Eyes Opened for Breeding Season

Never realized how much I love this time of year until now...

Most birds are at their most colorful this time of the year, I am really loving the way the cattle egrets look right now.

Spring migrants are here for a short time and there are still a few winter visitors here.

Trees are starting to flower.

Mangoes are in season, and they are delicious!

The weather is mild and pleasant.

It's really too bad this transition time lasts for a short time, but maybe that's part of the reason that makes it so special.

Growing Up with "Love"

In elementary school...you like someone, your friends tell him, he tells your friends he likes you, and through communicating through your friend...you two are "going out" but nothing actually happens.

In high school...you are blinded by your hormones, physical attraction is actually the only driving force. He thinks you're attractive too, suddenly you are a "couple". This "couple" is defined by the right to make out anywhere possible and trying to touch each other in as many unexplored places as possible.

In college...you fall in love for the first time. You are old enough to express your feelings for each other for the first time. Together, your relationship is full of memorable experiences mainly because at this age we are all doing a lot of life-changing things. You love the idea of what he is in that moment but have absolutely no thought for the long-term future. You forget to ask yourself realistically, "can he provide you with the life that YOU want?".

The beginning of adulthood...your sample pool of men that acquire the qualities you want is small, very small. Rarely you find someone that you "click" with. Then one day, you finally meet someone you can connect with physically and emotionally. This is great because not only are you attracted to them physically, you both have similar long-term goals and ideas on how you want to live your life. You like each other, that's obvious but it's not that simple. Is this person you want to invest time with? Is he someone you can see yourself making your life with? Unfortunately, at this point you are both trying to live your live, fulfilling personal goals and dreams...risking time and effort away from achieving these goals makes it impossible for you two to be together. Failure of past relationships (for both of you) and observations from surrounding relationships has made the idea of committing to someone even more unattractive.

...sample pool becomes even smaller...you know a few of "him" exists but will the 2nd and 3rd dimension of this universe be more forgiving in the future? How much tolerance do we have for this vulnerable feeling that we get from "love"/lust(whatever you wanna call it)~

The struggle at work is not the actual work that needs to be done. The REAL work is the language and cultural barrier.

In general, people are more submissive to authority than what I am used to. I feel as though by questioning authority, improvements can be made (just like major revolutions have done in human history). And of course, by questioning authority I mean it in the most respectful way possible.

Yes, every so often I am misunderstood...ranging from poorly pronounced words all the way to different interpretation of thoughts and ideas.

Overall, it is interesting to finally get to know what it's like here after being away for so many years. It has given me a perspective as to what pros I can take from each side and creating my own idea of how I want to shape myself.

Putting myself in an uncomfortable situation has once again allowed me to get to know myself better.

Their Beauty is Their Curse

They have evolved such beautiful colours on their feathers, they specialize in the noise they make, each unique in their own way. Their beauty is what's keeping them in this "prison".

Locked up cages next to one another, usually with one bird in each, sometimes if they are lucky a couple will be locked in the same cell. Every time you walk by, it trys to grab your attention with its stare, with noises of their beak knocking on the metal cage or with its signature chirping sound.

Their scenery in their cell rarely changes. Their solution to boredom is spending hours trying to chew off their metal ring around its foot. Some demonstrates their frustration by simply chewing off all of its feathers until skin is revealed.

Because of this, I have fallen even deeper in love with birding. In the past, I have wondered why waterbirds are not seen in zoos but now I have come to realized that it is simply because they are just not as "good-looking"...phew.

Sometimes, I close my eyes when I am in there and while I listen to the birds I imagine that I am in the Amazon Rainforest :)