Live From Napa

So, it's time to pick up the blog again to keep those far away, close in some way or another and what better way than through the internet. After Thailand, we spent our summer on a big road trip from Denver to Cincinnati, then Michigan, than back again. The summer was incredible in so many ways. We had time and space to reconnect with family and old friends...the luxury of having time was a blessing. We are truly grateful for all of the people who so kindly took us into their homes, opened their hearts to us and shared what they had so freely with us. I was reminded so frequently of the blessings of loving family and friends. I don't even know what pics I have of the summer but I am starting again....here we go.

Laila

A girl after her Baba's heart!!!

Mo and I were chatting the other night in bed about the things Laila does that we just love, or make us laugh, or melts our hearts. She pays close attention to the world around her and often notices subtleties in her landscape that I quickly overlook. She is quick to engage those around her and is increasingly determined to do things by herself and in her own way. Her zeal for elephants has been replaced by her love of geckos. Her desire to explore the world through her mouth continues. We've been working on teaching her that not everything has to pass through her “mouth inspection” to be identified. Some of her least favorite oral encounters included--the bar of soap in the shower and large, crispy, dead beetles found on the outside patio. She loves animals, to be silly, run around, dance, play, explore the world around her, and swim. Some of the the sweetest moments with her are when she sings to herself, the serious conversations she has with us about her world, her belly laugh, chunky little arms wrapped around our necks giving us hugs topped off by kisses. She understands most of what we tell her and she is beginning to talk more and more. Her words include: agua, pez (fish), bop bop (for baba), mems (mom), bye, kaw (which is the last piece of hello in Thai. She says kaw, puts her hands together and bows her head in greeting) please, baby, gecko. Sign language: finished, milk, monkey, gorilla, fish, zebra, hippo, tired, be quiet, softly, play, friends, cat, eat, elephant, dance, more, tickle, please, thank you, bird, frog, butterfly, airplane, music. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. Here are some recent photos of our little girl.

Cambodia, Siem Reap

We decided to take a trip to Cambodia to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and meet up with Barbara, Roger, and Levi. The Khmer people are maybe the kindest people I have encountered in my travels which considering their recent brutal past under the Khmer Rouge surprised me. Only 30 years ago they lived under one of the most brutal regimes, forced to work in labor camps in the countryside, and attempt to stay alive and together with their families; they say that nearly 1/3 of the population died during those 4 years. I found myself often thinking about how resilient people are, how a culture, people, and landscape respond and thrive after enduring repressive regimes.

Lovely Friends

Some of the best part of traveling is the different people that we have encountered in our journey. People that make you think different about the world, that share an intimate piece of themselves with you, the small connections that bring great laughter and joy to daily life. We met a beautiful family from Switzerland (Barbara & Roger) who are traveling with their 20 month old son, Levi. One night at dinner we chatted with them briefly about life; they are warm, honest, kind, open, and easy to be with. From that moment forward we spent quite a lot of time with them including a trip to Cambodia (which I will get to a bit later). Laila and Levi were instant friends who often acted more like siblings that just new acquaintances. They would fight, then play, then kiss (yes, I think Laila got her first from Levi), then play, then swim, then eat each other's food and over and over again. One of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard in my life is pure, heartfelt, belly laughs from two little people. Laila and Levi pulled the pillows off the couch and spent nearly an hour playing on them, each with a remote control in hand, just giggling with each other while we ate dinner.

The Dangers We Face....

Here on Koh Mak island this is one of the gravest dangers we face. However, the largest spiders that I have ever seen in my life also live here. They appear at night in our bathrooms;I have bravely evacuated a few spiders to their natural surroundings so we could brush our teeth and go to bed.

Beach

South to the Beach

The house we are staying in.

Laila & Baba swimming.
They say Koh Mak has some of the tallest palms in the world
The boat ride to Koh Mak...it was bumpy!

After some discussion about our next move we decided to head south to the beaches of Thialand. After 20 minutes to the train station, 14 hours on the train, 24 hours in Bangkok, 6 hours by bus to Trat, 30 minutes to the pier, then 45 minutes by speedboat to the Island of Koh Mak, and then a 10 minute pick-up to the guest-house we arrived. Total Travel Time: 45 hours....45 minutes. It has been worth it. The pace of life has slowed, we spend our days cooking, playing, swimming at the beach and hanging out with some new friends that we have made.

People

Traveling with Laila has allowed us an open door to talk to so many different people, interact with other who would have never stopped to give us the time of day were we here in Thailand without our little one. We often have to stop whatever activity we are doing so that Laila can play with other little people. She usually wants to hug and kiss other kids that she sees...the Thai babies initial reaction to her is to back or run away from her.

Chiang Mai at Dawn

Sweet Rice and Mangos

This vendor, at the Hang Dong market, sold all different types of desserts including sweet rice and mango which is my absolute favorite and I could eat everyday. We have eaten a ton of incredible food here.....

Feet Fish

The fish, common in Turkey, are called, Gara Rufa, they eat the dead skin off your feet and are said to help heal skin conditions of the feet. I have absolutely gross feet and as we walked by the Dr. Fish shop, Mo persisted that I try it out to see if it would help my nasty feet. I'll confess, I was a bit of a skeptic; the idea of having tiny fish eat the dead skin off my feet didn't really excite me but for 100 baht, (3 dollars for 20 minutes), I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see if my feet could be helped. The first few minutes, especially with the fish swimming between my toes, took some getting used to and eventually it felt quite relaxing. I will confess, my feet were by far the nicest they have been in a long time. I recommend Dr. Fish.

Beautiful

We think she has the cutest teeth. I never knew I could think that teeth were cute!!!

Wats

The Wats here in Thailand are amazing, beautiful, intricate pieces of architecture that can be found on main bustling city streets or mixed into the country landscape. Walking around we have stumbled upon some amazingly beautiful, sacred, peaceful places. Buddhism permeates the culture of Thailand.

Elephant Camp

Laila wasn't so sure about the elephants upon arrival. She sat mesmerized in my lap for nearly half an hour before she moved. She has always been one to watch and check out a situation before deciding how she feels about it. I think she has decided that she likes elephants..she signs elephant constantly (when she sees statues of elephants, paintings, toys, and even when there is no elephants to be seen). And yes, the elephant really did paint the picture. I was amazed at how agile and gentle the elephants were with their trainers, mahouts.

Our Favorite Things in the Neighborhood

We spend a lot of time at the pool, walking around the area, and smelling flowers. There is a Chinese woman named Rose who lives at the Foundation who Laila is fond of. In Rose's room there is a large, laminated picture of a tulip garden. When Laila realizes that Rose is home, she quickly leaves wherever she is downstairs and heads directly to Rose's room for three reasons. 1) to smell the tulips in the picture, 2) to say hello to Rose and 3) there is usually a snack involved. There are huge, huge carp that live in the pond around the corner from our house...the photo with Mo, Laila, and our new friend Brian is them checking out the fish.

Karaoke Bar

This is the view of the Karaoke Bar next to our house that brings up live music, for free I might add, from 9pm to 3am daily.

Our Western Style Housing...