Thank you David Bonderman!

Because of Mr. Bonderman's generosity, I have been given the opportunity to travel the world and learn about culture. As a Bonderman Travel Fellow I plan on traveling through Western and Eastern Europe, East Africa, Northern India and Southeast Asia. I am excited to experience new and amazing things that will better enable me to empower and inspire the next generation of young students.

ALSO!!! If you are interested in following the nasty development of my beard and hair....you can follow it at

Monday, May 30, 2011

Wilson and I




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Coffee is the answer...elaboration

Before leaving Seattle in July 2010, I would've said coffee was AN answer. Just another answer. An answer to questions like, "whats the first thing you do in the morning?", "whats your favorite liquid, besides mercury?", "what makes you happy in February?", etc. Coffee was just coffee. And it was good.

But NOW....oh now. Things are different.

Coffee is THE answer. Not just an answer, the answer.

Coffee has become a multilayered, multidimensional part of my inner being and daily life. Coffee isn't just a liquid...it's consistency in a world of unncertainty, it's cultural connection amidst cultural barriers, it's quiet time every morning, it's quiet time every mid morning, it's quiet time every noon, it's quiet time every afteroon, it's quiet time on an occasional evening, it's Seattle, it's passion, it's yummy, it's home.

Coffee connects me with people EVERYWHERE. It brings my home into their home. My love to theirs. Our passions collide. Because when you LOVE coffee, you really love coffee. And people all over the world love coffee.

So, as you can see, coffee isn't just coffee anymore. ]

I can't put it into proper words...hopefully you understand a small glimpse of the faint shadow i'm trying to illustrate.

Bottom line...i love it and it loves me

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Walking Man Walks

Although I've been absent from the blog, I've been fully alive in Thailand. I've adopted the habit of walking EVERYWHERE. Whether it's a destination two blocks away or six miles away, I walk. It's been great. Not only am I completely exhausted at every day's end, I come across some very cool "hidden" gems that aren't necessarily in the Lonely Planet or any other guidebook/internet source. I'll elaborate on a few examples.

Today I needed to straighten out passport/visa stuff, so I walked from my guest house all the way to the embassy. It is a solid five mile walk and completely out of any touristy areas. On the way, I stumbled upon a very cool park! Lumphini Park was exclusively filled with Thais and I didnt see a white person the whole time I was there. Great opportunity for curious Thai people to practice their engrish on me ;) then on my way back from the embassy I stumbled upon som Thai street ballers....not the ballers we see in America, but ballers nonetheless. They were playing this 2 v. 2 game using a miniature soccer ball on a badminton court...very intriguing indeed. The ball couldn't hit the ground and each team had three hits (no hands!) to return the ball to the other side of the net. I wish I could play, but I'm nursing a foot owie. Maybe I'll return in a few days to show em what I got. Then, to top off the long walk, I randomly stumbled upon friendly china town...great food, great people.

Walking is giving me life.


YouTube Video


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Lame blogger...

Sawwwweeee...that's my lame way of saying "sorry" for being a bad blogger, mom and dad. Not sure who else deserves an apology (specifically for my lack of blogging...I owe pretty much everybody an apology :)...but for reasons other than being a bad blogger), however I DO know mom and dad deserve an apology!

I arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday after a 15 hour overnight train that left at 10 pm and arrived at 1 pm. I checked into an awesome place called Awana House (www.awanahouse.com), was able to scope out the new city during the afternoon (good food, motorcycle rental, coffee, etc.) and enjoy the Sunday walking market in the evening. At the Sunday market I followed my nose straight to the food area and gorged on $0.30 pad Thai, $0.20 sushi, great fruit and a big bottle of fresh squeezed OJ...I never pass up on fresh squeezed orange juice :)

Today I slept in very late, got my coffee from black canyon (I'm trying new places left and right) and casually went down to Tony's to see about renting a motor bike. The 250 cc Honda Phantom was my answer...very fun :) i immediately took it out into the "mountains" and, despite the rain, had a beautiful 70 mile ride. Along the way I stopped for some Wawee Coffee (impressive) and pet some massive tigers.

Next: going for lunch/dinner at Libernard Cafe once the rain stops..I'll let you know how the coffee compares

The Phantom



J Lo and me