Across The Universe

"Words are flowing out like endless rain into a letterbox ... " and there are simply not enough of them to say appropriately how GRATEFUL I am for everyone here for making this South American journey a smooth and enriching experience.

Leaving is very difficult, and saying goodbye or thank you is even harder. The words are so cheap, but the senitment profound. So, let me throw in a picture.

This is the new moon setting in the west as seen from the southern hemisphere.

The first day I arrived in Bolivia, as the plane landed in LaPaz at about 5 am, I beheld a smiliar sight, the faintest of crescent moons ... but it was rising. A moon rising in the morning is very old, almost finished after 29 days of shing. But a cresent setting in the west is brand new, ready to reveal more of itself and reflect His light.

That's why I choose this song title and this picture to symbolize the end of my trip. I feel like I have been across the universe and that I have found pieces of life and matter that have rejuvenated me and charged me with fire and energy (see Teilhard de Chardin for more on that).

I return to Chicago on November 22, my little brother's birthday. Love and kisses to him (although his mouth is probably covered with slobber) and love and blessings to all I met in South America: Thomas, Alex, Pablo, Ryan, Tatiana, Cesar, Stephen, Caitlyn, René, Gary, Jorge, Emily, Kevin, Megan, Gonzalo, Roy, Fritzi, Oscar, Frances, Martin, Chi Chi, Ana, Pancho, Seu Chin, Fabián, Carmen, Sergio, Raffo, Christina, Ale, Victor, Attilie, David, Chuck, Pato, Juan Manuel, Marcos, Teresita, Jaime, Jose Antonio, Adolfo, Edy, Rey, and especially young Anthony who did his arithmetic perfectly in Pamplona. More and more of you too. Thank you.