"Point It"

Have you seen these travel books?

My godmother Alison and her husband Matt gave us a "Point It" book for our wedding...it is completely fantastic. Each of the 63 pages is filled with small and collaged images that span a huge range of potential travel needs. It is basically an image dictionary.

Who needs the spoken language when pointing will do the trick?

There are pages for colors, for transportation, parts of the cow (!!), electronics and technology (including a cassette and vhs tape), a few pages for animals, and lots and lots of food. perfect.

"I'll have one of these, and two of these, and a bar of soap on the side please!"

Honestly, I cringe at the thought of having to express myself through pointing; traveling through countries and cultures without as illiterates will be a new and humbling and dramatic experience.

After a total of more than 9 months (not consecutive) in the country of Colombia, I have grown accustomed to the blissful state of "literate enough." Although far from fluent, I can limp through some semblance of the beautiful language; I can get by. I can get my greedy little hands on the right kind of crispy burned cookie at the corner store and not be overcharged. I can find epsom salts in the open-air market, although the directions from the third pharmacy instruct me to "walk down this block and look for the guy who sells herbs." This journey will take us far from the cultures and people we know....I am anticipating the learning and growth and discovery that travel brings.

Thanks for the awesome gift Matt and Alison!