Picture - An African Church - by Nigel A. JAMES
A Jungle Coffee and a Smile
Holidays
are made for discovering new things. And, sometimes even old things
can be new and exciting when experienced in far away lands. And,
Magda Latzl was in the middle of a jungle in Malaya when she got a
surprise. And, that which Magda Latzl experienced was the very last
thing she expected. It was hot and delicious, and came just in time.
The
small group was exhausted. Magda and her husband
and three very good friends had been walking and cutting their way
through the jungle since dawn. Fortunately, they'd
had no problems with snakes or any other wild animals, but,
the constant vigilance required had also been very hard
work, and, the now weary Agroup was in need of a
rest. And, the thing Magda Latzl wanted more than anything else was a
coffee. And, the group simply laughed. A coffee in the middle of the
jungle! That was out of the question. And, everyone laughed once
again. But, the guide didn't laugh. And, soon
the small group arrived at a clearing.
And,
there in the middle of the clearing was a hut. And, coming from this
hut was the wonderful smell of coffee being roasted. There
was, indeed, coffee in the jungle. But, this
jungle inn with no walls and only a roof was not very inviting. In
fact it was filthy. And, the cats and the dogs and
the chickens that were running around were very off-putting.
And, Magda Latzl was beginning to think twice about
wanting a coffee. But, then came the smiles.
And,
these smiles were the smiles of genuine welcome. There was a very old
lady, her two beautiful daughters, and three very young girls. And,
all they had was a small open fire for the cooking. And, they didn't
only have coffee, they had wonderful meals as well. And, Magda, being
hungry and tired, gave into the warmth of the smiles. She
was persuaded. And, she didn't regret it.
Although the
meal was delicious, the coffee was more. Magda Latzl discovered the
best coffee in the world in a very small hut in the middle of a
jungle. And, she's had nothing like it since.
Coffee, smiles and friendliness. All parts of a wonderful day and a
wonderful time.
Magda
Latzl went from Vienna to Asia and discovered a new side of life. Far
different than anything in Europe. The real treasures in life are the
people one meets, and a nice cup of coffee and a very nice smile
can make all the difference. When did you last
light up with a smile? Smiling is easy. Why not make a difference and
do it more often!
Vocabulary
although – obwohl
clearing
– Lichtung
constant
– konstant
dawn
- Morgendämmerung
exhausted
– erschöpft
filthy
- sehr schmutzig
guide
– Fuhrer
In
fact - tatsächlich
indeed
- tatsächlich
makes
all the difference – macht alles
aus
off-putting
– abstoßend
persuaded
– überredet
she's
– she has
they'd
– they had
think
twice (think
twice/thought twice/thought
twice) - überlegen
vigilance - Wachsamkeit
weary – müde
