I cannot ignore you any longer. I feel I have let Steph speak for me for too long (although she has covered all the important pieces, and done it admirably) and now I need to fill you all in on my thoughts on our trip to date. So in no particular order or organizational structure, here they are...
1) People everywhere tend to be extremely nice and will do what they can to help you out if they have the means to do so. We saw this in New Zealand, Australia and now SE Asia. Whether they were friends or complete strangers, everyone has been fantastic to us.
2) I am not a fan of traveller dreadlocks. Now before you get all bent out of shape because you have not washed your hair in 3 months preparing to get your mop made into locks, it's not that I dislike all dreadlocks, only some. The 'some' I speak of are people who feel that since they are travelling they no longer have to maintain ANY sense of personal hygiene. From what I have seen, aside from the dreadlocks, they no longer wash their clothes, that were bought while travelling SE Asia, so the bright colours are now covered in dirt and grime. Shoes are not needed anywhere they go. I find this fascinating. We saw a youngish couple shoeless as they marched up the 1km of slippery rock fall to a glacier. I love the idea of the barefoot movement, but shoes have their place, and hiking a glacier may be one of those places. Lastly, dreadlocks. Fine on their own, but with this 'some' it is combined with a lack of showering/bathing so the hair becomes a symbol of disregard for personal health. Not my idea of fun.
C) Umbrellas. In all countries, umbrella etiquette must be taught. I believe this should be done at a very young age to solidify the lessons for life. If you are not tall and hold the umbrella just over your head, you are going to poke people in the eye and they will dislike you. Spatial awareness is key.
4) Walking on the other side of the road is much harder than driving. It sounds simple and easy, but with driving you basically follow the other cars or stay between the lines and try not to change lanes too often. With walking, I have been so used to staying on the right side of the sidewalk that when we landed in the Auckland airport for the first time, I kept running into men leaving the toilet as I would go right and they went left and we both ended up hugging the same wall when there was about 4 feet of space on my left, his right. You know that awkward dance when you both mirror each other for a series of pass attempts. You would have thought that would set me straight, but I guess I am a slow learner.
5) Hobbiton is AMAZING!!! That is all.
1) People everywhere tend to be extremely nice and will do what they can to help you out if they have the means to do so. We saw this in New Zealand, Australia and now SE Asia. Whether they were friends or complete strangers, everyone has been fantastic to us.
2) I am not a fan of traveller dreadlocks. Now before you get all bent out of shape because you have not washed your hair in 3 months preparing to get your mop made into locks, it's not that I dislike all dreadlocks, only some. The 'some' I speak of are people who feel that since they are travelling they no longer have to maintain ANY sense of personal hygiene. From what I have seen, aside from the dreadlocks, they no longer wash their clothes, that were bought while travelling SE Asia, so the bright colours are now covered in dirt and grime. Shoes are not needed anywhere they go. I find this fascinating. We saw a youngish couple shoeless as they marched up the 1km of slippery rock fall to a glacier. I love the idea of the barefoot movement, but shoes have their place, and hiking a glacier may be one of those places. Lastly, dreadlocks. Fine on their own, but with this 'some' it is combined with a lack of showering/bathing so the hair becomes a symbol of disregard for personal health. Not my idea of fun.
C) Umbrellas. In all countries, umbrella etiquette must be taught. I believe this should be done at a very young age to solidify the lessons for life. If you are not tall and hold the umbrella just over your head, you are going to poke people in the eye and they will dislike you. Spatial awareness is key.
4) Walking on the other side of the road is much harder than driving. It sounds simple and easy, but with driving you basically follow the other cars or stay between the lines and try not to change lanes too often. With walking, I have been so used to staying on the right side of the sidewalk that when we landed in the Auckland airport for the first time, I kept running into men leaving the toilet as I would go right and they went left and we both ended up hugging the same wall when there was about 4 feet of space on my left, his right. You know that awkward dance when you both mirror each other for a series of pass attempts. You would have thought that would set me straight, but I guess I am a slow learner.
5) Hobbiton is AMAZING!!! That is all.
Frolicking
6) We don't work hard. Being overseas and seeing the conditions that people work in, how they are treated and the long hours that they put in day after day, it brings to light how easy our life truly is. I hope that I can keep this humbling experience in the back of my mind when I have a 'long' day at school and would like nothing more than to complain.
7) 8 months is a long time to spend with anyone. I would not want to spend this time with anyone but my gorgeous wife, but living in close confines for months on end and driving thousands of kilometers together, you kind of maybe sort of might crave other people's company. Just sometimes though.
8) After living in a van for 4 months and a trailer for another 3, I have realized how little you actually need to be happy, although it definitely helps that Steph and I have been travelling some amazing countries.
9) Travelling has really hammered home the importance of staying in contact with friends and family. I have been notorious for being difficult to get a hold of, but I would like to think that I am changing that. Those special people that you connect with and share memories deserve the few minutes it takes to write an email, Facebook message or give them a phonecall every now and then. It means a lot and doesn't take much, so why not.
10) The internet is awesome for #9, and staying up to date with the NFL news.
11) In Australia, trailer parks are often called 'relocatable home communities'. How amazing is that!
Pretty insightful I know, but those are the ramblings of Dave Brown. Now you see why Steph writes the blog.
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