My Weblog

Being a Great Friend

As we depart I would just like to give a few quick thanks to our dear friend Krista:

For most of the time on this big trek, it has been just Lex and I -- and although we missed our family and friends, we were often caught up in the moment deciphering maps and exploring new playgrounds. The farther and longer we traveled, our fond memories of America became lost in some hazy dream of a life we put on pause.

However, once we came to Australia you welcomed us with open arms into your world. You fed us, loaned us your car & bed, gave us generous portions of champagne, took us on tours, shared the holidays and the New Year in fashion and gave us many laughs.

But that’s not all. You also shared your friends and family with us and reminded both Lex and I how happy and lucky we are to have you in our life and how important our own family and friends are. We look forward to the day you visit NY so that we can share our world with you.

Thank you again for all your generosity and love.

Rusel.

The Tops

The big adventure is now winding down and I’m definitely going into reflection mode. I’ve used every variation on my electrical adaptor and just about every mode of transportation known to man. I’ve slept in almost every type of bed under every roof imaginable.

I’ve scratched bug bites in places I didn’t even know that I had skin and paid for things in pounds, rupia, euro, ruble, togrog, yuan, yen, baht and Australian dollar. I’ve spent all my “emergency” US dollars that were hidden away for those moments when I didn’t have local currency or couldn’t find or couldn’t reach an ATM in time. I’ve laughed (often), cried (a few times) and had a fabulous, magical, amazing trip.

Right now, I’m sitting under the electric blue Australian sky in my very own caravan park spot and having an afternoon glass of white wine that we purchased at a vineyard yesterday near Denmark. I feel “real life” slowly creeping up on me. Rusel and I are already making drinks, dinner and coffee plans for the days when we get home – making our imminent departure and arrival in the States even more real. All good things must come to an end – and what a good thing this has been for me.

I’ve compiled a list of the “top” moments and times on the trip – enjoy.

Top Ten (Or So…!) Moments On The Trip
1. Getting engaged in Thailand (That’s right….Rusel and I are engaged!)
2. Hearing those much longed-for words from Martin: "The Gugus Revitalization Report is finally finished!"
3. Rediscovering who I am -- and discovering amazing new friends – through the complexities that make up the very special province of Aceh.
4. The stark beauty and spirituality of Olkohn island in Siberia.
5. Seeing my Mom, Paige and Whitney at the airport in Paris and “following the croissant smell!” throughout France for a week.
6. Seeing Krista, and spotting my first kangaroo in Busselton.
7. Bali: Everything it is and all of its perfections and imperfections.
8. Dancing under the stars to jazz music with Rusel and a bunch of Chinese people on an impromptu stage in Beijing.
9. Diving in Bunaken, Indonesia, surrounded by reef sharks, octopus and barracuda.
10. Getting the private, V.I.P. tour of the temple in Ulan Baatar and witnessing monks taking part in centuries-old traditions in their crimson robes.
11. Barely making the train from Beijing-Shanghai….but making it!
12. Seeing the Marinisky ballet in St. Petersburg.
13. Drinking terrible vodka and sprawling out under the vibrant Mongolian pitch-black sky; waiting for shooting stars, gazing at the Milky Way and finally stumbling back to our very own ger.
14. Riding my bike around Kyoto with Rusel, with the golden fall foliage giving everything and everyone we encountered a halo of light.
15. Surviving the infamous “Big Waves” boat trip in Thailand.

Top 10 (Or So…!) New People I Met Along the Way (In No Particular Order)
1. Martin
2. Friska
3. Kate
4. Ivana
5. Ibu Sam
6. Shirley & Nina (a glorious and amazing team)
7. Badung and Made (another famous team that shall not be forgotten!)
8. Jack, the Fabulous Welshman
9. Byambaa in Mongolia
10. Nina, Our Very Own Babushka
11. Sergey, Our Very Own Prophet
12. Nikita, Russia’s ’86 Table Tennis Champion
13. Hiroko Hirano (Hirano's guesthouse in Kyoto)
14. The Woman Who Helped Us Buy Our Train Ticket in St. Petersburg
15. Jamal, the Amazing Parisian Cab Driver
16. Big
17. Micah!
18. Liz, the Sassy Aussie
19. The amazing Nina in Aceh (so many Nina's!)

Honorary "Best Host and Hostess Ever" Award:
1. Mal, Di & Krista

Top 10 Places Visited
1. Aceh, Indonesia
2. Bali, Indonesia
3. Olkhon Island, located in Lake Baikal in Siberia
4. Haad Khom, Thailand
5. Busselton, Australia
6. Beijing, China
7. St. Petersburg, Russia
8. Kyoto, Japan
9. Bangkok (Forever One of My Favorite Cities), Thailand
10. Ulan Baatar, Mongolia

Hold Onto Sixteen As Long As You Can

When I arrived in Bangkok last week and popped into an Internet café on Khao San road to quickly check my e-mails and make sure that Rusel had boarded his flight from Tokyo to Bangkok, there was an e-mail waiting for me in my in-box from my best friend from high school. She told me that her Mom, Sallie, had died unexpectedly and quite suddenly on Thanksgiving Day.

The news hit me pretty hard and reading the words on the computer screen immediately transported me back home and back in time. Although I am halfway around the word and haven’t spoken to Sallie in quite sometime, she was definitely one of those people who left a mark on everyone she came into contact with. She left an imprint on me that’s still very real, so many years later.

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately. Fittingly, as we rode on the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, Rusel and I started talking about time and he tried to explain Einstein’s universal time theory to me. He spoke of how everything is actually constantly happening and that nothing is linear. I sort of get it and I sort of don’t but in the end, I guess, in certain ways things that happened to me ten years ago are just as real as the things that happened last week. Time is really humanity’s way of ordering things linearly.

There are things that are forever a part of me – like Sallie’s voice and laugh, my Dad’s whistle, the smiles on the children’s faces in Aceh. And then there are things like heartbreaks, weeks of work, and horrible winter months that I have completely erased from my memory forever. I guess that’s just how we work.

Thinking back about Sallie makes me remember being sixteen again, and all of the good, bad and the ugly things that come with it. Sallie definitely fit into the “good” category. Quick to laugh, slow to judge; Sallie was everything you want in your best friend’s Mom when you are sixteen years old. She was always there to listen when you needed to talk but was also one of those people who intuitively knew when to give you space. Whenever I was at Melanie’s house she was there for the essentials when you’re a teenager and the world revolves around you: to pick us up when we needed a ride, to provide us with junk food, to give us some advice. But she wasn’t one of those “hovering” mothers. You just always knew that she was there if needed, and that knowledge was comforting.

Growing up in a small town in Nebraska might not sound ideal to many, but it was quite a bucolic existence. Now that I have some perspective on my growing-up years I realize just how idyllic and special they were. For the most part, in my little bubble, kids were allowed to be kids. But then again, maybe I’m just letting time do it’s job and forgetting all of the bad things that happened and the ghosts and darkness that enveloped me at times living there. In the end, Sallie was always a bright light and her home was a haven to me during these sometimes-turbulent years.

Sallie was a special person because she truly cared for others and let you know it. Her loyalty and level of caring for others was really the stuff of legends. The way that she always thought of other people first serves as a model to me now in my life. Each person a teenager comes into contact with helps to show them the tools needed to be an adult, for better or for worse. Sallie was truly the best example I could’ve had in terms of being a good human being and at that point in my life the impression she made is something I carry with me today.

Everyone would be so lucky as to have a person like her in his or her life. And she was definitely a character. With her bright-red shock of short hair you could easily pick her out of the crowd. It was just another way on the long list that Sallie stood out.

Most of you out there reading this didn’t know Sallie, but perhaps you knew someone like her who made a big difference in your life. Made you feel safe when you needed a place to feel safe, made you laugh when you needed a laugh. Had that certain something that makes people like her unique, even though you can’t always put your finger on exactly what it is. I don’t know if I believe in heaven or not, but wherever Sallie is right now I’m sure that she’s having a great time – and is making those around her just a little more joyous.

Happy Birthday to Neener!

To my little sister -- who is lucky to be alive to see this day, after a near-catastrophic bike incident in Paris -- I hope that you have a very very happy birthday! May the next 30 years be as good as the last 30!

I love you!

Rock On, Julie!

To my dear friend Julie,

You've been there with me through thick and thin, and I love you so much! I hope that you have a GREAT birthday.

Hello, Goodbye

As Kate and I were driving home tonight from a marvelous dinner at Cafe Bohnen, I commented to her that saying goodbye was something that I am getting good at. She said that it's better to be the one who leaves, instead of the one who stays. I really don't know.

I remember when I first moved from Nebraska to New York City. On the eve of my departure, I got together with all of my amazing college friends for one last dinner. Whitney and Angie were there, too. I remember looking around the table that night and thinking to myself, "Does it get any better than this?" I couldn't imagine ever having as great of friends, and being surrounded by more love, than I was that night.

Then, I moved to New York City. As rough as it was at times, eventually I found new friends to love who were just as amazing as my friends back in Nebraska. Instead of being an either/or equation, I realized that the more that you love, the more it comes back to you.

I guess I travel around quite a bit, and the funny thing is that right before I go someplace or start something new, I always have a last-minute panic. What if I don't have any new friends where I'm going? What if I hate it? What if nobody likes me? But then, once I arrive, it never fails that I meet the most amazing people and have the most fabulous new experiences. Is it luck? I don't know. I guess in so many ways I think that we create our own luck and our own paths. I tend to think -- as Pollyanna as it sounds -- that if you think something's going to be amazing it usually is.

Now, here I am again saying goodbye. Although I really should be good at it, I'm actually horrible. I'd rather just say, "See ya later, alligator" than make it a production. Saying goodbye to Meredith when I left to come here was perfect. We gave each other a quick hug at the airport after we got back from Ohio, and that was it. No teary farewells or carrying on.

So anyway, I only cried twice today. I think that's pretty good -- for me. Friska and I went out to the back balcony to say goodbye. She gave me a beautiful gift yesterday, a scarf made in Medan. As we were saying goodbye, she said something so sweet: "Alexis, when you want to laugh -- you laugh. When you want to sing -- you sing. That is one of the best things about you."

Well, that made me teary.

I rushed home after work and met up with Kate, Shirley, Nina and Martin for my going away dinner. The girls also got me a really amazing set of going away gifts -- chocolate for the flight, mosquito repellant for the enemies who await, and the craziest gift of all: shocking nail clippers! On the box, it says, "Give that annoying person a strong, but harmless, shock!" I can't wait to try those out on Rusel when I see him.

Oh and also they got me sweatbands to wear around my wrists as I am finishing up my Gugus project next week. I almost laughed!

And again, more great compliments! Shirley said that I was "One of the most 'American' people I have ever known, in all of the best ways possible." I'll take that as a compliment! Nina very sweetly said that I fit right in here in Banda Aceh and that she wished that we could've had some more time together (I agree. Nina absolutely rocks). And Kate thanked me for introducing me to two people: Basia, and Ibu. Tears again!


I think that the hardest person to say goodbye to will be Martin. We're going on a sunrise bike ride with Ali, who also works in the EYD Department. Martin has been such an inspiration to me while I have been here and I'm such a lucky person to have known him. He's been a great mentor -- extremely patient -- and a very kind soul.

So here I go again, as I type this. So I guess it's three cries today.

Thanks, Banda Aceh, for the memories!

Tour De Pulau Aceh

The thing I love about myself is that I’m pretty spontaneous and up for anything. The thing that sometimes drives me crazy about myself is that I’m pretty spontaneous and up for anything. Sometimes it works for me ("I think I'll move to New York City!" or "I think I'll go to grad school!") and sometimes it doesn't ("I think I'll go on a camel safari in the middle of India near the Pakistan border with some random guys I've never seen before who can't speak English!"). I’m definitely in the category of people who don't know the meaning of “look before you leap.” I prefer “leap, and the net will appear.”

So sometimes this gets me into a little bit of trouble. Last week, Martin asked me if I wanted to go on a Acehnese Bike Club trip to an island called Pulau. I love islands, I like to ride my bike. It seemed like a no-brainer.

But I kind of forgot to ask Martin any more questions about the trip. In my own defense, it was a pretty busy week. It was kind of too late to back out when I found out that the boat was leaving at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and it was a two-hour boat ride on potentially crazy seas. My favorite Saturdays are when I’m still in bed at 7:30 -- P.M.!! To top it all off, I knew I would be up late the night before because it was Ivana’s going away party.

But then the lure of “fun!” kept calling my name. As I’m leaving soon I really want to pack it all in, and this just sounded like a good time. So this morning, when the alarm went off at 6:45 a.m. I rolled out of bed and off I went. I gave Ivana a goodbye hug on my way out the door and Martin was waiting outside.

By this time I’m familiar with “rubber time” so I wasn’t shocked when the boat didn’t leave until 9:30. I’ve pretty much adopted the “what can you do?” attitude of most Indonesians here when it comes to time. When we finally found the boat, we loaded up all of our bikes with an ant-like system which was pretty cool. The ride over was really nice and not as bad as Shirley and Kate warned me it could be. We were in one of those wooden boats and if the water is choppy, there goes your breakfast.

By the time we actually got to the island, the sun was scorching. We rode for a bit and everything was fine. Then we got to a pretty big hill. I tried biking up it but quickly realized that this was one of those “admit defeat and walk your bike up the hill” situations.

Going down was difficult, too, because it was really steep. This German girl totally ate some dirt and scratched up her arm. She ripped her pants and had blood all over them. I didn’t actually see the fall, but saw her injuries when we all stopped and grabbed coffee while Bill, one of the leaders, fixed the chain on his bike, which had snapped.

As I was sitting and drinking my water I remembered when I met my Mom in France with her Bitburg friends for a bike trip and how completely different that trip was. We would ride for a mile or so across beautiful, flat countryside observing vineyards, and then stop for some wine and cheese or a 4-course lunch. Ahhhh, memories.

We all jumped back on the bikes and rode for another hour or so through some cute villages. Pulau Aceh was hit really hard by the tsunami and basically flattened. Most of the people living there were evacuated to Banda Aceh for a while. When Martin worked for the British Red Cross, he helped with a livelihoods program there as they relocated people back.

One of the big “crops” in Pulua is reputably marijuana. GAM (Free Aceh Movement) was big here (they were fighting the Indonesian government in the 30-year civil war) and apparently they traded ganja for guns with Thailand and Malaysia. Martin said that he was at a few community meetings where people got very giggly…and hungry! I didn’t see any of that today, though but then again I wasn’t looking.

Just as the day was getting almost too hot to handle, we approached a pretty huge hill. To say it was brutal and grueling is seriously an understatement. Again, I had to walk my bike but it was so steep that it didn’t really help because pushing your bike up the hill was almost as difficult as riding it. And just when you would think that you were in the clear and would have a little break with some flat land, you would realize that the hill kept going. It was probably one of the most physically strenuous things I’ve ever done. I think that it had more to do with the sun than the grade of the hill.

Whenever we would find some shade on the road, all of us would stand under it for a few moments just to cool down. The road wasn’t paved, it was just dirt. I seriously felt like I was on some “extreme sports” show, without the cute host at the end to offer me a million dollars and a weekend getaway to Hawaii. We were all drenched in sweat and some of the men were just literally dripping huge beads of water as if they were in a sauna. My t-shirt was wet all the way through and I could just wring it out. I’m sure I smelled terrible.

I was kind of bringing up the rear when my tire got a flat. I was so hot, and in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t know what to do. Luckily, one of the trip organizers, Melody, noticed and helped me out. This other French guy had a kit to repair the tire and away we went again. Part of me was secretly wishing that it would be unfixable so I could just jump on one of the “emergency” motorbikes following us. No such luck.

We ended the day with a late group lunch at a villager’s home. Then, we went and swam at the prettiest beach I have seen yet here in Indonesia. The sand was white and the water a deep aquamarine color. The water was clear and clean and the waves were manageable. I was so hot I couldn’t bother changing into my swimsuit and proper Sharia-complaint get-up. I just parked my bike and walked straight into the ocean with my regular clothes on. Heaven!

On the way home we saw a really cool rainbow, followed by a beautiful sunset. I don't think that it gets any better than that.

By the time we got back it was dark and Martin very nicely rode me home to my door after a quick grocery run at the Blang. I called it an early night, only to literally be pulled out of my bed by Kate, Ivana and Nina to go to a Czech Red Cross party. I think that this is probably the first time that this has happened to me since college. But after I got done protesting and decided to just roll with it (these girls are VERY persuasive!) I ended up having a good time.

All in all, it was probably the best day I’ve had in Indonesia.

Sampi Jumpa, Ivana!

We had a little going away party for Ivana tonight--she leaves first thing in the morning. It was quite the goodbye soiree and lots of fun. Traditionally here in Aceh, people have boards made for various types of celebrations -- weddings, birthdays, store openings. We had one made for Ivana's going away.

After work Shirley, Nina and Martin came over for drinks and the unveiling of Ivana's board. She was pretty surprised.

We then headed out to this great place called Joel's for dinner. It's near the beach -- we went there on the day of the big windstorm for those of you who remember. They served up some great pizza and there were some cute puppies running around to entertain us (did I just say that?)

The pictures pretty much say it all, so I have uploaded them here. We ended the night with a short dance party at Chez #4.

Safe travels, Ivana!

That’s The Night That the Lights Went Out in Banda

After the long weekend in Lake Takengon of eating nothing but white rice and the occasional bite of something that looked mildly enticing, we were all really excited to have a home-cooked meal last night at House #2.

In the depths of our (slightly over-dramatized) food and drink misery in Lake Takengon, I realized that part of what makes a holiday a holiday is that you are taking a departure from your normal routine -- of work, but also watching what you eat and drink. When you’re on “holiday” all of those rules go out the window -- that’s part of the beauty of getting away. But we were all so sick leading up to the early-morning departure that we were lucky that we even made the trip. Unfortunately, we didn’t think ahead to pack anything that would fall into the category of “sinful but delicious” that makes going on a road trip so much fun.

To make matters worse, there was a group of Austrian and Swiss NGO workers who had a room right below ours at Kellerman’s Indonesia-style. Apparently, they had packed coolers full of delicious cheeses from the Blang, as well as wine and beer procured at Ramai. The first night, we could hear the fun going on downstairs but we were all too sick to care. Except for John, who knew one of the people at the party below and was invited to go down.

The next morning, he told tales of this delicious bacchanal happening below us. It was painful to hear. At breakfast, we even went so far as to torture ourselves by talking about what we would be eating if we could. The spread at breakfast was the same as the spread at dinner the night before – who eats mystery meat, rice, and beans for breakfast? As John spoke, our mouths started to water and we decided that we would venture down that night to check it out for ourselves.

After our fun and busy day around the lake, we took a nap and then began to get ready for dinner. We left just enough time to head down to the German-speaking room to perhaps enjoy some of their libations, and maybe even some of this cheese we had all now spent the entire day dreaming about. To all of our disappointment, we were offered some peanuts by the hosts! We had nobody to blame but ourselves, as we hadn’t brought anything to contribute.

So last night, we rushed home after work to cook ourselves a good meal. Almost like clockwork, a little bit after we all walked in, the power went out.

This has been happening quite frequently lately and the funny thing is, the first thing you do is shout out a loud “Darn!” – or maybe something a little stronger, depending on your mood or your day. Next, we all usually gather in the living room and sit, and the waiting game begins. Usually, the problem is solved within the hour. Sometimes, however, it can be several hours. Last night, we were all so hungry and impatient. We decided to start cooking and doing what we could without power.

Kate had started making hummus. It was all in the blender, ready to be blended when the lights went out. After we waited a good hour, we realized that we might be in it for the long haul. After I was finished making a really delicious Greek salad for everyone, I took the entire blender and walked over to the IRC offices to blend, because the office (which is about a 5-minute walk away) runs off of a generator. I probably looked really funny walking down the street with a blender and a wooden spoon in my hands.

I arrived home to find Kate cooking dinner with her cave-exploring flashlight attached to her head. We did what we could with what we had, and the meal ended up being pretty good. The kitchens here in Aceh run off of gas stoves, and they don’t have ovens. We have a little broiler oven but it runs off of electricity. Surprisingly, the meal still turned out delicious – but then again, we were all really hungry, especially for something different than the usual fare we had been eating for three days.

The power came on as we were finishing dinner, around 9:30. It’s funny how we’ll all just be sitting and talking, in this case in the dark, and suddenly there is light again and we can resume our usual activities of checking our e-mails, lounging on the couch and watching some television, or taking a shower. In a way (and I know I’m tempting fate here) it’s kind of a nice departure from the usual routine when the power goes out. You don’t have a choice – one moment you are sitting in the light, and the next moment there is nothing to do but tell stories, gossip, commiserate and relax.

Explosive Times at Lake Takengon

So our trip to Takengon almost didn't happen, because all day on Thursday Kate and Ivana weren't feeling well, and we were set to leave on Friday morning at 6 a.m. Let's just say that when the word "explosive" is used to describe one of your bodily functions, it's never a good thing.

But on Friday morning they were feeling better -- well enough to travel, at least. Shirley and John, who both work for CARE, came and picked us up, with our driver Salatuhdin. We all piled in and we were off to a good start.

As we drove across the countryside, we noticed parades and gatherings in each small village for Independence Day. It was a long day of driving, though, and as the journey wore on, sickness began to win out over healthiness. By the time we arrived around 2:45 in the afternoon, I felt like I was going to puke, Shirley felt like she was going to....something else, and neither Ivana or Kate was feeling great. We literally checked into our room and passed out! I didn't wake up until around 7:00, when we decided to go to the hotel restaurant and see what they had for dinner.

We jokingly called the place that we were staying, Hotel Renggali, the "Indonesian Kellerman's." For those of you who are Dirty Dancing fans, you will catch this. The thing is....the place had pretty much fallen into disrepair and had definitely seen better days. And, to top it all off, the rooms were $60 each, which is quite a lot of rupia here in Indonesia. You'd at least expect hot water, which we didn't have.

As we made our way down to dinner, I realized that there was absolutely nothing at the "buffet" that looked edible. One serving tray was full of chicken wings, another of green beans and another of a mystery meat. And of course, "nasi," white rice. Everything was cold. I couldn't eat anything besides a little bit of rice, and then I promptly went back up to the room and passed out again. I felt so sick -- it was more than car sickness and to top it all off I had developed this weird mystery rash on my hands. I was miserable.

But luckily, I woke up the next day renewed and everyone else was feeling better as well, except for Shirley. We had another questionable meal at the hotel restaurant, and then piled into the van and went into town. There was a really cool parade going on for Independence Day. I think that the theme was "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?" because it was filled with kids, in groups, dressed up like doctors, soldiers, "married people" in the traditional marriage garb, etc. etc. It seemed as if there was an endless stream of children all creatively dressed and everyone was in great spirits. I've uploaded a bunch of pictures above.

After the parade, we found this really cool Dutch house. The architecture here was pretty interesting and you could see the Dutch influence here, more than in Banda. We stopped and took a picture. As we were debating on whether or not it was a museum (it looked like it could have been) I went up the stairs. A guy met me at the door and I asked him if it was a museum. He said no, it was his home....but we were welcome to take a tour! So we all went inside and he gave us a really nice tour of his home. Kate, Ivana and John then told me that the next time I was at home in Brooklyn and someone told me they wanted a tour of my home, I am obligated. We'll see!

After that, we took a drive around the lake. We stumbled upon this really cool building site and we did a bit of wandering around there. They had this huge greenhouse filled with orchids. It was amazing. However, soon after what we guessed was the construction site manager came and kicked us off.

Around lunchtime we totally scored in that we found a sweet little restaurant that had access to the lake. After some noodles, we all put our swimsuits + appropriate Sharia-compliant coverings and jumped in. They also had inner tubes available. Although the lake seemed dirty in some areas, this area was really clean. It was so refreshing to be in the water, and the air was nice and cool but the sun was shining.

All of the Indonesians picnicking sat and laughed at us as we horsed around with the inner tubes -- trying to balance on them, splashing each other, etc. We called it our "Traveling Blang Show." For a nation made up mostly of islands, I've seen a surprisingly small number of Indonesians actually swimming. Nevertheless, we all had a great time. It reminded me of all of the great times I had growing up at Duncan Lakes in Nebraska, where we would spend endless sunny hours just splashing around in the lake.

That night, we found a really cute spot to eat, "Hip Burger," which served hamburgers, French fries, and variations. I had an "egg sandwich." It was delightful.

Today, we got up and went to a coffee factory. After that, we hit the road for the long trip home. Shirley was still really ill and actually had barely left the hotel room all weekend. Unfortunately, I am having the opposite problem as Shirley now! We figured out, on the way back, that the majority of our discussions over the long holiday weekend were about poop, and puke. What a sorry lot!

After all day of driving, we were happy to see Banda Aceh again. Our return was slightly dampered, however, when our driver tried to pass a car and hit a motorbike! Remember yesterday when I said that I hadn't seen an accident yet? Luckily, the guy driving the motorbike didn't fall off and was able to keep the bike upright and going. He was in our blind spot so really it wasn't anyone's fault. He still pulled up next to us and screamed at the driver of our car. I'm so suprised that this doesn't happen more often, and luckily nobody was hurt.

As we pulled up to our house and began unloading things into the house, the electricity promptly cut out for an hour. Welcome home! It's good to be back.