Off Again--Malaysia 2014

Yup, it's that time again...I couldn't let a summer get by without picking up at least one new country.  And this one is important, at least for me--this will complete my 30 X 30 goal.  Now, I first said thirty countries by the time I turned thirty, which I had planned out to do.  However, when I got around to seriously looking at airfare for the summer, including the trip to the US, I quickly found that July is a terrible month to be in the air if you're on a budget, or at least if you're booking somewhat last minute, as I tend to do these days (the more I travel, the less I plan ahead...).  If I made the trip to the US in June and returned in August, I could save four hundred dollars, or more, than if I traveled to Malaysia first and made the overseas trek in mid-July.  I had intended to do the Malaysian bit first so it would fall before my birthday in July, but it was easier to redefine a bit my 30 X 30 plan (after all, I'm still making it to number 30 while I'm thirty) than to pay that much more.  So...Malaysia in August it is.

If I've discussed my travel plans with you before,  you might remember (or not, no one cares all that much about someone else's itinerary) that my original intent was to go first to Brunei and let that be my thirtieth country, as it seemed a bit more exotic to go someplace no one back home in Tennessee could find on a map, then continue to poke around a bit in Borneo and return to peninsular Malaysia for the second half.  However, my beloved Canon G9 that has been my faithful companion for the past six years and three continents, finally retired.  It needed major repairs, and it seemed it would be better to put the money toward an upgrade--so now I have a new best friend, a Canon Rebel SL1.  I've long wanted a DSLR to step up my photography a bit, but as a backpacker I wasn't sure if I really wanted the weight and intrusiveness (sometimes when traveling I prefer to not obtrusively stick a camera in the locals' business).  I finally chose this model because it was touted as the lightest and smallest DSLR, so it seemed a reasonable compromise.  It is still quite a bit larger than I'm used to, but I'm adjusting well.  And these days many travelers carry them, so it no longer seems quite so obvious.  I love it and I'm really looking forward to seeing the results from this trip!  However, due to that unexpected expense, I decided that Brunei and Borneo would have to wait, and am sticking with peninsular Malaysia.  

So, off to the airport...

Home Decorating for the New Expat (or anyone, really)

Edited with Pixlr-o-matic

 One of the few downsides of moving internationally (unless, of course, your company moves you and provides a moving stipend and a shipping container, which has never happened to me) is that you don’t have room in the suitcase for a lot of knick-knacks, curtains, or framed art.  Now, some people don’t mind stark white walls decorated with fingerprints of unknown past tenants, but I need color.  What’s the fun of a new apartment if you aren’t going to decorate?  

Since I have neither excessive money nor space, but want to be able to cover those white walls quickly, I have to improvise.  I usually pack colorful calendar pictures, photos, postcards, etc. laid flat in the bottom of my suitcase for some quick décor without taking up much packing space.  This time around, however, I have found some websites with ideas for more unusual, but still packable, decorations.  I’m really looking forward to adding some of these to my wall collage once I arrive at my new apartment in Wuhan.  I’ve gone ahead and had some things printed at Walgreens so that I could get them in a larger size and on photographic paper, but you could also print them on regular paper on your printer after arriving.  All of the following are free except one, and it is noted.

•   Tagxedo:  This one turned out to be a bit addictive, at least for me.  First, you enter a list of words, or a poem, or a quote, or something of the sort.  I used the lyrics to my favorite songs. Then, tagxedo creates a word collage; you can choose from a variety of shapes for the collage, or even upload a new shape yourself.  Finally, there are dozens of color schemes to choose from—this is where I spend a lot of time, choosing from among thousands of possible combinations.  The end result is a unique personalized collage; you can share it, print it, or save it as a jpeg of various resolutions. (See example at the end of the blog).
•  Pixlr-o-matic: An easy-to-use photo-editing program lets you add filters, special effects, and borders to your photos.  
•  Block Posters: This is a tool to take your photo, blow it up to any size you want (the default is about two feet by three feet, but you could make it anywhere from a sheet of paper to the size of the whole wall), and then print it in sections on a regular printer.  This is the cheapest way I’ve ever seen to make some really big wall art.  Check out the gallery for some great ideas of things you can do with it. 
• Craft Jr.'s Paper Chains:  Especially useful if you have kids or like a bit of whimsy, these paper chain patterns are fun, and there’s a lot more than just the traditional children holding hands.  I especially like to owls and the rockets. 
• 20 Going On 80 :  This blog has some great decorating ideas, and she has a page of free printables that are really cute, for the walls, for crafts, and for various holidays.
•  Big D and Me's Kitchen Printables:   The blogger made a fun collage in her kitchen; some of the items she bought off of Etsy, but the ones she made herself she offers free to download.  
•  The Pretty Blog: This is predominantly a wedding décor website, but this page of free prints would work on the wall, too, as long as you like pastels. 
• Tip Junkie: Life is to be Enjoyed: A cute print of a joyful quote, available in three colors; there are a lot of other printables for all occasions on this site, but this one is most suited for a wall decoration.
•  Taidye's Printables: Really fun and bright prints, most with Bible verses; I really like the Einstein quote one, too, and the one that says, “Rock like Fraggles!”  (Or am I showing my age by knowing what Fraggles are?)  Oh, and the nest one, and…
•  Google Books (Life Magazine): Did you know that Google Books has every issue of Life magazine from 1935 through 1972? And you can print the pages?  A lot of the covers show the major historical events of the twentieth century, and if you’re into a vintage look, the advertisements are almost addicting.  A lot of the appliance advertisements would look adorable in an I-love-Lucy style kitchen, and the car ads with their mountainous backgrounds show a rustic sense of adventure.    
• Graphics Fairy: The Fairy has a plethora of vintage postcards, clip art, backgrounds, pages from old books, and other graphics available; these could be put to a lot of uses if you’re crafty.
•  Scrap Your Trip: SYT is a scrapbook supply site, but they have some incredible 12x12 papers that are beautiful photo prints—check out Italy under International Scrapbooking for some of the best examples.  Besides that, a lot of scrapbook paper has great patterns and colors, and would look great as part of a wall collage.  The paper is of course not free, but for about a dollar you can get a 12x12 print of Venice or the Cliffs of Moher or a Saguaro cactus in the desert, just to name a few.  
• Simple Crafter's Free Wall Art:  To gain access to the printables on this site, you have to register your email address, which is a minor annoyance, but once you do, there’s quite a few word art things to print, including a collection of holiday word collages. 
• The Cheese Thief: This one takes just a bit of work on your part: she offers a template to make an eye-exam chart that you can customize with your name and details. 

I’ve found so many great things this time—I have a feeling I will run out of walls to put them on in my apartment.  I can’t wait to move in!  

Made with Tagxedo, using the words to Freebird

Indie Travel Week 1: Resolutions

As I mentioned in my last post. to get myself back in the habit of writing regularly, I'm going to do the 2012 Indie Travel Blog Challenge.   This is an idea from Bootsnall, which is one of my favorite travel websites.  It's been a website to daydream on, as it wasn't blocked at work over the past few months.

The first week's topic is resolutions, surprise surprise.  Although not terribly original, I do appreciate that we have a time each year that we think about where our lives are at and what we'd like to improve.  It's too easy to get so busy living that we don't stop to evaluate and check our direction, and besides, we all need a fresh start sometimes.

My first resolution is, obviously, to write this blog about resolutions.  One down!  Well, really, 1/52 down.  I really want to write, but lack of self-discipline is my worst shortcoming.  The challenge involves writing a blog post  each week, so I'm going to keep you all hanging until December to see if I really keep it or not.  Or at least until next week when I forget to post.  No.  I'm going to do this...I will write a weekly post. I will write a weekly post.  I will write a weekly post.  There.  Leave obnoxious comments if I don't. 

My more difficult resolution is the classic one: I've got to get in better shape.  I've blogged before about my very favorite of all my adventures: mountain hiking.  There was Mt. Etna in 2006, the hike up the mountain on the shore of Lake Como to the lighthouse on Pasquetta (the day after Easter, a public holiday in Italy) in the spring of 2007, Swiss Alps around St. Moritz, and then later around the Matterhorn in summer and winter 2007 (well, I took a train/ski life for most of it on both of those), summer camp in the Sibylline Mountains in central Italy in the summers of 2008 and 2009, looking into the crater of Mt. Vesuvius in May of 2009, hiking in the Tatras in southern Poland in 2009, Hua Shan and Huang Shan in China in the summer of 2010, and, well, Rock City on Lookout Mountain in 2011 (well, it was fun, if not quite so exotic as past years...).  But each year the mountains get a little harder on my knees.  Each year the getting-there gets more miserable.  Hua Shan involved a lot of prayer.  The peaks are always worth it, but the getting-there would be a lot more fun, too, if I kept myself in better shape in the meantime.  And my face wouldn't be so red in all the pictures.

After spending this past year entirely in the U.S., with ubiquitous cars, no sidewalks, and too many creature comforts indoors, I especially need to get into some better habits.  I was going to join some exercise classes offered by my job, but they've schedule them to where everyone from my branch can't attend them (still miffed over that one).  Once I get my new computer, I'll download some of my favorite exercise videos again.  I've thought of catching up on actually watching some of my DVD collection while peddling on the stationary bike upstairs. That doesn't seem to really be much of a workout, but I suppose it would be better than nothing.  I'd go for a walk, but it's dangerous to walk along the highway or in the parking lot at work; we've got the woods behind the house, but the summer I'd get eaten alive by bugs.  In the fall, our neighbors all deer hunt. In winter, it's dark by the time I get home.  That leaves a bit of early spring before the bugs come out too bad.   I also need to forget that Little Debbie Brownies even exist; unfortunately, the rack of them is directly within my line of view all day long at work. :(  Why does it seem  like healthy habits are so inconvenient around here?  When I lived in Italy or in China, or even in college, for that matter, you had to walk to get to public transportation.  You had to walk to the grocery store.  There were sidewalks everywhere and large safe parks to walk in.  There were neighborhoods to meander through and explore; there were towers/belfries/hills/domes to climb for the view.  The lack of walking as a part of everyday life is one of my biggest gripes about life in the U.S.  I get too lazy here.  

Getting in shape may not seem like a travel resolution, but I think it is for me--or at least, that's my biggest motivation for it.  I want to be in better shape to make my travel adventures easier and kinder to my knees. 

Now, the resolution I like to daydream the most about is, as it has been for years, to find my mountain for 2012.  I keep hoping that one of these years it's going to be to Everest base camp, or in the Andes to Machu Picchu, or, my ultimate dream, Kilamanjaro, but I don't think that any of those are going to be right for 2012.  I'm not sure what it will be...but somehow I'll find one.

Photos 5

 It was a blissful experience after a long, hot, hard bike ride over rough roads to the Dragon Bridge to ride back on a bamboo raft on the Li River.  This was taken near Yangshuo, China, in late July or early August of 2010. 

 Another shot of the Li River, near sunset, as I rode a bamboo raft. 

 Moon Hill, with an amazing crescent-shaped hole in it, near Yangshuo, China, in 2010. 

 One of my favorite little hikes as a child was to Jackson Falls, on the Natchez Trace, about seven miles from where I grew up near Columbia, Tennessee.  This particular shot was taken in the spring of 2011. 

 I love cities...I especially love cities that have a downtown worth walking around.  This is in Memphis on a cold December day in 2011. 

Sunrise, as seen from the summit of Hua Shan, a mountain I climbed in July of 2010, in China. 

Photos 4

 The Abstruse Temple in Jingzhou, China, taken on a snowy day in December 2010.

 My favorite shot of the Abstruse Temple in Jingzhou...I don't know how a vertical picture will work in the slideshow, but we'll see.  Also December 2010. 

 The Kuang Si Waterfall near Luang Prabang, Laos...this waterfall hidden in the depths of the jungle was absolutely breathtaking.  This was in August 2010. 

A temple in Luang Prabang, Laos, taken in August 2010. 

Photos 3

 Looking over Naples from the Castello Sant'Elmo...that's Vesuvius in the background.  This was taken in May of 2009. 

 The pier on Tybee Island, on the coast of Georgia.  This was taken not long after sunrise, in late August 2009. 

 Meandering through The Burren, in western Ireland, on a nice day in October of 2008.

 The Cliffs of Moher, on the western coast of Ireland, in October of 2008. 

Beautiful old gate near the Sunshine Temple on the outskirts of Jingzhou, China, taken in November or December of 2010; I'm too lazy to go look for sure right now. 

Photos 2

 The sun setting over the rooftops of Budapest...taken in July 2009. 

 Hiking along a ridge in the Tatra Mountains, near Zakopane, Poland, in July 2009. 

 World War II memorial in Bologna, Italy, taken in February 2009. 

The most ancient and interesting church in Milan, Sant'Ambrogio.  This was taken in April of 2009.

Photos 1

 This one is in the Swiss Alps, from the Bernina Express train.  The train wound through the mountains from Locarno, or thereabouts, I think, to St. Moritz.  I took Mom on a day trip here on her first trip to Europe, in July of 2007.   

 I love the amazing colors of the Ligurian coast.  Mom and I were hiking through the Cinque Terre in July of 2007 when I took this and the next photo. 

 Also a view while hiking along the Cinque Terre in Liguria, Italy...

One of my favorite views in Milan...This was taken from the top of Monte Stella.  There are no natural hills in Milan, but after World War II all the rubble and debris was carted to two parks, one on each side of the city.  The larger pile, on the west side of town, was named Monte Stella and is now an amazing vantage point of the Alps in the distance and the city below. 

Another Continent, Again

Hello, anyone who might see this even though I know my regular readers long ago gave up and quit checking this blog.  Sorry for the abrupt end to the blog in October; due to the internet restrictions in China I had a hard time getting this blog to work; I had to use various proxies and such just to see it--and then in October, even the proxies quit working.  And anyhow, November and December were incredibly busy, so I probably wouldn't have kept up too well anyways. 

Anyhow, I moved back to Tennessee, arriving on December 24.  I only signed a one-year contract when I moved to Jingzhou, and although I could have, I chose not to renew it.  If I was still single and unattached, I would have stayed in a heart beat.  I had a almost-too-good-to-be-true job, great friends, a fulfilling and challenging ministry, frequent access to Hot Pot, and great travel opportunities (and those of you who are also "vagabonds" who will go anywhere armed with only a backpack and walking shoes will understand what that means to me).  But I was 7735 miles away from BW.

If you've never had a long distance relationship, let me tell you that ten months on different continents is not easy on a relationship.  I think we did great all things considered: Skype is a blessing from God, even though the slightest problem with it could send me into an irrational meltdown.  We talked almost every day, for hours when we could.  We set our personal phone-call-duration record back in August: ten hours, forty-five minutes.  Impressed?  We were a bit impressed with ourselves.  Or maybe we're just nuts.  I'm pretty sure the proprietors of the bookstore/postcard stand/internet cafe I spent the day in thought we were.  I showed up about five minutes after they opened the doors in the morning (I stayed at a hotel just across the way) and sweet talked them into selling me a banana from their fruit smoothie stand.  It was a sunny morning in the quiet little capital city of Vientiane, Laos, for me, and at that time BW was working third shift, so he was used to being up all night.  So well talked all my day and all his night--and it's a good thing they caved on the banana, because that was all the food I had.  We held on to our electronic connection that day until they finally started giving me pointed looks as the minutes hand ticked on towards closing time. 

The point is, no matter how hard you work to keep a relationship good even over the miles, it will never quite replace sitting in the same car (or truck, as it may be) and looking each other in the eye as we talk.   It certainly can be difficult sometimes: imagine you need to point out something negative to your spouse/significant other.  If you are in the same room, you can temper what you say by touching their hand, or doing something nice for them, or showing through your body language how you feel.  When all you have is a phone connection, you can only be blunt.  Even more so, in fact, that in person, since the other person can't see how hurt or upset your are from your body language or expression.  Everything has to be put into words, words that sometimes hurt. So many things would would be better if you could just have a hug when you need it.  Maybe I'll write more some time on the ins and outs of loving someone from that kind of distance.

I don't regret having the experience of a long-distance relationship, though: I think we have surely learned not to take each other for granted.  I hope we don't forget that lesson too quickly.  So I moved back here to Tennessee.  My life in Jingzhou was good, but however long I stayed, it would never be anything more that a relatively short-term stop on my life journey.  BW, on the other hand, could well be part of my life forever, and it was time to come back here and spend time face to face while we figure out our future together. 

So I am here.  Funny, I just might end up the one place I never imagined I would: here in middle Tennessee, the place I put so much effort into leaving behind. 

Taking Pictures

I also wanted to let you all know that I have been taking pictures around Florence, and in the different places I've been. There is a link to "my photos" in the left sidebar if you want to see them. I've just added some of here in Scandicci and a large album of pictures I've taken wandering around the city of Florence. I'll try to mention in my posts when I update my pictures... I would like to post more pictures on here, but it tends to be cranky.

Hey, it worked for once!!! This picture is of a castle ( know when you think of a castle, you think of massive gray stones and high turrets, but this is one of the Italian versions) that is just across the park from the Bible School. It is called Torre Galli, which means the tower of the Galli family.