M and M's World Tour

Saturday, May 10, 2008

It's Been a Year...

Wow..A year has passed in what seems like a few minutes..

It's been a year since we've had real NY pizza...
The closest we came was at a Swedish bakery in the now communist, formerly French controlled, Vientiane, Laos.

Our last slice of Brooklyn

A pizza place in Laos??

Good pizza?? Are you sure???

I wonder if they deliver??

It's been a year since we've seen much of our family and friends..
Except those who attended our wedding in February on the beautiful beaches of Koh Samui, Thailand and Matt's Dad and 2nd Mom who spent a month exploring the Thai medical scene with trips to 3 hospitals for 2 surgeries and a lifetime of stories...

I hope that's brown rice they're throwing

Sharing our day with family and friends

Our family vacation

Dad is home and recovering well. He's already planning his next visit, but mentioned something about no more elephant rides!?

It's been a year and we've spent most of it in northern Thailand. (Not much of a world tour, but it's been a great adventure. We feel like we've experienced more staying in one place and immersing ourselves in the culture than we would have jumping from country to country, only staying long enough to take a few pictures)..

Things you miss when you're just passing through..

Protesting with our peeps

Down home cooking not found in the guidebooks

It's been a year and Maddie's still deep in the struggle, just another sucker trying to make a difference, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to changing the world one woman at a time. Idealistic and passionate as ever(watch out world!), she's still committed to improving the lives of displaced women and children so that they can live peacefully in a humane world. Maddie's found her dream job, finally being able to apply what she's "Mastered" in. Micro-credit, economic development, women's empowerment.. are all part of her daily diet. While Maddie's work is with the women and children of Burma, Matt spends his days conspiring with Cambodian monks about Buddhism, meditation and how to rebuild their impoverished communities in the wake of their nation's dark decades of oppression and genocide that have yet to cease. As a teacher, mentor and friend he hopes to help and inspire them to create the drastically needed change they wish to see in their homeland, one of the poorest nations in the world.

Maddie in the camps...

Matt at work..

Another day at the office

It's a hard job, but..

It's been a year and our rent for a newer, fully furnished apartment (including cable and wireless internet) with mountain views and a pool downstairs is 80% cheaper than it was a block away from the BQE in Brooklyn...

It's been a year since anyone has called Matt to yell about why a stock is going down and we bought it much higher...

It's been a year since he read the business section..(well maybe a bit longer than a year)..

It's been a year since his dreads fell out...

Well, kind of..

It's been a year and we now ride bicycles to get around, in an attempt to help save the environment..

It's been a year and somehow Matt, with his Brooklyn accent, is teaching English at a University..

It's been a year and we can now have a decent conversation in Thai with the guys at the local video store and the woman who sells Matt his Kao Soi.

It's been a year since Maddie has had to share an office with Brent, the Sagittarian she was stuck in a box with. She now has nearly an entire floor to herself with only Nai Nai, a quiet, Burmese, Aries woman to enjoy it with.

It's been a year since we've had our gluttonous, can somebody roll us home, Sunday dinners at Zaytoons, our favorite Fort Greene restaurant, so we've had to compensate with the Chiang Mai Sunday market that has 100's of delicious food stalls to fill our bellies.

Our Sunday feasting ground

Yummmmm

It's been a year and Maddie has found another way to keep on traveling (without paying for it)...Her work has taken her to China, Burma, all over Thailand (including refugee camps) and will be paying for her future adventures to Bali, South Africa and maybe even Ecuador later this year..

It's been a year and while Maddie has continued her outward journey, crossing borders and politicking, Matthew has spent nearly 2 months traveling within at meditation centers around Thailand and Nepal (of course Maddie was there to support him and her own practice for a month of them)...

It's been a year and we've met so many great people from around the world... Dimitri from St. Petersburg; Noelle From Zurich; Takashi from Osaka; Tashi in Kathmandu; Gopal in Pokhara; Noui in Vientiane; Bacilio the headbobbing yogi; Jame from Whales; Jen, Mitos and Rollie from the Philippines; The Monks of Wat Suan Dok from Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand and Burma; Steve, Jay, Joanne, Esther, Sean, Kate and the many other Americans who choose to create a better life abroad; and of course the many Thais who have welcomed us into their culture and lives so openly and warmly...

Our friend and favorite local artist, Tuw

Noelle and Takashi (Noelle cooked us a delicious Thai meal)

Bacilio and the little Lama

Bacilio giving a yoga class to some Nepalese kids

A Tibetan man I just met, but have known for lifetimes

Our dear friend Tashi Lama

Rowing with Dim

Noui at her cafe in Vientiane

The Monks of Wat Suan Dok

It's been a year since we've had to overpay for organic fruits and veggies.. Most of our meals now cost 2-3 dollars for two of us to eat fresh, beautiful, organic Thai food...

It's been a year since we've paid $20 bucks for yoga.. Classes here cost just $5 with some of the greatest teachers that have ever stretched our bodies and minds!!!

It's been a year since we've seen snow, but we do yearn for a little break in the 100 degree hot season sometimes...

It's been a year and Matt's Dreads have become a mohawk while Maddie's hair looks exactly the same (but different)...

It's been a year and our Passports have become so littered with stamps we needed to have extra pages added...

It's been a year....
And we miss everyone very much....

It's been a year...
And will be another before we return to visit...

It's been a year...
Of living life on our terms...

It's been a year...
of sharing our dreams with all of you...

It's been a year...
of learning about ourselves and others...

It's been a year...
that we hope will inspire others to follow their dreams...

It's been an absof@#$inglutely amazing year...
Thank you for sharing it with us...

Thursday, September 13, 2007

It's been awhile...

A few updates from this side of the sun...We've been driving on the left, running for the Burmese border, is that an opium museum? We decided to skip the taxis, buses, and trains and rent a car to independently explore "The Northern Most of Thailand". Yep, another road trip. Hanging out at the Golden Triangle where Laos, Thailand and Burma meet and where anything is possible... Then meditating for 3 weeks at one of the holiest sites in Thailand, then back to Burma dodging the military junta, then another trip to the islands to vacation from vacation... And now, where do we go from here? Mellow Laos, a land-locked country, influenced by its neighboring Southeast Asian sisters and once a French colony, with great baguettes and croissants. Why not? It's only a 14-hour bus ride... we could use a little Communism in our diet...

After Laos, we're setting up shop for a couple of months. We found an apartment in beautiful Chiang Mai overlooking the mountain side so that we can relish in the culture and, of course, give back a bit. Maddie is working with a human rights organization helping to empower and teach Burmese refugee women while, Matt teaches English to Buddhist monks.

We can't forget to mention all the amazing people we've met along the way... Ajahn Puttasack, the very funny, full of stories meditation teacher we enjoyed 21 days with. Phra Oil, the young statuesque monk we spent many nights looking out over Chiang Mai with. Noelle, the Swiss pilot who flies a Russian billionaire's dog to Italy for haircuts. Takashi, the Japanese linguist, who's too smart for this world, and who tried to eat a gecko (really, we have a picture), and all the wonderful people who have welcomed us into their culture with warm smiles, great food and big hearts. So yeah, we've been busy, but in ways that we prefer to be. Read on for a recap of our crazy adventures...

All white, yet very dark...

One of the most intense temples...

The mighty Mekong River...

You know you're jealous...

Yeah, we're tourists...

Unplugging from the Matrix: Meditation Overload

"You think that we should only sign up for 10 days? But the brochure suggests 21 for the foundation course, I'm going for the full course... " Three days later I was begging to be free. "Please let me go, I just want mangoes and dinner and a hot shower in a mosquito free room. Please... I'm begging you!!! I can't do it, maybe it's not for me. It sounds good on paper, but maybe my body can't handle it. Look! It's breaking down. My allergies are preventing me from breathing, my bowels have stopped defecating and the fleas are eating me alive. I want to meditate, really I do. But, it's just too much."
"I told you so." Maddie loves saying that. She did suggest staying for only 10 days... But choosing her words carefully, she offered compassionately, "We'll get past the culture shock. It'll take a few days, but in the end it'll be a rewarding experience. Shit, I worked in Africa with no running water and electricity we can definitely do this... " Blah blah blah... She then spent the next hour running in circles, her arms flailing wildly to avoid a bee, and the next 18 days slapping mosquitoes, fleas, ants and anything else that decided to land or crawl on her.
Day 4. Whew, that was a rough one. I almost didn't make it. The mind really doesn't like this stuff.
As if having our last meal at 11am each day, sleeping on the floor with nothing more than a mat, and meditating for hours at a time wasn't challenging enough, the last four days of our retreat was spent doing a thing called "Determination." We had no idea that a meditation foundation course gave final exams! For the last four days of our course we were not allowed to leave our rooms, speak, shower, and get this... sleep! No sleeping for four days!!! We asked our teacher why we needed to go through such an arduous process and his response was, as always, "It's good for you!" He elaborated, that by separating ourselves from the body it gave us an opportunity to further explore the mind. This method was used to strip away all the external comforts and distractions that we cling to so that what we're left with is our fears, doubts, restlessness and delusions. It's similar to the film "The Matrix" in which Morpheus has offered Neo two options, "To see the world as it truly is or to remain asleep continuing to serve his desires and false idols." Needless to say, this process is a trying one, every step is challenged by the mind. Doubt arises, nearly convincing you to give up but you persevere. Sleepiness begs you to lie down, but you walk on. Restlessness and boredom make your skin crawl and your mind scream out internally, begging you to concede. But, 18 days of preparation and a lifetime of stubbornness served us well. We came out of 4 days of seclusion a little dirtier, very exhausted and maybe even a little wiser. We've just completed one of the most intense 21 days of our lives and now we're ready to EAT!!! Mexican, Italian, Thai food they're all on the menu, but we won't forget to savor this memorable experience and all the sadistic torture we've put our bodies through to accomplish it.