Beyond the Sky and the Earth by Jamie Zeppa

I finished this book last night and I have to tell all of you out there in blog land that it has somewhat changed my life. First of all let me give a shout out to my friend, Emma, for recommending it. Thanks, Emma! The book is a nonfiction account of a young Canadian woman who has just finished her Master's degree and is struggling to figure out what to do with her life next. She is engaged to be married, but both she and her fiance are prepared to wait a few years until both of them have finished achieving a few more personal goals. She finds an ad in the newspaper offering young Canadians the chance to teach English in Bhutan, Asia, which is located between China and India. She takes a major leap of faith and accepts a teaching assignment in one of the region's most remote locations. Upon arriving and seeing how primitively the natives live, she feels she has made a huge mistake. Eventually, however, she begins to recognize the overwhelming sense of peace and beauty in the Bhutanese and their Buddhist faith. This was by far the best book I have read all summer and one of the best books I have ever read in my life. You can almost feel it when Bhutan starts to change her as she learns to let go of all the material wealth (waste) that she clung to in her western world life.

Don't get me wrong, people, I'm not giving up my Burberry scarf or new iPod! This book just really helps to put silly things and trivial problems in perspective, especially after the crap week I've had so far. You might say I had an "a-ha" moment, if you're one of those people. Seriously, though, it's a good book. If you've read it, I'd love some comments.

The banana nut muffins were really good, by the way. I'm going to make some more soon, very soon...

Ciao for now.