Today I dropped my sister Erica and her friend Marlies off at the airport where they boarded a plane to the tsunami-ravaged beaches of Phuket, Thailand. For 10 days, they will assist the team of the Yanui Beach Recovery Project, a group of eight volunteers running relief efforts in a small village, and help assess needs for ongoing financial and volunteer support. This is her first-ever trip abroad and it feels like the tables have turned, saying my farewells at the SFO international terminal, sending my sister out into the world with only a backpack. I sit here in her kitchen while my nieces sleep, wondering what awaits her there and what exactly she hopes to achieve, trying to find some balance in my own feelings of helpnessness, pride, apprehension, support and concern.

An update regarding my friend Laura Wales who survived the tsunami in Koh Phi Phi: she's written a first-hand account of her experience on the morning of December 26, 2005 that makes it a little easier to comprehend on a micro level the intense personal tragedies of that day, as well as some reminders of the miracle of human resilience.