in the jungle.

chris and i have done a lot of things together in the three years since we met. we have been for high tea at the woolsley in london, england and for three dollar tacos on bloor street. we have watched seanna mckenna break hearts at stratford and tyra banks "put it in the eyes" on america's next top model. we have laughed and cried and played boggle. chris has taught me that a schedule doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing and conversely, chris has discovered that things can work out, even without said schedule. chris taught me how to tell if a barbeque tank still has propane in it. i taught him how to fold his underwear properly. in short, we've done a lot together.

but we had never been to the jungle together. we had never sat atop elephants and strode through the bush to a cascading waterfall. we had not, in the past three years, tip-toed into ancient thai caves filled with thousands of screeching bats. we had never quite had the opportunity to balance on bamboo rafts and try to stay dry as we tumbled downriver through frothing rapids. these are things we had not done. until now.

earlier this week we spent three fantastic days in the northern hills of thailand, the home of the karen hilltribe people. we hiked past lush rice paddies, the earth pregnant with the rain of the wet season. we scrambled up muddy ascents, griping our bamboo walking sticks with all of our might. we unrolled our sleeping bags on the bare floors of the huts where we spent the night, sleeping on the floor, looking up at the ceiling made of banana leaves, wondering why we, the collective we, ever decided that this wasn't enough. we met tribespeople clad in clothes woven with vibrant colour, people who spoke no words we could understand, our communication reduced to smiles, gestures, and the overwhelming realization that we want to get to know each other. why? because aside from the headwrap, we're not really all that different.

our time in the jungle was amazing. we would look up and have to stop to fully take in the beauty of where we were. we sat huddled out of the rain one night and learned thai folk songs and sang into the inky black night. it was an experience unlike anything else.

chris and i only hope that we will continue to do things together for many years to come. and when we look back on the things we have already done, we can now count the jungles of thailand among the ranks of clotted cream and tyra banks.