Chairman Wow.....

Well this just about wraps things up from our end people. We got home today (17th of November). We will be living with Dan and Miranda Hampton for a while in Bridgewater. If you are in Adelaide we would love to catch up. We should be able to fit you in around Centrelink appointments. In the new year we will be living in inner-city Adelaide, which we are excited about.

Since our last email we think we have seen some pretty cool stuff:

Our travels from Lhasa (Tibet, China) to Kathmandu were a fantastic and memorable experience. The landscape, people, customs, and history are truly intriguing. Highlights were the Potala Palace looming over Lhasa, staying at the base of Everest, fighting for breath at high altitudes, and spending time in our favourite country (although it is very un-cool to mention China when in Tibet). 

We then completed a bit of a whirlwind tour of North India. Our favourite place was the city of Jodhpur, the "Blue City." We then did the "Pink City" of Jaipur. The Taj Mahul in Agra and back (for Talitha) to the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. We watched the faithful bathe in filthy Ganga water and dodged cows in the busy side alleys. In Delhi we stayed with some new friends. 

A few days in Hong Kong for a crash course in consumerism before we got home. 

We'd love to catch up with you when we're home. 

Thanks for reading our emails and keeping in touch. Any contact meant so much to us when we were away. 

Love Tyson and Talitha

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Ramblings of the confused....

Extreme is….umm?

Religious extremism is on the rise all over the world. This is not a post 911 phenomenon (UN report, 1999). Not that we would know it though, as this term is almost exclusively used for Islamic actions.

Jewish occupation and atrocities in “God’s promised land”, Hindu nationalism over the Muslim minorities in India, or George W’s ongoing and scarily phrased “crusade against terrorism” must surely be placed in similar categories. These are only a few examples. Even those peaceful Tibetan monks (that we romanticise so frequently in the West) have been caught up in violence in recent years.

Islamic violence is well documented to a captive audience that needs to justify it’s behaviour in worldly affairs. This is a dangerous stance. Our actions, inactions, silence, or strong voice (all depending on our agendas) tend to target and single out specific groups. This hypocrisy makes us seem like pretty extreme people, especially if you look at it through the eyes of those who are on the receiving end. If our moral principles were applied to all instances we would be taking big strides in avoiding religious tension and hopefully making ourselves, and the world, a safer and more tolerant place. 

.......

I will shut up now.