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November 27, 2005
The Meaning of Vacation
Life moves at an incedible pace on the road. These past few weeks have flown by and I'm not even sure when they began. But this entry is really just a quick extolling of the virtues of vacation, which I previously didn't comprehend even the slightest. To me, for the longest time, vacations have seemed like a waste of money -- but this last one could never, ever be called that.
See, when I came back from vacation the little things about Timor that had come to bug me stopped bugging me. The honking of taxi drivers is once again an amusing diversion, and the street kids hawking their wares just kids, and not frustrations of the highest order. My neighbors with their screaming kids are no longer an infringement on my long-sought solitary existence, but kind people who will ask me where I am going each day with unfeigned interest and will sit around on my porch gossiping about life and giving gardening tips.
But the real difference is not in the time spent on vacation, but the returning of the ability to smile. People talk of 'energy' here: the energy you give off and the way that your energy interacts with the world. I am not one to speak in such terms, the concretist that I am, but in this case it has a remarkable applicabiity. Since coming back from some time i could actually call my own, I have been able to smile without reserve at random people walking down the street - and surpirse surprise they invariably smile back. By the time I left I was so tired as to think of Timor as unfriendly - but nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, before I had time to leave and to get some rest - the only person, I swear, that was unfriendly in Timor was me.
Anyways, on heading back here I have realized how much I actually missed it -- even though I never though I would. I miss my neighbors, and the kids in the yard, and the dogs who have slowly learned to become friendly. I missed being able to have chats with every taxi diver I meet, and eating at resturants where the staff all know my name and welcome me with a booming laugh and a 'hellloo, mana bo'ot!' each time I enter. Vacation also teaches you how much you miss the places where you live your everday life ...
Ok, I'm done waxing on. But I hope the next person who comes here understands that there is nothing wrong with taking a vacation. The world world will thank you for it - and not the least yourself.
Posted by storbert at 8:34 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2005
Catching Up
After a long, extended period of not writing I have tons to say and no time to say it in. So here are some pictures from Thailand. Yes, after coming back from vacation I am headed out again on a work trip. One day down time. Sometimes I wonder why I do this to myself .... ANYWAYS ...
The River Kwai (yup, the same one from the movie which I have, I'm afraid to admit, never seen):
Kids in a waterfall:
Head of a Buddha covered by roots. It probably has a more sophisticated name than that but I don't know it:
Another pretty ruined temple:
And one last pretty standing temple:
Ok, that's all for now. Maybe I'll be better at updating when I get back from the districts.
Posted by storbert at 6:25 PM | Comments (0)