little bit of this, little bit of that...

nothing like a little smoke and resulting traffic nightmare to mar a perfectly clear morning...

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Last Friday morning I woke up, and gradually noticed that the whistle noise I took for truck brakes was actually the wind sliding through my balcony doors. And then I noticed that the view was a little dusty. So I sat up and looked out the window above my bed... wow. Sand. Everywhere. Scudding across the road, flying through the air, taking debris with it. Full-out shamal, the most intense I'd seen yet, and it lasted all day...

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Three months from now I'll be back in the states for a visit... I can't believe how fast this year has gone.
It's getting hot again, soon the only time I'll spend outside will be running from my airconditioned car to the airconditioned school/mall/apartment.
Spring break is next week and I"ll be road-tripping to the neighboring country of Oman.
March 31st is the Dubai World cup, so I'm going to by a Derby-esque hat so I can mingle in style.

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Some of my favorite thailand pics that didn't make the "parents, here are some pics of your kids" blog...

thailand

back in the dusty sunshine of Dubai... so different from the greens and golds of the past week...

some of my favorite Thailand moments:

-breakfast outside in the garden of the hotel

-waiting in the cool before dawn to give alms of still-warm food to barefoot, burnt-orange clad monks

-sitting underneath the stars in a hill tribe village, the only sounds the rushing of the river and the croaking of frogs

-floating down-river on a bamboo raft in the warm sunshine, cool water washing over my toes, the jungle rising on either side

- enjoying a Thai foot massage at the Walking Market, watching the crowds stream past, as the light fades from the sky

-stopping in the street as silence falls for the daily playing of the national anthem

-riding in the back of a covered truck, watching Thai villages go past - teak houses, spirit houses in yards, small shops, fresh fruit, the occasional temple



sigh.
back to real life.