The Janssen Family World Travels: August 2012

“But I’ll tell you something. It’s better in America than everyplace else. I know, because I’ve been everyplace else. Everyplace else is worse. A lot worse. Lot of things wrong in America, but plenty more things wrong everyplace else. You guys should think about that.”

-Child, Lee (2006-11-28). Die Trying (pp. 282-283). Penguin Group. Kindle Edition.

The above quote by Jack Reacher, the uber-tough guy in Lee Child’s series of thrillers, is a great reinforcement of my thoughts about America. We are very fortunate to live where we live, and enjoy the freedoms and democracy that so many Americans take for granted, and so few in the world enjoy. While we are glad to be back, I’m so thankful that we did what we did. It also has made me more proud than ever to be an American. If you want to truly appreciate our country and all that it offers, hit the road and see how the rest of the world lives. We sure tried.

I can’t believe our trip has come to an end. Despite the emotional rollercoaster, I thought I’d try to provide some organization and share interesting (or completely irrelevant) statistics, discuss what we’ve learned, mention a few humorous observations, and close with recommendations that might prove useful to those considering traveling for any extended amount of time. Beware this is a long post.

First up, a few statistics:

· 382 days abroad

· 29 countries excluding our good old USA, with the caveat that 6 of these were transitions in airports, or, like our foray into Uganda, jumping over the border and back before being arrested.

· 85 flights. 68 commercial flights totaling 64,994 miles, and 17 private charters (small planes) that totaled around 5,000 miles. For the sake of simplicity call it 70,000 miles in airplanes. To further ponder this amount, the circumference of the earth at the equator is just shy of 25,000 miles, so that’s almost 3 circumnavigations. That’s lots of butt time. If you figure an average speed of 500 mph, that’s 140 hours or 5.83 - 24 hour days. There was at least the same amount of time before each and every flight (the standard get to the airport 2 hours early), not to mention travel time averaging an hour to and from each airport, so it is quite safe to say that of our 382 days abroad, easily 20 full days were spent flying and getting to and from flights.

· Other modes of transportation included 9 trains, 7 ferries, 14 zodiacs, dozens of water taxis, 3 river rafts, 1 gondola (boat), 2 helicopters, 1 floatplane, 2 hot air balloons, 2 small cruise ships, 5 fishing boats, 3 subway systems, 4 rental cars, 3 “happy trains” (tourist trains), 1 streetcar, 1 double decker bus, 3 tuk tuks, 1 vespa, 1 pick-up truck, 2 donkeys, 2 camels, 10 horses, 1 ox-cart, 2 llamas (Hayden) and 80 ski lifts. I’m sure we rode in shuttle vans or taxis at least 300 times.

· While I didn’t track how we spent our time in detail, highlights were 86 days skiing, 13 days trekking some of the world’s greatest hikes in the Dolomites, Nepal and the Inca Trail, 10 days fishing, 10 days horseback riding and 8 days scuba diving (12 dives).

· Our family loves to climb, and we climbed at least 20 major structures or hills outside of our treks such as the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Florence’s Duomo, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc. Sydney will never forgive us.

· Wild animals are always a hit with the kids, and we were fortunate to see many in the wild, with the highlights including African Elephants, Asian Elephants, Black Rhinos, White Rhinos, Asian One-Horned Rhinos, Hippos, Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Lions, Cheetahs, Tigers, Ostriches, Leopards, Orangutans, Komodo Dragons, Crocodiles, Kangaroos, Wombats, Giant Tortoises, and Caimans.

The above stats are pretty meaningless without talking about what we’ve all learned throughout this glorious adventure. Education is the greatest gift that a parent can give a child. My parents certainly gave that to me, and I think the world would be a much better place if each parent understood and fulfilled that responsibility. We’re trying. To date, our children have received the best education we could find for them in our city, so pulling them away from that for a year was a big question for Traci and for me. Could we define and provide adequate time for adequate teaching of math, writing and reading? We felt that the travels would provide ample time for less structured but hands on learning of arts, physical activities, history, geography, religion and culture. Road-schooling (remember we have been homeless) was generally easy and at the same time was probably the most challenging part of our year. It was easy in that it was simple to meet the core curriculum requirements (writing and math workbooks). There are so many incredible online resources and learning tools (IXL Math, Khan Academy, Enchanted Learning to name a few) that we will continue to leverage to complement their school studies. A big challenge was finding the right balance of study time, especially when transitioning and being on the go so much. Most challenging, however, was attempting to switch roles from fun, unconditionally loving parent to stern taskmaster when required. I guess the biggest validation of how we did will be seeing how they do in transitioning back to their traditional schools and seeing how they test relative to their peers.

Without exception, in EVERY country we stayed, we met people who repeated the oft quoted mantra that the kids would receive an education from this experience far better than in any classroom. These folks were obviously preaching to the choir, in that the likelihood was quite small that we’d meet a lot of people out traveling who hated traveling. But based on our individual experiences to date, as parents we believed this, and we were supported by almost everyone in making our decision to travel. Still, when starting out we didn’t really know what to expect, and so here are a few of the results that I’ll attempt to categorize into general knowledge and life skills:

General knowledge:

· Poverty and how people live in Third World countries. In all seriousness, the kids had a lot of exposure to the living conditions of the most impoverished people in Africa, India, Thailand, and Peru. I don’t think that the depth of understanding will inspire any immediate commitments to the Peace Corps, but I’m sure they’ll never forget the scenes of squalor from all over the world. Having seen what we’ve seen, it makes parental threats of “clean up your room so it doesn’t look like African dung hut!” carry a bit more weight, or reiterating the importance of the kids being responsible for choosing their meals and eating what they choose when they see such scarcity. Put simply, its way easier for kids to understand the choices they have when they’ve seen other kids with no choices.

· Roman numerals. Mastered quickly and had ample opportunities to practice and reinforce

· Time including B.C., A.D. and prehistory. B.C. and A.D. were clearly articulated by stick drawings in the dirt at the base of the Acropolis in Athens….a very appropriate venue for the topic. Not going to talk about BCE (Before Current Era). Way too unnecessarily politically correct.

· Latitude, longitude, time zones and jet lag (or jet legs as Halle calls it)

· Continents, countries, oceans. The kids did country reports for each country, with varying degrees of success. Sydney in particular was incredibly diligent about these as well as daily journaling. I must say, however, that Hayden has shown an in incredible aptitude for understanding what is where around the world. He’s a great experiential learner.

· Animals. The kids have learned so much more about animals that I ever expected they would. Definitely a benefit of seeing in person rather than in a book. In addition, Hayden has taken a particular interest in fish and especially birds, and knows hundreds of them.

· We learned bits and pieces of many languages such as Swahili, French, Italian, German and Spanish. I had hoped that we’d pick up more, but it is really difficult when not staying in one place for much time. In addition it is difficult to overcome foreigners’ desire to speak or practice their English. I’m sure each of our kids will be fluent or nearly so by the time they finish high school, so hopefully our travels will help guide their choice of which language to pursue.

· The kids handled dozens of currencies and gained an understanding of exchange rates and getting correct change. FYI. Australia has the world’s coolest currency, with colorful designs and very different sizes for each denomination.

· The development of incredible street safety and awareness. We were shocked to go to Australia and have cars yield to pedestrians. Almost everywhere else we went cars have (or assume) the right of way and crossing a street is really a game of chicken. Add to that traffic coming from unexpected directions in left side/English driving countries.

· Mastery of subways. I’d be confident of sending them down in London’s tube and having them find their way to any station. They could also hail a cab and get back to our hotel.

· Hotel management. They each earned the equivalent of a master’s degree. Once to the room and they could easily find their way back. No type of hotel elevator or card key system can stump them. They can independently work a buffet breakfast like it’s nobody’s business, and do it quickly if required (ordering hot chocolate and hot items first to minimize any potential delays). They steer clear of the mini-bars, and always wear the robes and slippers if presented. Perfect.

· Skiing skills and safety. I might come to regret saying this later, but even with 86 days skiing in all types of conditions, our kids caused no accidents with other skiers, which given their speed and the occasional crowds of some horrible skiers, is flat out miraculous. We did break my friend Joe Raver’s son in Austria, but that was mostly due to a lack of inability and a complete lack of fear on the kid’s behalf. In addition I think our kids have a general idea of avalanche safety, or at least knowing when their dad is being particularly foolish. The kids are all powder machines, and Sydney can easily beat me in a giant slalom course. Huge progress on top of a great foundation

· Ocean sports. The kids are now masters of snorkeling and it was fantastic for them to be so comfortable as we were able to snorkel in some incredible sites. In addition Sydney and Hayden earned their open water scuba diving certification. Very strange to be 40 feet underwater and scuba diving with young kids but they mastered it and did it safely. Lastly came surfing. They each became good surfers. It is so effortless for them, especially for Halle. I think this will be a tough sport to continue in Seattle, but they have all the foundation skills they will ever need.

· Horseback riding. We spent 6 days riding in Kenya, 1 in Australia, and 3 in Ecuador. While we had a few lessons prior to leaving on our trip, I can say with complete frankness that the kids have mastered horseback riding. They are completely comfortable and confident. Sydney in particular has a natural ability that is just phenomenal.

· Spelunking. OK I just love that word. We did explore caves in Africa, France, Vietnam, and Indonesia so I had to add it to the list.

· White water rafting, through class III rapids, with an emphasis on splashing other boats and passengers.

· Mountaineering skills. They did their first free climbing, climbed several via ferrata, used harnesses and carabineers, and learned to rappel.

· Chess. They each understand the nuances and strategy and can play quite well.

· Sword fighting. They learned how to swordfight at a gladiator school in Rome on Sydney’s birthday. I thought all would soon be forgotten, but as soon as Hayden and Halle find sticks they are at it again, and they remember all of the offensive moves and how to counter defensively and they go at it without any visible damage. I’m sure it will somehow benefit them in the future and when it does it will likely make a great story.

Life skills. I hadn’t foreseen this aspect of their education, but in hindsight it may be the most important part of the trip. We expected our kids to grow and mature, but I think that traveling accelerated their maturity in so many different ways:

· Endurance. The kids developed absolutely incredible endurance in dealing with so many transitions and being forced without option to do certain activities (get up at 3 a.m. to hike 90 minutes up 1,000 feet in the dark to see the great wall, hike 12 miles and 5,000 vertical feet in one day on the Inca Trail, waiting 60 minutes to be first in line for the lift to open on an epic powder day, some incredibly long days of planes, trains and automobiles). By necessity, but occasionally by design, we really pushed the kids hard. I always viewed myself as such a strong traveler, but by the end of the trip I had several days where I was flat out exhausted and grumpy, whereas the kids kept getting stronger. Absolutely incredible.

· Foods. I won’t go so far as to say that any of my children are destined to become Chefs or connoisseurs of fine French cuisine, but they became accustomed to trying and enjoying different foods and flavors. They love the spice of Indian and Thai food. Hayden and Sydney always tried whatever we asked, and Hayden went so far as to try grubs, termites, frog legs and fried fish tails. Sydney couldn’t find a soup she didn’t like and will be publishing a cookbook of recipes from around the world. Halle can easily tell you where to find the world’s best pizza, hot chocolate and gelato. In many places we had very simple meals of vegetables, without a peep of complaint. Our family meals will be so much more balanced and diverse upon our return than I could have ever reasonably expected.

· Overcoming a sense of timidity. For some reasons each of our kids is shy. At the beginning of the trip all would be reluctant to ask a stranger a question, or to speak up for themselves in asking for something they wanted. No more. They are still shy and soft-spoken, but much less so.

· Reading. This was a HUGE bonus for the trip. The kids each read over 80 books with Halle continuing to set the pace north of 100. Traci and I probably read 50 or more. That was such a joy, as I never seem to make the time to read as much at home. Buy Amazon stock as our e-book purchases continue to set new records. Halle has always been an amazing reader. Sydney and Hayden, while competent readers, developed for the first time a true love for reading that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. On a white water rafting trip in Ecuador, Halle was sitting in front and after getting drenched, she stated something along the lines of “Oh my the water from that rapid completely enveloped me!” Incredible choice of words for a 9 year old. Their enhanced reading has provided a much greater educational foundation than I could have ever hoped for.

· Overcoming adversity. Sydney is deathly afraid of heights. At the beginning of the ski season, she refused to take a gondola because of its 800’ height and skied back to the cabin. Ditto for the Eiffel Tower…she chose to hang at the first level. When pressed later in the year (if you want to ski the most famous and difficult run) she did this. She also did climbs such as the Sydney Harbor Bridge and some amazon jungle canopy bridges that were truly terrifying. This example will serve her for the remainder of her life.

· Lastly, and most importantly, I think that traveling made strong relationships between our kids even stronger. In particular, Sydney and Halle’s relationship really bloomed. Sydney is very private and Halle is the complete opposite; yet starting early in the trip and then building throughout, Sydney really took pride in being a big sister and helping Halle in so many ways. Also the kids pretty much dealt with staying in one or sometimes two small rooms throughout the year. That’s a long time in each other’s space, and they handled it remarkably well. They all became better friends.

In addition to the incredible education for and growth in our kids, I’ve learned far more than I expected as well. A few topics that have been particularly thought provoking to me:

· Humans as a species go way back in a lot of ways. Prior to the trip I thought that pretty much anything B.C. was living in a cave. So, so wrong. The Egyptians were incredible craftsmen for thousands of years prior to that. Incredibly detailed weapons, paintings, woodworking, tools, art, you name it and they had it mastered thousands of years before Christ. Drop back 12,000 years prior to that and somehow people living in caves in France had the ability to go MILES into dark caves and paint incredibly detailed paintings on the walls. These aren’t preschool paintings but rather more collegiate. In addition, humans seemed to have been spread all over the world for tens of thousands of years before Christ. Seems like the whole theory of the sea bridge in the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska is off by at least 10,000 years. In South America the latest findings point to humans being there for tens of thousands of years B.C. With the passage of more time, we discover incredibly advanced humans dating further and further back all around the world, with accomplishments and intelligence so far beyond what is expected.

· I think there is a direct correlation between well-being and self-sufficiency in rural versus urban areas. The world is obviously becoming more industrialized and more urban, and most view the opportunities in urban areas as a reason to escape the rural lifestyles. In a sense, I think this is a shame. As we traveled, without exception, the people we met and saw in the country seemed relatively happy and content. In Africa there are rural poor but they work hard and eek out an existence and you’d never know they weren’t content. They walk miles to crowded schools (75:1 student:teacher ratios), walk miles to gather dirty water, work on simple farms/plots for a meager living, and dress up to go to church on Sundays. They are proud and quick to smile. In India, we would travel through a filthy, impoverished city. Shortly thereafter we would be in the countryside. The kids would start waving, the dirt would be swept in front of their shanties, and the clothes were cleaner and brighter. There was a tangible sense of family and community. I think this loss of family and community is overlooked, and with this loss people in large cities become less self-sufficient and more dependent on government. This topic isn’t new or ready for more research for a mid-life doctoral thesis, but I think it is important and often overlooked as people so often praise urban life.

· I have learned a lot about religion on this trip. Maybe a more honest assessment is that I started at almost zero knowledge and learned a little. While far from a scholar, it was great to gain a better understanding of Christianity and its origins and importance in the last two centuries. If there has been a greater influence in the world than Christianity I’d be shocked. Think of the most famous and influential person in the history of the world and I’d love to know who beats out Jesus Christ. Christianity is the foundation of western civilization, and while there are a lot of valid historical criticisms, there is little doubt that the progress of western civilization in law, democracy, agriculture, industry and technology has been the most impactful in the history of humankind.

· It was fascinating to learn about Islam and its origins. If you look at the major tenants it is remarkably peaceful and a great guide for living: Be charitable; be faithful; work hard; It is also striking how there are more similarities between Islam and Christianity than there are differences (the shared belief in the Old Testament and in the life of Jesus), but the differences are key. As with Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Mormons, etc., there are various sects of Muslims who each interpret the Koran and who said what or did what (Shia, Sunni, etc.). It is too bad that the core religion has been hijacked by fundamentalists in so many countries, and equally bad that the silent majority of the peaceful followers don’t denounce the vocal holier than thou minority. One thing I respect is their daily call to prayer (the Salah), which most perform dutifully. God, Family, and Work….most Muslims we met lived these priorities without hypocrisy. One thing I’ll never understand, however, is their public broadcasting of the Salah. This used to be performed by a cleric at the top of the minaret (the tower or towers surrounding a mosque). Nowadays, however, there is a recording of the Salah that sounds like it was made on your grandfather’s cassette recorder. This scratch recording is then absolutely blasted at full volume on the speaker system. Think of chanting monks, but with a really bad recording and at a volume level that is so loud the speakers are distorted and you can’t understand it. If you’re in a Muslim country, you have no choice but to listen to the Salah (we first enjoyed this our first morning in Nairobi, when we were in dire need of sleep). Still, I get it and I want to be respectful and politically correct and realize I am a visitor. What bugs me though is that if you’re not in a predominantly Muslim country, and there is a mosque around, the neighbors are still subject to the Salah 5 times/day at the same decibel levels. Talk about noise pollution. In Bali, the natives are about 98% Hindu but we had the misfortune of being about 4 blocks away from a mosque. Kind of like a rock concert, 200 decibels of indecipherable groaning that I’d prefer not to hear at sunrise and sunset and 3 other times. Makes me what to get out the world’s largest ghetto blaster and walk over there and crank some AC-DC or Jim Bakker or Joe Biden speeches at an even more annoyingly loud level to similarly express my freedom of speech.

· My understanding of Hinduism and Buddhism is pitiful. It seems to be very self-centered and pragmatic yet there are still so many examples of idolatry that I can’t make sense of it. More education required as combined these have about 3 billion believers. Wish I had a few clever remarks but I draw a blank. The statues are nice though as they make me long for those days when I could sit in some semblance of Indian Style.

· Lastly, moving to fringe religious beliefs, if Shirley McLane is right about reincarnation, I sure hope my return isn’t as a donkey. Donkeys work harder than any other beast, are routinely beaten and whipped, and get zero love and affection. Next up would be a goat or a cow. In Africa, goats and cows suffer the double indignity of being milked, then being punctured in the neck and bled a few pints. The blood and milk are then mixed and drunk by several popular tribes. Bleeding is stopped with a dung patch. Supposedly good for you and according to a few who’ve tried it makes you ultra-primal aware and alert. We passed. Next would be a wildebeest or gnu. I call these grandpa goats. They have beards and appear to be much older than their age. With their herd mentality, Wildebeest often end up piled up on top of each other as they attempt to climb an insurmountable wall on the far side of a river and end up maiming each other and becoming the next meal of vultures and crocs. I’d also hate to return as a camel as they are treated similarly to donkeys and also live in really hot places with really nasty people. Lastly, catfish don’t lead good lives. They are the dietary staple of crocs, live in the world’s most vile rivers, and are subject to attack from birds as well. I’ve enjoyed my one life Shirley…I’ve lived it well and that should be enough.

· I think that the public education system in the US is for the most part horrible and getting worse. There are a lot of reasons for the decay, much to do with parents or lack thereof, but mostly due to a government-controlled bureaucratic system that provides very little choice to principals, parents and students. I could wax about this for pages, and while our system could be so much better with more responsibility, choice and merit, it is safe to say that the large majority of the rest of the world would kill for what we have, and particularly for the investments that we make in education. In most non-western countries, there are pathetic physical schools with up to 75 kids in a class. In a small village in Peru, kindergartners walked up to 6 miles each way to school by themselves. Children often can’t get an education beyond primary school as their families need them to work. If there is a secondary school, it is often unaffordable or if free it is often many miles from the local villages and there are no transportation options. We met with a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners in various countries who did what they had to do to get their kids the best education they could. A few examples:

o In Kenya, the only private primary school was a 2 hour drive each way over incredibly poor dirt roads. After that, if you loved your child and wanted them to get a good education, it was off to boarding school in South Africa starting at age 12.

o In India, at one guest house the owner sent her daughters to a school that was about 3 hours away, starting at age 12, and she didn’t complain as she was able to see her daughter for a few hours one day per month.

o In Ecuador, the owners of the hacienda where we stayed moved to Quito so their daughters could attend a good school. Now graduated, they have moved back.

· Africa is huge in so many ways. The land mass size is just amazing. Check out the map you can find under “the true size of Africa” on a search engine and you can see that Africa can easily absorb the continental US, China, India, the Iberian Peninsula, and a few other large countries. It’s huge. Everything about Africa is huge…from size to ferocity of animals, to human populations, to potential. Kenya seems tiny flying around but it is about the size of Spain and Portugal combined and it is one of the smallest African countries.

· I’d be remiss in writing about Africa if I didn’t provide a few thoughts on the animals, specifically the big 5. This classification had its origins in hunting, as these were the top 5 trophy animals. Now with hunting relegated to a few small areas in Tanzania, these are now the big animals that everyone wants to see on safari. The big 5 are elephant, black rhino, leopard, lion and buffalo. My big 5 would be:

1. Elephant. The majesty of these animals is incomparable. Huge, smart, and incredibly powerful. 5 tons of skin that’s ½” thick and they can plow through a stand of 20’ tall trees like we walk through a meadow of grass. You haven’t seen them until you’ve seen a herd in the wild.

2. Cape Buffalo. These are big, mean beasts. They have a look of pure hatred in their eyes. Their look was described by a friend as “you owe me money” and they are all business. Big, Bad, Smelly and Mean!

3. Lion. Non-chalant about every other beast. Truly kings of the jungle although they don’t live in the jungle. Mate every 15 minutes for a week and the females do all the work hunting and the males get first dibs on the kills. ‘nuf said

4. Hippos. Incredibly powerful and dangerous. I always imagined them being in the water most of their lives but they are out grazing all night long. Spray their poo with an attitude on bushes. Make male dog’s peeing look feeble at best (“Hey dog you think that’s cool watch this!”). Number one animal killer of people in Africa.

5. Giraffe. Incredibly graceful and peaceful. They gallop so gently it is spellbinding…and they are fast. Sticky tongues like cats, incredibly resilient and caring and just so different due to their extraordinary height. Somehow eat tiny leaves from acacia trees for most of their nutrition. Like licking ticks on a porcupine, but they somehow manage.

· There are far more good people than bad, all around the world. Everywhere we traveled; those we met were exceptionally kind. Sure we were tourists and by definition we were buttering the bread of many, but remove that layer and we just experienced a whole lot of goodness in each country. The number of rude people that we met, or even tangentially encountered, I could count on both hands. I found that to be incredible. We never felt in danger or threatened. Outside of Egypt, I think that the large majority of people in each country have a very positive view of Americans, which was not what I was expecting given so much media coverage of how we’re despised around the globe. Au contraire.

In closing with what I’ve learned, I’m more than ever convinced in the unique greatness of the United States and of “American Exceptionalism.” I think that the whole notion of “cultural equivalency” is ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are amazing aspects of the many different cultures we’ve visited. A few examples:

The incredible sense of family in India, where so many who have traveled and are educated abroad choose to remain, despite the population crush and corruption
The happiness in the countryside in Kenya, despite the poverty
The love of food and cooking in Greece and Italy and France, where getting fresh food and cooking each day is at the center of their culture (I guess you can do that when laws mandate working less than 35 hours per week). Can you say “austerity measures”?
The strong sense of community and environmental stewardship in Austria
The desire of many native Peruvians to continue to live as their ancestors have for thousands of years

Yet despite all these, the fact remains that America is still a magnet to which most of the world is most attracted. We have issues, but our freedoms are truly exceptional, unique and to be cherished. No matter what your political views, there are major lobbying influences in the U.S. that many claim to be evil or corrupting, but they all exist within a framework that is perfectly democratic and perfectly legal and if we want to change it then we just need the political will and officials to do so. Outside the U.S., however, government corruption seems to be the norm rather than the exception and this is the major cause of income and opportunity discrepancy.

So now, in all of my infinite wisdom garnered from 46 years of mostly easy living and finely-honed by a year of travel, I now shift from my thoughts on big issues, to a few light-hearted recommendations should one ponder such an adventure:

· Beware in that it just plain sucks to travel outside the U.S. if you’re over 5’6” tall, and the amount suckiness increases exponentially with every inch over that threshold. You’ll rarely find the top of a mirror hung higher than 5’6”. The top of my head experienced hundreds of collisions with doorways, stalactites, ceilings, and other hanging things that shouldn’t have been so low (OK maybe the stalactites). Traci and the kids just laugh at me every time I concuss. Running family joke. Super funny. Not. I think that my back has taken an even greater beating as a result, being forced into poor posture to bend over to use most mirrors, tables, sinks, and constantly ducking.

· If you see a Starbucks, take advantage of it. You may be a Caribou, Tully’s or Pete’s Coffee snob, but Starbucks is far better than Nescafe with goat’s milk.

· In the same vein, if you see western food, enjoy it. McDonald’s burgers are far superior to some blend of buffalo, yak, pork or mystery meat. Their fries are equally divine all over the world. Traveling is by definition inconsistent and the global food and beverage chains are little heaven-sent oases of consistency. Subway saved our lives at least two dozen times.

· Be thankful for western methods of sewage disposal, and for the treatment of toilet paper as sewage. Not counting 3 months in Austria, the majority of our travels were in places where TP isn’t flushed but rather put in the waste bin. I’ll never get used to that, and will offer solemn thanks to the sewer gods after each flush at home, and pay my $200 monthly water and sewage bill with only a moderate spike in my heart rate.

· We’re always asked “What was your favorite place?” and the kids always answer Africa. I think that is in part because we blew 1/3 of our total budget in the first 7 weeks with an incredible custom super planner and guide. It was also special as it was first and SO different from what we are used to. Lastly, kids of every age and stripe love animals, and there is nowhere that compares to Africa for animals. While it was good to visit a Tiger petting zoo in Thailand, to see a Tiger in the wild in Nepal, and to see Komodo Dragons and Orangutans in a semi-wild state in Indonesia, there is nothing like seeing animals in the true wild in East Africa. As much as we enjoyed the Galapagos, I think they pale in comparison to Kenya and Tanzania. No big bad predators and each activity is rather tightly controlled by the government. I’m not saying that I disagree with how they manage access, it’s just that seeing sea lions and birds and tortoises on a fixed schedule just doesn’t compare to following wild elephants, zebra, giraffe, cheetah, hippos, lions, leopards, rhino, etc. in a tricked-out 4x4 vehicle driven by a Samburu warrior. That is just plain way more cool. Wild African elephants versus their domesticated cousins in SE Asia can’t be compared. Watching wild lions up close, seeing such massive numbers of animals in the great migration is seeing the animal kingdom in its finest form, our best glimpse of “how it was” and “how it should be.” Unfortunately, I think that given the unsustainable human population growth in Africa, the window of opportunity to view this is diminishing with each passing year. So if you have the opportunity, put Kenya and/or Tanzania at the top of your list.

· After Africa, with the exceptions of Egypt and China, I truly enjoyed and could envision having spent much more time in every place that we visited. I’m glad that we visited Egypt and China, but for a variety of reasons (mentioned in those posts) we were all glad that we were outta there. In every other country, we regretted not having had more time to see more.

· In planning this trip, an incredible amount of time and thought went into the question of quality versus quantity and how much time do you spend in one place? There is no right or wrong answer. We absolutely loved every minute of the 3 months we spent in Austria. Also, despite the myriad of transitions, I’m glad we dragged the kids briefly through a lot of places such as Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam and China. I think kids could get as much out of 3 diverse weeks in Australia, with wonderful civilized niceties, as they could in the same time in the vile squalor of India. We loved the times where we had a house and could cook our own meals and have a break from so many transitions. My advice would be to not over plan and do a bit of traveling first to figure out what works best. As long as you’re not traveling during peak times, there are infinite options available on the fly.

· While we were fortunate to have the financial resources to travel well and safely when needed, I think that our most memorable experiences were when we were traveling simply and exploring on our own. For example, our kids could care less whether they stayed in a simple “refugio” in the Dolomites (a small hostel with shared rooms and coin showers) or at a five star hotel. In reality, we all enjoyed being tired after a long day of physical activity and simple accommodations, and tents were often the kid’s favorite. While an incredible room is just that, the exorbitant prices charged for food and drink and everything else around said room create a sense of stress that outweighs the benefit of a great room. Doing it again I’d seek more guesthouses that catered to families.

· Head to Thailand or Bali if you want to be around incredibly friendly people who really appreciate your being in their country. In both places, the people are super quick to smile and go out of their way to help you in any way they can. Like good manners, or monkey see monkey do, this is inescapable and inbred in their cultures. We found that Indonesians outside of Bali are also very kind and smile easily, but the influence of Islam tempers their enthusiasm. If I had to give the vote to the planet’s most friendly people, it would go to the Balinese. They are so warm and sincere. Thai people are friendly, but it is a bit more difficult to see what is behind the mask. I think Thai people are incredibly friendly for all good reasons, but one major one being that they realize that if they are friendly, there will be a financial reward. Balinese just radiate friendliness from their cores just for the sake of being friendly. “Thanks for being here. We love you. We love everybody.” Sounds corny but it is sincere.

· Coming in a very close second place in terms of friendliness are Peru and Ecuador. South America is much easier to get to from the states, and has plenty of exoticness. Also, I think that in general the navigation around South America is much easier than in Asia. Spanish is easier to understand, and those that speak English as a second language do so much more easily and fluently than their counterparts in Asia. Each country has so much to offer with the diversity of the sea, the mountains and the jungle. In addition Ecuador has the Galapagos Islands which are truly unique.

· I’d also like to commend Australians. I don’t know what it is but the Aussies are incredibly friendly. They have an amazingly beautiful and diverse country, but apparently it isn’t enough for them. Maybe it is a genetic prison-break syndrome? Rumor has it that there are about 20 million Aussies, and at least half of them must be traveling at any moment. They are indisputably the world’s greatest travelers, populating every possible tourist destination on the planet with humor and vitality. They are quick with a smile and a laugh, and more than any other people appreciate traveling. While we’ve encountered lots of Brits and relatively few Americans, we’ve run into Aussies wherever we’ve been, and on each occasion they have been incredibly kind and positive.

· While we visited 29 countries, we really just scratched the surface in each. We had to skip far more places than we were able to see. We didn’t spend any time in North America. We only saw East Africa, when there are so many more, great, safe countries there. We missed Spain and Portugal, Scandinavia, Russia, Japan, Israel, Jordan, Germany, all formerly eastern bloc countries such as Hungary and Croatia, barely touched in Turkey and England, missed developing SE Asian nations such as Burma and Laos. Saw nothing outside of Beijing. Due to our being in Australia and South America during their winters, we saw nothing of Australian outback or North, South or Western Australia. We skipped New Zealand even though it would have fit our family to a T. Missed Brazil, Argentina, and the wondrous beauty of Chile. Saw one small slice of Central America. Flew over Mexico. If I had another year I’d love to visit Japan, take the Siberian express from Vladivostok to Moscow, visit the Scandinavian countries in the summer, further explore South America in the summer including Brazil, Argentina and head south in Chile visiting Patagonia and ending it with a visit to Antarctica. Get over to New Zealand in decent weather and do the Milford trek; take an RV through South, Central and Western Australia. Spend a few months in a sailboat trying to find the world’s most perfect island in the South Pacific. Touch down again in East Africa, and then head into all of Southern Africa. We missed Morocco and I’d spend a few weeks there as well as a few weeks in Spain and Portugal. So while I could write a catchy tune to mimic Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere,” we really just scratched the surface.

While this blog has been my endeavor and almost exclusively my thoughts (that is my caveat to please refrain from judging Traci or the kids based on my thoughts or behavior), I thought that adding in each of our “top 5 experiences” and why (in their words) would be interesting. In other words, if you want a list sans my bloviating or opinion, these you can trust. So here goes:

Halle:

1. Athens town and temples. “It kind of had the feeling of Greece. It was nice to get a gelato after walking around and being boiling hot”

2. Santorini (Greece) “Cliff jumping and meatballs and ben and jerry’s and walking around the town”

3. Ios (Greece). “I was more free to do things scuba diving than in Bali where they held me at a certain level under water even if I tried to swim down.”

4. Masai Mara safari. “I love animals and it is so cool to see them all around you!”

5. Rome Colosseum and touring objects and just the tours. “It was cool to be someplace in person that I’ve read so much and heard so much about.”

Hayden:

1. Running into an elephant in Chyulu Hills (Kenya). “I could hear the elephant and it was right there and I thought that was really cool.”

2. Watching a leopard stalking in Sarara (Kenya). “So cool because it was so still its stomach wasn’t moving and it didn’t even look like the leopard was breathing.”

3. Powder in the face in St. Anton, Austria. “Seeing the white fluffy powder come straight in your face and it was really cold and really cool!”

4. Fishing in Thailand. “Catching huge fish. I always thought of carp as tiny, about 5 pounds, and then the first one that I caught was a 40 pounder!”

5. Luxembourg ripstik with Sam Chapman. “We were kind of not being smart and trying to push each other and sitting on the ripstik and when we smacked the curb we could not stop laughing!”

Sydney:

1. Horseback riding in the Chyulu Hills (by far). “I Love riding horses and the guide Kim was the funniest person I’ve ever met.”

2. Masai Mara (Kenya) Safari. “I just love animals and seeing so many varieties in the wild like that was just really cool.”

3. Feeding/kissing giraffes at giraffe manor (Nairobi, Kenya). “I liked being that close to wild animals and having that connection with them.”

4. Skiing in St. Anton Austria. “Skiing is one of my favorite things to do and every day we could go out, whenever, and there was great snow.”

5. Surfing in Costa Rica. “I love surfing and we could go out each day and surf!”

Traci:

1. Masai Mara, Kenya. “There’s nowhere like it anywhere in the world with all of the animals coexisting and the predator/prey balance. Amazing sunsets with the kids totally engaged and asking a million questions.”

2. David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi, Kenya. “This organization’s whole approach to conservation was amazing; witnessing the relationship of the caretaker and the elephants, how they live with them, and build a relationship and a bond like that of the missing mother, to successfully reintroduce them. Compared to how poorly the elephants are treated in Asia this gave me a tremendous appreciation of their fantastic work.”

3. St. Anton, Austria. “Somewhere I could see living. I loved the terrain, the powder skiing, the community, the lovely Pinchbeck family, the exercise, the après ski and the warmth of everyone we met.”

4. Dolomites. “Pure heaven! Absolutely stunning scenery and great exercise. I loved the physical and mental challenge of the Via Ferrata and hikes to the quaint rifugios. I loved watching the kids skipping, playing in the ponds and mud, having a ball.”

5. The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. “The effort of our kids was incredible, and to see the ruins at the end of such a journey was an amazing sight!”

Brian:

1. St. Anton, Austria. “At least a dozen epic powder days, and being able to share those with kids and friends. Everyone we met was just exceptionally kind.”

2. Santorini, Greece. “Perfect combination of exercise (hiking steep steps and swimming), cliff jumping, a very romantic setting with incredible sunsets, and a really cool cave hotel.”

3. Hiking in the Dolomites. “We thought anything would have been a letdown after Africa and this is just what we needed. Clean, crisp, active and the kids displayed great endurance.”

4. Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya. “Such an incredible introduction to the big animals of Africa. So memorable and we were only there 1 night.”

5. Haggerstone Island, Australia. “Fishing Heaven. Despite not sleeping well and being consumed by sand flies, the fishing and marine life were simply extraordinary as this place was so sparsely inhabited. I think of this as the marine equivalent of East Africa.”

The truth is that we had so many fantastic experiences that it wasn’t really fair to ask each family member for just 5. Some of the most memorable that weren’t listed:

· The awe we felt in seeing so many oft-photographed sites for the first time (The Parthenon, The Colosseum, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Pyramids, The London Bridge, The Taj Mahal, The Great Wall, Angkor Wat, The Sydney Opera House, Machu Picchu)

· Watching Hayden’s smile of recognition as he cut into an elephant dung cake in Kenya on his 10^th birthday

· Playing soccer with kids from an AIDS orphanage in western Kenya, and seeing the poise, grace and kindness of these kids who had so little

· Having the kids laugh uncontrollably at me after I slipped and fell in a cow pie in the Dolomites

· Biking through the French countryside, along the Midi canal, on a beautiful fall day

· I’ve never heard our entire family laughing so hard simultaneously as we did during gladiator school in Rome.

· Watching the Pope give his weekly address in St. Peter’s Square, with 4th row seats

· Being alone inside the Sistine Chapel after it had closed, after having an insider’s tour with an absolutely amazing guide

· Having family go-cart races outside of Rome, with each of us driving our own cart

· Eating the incredible pizza our kids made in Naples

· Nearly being washed away by a downpour in Pompeii

· Splashing through huge seas on a ferry between Capri and Positano

· Madly dashing between trains in Rome, bound for Venice, on our kid’s first train ride

· Meeting my buddy James Finson in Venice and having a floatplane tour

· Walking and exploring the incredible streets of Venice in pursuit of the finest gelato

· Relaxing in a small house in Siena, with a roaring fire while it poured rain outside

· Watching Halle catch a tiger fish on Lake Nassar, Egypt...the only fish after two hard days and two harder nights on a small, grimy boat

· Spending 4 hours in the British Museum and having the kids so engaged that they didn’t want to leave

· Watching an incredible theatrical performance in London

· Seeing our great friends the Chapmans in Luxembourg and enjoying a “normal” weekend with them

· Enjoying Paris with Traci’s parents, and dragging them on an incredible 4 hour tour of the Louvre

· Despite freezing temperatures, soaring in a hot-air balloon over the incredible scenery of Cappadocia, Turkey

· The kids and their cousins all scuba diving in a pool in Thailand

· Racing Tuk Tuk’s through the streets of Bangkok

· The kids petting baby tigers in Thailand

· Watching Hayden spear his first fish after years of trying

· Seeing a tiger in Nepal when we’d just about given up searching

· Seeing Halle get a surprise shower from the elephant she was riding in a river in Nepal

· Seeing the incomparable majesty of the Himalayas up close after the smoke cleared 3 days into our trek

· The kids squid fishing for hours at each night in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

· Hiking to and watching the sun rise over the Great Wall

· Watching proboscis monkeys cannonball into the river in front of our boat in Borneo

· Seeing a wild orangutan search the kid’s pockets for snacks

· Meeting the incomparably kind Willie Gordon in Cooktown, Australia and learning of his aboriginal ancestry

· Watching Hayden taste grubs, termites, fish tails and frog legs

· Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge

· Watching our Sydney when she first set eyes on the Sydney Opera House (she had dreamt of seeing it for many years)

· Standing in the pouring rain and watching mammoth swells from a winter storm crash into Manly Beach, Australia

· Watching the kids first surf in the cool waters of Lima, Peru

· Mt. Biking in Cuzco, Peru. Huge bravery and growth for the kids

· Watching the kids stalk wild guinea pigs on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Peru

· Sydney and Traci laughing uncontrollably at Crissy White’s misery from riding in a small plane in the Galapagos

· The kids and their cousins cantering around the arena in Ecuador, going way too fast for their experience levels

I could go on and on as there were hundreds of incredible “once in a lifetime hope to see” experiences that we enjoyed. There were dozens that weren’t incredible or were trying but the positive way outweighed the negative by probably 10:1.

Another way to look at our trip has been that we literally “bought” a year of special time with our kids. Prior to traveling, we had the good fortune to spend a lot of time with our kids, with Traci working part-time and with my lack of gainful employment. I don’t know any other parents who get or choose to spend as much time with their kids as we do. Despite this time at home, it paled in comparison to the amount and quality of the time spent together this year. Just like when kids first walk, you’re either there or you’re not. Kid’s aren’t going to wait until mom and dad get home and there is 30 minutes of scheduled “quality time.” We were able share so many incredible adventures and see and share so much growth. For the first 3 months of our trip, Hayden would hold my hand as we walked about and explored. I will always remember and cherish that. He had moved beyond that at home, yet on the first part of the trip it was cool (and don’t worry Hayden your friends won’t likely be reading this…and I’m cool with it). Hayden became our family expert in geography and wildlife and I never saw that coming and am so proud of all that he learned. We’ll forever remember Halle being afraid to jump off a 5’ cliff into a lake before we left, then watched her trust herself and leap off a 25’ cliff in Greece a few months later, to the thunderous applause of dozens of onlookers. We’ll never forget Sydney standing at the top of an incredibly steep and icy slalom course in St. Anton. We were so worried for her due to the conditions. She wasn’t nervous in the least and sure enough she fell and was disqualified. But then she went right back out that afternoon in the giant slalom on the same wicked course and won the race. Sure many parents are able to experience many of these “Aha!” moments when on shorter vacations, or even in their daily lives, but traveling just provides the opportunity for so many more of these experiences, coupled with the time, focus and lack of distractions so they can be truly absorbed and cherished.

There are those who undoubtedly wonder how much this adventure cost? We worked with an incredible agency based in New York called Indagare. They put us in touch with local operators in each country and did an incredible job matching our desires with the appropriate tour operators in each country. While we could have spent a lot less, we were really pleased with the overall balance. In total it was….priceless!

I’m so thankful that we traveled with our children. In every country where we traveled, I’ve seen lonely couples, sitting at dinner, having a drink and a quiet meal together. I don’t want to be that couple. First off, Traci chats so much that that will never be possible for me, but more importantly I’d trade any quiet dinner for the noisy mayhem that has accompanied a dinner with our kids. Despite thousands of reminders of: “No spit wads!” “Quit shouting!” “Sit still!” “Don’t talk with food in your mouth!” “Put your napkin on your lap!” “Stop hitting your sister!” “Don’t slurp!” “Please don’t interrupt!” “What’s the magic word?” “Sugar is stronger than vinegar!” “Think of how you’d feel!” “Wash your hands!” “Hats off at the table!” “Wipe your face please!” “What do you do with your knife and fork when you’re done?” “Push in your chair when you’re finished!” and dozens of other offenses of which I am sure I am equally guilty…traveling with kids is a blast.

I think that traveling with our kids for a year has been a condensed version of the entire parenting cycle. You hear they grow up fast, you don’t believe it at first, then before you know it they’re off and grown. It has been a year full of indelible memories and time has passed so succinctly and so quickly. Each place or country could almost be considered a mini-year in the parenting lifecycle. That is over and done now but I’ll cherish and remember it from our travels. OK maybe I’m pushing it but I think that I’ll have some severe empty-nester like travel longings upon our return.

Thanks for reading and following my blog this year. I’ve had so much positive feedback from so many that it has truly been inspirational for me. I’m hoping to figure out how I can turn the best pieces of this into something worthwhile and of value to the general public, and who knows, maybe there is the opportunity to use this as a foray into future writing endeavors.

Below are a few favorite photos from the year, arranged chronologically. These are mostly blog cover shots from key locations. The first and second photos are a best attempt at a before and after.

We're back! Down to 6 bags. Amazing how much the kids have each grown...maybe 4"?

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Lots of tears and a lot of luggage and a very nervous dog

The incomparable Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya

The Masai Mara. Truly a Garden of Eden

Sunset on the Masai Mara

Possibly the world's coolest swimming pool. Sarara, Matthews Range, Kenya

Our first camel ride. Loisaba, Kenya

On the Uganda/Kenya Border near Mt. Elgon, Kenya

At the fabulous Ritchie home, Naivasha, Kenya

Love this picture. Sailing on a beautiful dhow off Lamu Island, Kenya

After a long day horsebackriding, we climbed to the top of a local mountain, with our camp in the background. We're bookended by Patrick (left) and Kim (right). Sydney thought Kim was the funniest person she's ever met.

Off to Tanzania. Camping on a beautiful lake in the Selous National Park

Katavi National Park, Tanzania. Hayden and Halle enjoy the morning sunrise with Nella and Tom

Diving from the "Windsor Rose" into beautiful Lake Tanganyika, off Lupita Island, Tanzania. This island is owned by the guy Tom in the previous picture. The pristine water was about 4,000 feet deep in this spot.

Out of Africa and into the Dolomites in Northeastern Italy.

From the cool mountains of nothern Italy to the sweltering heat of Athens and the incomparable Parthenon

Sydney and Hayden go big off the base of a lighthouse in Santorini (Ia), Greece.

First family scuba dive, Ios Island, Greece

Overlooking the Chateau Canet wine estate in Southern France

The Colosseum. Rome was a fantastic experience for us. The ruins were so widespread and it was surprisingly a great walking town.

Venice. We thought we were in for a cheesy ride, but the Gondolier was a 42 year veteran, was incredibly funny, and was a fountain of knowledge. Great experience!

Siena, Italy. We rented a small house in the countryside just behind the construction crane in the background.

One of the few rainy days of our trip

Florence, Italy. I think that our kids' eyes are going to be ruined when we return as we made them pose for so many photos with the sun in their faces.