Looking back at the last 11 months, here are some things I've learned -

- there will always be a better visionary, leader, or teacher, but willingness goes a long way

- pickled mango isn't that bad

- spiritual maturity doesn't come naturally with age – it comes with work

- America needs motos

- 9 or 10 hours of sleep are necessary when temperatures are in the 90s

- baby goats, while cute, let out cries that sound like someone is being attacked and should not be allowed within earshot of my bedroom

- ignorance is understandable, and deserves pity and assistance instead of contempt

- God isn't just a good thing that most Americans claim to believe in, He's universal and he heals people of sickness, answers prayers for help, gets rid of loneliness, comforts families after a death, and cares about minute daily struggles

- chewing on a stalk of sugarcane is a SUPER snack, but you need floss afterwards

- ant bites hurt for days and leave scars

- I actually DON'T need coffee or a soda in the mornings... (so why did my body tell me it did for so long?)

- Buddhism doesn't offer an account of how we got here or a creation story

- there's 4 words for 'eat food' but no words for 'I'm sorry'... which is intrinsic insight

- horns on cars say I'm merging, I'm coming, I'm backing up, I'm parking, I'm turning, I'm pulling through the gate, I feel like honking,...

- I lived in a box in America but didn't know it

- 3 million people in a city with less square mileage than my hometown in WV isn't that big of a deal... anymore

- the victim card is played way to often in other places - these people are impoverished and survived genocide at the hands of their own people... yet they know life is hard, move on

- The US is elite to have a government that cares about human rights, health care, road conditions, regulating education, and providing safe drinking water out of the tap

- tan lines are unavoidable, so I may as well stop trying to pull up my sleeves and kick off my sandals whenever possible

- chickens love to eat Styrofoam coolers

- blogging my innermost thoughts, convictions, and praises in a closed country is VERY hard

- most Wat ceremony and funeral pire music sounds like a jack-in-the-box

- matching is highly over-rated – if its functional and clean, its wearable

- fear is a tangible crippling thing – it keeps people from waaay too much

- Because I've experienced unconditional love from God, I'm able to show that to someone else. I'm not a great person or an extraordinary person, I'm just 1 changed life hoping to afford others something more too because its so worth it

Dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory, or recognition. We live for what we believe. - Don Miller