Author Archives: Rachel

Coffee, Oh How I Love Thee

That blessed morning ritual – how will it look from the road?

A rtw trip based on good coffee might swing through Java, Ethiopia and Costa Rica. Alas, we’re not hitting any of those countries (this time!).

Thankfully, the countries on our itinerary love coffee as much as we do! Part of our cultural journey will be found in our morning cup of joe – enjoying high octane coffee sweetened with condensed milk in Vietnam, seeking a Nescafe alternative in Chile, and exploring the dozens of vended options in Japan.

At home, it’s single press, by the cup. And it’s delicious. But I think we can all agree that taste is influenced by its surroundings. That’s why fondue is so good on a Switzerland ski slope or why a caipirinha simply tastes better on a beach in Brazil. It’s in the language, colors, sounds…the vibe of your environment as you take that sip or bite.

We’ll be drinking in a lot more with each cup of coffee.

our morning ritual

our morning ritual

The Dog

This is Mickey.

Mickey Fall 09 008

This is Mickey as a puppy.

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I can hear you saying “ahhhh.”  Do you see our dilemma?

Mickey’s a part of our family and, yes, we are attached.  When I kneel down to pet him, he puts a paw on my shoulder, claiming ownership. Sean says that while we may think Mickey returns our love, the dog is simply invested in us because we invest in him with food and play.  Wah wah.

A common question we hear about this trip is “what are you doing with your house and dog?”  We debated many options with the house:

  • Trade it?  Too cumbersome. And surprisingly grey Seattle is not a top destination on home trading sites.
  • Rent it?  Eight months is an odd space of time to rent and the thought of packing everything up when we moved in less than a year ago was numbing.
  • Sit it?  Yes!  Ultimately we decided we needed a house sitter to stay in our house, taking care of it and Mickey.  That person ended up being a younger brother – it works out for both parties.

AND, he can send us Mickey updates while we’re on the road.  So when we hear the dog put his paw on my brother’s shoulder, I’ll know it’s all about the kibble n bits.

How Lucky Are We?

VikingNatures

Here are two reviews of the Viking Natures Resort on Phi Phi Island in Thailand:

 “An idyllic hide-away with stunning views and clean, comfortable rooms”

 “DO NOT STAY HERE! Worst hotel I’ve ever been to”

One picture shows a beautiful beach with turquoise water and the next picture shows the same beach with trash strewn across it.  viking-natures-resort

Will the real Phi Phi Island please stand up?

The fire hose of online information is a mixed blessing.  Frankly, it was reading other rtw family blogs that encouraged me to believe that we could do this trip.  On the other hand, when 8 out of 10 people say that they didn’t appreciate Vietnam, should I consider taking that country off the list?  Information paralysis!

One family blog, http://away-together.com/, has the motto of no regrets.  I find this to be a wise stance.  In eight months of travel, there will be places, people and experiences that make our hearts expand with gratitude and joy.  And of course there will be times when we are let down and uninspired.  Regardless, whether we love every destination or not, we’ll learn from it and that learning will inform the rest of our lives.  So, in good times or in bad, with too much information or too little, I ask, how lucky are we?

In fact, I think that’s going to be our motto, how lucky are we?

Orville & No Name

photo 

Here are the kids getting fitted in their packs.  Julia has named hers Orville.  Hmmm.  Kid’s got an itch for popcorn.  Sean chose not to name his because “boys don’t name things.”  O-k-a-y.  They think this is fun now because the packs are not filled with 30lbs as we trek in 90 degree heat through Northern Vietnam.  The kids were given an option to pick patches to distinguish their packs.  Julia picked a brittany spaniel Mickey-look-alike patch and a Valkyrie patch (a female warrior AND the name of her soccer team).  Sean chose not to pick a patch because “boys don’t do that.”  What a shame he wasn’t wearing his scouts shirt with a dozen or so  patches on it when he told me that.  I could have looked at him cross-eyed.

Bring on the Japanese Encephalitis

A colleague I admire recently did a spot on re-enactment of Seinfeld’s car rental reservation bit.  So I had Seinfeld on the mind when I called the Public Health Travel Clinic.  I had first consulted the CDC’s website to determine immunization recommendations.  If you at all wary about international travel, the CDC website is sure to keep you grounded.  I expected the need to vaccinate against malaria but Japanese encephalitis?  What is that?  It conjures John Hurt in The Elephant Man movie exclaiming “I…am…not…an animal. I…am human!”

The state Public Health Travel Clinic provides an assessment of what immunizations are needed and then provides the shots.  Easy, right?  I call.

PHTC: “I just need to let you know that there’s a $120 charge for the assessment.”

Me: Oh, ok, makes sense, the government needs to cover their costs.  So I explain that I’ll be bringing my husband and two kids.

PHTC: “Ok, so we’ll make four appointments and it will be $120 per family member.”

Me: “Hmmm, we really only need one assessment – there’s four of us and we’re all going to the same places.”

PHTC: “Yes, I understand but we do an assessment for each person.”

ME: “Hmmm.  But wouldn’t the assessment be the same for the four of us?”

PHTC: “As I said, each assessment must be a separate appointment and each appointment costs $120.”

ME: “Ok, well we really only need one assessment, so once I have that assessment, can my family get their shots?”

PHTC: “You can only get shots if you each have had an assessment.”

Understand these shots will cost mucho dinero anyway so to pile on a $480 for four identical assessments just seems wrong.

Aug 17 immunization update: Kroger pharmacies have a travel clinic. In the Seattle area, the Kroger brand is QFC.  Yushi Li is one of the two travel clinic specialists in the Seattle area.  She met us at our local QFC for the initial consultation and follow up visits for the vaccines.  I can’t say enough good things about this service — Yushi was extremely thorough, she came to our neighborhood & the cost was a FRACTION of the other local travel clinic options.   Definitely use this resource: http://www.qfc.com/pharmacy/Pages/travel_info.aspx.

BTW, Julia did her 1st grade science fair project on which band-aid was the best value for the money, so no assessment needed on which to use post-shots…tough strips!

future rocket scientist

future rocket scientist

Siblings: Friends or Foes?

How are you really feeling? (by S&J's memere)

How are you really feeling? (by S&J’s memere)

Somewhere along the way, S & J — who shared my belly and then a crib for months on end, who shared a room and were best playmates for years – somewhere along the way, they fell into sibling stereotypes.  The annoying brother and the “oh please, I’m so much more mature” sister.  It seems they only forget the parts they are playing and become buds again when just the four of us are on vacation together.  They let their roles slip away and become each other’s playmate once again.

I have no illusions…there will be times on the road when all four of us are foes.  However, here’s hoping to many more times building a strong friendship and mutually respect for each other.

Ayudame!

How do you handle emergency situations?  Me…not so well.

On a trip to the Italian Dolmites, then 7-year-old Sean fainted at the top of a high mountain pass and I screamed “Ayudame!  Ayudame!” into the faces of calm, disinterested Italians. As the guidebooks warn that the altitude can be difficult for the young or old, I imagine a fainting tourist was a common occurrence.  It probably did not help matters that I was screaming in Spanish, not Italian.  Whoops.

Thus part of our trip preparation is a first aid and CPR class for the four of us.

The hope is that between all of us, one will think clearly to act if we’re in an emergency situation.  History has proven that likely it won’t be me.

Passo Sella, Italy

Passo Sella, Italy

Meet Fancy

Turtle.  Pickle.  Froggie.  Esmeralda.  Cricket.  And fancy…as in footloose and fancy free.

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These were the name suggestions for my new appendage…my Osprey Aura 65 backpack.  Hard to imagine that I’ll carry everything I need in here for eight months.   Not so fancy.

From this to a 65 liter pack...bring it on!

From this to a 65 liter pack…bring it on!

Japan Reading List

a-geek-in-japan

Behold the kids reading list for Japan!  Can you tell I’m excited about taking the armchair adventure on the road?  Maybe I need to become a librarian when I return.

Some of the non-fiction is fairly mature and I’m looking forward to conquering those books together, huddled in our beds, heads together, after a long day.  When I first started thinking about this trip years ago, I imagined a line of boxes of books labeled for each leg of the trip and the need to cajole a grandma to send to us along the way.  While I prefer to hold the precious weight of a book in my hands, I’m tossing paper aside for electronic reading during this trip.

NON-FICTION

  • A Geek in Japan by Hector Garcia
  • A Year in Japan by Kate Williamson
  • The Magic of Reality: How we Know What’s Really True by Richard Dawkins
  • Shockwave Countdown by Stephen Walker
  • The Rising Sun by John Toland

FICTION

  • Samurai Mysteries series by Dorothy Hoobler
  • Spirits of the Noh by Thomas Randall
  • Blue Fingers: A Ninjas Tale by Cheryl Whitesel
  • Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn

Santa brought the kids iPads with keyboards for the trip.  We struggled with this.  Here we are making an effort to leave all the stuff behind which is ironically requiring us to purchase more stuff.  Huh?  The reality is that a tablet serves as an entertainment device, online resource, and a vehicle for reading, writing, and presentation building — it became a no brainer.

And I finally got my hands on the 6th-8th grade curriculum for math and science so progress is being made!  Itching to create the Southeast Asia reading list…

Road Schooling

Reading in Venice

Reading in Venice

How does one road school? My 1st lesson in road schooling is persistence…it has yet to pay off.

Here is my experience thus far:
• Reached out to Advanced Placement office, referred to school principals.
• Contacted said school principals, referred to Home Schooling Association.
• Contacted Home Schooling Association, referred to Seattle Public Schools curriculum office.
• Contacted curriculum office, referred to Advanced Placement office….wait, I’ve been there before!

Not sure what will be more challenging: nailing down the curriculum the kids need to keep up or teaching them algebra. (Oh who am I kidding, we all know what will be more challenging!)

I am excited about the “freestyle” curriculum that I get to create – how cool will it be to read Goodbye Vietnam while living in Hanoi or to study glacier formation while trekking across the Perito Moreno in Patagonia?

Suffice it to say it won’t just be two 6th graders being road schooled – clearly Kyle and I will be learning too.