tell me all about it

is what people generally say when they see me for the first time after my recent return from a year-long trip around the world. truth is, i have no idea how to even begin to talk about it. things like "well, gold lame and brown packing tape...then there was the Ganges...motorcycle crash, but there were these torches..." come out of my mouth.

i told someone that it was like spending a year learning a new language that only you can speak. they stared at me blankly.

so i've been making some things about it, and christine asked if we could make a show of the things. so this is the beginning of the telling - or rather, the beginning of talking about how impossible the telling can be. just about the four months i spent in India, for now. small pieces.

so now, when you say "tell me all about it"
i will probably tell you

it's the most beautiful secret
that i wouldn't even begin to know how to tell.