Nature Walking

Much of our days were spent simply hanging out, 

sitting in the shade, rocking on the swings.

Sometimes we just sat, arms entwined and heads leaning.

Sometimes we sang.

Often, we laughed.

But sometimes, we walked.  Just around.  Not speaking; being.

And then, one day, 

I pointed to the nearest flower and my camera and said:

"Let's go!"

Which led to 

my precious little tour guides,

pointing out every green and growing thing they could find:

 Dutifully, I documented each and every one,

 as we covered the whole place,

oohing and aahing as we went.

So in love was I with the flora and the fauna,

 that one of the boys who hadn't even been with us 

drew a picture of flowering things, 

and ran over to deliver it to me.

And as it turned out, 

our nature walk was a lovely way to spend a day.

Yes, I went to Myanmar

[Over the course of the next few posts, 

I will tell you what my trip consisted of, 

who it is I met.  

And when all is said and done 

(when I've taken the telling to process the whole of it),

I will tell you why it is I went.]

After airplanes and airports and very little sleep, 

Christmas morning found me here, in Yangon.

 I was with my friend Lynn, her family, and their friends,

and this was the place we called home for the week.

Each day we loaded up in vans 

and fought our way through traffic and dust,

to get to the place that had called us Myanmar-ward in the first place:

an "orphanage",

full of these delightful friends.

Each day, 

we were given a room to call our own,

and food beyond compare.

And each day, 

we were greeted by children running to our van,

waiting by our door,

to hold our hands, to just hang out.

We didn't have to know the language in order to communicate, 

in order to have great fun:

Plus, there were things to teach each other:

And at the end of each day--

after the children escorted us to the van [banging on the windows, yelling "see you tomorrow!" in Burmese and English],

after we drove [very very slowly] away--

we'd end up in our [very authentic] hotel, 

exhausted and full.

Just waiting, for the next day.

Christmas Delayed: Part III

Then, before I fall asleep:

Christmas Delayed: Part II

Let's have ourselves a Christmas Cuppa Tea:

Christmas Delayed: Part I

A Diner Christmas:

["She gave this to me?!"]

["I want to read this book!"]