rushing by. Everyone has somewhere to go - a place to be.

Today there is no rush. No place to go. No meeting scheduled. Today I just need to be.

To stop. To sit. To think. To breathe.

Half a world away

To stop running

To stop hiding

To look within

To BE

One of the scariest but most necessary experiences is confronting oneself. To sit in silence and listen to what the noise of this world, of our lives, so easily drowns out - the voice of our heart. 

Traveling across the globe these past 10 months has been an education. A series of lessons that the best universities in the world could only dream of teaching. 

The more people I meet

            The more I see we are all the same

The more people I encounter

            The more I treasure our unique differences

The more places I travel

            The more I discover how small the world truly is

The more places I stay

            The more I realize the vastness of our world

The more I learn

            The more I understand how little I actually know

Just Sit. Simply Be.

Anyone who knows me, knows that the hardest task for me is to simply sit and be.

I tried to sunbathe on the shores of a picturesque tropical beach recently and lasted all of 45 minutes before becoming too antsy to sit and be any longer. I am actually improving though. In the not so distant past, I would never have lasted 30 minutes. 

One of my favorite life quotes comes from my junior high leader who at an event we were preparing for shocked me when she said, "Don't just do something, stand there!"

Over the years I have perfected the art of being a human-doing

but find myself struggling to become a human-being

The Most Greatest Drink Ever!!!!

a simple formula

(1 cup ice + 4 slices watermelon + squeeze of lime + splash of simple sugar) blended = fruit slushy goodness

The Best End To A Hot Humid Day

Stinky Fruit

The title really says it all. Banned on all inclosed forms of transportation in the region, the dorian fruit has a reputation for being one STINKY fruit. .... and yes, I ate it.

Donuts

More S'mores

Eating s'mores for the first time... mmmmm....

Bombing in Sri Lanka

This morning there was a bombing at a mosque in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka that reports are saying killed 10 and injured 20 more. I have been made aware of several reports online (BBC, yahoo and google) that line up with reports we are receiving from people in the area.

At this time it is unclear exactly who carried out the attack and what the specific motives were. The BBC reports, "At least one minister was among more than 20 people injured in the blast at the town of Akuressa, 160km (100 miles) south of the capital, Colombo. Government officials were attending a function at a mosque to celebrate an Islamic holiday at the time. The defence ministry said the blast was carried out by Tamil Tiger rebels but no-one has yet admitted responsibility."

This is the first bombing in the Southern region of Sri Lanka for over a year now and it seems to have caught residents by surprise. At this point life is continuing as usual, with updated reports coming in through friends in the region.

Hearing the report this morning was unnerving, as is any outbreak of violence so close to home. Perhaps more then anything it brought the reality of life in this nation to my heart. Living in a warzone is hard, whether it is spurred by political or religious associations. Even among the portion of the nation not at war, tension and violence occur as misunderstanding between ethnic groups and religions have sparked threats, attacks and deaths. While I am safe and taking every necessary procaution, the reality is that I am living in a country that is at war and therefore safety is relative. I am currently residing in the southern province and have plans to remain here through the week before returning to and flying out of Colombo.

Please be assured that I am being well taken care of and looked after and that all steps are being taken to ensure my safety.

It's Delicious!

Walking into the dimly lit kitchen where the wood fires were already burning, she laid a wrapped paper parcel onto the table. Unfolding its edges three wooden pieces lay revealed, catching my eye and causing me to stop.

"What is that?" I inquired, after it became clear that whatever 'IT' was, was about to be placed into MY food.
"ummalakada," she responded searching for the english equivilant to share with her new mono-lingual friend.
"It is wood?" I proded, hoping to help her along.
"No..." she mused, "fish."
"Fish?" I responded in a state of disbelief.
"Fish!" she replied pleasantly.
"It looks like wood," I explained.
"No, not wood. Dried fish."
More like petrified fish if you ask me, but I wasn't even going to go there.

"And what is the fish for?" I questioned, already well aware of the answer, but praying that I was mistaken.
"For the sambol" [a curry and coconut dish we were in the process of preparing]
Dread raced across my face, exhausting all but one question left within me, "But WHY?"
This clearly unusual question caused her to pause for quite some time. After several moments of quiet chopping she had her answer, "It's Delicious!"
Of course, why else would something so vile in appearance be entering into one of Sri Lanka's finest dishes. I was less then convinced that this beach wood looking pile was at all tasty let alone edible. Sensing my lack of understanding she placed some into my hand, "delicious," she said indicating I should partake.
"I will wait until it is cooked," I suggested in desperation.
But a later date with the wood-fish was not to be had. Without another option in sight, I ate it. The tiny dried fishy flake which reminded me more like something my cat would enjoy then my taste buds. I swallowed it down and truthfully informed her that it was okay, but not my favorite.

The fish flakes went into the sambol.
Why? Because "It's Delicious!"

Stickin' Around Sri Lanka

After nearly 2 weeks in this stunning country, I have decided that departing is simply not an option quite yet and at the request of a friend will be going to spend some time in a village in the southern region of the island. 

The remoteness of the location though means that I will have NO internet access, so basically no change in what life has been like these past few weeks. 

Thanks for your patience and I look forward to posting new photos and stories in the coming weeks!

Highlights to look forward to... swimming with sea turtles, riding bareback on an elephant, the Sri Lankan train and bus system... oh the ADVENTURES!!!

Paradise Beach Hotel

Tucked back off the main road, in a quiet little fishing town, on the southern most part of this tear drop shaped tropical island
that lies just east of India and north of the Equator. Crawling out of the depths of our airconditioned van and into the hot sticky air, we had arrived at our beach front home. Everything about the place screamed of relaxation. Ahhh, what a beautiful location to reside during our time in southern Sri Lanka.

A Snapshot of Our Drive Down the Coast

It was a 4 to 5 hour winding drive along the coast as we headed south from Colombo towards Mirissa. Stuffed in the backseat of our 8 passenger van propped up on our overflowing pile of luggage, I endured the painful experience of watching helplessly as one picture perfect scene after another zipped by. After several hours the prospect of missing another photo op became too much and I whipped out my camera in hopes of preserving a glimpse of all that we were seeing.