Musings

"What country?" Is the question most asked of us by everyone from our waiter bringing us the steaming basket of butter nan, to the adolescent boys we pass on the street, and people we meet at the usual sightseeing places. We used to answer U.S., but now I just smile and say "Obama!" Everyone gets it. Everyone we've met loves him as much as we do.Perhaps it's that we've traveled off season, or to unusually remote places, but more often than not we are the only westerners in sight. The next question after "what country?" is "picture?" This does not mean they want us to take their picture. It means they want to have their picture taken with us. David is a good sport about it, I usually mention that I'm in the witness protection program.I'm writing this post from home. It seems so weird that 36 hours ago I was standing at the edge of the Arabian Sea where a bunch of guys were doing astonishing things with a soccer ball....and now I'm trying to sort through almost four months of mail.We returned yesterday afternoon. Suitcases are mostly unpacked. The laundry is piled up ready to be dealt with. I'm trying to remember which gift is meant for which person. (Who did I promise this to?)The refrigerator is empty and we need to do some food shopping. I guess David was serious about retirement because he hasn't talked about going to the office.Instead of running around taking care of any of these things I am sitting here writing. That this blog has run its course makes me almost as sad as having the trip come to an end. After the initial frustration and negotiation with the learning curve, I have came to enjoy writing it very much. It was great to have David weigh in when he had something to say (having nothing to say never held me back). I am playing with the thought of continuing it on another subject and a soon as I find one that might remotely be of interest to anyone but me, I'll throw it out there and wait for your feedback. I still have photos I want to post, so we won't be be totally out of your lives. I am so grateful to you for reading the blog. Your comments and feedback created such an important connection to home for both of us.For right now take good care and remember that's there's a whole, huge world out there, ready for your exploration and enjoyment.Lora