............the children who came to play here could have seen the amazing places I visited in the the past few weeks! I hope someday they will have that same opportunity to travel the world and visit with people whose lives are so different, so far removed from anything they encounter in their daily privileged lives, so far away from the mainstream, and yet so rich in the natural order of things.
On Wednesday afternoons I've been taking my granddaughter to her voice lesson. The subdivision is a huge, quite pleasant, golfing community full of families with children. Many come to the playgrounds and swimming pools scattered throughout their comfy neighborhood. This Wednesday the sky was heavy with clouds but the air was pleasant. I grabbed a coffee and my book and sat here (iPhone pic) on a bench for an hour, reading in peace and quiet until the children arrived, noisy but having fun swinging and climbing as children do. I wanted to tell the children about my travels and how other children live. I wanted to instill in them the need to work hard at school, get all the education offered them, go out into the grownup world eager to earn, but save money to enable travel to amazing places. Travel is not cheap and should be done when young if possible. It will change lives, both for the traveler and the people they meet along the way.
Bering Island, Russia
Watching and listening, my thoughts returned to my travels and the children I met in Russia. These young boys and their lifestyle are especially memorable. I'll be sharing more of their story on this remote island in another post later. Bering Island receives just two cruise ships each year, ours (above) being one of them, and is blessed with just five, yes 5, days of sunshine annually.............someone was definitely looking out for us the day we visited, it was perfect.
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