Last Trip

I just returned from my last trip to the Asian countryside (at least this go around). It didn't really hit me until I was on the common bus driving up the mountain. It was cold and rainy outside as we wound through the mountains and along the jade river. Reddish-orange flowered trees sporadically lined the river and it made me cry. Wow! It is so beautiful. I never lost that awe and wonder at seeing the God's magnificent creation. What a breath-taking place I have been privileged to travel in for the past two and a half years. I am so going to miss those lush emerald mountains and all that goes with them: fresh air, star-lit skies, hospitable villagers, corn porridge, little old women smoking pipes, pantsless children, telling stories, the reactions of those who hear the stories, rickety bus rides....I am sure that I will think of more things as I am cramped in the city in America. I suppose I will have to let myself escape to the countryside every once in a while.