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...