Final Thoughts about our 5-Week Trip

While we've been living abroad on and off for the past 7 years, this summer we took our longest trip to date. A few years ago, we spent 2.5 weeks in Thailand, but have never done anything like this last trip. I want to start off by saying I know how fortunate we are to be able to do this. We are really, very lucky!

**Please don't think that I'm complain-a-bragging. Yes, I know we are living in a different part of the world, getting to experience some really cool sh*t. However, this is our life. And, in life, we all want to share our experiences. Not everything is perfect. Yes, doing all of this neat stuff is really great. However, many times, life is hard, frustrating, and confusing. Sometimes, I think people only ever hear about the really great times - or in contrast, only the really bad times. So, please don't take this post the wrong way. Life is just life.

When planning for this trip, I thought five weeks would not be enough time. Five weeks traveling around Europe?! What a dream! This is true. It really was a dream! However, we learned some things about ourselves, each other, and our life in general on this trip. Here is our "what we learned" list, in no particular order:

1. Five weeks is too long of a vacation (travel) for us.

I don't know how some people travel the world indefinitely. Maybe it's because we were constantly moving from place place. We were were posted up somewhere for weeks at a time, maybe I would feel differently about it.

2. Five weeks is a long time to spend together - just the two of us.

Vltava River, Prague

We spend a lot of time together in our normal life - more so than many other couples I know. We live together, work together, and hang out on our free time together. We love each other, but man, we also need some time apart. That didn't really happen much this trip.

3. Water.

I know this isn't sparkling water, but you could have drunk it. Lake Zurich, Switzerland

In Europe, when you ask for water, you have to choose between mineral water or gas (sparkling water). I cannot stand to drink sparkling water. When at the store, no matter how close I look at the bottle to make sure it's not sparkling water, I ALWAYS end up with sparkling water! Haha! Thank goodness Zach likes it.

4. I really hate tourists.

The Louvre, Paris, France

I know, I was a tourist too. I just hate "other" tourists. People are just so oblivious to what's happening around them. Please don't stop mid-way walking down the stairs without notice just to take a picture. Move to the side.

5. The world is so big, yet so small.

Lunch with a college friend and her family. Amsterdam, Netherlands

There is so much to see and do. However, after talking to people, you find out just how small the world is. It's crazy to me that we have friends living in all parts of the world. It was great to meet up with a friend and catch up.

6. I am not allowed to plan our next big vacation.

Berlin Wall. Berlin, Germany

Zach gets to do that. He hates going from place to place. His idea of a great vacation is staying in one place, relaxing.

7. Zach enjoyed Europe (...traveling through Europe #goals).

However, he would much rather travel around Asia and experience that culture - maybe because it's so different than ours?

8. Beer.

Zurich, Switzerland

Beer is pretty universal in all cultures. We really enjoyed our beer - too much - on this trip.

9. We miss friends.

Hanging out with Joe. Rome, Italy

This one relates to number two. While in Egypt, we miss our friends from back home. (Even if we don't always reach out, we still think about you a lot!) However, we have (good) friends here that we love doing things with. While traveling, it was just the two of. We missed having friends around, terribly. Yes, we met people, but it just isn't the same.

10. Schoolwork is a bummer sometimes - so says two teachers.

Hotel. Prague, Czech Republic

We both started graduate school this summer, so we had to make sure our homework got done...on time. There were days where we stayed in the room most, if not all day instead going out and doing things. We tried to do that only one time in a city. We get new assignments every week, so we tried to do most of our homework in a day (or at least get the bulk of it accomplished) so that we didn't have a ton of homework to do each night.

11. We've gotten really out of shape.

We stayed at the same hotel at the beginning and end of the trip. We were amazed at how far we thought we had walked those first couple of days compared to the end. That is one thing I miss about living in Korea - we walked so much more.

12. Planes still scare the crap out of me every once-in-a-while.

Sometimes, I get these death-coming fears that "that's it"! This will be the last moments of my life. It usually doesn't last long, and I don't panic, but the thought crosses my mind.

13. I packed too much!

Getting our lost luggage! Rome, Italy

I really thought I was doing really well. I packed everything for the trip in a 35-liter backpack. Yet, there were still some things I could have left at home.

Pyramids, The Sphinx, and Camels! Oh My!

As part of our orientation schedule, the new teachers had an option to go to the Pyramids of Giza. Of course we went! The school provided two buses and about 30 of us went. A returning teacher and his wife were extremely knowledgeable in all things relating to the pyramids, and they were our tour guides. There's really nothing I can say to describe how awesome the trip was. I will just leave pictures for you with a few descriptions.

The whole group

I don't even remember what was so funny!

Zach's camel's name was 007 and mine was Michael Jackson.

Birthdays in Korea

In honor of Zach's 28th birthday tomorrow (June 21st), I thought I would write about birthdays in Korea.  Zach's international age will be 28 tomorrow, but he has been 29 in Korea since the new year (depending on who you talk to, that could be Jan 1st or the Lunar New Year).  Confusing, huh?!  Don't worry, this whole birthday thing always confuses the heck out of me!  Basically, here is how you calculate Korean birthdays, I think....haha!

When you are born, you are considered to be one year old.  When the new year rolls around, you will turn 2 years old.  So technically, a baby born on Dec. 31st could be 2 years old on January 1st.  But like I said above, which new year you use to "get older" depends on who you talk to.  Some use the Gregorian or "Western" calendar and some use the Lunar calendar to "get older", which adds to the confusion.

I guess the easiest way to to calculate your Korean age is to take the current year (2014) and subtract the year you were born (1986) = 28.  If you haven't already had your birthday, add 2 years.  If you've already had your birthday, just add 1 year.  Zach is currently 27 years old, so he should add 2 years.  After his birthday he will be 28, so he will add 1 year.

If this is still confusing, just tell someone what year you were born in when they ask you how old you are.

To help me honor Zach's birthday, I would love it if you could send him a birthday message by posting in the comments section below!  He would love to hear from you!

Fake It 'Til You Make It

This title is a perfect description of our time abroad, but mostly of our time living in Korea.  Yes, we can read Korean.  There is actually an alphabet and there are fewer characters than the English alphabet.  But just because we can read it, doesn't mean we always know what it means.  Hence, the faking it part.

Here are some examples:

This is the controller to all things heat-related in our apartment.  It turns the floor heat on and we also have to turn it on every time we want to take a shower or have hot water for anything.

This is our washing machine.

Okay, maybe this one has nothing to do with translating.  I just have a really bad memory and I can't remember which switch turns on which light.

What We've Learned While Living Abroad and Traveling

No, this post isn't about tips and tricks of the trade.  Though I've done research on travel hacking and get daily e-mails about great deals, we still pay too much for flights and hotels.  So, even if I wrote a post about tips and tricks while traveling, I don't think you should take it.  Haha!

This post is, however, about what we've learned about ourselves and/or each other while living abroad and traveling.  We have been married for almost 5 years and together for almost 10 years so, of course, we could have learned these things just from being together for so long, but I truly believe traveling has taught us these things.

So, in no particular order, here is our list:

1. We can't haggle (or choose not to).

Practice makes perfect (or at least makes you better), right?  That's not the case with us.  We both HATE haggling.  Zach refuses to do it.  So if it's going to get done, I'm the one to do it - and I'm terrible at it!  So far, we've only had to haggle for small things like clothes and souvenirs so it's not that big of a deal if we're terrible at haggling.  We stay away from "big ticket" items so that we don't have to worry about doing it.

2. We need reliable internet if we are going to live somewhere for an extended period of time.

One of our only requirements for where we live next is that we must have access to the internet.  We both need to be able to contact people if we need/want to.  China was difficult for us.  Only one of us could be plugged in at a time.  Facebook is truly a great way to stay in contact with people and to see what is happening in friends' and family's lives.  We could live without t.v. or cable, or whatever, but if we couldn't see the news in some format....  Also, Zach plays Go/Baduk online.  It's his number 1 hobby.  Neither of us want him to lose his favorite hobby.

3. We don't want children.

Sorry!  We've heard it all - "You'll change your mind."  "You're so good with kids."  "Once you have them, you'll understand."  Zach and I have talked about this for a very long time now and are both very on board with this decision.  We've tried to trick each other so many times by randomly saying that we think we want kids and other one just gets this look of terror on their face.  We love all of our friends and family member who have children or want children.  We just don't want that life.  We love our life and having the freedom to do whatever we want without having to worry about how it would affect children.

4. We will never stay in a hostel.

Hostels are awesome for travels, just not these travelers.  Maybe it's because we're married.  Maybe it's because we just want our own space.  We would rather spend more money to have our own room/bathroom than to save money and share a room/bathroom with a bunch of strangers.  I'm sure it's a great way to meet people, but we have both decided this is not for us.

5. Staycations are okay with us.

It's easy to do staycations when you're in a new place or country.  There's always something new to explore right in your area.  Don't get me wrong, I was sooooooooo ready to take our vacations to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia this past winter.  But before that, we were content to stay wherever we were and do nothing or explore our area.  Staycations are also a great way to save up and go somewhere big on the next vacation.

6. Zach needs to be in charge of directions/maps.

I am absolutely terrible with directions and maps - Zach is awesome with them.  If the two of us are in a car during a time when directions need to be given, I must drive and he must give the directions to me.  I always second-guess myself or tell him to turn too late.  Me giving directions or second-guessing Zach's directional skills has caused many arguments.  Zach must always be in charge of giving directions and holding the map.

7. Sam can find cheap hotels online but neither of us can physically find them.

Excluding the times we've been picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel, I'm pretty sure we've gotten lost trying to find all of our hotels while being abroad.  And, it's usually raining.  Seriously!  The hotels are always cheap and that means that they are down an alley or down a street that isn't listed on a map.  Or, the map they provide online is completely wrong.  It never fails!!  This also causes several arguments.  Haha!

8. We can live on a budget.

Obviously we don't want to be on a budget, but we are.  It's not very strict, but we know how much disposable income we have every month and how much goes to savings.  With our budget we were able to travel, pay for the classes we're taking, put into savings, and go out with friends.  It can be done!

9. Zach wants to do local things and Sam is a tourist planner.

Zach doing local things with local people.

Sam being a tourist.

We both know that we each like to do different things while on vacation and we have to make some sacrifices.  I like to have a plan and do something every day.  Zach likes to relax while on vacation.  It's definitely give and take.

10. No matter what language you speak, Zach can probably communicate with you.

It's actually pretty amazing.  He picks up on non-verbal communication like it's his job.  Facial expressions and body language is a huge part of any language and this helps him when communicating with people.  For example, in Iksan, we had dinner a few times with a co-teacher and her husband.  Her husband spoke barely any English.  Zach spoke barely any Korean, yet the two of them would have whole conversations.  Neither one of us women knew what they were saying, but when she asked her husband what he thought the conversation was about and then asked Zach, the stories matched up perfectly.  

11. We want to do this long-term.

When we started talking about this in 2010, I really thought we would do it for a year and be done with it.  Four years later and we aren't ready to stop!

Cambodia: Siem Reap (Feb. 25-28, 2014)

I wish we would have spent a little more time in Cambodia and a little less time in Hanoi.  The people are so friendly and our hotel was so nice.  Zach was sick for the majority of the time we were in Cambodia so we spent a lot of time in the room.  (I'm glad the hotel was so nice.)

We had the same tuk tuk driver, Mr. Kun, the entire time we were there and he was wonderful!  On the first day, we saw:
1. Preah Khan,
2. Neak Pean,
3. Ta Som,
4. East Mebon, and
5. Pre Rup.

On the second day, we saw:
1. Angkor Wat at sunrise,
2. South Gate to Angkor Thom,
3. Bayon
    -Baphoun
    -Phimeanakas
    -Terrace of Elephant & Terrace of Leper King
    -Preah Pililay
    -Prasat Sour Prat
    -North & South Kleang, and
4. Ta Prohn

On the third day, we stuck around our hotel area.  That evening we were able to go to the Night Market and Pub Street.  At the night market, we were able to buy a few souvenir t-shirts - one documenting Zach's time in Cambodia to a T!  Haha!

in a tuk tuk

our room

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Pub Street

Zach's shirt that depicts his time in Cambodia