east asia on my mind.

i have been thinking a lot about east asia lately.
about what a privilege it is to have been there.
to go with the people i went with.
to have meet those we met.

and sometimes the people who are living there just come to mind.
and so i pray for them.
and wonder what it would be like to live your life there.
and if we will ever get to do it.

i have some pictures on our living room wall of our first trip.
a women with working in a field smiling ear to ear.
and one of us hiking through a valley.
some days i just look at the pictures,
and dream about returning.

it's so easy to remember only the good times.
i know there were horrible times too.
really horrible times.
times we thought we might not come home.
but, only the good one's stick with me.
i think they call this, "trail amnesia".

i would totally go back.
i wonder what kind of trip it would be next time?
who wants to come?

the night we realized we didn't have enough food.  

delicious breakfast.  on a real wok.

resting before crawling through the collapsed trail.

above the treeline.

after our first hike out.

we woke up to these one morning. after the wind storm almost blew us away.

my favorite part is the bird on the string.  what a pet.

admiring his new radio.

don't you just want to hug them?

i don't think h1n1 was part of the plan.

breakfast of champions.  and sick americans.

this was our life for ten days.

overcoming the imported case of h1n1.

disinfecting our stuff.

if only we spoke the same language.

on the trail.  lost.