2010, Revisited

Well, my friends, it is about that time of year: the time to reflect on the end of one year, and plan for the next. The end of the year is always bittersweet for me: For one, I often get pretty sentimental looking back on the good things of the year, sad to see them pass into memory instead continuing as my reality. On the flip side, it can be difficult for an idealist like myself to look back and see the ways that the year didn't pan out quiiite the way that I wanted it to. But thankfully, the start of a new year reminds me that we're always given second chances, a place where we have some power to perpetuate the good things in our lives, and the opportunity to start ridding ourselves or learning how to deal with the things that we're not as thrilled about.    

2010 will go down in the books as a big year for me. While 2009 offered its own set of total changes in circumstance (graduating and moving abroad, namely), the shifts that have taken place in my life have actually been far more dramatic this year. 2009 and the first part of this year were mainly extensions of a college lifestyle: life was fast-paced, thrilling, and primarily focused on my own desires and inclinations. This year, though, has been one of total transition. I transitioned from the rather lazy, low-on-responsibility, high-on-excitement lifestyle of China and traveling to a more stable one, with a real job and a lot of responsibility. I transitioned from a lifestyle of having vague ambitions to one that actually acts out those dreams. I transitioned from a life that had me staying in hostels or guest houses every night to one where I own a home. (If you would have told me even six months ago that by December I would be working full time and buying my first house, there's no way that I would have believed you!) 

In the midst of these shifts, there have been many highs and lows. On the one hand, I'm so grateful to be back with my family and friends and to have constant relationships in my life. On the other, I often miss China and life on the road with a sort of incessant, dull ache. And, while I'm glad to be at a place in life where I have the ability to form a stable routine, I also miss the excitement of waking up in a new place everyday with undiscovered treasures before me. And finally, while I genuinely love the work that I do, I sometimes miss knowing that my path could take me absolutely anywhere (at least, anywhere that has a budget airline flying there). So, I think there's some learning and growing to be done, and some peace to be made with my current situation. And thankfully, there's always room for that in the year ahead. 

Here's a recap of some of my life in the past year. I hope you enjoy it, but even if no one else reads this, it'll be a nice reminder for me when I'm old and my memory has deteriorated more than it already has ... 

January: 

• I spend New Year's Eve celebrating a reunion with my family and the boys, and New Year's Day exploring one of the world's greatest cities: Shanghai! 

• I delight in playing tour guide, showing my guests some of the wonders of the country that will always have a special place in my heart. We experience the thrill of the modern cities of Shanghai, Wuxi, and Beijing (even spending the night in the super high speed train!) and the quietness of the ancient water village of Tongli. We enjoy trips up to the highest skyscrapers, the most insane markets, and the longest wall

• I am sad to see my family go, but set out on my next adventure of transitioning from life in China (giving finals, completing my students' grades, moving out of my apartment, packing up for a new trip, and getting out of the country juuuust in time) to a mini-solo adventure of traveling to Vietnam. Jones eventually joins up with me, and Katrina eventually meets up with us, and we begin our shared adventure. 

February: 

• J, K, and I visit Cambodia, highlights being the sleepy jungle beach town of Kampot and the absolutely stunning Ankor Wat.

• I celebrate my 23rd birthday in Siem Reap by mowing down some Western food and getting my feet eaten by fish. Ahh, delightful. 

• The trio moves onto Laos. Highlights include gorgeous scenery and spotting an an old farmer wearing a Brett Favre jersey. Lows include being sick all. the. time. (I blame India for staying in my gut when it's not welcomed there.)

March: 

• The tour of SE Asia is completed (for now!) by visiting Thailand. Highlights include taking a cooking class, eating as much sticky rice with mango as humanely possible, and of course, lazing on the beaches. Lows include saying goodbye to Katrina. 

• The trip home is highly anticipated, and it does not disappoint! I return to the States in mid-March and soak up every minute I can with the people that I truly love and missed. Seeing a walking, talking Hannah at the airport, enjoying a favorite restaurant on the way home, and sleeping in my own bed are all remarkable. Mom and Matthew's mom throw two great welcome home parties, and I feel very loved. 

April: 

• Road trip to Naples with Matthew! Enjoy wonderful time with my grandparents and an unbeatable sunset cruise. 

• Interview for various summer jobs ... especially memorable was my day-long experience at an urban farm in Milwaukee where I learned that I am unsuited for physical labor. Shocking. 
• Enjoy Florida, Round 2, this time with my family, and back in our old favorite college town, Gainesville! 
• Celebrate the marriage of a former college roommate, Ashley. 

May: 

• Spend a weekend in LaCrosse watching Kristen complete a half-marathon! 
• Enjoy an excellent California vacation with Chrissy to visit Beth and Anne. Highlights include our insider tour of Hollywood, hiking, wine tasting, and staying with the crazies on the sidewalk for the Price is Right

• Throw a party for the most bittersweet event of the year: The LOST Finale! 

• Spend Memorial Day at the boat with my family

June: 

• Begin training in earnest for my triathlon!
• Spend weekends visiting Matthew at camp 
• Enjoy time at home with my family

• Finalize my plans to work for the Crossing! 
• Make a strawberry pie

July: 

• Spend the 4th of July at the boat with the family and the boys
• Hang out with my family for Parents Weekend at camp, highlight being watching my parents on the ropes course

• Enjoy an annual camping trip with my high school girls, complete with severe thunderstorms 
• Spend lots of time in Madison meeting people I'll soon be working with on a regular basis 

August: 

• Spend time with Hao and Katrina showing them around Milwaukee 

• Chrissy and I complete our first triathlon!

• Spend a weekend Up North with extended family and the boys, capping off a wonderful summer

September: 

• My calendar suddenly springs to life as I move into Madison with work, a class, part time jobs, and attempting to see my family and Matthew. Stress city.
• Throw a successful surprise party for Matthew

• Celebrate the second CZ wedding, Sheri! 
• Visit a long-anticipated US city, Portland OR for an incredible conference with my favorite author. 

October:

• Enjoy fall in Wisconsin and celebrate by visiting the Farmer's Market as much as possible

• Visit a new potential home! 
• Start finding my stride with work and scheduling 
• Run the Madison Mud Run with Madison friends - and spend the rest of the day freezing 

November:

• Head to Lambeau for a Packers game with Chrissy and our men
• Learn how to juggle five Quest trips at once: Kenya, Nepal, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Northern Ireland
• Relish in a truly American Thanksgiving and kick off the holiday season with my loved ones 

December:

• Enjoy a slightly more relaxed schedule as I learn how to better manage my time
• Attempt to listen to as much Christmas music and drink as much eggnog as possible
• Delight in the beauty of the snow
• Look forward to holiday parties, spending time with my family, moving into a new home, and an upcoming trip to Kenya (!)

What a year. I can't believe all that has happened, all that I've seen, and all that still remains to do. There's so much changing and growing still to do, and I have my sights set on another year to figuring out my life and learning how to live with with more gratitude, intention, and joy. Thanks for being a part of my journey - you enrich it in ways that you probably even don't realize, and I am so thankful that a certain Author has written you into the story of my life. 

Life Stories

Two weeks ago now - did time really fly that quickly?? - I was in Portland for a conference with my favorite author, Donald Miller. The conference was centered around many of the themes that he has been developing for years, which came out in his latest book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. All of you should immediately cease reading whatever mind vomit is flowing out onto this blog right now and go read that instead. Seriously. Go read it.

The gist of the book is that narrative is somehow embedded into our lives. As humans, our lives are oriented around stories, and our lives become stories unto themselves. Sometimes, our stories suck: they're about making money or buying stuff we don't need, or about satisfying our own desires and ignoring the needs of others. Sometimes, our stories can be inspiring: they could be about love, self-sacrifice, dramatic character changes.

And it all gets you thinking pretty deeply, asking yourself, "What kind of story am I living?" If my life were to be made into a movie, would anyone watch it? Would people cry at the end, because it was so beautiful? Or would they walk out of theater because it didn't offer anything compelling? Are you living out a Braveheart or a 2 Fast 2 Furious?

And I'm pretty set on figuring out what kind of story I'm meant to be living out. I'd like it to be one adventure, passion, and vigor. I'd like it to be full of meaningful, beautiful scenes - scenes that make you laugh, cry, or sit in silence: awestruck. I'd like to be one of hospitality and generosity, one that produces rather than consumes. And when the final page turns, I'd like to know that I lived out every chapter of my story with intention, gratitude, and love.

So, what's your story? And how can we help each other tell better ones?

Dehydration Sucks

"Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right. Contaminated water jeopardizes both the physical and social health of all people. It is an affront to human dignity.” 

If you know me at all, you know I would choose travel over almost any other pastime in the world. It is something that brings me to life. Travel brings me joy, and it continues to shape the person I am and the person I am becoming. I consider it an extraordinary privilege to have been born and raised in a country where I have the freedom and means to move, a basic right which the majority of the world's population cannot enjoy. To travel is a blessing, one that is not to be taken for granted. I realize that when I buy a ticket and board a plane, it's an experience that the majority of people around the world will never be able to have. It is, above all, a privilege.

That said, whenever I board an airplane lately, I feel like a lot of the privileges that I enjoy are taken away from me. Like water. Thus commences my frustrating story: 

So, I try to avoid using plastic water bottles whenever possible, and I always carry around a nice Thermos BPA free water bottle. I take it with me wherever I go, including to airports and on planes. Since I'm not allowed to bring water onto planes - something I'll get into later - I always have to bring it empty and refill it at airport sinks or bubblers, when they're available. But ... then I drink it! By the time I'm 20 minutes into the flight, my water bottle is empty and I'm looking for a refill. I wait patiently until the drink cart comes around, and then I always ask - with as much politeness and charm that I have - "Could I just get this filled with some water please?" 

A simple question. You'd think they'd even be happy to do it ... if they fill me up now, I won't ring the bell later. They have many, many large bottles of water with them in their cart. Most other people are getting their cans of coke or cups of coffee. The water is not going fast. But by the responses I get about 95% of the time, you'd think I'd just asked them to bring me the $7 on-flight meal for free ... Often they are visibly annoyed, but comply. Sometimes they respond politely saying, "I'm sorry. We can only give you a little bit," and proceed to fill me up with about 12 oz. of water for a 4 hr flight. Some have actually refused to acknowledge my question at all, moving on to the person next to me. It's a rare, rare flight attendant indeed who fills me up with a smile, and it's rare that I try my luck for a second refill. 

This is on my mind because last night, when I asked a flight attendant this very question, she was highly annoyed, saying that there was, "no way" that they would do that. I responded, "It's just that I'm going to finish the cup of water you're going to give me in one sip, so I'd really like a little bit more. This flight is a couple hours long and I'm not feeling that well and am very thirsty." She shot back, oozing with sass, "If you want to have water, you can BUY water!'

This incenses me. 

For one thing, health experts will tell you that you dehydrated faster on a plane because of the low-humidity environment. (Normal air has about 35-60% humidity, whereas a plane has only 10-15%.) This not only causes increased fatigue and discomfort (do you really want crabby passengers on your flight?), but it also increases the risk of catching air-bourn viruses (Aren't they trying to stop the spread of these things?). At its worst, dehydration can be life-threatening for those with pre-existing respiratory conditions. 

So how do you avoid becoming dehydrated on a flight? By drinking at least 8 oz. of water per hour of airtime. But how am I supposed to do that when you're only giving me 4 oz. of water?! This would be half as much water as needed for a flight that's only an hour long. But what about on a 15 hr international flight? If I'm following health guidelines, I should be drinking at least 120 oz of water (just under a gallon) in that amount of time. According to Google, in the US, a gallon of water costs about one penny. Thus, the second reason this pisses me off is because the cost to the airline would be so marginal, and the cost to my own well-being is so great. 

But no, my only option is to buy a 12 oz. water bottle for $3. All because they won't fill up my bottle, and I'm not allowed to bring my own - because apparently that would be a threat to national security. I simply can't see any other reason for some of these absurd "security" regulations to exist aside from the fact that they help the airlines' bottom line, which definitely makes me question the integrity of the system. I don't care how much money your company is losing, your customers - who have already paid a LOT of money to fly on your airline - deserve basic service, and they have a right to clean, free or fairly priced water. 

After sitting in my seat absolutely seething for about 10 minutes, I decided I needed to let it go, give up my anger, and channel it into something productive. I decided that if I was going to be upset about not being able to bring my own water onto a two and a half hour flight, I should be a lot more upset that there are people in the world who have much bigger problems to worry about, such as their source of water infecting their family with water-bourn diseases. People have the right to basic necessities in life. Water is one of these things. The very least I can do is help to provide clean water to those who can't access it at all, even if they don't happen to be on a plane. 

If you will join me in this task, we could make some good stuff happen. There's a great organization called charity:water helping make clean water accessible to a billion people who don't have it. 

I am starting a campaign called "Dehydration Sucks" with a goal of raising $500. 

I am pledging to match the first $250 in donations in order to finish us off! 

Thanks for joining me in this. I hope you'll forgive my rant; it is something that is a constant struggle for me whenever I travel, and the other night was kind of a tipping point for me. If you have any suggestions on how to better handle this in the future, I would welcome them! 

PS - You can learn more about water as a human right here. Interesting stuff. 

Unexpected Challenges

I've been in Madison just over two weeks, and life has quickly handed me a schedule that happens to be a faster-paced than anything I've had in about ... two and half years. Reality, as they say, bites.

What's been keeping me busy lately, you may wonder? Well, things that you might not expect, like finding a parking spot, for example. Or making photocopies. Looking into my office to see if I have a desk yet. Trying to find internet. All have proven to be very, very difficult. 

You see, the Crossing is undergoing some massive changes right now. Not only are there two new staff members (myself, serving as the Quest Coordinator, and Jody, who is our new administrator), there is also a new building. The problem is that the new building was supposed to be completed by Labor Day at the latest, and we are now approaching the third week of September. This is especially interesting when you happen to live in the house connected to the church building, and it is filled with boxes that should be in the main building: 

             

              

As you can see, there's not a lot of wiggle room, and it's hard to transition into shared living conditions after having a space that was completely my own for awhile.

All these minor complications have added up to a tiring couple of weeks for me. I'm looking forward to the day that I can DO WORK consistently, without all the distractions. Until then, I'll have to keep learning to roll with the punches. 

In other news, a former roommate of mine got married last night! Now that's two lovely ladies from the CZ who have tied the knot (Ashley got hitched in April) ... Who's next?! 

The Transition Area

What a lame, defunct blog this is. If you've stumbled upon this post, I'd like to thank you in advance for being curious enough about my post-traveling life to read it. On the surface, it would appear that I myself am rather ambivalent about my post-traveling life, because apparently nothing has been interesting enough to write about since approximately ... March 10th (I'll do the math you: that's just shy of half a year). Please allow me to defend myself, just a little: I have actually drafted several posts, none of which ended up on here. I kept feeling like I needed to say something big and marvelous, something profound and pithy, something that would tell the world that "YES! I learned and explored and I came away a better person because of it!" Nothing like that really came to me, at least not in the way that I perhaps wanted it to.

However lacking in grand philosophical treatises I might be, I'm really quite upset with myself for not doing a better job of recording some of the things that have gone down recently, because, contrary to all appearances, I'm actually pretty excited about life at the moment. It certainly hasn't been as exotic as exploring the mountain ranges of Tibet or the jungles of Laos, but it's been good. Allow me to give a brief summary of the past six months of my life:

• In the month or so after I returned, I embarked on a couple trips closer to home: Matthew and I road-tripped to my parents' place in Naples, FL; the family visited Jen and Matt's old stomping grounds in Gainesville, FL; and Chrissy and I decided on a rather impromptu visit to friends Beth and Anne in Los Angeles. 

• Before the craziness of summer camp really set in, I got to spend a lot of time with Matthew up at Camp, which, after being apart for eight months, was much cherished. One thing that was kind of special was that we worked together to host a LOST finale party. LOST was our favorite show EVER and we were soo sad to see it go! But, with our beach-themed basement, Dharma Initiative Food, and all our friends dressed up as our favorite characters, we had quite the memorable send-off to six seasons of greatness. 

• I spent a good chunk of my time in the spring and summer simplifying my life, especially my possessions. After living out of a couple suitcases or a backpack for the better part of the year, I truly started to internalize the idea that "stuff" doesn't make me happy. I got rid of piles and piles of clothes, sold tons of books and DVD's, donated lots of things I wouldn't use anymore, and probably reduced my clutter tenfold. It became commonplace for my parents to come down to the lower level and see boxes upon boxes of things waiting for new homes. It. Felt. GREAT. 
• I also worked hard at simplifying my diet. For quite some time, I've toyed with the idea of making the transition into becoming a raw foodist. (Which means eating 100% vegan - no animal products - and about 75-90% of your food in an uncooked, nutritionally-dense state.) More than that, I've wanted to completely eliminate all refined grains and sugars from my diet. At this point, I'm still not there, as this is a lifestyle that takes a number of years for most people to work their way into.  However, I did make great strides in working toward this way of eating over the past couple months. Most people now know that blending up nutrition-packed green smoothies (fruit smoothies blended with lots of leafy greens) is an absolutely given part of my day!
• Before I started working very much, I had loooads of free time. I decided to make the most of it by tackling a goal I've held for quite some time: complete a triathlon! Upon my return, my dad taught me how to swim properly, and then I started getting out on some of the bikes we had lying around at the house. And, I pulled out my running shoes again and committed to a training schedule. After three months of diligent work-outs, I crossed the finish line at the Danskin Chicagoland Triathlon in Pleasant Prairie! I can't tell you what a satisfying experience this was for me. It felt awesome to know that I worked to complete something that I never could have "just done." It felt even better to complete the race and be greeted by my family and Matthew, and to have been supported by them and my awesome friend and training buddy Chrissy throughout the whole summer. I LOVE the sport, and I can't wait to do another next year! 

• Perhaps one of the most exciting things of the past couple months has been the job that sort of fell into my lap a couple months ago. Awhile back I got together with Doug, who had been the staff advisor on a trip that I took with a group of students to Israel-Palestine the spring of my senior year of college. He told me that they were looking to grow their Quest program, of which Israel-Palestine was just one trip of many that they coordinated all around the world. He asked if I was interested in coordinating these trips. Was I!? Of course! So, I've been working from home for the past couple months, commuting to Madison every now and again to hammer some stuff out in person. This January, we'll be sending out teams of students to Nepal, Costa Rica, and Kenya. So, we'll have a busy fall of recruitment and preparing for departure, but I'm absolutely thrilled about the position and am excited to really get into the swing of things in Madison. (You can check us out at www.badgerquest.org and see what I've been working on!)

There have been so many ways in which these past few months have been just as important and transformative as the adventures that preceded them. However, the biggest blessing about my time home has just been the fact that I've been able to really relish my moments with the people that mean the most to me. I can't tell you how much each of my days here has been enriched by just being in the presence of people I really, really love. It has been a blessing to be able to spend another summer getting to see my niece grow up into a beautiful, hilarious little girl; to be able to do things like go strawberry picking with my mom on a whim, or watch the thunderstorms on the porch with my dad, or go out to lunch with my sisters. For the first time in awhile, I've been able to be a part of and plan get-togethers with friends and family, and that's a really great feeling.

In triathlons, there's a pretty critical area called the Transition Area. It's where you change from your swim to your bike, and your bike to your run. It's timed separately, and it's kind of a little haven of food and breath and water before you set out full-steam again. As I went for one of my final New Berlin bike rides the other night, I couldn't help but feel like the last six months here at home have been my own little transition area. College, traveling, living abroad - these things were all thrilling and exciting, and I absolutely wouldn't give up those formative experiences for anything. However, I'm not sure that I would have liked moving forward as much if I didn't have this time back at home under my belt. It has been beyond wonderful to take life at a relaxed pace, and to truly have time to ponder where I'm going and the kind of person that I want to be. 

Now I'm heading out again, back to a new life in Madison. I'm so excited about it, but of course, a little sad to see this truly idyllic time of my life come to a close. But I guess none of us can stay in the Transition Area for the whole race. It's a place for us to recharge, refuel, and refocus our efforts, but not a place for us to hang around. So I'll appreciate it for what it is, and get ready to move forward, invigorated by what it has done for me. 

Thanks for reading! I imagine that my life in the future will be a little more structured, so stay tuned; I'll work at being more consistent with this! 

Oblivion

I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted anything, and it probably has been ... I can't remember. There's a lot of things I can't remember lately (such as the day of the week, for example) because I was floating around in the blissful oblivion that is found on the beaches of southern Thailand.

For the past 4, 5, 6 days (I really don't know how long, and I can't be bothered to figure it out), I was soaking up the sun on the beaches of the Andaman Coast of Thailand. Our jumping off point was a beach outside the town of Krabi called Ao Nang. From there, we were able to grab ferries or small boats over to other beaches and islands in the area. When planning this trip however many months ago, I had ambitions of taking advantage of the world-class climbing, scuba diving, and snorkeling that is to be found in these here parts. But, upon arrival, I found that I had absolutely no desire to do anything but lay on my cheap bamboo mat with book in hand. Some kind stranger just gave away her copy of the 600+ pg Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie to me. I was so grateful, as even used English books on this side of the world are stupid expensive. It has been widely entertaining, especially if you've had the privilidge or misfortune of traveling to India, however you look at it ... ;) Had it not been for this book, even more of my brain cells would have floated away with the tide, and I would have been simply unable to resist the pull of the vortex of paradise.

And this, my friends, is nearly a wrap. Come 4:30am tomorrow, I'll be dragging myself out of bed and cursing the commencement of the first leg of the 36+ hr journey back to MKE ...

Just like that, eight months is almost over?

Wats and Woks

Greetings from sweltering, cacophonic, high-strung Bangkok! I'd heard this place is nuts, and they weren't kidding. It's a melting pot (and we're all literally melting) of culture, consumerism, and chaos, but I find it strangely endearing. Perhaps because it is slightly reminiscent of Shanghai to me. 

While I'm relieved that we're not staying here long, I'm glad we stopped by - if only because I got to smell Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Starbucks coffee, Famous Amos Cookies, Subway subs ... Today we basked, gloried, reveled in the modernity of this city. As is easy to do when you've been away from those old favorites for awhile, we walked around the food court of a very classy mall, completely open-jawed and looking absolutely ridiculous in our sweaty, dirty, frumpy clothes that have traveled so many miles but will forever cease to look truly cute. But so it goes when you've worn the same three shirts for the last two months. (I can't wait to toss all these rags at the earliest opportunity.) 

After we had had our fill of free smells and a few select treats, we noticed that there was a cineplex in this mall as well - with everyone's Oscar favorites playing just in time for Hollywood's big event. Seizing the opportunity to continue to evade the 95-ish degrees outside, we bought crazy cheap tickets for the 3:30 show of Up In the Air, which I loved and found to be fitting for this time in American history and even my own life, a little bit. Sometimes I wish for 10,000,000 miles, too. :) 

So, I enjoyed my first day in Bangkok and am excited to explore a bit more tomorrow before taking the train off to our beach paradise destinations. That being said, our previous city, Chiang Mai, didn't live up to expectations and I was eager to hit the road after those days were up. It's a nice city for the culture and the thousands of temples (wats) therein, but I'm pretty much wat-ed out for a good long time. However, there was a definite highlight, which was attending a Thai cooking class with Katrina. We had hands on experience learning about some wonderfully fresh ingredients, and got to try our hand frying up yummy things like spring rolls, pad thai, the best coconut-mango sticky rice in the WORLD, and even some fire-stir fry ... in a huge flaming wok. The most memorable moment? When my enormous fire lit up in my wok, I got nervous, stepped back, and the pan fell to the ground. Luckily it extinguished itself immediately, but it did leave me feeling pretty shaky and grateful that everything turned out okay!

Well, I should get going and make some phone calls, but thanks for reading. And don't worry, I won't cook for you anytime soon. 

Please Don't Rush

Sawat-dee from Thailand! Today we left Laos and made it to our fourth, and kind-of final, country. Time does fly: two weeks from today I'll be flying home from our brief stopover in Malaysia!

So, reflections on Laos. It was a good time! I think my experience there can be summed up well in what our kayaking river guide said that "PDR" of "Laos PDR" really stands for: Please Don't Rush. Life in Laos was laid-back. People were friendly, and time seemed to move at a slower pace. (Or sometimes it stood still, as it seemed to when we got to glimpse village life in the hill country and saw lots of dirty and partially naked little children running around with pigs and chickens ...) While enjoying this relaxed pace, we got to spend a lot of time in the stunning natural surrounds: we spent a day playing in picturesque lagoons and waterfalls, another kayaking down a river with a very fun and friendly guide, and still another trekking through the hills in the northern part of the country (post the worst car ride I have ever taken - imagine taking your mother's minivan off-roading for seven hours. Katrina and I were lodged in the back of this minivan and were thrown around so much that we kept hitting our heads against the ceiling and one another's skulls. Needless to say, we felt a little woozy after that one.). Another thing that was fun for us was that our final extended stop in a town called Luang Namtha was really close to China, so we spent some time watching our favorite Chinese music videos (ha!) and the women's short program via CCTV. It's funny how I've stopped noticing that I still can't really understand much of the language, because it just sounds so familiar and almost comforting.

I was worried about crossing the border into Thailand today; after one rather "thrilling" experience from Nepal to India, I believe I'm scarred for life and was expecting the worst. However, everything went off without a hitch ... and Katrina even found her passport again, after taking the ferry back to the Laos side of the crossing. :)

I'll look forward to updating you on this magical little place in the next couple days! While you wait for this next post with eager anticipation, fill the time by doing something that makes you happy and telling someone you love them.

Love to YOU, my friends!

Speed Limit: 30 kph

Hello from Luang Prabang, Laos! With a move that took us about 100 miles north, we've left the  all-day Happy Hours and "Laobeer" singlets behind us. Suddenly, we have entered the realm of wine-tasting, art galleries, and handicraft boutiques. Essentially, we've progressed from Spring Break to mid-life-crisis in the span of about three days. Nice. Don't spread this around too much, but we like this crowd a little bit better: they're dressed a little more tastefully, know how to use inside voices, and eat better food, as a rule.

 

As you can see, it's gorgeous here. But, most awesome places are really hard to get to, and this was no exception. The bus ride was a dicey eight hours or something (the speed limit was about 18 mph ... ), and I don't think that there was any leg of the trip that didn't include hairpin curves along mountainsides. I'm used to this white-knuckle riding experience by now - and I don't think anything will ever top getting to Mt. Everest - but my stomach might never be. I felt pretty horrible the whole time, and my uncomfortable situation wasn't helped any by the fact that I had about half a seat. The other half was taken up by the giant seated next to me. I believe this man's neck was about the same circumference as my waist, so that was a blast ... especially when he would nod off and his head would come crashing onto me, threatening to break my collarbone or cause death by asphyxiation.

Other than the silliness of taking an entire working day to travel the distance between Milwaukee and Green Bay, I don't have too much to report. Oh! Except that we saw a Lao farmer wearing an old-school Brett Favre jersey!! Have I ever mentioned that sometimes globalization is awesome?!

On that note, this sleepy Wisconsin girl is off to bed. Go Pack Go?!

It Was Good.

Today was one of those perfect kind of days, the kind of day that makes you happy to be traveling, happy to be alive, and eager to have a day just like it again sometime..

For me, these days all tend toward some kind of mean: they pretty much always involve friends, food, fantastic scenery ... and more often than not, bikes. I can't explain this last element - I'm not even good at riding bikes and it makes my weak little legs sore. But, they're usually just thrown into the mix. At any rate, this is pretty much all I need to make me one happy camper.

Today's perfect day involved us renting those bikes and riding out of Spring Break Central 2010, a.k.a., Vang Vien, a town that seems to have been invented for foreigners. Here, the average age is about 21, most clothing consists of a bikini and little else, Friends episodes play on a loop at every guest house, and hash brownies are readily available. I feel a little bit like I'm on location for Girls Gone Wild: Laos. This isn't quite my cup of tea (really? shocking!), so riding out of town was like a breath of fresh air: we were finally in the countryside, we were being active, we were surrounded by beauty, no one was shouting "WHOOOO!" These are all good things. We biked and biked, explored some scary caves (me not liking the dark or small spaces, I was pretty proud of myself for even venturing in), and enjoyed the perfect weather.

The afternoon came and we grew quite hungry, and we spotted an organic farm! Yay! I was so excited as we approached; it was set in the most idyllic place, in a plot of land overlooking the river and spotted with hanging trees, bungalows, goats, and even piggies. And then I heard the dance music. Kanye, MGMT, and the Black Eyed Peas echoed throughout the surrounding valley, pretty much destroying the ambiance. However, nothing could have destroyed the taste of the mulberry shakes, the right-out-of-the-oven baguettes, the spicy eggplant dip, the freshest mango I have ever put to my lips, the coconut curry ... and the goat cheese. My god. The goat cheese. It was a truly remarkable gastronomic experience. We sat there the rest of the afternoon, too full and lazy to do anything else but order more mulberry shakes. Keep 'em coming.

Cambodia in Bits and Pieces

This post was written in far too many sittings to have any sense of coherence, so please excuse the length and sloppiness of the ideas here. In short, I've loved being here in Cambodia; read on to find out more! 

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I can't quite put my finger on why I am loving Cambodia so much. Maybe it's the fact that if I spin around in a circle in any given location, I will be able to spot someone lounging in a hammock. Or perhaps because my taste buds are thrilled by all the lime and coconut that flavors Khmer food, or the mango that is never more than a couple food stalls away. Maybe it has to do with all the nature that I was surrounded by for the first time in about half a year: trees, rivers, crickets, stars. (Stars!? If I saw A star in Wuxi, it was practically a miracle heralding the birth of the Christchild, or similar.) Or, maybe it's because the simple bamboo huts and palm trees that line the bumpy roads make it feel like I've landed in some quintessential tropical paradise. (I'm kind of just waiting for Oceanic 815 to come crashing into the nearest hillside. It feels like I'm on "the Island," sadly sans John Locke. This is clearly symptomatic of my LOST withdrawal.) But, they say that the people make the place, and the old saying has proven its truthfulness once again. The people of Cambodia are some of the most vibrant, friendly, and helpful people I've come across in all my travels. There's something to be said for the fact that I haven't felt scammed, cheated, or threatened in any way since being here. Further, I haven't felt frustrated or annoyed by swarms of people hounding me, trying to get me to buy this or that trinket or service that I have no desire to have. Instead of feeling pressured and irritated, I feel welcomed, and this is such a breath of fresh air.

The smiles of the Khmer people are truly some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, something that is all the more incredible given the bloody and horrific history that the people here are only a generation or two removed from. Just a little over 30 years ago, Cambodia was under the iron fist of the brutal Khmer Rouge, a revolutionary Communist party that promised total social reform. If you consider horrifically destructive policies and genocide that decimates a quarter of your country's population "social reform," then the party certainly delivered. During my time in the chaotic capital of Phnom Penh (a city our always-has-something-positive-to-say-about-every-place guidebook calls "the tarnished pearl of Asia"), it was mind-numbing to learn of the horrors of the forced labor in rice paddies, the torture that supposed political dissenters received (for crimes such as "singing," or "expressing affection"), and the mass executions for such undesirable types that followed. Estimates vary, but historians surmise that anywhere from 750,000 - 2 million people were killed in this political upheaval. Our visit to the prison and the mass graves was sobering indeed. Such lunacy seemed impossible to comprehend.

It has taken years of rebuilding for Cambodia to get back on its feet, and it still has a long way to go. The destructive policies of the past have ramifications that last today. Because many families are beset by poverty and cannot afford to send their children to school, the kids end up working in the streets, selling trinkets and snacks. I read one statistic that estimated that there are about 40,000 street children living in Cambodia, with somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 in Phnom Penh alone. It was heartbreaking to have to say  "No Thanks," and "Sorry, don't need it" over and over again to these kids who tried to sell us the same postcards, bracelets, or keychains at every opportunity. Another problem that Cambodia faces is that there are still hundreds of thousands of active landmines left over from both the US and the Khmer Rouge during the time of the Vietnam War. These mines explode to this day, injuring, maiming, and killing thousands of people every year.

It was so frustrating to see such problems first hand, but there are ways that we can help. You can learn more about the plight of street children or landmine victims, and find out ways that you can contribute to organizations that are working to give Cambodia a better future. Some organizations that I recommend are: 

cambodialandminemuseum.org and mithsamlanh.org

Both are keeping kids off the streets and helping them acquire both knowledge and skills that will empower them to contribute to their own country's future. It's good stuff. I know I'll be tracking these orgs for years to come.

They say that Cambodia sticks to you. You can feel its red dust, the grittiness of its cities and the sands of its beaches on your skin. For me, it has left an impression that will be long-lasting; it has a past that is both glorious (as seen the architectural and artistic extravagance of the absolutely stunning Ankor Wat) and horrific, and a future that is just as ambiguous. Whatever becomes of Cambodia in the next couple decades will be interesting to see; I hope the smiles and open hearts of its people can help them to repair a broken past and pave the way for a better future.

As for our trip, it is now halfway through! It's hard to believe, but we're flying to our third country tonight. With some prayers and good fortune, we'll be in Vientiane, the capital of Laos tonight. I'm not sure what's in store for us there, but I'm eager to set my feet on some new soil, as much as I would love to continue to explore the country I'm currently in. But, this is just a "sampler platter" of South East Asia after all; maybe I'll be able to make it back for a main dish some other time.

Also, thanks for the birthday wishes! 23?! How did that happen?! Sheesh. Life's crazy, and it flies. Thanks for sharing it with me. Here's to another wonderful year. :)

Uncle Ho v. Uncle Sam

Hello, friends!

The past couple days have flown by, and I've suddenly found myself in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. But, I'll get to that some other time. First: HCM City.

We stumbled off the bus at 7am, bleary-eyed and barely awake, searching all over for a place to stay. The streets were chaos, completely overrun with tuk-tuks and motorbikes and people and their food stalls spilling out from every nook and cranny of the sidewalk. It was already unbelieveably hot, and we seemed to look at  one dodgy hotel after another in our search. After trying about 5 or 6 different places, we finally found a place to sleep that seemed reasonably comfortable and fairly priced and ended our hour long search, pretty soaked and glad to ditch our bags. (The highlight of our search was that we stumbled upon a restaurant that sold real, homemade cookies and bagels ... a breakfast sent from heaven! Literally. We found out later that the place was actually a Christian NGO that gets kids off the streets and into a safe place where they can gain work experience. More on this topic later, I hope?)

Because of time constraints (there always is when you're doing an entire region of the world in 2 months), we had to hustle to see of much of the city as we could in one day. We took an unbelieveably cheap "cyclo" ride (a man biking, pushing both Jones and I for about 15 minutes through insane traffic and heat ... we felt awful that we had negotiated the price down as much as we did once we realized how far it was!) Our first stop was the highly memorable war Rements Museum, formerly known as the "American War Crimes Museum." This alone should give you a pretty good idea of what you found inside. There were heart-breaking pictures of napalm victims and those who suffured the after-effects of Agent Orange, of bombed villages and mothers escaping the battle with their children. It made you feel sick inside, like you didn't want to believe that people have had to undergo such horrors in their lives.

Our next stop (after Gloria Jean's Coffee - what? Gloria Jean's Coffee, my old place of employment at Mayfair Mall, has a branch in HCMC?!) was the Reunification Palace. I know that North Vietnam broke though the gate, which pretty much signaled the end of the war; other than that, I couldn't tell you much, as it was the lamest museum I've ever been to (no plaques, no information, nothing - just a lot of gross 70's era furniture) and I didn't learn anything. The fun thing about it was that we saw three guys at the entrance, including one wearing a Badger hat and one wearing Gator athletic shorts. They were indeed WI and FL alum (the D1 schools of my family - sorry Kristen, no LAX grads ...) and we ended up getting along famously and spending the rest of the day with them.

What I will carry with me from the Reunification Palace was the documentary they showed, giving a brief history of the Vietnam War. Yet again, we witnessed the loaded and provokative language used to describe those pesky "American imperialists." This was taken a step further at our day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels the next day. It took a long time to get there (we visited the Caodai temples first - a very strange religion where both Victor Hugo and Sun Yat-Sen hold the third revelation of God to man, the first two being from Moses and Jesus. Hm ... ) but once we arrived we watched yet another documentary that informed us how the Americans came in to Vietnam with the intent of 1) Slaughtering women and children 2) Bombing Hanoi back into the Stone Age and 3) Subjecting South Vietnam to their imperialist regime. It's true that all these things might have happened in some way or another, and to say that this is a tragedy would be a cruel understatement. But to say that it was the intent? Meanwhile, the video depicted the valor of the Viet Cong "martyrs," and told stories about soldiers who recieved awards for "killing the most American enemies." Now, I've heard of the American government awarding its soliders medals for honor or bravery, but never for killing the most people.

Then we saw the tunnels that were used by the VC as hideouts, and also some of the weapons that they used in their guerilla warfare. They were homespun, ingenious, and horrific. Certainly no one's going to say that Agent Orange was a good idea, but is creating a device that will send another person flying down into a jungle pit to be impaled by bamboo spikes any less brutal? How can you condemn someone else's brutality in one breath and applaude your own in the next? It made me so sad to think that these are the videos that are being shown to the world, shown to all the foreign tourists about all the terrible things that evil old America did. We get enough bad press already. Do we really need sensationalized, even blatantly untrue propoganda against us as well? It was troublesome indeed and left me pretty agitated.

But now I've left Vietnam behind me. Truthfully, I'm glad to be gone. While there were places that I liked a lot, there were no places that I loved. While we came across really friendly people, there were a lot of people who didn't treat us very well (shocking, given the information they recieve about Americans ...). I don't believe that you could get a truly fair and representative picture of a place if you're only there a couple weeks, but you can get a good feel. And, I've been to lots of places that I've gotten a better "feel" from in the same amount of time. (China, Palestine, and Nepal, most notably.) I'm eager to see how the next leg of the trip, Cambodia, works out! I'm feeling optimistic!

The Nha Trang Beach Diet

Experts will tell you that there are a few things you should do to lose weight in a healthy manner. You know, exercising, limiting your sugar and carbohydrate intake, eating lots of fresh fruits vegetables, possibly some lean meats ... this is old news. I've recently discovered a new way, however, which is most convenient for those who are traveling in foreign countries, or for those who are fortunate enough to play host to a colony of bacterium living in your gut. I like to call it the Nha Trang Beach Diet.

On this diet, you simply lose your appetite completely, and when you do consume calories of any kind, you simply expel them as quickly as possible. While you won't have enough energy to burn calories the good old fashioned way (such as by sitting upright, walking around, going down a flight of stairs), you should burn enough by simply sweating feverishly, whimpering, and calculating the pros and cons of getting the next flight out of Ho Chi Minh City to a more developed country, such as the one you were born and raised in.

By following these simple steps for just a couple short days, your body will be bikini-ready, for the beach that you may or may not care to visit any longer.

For concerned parents and grandparents reading this post, please do not rush to contact the nearest US embassy to have me airlifted out of this country. I am, in fact, feeling better today, and will make it a point to go to some legitimate, English-speaking health-care provider in our next city (Saigon / HCMC) to see if I can't get some meds that will hopefully kick out whatever has been lingering in my system. Contrary to what you may have heard, traveling when you're ill is not actually that fun, so I'm rather keen to make it stop.

But, like I said, if you're interested in being trimmed and toned, I have one word and one word only: parasites.