Stressed, no…Completely Freakin Out!!! (1/12/06)
Friday, January 13th, 2006One week ’til Bon Voyage and things are a little hectic. Nothing like some last minute franticness to get us ready for the Indian train depot or the streets of Ho Chi Minh. If you are wondering what we’re talking about let me summarize:
– Tuesday – Jeff has root canal for recently (around Xmas) cracked tooth. Still is aching and two more dentist visits still left
– Thursday – No passports. Sent to Uzbek embassy before New Year’s and still not back. Not the smartest move but we needed the Visa prior to arrival. Can’t get a hold of anyone!!!! AAAAHHH!
– Last 28 days – Nonstop down pouring of Chicago-like rain in Seattle. Driving everywhere to obtain last minute items is seriously getting on our nerves. If you are one of the people we told that Seattle is great, the rain always burns off by 2PM, we apologize. We were wrong. It is miserable here yet might help us acclimate to the rainy season in SE Asia.
What are we doing to calm our nerves (besides Jeff grinding his teeth) ???? We are having a great time hanging out with friends and family whom we haven’t been able to spend this type of time with since 2000. We are attempting to connect with our Chicago friends and chat with them which offers some semblence of normalcy to which we have been use to for the past five years. But the most exciting was our guest appearance to the K-1 and 2nd graders at McAuliffe Elementary. We had a captive audience of 20-30 youngsters who blistered us with Dateline NBC-like questions (and stories) for over a half hour. Remember when you were six and all you wanted to do was tell big people everything you knew……..here are a few of the highlights of their comments (pics to post later)….
– Why did you decide to travel around the world? (Great question)
– Once when we were in British Columbia I saw a ghost in my hotel room (Good story, thank you)
– How much is it going to cost? (Good Question) (Student guesses: $400, $600, $1,245.21….hilarious)
– My dad has the same pants as you (Thanks)
– (My question to the kids) How many of your speak a foreign language? Everyone raised their hands!!! Very funny!
So I’m sure you all are wondering how the packing and planning is going. Well, everything has been purchased and I expect to provide a snapshot of our pack contents in the next few days. It’s amazing how it all adds up. The planning is done and we are ready to get on the road and see what the world brings……….once our passports show up!!!
Jeff and Becca