When the cars drive past I imagine the boat, coming to pick us up for the day's adventure - be it trekking through a physical and emotional embrace of green, or meetings under the mango tree in Boboa where the ratio was 50:50 speaking and silence(listening).

When someone here turns the radio (or, gulp, the television) on, I wonder who's playing the guitar - the one with a tuning peg missing, which still sounded so good. When the ocean waves crash, I imagine the beautiful picanninis are jumping out of their canoes into the river.

When I look at the Southern Cross in the sky, I can almost fool myself for a millisecond...

But there are sounds and images I'm longing for, and know I won't hear or see them, until I return.

Here are some of them...

The freedom and tenderness expressed when the locals and forestors sang their hearts out under the stars. The thrilled, perplexed giggles and shakings of the head from the locals when Luke-shining-star and I would swing dance over dinner. (Literally) Or any one of Luke's theatrics, really.

The passion and intricate knowledge everyone had for their forest ... They could spot frogs, fowl, insects - I would have probably stepped on or stumbled over them - and tracks I couldn't distinguish from untouched, wild jungle.

The cheeky fireflys/fairies dancing around my head after sneaking into my mozzy net. The absolute, unbreakable, faithful love and trust in everyone's eyes, when I met them, when I got to know them, and when they said goodbye.

The vibrance and spirit of the forestors and the way they brought us all together with such patience and passion. Brian, (leader of the forestors), you are a true leader. And Sep, you are irrepressible!

I couldn't imagine my life without you all now. How on earth can I express my gratitude to a group of people who gave and taught me more than all the possessions and schooling in the world could hope to? And you guys are the ones under threat of losing your life blood. Your forest; your home. There is no way on earth I could sit back and let that happen now, after witnessing how tirelessly and humbly you all work to support your community.

And thankyou for so unquestioningly opening your home, thankyou for hunting so we could eat, thankyou for helping me to laugh when I wanted to grunt, thankyou for showing me to sing when I used to sigh, thankyou for showing me how to be creative and generous when I used to wish for more, thankyou for inspiring me beyond my imagined limitaitons. And thankyou for inviting us back. I took it seriously and I will be back.

If your belief that a sneeze means someone is thinking about you is true, then you must all be sneezing non-stop, because I have not stopped thinking about you.

I love you all, may your path be enriching, successful and effortless, oh and of course unexpected!

-- Cally