sawasdee smile (hello smile)

Posted on by
Reply

Sawasdee krub, which means hello in Thai, was the first Thai phrase I learned on the airplane from Hong Kong to Bangkok. It was also the first to get corrected!

20111126-162110.jpg

Sunrise over Santa Monica.

The in-flight magazine had a list of useful phrases, which was a win because I hadn’t bothered to look for a language book for my travels. I set about practicing 4 or 5 of the phrases on my 2.75 hour flight from Hong Kong.

The flight at 8:45pm was a win as well. The travel agent couldn’t book the flight originally because it would have been less than a 60 minute layover. Never mind that this was the first time I’ve heard that information. After calling all the airlines I was flying with, it was decided I would try to run to the gate and request the change there. This meant changing my packing strategy from checking one bag to attempting to carry everything on.

Uh oh.

Continue reading →

Leaving home

Posted on by
Reply

After over 23 months in Zayam, I’ve officially left my second home for an indeterminate amount of time.  Saying goodbye has been a drawn-out and strange process.  Every time I left a friend’s house after consuming the obligatory tea and sweets, it would hit me that that might be the last time I’ll ever drink tea with that person again.  I usually don’t have trouble saying goodbye; leaving Alabama for Azerbaijan wasn’t sad and tearful for me because I knew I’d be able to see my family again sometime and that they’d be fine without me for awhile.  The depressing part about leaving Zayam is the fact that I can leave, but the people I’ve come to know and love will most likely live out the rest of their days in the same place, the same situation, the same life.  I get to move on and see new things and experience life, but my friends will stay trapped in the same small world that some would rather escape.  All I can hope for is that I gave them some reprieve from the monotony, hope that they can make the change they want, and knowledge that someone else out in the world loves and cares about them.

Continue reading →

Westward Bound

Posted on by
Reply

Flying on the Denver to San Francisco leg of a longer journey got me thinking about the west in general.

20111114-163623.jpg

I started reading a book called “Botany of Desire”. It starts by talking about Johnny Appleseed and his movement west in front of the pioneers. He planted apple trees years in advance of his counterparts arrival so that his trees would be ready to sell when the pioneers arrived. The other person who has done that sort of visionary thinking recently also has ties to apples, the late Steve Jobs.

Continue reading →