I have a new traveling team! Now it's me, Laurel and another Luce fellow, Michael. The Luce conference concluded in Cambodia, so we had to bid everyone else farewell. I was really sad to say good-bye because they treated me like an honorary Luce and welcomed me excitedly whenever I showed up at one of the their unofficial dinners or hang-outs. A special shout-out here goes to Ed, per his request, for his probing conversation and his company as a fellow non-drinker. All of the Luces have such interesting life stories and such fascinating insights into the Asian cultures in which they lived; I will miss the fun and the intellectual stimulation of our sporadic encounters.
Here are some adjectives to describe my newest travel comp, Michael: lanky, curly-haired, half Mexican-American, generous, yogurt-consuming, Princeton grad, human rights worker, good-humored, Spanish/Portuguese/Korean-speaking, energetic, Brazil-loving, New Jersey-ite, modest, idealistic, cinnamon-carrying, powerful, analytical.
Laurel, by the way, is comfortably conversant in Thai after her year in Thailand, and since Laotian and Thai are extremely similar, she's been our official translator. It's great when people approach us to speak in English and she surprises them by speaking in their own language.
The three of us flew to Luang Prabang, Laos for some hard-core outdoor adventuring including bike riding through villages on unpaved roads, trekking through jungle and playing in waterfalls.
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