It is the last day of the trip, and we are back in Hanoi. Fittingly, on the last day, I managed a whole interaction at lunch in Vietnamese. We are wrapping up strong, after taking in so much over so long and weathering the major ups and downs of travel. Yesterday's stop was maybe our favorite of all, visiting the root temple of Thich Naht Hahn in Hue, Vietnam. We had a chance to hear the monks chanting, and talk with one of the brother's who spoke very good English. He knows Thay and several of the monastics at Blue Cliff Monstery in New York, it was really fun to play "do you know..." with a monk all the way across the globe. After the hectic environment of travel and motorbikes and tourism and the grinding poverty and desperation, juxtaposed with scrappy 24/7 industriousness we have seen, it was so wonderful to see the nuns and monks smiling and laughing, working in the garden, doing landscaping, and visiting with lay-friends. We've rested in some nice hotels, are clear of stomach bugs (for the moment) and even have a couple items of clean clothes for the plane. We are ready to come home and start the next major adventure of life, heading out to Wyoming with the truck and the cats, leaving NYC on May 10.
We love you all and more from the next chapter!
Em and Meg
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