Life cycles

Life's been good lately. So good that I haven't been writing much here. Isn't that usually how it goes? When there's too much going on, you don't have time to write.

I am now studying for exams later this week, and slowly starting to freak out. And procrastinating (by way of writing a blog post) is a sure sign of freaking out. 

 (How I feel under my pile of books)

I'm studying lots of biochemestry, you know, glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, Electron-chain transport, Fatty-acid oxidation, gluconeogenesis, etc. and there are a lot of cycles. Chain reactions. This thing activates that thing, which activates that thing... 

It all got me thinking about all the chain reactions that brought me here, right now. The domino-effect of our actions and decisions, that seemed so small and unimportant at the time, but have made us who we are and brought us to where we are. 

I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm happy. Somehow all the dominos fell where they were supposed to--a place I could never have predicted--and the picture is complete. 

So besides the little stress of the moment which always comes with exam week, and the inevitable feeling of being overwhelmed, I have nothing transcendent to report. 

Happy life is boring from the outside. 😉

The richest poor country in the world

I have been in love with Thailand for 10 years. Everybody who has heard me speak about Thailand (or even just from reading this blog) you can tell that I love Thailand, which is why I end up never leaving. I'm glad I did though, Laos is amazing!! 

However, I keep talking to people who mention how the people are dirt poor. They mention that the majority of the population live in rural areas and in a global scale, are considered below the poverty level because they don't earn so-many-dollars per capita per year.

Honestly, I don't see it. 

They live in little villages by the river, and subsist on some combination of sticky rice plus what they plant, the animals they keep (chickens, pigs, buffalo) and the fish they catch. 

You see fathers carrying babies, and mothers tickling toddlers who giggle adorably. They have plenty of food and water. They live in their own houses. The food is great. The weather is wonderful, and when it gets too hot, they jump in the river! The scenery is breath-taking and beautiful. There's no polution, no stress, no noise. They have schools and free health-care. I even walked into a hospital and it was squicky clean and empty (no crowds of patients waiting). The people are nice, helpful, happy. 

But don't take my word for it: here are some pictures:

(Friends and chickens)

(Drying rice)

(Typical houses) 

(Cooling off)

(Going out to fish)

(Big sister and chubby baby!)

(Sunset over the mountains)

(Silly foreigners -me- spinning around and making adorable little girls giggle)

Where is the poverty? Sure, they don't have any money... but they have no use for it. They have everything they need -- things that money can't buy... 

I guess I have a different definition of what it means to be rich or poor. To me, these people are the richest people I've ever met... 

The happiest place on earth...

Forget Disneyland! Thailand is the happiest place on earth! The name of the country literally means "Land of Smiles". Boy, did they get that right! 

Just landing in Thailand puts a smile on my face. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about this place. The food is fantastic. The people are lovely, friendly and helpful (without trying to sell you a thing!) the weather is great. The beaches are beautiful. The diving is incredible. The prices are cheap. It is easy, with an excelent tourist infrastructure. It is safe (even for a woman solo-traveler). 

Even if you say there are a lot of tourists, yes, true, but not everywhere. There are SO MANY incredible places out of the tourist trail, it's easy to avoid them if you want. 

This is my 3rd visit, and this time, I'm actually *forcing* myself to leave, in order to visit the neighbouring countries (Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam) which I keep wanting to see but always end up getting stuck here. Went to get my Vietnam visa today, so this time it is happening!!! 

But first, I think I'll have another Pad Thai... ;)