Central Asia and Beyond

Back to the good ole USA - What a trip!

2009-08-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

We fell down on our blogging towards the end of our trip, but wanted to give you our last update! After visiting Lindsay's family in Switzerland (we had such a good time), we visited friends in Holland, England, and then Ireland before heading back to the USA. What a GREAT time we had in each place!

In Holland, Lindsay and I got to spend time with my family's foreign exchange student that we had in high school! She is married and has two precious kids - so cute! We had a wonderful weekend with them in central Holland. One of the days, Lindsay and I ventured to Amsterdam - an eye opening place, to say the least!

We stayed in England for about a week. We stayed with some wonderful friends in London and other good friends in a small town north of London. We saw so many sites and places it would take several pages to fill you in!! We did get to see where Shakespeare grew up - Stratford-Upon-Avon - it was a great place to visit! Hiking through the country side of England as well as seeing the history of London was a lot of fun.

Ireland was absolutely beautiful! We were near the West Coast in a town called Killarney. We toured around the Ring of Kerry and were blown away by the green we saw everywhere we went! We were very fortunate to stay with my best friend's family - we just had a ball, and they were such great hosts!

Lindsay and I are now back in Texas getting settled, and very much looking forward to the next chapter in our lives. She is starting a masters degree in Counseling, and I am looking for a new job!

Our trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I think when we look back on all that we did, we will be so happy we took a chance and traveled. What a thrill it was... and what an opportunity not too many people get - we are both grateful and humbled by our traveling experience. In the end, I am just very pleased we had such a great time with no major health issues. Thanks for reading our blog!

God bless,

JB and Lindsay

Hanging Out With The Fam in Switzerland

2009-07-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

When I tell people that I have family in Switzerland, I almost inevitably get the "oh, so you're Swiss. I can totally see that" comment. It's funny, because to my knowledge, I don't have a drop of Swiss ancestry in me. I do, however, have an aunt, an uncle, and three cousins in Switzerland. It's always a great time visiting our Swiss family, because they don't make it to the U.S. very often, and we don't make it to Switzerland very often.

JB and I were lucky to spend a week with them in Basel and the Alps recently, just hanging out and seeing the local sights. We only saw my cousin Jonas for a day before he left for an Italian vacation with his friends, but we got to see lots of my cousins, Mirjam and David, and of course my Uncle Richard and Aunt Beatrice. We saw an amazing Van Gogh exhibit in Basel, took a day trip through the Black Forest region of Germany just across the border, did a little hiking in the Alps, and took a day trip to see both the Swiss and Italian Alps and the famous, ritzy ski resort St. Moritz. Apart from doing some touristy things, we had some good quality time playing intense games of Monopoly, Yatzee, and ping pong and going out with David and Mirjam.

Switzerland is a beautiful place, and even after going to so many different countries, it still remains one of my favorite places to go, if not my absolute favorite. It's got spectacular scenery; it's an outdoor adventurer's paradise; it's clean; it's safe; people are friendly; they make some of the best cheese in the world and have ready access to the best wines; there are flowers and gardens everywhere; public transportation is easy and abundant...I could go on. The only two big downsides--it gets COLD in the winter, and something as "cheap" as a Big Mac costs nearly seven dollars in Switzerland! Thank goodness we have such a great family there to take care of us!

Cruise of a lifetime - Mediterranean

2009-07-14T01:41:00.000-07:00

After spending 12 days on the ship, Brillance of the Seas, Lindsay and I pinched ourselves as we realized we had just gone on a cruise in the historcial Mediterranean Sea. It was an amazing trip! We saw ancient Greek ruins in Athens and many reminders of the great Roman Empire in Rome, Pisa, Ephesus, and more. We toured the Vatican and got to stand in the same place Paul stood during his time in Ephesus - simply incredible. Seeing history from 300 BC (and some before) was breathtaking. (Not to mentioned the hot weather at times was breathtaking too!) And I used to think Williamsburg, Virginia was really old!!
We were joined on this cruise by both sets of our parents, all three sets of my aunts and uncles, and several wonderful friends - 17 of us in total. Our American group took the Mediterrnaean by storm!
We are now visiting Lindsay's aunt, uncle and cousins in Basel Switzerland and having a fantastic time.

It's All Greek To Me

2009-06-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

Athens. The history is amazing. Seeing the ancient Greek ruins from 2400 years ago was breathtaking! One evening during our time in Greece, we actually got to watch a concert in one of the world’s oldest theaters, built a few centuries before Christ walked the earth. That was a long time ago! The theater was right next to the Acropolis and even though Lindsay nor I could understand what was being said, we really enjoyed the music. It was all "Greek to us", but we enjoyed it thoroughly.

We spent eight days and nights in Greece, five of which were spent in one of our friend’s apartment units in a central location of Athens. It was so nice of them to let us use their place – and a wonderful reprieve from our travels for Lindsay and I to have a place all to ourselves for more than a week.

As we walked from the apartment to the city center (about 3 miles each way) we took in the buzzing city of 5 million people and simply enjoyed people watching. Lindsay and I actually spent several hours having drinks and eating chips while watching people walk by. It was all "Greek to us", but the fashions, the attitudes, the manners, the customs, the culture – it was all fun to step back and observe!

I kept telling Lindsay “these are my peeps” because my last name originated in Greece. My last name ‘Horton’ comes from the Greek work “Hortous”, which means gardener (or farmer) in Greek. I believe it has its roots in the Greek word horticulture. The question for me, then, is why wasn’t I born with a green thumb?? It must have skipped my generation! J Anyway, I have always viewed Greece as the place where my ancestors came from long, long ago; hence the phrase, “my peeps”.

During our stay, we decided to be adventurous and visit one to the beautiful Greek islands. We settled on the island of Agistri, which is only one hour away, by ferry, from the Athens port called Piraeus. Or so we thought. After missing our ferry (it left 2 minutes early), we decided to take a different route. It took us a few hours to wait, but after our new ferry ride we found ourselves on another island named Aigina. Being delayed there for another 3 hours for our next connecting ferry, our original "one-hour" ferry trip turned into a "6-hour journey"! Finally we reached our island of Agistri, but then we found out we arrived at the wrong ferry port which was about 2 kilometers from our hotel! So, with smiles and good attitudes, we walked for another 30 minutes with our bags in the heat of the day and finally made it to our hotel room. It was so nice to just get there! You would think all the signs were in Greek or something!

We spent three wonderful days and nights on that beautiful island. We had so much fun. It was peaceful, sunny, and relaxing. The water was beautiful – a little cold, but we managed to get to the beach as much as we could.

On our last full day on the island, we did have a nice cultural experience I'll share. Like many countries around Europe, the beachwear can be quite different from most of the rest of the world. In fact, many women hardly wear any clothes at all! (Sadly, most of the time we would like to say “mam’, could you please put that back on? – but we refrain.) At one swimming place we found on the south part of the island, we were joined by a Greek couple from Athens. The woman asked how the water was, and Lindsay and I encouraged them to get in because it really felt great on that hot day. She was then very enthusiastic to get in. After taking off her outer garments to get to her bikini that she had on, she then proceeded to take her bikini top off! (I later wondered why she wore a bikini underneath at all?) She then walked around the platform where her boyfriend was, along with two women from Sweden who did not seem to notice, and then she got ready to dive in. About five minutes later she dove head first into the water near where Lindsay and I where swimming. She then swam up to us, had a nice normal conversation in English, and then off she went swimming elsewhere. Lindsay and I looked at each other and laughed. Being topless was normal to our new Greek friend. It was no big deal and we talked with her as though we were perfectly comfortable with it as well. We just went with the flow. When in Greece, do as the Greeks! (Though Lindsay decided to not go all Greek – she kept her bathing suit on! J )

Our entire time in Greece was fantastic. We are grateful for the opportunity to travel and to see such a wonderful country and to have such good friends to let us use their apartment.

If someone were to ask me where they should go on their next vacation, I would say "It’s all Greek to me."

God bless.... JB and Lindsay

Making Friends Wherever We Go

2009-06-20T11:29:00.001-07:00

By far, one of the coolest things about traveling is meeting people. When you travel around the world, you inevitably end up meeting people from all over the world. Everyone has a different story, and I think you learn a lot from all the different people you meet, even if it's just to understand a culture better than you did before.

On our trip, we have met people from Minnesota, Boston, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Thailand, India, Greece, and more. In Istanbul, we happened to meet an elderly Turkish man who we saw every day that we were there. He must have lived several doors down from our hotel, because every day he would be sitting outside in his chair on the sidewalk, watching the world pass by. Sometimes he would be across the street playing some kind of board game with the shop owner, and sometimes he would be helping direct a vehicle that was parking, but he was almost always there. He spoke hardly any English, and we spoke even less Turkish, but somehow he took a liking to us. His eyes always lit up when we passed by, and he would always say hello and shake our hands and smile and say lots of things in Turkish that we didn't understand. We, in turn, would smile at him and shake his hand and say things in English that he probably didn't understand either, but it didn't matter because we were being friendly and he was being friendly. It was nice to walk down the street and know that someone was going to see you and be happy about it.

One day, as he saw us approaching, he pointed his finger and hurried inside. We weren't sure what he was doing, but a shop keeper across the street told us (in English) that he wanted to give us something. Sure enough, a minute or so later, he emerged with a quilted cell phone/camera case for me. It was such a nice thing for him to do that when we'd pass by later we would show him that we were using it to hold our camera. On the day that we left, he seemed so sad. "America?" he asked. We told him that, yes, we were indeed going back to America. (Considering the language barrier, there was no way we could explain that we would be traveling for another month and a half before actually returning to America.) He kissed JB on the forehead and held my right hand in his to say goodbye. We will, of course, never see this man again, but we enjoyed seeing him while we were there.

Now we are off to new places to meet new people and learn new things. Traveling the world is undeniably as much about meeting the people as it is about seeing the historical sights, and we enjoy every bit of it!

Rock Stars - or Just Foreigners?

2009-06-15T03:19:00.000-07:00

When we arrived at India Gate, the tall arched structure in New Delhi symbolizing democracy and freedom for the 1.1 billion people of India, we found that the local tourists visiting from other parts of India were not taking pictures of this impressive international symbol. Nope. They were taking pictures of Lindsay and I. Not only were pictures being taken, many people approached us to ask if they could take pictures with us! We were suddenly, rock stars.

This was a pretty fun occurrence.... for about 20 minutes. :) After a few days of this attention, Lindsay and I decided it would be a little difficult being famous! Almost everywhere we went, we got the same attention - I felt I had finally arrived!! :) Now granted, I would like to think that I got as much attention as Lindsay simply because I looked famous, but the fact is, she got more attention than I did. Perhaps it is because she is a tall 5 foot 10 inches with blond hair walking among only Indian populations as far as the eye could see? You be the judge.

As for our time in India - we had an incredible stay. Our friends were so gracious and hospitable, we laughed a lot and enjoyed the amazing sites of their wonderful country. During our time there, I was able to accomplish another one of my lifelong goals - to visit the Taj Mahal!! And though we wanted to be anonymous there, we were soon discovered and pictures were taken of us and with us by the other visiting Indian tourists. Can you see why we would be so interesting, compared to one of the great wonders of the world? I just hated that we were taking attention away from the main attraction - the Taj Mahal. (just kidding, we were most amused by the attention we were getting). The Taj Mahal was an absolutely amazing place - no doubt about it. Here is a picture of us visiting there!

Once we left India, our Rock Star status left us as well. Oh well, it was fun (well, some of it) while it lasted. India was a great time for both of us - a great land of contrast.

God bless,

JB and Lindsay

Getting Sick in Thailand

2009-06-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

Getting sick is never fun, but there are some times when you really, really don't want to get sick...like when you're traveling in foreign countries where the health care might be questionable. Well, I got sick in Thailand. Actually, I got an ear infection from all of the snorkeling and swimming that I'd been doing down in Phuket. I woke up one morning with a little bit of an earache, and within 24 hours it was a full-blown, very painful, ear infection. We flew back to Bangkok that day, and that night I woke up in the early morning hours with terrible pain in my left ear. It was so bad that JB even thought of taking me to the emergency room. I've never had an ear infection before, and it was horrible to get one so far away from home. The next morning (on JB's birthday!), our Thai friend Satha called to make sure we had made it back safely to Bangkok. When JB told him about my ear and asked about where to take me to see a doctor, we were so excited to learn that Satha and his girlfriend Nok are friends with an Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. What luck!! They told us where to go and even phoned ahead to tell their friend that we were coming.
I have to say, I was very impressed with the quality of healthcare that I received. At the hospital we filled out a form and were immediately escorted up to the waiting room. Within five minutes the doctor saw me. He spoke excellent English. He checked in my ears, told me that I had a swollen ear drum, and instructed me to continue taking the antibiotic ear drops that I had bought at a pharmacy and also to take oral antibiotics, which they would give me right there at the hospital. The most shocking part of the experience was at the cashier's desk. We were charged a total of 240 bahts--the equivalent of about 7 USD!!! The doctor had not charged us at all, and the 240 bahts covered the nurse's fee, hospital fee, AND my antibiotics. We had come totally prepared to use our travel insurance, but who needs to file a claim on a seven dollar hospital visit?? With the $3 taxi fee coming and going, our total bill for the trip to the doctor ended up being $13. You can't beat that in the US! I am now ear infection free and forever grateful to Dr. Wichai and his kindness and help!

A Long Lost Friend in Sydney

2009-06-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

Event on May 26 -
written June 2

It has been 17 years…. 17 years since my friend Rowan lived in Pampa Texas and went to High School with me. He was 2 years my upperclassman, but he was 1 of only 3 foreign exchange students at our school that year. 17 years… wow, how time flies.

When I called him, I received his answering machine. He called back literally 1 minute later. He couldn’t believe we were in town. He said “of course I remember you… how could I forget the Horton family?” He reminded me of several experiences he had from that year, and graciously suggested that Lindsay and I should join him for lunch the following day where we worked, a place called “The Oaks”.

In our journey to find “The Oaks” restaurant and pub in the Sydney area, we walked through Hyde Park, around the beautiful Botanical Gardens, and past the famous Sydney Opera House. It was awesome! We then proceeded to walk across the Harbour Bridge to take in some breath taking views of Sydney and the water all around. After our walk (about 2 hours worth), and a short taxi ride, we arrived at “The Oaks” and caught up with a voice from the past – Rowan. My only Australian friend in Sydney, it was fantastic to relive some old times with him, catch up on the whereabouts of friends, and explain life’s happenings through the past decade and 7 years.

It’s funny how once in a while you will have a snap shot of life. From one point in time as a sophomore in High School, to now, just turning 33 years old today, life certainly can fly by. This reminiscing with Rowan reminded me of two lessons: “don’t take life for granted” and “Live life to fully enjoy the gift (ie life) that God has given us.”

Rowan now has a beautiful baby girl of 2 years old, and has risen through the ranks to be the manager of a really beautiful restaurant. The oak tree in the back garden, alone, is well worth it to see The Oaks! If you happen to be in Sydney, you must go have lunch or dinner at The Oaks. It has great pizza, but even better people. Memorable times are being had down under.

God bless,

JB

A Lifelong Goal… Accomplished!

2009-06-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

May 22-24

It was one of the most amazing experiences in our lives. After 3 full hours and a lengthy briefing on safety rules, we were there. One of my life long dreams was about to happen.

Once we arrived, we still had 1-hour before the actual event. The staff helped put everything together (all the equipment, organization of the site, etc.) and needed just a little time to be fully prepared. There were 30 of us in total. Many of us on different skill levels – Lindsay and I had just been certified 3 weeks earlier. We were about to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef!

The “live-a-board” experience was a 3-day, 2-night outing on an 80 foot dive boat. It happened to have staff and passengers from 10 different countries. The USA was well represented with people from Minnesota, Utah, and of course, the great state of Texas!

Lindsay and I were assigned to cabin #3. It was tight quarters; in fact, we had bunk beds! Nevertheless, the good news was that we had a window to see the beautiful scenery and were on the top deck of the ship.

The weather was astonishingly beautiful for this time of year. Clear blue skies, with the temperatures each day in the 80’s (farenheit), we dove 10 out of the 11 dives offered over the next 50 hours. We saw all kinds of coral, various tropical fish, amazingly old sea turtles (they can live to be over 100 years old) and even some sharks!! The sharks got our attention – though we were continuously told “the sharks are more afraid of you than you are of them.” I always wondered how these experts know how the sharks ‘feel’! But regardless, they did keep their distance. Thank goodness!

We felt very accomplished after our dive adventure was complete. It is a GREAT feeling to accomplish a lifelong goal. If you are a diver, and you haven’t already done it, we would highly recommend you make the Great Barrier Reef a dive goal. It is an incredible site to see!

God bless,

JB

From Way Down Under to Down Under...

2009-05-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Lindsay and I are now in Australia! We would have thought Australia was 'down under' before we went to New Zealand's South Island - wow - we were "really" down under the rest of the world. We went below 45 degrees latitude in the Southern Hemisphere, possibly the lowest latitude we will ever be in our lives. And ya know what? People that live here are friendly, nice, and love their country.

The South Island was absolutely beautiful! Where most of the scenes from Lord of the Rings came from, we enjoyed God's amazing ability to create landscapes that are breathtaking. One of the most amazing was the Milford Sound - up for vote as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world (a new contest that ends in July of this year. In fact, you can vote on your favorite places around the world on www.7naturalwonders.com) With the massive Fiords shooting up 1 1/2 km on average out of the Milford Sound, it was impressive.

For the last 8 days, Lindsay and I slept in a Campervan. Besides our front light going out (towards the end of our trip), the break pads that need to be replaced (also occurred during our trip), the leaky roof, the driving on the left side of the road in rain most of the time... in a standard! with the gear shift on the opposite side that I/we are used to, and the frightening shock Lindsay got one night from our electric heater, it wasn't really a bad way to go! :) Actually, seeing all the country side and having a nice little space of our own was nice, we didn't have to unpack for 8 days. Yeah!! BUT - that all being said, it is very nice to have a little space in a room of our own here in Australia.

This morning we leave to embark on a 3 night 2 day dive trip where we will live aboard a ship with other divers and go on various dives around the outer Great Barrier Reef. What a thrill - and a lifelong goal of mine! Lindsay and I were officially certified as divers when we were in Honolulu, on the way here.

Much more to say... so little time, but we are very excited about the opportunity in front of us to see and visit many of our neighbors under the sea.

Until next time!

God bless,

The Horton Divers

Gidday from Kiwi-land

2009-05-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

We're having a blast here in New Zealand! We're up in the Bay of Islands for a few days. We've got cheap accommodations, but they're within blocks of the bay, so it's really convenient and beautiful. Yesterday we went skydiving, and it was sooooo awesome! Kate and I had been before, but this was JB's first time, so he was able to fulfill one of his life goals. Woohoo! The scenery from way up in the air was amazing! We also went to some glow worm caves and did a short bush (forest) walk yesterday. Last night we attended the Bay of Islands Country-Rock Music Festival. Since we're from Texas, it was really interesting for us to see a bunch of New Zealanders wearing cowboy hats and listening to country music. :) One of the bands from Australia, Carter and Carter, was really good, so check them out if you like country music.
That's all for now--more to come soon!

Aloha!

2009-05-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

Aloha from the beautiful state of Hawaii! So much has happened since our last blog. We did get to see Frank Lloyd Wright's home, and although JB and I were both suffering from a cold, we didn't let that deter us from hiking in the Grand Canyon. It was my first time, and it was incredible. I could easily have spent a week there, but our time didn't allow. From there, we headed to Temecula, California, to visit some friends and had a great time! What a beautiful area with absolutely perfect weather! From there, we headed up the coast to visit friends in Montecito, also a beautiful area. Our friends' house is located right on the beach, so I was able to go on morning jogs along the beach. We also went to the 91st birthday party of our friend's mother. That was a really neat time. Making it to 91 is something worth celebrating! After Montecito, we drove up to Fresno to visit family. We don't get to see them that often, so it was really nice to be able to visit. We were even able to take a day trip to Yosemite. Neither JB nor I had ever been to Yosemite, so it was such a treat for us both. We did so much hiking and were exhausted by the end of the day, but we got to see some really beautiful vistas--gushing waterfalls, giant rock walls, valleys filled with pine trees. We even saw some snow still!
Our next stop, of course, was Hawaii. My former roommate, Kate, is going to be traveling with us for the next couple weeks, so we met up with her at the airport. Lucky for us, her aunt and uncle live outside Honolulu, so we're staying with them for the week. We've had some great beach time so far, and JB and I did two dives yesterday working toward our scuba certification. We have two more dives today, and then we're certified. Yea!! The water is a beautiful turquoise, and we've seen lots of colorful fish, sea turtles, eels, and more. Today after our dives, Kate, JB, and I are heading up to the north shore to watch the sunset and see the huge waves. We're having a blast!

Heading West

2009-04-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a LONG time since our last blog, so we're sorry we haven't been keeping you all in the loop. We've been very, very busy! After returning from Central Asia, we spent a little time in DC visiting friends. Then we drove down to South Carolina for my sister's wedding. Then we drove to Texas to visit our families and check out my campus in Ft. Worth. This entire time we have felt exactly like the Beverly Hillbillies. We would even start singing the song when we got in the car, because our car was so loaded up with all of our stuff that we were moving back to Texas. We left the loaded-down car in Texas, though, so now we don't feel quite as hillbilly-ish.

After a great Easter with JB's family and a fun weekend in Vegas for the National Bowling Tournment, we are now in...Phoenix! And I just want to say that I think Phoenix is fabulous! I think I fell in love with this place instantly! With lots of sun, warmth, and palm trees, what else could you possibly ask for? :) It's beautiful! I commented to JB that the people here generally look pretty happy and healthy...probably because they ARE happy and healthy! We are here to visit with friends who moved here from DC, and it is so great to see them again. JB has been a little under the weather since Las Vegas, but hopefully he'll be feeling better soon so that we can go out and explore a little before we have to leave. I would love to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's home, climb up Camelback Mountain, and do some golfing, but unfortunately we won't have time for all of that. I guess I'll just have to come back sometime for another visit... :)

The Bazaar

2009-03-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone…. and happy birthday to my dad! Wish we could be there to celebrate.

Lindsay and I have come to the end of our time in the city we have been in for the past 6 weeks. We are to depart tomorrow morning at 6 am and make the 16- to 19-hour drive (it should be called journey instead of a drive!) back to the capital city. The capital city is much warmer than the area we have been, so Lindsay will be instantly happier!

This past week, we went to the border of the neighboring country and experienced their local bazaar. In case you are not familiar with the word ‘bazaar’, it means market. Our markets in the U.S. seem to be fairly orderly. They have normal opening and closing times, and usually have a decent facility (i.e. floors and a ceiling!). Well, not here. The floors were cobble stones and dirt. The ceiling was the nice big open blue skies (at least that day they were!) The hours were – well, we still haven’t figured that out. One fairly big difference between this market and the markets back home is - we were the only Americans there! Needless to say, we stuck out just a bit.

As one of our friends began to bargain for an item, 15 men (literally) surrounded him to witness what seemed to them to be a most amazing act. It was intimidating for me to have crowds surrounding us, and even more so for Lindsay. With the cultural changes we have experienced this far, this bazaar was on a whole new level!

One man who spoke English reminded me of a very shady used car salesman. He said ‘trust me, trust me, this is a fantastic product.’ I knew right then it wasn’t. He proceeded to try to befriend us. Then he took my picture with his camera phone and promptly turned it towards Lindsay. She gathered a lot of attention with her blond hair, even with a cover on her head! She was smart and turned away. Needless to say, I stayed very close to my wife during this bizarre… I mean, bazaar experience!

Once our outing was complete, we were very happy we had the experience – and even more happy to be heading back to familiar territory.

Now on to the next adventure ….our journey tomorrow morning!

God bless

Earthquake and Hanging Out with the Local People

2009-03-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say this has been a rather eventful week. First, the earthquake. Neither JB nor I have ever been in an earthquake before, and we experienced our very first one last Tuesday. We were on the top floor (fourth floor) of an apartment building sitting on the floor eating dinner with a friend, when all of the sudden, we heard a roaring sound and the building started shaking. As we sat there, the shaking intensified. I was frozen in fear. What should we do? Should we stay there? Should we try to run down the stairs and get out? We don’t have earthquakes in Texas! Our friend told us that it was best to stay there, and that if it got really bad we should get inside the door frame, but luckily the shaking stopped about 10 seconds later. My heart was pounding! I never, ever want to move to California!

We learned later that night that it had only been a 5.0 about 60 miles north of where we are living. Unfortunately, it was only about six miles under the surface of the earth, and because of that, there was damage to canals, roads, and houses. On Friday we sent a team out to survey the damage and assess needs. The people who live there are very shaken right now, because they have continued to experience multiple tremors every day since the earthquake. JB and I will go with another team this week to meet with more people and do further assessments. This is a horrible time for them, but it gives us the opportunity to love them, calm them during this time of fear, and offer our help.

Last week was a busy time for us hanging out with local friends that we have made here. The people are so warm and generous, and we have truly loved getting to know them. While there is a lot that we won’t miss here, we will undoubtedly miss the people. We had tea with our national “mother figure” and her daughter down the street Wednesday afternoon, we had a formal local dinner with JB’s friend Wednesday night, I had lunch with a girl friend Thursday, and on Thursday evening the family down the street invited us back to hear them perform their national music for us. They even got us up dancing with them a few times! (JB said that was the first time he had ever been asked by a man to dance! A different culture, for sure, but a nice and innocent way of getting people involved in the local dances.)

Yesterday evening we had dinner with a family that we met a couple weeks ago while out walking. I think I can safely speak for both of us in saying that our favorite times here are when we are spending time with the local people. Though there is a language barrier, we work around it, and we love sharing stories about our different cultures and about our lives.

Speaking of different cultures, today is International Women’s Day, which is a fairly important holiday here. We celebrated Men’s Day several weeks ago, but it is not quite as big of a deal as Women’s Day. I was given fresh carnations for Women’s Day by my young friend last night at dinner, which is remarkable considering that it is nearly impossible to get fresh flowers here. Everything is still covered in snow! We will blog soon about other cultural and lifestyle differences to give everyone an even better picture of what life is like here. Until then, God bless, and we miss y’all!

Our Trip to the Local Hotel

2009-03-02T02:09:00.000-08:00

After one month of living here in very close quarters with others, it was definitely time for some “alone time.” After all, we are still newlyweds! Being the thrifty people that we are, we decided to check into the local “discount” hotel for the night. For only fifty dollars, we would have a warm room with hot running water, a bed, and some breakfast. As we walked to the hotel (about a 25 minute walk), JB said that if it was anything like a Motel 6, he would be happy. Boy were we in for a surprise!

To begin with, when he called to make the reservation, he told them that he and his wife would be staying for the night. “Your wife?” they asked, “or your girlfriend?” “My wife,” he told them. “Wife okay,” they responded. “Girlfriend not okay.” He reiterated that yes, indeed, he would be bringing his wife and NOT a girlfriend.

When we got there, we were assigned to room 102. That was the room with a big wad of gum stuck in the middle of the zero of the door number. Nice. Walking into the room, we were hit by the smell of curry. It turns out that our room was directly above the Indian restaurant, so like it or not, we were going to be smelling curry for the night. It’s a good thing we like curry!

We both immediately wanted to take a shower—something that we really crave since we don’t have running water at the house we are living in. Interestingly, in our double room, there was only one bath towel, one wash cloth, one hand towel, one bathrobe, one everything! Looked like we would be sharing. There was also one small bar of soap, and one packet of shampoo—Black Shine Shampoo. I was glad I brought my own shampoo. I would hate to see how my blonde hair would turn out after using Black Shine Shampoo!

Once we had showered we thought we’d read some and rest before dinner. We were really looking forward to some quiet time…until we noticed the Indian techno music coming from the Indian restaurant below us. Hmmm. Curry and techno. How relaxing. Maybe, we thought, we could find an English channel on the TV. JB started playing around with the TV but couldn’t get it to work. After he had fiddled with it for a while, he finally said, “Oh…someone cut the cable.” So, with no TV, we stretched out on the bed to rest and noticed that, not only was it very hard, but we could actually feel the springs coming through the mattress! Upon further inspection, we discovered that there was no mattress. We were lying directly on the box springs.

For dinner, we originally thought we’d head down to the restaurant that supposedly serves pizza, although they’ve never served pizza when we were there. It was so dark on the street and so cold, that we only made it a few blocks away and turned around. Forget pizza—we were going to eat Indian!

The bad news is that we both got sick from the Indian restaurant. The good news is that we did get our night away in a warm room with warm running water and non-stop electricity, even if it did have its quirks. Besides the barking dogs outside that woke us both up about a half-dozen times, we actually rested pretty well. (JB told me he also heard the patter of a mouse behind our bed once during the night – I’m glad I didn’t!)

Was it like a Motel 6? Well, not exactly. At Motel 6 they give you two towels and a mattress, but, hey, we’re not complaining! We got showers! We have learned to appreciate the little things in life. How richly we have been blessed!

God bless

Our Project

2009-02-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

The region we are in is one of the poorest in all of Asia. With limited electricity (we have only had a total of two hours today thus far, and I am writing this at 7:00 in the evening) it is quite cold inside as well as outside. Other downsides of life here include the fact that food and water are often filled with extra lovely bacteria that don’t just make our stomachs sick, but also the locals when they consume something that is ‘foreign.’ The languages can confuse people, as there are three primary languages used here, and the main language is not even a written one. There is no running water indoors, which means the use of outhouses – (a new adventure in and of itself!) Terrible wars in the recent past, massive drug trades around the area, corruption, as well as limited natural resources make this a tough place to live. The average family earns less than $1000 per year. That is per family! Jobs are not generated here very easily, other than hard labor. Although buildings and structures get very cold here during the winter, and more than 70% of the population is living in poverty, the people themselves are very warm and welcoming. Lindsay and I have been humbled by the generosity we have seen.

Surprisingly, literacy rates are very high here and education is a priority for men and women. Perhaps more surprisingly, the priority for education is geared towards girls over boys. There seems to be a lot of wisdom in that priority in the developing world. Needless to say, however, education does not have the same standards here as it has in the U.S.

Lindsay and I are focusing on solar power as our main humanitarian project. The one natural resource that is plentiful here is the sun. Additional to the challenges of life listed above, the harsh climate and mountainous terrain make life difficult for the people living here, and only six percent of the rocky land is arable. Of this small percentage of arable land, yields from farming and other agricultural pursuits have been minimal due to the arid climate and limited resources for irrigation. Our project is to help the local people pump water from nearby rivers onto the limited land for increased agricultural production using solar panel technology.

We are so fortunate to have this opportunity, even with its many challenges, to help make a difference in the lives of our fellow human beings half a world away from our normal comfort zone.

God bless

JB's Local Haircut

2009-02-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

It was way past time to get my haircut. It was starting to curl, something my mom used to love when I was a young boy, but not such a good status symbol as a grown man. So off I went to try my luck at the local barber. It was a 20-minute walk from where Lindsay and I are staying to the barbershop. I met one of our team members who also needed a haircut in front of the store at 10 am. We were both on time and ready to go. Little did I realize, the adventure was just about to begin.

As we went in, the barber was cutting a man’s hair in the dark. He told the team member with me (aka my translator) that we would need to return at 11 am when the power would probably come back on. Key word – “probably”.

So, to make the most of our hour, we went to the outdoor market next door (called a bazaar). Items ranging from hanging meats to electrical outlets, from pasta to illegally copied DVD and CD’s were all there. As we looked at the many foreign products, the bargain hunters from around the different villages, and the sellers who were anxious to sell you anything they had, I saw a familiar looking word - Mars! I didn’t hesitate much and purchased the Mars bar. Ummmm good. The mud paths through the bazaar were covered with a mix of rocks, ice, snow and water slush which made the experience through the bazaar even more bizarre to this foriegner! (sorry, my bad attempt at a play on words)

We returned to the barbershop at 10:55 am in the dark. At 11 am, the power came back on as he predicted! We were the first to get there and were ready for the barber; the only other men in the shop were two men hammering and sawing a new table together – loudly. We waited. And waited. Two other men joined us to wait. I have learned patience here is a way of life! Not a virtue… a way of life. The barber finally came around 11:30 am. One of the older men who came in after us decided he would go first (without asking), so he sat in the chair and got a quick trim. Once he finished, my friend suggested that I go first. Passing off as being polite, I insisted he go first, but I admit, I wanted to see what the full local haircut would look like first before I took the plunge. I know... I know..... I paid for it later!

His cut looked like it was going fairly well (from the back, at least) with the barber shaving the back of his head with an old electric razor, and seemingly making precise cuts on the top and sides with some regular scissors. Suddenly, what was looking like a decent cut ended promptly. Right at 12 noon all the power went out again. Lovely! (By this time, I am starting to look like one of the Beatles)

This power outage looked to be more lengthy because all cell phone reception was also offline, meaning the electric power plant AND the phone towers were down. My friend reassured me by explaining it was probably a nearby avalanche that had knocked out the lines. Comforting. We could be without power for days! Even more lovely.

We aborted the haircut at that point, walked back to the house where we are staying, and explained the haircut saga to Lindsay and others around. After talking with the rest of the team and learning everyone else had already eaten lunch, my haircut sidekick and I decided to go for lunch at a local Indian restaurant. We peaked into the barbershop on the way, but the lights were still out.

Lunch was good. My stomach is adjusting pretty well – Lindsay and I have both had our moments already though. Lunch was Chicken Tiki Misala, with lemon rice, Indian non (bread), French fries and some RC Cola to wash it down. It hit the spot! AND, the power was restored only after 2 ½ hours or so of being out. That was a relief since it is COLD here.

After lunch, we tried our chances again at the Barbershop – it was 3:15 pm. It didn’t look good at first because all the brushes, scissors, razors, etc. were put up and it appeared the shop was closing up. But the good news is the lights were on, and the Barber got his things back out for my haircut. Along with a series of Russian singers in the background on video that was playing (mainly fat, bald, older white male singers who were dancing around like pop stars with their lips moving about 2 seconds behind the music), along with the lovely noise of the two men hammering that small table…. still…. My haircut began.

Let me cut through the chase (no pun intended) and sum up my experience by repeating what seems to be a universal / cross-cultural truth “you get what you pay for.” The total cost of my haircut was the equivalent of 75 cents. I did, however, leave a tip of another 25 cents (I know, very generous)….. but Lindsay’s expression said it all when I returned. Her look was a slight smile with a nod of approval for the accomplishment of finally getting the haircut (after 6 hours of trying) saying “It looks…. different” with another nod and a smile. Well, I got what I paid for. But hey…. It was quite the experience (and it only cost a dollar!! ☺)

Notice – no picture is attached for viewing!
The adventures in Central Asia continue.

God bless.

Getting Settled In

2009-02-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing most of this week. Two of our team members had planned to go out to a nearby village for an overnight visit, but the possibility of avalanches in weather like this makes it too dangerous to travel on the roads.

Monday, we went out into the town for the first time. We explored the bazaar, with all of its foods, crafts, clothes, etc. Those of us on the team, especially the women, get a lot of comments in town, because we look so different from everyone else, and it is a very macho society. As a married woman, I am expected to wear makeup when I am in public. The unmarried women on the team are not required to do so. There is only one small mirror in our house, so it makes getting ready a little difficult. When I go somewhere now and see a big mirror, I think, “oh, so that’s how I look today.”

We also went out for lunch in town earlier this week for some local food at a restaurant called “Fast Food” that specialized in pizza. Ironically, it was not fast at all and they didn’t have any pizza! JB ordered chicken, and it definitely looked like a chicken (a whole one), but mine was chopped and formed “mystery meat.” We do not eat meat here as often as we would in the States, because there is a greater chance of tummy problems. We also have to make sure to wipe any water off of our silverware and dishes, since that could also make us sick. We always have lots of bread and tea here, but vegetables and fruits are very, very limited during the winter. Luckily, our hostess is a wonderful cook, so she keeps us well fed.

JB and I have been working on a proposal paper for the solar water pumping project that we are here to help with. We are laying out a five-year plan, beginning with the research that is needed to successfully implement the project at several designated sites. We will do as much of the research as we can while we are here, but some of it will have to be done after we are gone. It is very difficult to do research, because the internet is soooooo slow. We also met with the governor earlier this week to discuss the projects, and we felt that it was a very positive, productive meeting. He was extremely welcoming and gave us a lot of good information about this region, as well as its people and their needs.

I’ve been able to meet several of the local people here, and they are all very kind and hospitable. I hope to visit them more often over the coming weeks, although I have to have a translator with me unless they speak English.

We thank you all for your continued support!
JB and Lindsay

Wow - what a journey.

2009-02-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting place, to say the least. It is rich with so much culture and history, mixed with two major languages as well as several local tribal / regional languages. Somehow our Texan and limited Spanish doesn't really help us here! On Friday of this past week, Lindsay and I woke up at 3:25 am to drive 17 hours with our American host and a local driver from the nation's capital to our destination city (about 20,000 people) on some of the roughest roads in the world - literally. In fact, the road ended several times during our journey - but to our disbelief, our driver kept on going! Rocks, snow, cliffs, rivers, more rocks, dirt, a waterfall, mud, ice, cows, chickens, humans and a few other vehicles were all obstacles on the unforgetable road trip. It almost felt as if we were on the moon at one point but then we came across some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. With a mix of music in the car that the local driver played ranged from local pop music, to European Classical, to Russian Techno, to generic rural music from the different regions of this country, to Celine Dion! Lindsay and I both smiled when we were in the middle of a vast empty high altitude cold lands and were listening to Celine Dion.

As far as food, we have eaten Chinese, Turkish, Italian, Mexican, American and Ecuadorian food! We have had a few local dishes too - mainly bread, tea, soups and chicken. But more local food will be appearing in our diet soon, I'm sure.

Our new dewelling place is located in a river valley with an extremely powerful river running through it. Much of the water in this region comes off of the high mountains and runs through this main river giving the necessary support for many villages to survive on both sides of the river. Our humanitarian project is looking into Solar Powered Pumps to draw water from this powerful river to help irrigate the fertile land nearby for local farmers to grow additional crops (which is much needed).

It is a fairly primitive society in many ways. In others it is more advanced. Indoor plumbing is very rare here. Outhouse is the common way of using the restroom - Lindsay and I found out quickly that public bathrooms take on a whole new meaning here! (ie don't go unless you have to!) E-mail and blogging are hit and miss as there are common electrical outages (usually two times a day).

We have already experienced sponge bathing which will be our way of cleaning for the next 6 weeks. Much to do here - we are very grateful to have his very unique opportunity and appreciate the support of our friends and family back home!

Until next time.
God bless,

JB and Lindsay

Traveling across the world... we are here!

2009-02-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

After 54 hours of travel, we are ALMOST to our destination. That's right, we are not quite there yet. We are in the capital city of the country where we will spend the next two months, and we will be here for the next several days. When the weather clears (it is cold and snowy outside right now) we are going to make the 17-hour road journey across mountainous terrain to our destination village, which sits at about 7000 feet.

It is very cold here. Many times the outside temperature is warmer than in the houses. Electricity goes out in this city from 11 pm to 5:3o am every night - that means, no heat in the houses at night, although there isn't much heat during the day either. Today the electricity did not come on until 1:30 pm. Needless to say, that is a little bit of a cultural difference to Lindsay and me! She is lucky I am full of hot air to keep her warm. :)

We learned yesterday that when we get to our remote village, there is no running water and no indoor plumbing (there is literally an outhouse!) I watched Lindsay's expression, and she was a champ - ready to adapt as needed in a much different culture and a much different way of life. I just hope I can make that adaptation as well as she can!

We are safe and sound, looking forward to a very unique experience during the next two months. Until our next blog, keep smiling and remember how blessed we are to have the many comforts we often take for granted in the United States.

God bless,

JB and Lindsay

Packing and Preparing

2009-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a short post, because JB and I are busily packing and moving furniture right now. Our apartment is in complete disarray, but in less than 24 hours we will have moved out of our apartment and be on our way to Central Asia. We are tired and scruffy-looking and probably don't smell very good right now, but we are so excited about our upcoming journey that it doesn't even matter. We will do our very best to update this blog regularly, so check it out whenever you have time!