Have you ever been stuck somewhere? An airport, a hospital, a school, or in that place called The Middle of Nowhere? You couldn’t leave, couldn’t find your way…

This poor apple tree, near our home, grows every year in the middle of this ancient concrete slab.

It wants to be out with all of the other trees (I’m sure) producing delicious fruit. But it’s stuck.

I’ve been in airports, hospitals, schools, even in The Middle of Nowhere. But the one place I went—voluntarily, I might add—that was my Worst Place Ever was Vietnam, in 2007. I’ve talked about that here in these halls. Yes, it was the Worst Place Ever, but in some ways it was the Best Experience of my life.

I was there for a couple of weeks with a medical team, helping people who had little resources. That part was good—I learned gratitude in a new way.

But the heat, the bugs as big as barns, strange traffic patterns in the more populated areas, and—last but not least—the plates of dog in the open air marketplaces…all of that made me long for home.

But I was stuck there. Couldn’t leave until the job we came to do was done.

So, TKZers, what is Your Worst Place Ever you were stuck in? And what was one thing you learned from being stuck there?