Lesson 4: You Can Keep Up With the News, But You Can't Predict the Weather

I hate the cold, to me being from Florida, and now Cali, I have never really had to spend much time in the frigid weather that so many of my loved ones call home: ) I am currently in Vang Viene, Laos sitting under a blanket bundled up and FREEZING! I went to Koh Pangang to get sun, and it rained from the ferry ride there, to the ferry ride onward. I went to Krabi under the impression it wouldn’t stop raining, and found sun. I am headed north where it’s supposed to be even colder than here, but only time will tell. I have decided that despite what people say, you never know how the weather is going to be until you’re in it. You can have an idea, but you never really know for sure. The main attraction here is tubing, so when we arrived in the bitter cold, I was less than thrilled. However thanks to the sun and the free whiskey shots they hand out along the river, tubing wasn’t as cold as I had predicted either, it was actually quite nice, and we managed to find a fire at the end where we dried off and warmed up. Once again, my predictions on the weather didn’t match the outcome. I was thinking about how many times in life I was planning for rain, or disappointment, and how much happier I was when I found even a small bit of joy. On the other hand, when I built something up as amazing, be it a movie, or an event, I was usually disappointed in the end. So, how do you know what to bring if you don’t know the weather? Well, come prepared! I’ve found you should be ready and willing for any weather you may face along the road of life and enjoy the circumstances it may bring. Talk to any traveler and they don’t tell you about the sunny days on the beach, they tell you about the flash floods in the jungle where they slid down the side of a mountain, crashing their mini bus and all had to crawl to safety through mud and rocks, but got to see a lot of beautiful unspoiled territory. They brag about the time they got gassed in a bus and had all their money, and cameras stolen, but ended up having a passport party because no one had that taken, and that is priceless on the road. They throw up all around you and take your help before a proper introduction, and then tell you bout the food that got them in this state. It’s the little roadblocks along the way that make life interesting, they give you a chance to use your brain and figure something out. They create instant groups of friends when you all have to work together to make sure you survive and keep your passports with you. They create less worry about all the small things when you realize you made it through a big scare to tell the story. They don’t ever get any easier to handle at the time, or even less frustrating or painful, but in the end, they’re all part of the climate!