Sai Arigala

The most wonderful thing about the time I spent living overseas was making friends with amazing people from all over the world.  The most difficult thing is having to say good-bye.  Last week, I learned of the untimely death of one of my dearest friends from India. 

Sai traveled all the time for work (and sometimes for pleasure), so we were seldom in the same country, let alone the same city at the same time.  This was true for all of Sai’s friends all over the world.  But Sai had the knack of friendship, and making the time he did have with people count.

He mixed easily with all different kinds of people, was generous to a fault, funny, and genuinely caring of all his many, many friends.  There was no pretence or façade with Sai – he was thoroughly himself with everyone he met.  He didn’t suffer fools gladly, and he did have a temper that he lost on occasion too.  He was smart and curious about everything, not to mention a good talker, and listener. 

We traveled to Peru together in the summer of 2009.  Sai was great fun to travel with, being both easy-going and interested in people and places.  He struck up conversations with all kinds of people, learning quirky facts about frozen sacrificial Inca mummies, Peruvian hairless dogs, and he even got a group of strolling minstrels (wearing 16^th century doublet and hose) to give us an impromptu, personal concert one night in the square in Arequipa. He laughed like Bevis and Butthead every time the name of Lake Titicaca came up. 

Sai packed a lot into his forty two years, and I’m glad I had the chance to be there for part of his journey.  Rest in peace, Sai.  I love you dearly and I will miss you more than words can say.