Happy Birthday to my good friend Eric, though it is a little late at this point, I had a bit of a busy day and it slipped my mind…
I had the privilege on Sunday to hang out with a group of my friends for a birthday celebration. After being the first one to arrive and sitting there for 20 minutes, alone, and very very awkward and uncomfortable, I got to thinking about the last three years of my life with regards to the event (which mostly means the company) that was about to take place. I have always had a proclivity towards the unknown, be it culture, science, technology, religion, and pretty much anything that one could learn, some things would interest me beyond the information available, others quickly dwindled and were forgotten. However, in the last three years I have met two people that have had a huge part in my interest and desire to visit and ‘partake’ of other cultures.
First, I was fortunate enough to meet my friend Eric’s girlfriend Villa some time ago. She opened my eyes to an entire world of things. New foods, experiences, people, culture, I could seriously go on and on. It used to be that I would pretty much stick to the things I knew and not really wander outside of my comfort zone. After meeting Villa, and several of her friends, and just spending time with Eric and her my outlook completely changed. I started enjoying life and all it has to offer. There is a whole panoply of new experiences and adventures to enjoy, granted, I can be a depressive person and I go through moods at times in which I just do not want to see anybody or do anything, but for a couple years I was able to enjoy a completely different side of life, and getting out and doing things with my friends became an adventure worth taking part in. I am eternally grateful for all of the fun we had, and for them both always inviting me to tag along.
Secondly, the opportunity I had to meet a very interesting person named Chandra. Chandra was originally from Nepal, a very small country stuck between India and China, with a small mountain range called the Himalayas, and a little known mountain called Everest. When she was young she was adopted by an American family and brought to the U.S. (The story behind that is probably best left for another post). She is a very unique person and quite literally one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen in my life. She generally has a very positive and fun outlook on life. Something to which I was relatively speaking unaccustomed to. For the first three months of knowing her she opened my eyes to such a unique perspective on things. She was a great help to me in showing me that I am a generally well liked person. Our initial meeting was quite odd I must say. She had tried many times to get me to meet her, which I would fervently turn down. Though I do not recall doing so, at some point she got my phone number and called me after work, not knowing who it was I answered the phone and was effectively strong-armed into meeting her. Immediately upon arriving at my destination it was like we had known each other for many years. Effectively teasing one another about various things… I could not help but to point out her small stature, and she was intent on harassing me about my choice of ice cream and how long it took, then the fact that I could not finish it because I did not like it. I had never been so comfortable with someone in my life, albeit after 20 mins of physical interaction. Regardless, Chandra was able to have an impact on my life that very few people ever have the opportunity, one that will likely last forever. She opened my life to a place where money does not matter, and only one’s ability to provide for their family with food and shelter is of any significance. She told me stories of life in Nepal and captivated me with her adorable accent and absolutely beautiful Nepali dances and absolutely lovely attire.
My point in all of this is simple, my desire to travel the world and experience it and capture it via my photography is unparalleled by anything I have ever considered doing. Because of the cultural differences of two people, my life has been forever changed with the desire to experience new things, and cultures, and places. In so many ways I just do not understand how people can fear the unknown, why is society so insistent upon forcing some unnecessary fear of life, death, driving to work, travelling, having a Christmas tree, and pretty much doing anything. Yes, there are necessary fears in the world, but none that should cause an overwhelmingly abundant paralysis to an entire country. We should embrace the unknown with open arms, welcome the unknown with our minds open to the abundance of new information that we are bound to experience.
In essence, this post is all because I went to Amazing Thailand for a great friend’s birthday party and arrived twenty minutes early… Here is the photo that corresponds to the celebration. As far as the food, I give it an 11 out of 10 (Tip: Order the pineapple stuffed with rice, ingenious and delicious).
