They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is true for me when it comes to the ones I have included here. As home draws near, I have taken the time to dig through and pick out the most significant photos to myself. This is my past 11 months in images. While there is no way I could put my whole race experience into words, I am opting to let these photos do the talking for themselves…
Months 3, 4, and 5:
THAILAND
‘Getting kisses at the elephant sanctuary in Chang Mai.’
’10 out of 360 refugee children that I gave hand washing lessons to.’
‘Two Burmese refugee girls swinging during a school break.’
‘Handing out hygiene packets to Burmese refugees at the landfill where they live.’
‘A farmer’s oxen underneath his house.’
‘A very short, sweet grandmother fetching water with her grandson in a mountain village.’
‘Swimming at Sticky Falls in the jungle.’
‘Playing textured dominos with 3 blind boys.’
‘Island hopping around Phi Phi.’
CAMBODIA
‘Bicycles were our everyday transportation in Battambang.’
‘A large Buddha statue resting within the killing caves where many lost their lives during the genocide.’
‘Mine and Carla’s English class students.’
‘Teaching students how to swim in the lake.’
‘Monks line the road collecting money from businesses in exchange for the hope of blessings.’
‘Girls night, where 6 young ladies gave their life to Jesus.’
‘Me holding a baby croc on its back as it fell asleep.’
‘A barber shop on the side of the road, complete with a wood pallet for the barber to nap on.’
‘A lady sells stomach and intestines at the food market.’
VIETNAM
‘We worked backstage for a Christmas production. The script for this production has to be approved by the Vietnamese police each year due to it being a communist country.’
‘Hundreds of lanterns shine their best colors throughout the ancient town of Hoi An.’
‘A lady sells candle lit lanterns for people to float out upon the river.’
‘The South China sea rolling onto a beach in Da Nang during a stormy day.’
‘We stopped in a coffee shop for a drink and the owner gave us hot tea with a full plate of free bananas.’
‘When your host gives you a moto for the month you use it (and the very stylish rain poncho left inside) to make many trips across the city for KFC.’
‘Ask us how many Christmas cookies we baked.’
‘A special Vietnamese hot pot meal was made for us as a goodbye dinner from our friends. A pot of hot noodles and soup boil on the table while raw seafood is dumped inside to cook.’
‘The college students who came to an English club that we helped with were our good friends by time we left.’
‘Team True North. Back in ‘Nam.’
