“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
~Mother Teresa~
On my first trip to Rome, my very first solo travel experience, I found that my bare bones Italian was more than adequate to communicate with the locals – provided I accompanied my bumbling words and ineffectual hand gestures with a huge smile.
A smile opens doors, forges connections, makes friends out of strangers.
We should all smile more often.
Coaxing a smile from a Bolivian lady
Mama Candeleria’s grandchildren ham it up for the camera, Bolivia
The serene smile of the giant reclining Buddha of Wat Pho, Thailand
A grin from cheeky Sal, our horse & carriage driver, NYC
Evil grins from the dark statues of Pura Dalem, Bali
The Naked Cowgirl of Times Square grins and bares it
Magellan penguin smiles for the camera, Argentina
Mama Candelaria poses with me in traditional dress, Peru
Yellow land iguana says cheese!
Swinging and smiling at the jazz fest on Governor Island, NYC
Handsome gaucho and his smiley whites, Argentina
This post brought to you by A-Word-A-Week Challenge from A Word in Your Ear. Every week, Skinnywench will dip into her old Oxford English dictionary, and pick a random word to blog about – either a picture or a story that best captures the meaning of that word. This week’s word: “Smile.”
Reblogged this on A Word in Your Ear and commented:
Thursdays smiles are from taking to the open road in response to the – A WORD A WEEK CHALLENGE – SMILE – keep them coming smiles are infectious and brighten up our days.
So beautiful these photos!
And practically from everywhere!
Thank you!
Beautiful, fun, exciting. Indeed, love makes the world go round.
smiling penguin.. cute!
Well said… Great Pics… Loved the Cowgirl
So very heart warming–the world is a brighter happier place with you around collecting smiles
Thank you for your lovely comment!
I was just in Peru, this post makes me miss it. Time to stoke that rambling spirit fire again!
*stoke stoke*
I loved Peru, but Bolivia was probably my favourite South American country. Did you go there too?
Great message, Peggy! A smile can really make your day, no matter who it’s from, whether you’re a block or 10,000 miles away from home. (PS – I loved Bolivia too!)
So true! And in lieu of language, smiles can bridge the cultural gap much better than anything else can. Thanks for commenting!
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