Black Hmong Women
I gave you a hug because I wanted you to know that you are seen. That you are beautiful and strong and doing an excellent job. But this would all be too much from a stranger and anyway, how ever would I say it to you? So as I held you, said a prayer to the heavens. May your hands not ache as you weave … Continue reading Black Hmong Women
Sa Pa!
Hanoi – first impressions
At a glance (and this is at night mind you), Hanoi is a lot of lights and loud traffic buzz. Imagine an Asian version of Chilenje, with a sprinkling of French architecture. Then add 5 million scooters to a population of 8 million people in one city. Hanoi is wonderfully chaotic! There is food every ten paces, throngs of people and the risk of death … Continue reading Hanoi – first impressions
Sticky Post
Flirty Thirty !
If I could give you a visual to my 29th year of life, it would be a girl in pigtails, kicking and screaming and generally raging at the passage of time. How dare thirty come so quickly? I am not quite ready. I have a list! There is a long to-do list. I still have yet to find thee quirky bunch of friends of what … Continue reading Flirty Thirty !
Pakati Market
When it comes to shopping, there is little that I enjoy more than strolling through multiple stalls surrounded by a colour burst of beautiful art scattered about on display, ears buzzing with the typical hubbub that is so commonplace in any marketplace in Zambia. It’s the merchant’s call to customers, the excited chatter of shoppers, children- it seems there are always children scampering about in … Continue reading Pakati Market
Butterfly
It starts with madness, of course, it does. A sort of fidgeting of the soul. A restlessness. You begin by plotting your own career downfall from corporate superstar on the rise to wandering hipster sleeping on a warmed wooden floor in a Jjimjilbang (Korean public bathhouse), drinking Soju and eating pig’s ears. It is completely unreasonable. Why would anyone want to leave a sometimes racist, … Continue reading Butterfly
Childlike
He is the cutest thing when he is upset. Shoulders sagged, face dropped and even his lips are turned down. All his emotions having plummeted to the floor, collecting in a pool of tears. He is wounded. And I imagine his little heart smarting from the painful jab of Vitamin NO. Poor little angel face. So angry with me. But there is nothing that I … Continue reading Childlike
The Madalas
My dear Nameless, Hormones are messing me up. I feel fragile and constantly on the verge of tears. I want cake, comfort, food, and hugs – which I am afraid to go to any of my friends for because while they may be elderly, understanding, and ‘just a little portly’ (excellent for teddy bear hugs by the way) –they are also male! Not only male … Continue reading The Madalas
The Moon Guy
I went to a flea market today And there I met a man. Tall, dark and charismatic He called himself the Moon Guy. He gave me a gift A necklace with a half heart pendant. I looked up at him with questioning eyes He smiled at me. “You only ever have the one half, my darling,” he said. “The other is fragmented and broken up … Continue reading The Moon Guy
A little Bit of Advice
Words from the wise.
1. Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead; if you lose, you can guide.
2. People are not what they say but what they do; so judge them not from their words but from their actions.
3. When someone hurts you, don’t feel bad because it’s a law of nature that the tree that bears the sweetest fruits gets the maximum number of stones.
4. Take whatever you can from your life because when life starts taking from you, it takes even your last breath.
5. In this world, people will always throw stones in the path of your success. It depends on what you make of them – a wall or a bridge.
6. Challenges make life interesting; overcoming them makes life meaningful.
7. There is no joy in victory without running the risk of defeat.
8. A path without obstacles leads nowhere.
9. Past is a nice place to visit but certainly not a good place to stay.
10. You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.
