Stokes in Peru

Greetings strangers, It has been quite some time since you've last heard from me via this blog.  My best intentions to do a write-up about the wonderful summer that Marianella and I enjoyed when home in Peru & Minnesota did not materialize once we returned to the hustle and bustle of working life in Dhaka.  A rapid start to the school year brought our fall break upon us before we could figuratively blink, which was alright by us-as you know by now, we are always happy to get out and explore more of the world that surrounds us. It has been about four weeks since we wrapped up our vacation-keeping in time with the rapidly moving days, most of my time spent writing on the computer since our return to Dhaka has been involved with writing letters of recommendation to colleges.  It's a bit of vacation to write about vacation. Our most recent adventure had us splitting our time between Thailand and Laos pretty evenly-we spent roughly three full days and nights in these vas

Hello again, Happy Easter everyone. To my loyal readers back in Minnesota and throughout the U.S.-our sincerest empathy is extended to you after the winter you have just suffered through and hopefully are finally emerging from (at times I wonder if we'll be seeing snow on the ground when we arrive home in mid-June).  While we certainly have nothing comparable to what you endured in these recent months, nonetheless we were quite ready for a break from school, and lo and behold, a beauty of a spring break stretched before us on the calendar.  Eleven consecutive days off from work, a particularly long break due to its convergence with the Bengali New Year.  When Marianella and I returned from Peru at the start of the new year, we shifted our attention to maximizing this gift of a break-we were seeking a bit of culture, a bit of adventure, and a healthy dose of pure relaxation. Among the contenders, Sri Lanka emerged. As we began piecing together our vacation to the island resemb