Dear World #2

Hey World,

I'm so excited to share with you the second post in my Dear World series, as I have a great submission going up today alongside mine -- coming all the way from Belgium! I think her letter is absolutely wonderful, and I am so thankful Silke chose to share it!

As I mentioned last week, anyone is welcome to submit their Dear World thank you letters; you can send it in anytime to tcmtgc@gmail.com! I look forward to more letters in the coming weeks :)

And without further ado:

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Marisa R.

Iringa, Tanzania

August 10th, 2014

Dear World,

Thank you for spices. A garlic, pepper, and a pinch of salt kind of girl, you opened my eyes this week to cumin and paprika, cardamom and coriander. As a result, I was able to make a delicious doro watt + a couple other Ethiopian dishes for my first ever dinner party, and it was a smash hit!

Thank you for people who have the beautiful capability to create with their hands -- to the seamstress who made me a wonderful comforter (which you can see here) to the tailor who is in the process of making two beautiful work-appropriate skirts for me, and the many other fundis here and elsewhere that put things together, keep things together, and innovate new ways of the aforementioned. I am envious of your abilities, and cannot thank you enough for sharing them with the rest of us.

Thank you for crickets. No matter where I am in the world, I feel more at ease when nature can be the only soundtrack to my REM cycle.

Thank you for the serenity I feel here in Iringa. It's a comfortable calm that has allowed me to acclimate to my new home in just two short weeks. It is a gift I wasn't sure you would give me, but I am thankful to have received it.

....but also thank you for the desire (and ability) to wander, and to once again be surrounded by those who are continually planning the next great adventure. I am looking forward to where the path will take me in the next couple of months -- both near and far.

Finally, thank you for samosas -- they have created an insatiable appetite for all things triangular and fried. Despite an imminent weight gain, I will love you just the same. 

xoxo,
M

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Silke L.

Tienen, Belgium

August 4th, 2014

01:50 pm

Dear World,

Thank you for opportunities to learn. About you, other people and myself. For the books, people, mistakes and minds that empower this never-ending process.

Thank you for travel, for the strangers I meet on the way and the moments I share with them. For the strangers who become friends and for being able to pick up right where we left off, anywhere, anytime.

Thank you for lemon crisp biscuits and tea, for long summer nights and for family to share both with.

Thank you for possibilities, for unwritten letters, undiscovered languages, unread books, unseen places and not yet met people and for making me look forward to all of those.

Thank you for the sudden engulfing feeling of happiness that puts a goofy smile on my face when I, again and again, realise how beautiful you are.

(This picture was taken from my flat in Ghent on a rainy, but sunny day)