I got an email from my aunt this morning, with pictures from her recent rip.  She was married to my father's brother.  Interestingly she's the person I probably have the most contact, the most connection with on that side of the family (including my father) even though I guess I'm not really related to her since she is no longer married to my uncle.  Anyway, her recent trip was to Nepal, for a 20 day meditation retreat and then a week a touristing around.  Now she's back home, which for her is Thailand, where she's been living and teaching for the last few years.  I am always astounded when I look at the pictures of her travels.  She goes to such amazing and beautiful places and always seems to make connections with families and children in those places. She has been all over SE Asia and the South Pacific Islands in recent years and not really as tourist, but staying in people's homes and becoming involved in life in small villages and such.

I can't decided if she's braver than I am, more driven, or just lucky.  I know she went some huge upheaval when she divorced my uncle and really needed new direction in her life.  Through a series of somewhat incredible circumstances Thailand is where she ended up.  I'm not sure I'd want her life, but talking to her always seems to put my own life in perspective and make me itchy to go do something more fantastical and incredible than live an average life.

Not today though, because today I feel like hell.  Everyone around me has been stricken with plague-like flu.  Though I don't have a fever (98.3, I checked this morning), I went to bed with an awful headache, which got worse during the night and I slept fitfully and uncomfortably.  Woke up sore all over, with my head still tight and pounding. And so here I am at work, wondering why my life isn't a fantastical adventure of living in the Pyrenees and teaching in village school while all the children teach me Catalan.  Given the current state of some things in my life, perhaps I should just advertise on Crag's List Barcelona or something.  I'm sure someone over there would hire or marry me.  Then you could all come visit any time you wanted. 

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