Shelter hearts

It’s the 17^th, Thursday

I have been in Hoi An for 2 days now, staying at the animal clinic, and helping with Vietnam Animal Welfare. There are 3 buildings, a clinic-where surgeries take place (and where I am staying-Quasimodo a rescued duck lives on the first floor), a clinic with mostly cats (80 of them currently) and another one with lots of different types of animals (a pig, chickens, ducks, cats and dogs). The weather had been shit. Rainy and cold, windy and grey. I am lying in bed with a little dog named Vivi, whom I can’t stop calling Fox...who was found with her mom on the streets here, saved before a dog catcher (for dog meat) had the chance to catch them. She, like her mother is scared of people, of interaction, of anything and everything. They just need love, and time, and more love. I am determined to get her to her puppy-self while I am here, so we are listening to cool mellow music and snuggling with lots and lots of kisses and hugs. One thing I love is that no matter what shelter I help at- the people have hearts bigger than those I have ever known. It’s amazing and wonderful- and aspiring all at the same time. Influential and reminding of how there are those people in this world who exist on the energy of their kindness and on the wings of their enormous hearts. I am grateful for these people.

Da Nang, Vietnam

"I am the master of my fate and captain of my soul"… Nelson Mandela

Current city- Da Nang, Vietnam

Note to self, no more afternoon naps…I woke up at 12 hours later and the following day. Slept yesterday away.  Hence…make-up day…and no NAPS.

I arrived in Da Nang yesterday morning, early. Dropped off my bags and walked around the little area near the beach.  Compared with Ho Chi Minh it's night and day. Everyone sits in tea shops, and the tea shops are really the only thing besides the hotels that I have seen. So I embraced the culture and sat down for some morning tea (10,000 vnd). Vietnamese Christmas concerts were blaring at full volume on the television, and everyone was passing around a beautiful, chubby, & happy baby boy. Ha- Merry Christmas early, from the future.

The hotel is stunning, for how little was paid...the fact that they gave me a robe, means I rarely take it off in my room…

Planning on heading up Monkey Mountain today to visit the Lady Buddha...and if it's half as exciting as it sounds...I’ll be in total bliss.

Skip to-
I just returned from the scooter ride up the mountain…total bliss.

Stopped at the beach along the way, spotted with small round boats in the shapes of circles that seemed to have been the same used for hundreds of years...then made it up the mountain to the white Lady Buddha.  The gardens around the statue were filled with more statues…all white, dragons and more Buddha’s. There were temples and holy places to visit. I seemed to not only be the only Caucasian woman there, but also the only one without a selfie stick. Ha. The pictures truly speak a thousand and one words. For the price of $2.5 usd my afternoon became priceless.

Sat out what I thought was the only rain storm in the little shelter with the locals...then got completely spat on by the heavens riding back. Soaked to the core and sporting the biggest smile probably in blocks, I returned, got a cold Tiger beer and laughed aloud in joy from what I had just experienced. Speaking of that, I think it’s nothing shy of a good sign when you find yourself laughing randomly aloud…a really good sign that you have just found the reason for living, the definition of happiness.  I'll take more lessons in that any day.

Saturday in New Saigon

Saturday- no clue the date

Getting here was tough. The flights, the time change, the jet lag. The migraine after my first night out. (they gave me codeine- which I have to admit absolutely works). Its technically my 3^rd day here. Day one was sleeping, going out, meeting people from all over the world and partying until 3am. Day two was migraine and sleep. Day three- today, I woke up ready to take on this journey. I went for a run at 630am and loved seeing all the people working out at the park around the block. There were groups doing yoga, groups running, some people ballroom dancing in a pavilion...and planted exercise equipment which I shared with a woman who must have been in her 80s.  Showered and took a walk around the block(s).

So the black coffee here (15,000vnd) is epic. I just jumped up and down in my room for no reason, and my hands are shaking a bit. I want more.

Ho Chi Minh city, at least the part I am in- near Pham Ngu Lao road is crazy. Its alive, colorful and I am scared to death of the scooters. Seriously. They say when you walk across the street you might want to close your eyes, the scooters will go around you, its best not to EVER pause, but walk.

Side note- being a vegan here is a bit tough, not entirely impossible, but street Pho is made with meat- which is everywhere.

Its almost 9 am. I am giving myself 3 hours to muster courage and rent a scooter. I want to visit all the stared places on the cheap tourist map I was handed when I first arrived.

Updates and photos to come

Cheers from the future.

Chasing the Sun

I arrived to Tokyo early this afternoon. Didn’t sleep a wink, watched about 4 movies, mostly featuring Tom Hanks. Japan must love him like Germany loves Hasselhoff.

I went to the Opera last night in Chicago. Came home with an Uber ride around 9 pm and crashed to Ane Brun (it's been a theme). My internal clock woke me up at 630, and I smiled at the ceiling. As I went to wake my friend up (whom was to be traveling to Asia with me) she told me she was too sick..so much that she cancelled her ticket. 

I was not mentally prepped for a solo trip- but once again- "life happens when you're busy making plans" (also been a theme with me).

Got dropped off and checked in with JAL (Japanese Airlines).

The day flight was what tripped me up. I spent my entire day in a cylinder..chasing the sun. (But hey- free Kirin beer)

Through customs and onto a coach bus for an hour to another airport…but through Tokyo city first.

Its @1600 here, I believe I skipped a day, not quite sure…but am confident that I am in the future.

The the air is chilly but refreshing, the trees are lush, the birds the color of pandas and origami cranes have come alive parallel to my bus window. Here goes another adventure. Onward towards happiness and smiles. Who knows where I will go, where I will end up, what I will encounter, who I will meet, what lies ahead.  For now, it’s a day here in the city, and for tomorrow, it's Vietnam. 

Bring it on life, I’m stoked to smile and shine!

(updates to come:))

The Blank Spaces

It smells like pancakes and all I can hear are the waves.

I’ve been thinking of those spaces between the words- when we read/write them.

We need them. They are blank, they seem like nothing, rather than the something that they are. Without those spaces we wouldn’t be reminded to pause-and breathe.

The blank spaces force you to stop. Force you to pause.

When we are writing it forces us to pick up that pencil or pen and move over a little. Sometimes it grants us an ever longer pause and a re-think. We may question midway through what we are doing, what direction we are going, is the road ahead the correct one?

When we are reading we have already let ourselves go to the task. Some part of us is open to take in the words that are simply ink to paper in front of our eyes. In the spaces between the words, we pause, our eyes skip over. Sometimes it gives us a breather. It clearly separates thoughts, and different situations.

Life gives us those blank spaces.

Without knowing what to do with them is what many of us equate to boredom. To ‘a lul,’in a ‘bit of a slump.’ What awful adjectives to describe life and living...

I think that if we place sluggish and unattractive adjectives between the exciting, adventurous words of our lives we quite simply- misuse the pause.

Life is saying BREATHE. This space is necessary, you will see.

With the most respect, love, and kindness,

Brooke

Being Alone on an Explorer Ship

Every morning I wake up and it takes me about 3 full and complete seconds to realize that no little dog is jumping at my feet or there for kisses.

Eating my meals is different, looking at time is different. Coming home is different. My priorities are different.

I have not been alone in over 10 years. It has always been me and my little magical dog. And now its me and my gemstones and crystals and the earth.

It's different. I'm not a fan. I feel lonely. I feel lost. I feel bored. I feel sad. I feel sleepy.

Tucked up in a mysterious yellow tiki hut above the crashing surf makes me feel even further from the real world than ever.

Beautiful sadness. Breathtaking scenic loneliness.

"Only he who gives up is defeated. Everyone else is victorious.
And the day will come when those difficult moments are merely stories to be told proudly to those who will listen. And they will listen respectfully and learn three important things:
Wait patiently for the right moment to act.
Do not let the next opportunity slip by you.
Take pride in your scars."
-Paulo Coelho

We have to keep on walking forwards...walking backwards will take us nowhere. Nowhere new, nowhere we haven't seen already before.

Therefore lets explore! Take life on as it is meant to be taken on, as an adventure.

I listen to the roaring waves as if I am living on the deck of a explorer ship destine only for something great and exciting, something dangerous but worth it.

Cheers to the journey.

-Brooke

Forever Boston

It has been a bit since I have felt normal. Life is a maze. A whirlwind. As good as it can be at times, it can equally and with the same amount of force- be bad.

I was beyond stoked to have the opportunity to travel and visit Thailand last month. It was a last minute call but something I have dreamed of for as long as i can remember. The culture, the history,
the FOOD...

After almost 30 hours of travel (I will admit Emirates Airlines was absolutely amazing) I got to Bangkok, exhausted.

That night I got the phone call that Boston passed away.

<pause for a cry...again>

It was 3 am for me over in Asia. I cried through all the toilet paper provided, the towel, my pillow case and my t shirts. To date I believe that was the worst thing that has happened in my life. I understand that death is part of life, it is an unenviable fact that I have had to face many times already, but even so, I was not in the least prepared for this.

10 and a half years, we were <pause for another cry> supposed to live until we were 100 together. You know in the movies where you sell part of your soul for a loved one to come back. I was seriously wondering how to make that happen.

As my life is crazy and beautiful, its constantly moving..and Boston was my lifeline. The tether that was connected to a guarantee. My little rock. That little guy was everything to me. In all the haze, mess, craziness that is my life, he was the one thing the one thing that brought me to peace.

Whew...trying to write this through the tears is tough.

After about 6 hours of crying, and crying myself into a migraine, i stood up from my little ball on the floor and took a shower.

Went outside, grabbed a coffee and met a friend.

What I do know is that he is not gone. He is not in the beautiful little vessel he was in that we all know, but he is still here. His spirit is everywhere. In the moth that wouldn't leave my tent in Pai, Thailand, in the eyes of the dogs at the shelter I helped at in Koh Lanta, in the birds that sing in the trees as I walk by the temples in Chaing Mai.  For that I am blessed. I am grateful for being given the absolute privilege to have shared 10 of the best years of my life traveling, living, laughing, and dancing with that precious little dog.

I lived that month in Thailand for HIM. Happy because that is exactly what he did- make everyone HAPPY.

Love, Brooke