We are still a bit jet lagged, but we are having a great time. The people of Jordan speak Arabic, but the large majority also speak a good deal of English, so it has been pretty easy to get around. We have received a “Welcome to Jordan!” from almost everyone we have met – even when haggling over prices.

We arrived in Amman at night around 10pm. We had an easy time finding the express bus into town and soon we found ourselves in a taxi, winding through curvy streets at a very fast rate (no joke, they don’t slow down). As we pulled up to our hostel, we could see construction everywhere – the streets, the neighboring buildings. As we emerged from the taxi, we could here the noises of nightlife everywhere around us. Loud music was playing from more than one area and people were walking everywhere, over mounds of dirt and rocks.

We stayed at the Clif Hostel, a small, second-story hostel that was not the cleanest place, but had friendly staff and internet access. We put our things in our room and ventured across the street to a small outside food stand to indulge in an amazing falafel sandwich with fries and salad inside a delicious flat bread. Two large, tasty sandwiches were 1 Jordan Dinar or about $1.40.

11/4/10 – Day 2

The next morning, after a short taxi and mini-bus ride, we arrived at Jerash. Jerash is the site of one of the best preserved Roman Ruins in the middle east. It had large arches, temples, a Colosseum-style sports area, and a columned street that was simply stunning. We could actually see the marks in the stone of carriages from hundreds of years ago. It was incredible. The best part was that we were largely by ourselves, so we were able to explore and listen to our audio tour without interruption. It also gave us time to reflect on the history we were looking at.

After returning from Jerash, we headed to the trendier part of Amman, Rainbow Street, to meet up with our Couch Surfing host, KK. KK does not look like he is from Jordan by appearance. To paint a picture for you, he his around 6 feet tall, has long black dreads, and often wears sun glasses. He has a bit of a Jamaican vibe, but loves Jordan and enjoys talking to people about his travels. He manages a pub on the main road and we met him there. After stashing our bags and resting at his place, we headed out for a spaghetti dinner and drinks at his pub. We had a great conversation with him and some of his friends.

11/5/10 – Day 3

We departed the next morning, leaving our Couch Surfing (CS) gift of a pen with the Chicago skyline and a Karma Travels bracelet. A mini-bus soon had us speeding (very literally) on our way to Wadi Musa, otherwise known as the location of Petra. Petra is a canyon of cave dwellings, carvings, and columns from the Nabaatean people (probably spelled wrong), and later the Byzantine and Roman people. Most of you might recognize Petra from the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie at the end.

We stored our bags at a local hostel, then got a ticket to enter the park. A short horse ride comes with your entrance fee of 50 JD (around $70), so we definitely took them up on it. My horse was in fact pregnant so I slowly walked along admiring the view. Ashley was able to sprint her horse into the canyon. As I finally reached her, she had a smile on her face the size of California. The entrance path gradually lowered into the canyon and soon we were seeing ancient rock dwellings and carvings. We began walking deeper into the canyon and soon we were in a roughly 10 foot wide section, perhaps 100 feet or more high. The surrounding rock was reddish-brown and smooth. We could glimpse the  edge of the ruin ahead and it slowly began to come into view. A few more feet and we stepped into an open area of the canyon, perhaps 80 yards wide and 30 yards long, directly in front of the Treasury. It was so ornately carved and as big as it looked in the movie. Our awe was briefly interrupted when we realized there was a large tourist tent selling magazines, drinks, and snacks no more than 30 feet from the Treasury itself. After taking it in for awhile, we decided we should head out as the sun was setting.

We met our CS host, Carlos, at a local hotel, then headed with some friends by car out to his place in the local Bedouin village. Carlos is from the Czech Republic and was wearing a red and white towel head wrap. Carlos is a bit reserved, but very friendly and extremely generous. He is working as an English translator for a Bedouin tour company in the village and is staying in a house of the head family of the village. Three girls (20, 16, and 14) came over to visit soon after we arrived. They each wore a different brightly colored head wrap and the oldest daughter made a traditional dinner for us. Dinner was a mix of bread, hummus, and oil which was mixed into a paste. We ate with our hands, as is tradition, and rolled the dough into balls before dipping the balls into oil in the middle of the plate. The daughters spoke a little bit of English and spoke with us as we sat in a circle in a dimly lit, bare cement room.

We attempted to sleep on the roof under the stars that night. The stars were beautiful and it was quite dark out where they live – only a few single street lamps were lighting the village. Around 1am, I awoke to find that  a water tank on the roof was over flowing and that I was laying/floating on my Thermarest sleeping pad in the middle of a large puddle of water! I quickly woke Ashley and our friend Nikolas before we decided to go back into the house.

11/6/10 – Day 4

We woke up with the sun and headed out with Carlos towards his work. He pointed us in the “right direction” and we headed out across the desert towards the back of Petra. We walked a little ways until we met up with a Bedouin man, dressed in dark green clothes and a red/white head towel. He did not speak English, but motioned for us to follow him to a nearby rock dwelling just off the road. We followed and discovered that he was showing us an ancient, but still used, water catchment. He was able to communicate that it was destroyed by earthquakes twice and reconstructed. The catchment itself was a large cut out cave inside a large rock formation with a drip area for rainwater to enter. A great off the beaten track find!

We soon stepped into the desert and were following a mix of footprints, goats, and the occasional rock cairn. For three hours we passed by Bedouin herders moving their goats, camels wandering near Bedouin encampments, and open rocky, sandy desert. The rocks themselves were all sandstone and had the most amazing shapes from past wind and rain. We saw small arches, holes, tunnels, and curves in countless rock formations shooting up from the sandy desert floor.

We entered Petra via the back, hopping down some boulder fields and rocky drops, then headed up an hour to the Monastery. The monastery is huge, but similar to the Treasury, and is located on top of one of the mountains there. The view just opposite of the treasury is amazing and you can see as far as Israel/Palestine from the top. The view is deemed the “end of the world” view by the locals. After descending, we strolled through the columned walk built by the Romans, then explored the tomb area before departing for the day.

That night, we returned to Carlos’ place and had a dinner of bread and hummus. We were able to sit and have tea for a while with some of the men of the community. We were informed that the oldest man their was their “Sheik” like you hear on TV. They do not actually refer to him in that manner, but he is the head of the community. We soon found ourselves moving to the Sheik’s house to speak with his daughters while he played us a Bedouin instrument and sang – all while we watched satellite television : )

11/7/10 – Day 5

Carlos arranged for us an early morning taxi to take us into town for a mini-bus to Wadi Rum. After a few hours on the bus, we arrived at the Wadi Rum visitors center, paid the entry fee of 5 JD ($7-8), then arranged a camel tour. We were looking for our CS host, Mosa, but could not contact him by phone. We asked some of the local Bedouin men and they did not seem to know him. On our way out, a man said Mosa was his cousin and happened to be a cousin of the man with whom we had arranged the camel ride. He tried to call, but no one answered. To clarify, EVERYONE in the town is related, as is Bedouin tradition. They typically marry their cousin and the entire town of 500 or so people has around 4-5 actual different family groups all linked over time.

We hopped in a jeep with the man with whom we had arranged our camel ride and went off toward Rum Village (the Bedouin town in Wadi Rum). As we pulled up to the town a man stopped us dressed in a white robe and white head towel and introduced himself, saying “I am Mosa.” He invited us to his house to have tea before we set off on our camels. A German friend, Nikolas, joined us for our camel tour, led by a young boy of around 14 years old. At first the boy walked with our camel’s rope and we soon reached the “end of town” about 100 yards down the road. The end of town was precisely that; small roads and houses instantly became flat, dry sand accented with massive rock formations on either side and in the distance.

Our first stop was Lawrence Spring (see the movie Lawrence of Arabia), then we trekked across an open sandy area to some old rock carvings, then massive sand dunes. The dune we climbed was huge and took quite a while to actually get up and down. It was a lot of fun to play on though. We were in a bit of a hurry to get back into town by the end as our tour was a little longer than it was supposed to be, so our guide began to run the camels. For those of you who have never run on a camel, it is not like a horse. There are no stirrups and the saddles are not as comfortable. In fact, running on a camel hurts. My tailbone is still in pain.

Later that night, Mosa had arranged tea and dinner in a Bedouin tent near his house. Some of his brothers and cousins came over to chat with us and to share tea. We slept on pads and blankets on the sand under the tent by a fire pit. The night was silent at first, then became the loudest night I have ever experienced. Apparently goats are REALLY LOUD and when they are loud dogs start to bark. When dogs start to bark, roosters get confused and start to crow. When all this is going on it is loud. When all this is going on in a small canyon between two huge cliffs acting as an amphitheater it is unbelievably loud.

11/8/10 – Day 6

We caught an early bus to Aqaba, on the coast of the Red Sea. Aqaba is a much trendier town than the rest of Jordan and is located on the border with Israel in the Gulf of Aqaba. We ate breakfast at a nice cafe, then met up with our couch surfing host Omar at his dive shop just down the street. He was headed out for a dive, so we stored our bags at the shop and headed off to the “South Beach” where the public beach is. Since many Jordanians are quite conservative (some families were in full Muslim garb getting into the water), we paid a small amount to use a local diving club’s pool and showers. The other advantage to this is that we could be in our swim suits without issue.

We caught back up with Omar later that day and headed to his place. He lived just a bit out of town next door to his other dive co-workers. Omar was super nice and we had a room to ourselves with a big bed. We went to a local dive bar (read Scuba Diving) with Omar and met some of his friends. Part of the way through the night, I looked up to see someone walking in with dreads…it was KK, our host from Amman. He came down to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We were all happy to see each other and little did we know that KK and Omar knew each other. We played some pool, sang some karaoke, and had some drinks. It was interesting to see a completely non-traditional/conservative side of Jordanians. I was able to chat with them about it and they said that they are free to do as they wish. If they wish to be conservative, they will be conservative. If they wish to be more liberal, they will be more liberal. They think what people write about the culture being closed and conservative is a load of crap. Based on what we experienced there, we would tend to agree.

11/9/10 – Day 7

We awoke early to head out on the boat. Omar works for Dive Aqaba, a scuba diving company in town. We soon headed out with a larger group and were sailing on the beautiful turquoise water of the Red Sea. I did two dives and Ash snorkeled. My first dive was more of a refresher dive, but we were able to see some amazing coral, a stone fish (which is deadly), a lion fish, and some other great things. My second dive I went with the rest of the group and we saw fan coral, a frog fish, more stone and lion fish, and a sunken army tank that was converted into a reef. We also were able to see large underwater rock formations with loads of sea life on them. I also got to hop in and swim with Ash for a while while she snorkeled. After our dives, we were served a nice lunch on the boat.

After returning back to the shop that evening, we all had a cookout to celebrate the departure of one of their staff members – who happened to be an American from Minnesota. We chatted with all sorts of people from all over Europe and from Jordan. Ash (a guy), the owner of the shop, was a great guy who was very funny.

The one interesting topper to the evening was the incremental periods of gunfire. It was election day and the winning party fires their guns into the air apparently to celebrate. It sounded a lot like CNN, but the semi-automatic fire a few blocks away was a bit unnerving.

We both had an amazing time in Jordan. The people were so friendly, always greeting us with a “Welcome to Jordan!” It was quite safe to walk around town, even at night. I would highly recommend visiting if you ever get the chance!

We are volunteering in Butakoola Village, Kayunga, Uganda for a month to build a community well and run disability awareness programs. We would love for you to keep in touch with us and follow our trip! Stay in touch and we look forward to seeing you soon!

So, for my last week of teaching I want to introduce you to some of my students. Overall I teach about 58 students but I’m going to tell you about some kids that I would like to hang out with. They aren’t all my favorites either and they aren’t the best students. They just have their own little charm about them that I can definitely see hanging out with or even taking them to a baseball game.

Cooper

The first day of school Cooper did not have an English name. I had the great honor of giving my 5 year old kindergarten kids their “new” names. I had written a list of names based off of family and friends’ suggestions. I had just named a little boy “Dustin” because he looked like my brother Dustin, only asian. The kid sitting next to him was crying his eyes out. I barely noticed because I was greatly distracted by amazing mullet that was being rocked by my little crier. His long dark hair reminded me of my brother Dustin’s dog. The dog’s name is Cooper. It sounded good to me.

I wasn’t sure if I made a good choice for his name because the first few weeks for Cooper were rough. He was very shy and quick to shed a tear over anything. He was lost and scared most of the time.

I don’t know that little boy anymore. Cooper has transformed into an outgoing little boy with about 25 English jokes that don’t make sense (but they make him laugh). He loves to cuddle me and call me different animal names. I tell him he’s my lovebug, and he smiles and then tells me with a serious face “NO teacher, no lovebug.”

Cooper has worked very hard at speaking and writing well. I was scared that his English was not going to get  better than “me no” until one day he just decided to learn everything. He loves animals, wearing shoes that are a little too big, and holding silly faces for long periods of time. Cooper, I would hang out with you any day.

Dustin

Cooper and Dustin were a pair from day one so it’s only fitting that I write about them both. I immediately noticed Dustin for two reasons. 1) He looked like my brother’s Asian twin 2) He was the smallest boy in the class. He was literally drowning in his clothes. The first day I met him he didn’t say much or do anything crazy. Those days were short lived.

I tried to blame Dustin’s craziness on the fact that he didn’t understand English and what I was asking of him. Well, as his English took off, so did his antics. He was working full time to make up for his small stature with physical comedy skills. He would and still does anything for a laugh. I one time found Dustin “surfing” ontop of the desk as we learned beach vocabulary. It’s no surprise that gym is Dustin’s favorite subject.

But like a diamond in the rough, Dustin is full of surprises. It’s really easy to just see him as a “pain” or “hyper” but once you sit back and watch him work, you see the most dedicated student. Dustin colors every picture with precision and skill. He is a very talented artist and blew me away with his paintings. He also would rather finish his writing assignment in class, by himself, than play a game. He never rushes to get done for a sticker. He loves writing each letter with the steady hand of seasoned writer. He never asks if his work is good, or brags to me about new shoes. He just does what he does, for the laughs mostly.

My favorite thing about Dustin is his ability to tell me how he is feeling. So many Korean students will just answer “happy” but Dustin thinks about it, flashes a little devilish grin and says “I am wonderful teacher.”  Then he usually cracks up laughing. Dustin, I would hang out with you any time.

Amy

Amy is the top speller in the class, but also a student that I am constantly having to talk to about her behavior. I received a note from her mother on teacher’s day that translated as “here is a gift, love my daughter.”

Aaron

Aaron has an older brother Alex, who I also taught the first six months at SLP. He is always full of energy and for some reason really has a hang up on the second “a” in his name. His partner in crime is Alex (not his brother, but the other Alex in class) and they always are trying to talk across the room.

Daniel

Daniel has only been with us for a few months. He, however, is one of the brightest in the class an has an abnormal obsession with dinosaurs. This came to a head when we visited a dinosaur exhibit for our last field trip. He was talking about it for weeks. “Teacher… dinosaurs! Field trip! Dinosaurs!”

Esther

Esther is the quietest in the class and seems to have quiet little tiffs with the other girls in the class. Somehow these always seem to be resolved by the end of class and she gets along with everyone well. She is great to have in class because I almost never have to tell her to do anything. She does it by herself.

Chloe

Chloe came at the same time Daniel did, so she has only been with us for a short time. She is super cute and quite smart. I am not sure that she really fits in with the other kids, but she always seems to have a great time.

Ethan

Ethan loves the Lotte Giants, our local professional baseball team. He often wears his Giants jersey and his ball cap. He is pretty quiet in class and fairly immature compared to the rest of the class, but is still really cute and I love having him in class. He rarely smiles, but has an expressive grin that makes everyone love him.

Alex

Alex is Aaron’s partner in crime as previously mentioned and is usually found talking at all times of the day (and probably night, too). He is constantly worried about everyone else in the class and has taken on the important mission of informing me of everything that is going on in the class with other people…even if it just happened right in front of my eyes.

Eva

Eva is an interesting character. Her world does not seem to coincide with our own. I often spot her staring at the ceiling or wall and she sometimes tells some outrageously confusing stories. I have seen her get hurt in more ways than I could possibly invent in my own head, too. See has dropped straight out of her chair while sitting, fallen over while standing still, hit her head on the wall while lining up, smashed her finger between tables when she was writing, and the list goes on. Like I said, she’s quite a character.

Joseph

Joseph I might liken to Napoleon. He is a semi-outcast from the group, but when in charge (as line helper) he is a ruthless leader. He could care less about anything when he is not in control, but if it is his job, he will physically move people to line up straight and get quite defensive about people not following orders. His clothing choices, as seen below, are probably more hilarious than his personality. I have never seen shorter shorts or more low cut tank-tops than those worn by Joseph. I am pretty sure many of them are actually meant for girls.

Thomas

Thomas is a very funny student and can always be counted on to make a funny face or to laugh at anything slightly abnormal that I do. He also makes up some pretty interesting stories. He was obsessed with South Korea’s soccer (or football for you non-Americans) team and enjoys yelling out miscellaneous player’s names. The boys have become quite fond of calling out what team they are to represent what order they have finished their assignment in (Spain 1st, Netherlands 2nd, etc.). I was told Thomas is a little upset that I am leaving as he would not give me a smile for my pictures seen below : (

Branden

Branden is very reserved and pretty quiet in class…until we do spelling. Then, he becomes Mr. Competitive. At home, he quite literally only plays video/computer games. I feel very bad for him because his creativity is non-existent. I just wish his parents would have him do something other than sit and watch a screen.

Max

Max is the equivalent of Sideshow Bob. He can be counted on to follow whatever the other boys are doing and to try and make it slightly crazier. He’s a lot of fun to have in class. He’s not much in the academic category, but I think he could have a career with modeling because he’s pretty photogenic.

Kevin

Kevin is the most advanced boy in the class and also the newest. He is a big baseball fan and I can talk a little more with him than the other boys (at least in a sensible way). He just returned from a trip to the Philippines and brought me a big package of mangoes. Sweet!

Sunny

Sunny (yes, her name is sunny) is always asking me if her answers are right. She has not quite caught on that school is about her learning things and that it is not me doing her papers for her. That being said, she is also one of the brightest girls in the class. So, the answers she is asking me about are usually correct.

Lucy

Lucy is a semi-perfectionist. She is almost always the last one finished on assignments, but only because she is erasing every third letter to make sure it was constructed in the proper manner. She’s pretty quiet in class and mostly a watcher.

Grace

Grace is probably the most academic student in the class. She is very smart and never does anything wrong. Grace does have an uncanny obsession with reaching out spontaneously to grab and rub my arm. I will be sitting in a chair and she will come up behind me to rub her arm on mine, then run off. The kids are most definitely deprived of parent contact as they spend most time at school and finishing homework – yes, they are 6.

10. Couch Surfing, Camping, Hitch-hiking

Throughout our trip, we have met the most incredible people, had the most interesting and unexpected experiences, and picked up the funniest stories simply because of where we stayed and how we got there. In Costa Rica, we stayed in a number of hostels and came away with hiking partners, tour guides, and great coffee. In Hawaii, we were able to hitch-hike almost 75 miles in less than two hours. We camped beachfront for most of our stay, waking up to gorgeous sunrises, fresh fruit breakfasts, and 7am dips. Our hosts were from walks of life as diverse as kayak instruction and indigenous instrument design. In China, we were shown around Beijing in 5-star style, even checking out the back rooms of VERY NICE rooftop clubs. One club was nice enough to have appropriate footwear to “borrow” to be allowed in (true story).

9. Kalalau Trail

The Kalalau Trail on the island of Kaua’i, Hawaii was done via a permit switch, thanks to an impending tropical storm that rapidly change our plans. The trail was extremely windy and there was more than one instance in which I went dashing to a cliff side to catch my pack cover or hat. Whoever said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” has never been here. No one in their right mind could describe this place as anything but beautiful. The contrast of the deep blue and turquoise sea against the deep green foliage and reddish-brown soil is mind blowing. The isolation only adds to the wonder and enjoyment of it all. The first evening we sat on large boulders watching the sun disappear over the horizon as three “forest dwellers” (you might refer to them as hippies) literally ran from the treeline to grace us with a skinny dipping show. I must confess I was slightly disappointed  that we did not run into any crazy serial killers as the movie “A Perfect Getaway” (which came out at about that time) seemed to promise.

8. Expand Peru Crew

I enjoyed my time working at the special education center and in the Casa Project after school program in Huancayo, Peru. What really made the whole experience incredibly memorable, however, was the group we volunteered with and worked side-by-side with for almost a month. We each did our best with our “Spanglish” -well, ok, not Tonje, but the rest of us- to instruct the kids in their school work. Weekends were quite diverse. One was spent exploring the mountains and ruins of the central Andes, one was spent in a nice hotel (with hot water!) in the jungle, one was spent enjoying a local rock festival, and another was spent rock climbing in the middle of nowhere. The latter was graced by a Michael Jackson anthem blaring from a nearby town. The group was represented by people from various countries and backgrounds, but fit together like we were all long-time friends. We have since had a reunion with one of our friends (yeah for Mandarin lessons!) and have a reunion scheduled with another in October. We have to catch up with you Canadians sometime soon! Through great times and some horrible sicknesses, our group was always supportive and I couldn’t have imagined our experience any other way.

7. New Year’s Eve Japan

Japan was all it was cracked up to be…historic, scenic, and expensive. We had a great time visiting along with my brother Kevin, aunt Deb, and cousins Cody & Jes. My favorite Japan memory by far was our trip to the temple/palace on New Year’s Eve to join a few thousand of our closest friends in welcoming the year 2010. We were running a bit late, thanks to a very complicated subway map. If you have ever been to Tokyo, then you understand. This confusion resulted in an all-out run down the streets of Tokyo, along with many foreigners and Japanese. We arrived just before the stroke of midnight to see the Tokyo tower all lit up, the temple bell being rung, and thousands of people cheering and taking pictures.

6. Gandoca

We volunteered with the Widecast Association in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge to relocate leatherback sea turtle nests to a protected hatchery. The project itself was great, but this proved to be one of the most relaxing weeks of my life. We stayed with Sandra, a local villager, who provided volunteers with three delicious meals and a bed for a small fee.  Sandra’s house consisted of a large, tiled open-air kitchen, juxtaposed to a jungle/forest filled with howler monkeys that made breakfast each day sound like something out of Jurassic Park. Our room was a small, with two beds and came complete with mosquito nets, a fan, and a single light. Our days were spent relaxing on the unpopulated black sand beach and watching horses saunter by freely throughout the neighbors yards. Coconuts were our largest worry as the path to the beach was filled with them. As we walked, we could hear them falling from trees all around us. Also adding to the path were colorful crabs and massive birds. Our patrols were in the middle of the night, on which we were all dressed like ninjas to avoid detection by the turtles.

5. Haleakala Sunrise and Crater Trek

Before departing on our trek through the Haleakala volcano crater, we woke up prior to the crack of dawn to ride 10,000 feet up to a lookout point and take in the surreal views. Pre-dawn was an eerie sight as we could see the silhouetted volcanic cones shrouded in clouds. As sunlight broke over the horizon, the clouds dissolved and we were treated to an extraordinary view of the world below.

The hike itself was no less amazing. First, we were able to check out the animal fence that Ashley helped to erect in high school on a Student Conservation Association (SCA) trip. She is proud to report that it is still standing strong : ) We dropped down into a scrub grass covered portion of the crater, then moved onto a black volcanic carpet of twisted rock and ash. Our first night was spent in awe at how quiet and dark it was in the crater – best sleep ever! There were only two other people anywhere around us and they were barely close enough to see. As we moved on through the trail, we took in an incredible lunar landscape, lava tubes, and extinct volcanic cones. The scene was like a water painting, with striations of red, green, and gray painted below a vibrant blue sky. Nothing but fresh air and very bright sun surrounded us. During the day we hiked and snacked. In the afternoon, we sunbathed…and snacked. Yes, we like to snack. I will be with you soon Panera. I promise ; ) We ended the amazing hike going up the “wrong way” via the Sliding Sands trail. Afterward, we were able to hitch hike all the way back to our Couch Surfing host’s house almost 50 miles away.

4. PSF group/work

We volunteered with Pisco Sin Fronteras, an earthquake relief group set up in Pisco, Peru after a massive earthquake in 2007. We worked along side almost 20 other volunteers, representing North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. We stayed in a volunteer residence, which was an open-air house with a number of rooms. Each room was filled with multiple bunk beds. The center of the house had a covered porch with chairs, hammocks, and a TV. The camaraderie among the group was something I can’t quite explain. It was a number of travelers swapping stories and experiences, just hanging out and helping. Everyone was comfortable with each other and sat around a campfire or around someone playing a guitar at night. We hand-poured concrete roofs together, laid house foundations, disposed of rubble piles, and set up community workshops. I highly recommend this organization to anyone traveling in Peru.

3. Cerro Chato

Cerro Chato is an extinct volcano, with a large caldera that is filled with a lake of chalky-green water. The initial part of the hike is semi-treeless and you can see great views of the surrounding town of La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano. As you ascend towards the top of the volcano, you enter a jungle of twisted roots, vines, and muddy trail. The heat and humidity were almost comedic as we were soaked to the bone within minutes of beginning. As we crested the top of the volcano, we caught a glimpse of the lake within. We descended a couple hundred meters using vines as a ladder at times to find a small strip of clearing along the side of the water. We dropped our packs, took off our shoes, and jumped into the refreshingly cold and colorful water. While we dried ourselves on a branch overhanging the water, we ate our packed lunches and watched black and white birds glide around the silent cove.

2. Machu Picchu

Being interested in world travel almost all my life, I have long dreamed of seeing the famous ruins of Machu Picchu. I had built them up so much in my mind over the years that I quietly feared they had no chance of living up to my expectations. I was wrong. Machu Picchu is simply amazing! We began the morning at 4am as part of a daily traveler’s pilgrimage through the dark streets of Aguas Calientes. Soon we found ourselves headed ever upward in a mile-long string of single-file headlamps dotting the trail. We arrived a short time before dawn, where other travelers were anxiously awaiting the opening of the gates. To be eligible to climb Huayna Picchu, the stunningly scenic peak overlooking the Machu Picchu ruins, you need to be in the first few hundred to the park. Just to be safe, I made sure we were 17th : ) The climb up Huayna Picchu was extremely steep and was assisted by bolted-in ropes. You might say Peru does not have the same legal culture as the USA. There were no guard rails or safety nets. My best advice for future travelers… don’t fall. We arrived at the peak just as the sun was rising into the sky and the fog was blowing out of the deep valley below. As the sky cleared, we were treated to our first mind-blowing views of the Machu Picchu ruins below and of the surrounding lush green cliffs. After exploring the upper areas, we meandered through the lower ruins, discovering a llama pack that is kept roaming the premises for effect.

1. Choquequirao

The trip to Choquequirao is the toughest trail, in terms of elevation gain and loss, that I have ever done. We reached the town of Cachora via a 3-4 hour taxi ride (they double as race car drivers apparently). Upon reaching the beginning of “town”… To be honest there are no words that I can use to finish that sentence that will describe the feeling of seeing the town of Cachora. It is located on a VERY STEEP mountainside, with a single dirt road winding back and forth for 30 minutes that provides access to the bottom of the valley. Rows of a few houses are located on each switchback and many locals can be found walking up or down with various items in their hands. The town is located at the far end of a bootleg valley. As your eyes follow the path of the valley, they travel along a small river and gradually come upon the towering, snow-capped mountains on the far end – miles away. The first day, we had a mule train attack our packs, trying to eat our food (no, the packs were not on us). The second day we descended almost 6,000 feet to a riverside camping area, lined with huge boulders. The third day we climbed 7,000 feet (with full packs) to reach the little known ruins. The fourth day was spent exploring the upper and lower ruins, which seemed to fall off of the cliff face below. The last day, we hired a mule and porter to carry our packs (this is actually the way most people do the whole trail, but we were stubborn on the way there) and made it almost all the way back on a 32 km hike, which ended with us camping in a small cliff-side farm field. The small brunch the next morning was to die for, although I am pretty sure it would not have been all that great if we had not just hiked that far.

Well, that’s my top ten experiences from the first leg of our trip. I hope you enjoyed the post! Stay in touch and keep following us on the second leg of our trip, starting at the end of October. Be sure to register on the site so we can see who is visiting.

J

Our arrival in Shanghai reminded me of a story in one of my favorite books. When a farmer needs to introduce  new hens to the mix, he waits until all the veteran hens are asleep, and then slips them in. In the morning, none of the veteran hens even realize that there are new arrivals. It’s like they were always there. The new hens quickly adapt to their surrounds and soon, they forget they are the rookies. I felt similar to that, sneaking up on Shanghai in the night on a “sleeper” bus. We slipped into the actual city limits before the sun came up and by the time we unloaded from the bus, the city had a familiar feeling. Maybe it’s my deep-seated roots in Chicago that makes me feel at home among the hustle and bustle of a city, or maybe I was so tired I was delirious.

When one arrives in the 8th largest, fastest-growing modern city in the world, one may have certain expectations and concerns that the city won’t live up to its hype. As soon as we exited the bus, we were met by towering skyscrapers, crowds of busy people, and an overwhelming feeling that we were, in fact, surrounded by about 20 million people (give or take a few).  So, we immediately concluded that Shanghai wasn’t one of those cities that you knew were big, but felt small. We felt like two specks of dust floating along, and the only thing that made me feel visible was the fact that the backpack I was carrying probably was the size of most of the Chinese women passing me on the street.

We had arranged to Couchsurf with a Taiwanese women named Rebecca, but we weren’t meeting her until 10pm that evening. With time to kill, we did the most touristy thing we have ever done right out of the gate in a new country…..a double-decker bus tour. I can’t explain it, we were drawn to the bus like flies to honey. Or in our case, like two backpackers with no idea of the city layout and hours to kill before we would be able to separate ourselves from our large backpacks. For the next two hours, we toured all the famous sites from our lofty perch, and we learned quite a bit of the city’s history thanks to the audio guide. The most amusing part of our ride is that when our bus was idled, I suddenly became a tourist attraction. I would look down from my second-story seat to find a group of Chinese people  taking my picture. Since Shanghai is known to be very international, this perplexed me.  Maybe they were playing a game like “spot the foreigner” or ” spot the badly dressed foreigner” but I hope those pictures don’t get out on the internet. To be honest, although I was flattered by the attention, they could not have picked a worse day for an impromptu photo shoot. I was looking like a hot mess thanks to Shanghai’s 100% humidity and the fact that I tend to not remember that while traveling, photographic evidence will be made of all my fashion and hygienic failures.

When our brains couldn’t hold any more fun facts about Shanghai, we got off the bus. That’s when we realized that we needed a place to change before our anniversary surprise that night. At that point, we were both pretty ripe and in no shape for any type of dinner date.  We needed a place to change and ditch our bags ASAP. So, we did the only thing that we could think of. We went to the nearest hostel and booked a bed for the night. Shanghai may be modern, but China is still dirt cheap in some areas. A bed in an 8-bed male dorm was $11 bucks. We could also leave my bag at the front and have access to the bathroom to freshen up. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty proud of myself for the plan. The poor receptionist did get confused when we explained that we would be back to check out later that night after spending a total of 40 min. in the hostel. But that’s ok, it added to our foreigner mystique.

That night I had a very special night planned for our 3 year anniversary. I had secretly been planning this “outing” for the last two weeks and was crossing my fingers that the evening would go as planned. Jason is frustrating to the point of insanity when it comes to surprises because he is so relaxed about them. He can be so relaxed he could pass for bored.  He doesn’t try to guess, or ask questions… he just accepts and waits. So, while I’m bouncing off the walls, dying to tell him, he just enjoys the added torture his supreme control  brings me. As much as I prepared, I could not have foreseen the Chinese directions I printed from the internet being incorrect. We did manage to recover from that small slip up and we made it. To where?  To an authentic Chinese cooking class.

The Chinese style of brunch called “Dim Sum” (touch the heart) is served all over China. It usually consists of small steamer baskets selected by the customer from a rolling cart. Each basket contains small servings of many different varieties of meat, veggies, rice and dumplings. We arrived at the cooking school located in an abandoned warehouse in an artistic part of town. We hesitantly climbed the crumbling concert steps while Jason quizzed me on my background checking skills for Chinese businesses I randomly “found” on the internet. We were very relieved when we saw an elderly Chinese women wearing an apron on the third floor. We didn’t waste any time getting to work. The 70+ year old petite  Chinese woman started ordering us (in Chinese) to do this, that and the other right away. Her soft spoken granddaughter (she was 22) gently translated her wishes and suddenly, our flour and water started to take shape. We were making a type of dumpling that was known to be the hardest type of dim sum to make. We rolled, kneaded, and man-handled our dough until it was approved. Then we started the pin rolling, which everyone struggled with. The rolling pin we used bulged in the middle like a plump man’s belly. We had to hold it right, apply the right pressure and keep smiling. It was a very intense technique, but not impossible. I caught on a little faster than Jason and the instructor did not keep that fact hidden. She praised me openly and made Jason keep doing his little dumplings over and over. Being good spirited, Jason rolled on with the lesson and kept a great attitude. After about 11 pain-staking wrappings each, we all started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We spoke too soon. No sooner than our pins were put down were our perfect dumplings smashed together by the authoritative geriatric instructor. “Again” is all that was translated. The granddaughter sheepishly smiled at our shocked reactions and said in a cheery tone “practice makes perfect!”

Another 12 dumpling wrappers later, we were ready to stuff them with rice, mushrooms, and some other things I couldn’t identify. They had to all resemble a flower, blooming with soy saucy goodness. I managed to get about two of mine to look similar to the example. I’m afraid Jason’s were openly laughed at. Some anniversary gift this was for him! But in all seriousness, he was having a great time.  Not much later, our dumplings were steamed and we were snacking on our creations. Dipped in some red chili sauce, the combination of hard work, soy sauce and rice danced on our taste buds. Not too shabby. I do love to cook and we took many skills away from our two hour Chinese cooking class. Mostly, if you want round dumplings, don’t ask Jason to roll them:)

A short subway ride later, we finally connected with Rebecca. She lived in a quiet neighborhood on the north side of the river that divides Shanghai, called the Huangpu River. We were so exhausted that the small talk didn’t last very long. She was so friendly and considerate we immediately felt at home. She had an extra room in her apartment set up with a futon and computer which would serve as our bedroom for the next two nights. In addition to offering to make us breakfast, she also gave us tons of tips about the World Expo. So many of her extended family members had visited her to experience the Expo, she had been there a total of 9 times!  After a crash course in the Expo’s layout, we began to really feel the excitement for our own World Expo 2010 adventure which would begin the next morning.

To be continued…….

Ash

We recently visited China during a much needed week-long vacation from our jobs teaching English in South Korea. We departed bright and early on Saturday, July 24th, along with two of our co-teachers, Brian and Dianna. To our slight embarrassment, Ashley pointed out that Bryan and I were looking like twins, both wearing gray colored t-shirts, khaki shorts, and a ball cap. The two girls thought this was quite funny, until a moment later we realized that Dianna and Ashley were both dressed in a coral-colored shirt and dark gray shorts, even with similar shoes! Now, I am not sure how we all ended up looking like twins, but it was quite a sight for the Koreans as the only foreigners walked through the airport in same-same attire.

We first flew to Seoul, enjoying some breathtaking scenery of the dark green mountain tops of Busan accentuated by the misty white clouds snaking through the valleys all around them. As we were checking in for our flight from Seoul to Beijing we had “no problem” (as quoted by the desk attendant) other than it took him no less than 15 minutes to locate seats on the flight for us. Luckily for us, however, it worked out in our favor. After being apologized to many times, we were informed that because there were not two adjoining seats left in economy class, we would “have to” sit in business class. Now, business class in my mind has slightly larger seats and is located at the front of the plane so people can get off first. However, I was not aware that it included fully reclining bed seats, personal TV screens, a multi-function remote, and a delicious meal. I love Korean Air!!!

Upon arriving in Beijing, I saw a line of children posted at the airport’s fence line watching the planes land and take off. We took a short train ride into town and hopped on the subway to meet our Couchsurfing host, Barry. Couchsurfing, for those of you that are not familiar, is a nonprofit organization set up to allow travelers to meet up with fellow travelers. A great perk of this is that you are able to stay for free in many cities around the world. We chatted with Barry for a short time, before leaving to meet up with Brian and Dianna to do some touring.

After reconvening with our friends, we headed first to see the front of the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. The square itself is just a massive slab of cement, but with large buildings on all sides. The Forbidden City, however, was a massive structure with Mao’s face posted right on the front center of the building. We saw a number of soldiers marching and standing at their posts. The atmosphere is quite laid back in the square, mainly feeling like a big tourist area. The favorite treat in the HOT temperatures was frozen water bottles and a white Popsicle. I am still not sure what flavor it was supposed to be. They did the trick though.

We walked quite a ways down the road, soon arriving at the Temple of Heaven. The temple is actually in the center of a huge park, with the most grass any of us have seen in over a year. Korea is decidedly lacking in the grass department. The temple itself was interesting as it was rounded, instead of looking like every other temple we have seen in East Asia.

One thing we discovered about China (many more to come, don’t worry) is that their children do not wear pants. They actually cut out the crotch of their kids pants, so they can pee and poop in the street. No kidding, there are kids everywhere pooping and peeing. No one bothers to look for a bathroom. The sidewalk is not exempt from this policy, so watch out where you step!

Later that night, we were able to meet up with our friend, Tonje, who we met in Peru volunteering with Expand Peru. She is in Beijing studying Mandarin – her 5th language! Ashley and the crew went to enjoy a Chinese dinner, while I ended up staying in with horrible back pains – no idea what happened, but I was literally on the floor for a while.

Barry’s apartment was located on the 21st floor and had hard wood floors, two bedrooms, and nice living and dining room area. We had one room to ourselves, with a very comfortable bed and A/C. I got one of the best nights of sleep I have gotten in a long time.

The next morning, we met up with Brian, Dianna, and a couple of other Couchsurfers, Tim, Jeff, and Andrea. We had organized a tour on the great wall through Couchsurfing – set up for free. We only paid a small fee for the transport and the entrance fee at the gate. We hiked around 9km from Jinshaling to close to the Simatai section of the Great Wall. The heat was incredible, but the views were more than worth it. We picked this section because it is far less crowded (barely anyone there) and is not refurbished. We could see where sections of the wall were crumbling from centuries of wear and chatted about how any army could possibly win a battle there. There are a number of locals who sell drinks on the wall. As it may be there only source of income, they are quite persistent. Some even try to be your “tour guide” – without asking you – and expect to be paid at the end. They are easy enough to get passed, however, and really only add to the experience.

We met up with Tim, Jeff, Andrea, and Tonje later that night to head out to dinner with us along with Barry at a Couchsurfing dinner. There were over 20 people in all that enjoyed a Char dinner. Char is basically cooked food on a stick. We had a delicious meal of eggplant, shrimp, fish, seaweed, tofu, and some other assorted dishes – along with some great beer. Afterward, we headed to a local bar to chat with the group. All in all, it was a great night.

The next day, we borrowed two bikes from Barry and road around the local Hutong district. The area is full of local houses and shops and made for a great ride. We ate brunch at Grandma’s Kitchen and had a wonderful meal! I loved the yellow smiley face button our waitress had on that read “I Speak English!” That afternoon, we boarded a bus to head to Shanghai. The bus itself was a great surprise as every “seat” was a bed, with a pillow and all. A midnight stop where we were forced off the bus into a trash-filled, abandoned parking lot was the only sketchy part of the ride. Oh, that and when we were stopped by a policeman a little while later and people were hiding from him on the bus. Oh, and a little while after that when we picked up another group of 10 people who had no seats and laid in the aisles for the remaining 8 hours. Yeah, ok, maybe the ride was a little sketchy, but we were comfortable and made it to Shanghai in one piece.

I will let Ash tell you all about our adventures in Shanghai. Pt. 2 to come soon!

-J

Little did we know that there wasn’t just a cute note inside. There were challenges. Some were harder than others, some were embarrassing, and some were for our challenger’s sheer entertainment. We sadly have not blogged about each one like we should have but I do not want our challenger to think we did not appreciate every thought and ounce of energy that went into creating such a fun challenges for us. So, we thank you Deb Stubbeman, for the most creative and loving treasures that we have had the pleasure of opening throughout our trip. Here you go Deb, our hilarious attempts at your challenges!  We love you and your challenges so much.

(In no particular order)
1)Scream “My aunt rocks” in a crowded airport. This was the first challenge and since I (Ashley) have no problem embarrassing myself, I took this hit for the team. We were in Lima, Peru. I was relieved that afterward, I was not arrested for being crazy. Just so you know Deb, I was not shy about it. The insane laughter that escaped me following my screaming probably kept the security guards at bay. Mission accomplished.

2) Find a red car and put a picture on your blog. We decided to have a little fun with this one. We saw plenty of red cars and we thought that was boring. So, we waiting until we found a red Lamborghini. That’s right, a Lamborghini. We were in Cuzco, Peru and it just appeared. A man was behind it, pushing it through the street. Ok, we are talking about the famous Peruvian ice cream….LAMBORGINI! Mission accomplished.

3)Find some kind of turkey and take a pic-
We were lucky enough by November 2009 in Korea to be friends with the most wonderful people. We were invited to spend Thanksgiving at our friends house along with 15 of our “Socrates Cafe” friends. It was a pot luck dinner full of fun, stories and a little football. Yes, there was a turkey but we didn’t eat any! Mission accomplished.

Little apartment, many friends

4) New Year, take a picture and send it to our parents. New Year was spent in Japan with our challenger so this challenge was witnessed by our challenger. We found the glasses in a shop pre-new years countdown but I love them!

5) Take a picture of a Korean  lunch-I’ll let this one speak for itself. This is the lunch that our kids get served hot every day. Sometimes it even has little dead fish on the side. All the kids eat it without complaining. It it was America, this lunch would not fly. No wonder Koreans are so skinny!

6) Have a candlelight dinner for Valentines Day-We weren’t in a fancy place for dinner on V-day but we were hiking in Jirisan National Park. We didn’t have a scented candle, but we did have our little camp stove. It’s the closest thing to candle light I can think of. It was a romantic dinner of ramen noodles with tuna. For dessert we shared hot chocolate. Then we froze our butts off in negative 4 degree weather through the night. It was fantastic. Mission accomplished.

Candle light dinner

7) Take a picture of some Korean writing- This was easy. Our lives now revolve around seeing Korean signs we can read  but have  no  idea what they say. Where’s the bathroom? It’s over there…or is it?  Mission accomplished.

The pictures are even better!