And we're off!!!

Whoever said "he who would travel happily must travel light" clearly didn't have a 3-year old with them! We pretty much filled a Honda Pilot with our 3 giant duffle bags, 2 suitcases, and assorted carry on items. Andy and I each were carrying what felt like a week's worth of snacks and enough electronics to open a small store! Whatever it was, it was not packing light. In spite of all the laptops, I-pads, DVD player, kids books, puzzles, Thomas trains & track, yarn for 4 sweaters, etc., we actually did pack light with our clothes. I'm hoping that I do not end up regretting how frugal I was with only 5 pairs of pants/capris/jeans and 2 skirts to last the entire semester. I'm not exactly shaped for "Japanese sizing", so buying new clothes in Morioka isn't a realistic option. Catie and Andy should be fine, so we all packed a minimum of clothes.  

The flight was as grueling as any 13 hour flight would be, but was lightened by some spectacular views of Alaska. Flying over Glacier Bay and the Chugach mountains was amazing- I've never seen calving glaciers from a plane before. It was so cool being able to watch one glacier after another pass beneath us and have Catie merrily point out icebergs. She, being 3, was convinced that seeing icebergs meant she was seeing penguins and nothing I said was going to change her opinion. According to her, we saw a lot of penguins from the plane. As we flew along the coast, we were rewarded with amazing views of the mountains and glacial rivers pouring big plumes of glacial milk out through textbook deltas into the ocean. We even flew by Denali! We were in the clouds over the Canadian Rockies and the Aleutians, but the whole Alaska portion of the flight was just awesome!

Denali from the plane (I was so excited over Glacier Bay, I forgot to take a picture)

It helped that Catie is pretty much a rockstar traveller. She spent the flight snacking, playing with sticker books, watching movies, or napping. When we arrived, she asked us "are we in Japan now?" with a voice full of excitement and awe. We, and pretty much everyone else on the plane, were bleary eyed, dehydrated and exhausted, and there was Catie, perky as ever and thrilled to be one step further on our adventure. Everyone around us just smiled. She then proceeded to skip and dance all the way to Customs.

Our flight was slightly delayed leaving Chicago, which meant that we arrived along with 2 other international flights. Immigration was a zoo! Just as I was about to step into the very long line, a customs official said "no, you have kid, please use priority lane". We went from having an hour or more long wait to being 2nd in line! Gotta love Japan! It was also pretty cool to receive our Gajin cards right in immigration. It used to take half a day in the prefectural government office to get one, so this was a major improvement.

Catie with the brand new and super fast E6 Shinkansen

Narita was booked full being the week before Obon and right in the midst of summer vacation, so we shipped the bulk of our luggage to the apartment and then headed into Tokyo for the night. We thought this meant we'd be able to catch an earlier train up to Morioka, but somehow there was a train blackout that caused massive delays on all the Shinkansen (bullet trains) arriving into Tokyo. Tokyo Eki was beyond crazy! Even on a quiet day it's always a busy place with steady streams of people coursing through the station, but we've never seen so many people simply waiting. Every support post, every stair, and every empty space was full of people sitting or standing around. The shear amount of "confusion and delay" was a little scary, but we made it through and Catie got to ride on her first bullet train (an express even faster than Gordon's!!!).

We arrived in Morioka around 3 PM and Yuki brought us to the prefectural office to register and get our national health insurance cards and then to the E-house apartment. More on that later!

Planning a semester in Japan

A few years ago, Andy & I decided it would be fun to lead the Earlham SICE program to Morioka, Japan. We put ourselves on the list and waited...

Here we are one week from departure and I’m wondering what ever possessed me to think this was a good idea! We’re struggling to pare down everything the 3 of us might need to live in a Morioka for a semester into the absolute minimum. Packing is never much fun and this is probably the worst I've dealt with. The weather will range from high summer (80s & 90s) when we arrive to snow by mid-November. I've been warned by several people that "E-House", as the Earlham apartment is called, is rather small with limited storage space, so we have to pack light. I want to bring enough toys, books, and games to keep Catie entertained in our new environment, but am coming up against the limited space again. Ugh.

Other than the pain of packing, I'm sure this will be a grand adventure! Catie is looking forward to attending preschool and riding on trains. I think Andy is happy to be going back to spend some time in a country he loves. And I guess I’m just up for the excitement of living in a new environment. One of the things I'm most looking forward to is seeing how Catie experiences this new culture. I'm always surprised by the things she notices and think that watching her see Japan will be fun. 

In spite of the name of this blog, we did not consciously set out to raise an international child. We have never wanted to be one of those families who home schooled their kids while traveling the globe. All this travel just seems to happen. I'll keep you posted on our latest chapter as parents of a blonde preschooler in northern Japan. 

Kids on Camino

Probably the biggest concern for any of us (well other than actually being able to walk that far!) is how to take a toddler on such a journey. We've thought a lot about this and come up with a ton of lightweight books, toys, and things that might hold a two-year old's interest. The most important piece of gear we have is her cart- a Croozer Kid for 1. We've put a couple of hundred training miles on it. With a few minor modifications, Catie can eat, sleep, sit, stand, and play in it. It holds her gear as well as extra water and a few essentials- chapstick, kleenex, my I-pod, etc. Here's a photo of Catie 'croozin' this winter...

I also joined one of the Camino forums and asked for advice. The results we mixed. Some people think we're crazy, some think it's a great family bonding experience, and although not exactly stated, I think some think we're bad parents, or at least bad pilgrims, for even considering such a thing. However, one former pilgrim gave me hope: 

  "Having watched The Way movie

   I'd go for a 2 year old any time

   rather than the sullen 60 year old brat Sheen.

   Toddlers are a lot more fun

   and rewarding

   they eat less

   cost nothing for accommodation

   don't argue (unnecessarily)

   clothes are smaller to wash

   will slot in with your early rise and early to bed routine

   fit in with the Spanish way of life

   will ensure you don't walk in the midday sun

   will be admired by all the wrinkly old women in black

   will be a great conversation piece

   will get you free stuff and access to the front of the queue of about anything"

Let's hope he's right!

have baby, will travel

A week from today we embark on an epic adventure. Andy, Catie, & I are meeting up with my mom & dad and sister to walk over 300 miles from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela, Spain along the Camino de Santiago. 

What possessed us to think we could walk halfway across a country, over two mountain ranges with a toddler is beyond me! It sounded like a better idea at the time. The distance is equivalent to walking from Boston to Philadelphia (on interstates). We’ll be walking uphill from Burgos at 863 m (2831 ft) to a high point of 1508 m (4947 ft), then down to 483 m (1585 ft),  back up to 1334 m (4376 ft), and finally coasting down to 255 m (836 ft) into Santiago. The elevation doesn’t sound too bad until you realize that we are carrying all of our belongings for a month on our backs and pushing a cart weighing ~70 lbs fully loaded. We’ve got the gear… light backpacks, quick-dry clothing, good footwear, and a hiking cart to haul Catie and her stuff. We’ve been walking all over town since January. And yet, even with all the preparation, the task itself looms large!

So why are we doing this? I don’t think there is a simple answer. Walking the Camino has been a dream of my parents since they first started leading trips to Spain a couple of decades ago. They had planned to go on pilgrimage as soon as they retired, but complications involving my mom’s knees among other things have so far prevented the trip. Andy was invited to go along with an Earlham group to talk about geology, so it seemed like a good time to make the pilgrimage. 

On a more spiritual level, the past decade has been tough for all of us. Since 2001, Andy lost both his parents to cancer, we moved to new jobs in a new state (again), we lost our infant son, lost our two dogs, sat in the hospital for 70 days wondering if our daughter would survive and be “ok”, my mom was diagnosed and fought breast cancer, and my dad had multiple surgeries for skin cancer. Not to harp on the bad stuff, but relatively speaking, it was a rough decade. Now things appear to be looking up. We finally feeling a bit more settled owning only one house in one state (we finally planted asparagus so you know we’re feeling settled), Andy received tenure at Earlham, my mom will be cancer free for 9 years this fall, my dad just had the best check up with his dermatologist in years, my sister just got out of a bad marriage, Catie is thriving, and I’m loving my new status as stay-at-home mom. This pilgrimage is a way for us to celebrate our good fortune as a family. I think the physical challenge will also help the healing process after such an emotional few years.

I do not think any of us really know what to expect, but are certain it will be an adventure! I’ll try to keep this updated whenever we have internet access.

¡Ultreya!