Mother Love

There is something almost a bit magical about being in a world different than your own. Something magical about the way people look and the way they talk and laugh and walk and live…something about the way there can be thousands and millions of people who have an entirely different sense of normal than what I do.

There is something magic about the contrast of life in south-east Asia. You have the best of smells and the worst of smells, the best of tastes and the strangest of tastes, the prettiest sights and the most awful of sights. It’s a world of contrast…and I’m starting to realize that I come from a comfortable western world of very minimal contrast. Maybe it’s the contrast that creates the amount of compassion that wells up inside when we come face-to-face with a mother begging for food for her young child…as we sit there in front of her with a full plate of food, eating the first of my three square meals a day. Maybe it’s the contrast that fills my heart with sadness when I see a young mother sleeping on the street with her two children beside her…because I’m on my way to my safe and comfortable third story room with a balcony, shower, and bed. Maybe it’s the contrast that fills my heart with despair as we walk by women lined up in front of the bars, just waiting for someone to come by and use them…because I’m walking beside a man that doesn’t use me for my body, one that truly loves and cherishes me.

The contrast…it can wreck you.

Currently, we are sitting in the Bangkok airport on our way back to Chiang Mai, where we will spend a few days yet to finish out our trip. It’s hard to believe our time in Asia is almost over! It’s been a full and busy experience, but not so busy and full that I don’t feel like it all happened without me knowing it. We have taken in a lot…and I feel like I have so much reflection and processing to do once I get back home.

I’m sure there will be a more detailed update on our trip coming up in the future, so stay tuned!

What about you: do you find yourself wrecked by the contrast of lives that you come across? How do you deal and process those really difficult things?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Isn’t it strange to know that you can get on an airplane and find yourself on the opposite side of the world in twenty-four hours? Strange. But awesome.

We arrived in Thailand on Friday evening, and immediately felt like we were a world away from the cold and winter of New York. Our flights went well, as well as fifteen hours on a trans-pacific flight can go. We were actually really lucky and ended up with three seats to ourselves, which made it much easier for stretching out and sleeping. Our connection in South Korea ended up being pretty tight and we had to do a run through the terminal to make it on time. It was a bit of a shock to the body to be sitting for fifteen-plus hours and then suddenly attempting a sprint with bags and luggage weighing us down.

Our only mishap in the whole journey was a lost bag, which of course, ended up being mine (third lost bag in a row…what is up?!). Thankfully I had packed a few sets of clothes in my carry-on so I wasn’t completely without. And thankfully they were able to deliver the bag by church-time on Sunday. I wanted to give the suitcase a hug when I saw it arrive!

We are having so much fun in this country. Running around in the city on the motor bike (my husband’s already got the hang of the local driving), shopping in the markets, spending time with our family here, and soaking up the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of the culture…it’s just fun. There’s something about being in a different country that just feels…good.

We’ve got a lot planned in the next few days…an afternoon bike trip around the mountain, cooking class (excited about this one!), elephant camp, coffee plantation, exploring the city, etc. etc. etc. On trips like these, you just want to make time freeze…you just want it to never end. You just want to soak up everything around you without letting any thing get away. You want to learn and grow and stretch…you want your world to enlarge and your compassions to grow and your heart to feel both joy and sorrow for the realities of others who have life experiences so vastly different than your own. You just want to take in all you can in the time you’ve got, no matter which world you are in.

As they say in Thailand, swat-te-kah…which I really don’t even know what that means, since they seem to use it for saying hello, saying goodbye, or saying anything in between.

What about you: what are the things you like about being in a different country?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!