Hi all well it is not long now before I will be heading home and looking forward to Aotearoa. Alot has happened since we last blogged mostly unexpected events. We left Washington DC and headed too Chicago to catch a connecting flight to Memphis only to find that our flight had been cancelled and the next one won39t be until the following day all good. They just put everyone up in a hotel with

at about 8.30 at night we arrived in a sea of light at the city of las Vegas. A beautiful sight all those lights. No carbon tax here. Everything went smoothly so within half an hour we were outside a cool airport into a warm Nevada night. A cab took us quickly to our Monte Carlo hotel. The check in gave us a nice room on the 27th floor that gave a nice view over part of the city. On those small fl

Hi EverybodyThe TransSiberian is the journey of a lifetime and an epic trip into some of the worlds most remote landscapes through spruce and birch forests traditional villages and endless steppes. The trip across Russia is one of the longest railway journeys in the world starting in Moscow and ending in Vladivostok. Walt and I are not going the entire 6000 miles to Vladivostok the P

Wow so it turns out I wasRUBBISH at keeping this blog up to date. I say 39was39 because I intend to correct that.Last thing you heard from me I was still in my 1st year in Korea and loving every second well things didn39t change much. My contract came to its natural end at Wonderland School in Mansudong quiet a challange for most people in Korea who get sacked just before the end of

Day 3 has been the best so far travelled to the great wall at a place called Jinshanling where the great wall has been very much untouched and is a crumbling ruin. From Beijing it is the furthest part of the wall to get to approx 3 hrs but well worth the trip. Many parts are still in good condition however having to climb into the watch towers and up the crumbling steep slopes made for a very

Went down to the beach club last night before dinner. Only just made it 30 mins before closing time. Quite relaxing watching the waves roll in and the cruise ships departing Miami.Up in the morning for the shuttle transfer to the airport. Flight on time and went well.3.30 pm. Arrived at La Guardia after flying in over Manhattan. Spectacular sight. Took 2 hours to get out of the airport and to ou

We are going to start off with today because it is a great day and I wish to start off this entry with greatness.This morning I woke up to skies where the rain and stormyness were finally banished. Bright blue with golden sunshine the world of 830 was still and calm and BEAUTIFUL. Breathtakingly so. All I wanted to do the moment that I glimpsed the gorgeous landscape was go and lay in the

Well its been a busy week. Ive never been this busy for school before. I am in class for at least three hours every day sometimes straight from 8 to 5 oclock. In addition to class I have eight hours at my internship plus all the homework and writing assignments I have to do. School in China is a lot more demanding than school in the US. We are all so spoiled compared to students here.

Uhmm...I think soI endured the struggle and sweat necessary to lug my enormous baggage from the claim carousel in Brussels airport to make my train connection. An adorable young man from China named Hao helped me get them on the train and we spoke for the 15 minute journey. I asked for tips about finding housing navigating the city and communicating. He told me that learning Dutch would be moot

So I packed my bags for 5 months.........shorts check tshirts check undies PJs toothbrush my Blue Card etc check .....you get the picture.........So I39m out of town for months and need cash......right So guess who left their fully loaded Travelex cards at home somewhere Hmmm also left my USB at home with my lessons etc.......but I can redo those easily so not worries. Just n

So excited as today Downton Abbey is back season 2.... no just joking I am excited but talking about something else today is SUMO day. SUMO is the Japanese national sport and these days the world championship is taking place in Tokyo. This morning we joined the same people we went on tour with for Mt Fuji avoid tours at all costs Too much time on buses and little time enjoying the co

Grindelwald the famous village in the swiss mountains is just a 1 hour drive away from our home. Well it is indeed a very touristic place nevertheless we love to spend some time there as the landscape is amazing and there are still places where you can escape from the crowds. With this blog we would like to give other travellers tips where to go and what to do in this area.1. If you want to go

Several times while traveling Ive mistakenly walked into a restroom stall and found the commode seemed to be missing. In its place I saw what looked to me like a hole in the ground. Perplexed I quickly scanned the WC and usually found a toilet I could use of the type to which Im more accustomed.When I first came upon what I later learned was a squat toilet I thought it was something

Lugala September 2011On Sunday September 11 2011 we made our first trip to Lugala along with two students from the village Wiston and Yowel and one of their friends Baraka and a colleague pastor Lynn Clarke. It was a full car load and one of the students had to ride in the back trunk compartment. However the trip is only about 20 km on a good paved road. It was an incredible day. The road g

Today I treated myself to a creme brulee. And Nadiath and I cooked for our host family. I made steamed basa fillets with ginger soya sauce and Nadiath made a yam ragout. We have officially declared our team efforts in cooking ChiBenois food. Dumplings and a Beninese grain dish to follow. p.s. my host family is lovely.So work placements start on Monday. The past 2 weeks have been spent on educati

Hello EverybodyIm going to start this blog with a few shout outs to various people who I know have been reading. So Hi Dad Mum and Nan looking forward to seeing you all. Nan I saw a boat the other day called Frisky Freda in Fiji haha made me laugh. Uncle Clive and Keith not sure if you are still reading but if you are a big hello. Warnay hope your good not heard much from you but t

Saturday July 2nd After a wonderful two weeks abrigado thank you and tchau goodbye Portugal. We spent the day on a long scenic journey from Porto on the western coast of Portugal to Ribadesella on the northern coast of Spain. We fell in love with Ribadesella a little coastal town cradled by the lush green peaks of the Picos de Europa National Park. Restaurants and popular ciderias wra

With no plans set for the weekend at all Meredith and I looked at this weekend as an open opportunity. We decided that we would attempt to explore Italy a little bit more. On Friday we decided to have a roomie date day and have adventures around Florence. Our two main goals pizza and gelatto yes I am gaining weight thank you for asking. But not just any pizza and gelatto the BEST pizza and g

Hello all and my apologies for not regularly updating my blog. I was recently told that if I did not update more often I would be removed from the Christmas list so obviously much more effort will be given.Well since last Sunday I have done a lot I suppose. Sunday night we shared a nice meal because it was Virginie39s last night here. She was a swell young lady who always had a smile on her

I was bored at work yesterday and had access to the internet so I went online and perused the Monk Sponsorship site at http://www.monksponsorship.orgI39d be in a great deal of trouble if the bosses knew I was pissing about on the computer and not doing my work but hey they39ll get over it.I often look through the long list of Tibetans desperately seeking sponsors wishing I could help more when I