Little Thai Boys

So my ticket came in the other day for Chang Mai, Thailand. I just kept looking at the Chinese characters on the back of the envelope and feeling this slightly giddy feeling in my stomach. South America is great and fun; exotic but understandable. Asia really is this whole other universe.

Then today I saw National Geographic has an article about Manchuria, the northeastern part of China. And it was about how much the prosperity was lagging behind there compared to other parts of China. The pictures were of coal mines and housing developments. It all looked cold and snowy and depressing. And even that kind of turned me on. I thought, I wonder what it would be like to be there.

I'm not really sure why I'm going there. I plan to do a lot of thinking. I've come to realize that I don't really know myself. I'm not sure if the things I like, want, am attracted, enjoy are really the things I like, want, am attracted to, enjoy or I just feel like I should feel that way... I'm starting to believe that my life can be different from my parents, ancestors. All the people that failed to sustain beauty, love, creativity, friendship do not doom me to the same...