Reflecting
Trip Start
Jul 10, 2007
1
38
46
Trip End
Mar 11, 2008
Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
You may wonder what actually possessed us to travel around three continents for 8 months with 2 boys; one of 11 and one of 13? The answer was easy 6 months ago when I was writing report cards, packing up our home not yet rented (help), clearing 60 boxes of materials out of my class and keeping my boys entertained while my husband was sent on a "course" somewhere in the wine region of France. Yes indeed, in the dictionary, under the word insanity, you did see my picture. Eight months away from this chaotic pace was a dream as our little family would explore exotic places, observe the secret behaviours of wild animals and discover, breathe, taste and live new cultures in the company of our children. I would finally use my teaching skills in different countries and learn about various schooling systems.
The first thoughts of undertaking such an ambitious adventure were ignited years ago when we started reading the weekly journals of the Stuemers; an Ottawa family's four year journey at sea. A boat with two motion sick people and two active boys would never mix well. It was out of the question. After a few fruitless attempts at organizing teaching exchanges overseas, we decided that we would plan our own journey. I could teach in more different countries.
What places would we choose to visit? Our 13 year old son researched and wrote a list (he loves lists) to come up with a spectacular itinerary of 156 countries for the 8 months of travel. How to explain to him that that one country every 1.53 days could be a little exhausting and that our last name was not "Gates".
We narrowed down The List according to our son, "to a mere 16 countries man"! Even then, this was quite an undertaking for maman and papa to absorb. We would visit South East Asia to include Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore (with Beijing as a first stop). Then, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia over to Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and maybe Brazil to end the itinerary. My dreams of climbing the Great Wall, walking in gardens of rare orchids, observing turtles, elephants and the famous blue footed booby birds in their natural habitats would finally come true. Now, the male version of this dream in my family was to bite into fried scorpions, stumble over poisonous snakes, dive with sharks and barracudas, wrestle with a crocodile and spot lions tearing up poor gentle gazelles (smelling the rare orchids).
What to pack?
Thoughts of my absolute lifelong promise of: "I will never ever backpack again in my life" after doing the "Europe thing" more than once in my twenties came back to haunt me. Everything I would own for eight months would have to be in one bag. Where would I possibly pack enough medicine for a possible pandemic, avian flu, malaria, dengue fever, broken bones, swollen muscles, sore throats, colds, coughs, cuts, bruises, headaches, sore stomachs, allergic reactions and have enough room for my shoes?
What to organize
The house needed to be rented out and all personal items packed. It was awfully difficult for me to find Mary Poppins to take care of my favourite nesting area. I had to adjust (and still am) to someone being in my space.
China-Wall
Thank goodness, we went with an agency. Permissions needed to be obtained to take time off work - one without pay, the other using vacation time. Then the spending started; vaccinations, malaria pills, clothing, packs, tours etc.Organizing the two academic years for our sons was time consuming and a very testing endeavor as all of their assignments, books and curriculum had to be stored on line. Thank goodness for our friends who helped us out with the technical challenges and the support of the boys' schools. Saying goodbye to our family and friends was not easy for me. Convincing the youngest son to leave his secure home and his friends was also an issue that needed to be addressed more than once.
Today is January 1st, 2008 and we are in Buenos Aires. It is blistering hot outside and it does not feel like our usual Canadian festive season. Oddly, I do miss peering out of my living room window to see the white carpet protecting my slumbering front garden. We are nearing the 6 month mark into our trip and as I reflect upon what I have shared with my family, I would never exchange this gift of time for anything in the world. I have had the chance to visit an extraordinary list of sights, get close to animals that I never knew I would. I have spent the best and sometimes the most frustrating moments with my family - all of which have brought us closer. I have had so many opportunities to laugh uncontrollably with my family, hug and hold my boys every single day! PRICELESS!
Bonne et heureuse année à tous!
Happy New Year to all!
Comments
Reflecting
Quelle intéressante réflexion! Merci de partager ces beaux moments de votre vie. Je vous lis avec grand intérêt.
Bonne année!
xxxx Monique