Like a Dream - Coming Back from Our Trip

The past eleven months have passed like a dream. It was not only a dream trip but also it passed quickly and I'm now awake and it's gone. I'm afraid and sad that I've already started to forget bits and pieces. Here are some random thoughts:

• I wonder if we traveled too fast. One third of the journey is anticipation. One third is enjoyment. One third is remembering. I wonder if our anticipation period for each new place was too short to get the maximum out of it. Also, I wonder if having another fun thing/place so soon after each fun thing/place deprived us the opportunity to relish the memories.
• I think we turned into mild travel snobs. After seeing so many big things right in a row we were often not interested in seeing lesser things. It seemed like every little place had a shrine or temple that they were proud of but after seeing so many others and better ones we were not always interested or impressed.
• We really did a lot of cool things: almost all of Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Prague, Auschwitz, Hungarian Bath, the leaning tower of Piza, Italian Pesto, the Parthenon, Mars Hill, the Coliseum, Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, Ephesus, appendicitis, the Pyramids and Sphinx, the Taj Mahal, elephant rides, camel rides, cobra charming, leper colonies, the Killing Fields, a tropical island paradise, shellfish allergy, Corregidor, Kuala Lumpur Towers, Sydney Opera House, Tim Tam Slam, tropical glacier in New Zealand, and the Great Wall of China. Wow! I'm sure I've missed something.
• I liked having a place for everything. We generally packed our bags the same way every time so we knew where everything was because it was in the same place every time.
• There were a few basic principles that worked in every country: understand the big picture (or map), orient ourselves on the map, decide where we want to go, and go. Subways worked the same pretty much everywhere. You need a ticket that you buy from a machine (or a ticket agent) or a pass that you have filled with credit. You go through a machine that checks your ticket or pass on the way in and on the way out. There are two directions on each subway train. HAlf of the battle is finding the platform for the train going in the right direction. Having these basic strategies helped a lot in each new city and country.
• There is so much good around the world. Truly. There are angels everywhere. Often people on the street would see us looking at a map and stop to ask if they could help.
• I think part of our success is that we traveled as a family. Most everyone has a family and could relate with us. Traveling as a family also protected us. With so many eyes watching our every move we felt like we were an undesirable target for people with bad intentions. Once a vendor tried to overcharge us for some popsicles and the other people walking past got after the vendor and told us the correct price.
• Before we left I had grand ambitions for our family. I envisioned family workouts, improved family scripture study, improved family prayers, weekly boy scout work, weekly Duty to God and Faith in God work. Not sure what I was thinking. Most of those things didn't happen.
• We committed before leaving that we would attend church every Sunday and stay for all of the meetings even if they were in another language. We did very well in this goal. I think we only missed 3 Sundays. Attending church each week was like coming home. We really felt comfortable attending church around the world. The 3 times we missed were once in Turkey (touring Ephesus), once in Italy (couldn't buy bus tickets), and once in Thailand (couldn't find the church). It was worth it not only because it felt like home but also because it gave the kids a feel for what the church is like around the world.
• I felt like there were a lot of places around the world where I could be happy living. There were also some places where it would be harder to be happy.
• We were really fortunate to have been able to take this trip.
• Technology is amazing. Having Internet access from just about anywhere is amazing. The ability to do video calls (Facetime/Skype) is incredible. We were also able to use technology to access things from outside the US that are only available in the US.
• After having traveled a little now I am even more interested in hearing where others have been. My favorite response to the question "Did you see .....?" is "Not on this trip. We couldn't see everything."
• I ate best (most healthily) in Asia. I felt best. I intend to continue those good eating habits.
• We can have confidence that we can do things because we've done them before. For example, we had to re-pack at every stop. We got pretty good at it. After taking our family around the world for 11 months we should be able to do just about anything. Right?

End of Trip Mixed Feelings

How do I put my feelings about our year of travel in a blog post?  It's pretty hard when I am not quite sure how I am feeling at this point!  In one way I want to continue traveling indefinitely, but in another way I am ready to unpack my bags and not need to repack them again in a few days.  I knew when we started this trip that one day it would come to an end.  I guess now I must decide what impact this experience will have on my life.  Will I jump back into my old habits and routine and just think of all the cool places we saw?  I know this experience has changed me and I hope that some of the changes can be more lasting.

Church Adventures

Our family is LDS, or Mormon. We try to go to church every week if we can, but sometimes it is easier said than done. This is a brief recap of all of the times that we went/tried to go to church.

UPDATE: added all of January. Something must be wrong, because it was fairly easy to get to church this month.

UPDATE: added the rest of the trip, up till May. Added in cities where I forgot to previously.