Pack It All In

Well, it's that time again...the night I try to fit my entire closet and bathroom into a duffle bag, while  repeatedly asking myself why I have seven travel size bottles of Herbal Essence Hello Hydration shampoo and 13 packages of wet-wipes. Those numbers are literal. I seriously don't know how I accrue so many travel size items or why they are not getting used. I can confidently say I am going to have some very hydrated, very delicious smelling hair over the next two weeks because I have enough shampoo to wash my hair every day, twice a day for a month.

I am heading to Fiji for two weeks with my co-worker, Ashlie Simon, and 14 students. Ashlie is the photography teacher at MHS, as well as a former student of mine. Yep, you read that right: a former student. (Still not sure how she's old enough to be teaching across the hall from me, but that's a different blog topic...) This will be my fourth summer trip with National Geographic Student Expeditions, and I think I am most excited about this destination over any other. We will be staying in four different locales in Fiji, including five nights in a Fijian village, living in locals' homes. We will update our blogs as much as we can based on electricity and wi-fi availability.

Before I can get completely focused on the trip and how great it's going to be (and I know it's going to be), I have to figure out how to get this duffle bag zipped. Chris experienced the packing process with me tonight, and I'm pretty sure he is having second thoughts about our relationship after seeing how many shirts I feel I need for a two-week trip. He is an extremely experienced packer/traveler, and as much as he tried to help, he pretty much just stared at the bag and said "there's no way....there's no way" over and over. BUT, I DID get the bag zipped. Minus the toiletries. Oooops. I'm going to sleep on it and feel sure I will wake up to find my bag has grown an extra pocket overnight.

See y'all on the other side of the dateline.

Day 13: Bless, Iceland

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” ― Gustave Flaubert

"Bless" means "goodbye" in Icelandic, which I think is really cool. And  appropriate.

We left Akureyri today and are back in Reykjavik. Erika and Peter took us to a really nice farewell dinner at a restaurant on top of the performing arts center...white tablecloth kind of place. Had some great conversation with Erika and the kids at our table. A great way to end the trip. Now I have to figure out how to get 60 pounds of stuff into a bag and convince the airlines that it's actually only 50 pounds.

It's been a GREAT trip! The kids have been the most polite, helpful, kind group of kids I've ever traveled with.  I'm so grateful to everyone involved in this trip, especially Cathy. What an amazing thing she has done by starting this program for SBISD. Cathy is retiring and will be missed more than she will ever know...especially by me. I've learned so much from her about being a great teacher and a great human being.

Top 5 Things I Will Miss About Iceland:

1. Its landscape. I loved riding in the bus because around every bend was something more impressive than the last impressive site.
2. The people...they're beautiful inside and out and seem to be a laid-back, friendly, accepting bunch.
3. Clean air, clean water, the bluest sky I've ever seen.
4. The Blue Lagoon. I'd go there once a week if I lived here.
5. Peter and Erika and Tota (and her dinners!) and Runnar...they made the trip.

Top 5 Things (in no particular order) I've Missed While We Were Gone:

1. Darkness...I'm a night owl by nature. The perpetual daylight has its perks, but it definitely threw me.
2. My bed and sleeping in real sheets, not a sleeping bag.
3. Everyday luxuries that we take for granted...plenty of electrical outlets, Netflix (they don't have Netflix in Europe...well, not legally), grocery stores that have every possible item imaginable all in one place, reasonably priced goods and services (have I mentioned that Iceland is expensive?!)...
4. Ice! The irony!! No place in Europe (or any foreign country that I've visited) uses ice the way we do. And certainly not "Sonic ice!" I realize this seems ridiculous, but for an ice addict like me, it's an issue.
5. Being able to talk to family or friends anytime I want to.

The reason I love to travel so much is because I get to learn so many new things, see things in a new light, hear perspectives different than mine, meet new and interesting people, and be reminded that although we may live our daily lives in very different ways and speak different languages, we are really not that different when it comes down to it. Most importantly, traveling makes me appreciate home and makes me realize how very fortunate I am.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

You're Going to Iceland?? WHY?

That's the question I've been asked most since I first started telling people I am going to Iceland for two weeks. Of course, a few people have responded with "awesome!" or "that's so cool...that's where Game of Thrones is filmed!," but for the most part, I get quizzical looks when I tell people where I'm going.

Honestly, when my friend/travel partner/co-teacher Cathy Bottoms asked me way back in September if I'd like to go to Iceland, my initial response was probably also a quizzical look. Within 10-15 seconds, however, I heard myself saying, "SURE!" I then immediately began wondering how I was going to stay warm. I love mountains and snow, but I mostly like seeing them through a window while I'm sitting by a fireplace, under a blanket, preferably drinking something that warms me from the inside out. Instead, for at least two nights of the trip, I will be looking at mountains and snow from the plastic window of a tent. On the ground. In a sleeping bag.  I guess the saving grace is that we'll have only four hours of darkness each night, so it will only be in the 30s or 40s instead of the 20s. Luckily, I'm only sleeping outside two out of 14 nights, so I think I can manage. I slept outside and didn't shower for a WEEK in Africa...this should be a piece of (very cold) cake!

Of course, I've spent more money preparing for this trip than the actual trip costs (not really...but close), but you can be sure, I'm going to be warm! Layers, layers and more layers are the theme of the trip. I will be traveling with Cathy, 16 photography students, two National Geographic Leaders, and a Nat Geo photographer. We will be gone two weeks and will cover the entire county of Iceland, which is only as big as Kentucky.

I've started packing, and of course, as is always the case, I have way too much stuff. I'll be paring down my packing list this weekend, praying that I can somehow survive two weeks of trekking around Iceland with only 50 pounds of stuff.

Wish me luck and please pray for unusually warm temps in Iceland for the next two weeks! Stay tuned.

Into Africa

In ten days, I will be walking through an African village just outside of Arusha, Tanzania. I might as well be landing on Mars. I have no idea what to expect. I am quite sure whatever expectations I have at this point will be proven completely wrong, for better or for worse. I've wanted to go to Africa since I was a little girl. I remember looking at photos of the bare-chested women and their babies in the Time-Life books that sat on a shelf in our dining room. I was fascinated by the images of the villagers and the animals and the sunsets. To think that I am now going to see those things in person 30 years after looking at them in a book excites me and scares me at the same time. I am sure I will see things more magical than I ever imagined and things that make me more sad than ever before. I've seen some beautiful places and I've seen poverty and horrible living conditions, but something tells me I will experience both of these things in a whole new way.

I am fortunate to be traveling with my friend and fellow teacher, Cathy Bottoms, and 13 photography students. The trip, sponsored by National Geographic, will last three weeks. To see Africa through the eyes of students will add a whole new dimension to the trip. And to help them see the trip through a camera lens, while hopefully improving my own photography skills, is an opportunity for which I will be forever grateful. We will spend part of our time doing community service work in a small village near Arusha, helping build a water supply system and getting to experience daily life in the village. We will then spend seven days on safari, traveling with a National Geographic photographer. Of course I am excited about that part of the trip, as I have dreamed of seeing elephants and giraffes and lions in the environment they're supposed to be in rather than behind bars at a zoo; but I am also very much looking forward to meeting the people of the village and spending time with the children there. And in some very minute way, I am looking forward to proving to my family and friends and myself that I CAN sleep on the ground in a tent and I CAN go a week without a shower and I CAN hike several miles with a 30 pound (if I'm lucky!...maybe 35?) backpack on my back.

Let the adventure of a lifetime begin...