Dec 2005

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I made it to Dubai yesterday. I flew via Air India, and just f.y.i. I don't highly recommend it. But in any case it got me here. A nice lady sat next to me and gave me samosas (a nice fried treat). When I reached here I was greeted by Simone, her step mom, Tess, and her half brother Keith (8). It was so good to see her again. We tried to go out to church last night but it wasnt to start until 11:30 and all of us were already really tired at 9! So we walked around by the canal. Dubai is really beautiful at night. There is a huge annual international shopping festival going on starting on the 4th here, so we are planning to stay until the 5th or 6th now instead. The whole city is decorated for the festival with strands of little yellow lights on all the trees and buildings. The weather here is really nice. It is like spring in MN but there are palm trees here. The city sort of reminds me of California, but its clean and everything its written a second time in Arabic instead of Spanish. It has a modern feel to it here. I didnt stay awake until midnight last night so I guess I am ringing in the new year today. Simone and I made it to church this morning, but only stayed through the worship because it seemed like it would be a reallly long service. There are people of all nationalities here, though it is a mostly Muslim country, so there are many people in traditional Muslim dress. I dont know what we'll do today, but hopefully I'll be a bit more awake for it and less sick to my stomache. The food I've eaten in India and here has been really good but my body is all messed up from the time change. Anyway, thats all for now. I wish everyone a blessed 2006

P.S. If you want a post card from somewhere, I still need addresses! Thanks!

Hi all I've reached India, am now at the airport...leaving again! When I reached here, we had a misunderstanding and Simone thuoght I was coming a a day earlier, so I was greeted by her mom and brothers instead. She flew to Dubai to see her dad a few days ago. Today in 2 hours I will fly to join her. I love it here. Already so much has happened. I will write more later and share some from my journal entry, because I dont have much time now to type it out. Everything is so different here and I feel so free about everything. The smells and sounds and the rhythm of life is so different and also so beautiful. Simone's family is great, I really love them. Yesterday we went to this place called Matheran Hill Station. It was in the mountians and it was so beautiful. We walked all day probably 6 miles or more up and down the mountains. Luckily I hardly have any jet lag.) I didnt sleep on the flights more than 3 hrs in 2 days! So I slept when I arrived..it seems to be working. That and I ate a whole bottle of airborn in those 2 days!) Tonight I'll spend New Years in Dubai (Arab Emerates) and will be there till the 4th. Hopefully I'll have time to write more while I am there. Have fun in the snow if you have it where you are. I don't! It is dusty and warm here ut not too hot and not humid. I can't wait to see what Dubai is like! Take care!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!
Love from me...wherever I am

Hi All! I just arrived at HK International airport after a 15 somethin hour flight. I am doing great. I am on a total high and coudnt really sleep much on the plane. Though I have to say I totally lucked out and got a window seat with a whole row to myself so I got to spead out and relax and watch movies allday/niht...whatever time it is. I can't really figure out if I should be hungry or sleepy or what, but in any case I am happy. The first two flights went fine as well, I have no real complaints The biggest thing that went wrong is that I lost on of the earrings I was wearing that my grandma gave me. (Oh yeah and I forgot my fake wedding band at home...oops... so I guess I'll switch a ring to that finger. It was dark the whole flight from LA to HK because we were flying "into the dark" (I'm too tired to figur out a more intelligent way of saying that!) Then as we were about to land I got to see the sun rise. It was so cool. the plane kept making its decent through layers of white clouds and you could kind of see through them to the ocean and islands below. It was hard to tell land from sky from sea. So my first impression of HK is good. It is unreal to be here. I am writing from a free cyber cafe in the airport and my hotmail isnt working here, but hopefully soon. I have one more flight..about 7 hours from now that will take me to Bombay. That one is about 8 hours I think. I'm off to try to find the shower lounge...I feel a bit sticky. I cant wait to see someone I know! (I have "seen" so many people I know in the airports...just wishful thinking, hoping to see a familiar face!) Until then, love you all and talk to you later.

At long last the time has come. In a few short hours I will depart. It is a very strange sensation. This is something I have dreamt of for years and now I'm not sure how to feel. I'm sort of numb, sort of nervous, sort of ecstatic, and sort of feel drunk or something (I'm not though). My first flight takes me from Minneapolis to Chicago, then from there to LA, then the monster of all the flights, the 16 hours from LA to Hong Kong. Then I sit in Honk Kong airport for 6 hours (hopefully I will be able to stop at the lounge and buy a massage and take a shower) Then on to Thailand then finally, at around 10am central time on Thursday I will arrive in Bombay. I should be pretty crabby and ready to kiss land by that time. I really hate goodbyes. Especially because I'm from Minnesota. They take like an hour each and that is really emotionally draining when you are saying so many of them in the span of a few days! Tomorrow will probably be really hard. I hope I'm not blubbering like an idiot when I'm sitting in the airport by myself, I bet I'd look pretty funny. Thats all for now...I bet I'll have more to tell by the next time I get to a computer.

Well, I have to say that I am blessed beyond measure. I have the greatest friends. I have a wonderful family. Just in general, I am so blessed. I love that so many people care about me. I do have to say thought that is is really absurd how many times I have been told to "be careful". It is really funny in a way. As if I had in mind to be careless and do as many unsafe things as possible. I realize that I am sort of a ditz at times and not always the most sane person, but really what is meant by "be safe"? One friend clarified last night that it meant I should not go topless. Hmm, because I was almost planning on not bringing any shirts...or not. Another friend suggested that I wear a full hijab, or full Muslim black cloth that covers all but my eyes. Umm anyway, so thank you to all who are concerned, and probably for good reason, the world is probably not as kind as I naively believe it to be. But anyway, I will try to "be safe" and not do things like drink water from lakes, or lick public phones, or run with scissors or whatever else people are afraid I might do. Mostly I am not afraid of the things that I have choices about, but about the things that I have no control over, mainly, all the other crazy people or this world. One person told me not to talk to strangers, and another said "What? Thats why shes going, to talk to strangers!" I think it is fantastic, I love all the strange and sortid advice I have been given. It kind of reveals peoples personalities. The second most common piece of advice I have been given is to "have fun!" This one I have more control over. Its all about my attitude. I already have to keep that in check because I have certainly run into many problems planning this trip today alone, not to mention the past few months. Today it took me 3 trips to Target to get my glasses fixed. I started getting a little bit stressed, but the lady helping me was so amazingly nice, she offered to go out of her way to help me on her own time. So I guess that proves that there are still good people out there in the not so kind world. Actually I know for a fact that there are a lot of them. Thats why it will be hard to say goodbye. I cried when I said goodbye to my best friend after spending a wonderful day yesterday preparing for and throwing our big Christmas party together (which was awesome! thanks to all who came, it was so great to see you!). I expect that the next few days will be just as wonderful, spending them with my family even though it will be hard to say goodbye. Well, three days in counting and I need to get packing, so I'll leave more random thoughts here later