Wow Nina!
You are doing a lot of stuff! You work so hard! That’s really amazing that you were able to raise that much money, though I knew you aimed for more. My trip to Inle Lake was very good! Golden Island Cottages Resort Hotel was the nicest hotel I stayed at during all of my travels by far! The manager and all the hotel staff were super nice to me. And Joe took me everywhere! We saw the library you set up and the children were so adorable. Then I met up with one of the staff to Mandalay and she took me and another traveller on a really great tour of all the sights. I was even taken to the fresh market and our guide bought me a bouquet of roses for 50 cents! Then I went to Bagan with a traveller friend I made. I think this was my favorite part of Burma!

But unfortunately, on our second day there we were told that buses were going to cease running for the next 4 days because the price of fuel had risen to high. So that if we needed to get to Yangon we would have to leave that night. Of course everyone was trying to get on buses and we ended up paying 20 dollars to sit in the aisle!

While we were travelling we had no idea the amount of damage the cyclone had caused. There was not much shown on the news. When we got to Bagan there was no telephone or internet connection. And then when we got to Yangon there was no telephone, internet or even electricity. The damage was very bad. Lots of power lines knocked over. Huge trees fallen into streets and buildings. I did manage to take some pictures. Unfortunately, I was mugged when I got to Chiang Mai and had my camera stolen with all the pictures as well as my passport and money. I am most heartbroken at having lost all of my pictures.

So anyways, I am not sure when I would be able to talk with you on the phone! I am doing lots of visiting out of town before heading off to Istanbul to teach. If I don’t get to talk to you, then keep up your good work! And thank you for all your tremendous help in Burma! We loved Myanmar and loved meeting Joe, Sheila and visiting the hospital! Sarah says hi! Take care, Julie