Relaxation in Thailand and a Suprise at the End

After going strong for almost three weeks, I was looking forward to some relaxation time and that was exactly what we did this past weekend.  Early Friday afternoon I meet Urs and Rachel at the airport where we checked in for our flight to Phuket, Thailand.  With the flight only being about an hour and a half, it was the perfect opportunity to catch up on some of my own journaling and to take a short nap before landing.  When we arrived in Phuket, we were driven over to a car rental shop where we rented a car for the weekend.  After doing this, we began our relaxing getaway at Urs and Rachel's new home.  It was a beautiful home with plenty of space to just lounge around and hang out.   I was shown around the house, but from the moment we arrived I had my eye on one thing, the swimming pool in their backyard.  It had been a very warm day and I was looking forward to cooling down in the pool.  We all threw on our swimming suits and jumped into the pool.  What a great way to start the weekend!  After spending some time in the pool, it was time to get ready to go out for supper.  We were meeting a couple of Urs and Rachel's friends and their son down by the beach for a nice meal.  We were able to get a great table with a nice view of the sea and the restaurant had delicious food.  While we were talking and the sun had set, we saw people lighting paper lanterns and setting them free in the sky.  It was such a beautiful sight and amazing to see how high they went.  It was almost like they became little stars in the sky.  I can only imagine what it looks like when there are thousands of them being let go at the same time.  Along with the paper lanterns, the restaurant we were eating at had an individual who performed a fire show for the guests of the restaurant.  It was very cool  the way he spun the stick that was lit on both ends high up in the air and he was still able to catch the stick without burning his hands.  After a while, we decided it was time to start heading home since it had already been such a big day.  I knew one thing for sure and that was that I was exhausted.

On Saturday, our second day in Phuket, Urs and Rachel had some people stopping by to finish up a few things on the house.  While they did that, I lounged by the pool and eventually went for a swim.  I know, what a hard life, right?  The water was a perfect temperature for a morning swim and I enjoyed soaking up a few sun rays.  When e everything was finished around the house that had to be done, Urs and Rachel took me to a local beach restaurant where we grabbed some lunch before lounging on the beach.  Again it was a very warm day, so I wondered down by the ocean.  It is low season right now because the waves are so high and violent,so I did not go swimming in the ocean.  I enjoyed looking for a few seashells and reading my book though.  After spending an hour in the sun, which is very strong in Thailand and you have to be care as to not spend too much time in the sun, we decided to head back home and take a quick swim in the pool before going out for supper.  Again for supper we met up with one of Urs and Rachel's friends at a very local restaurant where we were able to try traditional Thai food.  I quickly discovered that the Thai people like their food spice, so I stuck to a more mild fish type soup.  I did try the other things, but I knew I couldn't handle too much of any of the spicy dishes the others were eating.  It was a good experience though and I am glad I had the opportunity to try a few different things.  That night when we went back to the house, we laid out by the pool and admired the peacefulness of the night.  

Again the next morning we went for a quick swim before we had to put away all of the outdoor pool furniture because it was our last day in Phuket.  After grabbing some breakfast we decided to do something a little out of the ordinary.  We decided it was a perfect opportunity for an elephant ride!  I had been hoping for this experience the whole trip.  After riding a camel in Egypt, I thought it would be a great idea to ride an elephant inThailand.  It was quite the experience.  Urs and I climbed the podium where we were able to sit on a bench type thing on top of the elephant.  It was kind of a rough ride, but we had a blast.  The young man that was guiding the elephant jumped down and offered to take our picture.  It was great and he really took some good pictures and so did Rachel.  Look for them in the next couple of weeks.  It was a terrific way to end our stay in Thailand before catching our flight back to Singapore.  

A True Taste of Culture

Sorry again about the delay in letting you all know how things are going on my trip, but I guess that tells you how busy I am staying and how much fun I am having.  I have entitled this next entrée A True Taste of Culture, because that is what I have been doing for the last few days.  

On Tuesday, July 24 (gosh I realize that's almost a week ago already) I felt like I went back in time to when I was in Egypt about a year and half ago.  I visited Kampong Glam or better known as Arab Quarter.  To be perfectly honest, this was one of the best days I have had in Singapore and believe it or it  I explored Arab Quarter all by myself thanks to my trusty guide book.  I started my adventure off by once again visiting a few shops that sold trinkets and different souvenirs, but it wasn't until I traveled deeper into Arab street that I saw a few stores with different traditional clothing from the Middle East and a store the sold handmade baskets called Rishi Handcrafts'.  As I continued to walk down the street, I caught glimpse of a large, golden dome that just seemed to glow in the sun.  Instantly I knew this was the one thing I was the most excited to see on this excursion.  It was Sultan Mosque.  This mosque is the most important mosque in Singapore.  It can house 5,000 people in the prayer hall at one time.  Standing in front of the mosque gave me an amazing feeling, not because of its beauty or it's massive size but because it had such a welcoming feeling.  Many obvious tourist were coming and going as they pleased.  As I walked into the mosque, there were two men making sure that people were appropriately dressed and that they signed the guest book.  For those of you who don't know much about the Muslim religion, I will try to explain it to the best of my ability as I describe my experience in the mosque.  Both sexes, especially women, are required to have their body's covered as not to be a distraction to those praying around you and to also show respect to the body you were given.  So in my case I threw on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved jacket.  Also for women it is not required, but appreciated if you cover your hair with a head scarf.  After doing all of this it is ok for tourist to enter the mosque.  Muslim worshippers must prepare themselves before entering the mosque, such as washing their hands and arms, feet and legs, hair, and brushing your teeth to name a few.  Men and women do this in separate areas.  After doing this they may enter into the mosque.  Again just like men and women have different areas of preparation, men and women have different areas in which they pray.  The men's area is open to the public to view, but not to enter into the area in which they pray.  As I was admiring the prayers, a older man, probably in his later 50s, came up to me and welcomed me to Sultan Mosque.  Who knew an hour later I would still be talking to him about the Muslim religion.  Saleem was so helpful and pointed out many of the interesting aspects of the mosque.  He also informed me about the Islamic religion and made many comparisons to Christianity.  As you can probably tell, since I talked with him for over an hour, that I am very interested in different religions and cultures.  As we were talking, the woman representative came over to us and asked me a few things after offering to show me the women's section of the mosque.  If course I jumped on this offer as quickly as she asked.  While I was in Egypt we were never given this option because all of our guides were men and we were a mixed group.  Although there was nothing super special about this section of the mosque, it was a side I had never witnessed before.  It was something new.  After taking a few minutes to watch a couple of the women pray, we headed back downstairs to the main level.   By the time I had left the mosque, I had probably spend close to two hours there.  I thanked both representatives for taking time to talk with me and show me around the mosque.  What a wonderful day in Kampong Glam.   

On Wednesday, I tried another culture, but this one in Chinatown.  While I Chinatown, I did some more shopping for little souvenir things.  I enjoyed walking down the street and seeing all the red paper lanterns hanging from building to building.  I can only imagine what the streets look like at night when they are all illuminated.  I continued to walk through many open shops until I arrived at Sir Mariamman Temple.  The Hindu temple was elaborately decorated with many vibrant paintings and artwork.  The temple is dedicated to the goddess who cures serious illnesses.  You will have to check the blog in a little over a week for pictures because I don't believe my explanation of the temple does it justice.  What amazed me most about the temple was the tower at the entrance.  The gopuram or tower is covered with hundreds of figurines of Hindu deities.  It was beautiful.  After spending some time here, I walked through Chinatown until I made it to one of the most important sights there, which is Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.  Supposedly the temple houses one of Buddha's sacred teeth.  Even though there is great controversy over this, it draws many people to this temple.  After spending so much time wondering around the temple, I needed to hurry to the Singapore City Gallery before it closed.  The gallery shows the growth of Singapore the buildings they have built.  It was a beautiful gallery that housed many large models of different buildings and even a couple models of the whole city.  It was a great ending destination and a great place to cool off from the long walk outside.  When Urs and Rachel arrived home that night, they took me to the Swiss Club.  I was able to see where many of the Swiss families who live in Singapore send their children to school and I was able to indulge in some Swiss cuisine.  It was truly a day of culture!  

On my last day in Singapore for the week, I went to Little India.  One thing that changed about today was that I was not traveling alone, I was traveling with the helper that works for Urs and Rachel.  Jean and I visited many different temples and few mosques.  I enjoyed having her with me because it gave me someone to talk to.  One of the neatest places we visited today was a temple with a Buddha that was 50 ft tall (15 meters).  It was amazing and the amount of detail put into it.  What a wonderful sight to see.  I enjoyed the liveliness of Little India.  You could feel the people's excitement for life and one of the places I think I felt this the most was at Mustafa Center.  It was one of the most unique stores I have ever been inside, yet one of the most disorganized according to American stores.  You would be walking through aisle of food and all of a sudden you would be looking at children's clothes.  On the next level, you would be walking through adult clothing and then you would be in housewares.  It was just interesting and it kept you on your toes.  After seeing all of Little India, Jean and I headed back home.  I needed to start packing because Friday we left for Phuket, Thailand.

Hong Kong ~ "Time is Money"

Again I am sorry this post is being written so late.  This past weekend (Thursday evening to Sunday evening) we spent in Hong Kong.  We arrived in Mong Kok district late on Thursday evening and got acquainted with our hotel, Langham Place.  The hotel was beautiful and came with a beautiful view of Hong Kong.  

Let me just start by saying I have never seen so many people in one place in my life.  Out first day in Hong Kong was spent taking a tour with a tour guide provided by the hotel that went from Mong Kok to Yau Tsim Mong, anther district maybe a little less than a mile walk.  I learned so much about the Chinese culture from our guide.  As she guided us down the street, we stopped in many same stores where she pointed out things such as different foods the Chinese eat, gods they believe in and the traditions they follow, the herbal teas many Chinese drink faithfully to cure health ailments, and wedding traditions.  We learned that the Chinese dry a lot fish including their fins.  I think the food I found the most interesting was the bird's nest.  I remembered hearing that the very high classed and rich people eat things such as bird's nest soup on special occasions, but I did not realize it was still an ongoing tradition for the Chinese.  Along our walk we enjoyed a couple open air vendors who were selling different fruits and vegetables.  Also, it wasn't unusual to see a few elderly men play a game of mahjongg. It was quite an experience and I enjoyed seeing and learning so much about the traditional Chinese culture.  That afternoon we cooled down in the club loung where they served some delicious appetizers and snacks.  After resting for a short period of time,  we traveled by MRT and a bus up to the highest point in Hong Kong called the Peek.  Of course we made many "friends" on the MRT and the bus, but once we arrived at the top of the Peek we were blessed with a panoramic view over all of Hong Kong from a shopping center.  It was crazy because one side of the mountain looked like a jungle and was still covered with trees and bushes, but the other side of the mountain was covered with skyscrapers.  We enjoyed some time  up there and then explored the shopping center for a place to sit down and have something to eat.  Once we had found some food and regained some energy, we made our way back to the hotel.  After walking around all day Urs and Rachel decided to look for a place to receive a foot message, but I decided to head back to the hotel.  I don't know there was just something about having someone else touch my feet that made it not so appealing to me.  I guess I just find feet disgusting, but I enjoyed some down time.  When Urs and Rachel came back we decided to grab a quick bite to eat and then hit a famous night/weekend market called Ladies' Market.  There were so many store stalls here and again millions and millions of people.  I couldn't believe it.  There was everything from clothes and handbags to jewelry and little souvenirs.  It was interesting to see more of a local shopping spot for the people of Hong Kong.  There were local artists singing and performing different skits.  It was hard to believe that all of this shops and people seemed to come alive at 10:00 at night.  What a day and we enjoyed so much on our first day in Hong Kong.

One the second day in Hong Kong (Saturday), we decided to hit another outdoor shopping market.  I'm starting to think Asia is known for all of its shops and markets.  This market was called Stanley's Market.  Now this is where more of the westerners shop for their souvenirs. After being at Ladies' Market, I expected a lot of bargaining, but as Rachel and Urs said, "The Westerners seem to have destroyed the bargaining of Stanley's Market because they think it is rude and just don't know how to bargain."  For me I think this very true.  I have no idea how to bargain or what an appropriate price would be to pay for certain items.  I enjoyed seeing Urs and Rachel bargain, but I always felt so uncomfortable doing it myself.   We spent a lot of time wondering around the market and I even found a few things that I wanted.  After spending numerous hours at the market, we had to hurry back to the hotel to prepare for a night out on the town with two of Urs and Rachel's friends who now live in Hong Kong.  We ate at a very fancy restaurant.  It was nice to get dressed up and see the upper class side of Hong Kong.  The food was delicious and we enjoyed some of the music from the night life of Hong Kong after supper.  It was another busy day I must say.  

On Sunday, Rachel wanted to do some shoe shopping, so Urs and I enjoyed a boat ride around a part of Hong Kong.  It was beautiful weather for this and a nice, relaxing way to see some more of Hong Kong's skyscrapers.  There are a few buildings with interesting architecture.  After this, we met up with Rachel at mall close by and found our way back to the hotel.  We enjoyed some afternoon orderves provided by the hotel.  It had been a great long weekend in Hong Kong, but it was time to head back to Singapore.  

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:  I have tried many different ways to add pictures to my blog, but it just doesn't seem to work from my iPad.  I have added a few pictures from Switzerland to my facebook page and hope to have more up soon.  As for adding pictures to my blog, it might just have to wait until I get back home.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

The Shops of Singapore

Like I said in my last post, I have arrived in Singapore. Urs and Rachel warned me that that the humidity level would be high and I quickly discovered they weren't joking. The climate of Singapore reminds me very much of the climate of New Orleans, Louisiana, but maybe even a bit more humid. Let me go back and start at the beginning of my trip to Singapore. My flight to Singpore was an interesting and long flight, 11.5 hours to be exact. It wouldn't have been so bad if my tv screen would have worked and I could have watched a few movies, but instead the screen didn't work even when they tried to reset it, the kid sitting next to me talked almost none stop and a kid sitting a couple rows a head of me was sick the entire night. Thank goodness for iPods and iPads! I was able to get a couple hours of sleep before we landed in Singapore around 3:30 pm on Tuesday afternoon. Urs pointed out a few of the interesting sights on the way to his house. We enjoyed catching up and talking about college, work, and family. I was able to meet Urs and Rachel's house helper Jean and am very excited to spend some time with her. When Rachel arrived at home, we enjoyed a meal cooked by Jean. They showed me around there house and by this time we had all had a long day and called it a night. On Wednesday, Urs and Rachel had to go to work so I spent the day exploring the many shops on Orchard Road with Jean. Who knew Singapore had so many shops. One side of the stree was more your average Joe kind of shops with souvenirs and trinkets, but the other side of the street was your upper class fancy shops, such as Chanel, Prada, Gucci, ect. Jean and I spent 4 hours looking at the stores and taking pictures. After all the walking we had done, we decided it was time to call a cab. Later that evening, I met Urs at his office to see where he works. Urs is a Swiss banker here in Singapore and elet me tell you he works in one nice building with a beautiful view. He can look out and see the Marina from his building. I really enjoyed seeing the UBS building. Once Rachel had finished work for the day, we meet up at a little coffee shop where we stopped for a drink. If I haven't mentioned this before, stopping to sit down for a drink happens very often in foreign countries, at least with the Swiss people. We then walked down by the bay and were able to see a few of the big tanker ships before yet again walking through another shopping mall to get to the restaurant we were eating at that evening. The restaurant was amazing! It was shaped like a boat and was on the top level of a building with probably 46 stories. It was so cool and awesome to see the night lights of Singapore. We were able to take some very nice pictures, which I hope to have up later tonight, fingers crossed.

Last Few Days In Switzerland

Well, I have official made it to Singapore, but I am going to write about my last few days in Switzerland and then I will write another post for my first day in Singapore.  The last day in Switzerland, I spent on Mount Pilatus with Urs' uncle George.  We had so much fun and lucky the weather cooperated with us and allowed us to have quite a view.  We road a four person gondola up to the first station with a young couple from Chicago.  I enjoyed talking to them and George enjoyed sharing some facts about Switzerland and Mount Pilatus.  When we arrived at the first station, we had to change gondolas and the next gondola we rode up to the top of the mountain was for 40 people.  That was a little tight cramming forty adult people into a fairly small gondola, but it was well worth it when we arrived at the top of the mountain.  It seemed like you could see forever and you could see all the different towns and lakes.  It was breath taking and I think George was in awe of sight too because he kept saying "Will you look at that!"  It was great and I don't know how to explain how beautiful and majestic the view from the Mountain was, so you will have to check out the pictures!  That night, we enjoyed supper at a small Italian restaurant in the town where George and his wife, Dolores, live.  I enjoyed spending my last night with them and Hugo.  We enjoyed talking about anything and everything.  Dolores was very interested in the Amish people and I thought it was interesting that she knew who the Amish were.  It was during this supper that I realized how fast my time in Switzerland had gone, but how much fun I had had.  We said good bye to George and Dolores before Hugo and I went home.  It wastime for me to start packing and preparing for my flight on Monday.  Hugo took me shopping for Swiss chocolate and a few souvenirs before dropping me off at the airport and saying good bye.  It's crazy that in one week I meet so many amazing people who showed me so many things ad taught me so much about their culture.  I am so thankful and gratful to have people like them in my life.   So I just discovered some sad news.  I'm not sure if I can put pictures on my blog from my iPad.  I will keep trying to figure something out and hopefully I will have pictures for you soon!  Sorry for the inconvience.

Tunnels, Round-abouts, and Swiss Chocolate

Wow I can`t believe how fast the last few days have gone by.  It`s crazy to think I only have a day and a half left in Switzerland.  But anyway, let me tell you about everything I have done in the last two days.  Yesterday Hugo and I travel for an hour by car to a town just outside of Basel, Switzerland to meet the parents of Rachel, my god-father`s wife.  I had a blast with them.  Her mother is a teacher for 5th grade students and her father just retired from working in an administration building for the town of Basel.  It`s interesting that Rachel`s parents had/have the same type of jobs my parents have.  Her mother had prepared snacks for us when we arrived and was excited to talk with me, but was nervous about her English.  She hasd no reason to be nervous at all, because her English was amazing and very clear.  I truly enjoyed talking with her.  Her husband, on the other hand, only spoke French and German because he was born in Denmark.  Although I thought it would be a challenge to talk with him, I was surprised how much we could understand each other with hand gestures and help of others to translate.  After getting aquanted, Rachel`s parents traveled with me to Basel where they showed me many interesting sights.  Rachel`s mom liked the Cathedral where dogs and cats could be brought in for the church service and I believe Erik, Rachel`s father, enjoyed the boat ride across the river.  I also enjoyed the boat ride.  String connected the boat to cable that was attached at one point on each side of the river.  The current of the river was so strong that it helped to move the boat, but without the boat being attached to something the boat would simply float away.  The ride only lasted 10 minutes, but I think it was one of the most exciting things I did while in Basel.  After the ride, we were walking around and Rachel`s mom asked me if I liked chocolate.  Of course I replied yes, because how can you not like chocolate while in Switzerland?  She took me into this little shop that is famous for its chocolate and we ordered milk chocolate with hazelnuts and Erik ordered milk chocolate with red pepper.  Now I thought Erik`s order was a little strange, but he let me try a few pieces and it was delicious.  We sat down at a cafe and enjoyed a cup of coffee and indulged in some chocolate.  Once we were through exploring Basel, we returned to Rachel`s parents house and Erik cooked us a meal.  I discovered that Erik enjoys entertaining people because it gives him a chance to cook, which he is very good at.  We had a tossed salad, beef, Swiss potatoes with herb cottage cheese, and gingerbread dessert Basel is famous for.  Everything was so good and we enjoyed talking about Iowa and Switzerland.  Erik even got out a map of the United States and I showed him where Sibley is located and where I go to school.  It was amazing and I`m glad I had the opportunity to meet them.  When we left, I even got the traditional good bye of a kiss on each cheek before I left.  I can say I truly left like I belonged in Switzerland when I left.

Church were pets are allowed to attend the service.

Coloring Basel.

Riding the Boat Across the River.

UBS's (United Bank of Switxerland) Hammering Man.

Rachel's Parents

Today, I traveled to the city of Luzern with Hugo.  The city of Luzern is only a few minutes away for the town I am staying, Kriens, but we had yet to visit it.  Here, we visited the open-air markets.  All of the vegetables, fruits, breads, and cheeses were to picture perfect that it was hard to notice anything else around me.  Also, I could not believe the amount of flowers in the market, especially the sunflowers.  They were beautiful and could be seen in almost every direction.  Again we enjoyed a few more cathedrals and we were finally able to enjoy one of the most, probably the most, famous bridges in Switzerland.  The Chapel Bridge goes over the Reuss River and has a tower that protected the city from approaching enemies.  The bridge was covered with geraniums and contained many painting of Luzern`s history inside.  It was sad to find out that part of the bridge had burned down in 1993, but it nice to see that they have rebuilt it and tried to save as many paintings as they could.  Also, while in Luzern, we enjoyed a boat ride around the lake of Luzern.  It contained so many beautiful views of the mountains and cities, it was difficult to capture in the pictures I took.  Once we had seen the sights of Luzern, we headed back to Hugo`s house where we prepared a traditional meal of sausage and Swiss potatoes.  It was very delicious and fulfilling that I think its time to fall into a food coma.  So goodnight all and I hope to have pictures uploaded within a few days when I can get my iPad connected to the internet.

Cheers,
Katie

I suppose I owe an explination for the title of the post before I go though.  It is known that Switzerland is known for its chocolate, watches, and cheese, but did you know almost anytime you get into a car and drive some where you will face thousands of tunnels and round-abouts.  So for me, I think I will remember Switzerland for its tunnels, round-abouts, and chocolate. :)

Open market in Luzern.

Famous church in Luzern.

Standing by the Chapel Bridge.

Boat we took around Luzern.

Views from the boat.

All the Sights

Elsbeth and myself

Its been interesting being in Switzerland.  For some reason I expected it to be like Germany and although in many ways, it is much different.  Yesterday I visited the town of Zurich with Hugo and the aunt of my god-father, Elsbeth.  I enjoyed seeing Zurich very much.  We took the train there, which gave me a different purspect of Switzerland and maybe you could even say the more peaceful and less busy side of Switzerland.  Elsbeth took me to visit a couple of the churches that were located in the older part of Zurich.  No matter how many churches or cathedrals you go into in Europe, I believe each one gets more beautiful.  The stain glass was amazing and the detailed painting were outstanding.  I enjoyed this part of Zurich very much.  After visiting a couple other sights, we went to bar called Clouds that overlooked the entire city of Zurich and is the tallest building in Switzerland.  It was a amazing and a nice way to relax in the busy city.  Elsbeth invited us over to her house for supper where she cooked a pasta dish.  It was delicious.  She also had a dog, so it was nice to get to be with a dog for a little while.

Welcome to Zurich!

Today, Hugo took me to the Alps.  It was breath taking up there.  We traveled up to Devil`s ridge where it is said that the people made a deal with the devil to build a bridge in the Alps.  The devil agree as long as he would receive the first soul of the person that crossed.  The people thought this sounded far, but when the bridge was complete, the people sent a goat over as the first sould because none of them wanted to give their sould to the devil.  I thought the story was very interesting and only made Devil`s bridge better.  After taking a few pictures here, we traveled to the south of Switzerland where we saw the Italian influence on Switzerland.  It was so warm here and had many palm trees.  This was very interesting because it is usually thought of as being a cold country.  This was a nice town to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and a salad.  As we traveled back to Hugo`s town on the outside of Luzern, we traveled through Gutthard`s Pass.  This is a very long tunnel that Hugo thought was about 10 miles.  Let`s just say I had my share of tunnels today.  Well supper is waiting.  Look for more soon.

Cheers,
Katie

The Devil's Bridge was one of the most interesting places I saw.

Wouldn't that be fun to ride up the mountain?

The breath taking views of the mountains.

Hello from Switzerland

Well I have made it to my first destination.  Both of my flights were on time and were not too long.  I did not get much sleep on the flight from Chicago to Switzerland, so I was pretty tired when I arrived.  Hugo (my god-father`s father) has shown me many sights in Switzerland.  We went to Luzern and Sempach, the hometown of my god-father.  While we were here, we saw the two towers that blocked the enemies from entering the city at night and we saw the Battlefied of Sempach where the a small group of farmers defeated the Austrian army when they tried to invade.  This was very interesting.  It was very exciting to see all of the little stores and best of all, the Alps could be seen from almost everywhere we were.  I am looking forward to going up on of the mountains, hopefully when the weather clears up a little bit.  It rained this morning, but we still hope to do a little bit of sight seeing today.  I hope to write more soon and hopefully put some pictures up.

Cheers,
Katie

Tomorrow is the Big Day

Hello readers,

My bags are packed and ready to go. It's hard to believe that in 48 hours I will be in a different country. I'm extremely excited and nervous at the same time. I'm ready for this adventure though. As everyone says, "this will be a trip of a life time." Not only will I experience two very different cultures, but I will be given the opportunity to reconnect with my siblings. Seeing everyone again is what I am the most excited for!

Also, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and warm wishes. They are greatly appreciated and truly mean a lot. Thank you and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you all!

Katie

Cheers to the Count Down!

Greetings Travelers,

     It's been so long since I have written, but so much has happened since October.  It is truly unreal to think that a trip I and so many other people have been planning for a year and a half is only eight days away now.  I don't even know how to explain how excited and nervous I am for this trip.  It will be an experience of a life time and I am so excited to experience so many different cultures.  It should be interesting.

    Well this weekend I started packing my bag.  My goal is one suitcase that can weight 50 pounds.  I'm feeling pretty confident about this goal.  For the most part, all of my clothes are already packed and now it is just the odds and ends things that are left and don't forget all the shoes!  As of right now the suitcase weighs just under 35 pounds!  Woot Woot!  This is a good sign :)

   I suppose it is time to get back to packing and preparing.  Check back soon to see how things are going!

Safe Travels,
Katie