Round the World

Shhh, Xiping is Sleeping

At Westside High School where I teach, one of the mantras is that students will have an international experience. Thus, our school hosted 42 Chinese students and teachers for a total of 6 weeks in April and May. I was interested in hosting a teacher from China since I got a taste of China during our around the world trip, and I still had a lot of questions. So I wanted to a learn a little bit more about the country.

So one April evening, two large school busses rolled up into the Westside High School parking lot from the airport, and out came 42 Chinese students and teachers. As soon as they entered the building, each student was swept away by their host family. My Chinese teacher was Xiping, the only male English teacher, and we jumped in our car and went to the house where he would spend the next two and a half weeks.

Hosting Xiping was an interesting experience in that I tried to figure out his outlook and point of view on various topics. He initially was very quiet and reserved and his answer to every question was, "Maybe." Would you like to have to eat breakfast? "Maybe." Do you need anything to help you sleep? "Maybe." Eventually he opened up as his English continued to improve, and shed some light on life in China. During his time, he even gave a television interview.

Myself, Nadine, our winking Thai souvenir Sophie, and Xiping

Not being the biggest cooks and aficionados of Chinese food, we weren't sure exactly what he would want to eat, since it wasn't going to be Chinese food. It turned out that at the beginning he ate a lot of peanut butter and bread. When I offered him the very American breakfast of cereal with milk and orange juice, he decided it might be best if he ate his staple diet of peanut butter and bread along with a warm glass of water. Eventually, we were able to get him to eat a more varied diet. When it came time to eat out, he really enjoyed a local Chinese restaurant whose owners were from his hometown of Tianjin.

Not only did Xiping stay with us, but he also went to our school everyday to observe the American school system. I was under the impression that he would sit in my classes and experience an American class, but during the two and a half weeks, he never actually attended any of my classes. Instead, from the time that he arrived at school with me, he would meet up with the other teacher, Color, to check on the students in the school, explore the school, and play on the computers provided to them from the school.

The biggest problem for Xiping was that he couldn't sleep. We did offer him a comfortable bed, rather than having to sleep on the floor. Actually, he might have preferred that since beds in China tend to be as hard as a rock. Like good hosts, we even provided him with clean sheets and a blanket. We could have given him warm water and then rubbed his back when he went to bed, but that might be a bit odd. The problems originated from the fact that the city of Tianjin was exactly 12 hours behind the U.S. So when it was 8 in the morning in Omaha, it was 8 at night in Tianjin, and his body was winding down when all of the bodies at the school were just winding up. Eventually his body caught up and he was able to sleep.

The time came for Xiping to leave, I asked if he was ever interested in visiting anywhere else in the U.S. like Texas, he promptly responded, "absolutely." I then asked just for the sheer fact of interest if he would be interested in visiting the state of New Mexico, and his response says it all, "Where? Probably not so much."

Finally, part of hosting Xiping during his visit to Omaha, is that I will go on a trip to Tianjin and Beijing at the beginning of October for 10 days with 30 or so students and 4 other teachers. That's a great result of hosting Xiping, but a trip with that many students to China should prove to be an interesting trip.

Peace,
John

Brand new video of Sophie and I performing the milkshake

Final State of the Belly Report

Moments before going to the hospital

With time to spare, Nadine and I tried on the hospital clothing wear, gowns and underwear

So the trip that started in the Cook Islands, left us pregnant in Thailand, and concluded in that great state of Texas finally came to completion August 3rd at 9:55 p.m. in Omaha, Nebraska. The reason it has finally concluded after 20 hours of labor at 9:55, our Thai souvenir Sophie Christine entered the world. She made her appearance on the world stage with a head full of hair on her 8 pound body and a set of lungs that would give Pavoriti a run for his money. Our only original hope, outside of being intelligent, athletic, and good looking, was that she be healthy, and that she was.

The new family of 3

As we both sit here in the hospital happy and fatigued, we are faced with our next big adventure, raising this child to be a responsible world citizen. Pretty big stuff. After her first trip when we take her home, we need decide where to take Sophie on her first travelling trip? We could take her to New Mexico, but we love this child, so we won't put her through that. I think initially even more challenging than trying to cross a Saigon road full of scooters is going to be and try to figure out how to correctly change a diaper and not drop the contents on the floor.

Proud parents

So this officially concludes our RTW trip 2006-2007, but this doesn't mean an end to our travels, just a change in the way we travel. We will keep you aware of any future comic travel experiences that we take on as a trio.

With that, my next dream trip would have us travelling around the Americas starting in Alaska all the way down the western coast of the Americas to Chile and back up the eastern coast through the Caribbean to Nova Scotia. Now if I could only find a few sponsors. Or maybe I should try to figure out that swaddling thing first.

Final question - Where should we travel first with Sophie in tow and why?

Peace
John, Nadine, and Sophie Christine

A ship under sail and a big-bellied woman,
Are the handsomest two things that can be seen common.
-Benjamin Franklin

Daily, Nadine and I think back to our travels, and for good reason, her belly is growing on a daily basis from our time on Koh Tao, Thailand. Soon our Thai souvenir will arrive, but until then, I figured I would show you the progression of Nadine's belly across continents and countries to what it is now, large and kicking.

State of the Belly Report #1 - Saigon, Vietnam

State of the Belly Report #2 - Kunming, China

State of the Belly Report #3 - Hogsback, South Africa

State of the Belly Report #4 - Rome, Italy

Brand new State of the Belly Report #5 - Omaha, Nebraska, USA

As you can see, our reminder of Thailand is growing daily. Oh Thailand.

Within the week, we will decide whether we will be living in the frigid winter of Omaha or the frigid winter of Denver, either way, it will be frigid, and don't forget cold.

You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
-Dave Barry

John, Nadine, and Sophie Christine

Prelude of our final flight of our around the world trip

Greetings all and hope y'all are doing well. It has been roughly a little over a month since Nadine and I have been back in the States, and there have been a few things that jumped out at us from our home country.

Stepping off of the plane in Texas, two things jumped out at us as we drove to our first meal in the U.S., (*and we're not proud of this*) McDonald's, this country is clean, really clean. You don't have any trash blowing around the streets. I would go as far as to say that I feel comfortable dropping some food and not feeling like I should pick it up in 5 seconds, per the 5 second rule, but at least 7 or 8 seconds. That is how comfortable the cleanliness makes me feel.

The second item is that people here in the U.S. are big-boned, a.k.a. fat. Not everyone is, and especially not you the American reader. Not only are we Americans heavier, we are also much larger. Walking around Asia, Nadine and I felt like giants with our height, but in Texas, we felt like medium sized, thin mesquite bushes blowing in the breeze. Everyone and everything is big in Texas, but I guess you can't forget the motto: Everything's bigger in Texas.

Contingents from Odessa, Texas; two from San Antonio; Tulsa, and Omaha

And finally my third impression, people eat fast. I am always the last one to finish, and Nadine is second to last. We're not sitting there playing with our food making miniature mashed potato castles, we're just eating at a leisurely pace. But by the time I would comment to everyone that this food is pretty darn good, and rich for that matter, after my first bite, people would be setting their forks down, pushing away from the table, letting out a burp of relief.

Who would have thought that my second snow in a year would be the day before Easter in Odessa

Nadine and I initially spent two weeks apart to spend time with our respective parents. With my folks, we dashed over to San Antonio to watch my niece's cheerleading competition. Entrance to the competition was $15 per person! Just returning from our trip, that price felt like 3 nights in a hotel in Thailand.

Fortunately and unfortunately, being that my dad has a tough time walking with a bum knee, I kindly asked the lady if they had a wheelchair he could use. Instead of paying that hefty little fee to watch our niece, Maria wheeled us, ok, just my dad, down a long corridor underneath the convention center and directly pass the entrance table to the cheerleading auditorium.

Now this is what I found really silly, we waited two hours for Morgan to perform for 3 minutes, and they wanted to charge us $15 a person. Wow. At least Morgan did well and had her favorite uncle there.

Whose diaper fits better?

You have to look long and hard to find diapers on some kids all around the world, but you know you are in a different world when the dogs are wearing diapers.

To complete our time of leading a non-regimented, wake up when you choose life, we were going to make stops with friends and family on our way to Omaha, Nebraska. But before we left the thriving metropolis of Odessa, Texas, the local newspaper did a short article on our trip. If you notice the picture, I think they decided to photoshop Nadine's photo with that of someone else. Doesn't look anything like her.

I guess this is for Sophie

So the end of our travels saw us visit San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Tulsa, and finally into Omaha. We currently spend our time looking for permanent jobs in Omaha, San Antonio, and Denver, but there has been one contingent pushing hard for Denver. Via a gift basket including some clothes that turned out to not be for me, but for little Sophie Christine who has scheduled a cameo appearance the beginning of August.

Hope all are well. This is our second to last entry pertaining to this trip. The final one will include a picture of our Thai souvenir when it finally arrives.

Stay classy world!

John, Nadine, Sophie Christine

Over the last 9 months and 5 days, life saw us circumnavigate the globe as 2, and come back as 3. In this blog entry I am going to cover the best and worst of our trip around the world as well as what people voted for as their favorites. Nadine and I also sat down our last night in Zurich, Switzerland and went over what we thought was the best and worst of everything. Enjoy.

Best A) swimming, B) snorkeling, C) to look at, and D) overall beaches

A) Pulau Perhentian Kecil's Long Beach, Malaysia. Soft sand in a peaceful cove.

B) Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. Hard to believe this beat the Cook Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, but with clear water and massive amounts of colorful fish, this got our top snorkeling award.

C) & D) Without a doubt, the beaches of Aitutaki and the lagoon get our top nod for best looking and best overall beaches. Congrats Aitutaki. Maybe we can print up a certificate an mail it to them so they know they got this award.

Most historically interesting

We saw some pretty great stuff, but Rome is chock-a-block full of history that would take years to take in.

Most mordern city

Hong Kong and plenty of their lights to prove it. Of note, we don't base modern on the number of lights in the skyline.

Best Food

Thai, Indian, Australian barbies, and Tex-Mex come in a distant second to Italian food. Any dish is a winner.

Best A) beer B) cider C) wine

A) Suprisingly the best beer wasn't found in Australia or Laos, but in Macau with their Macau Blond Beer.

B) South Africa has a smooth cider in Savanna Dry.

C) With good wine all over the world, our #1 was some of the Barossa Valley Shiraz.

Best experience with A) people B) adrenaline C) nature

A) Our time with the Bennetts in Melbourne, teaching English to the nuns in Saigon, and staying with the Brothers in Rome all tie, and that doesn't take into account all of the travellers we hung out with along the way.

B) Skydiving in Taupo, New Zealand was tops as we fell from 12,000 feet on a clear day.

C) Even though Nadine wasn't present for this one, being chased by mating orangutangs in Indonesia in the middle of nowhere was great.

Best A) natural wonder B) man-made wonder

A) Halong Bay was just a bit more amazing than the Great Barrier Reef and Punakaiki with hundreds of islands jutting out of the sea.

B) Angkor Wat compares equally with Machu Picchu, but distinguishes itself by being located over a much greater expanse of land.

Best place to conceive a child

Easy one here, Koh Tao, Thailand. Great beaches and buckets help. But given the number of kids we saw along the way, I think any place is a good place to conceive a child.

Friendliest people

We have the opinion that people are great all over the world, and we met some great people, but the Cook Islanders friendliness, constant smiles, and the fact that a random guy have us a ride to the airport at 6 in the morning as we walked in the dark, has us giving the nod to the Cook Islanders.

Cheapest and most expensive countries

South East Asia as a whole is very cheap, but Indonesia and Thailand stick out the most, while Switzerland and Italy are the most expensive. We almost paid the same amount for a train from Rome to Zurich as we did for our flight from Zurich to Texas. Yikes!

Best and Worst Hostels

The best hostel was in Shenzhen, China with a very clean double with a very good strong hot shower and comfortable beds.

We liked Malaysia, but the worst hostel was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where we did let the bed bugs bite, several hundred times.

The top place to return to

So many places were fighting for this honor, but New Zealand is incredible with mountains, glaciers, sheep, great people, wildlife, sheep, and lots of adrenaline activities. Oh, there are lots of sheep too.

One visit was enough for us

Our visits to *Vietnam and Macau were suffice one time. *The only reason we would go back to Vietnam would be spend time with the nuns in Saigon with whom we taught English. I can go to Las Vegas if I want to gamble under bright lights.

Where you will meet the most backpackers

Thailand! Thailand is spilling over with backpackers. In some spots you have to look hard to find Thai people.

Most isolated location

Mt Moorosi, Lesotho was devoid of visitors, other than Nadine and myself, and maybe a few eagles flying around.

Best meal and dining experience

We have a tie on this one between our fish and chips at Pig & Whistle in Rotarua, New Zealand where I commended the chef that "it's gotta be a great meal when you completely forget that you have a large cold beer" and our Italian dinner at Il Sandro in Viareggio, Italy.

Best airline

Emirates Airlines had plenty of leg space to go along with stars on the ceiling of the plane.

Best and Worst Bus

The best bus was in Thailand as we went from Khon Kaen to Bangkok as our seats had a back massage, all for $5 a person.

The worst bus was a bone rattling, leg numbing, butts in your face, stuck in the fetal position trip from the isolation of Mt. Moorosi, Lesotho to the real danger and craziness of Dubran, South Africa.

Most enjoyable way to get around

Scooter, scooter, scooter! Outside of Saigon of course.

Toughest place with language

We expected to China to be the toughest and it was, but at the same time it wasn't that difficult.

Most interesting language

In Lesotho and parts of South Africa where they speak Xhosa as one of their languages. Xhosa includes clicks in speech and a click is written as "!"

Most surprising country

Seeing the disparity between rich and poor along with the transition from apartheid to "equality" was interesting in South Africa.

Scariest experience

Arriving downtown Dubran, South Africa at night with the craziness of people running around and roaming the streets in large groups. That weekend there was 11 murders in Durban. Good thing we only stayed there a week.

Funniest experience

Our very first Thai massage on the island of Koh Lanta without a doubt was the one experience that left us in stitches having just had our crotches pushed on with the full weight of the masseuse and folded up like oragami. We came away feeling like we had been beaten up, but in a stretching, relaxing manner.

Longest amount of time backpackers had been packing

In Malaysia we met two English backpackers who had been traveling for 5 years. That pound really does go far.

Best and worst tours

The best tour was running around Addo Elephant Park and Schotia Lion Reserve spotting 4 of the Big 5 along with Nadine's friend Melissa and her boyfriend Jesse in the back of our truck.

The worst tour was to the Cu Chi Tunnels with our guide talking about American women all having fat asses. At first it was funny. Tenth time it was old. Twenty-first time was annoying.

Nicest train

Our ride out of Hanoi to Sapa was the nicest train decked out with wood panelling and soft sleepers.

Best and worst toilets

We encountered a really nice toilet in the land of Swatch and Lindt chocolate in Zurich. The toilet did double as the sink, didn't use the same water fortunately, but everything was hands free.

The absolute worst toilet I have ever seen were in southern China. I could go into more detail, but I will just say that aim was not important in any matters.

Worst day of travel

This is another tie between any travel within Indonesia and our 5 buses from Mt. Moorosi to Durban. Days like these make you wish you were on the massive paved highways of Texas.

Best reading spot

Hogsback, South Africa on the edge of a cliff with virgin forest and waterfalls in front of you as you can hear birds and monkeys in the distance.

Individual places we only were able to spend a brief moment, but would like more

The entire country of Burma with its' forbidden land, the Garden Route of South Africa with its' incredible topography, and Lucca, Italy with its' nooks all demand more time to explore.

Highlights of each continent

Australia - Aitutaki
Asia - Thai beaches and pregnancy
Africa - Big 5
Europe - Cinque Terre, Italia

Best targets for jokes

New Mexico and New Mexicans!

A few entries back, I put out the question to get people's favorites and here they are.

Favorite Comment

This quote is from Jill and what is funny about it is that she answered a question I didn't know the answer to, and the correct answer was New Mexico of all places.

Oddly enough, I found info on the WWW that states New Mexico has some pretty old prints - 210 million years old, and that David Loope, professor and chair in the Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska, had studied depressions of dinosaurs in Nebraska and was the first scientist to recognize them as the fossilized footprints of large animals... but I don't think that I found the oldest prints. I just don't have the adequate internet searching skills to win these things... Miss you two to bits! Can't wait to have an evening with you in person sometime so we can listen to you tell stories. Take care and God bless - jill

Here is another funny quote. This is Jeremy's response searching for my question asking for a funny joke about New Mexico, where Jeremy is from.

How about "The New Mexico Board of Education actually doesn't care about citizens who drop out of Kindergarten because, in order to feel smart, most of them quickly move to Texas!" Or: "Why do so many New Mexicans have car accidents on Texas Interstates? Folks pass out after holding their breath a long time because of the smell." How 'bout them New Mexico jokes? Can I expect to receive a postcard? Or even better: "How does a New Mexico camera company make sure that their cameras are foolproof? -- They make sure that a tall, lanky Texan can use it! (refer to video in this blog entry)

He wasn't that bitter was he?

Most popular blog entry

With a total of 3,900 visits, Uncle Ho, Those Rice Paddies Are Way Too Green! was the most popular.

Favorite location

Hat Rai Leh was voted the most popular location.

See the itinerary of this trip, and details about each destination.

Favorite story

Favorite story was my riding a scooter along the beach in Koh Lanta into a volleyball net.

Favorite Video

This video shows me crossing the busy, scooter filled streets of Saigon.

Favorite Photos, narrowed down to three

Punakaiki, New Zealand

Street vendor outside of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Balloon guy taking it all in Ho Chi Mihn City (Saigon), Vietnam

Whew, congrats if you have made it to the end of this entry.

Question - whoever can identify the location of this photo will win a personalized postcard from ODESSA, TEXAS!

Have a great Easter
JW