Have I mentioned that I acquired that camera I've been coveting? I did, with semi-reckless abandon. Almost every time I take a picture now, I look at the preview on the camera's giant screen and think, "So that's what that lens can do." It even makes a difference when I'm taking pictures from the plane.

I am mere minutes away from boarding the flight that will take me to the country that will be my home for the next year. Shortly after the flight that brought me to this city departed, I was hit--hard--with a wave of utter giddiness. It wasn't the first such wave this week.

(These three gentlemen turned out all to be travelling together, as I discovered when the rest of their party arrived and all of them laughed at their friend who was so sound asleep.)

When next you hear from me, I will be on another continent. Remember our last international adventures? I have this deep-down feeling that this year's might be even greater.