The Calm Before the Storm

Tomorrow I leave for my summer vacation. I’ll be gone for 7 ½ weeks. The majority of my time will be spent in Laos at a school my friend Ramsey has helped found and build. Its mandate is to help educate poor Laos youth within a philosophy of environmental, social and cultural sensitivity and sustainability. I don’t really know what my role will be there, or how my presence will impact the ecosystem of the school, its teachers, students and surrounding community, but I am sure I will find my niche when I arrive. My presence will disrupt, but hopefully add something positive as well.

As well as experiencing Laos and the school, I also intend to travel to Cambodia and Vietnam, and a bit of Thailand. On the surface, this seems a commonplace enough vacation, but things have taken an unpredictable turn as of this morning. My mother has just phoned and given me the contact information of someone in Hanoi - capitol of the north of Vietnam - who might be able to help me find my father. I haven’t seen him since I was two years old, when my mom divorced him, and took her and me out of the country. All I have is a light bulb/possible fake memory of him throwing me up into the air as an infant. Evidently, I also have a half brother. I have never seen or talked to either of them and my mom has never wanted me to contact my father. She doesn’t talk much about him, but I know things went down really badly between the two, things she’ll never forgive him for, but she agrees now that I have a right to know him and my brother. I don’t know what to feel really. The worst thing will probably be to look for them and not find them. We’ll see.

I’m hoping to not trip off any landmines and avoid the more treacherous of the parasites there. I haven’t taken any shots nor any preventative pills with me - just some mega garlic pills and some grapefruit seed extract that is supposed to create an "unappealing intestinal environment" for the parasites. You can say I told you so if I come back with malaria, dengue, or if I just don’t come back. This trip is going to be fun and intense. I can’t wait. I am beside myself with excitement, nervousness and a bit of fear. Wish me luck. I miss my bike already!