Asia

Last week I had the amazing privilege to be in Jakarta, Indonesia for the World Prayer Assembly. It was incredible, and I'll blog more about it in the next week. But on the flight over I scribbled down some thoughts in anticipation of what the coming week would hold. Here are those thoughts...

As I write this I'm sitting on an airplane that is thousands of feet in the air above some of the "Stans" with eight more hours left of my flight. I've never been further east than Prague until now, and the way I figure it I am fairly nearly the farthest I could be from Portland, east-to-west-wise.

I never was in Asia before, so this trip is a landmark for me. It's only the second trip I've taken on my new passport which, when I renewed, I specifically asked for in the 54 page option, rather than the normal 30-something pages, in faith of just such unexpected adventures as the one I'm just beginning.

When I was growing up I think I always knew I would see the world. In hindsight I'm so thankful that my parents invited us to be eager to learn about other cultures and people. We hosted guests and exchange students and frequently had international college and university students over to Sunday dinners. By the time I was 16 and took my first trip further abroad than Canada I could say I knew people from every continent save Antarctica.

One thing I often think about when I travel is how much things have changed in the past several generations for women who want to see the world. To be a single woman of no great fortune and yet be free to book transportation and take myself, alone, to a part of the world (and in a less than a day!) thousands of miles away where I know nobody and just wander around - and yet retain my respectability (at least in the parts of the world where I travel) is a privilege that has only been possible for a few generations. I consider myself rather fortunate to be alive in this day and age.

So Southeast Asia, here I come! I look forward to the new experiences, delights and adventures you hold for me.