England road trip pictures

Back from our recent road trip here are some of our favorite pictures. We drove across southern England and into Wales, then back into south western England, down towards the coast and all the way along into south eastern England. Good times!

Chips in Cardiff (capital city of Wales)



The southern Welsh coastline



Avebury Stone Circle (Stone Age - 2600 BCE)



Hiking in the New Forest (South West England)



The New Forest famous semi-wild (tiny) ponies



In Kent (South East England) - top of Wye Crown in the South Downs



The town of Sandwich, home of the Earl of Sandwich and inventor of the .... (can you guess?)



Season's greetings - peace to all.

Ukeleles, Mandarin and Cardiff .....

Things have been relaxing here in the UK. Have spent several days going for long walks in the country or along the sea front, visiting friends, reading and talking. Evan has been leaning the ukelele, including some Christmas songs. We are also progressing with our Mandarin learning, and while still only very much at the beginner stage, are also now feeling a little bit more confident and that it is starting to make a little more sense now.

On the Shanghai front, all our papers are in and have now gone for visa processing. The original time frame of February is still looking good, and it has all gone quiet now as we wait for the processing time (about 30 days is the general length it takes).

But not ones to sit still for long, Evan found a very cheap car rental option and so we are off on a road trip for the next few days - first stop is Cardiff, Wales. Evan has always wanted to see Wales, and after we made friends with a fellow CELTA (English language) teacher from there, it was our first choice. So in a couple of hours, we're off! Back in time for Christmas.

That's all for now.

Photographs of our Mediterranean trip

Some photos of our recent Mediterranean trip...

Milan


Olympia (the site of the original (Greek) Olympic Games



Santorini (Greek island formed from the remains of an exploded volcano - thought to be the origin of the Atlantis story)



Marmaris, Turkey



Lemesos, Cyprus



Rhodes, Greece (a fabulous island with ancient walled city)



Messina, Sicily



Naples, Italy (home of pizza!)



Genoa, Italy (home of Christopher Columbus)

Back from the Mediterranean

Arrived back in the UK yesterday from Italy. We had a wonderful trip and will upload some photos over the next few days. So ...
Genoa, Italy - arrived easily, ripped off by taxi driver!, had foccacia and real pesto, usual city sights
Savona, Italy - got a train from Genoa - found the port and had a look around, onto the cruise ship - large, lovely room; huge ship (space for 2400 guests!) complete with 10 story glass elevators and lots of lovely things. Started the cruise. Tried not to eat too much or make too many comments to people acting crazy greedy in the buffet (note - "tried" .... :> )
Naples, Italy - has pizza in its birthplace, cathedrals and vespas and narrow streets - whole street of Nativity scene sellers was a bizarre surprise.
Messina, Sicily - huge, bizarre medieval clock with 20 minute moving bronze mechanical show - quite a show! - sea walks and most delicious cake shops
Rhodes, Greece - our absolute favorite place - fabulous old walled city with tons to see and also time to wonder around the new city too and soak up the sun and eat Greek salad under the trees in a market.
Lemesos, Cyprus - nice old town and trendy cafes, castle where Richard II did crusading from, dusty streets
Marmaris, Turkey - fabulous coastal cruising - really pretty, plus wonder around maze of old streets and enjoying the luxury side of Turkey amidst the jet setter boats and cafes
Santorini, Greece - amazing Greek island formed from remains of an exploded sea volcano with famous views over the waters. Very pretty. Andy refused to ride a donkey.
Olympia, Greece - very interesting visit to site of original (2000 BC) Olympic Games, plus hanging in a Greek village for a while.
Back to Savona, then Genoa - had time and confidence now, so caught fast train to Milan and spent an afternoon/evening wondering the streets of Milan - fab cathedral and lots of gorgeous Italian people swanning around and shopping and being gorgeous and expensive.
And then back to UK yesterday.

Had a great time.

Where now?.....

Cambridge certificates have finally arrived so we'll send them in to the Shanghai office tomorrow and so will have submitted everything for our visas for teaching in China! Background and education checks all came back clear. Getting excited now and a bit nervous too.

That's all for now. Will sort the photos soon.

Off to the Mediterranean

Quick update before we leave on our cruise. Got a free upgrade and so now we are going to have a cabin with a balcony rather than the interior (cheap) cabin we booked. All looking good. Fly to Genoa, Italy tomorrow morning and have a day there before the cruise starts on Sunday (Nov 21). While very historical and interesting, Genoa is home to the famous pesto sauce, so that will be number 1 on the to do list. Really looking forward to our cruise, relaxing (on our balcony!) and visiting so many different places and countries.

Everything is in for the Chinese visas with exception of our final CELTA (English language teaching) certificates. We need to submit the original certificate for our visas, and so we are waiting while they are mailed from Cambridge (about 100 miles from where I am typing this) to Vancouver, Canada, and then back to us here! But all else is in place, including the surprisingly detailed background checks. All looking good for February in Shanghai.

Other news is that we found a cheap New Year trip to Paris! So we are booked on a coach from Essex to Paris via either a Channel ferry or (hopefully) the Eurostar train for 3 nights in Paris over New Year. That should do it for our travels for now..!!

Colorado is well settled now and is agreeing to walk nicely with mum and dad (but she wasn't sure if she thought that was a good idea initially). Mum and dad have learnt a bit more on how to manage the Princess, including to not leave loaves of bread or the food recycling/compost bin anywhere within reach on counter-tops. So, in addition to her regular diet of kibble, pigs ears and cookies, Colorado has sampled English bread - both wholewheat and white (no preference), coffee grounds, egg shells, tea bags (English of course!) and the like. Mmmm.

We will be likely out of email/internet contact for the next two weeks. Will do a brief update if we can. For now, we're off to Italy, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. Nice!!

Some recent photographs ...

Colorado arrives in the UK (at Heathrow Animal Reception Center) ...



Colorado's first day on the beach in Southend




Walking in the new neighborhood ...



Getting into the swing of it all in the UK ....



Bonfire night ... a huge (15-20 foot) bonfire and 17,000 people and fireworks ....





A recent trip to the Royal Horticultural Society Hyde Hall in Chelmsford





Our photos of the Lord Mayor's Parade in London are on our new cell/mobile phone which, until we read the instructions (which may be never) are stuck on the phone. Just think carriages and marching bands and lots of people....

First days in the UK

Well, we have all arrived safely in the UK. Quite a process really. We dropped Colorado off to the transportation company the day before and it was quite emotional saying goodbye and knowing we wouldn't see her again until we all reached the UK. The pet transporter told us to keep an eye on the right side of the plane when we were ready to board the following day, and we did get to spot Colorado's kennel with her ears ticking up being loaded onto the plane.

All went well with immigration and customs, and we were able to pick her up a few hours after we arrived in Heathrow. She was a bit wound up but has since settled in well to life in the UK and already knows the way to the local beach ....

With regards to the teaching jobs - we accepted the positions in Shanghai which should start in February,and so now we are busy (again!) getting all the documents and paperwork together to apply for our visas. There is quite a bit to do, so we are working on it an hour or so at a time. We brought every piece of paper we thought we might possible need from the States with us, as we didn't want to delay everything by missing that one vital thing. So far so good. But have to get it all done in a couple of weeks as we are off again ....

We started looking into our European vacation yesterday trying to find something exciting and a last minute good deal. Today we hit payday! Found a very helpful travel agent and booked a last minute Mediterranean cruise for only 25% of its normal cost! Quite a deal apparently. Offi in two weeks. So we have that sorted now - it seemed a bit more exciting that just going to one place! So we will be starting in Italy (Genoa) - where we have time before and after the cruise, and then Naples (Italy), Messina (Sicily), Rhodes (Greece), Lemesos (Cyprus), Marmaris (Turkey), Santorini (Greece), Olympia (Greece) and back to Italy. So no Malta for now ....

We're also off to the biggest Bonfire Night celebration in Essex tomorrow so that Evan can enjoy a truly British celebration (aka Guy Fawkes Night) with a torch parade, huge bonfire, music/bands and fireworks! Should be fun.

So all in all a busy few days but everything is going well.

UK, China and beyond ....

Time for a brief update on where we are at as we prepare to head off to the UK. It has continued to be a busy time despite the fact that we thought we would have some time off after completing the CELTA certification class. Well we didn't! There has been a lot more to do than we anticipated but we are bringing it all together now.
We are excited about time in the UK - we will be there for a while with Colorado. Part of our preparing to leave is visiting lots of our favorite places together - beaches, parks, free dog treat suppliers, ..... We will be able to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night in the UK - something Evan has never been there for. And lots of time to relax there - plus a last minute Mediterranean jaunt somewhere .... Colorado is looking forward to all the cakes and cookies she will be getting from various family members.
Other big news - Andy sold his very trusted 1995 Toyota on Wednesday to a young man who will look after it well. It was sad to see the car go - Andy bought it within a week or so of arriving in California 15 years ago and it has been everywhere with us - 248,000 miles later it is still running great.
The most exciting news is that we have job offer in Asia (more than one!) - we applied to seven or eight companies in Japan, China and Taiwan, of those we heard back from we chose to interview with three, and now it is decision time.... and while we haven't made our final decision, the front runner is .... SHANGHAI!!!!! Evan was offered a job with children (pre-school and up) and Andy with adults! A start date would be sometime in February. Keep tuned....

So while we are sad to be taking off from Bellingham for a while but we will be back soon. Wish us luck!

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"Listen to your heart. It knows all things because it came from the source of the world, and it will return there one day." (Paolo Coelho "The Alchemist")

How are we feeling exactly!?

So, it was a wise move to lay low for a few days. The dust has definitely settled, and, the truth is, we aren't quite sure how we feel. We're very pleased to have CELTA done, and we are excited about our many prospects. To have our lives totally free and open, though, is surprisingly disconcerting. We find ourselves unsure what to do with our time while we prepare for England and teaching afterwards. We feel a bit in limbo. We aren't complaining at all. We recognize how fortunate we are to be in such a position, and we truly are grateful. It is strange, though, to go from a very set routine to a very intense course (and routine) to the wide open land of possibility. At the moment, Taiwan is the country we lean to for teaching. Many opportunities, a hidden gem of a land, and a great location to see more of Asia. Our emotions around the situation, though, are causing us to second and third guess most of our choices at the moment, so that very well may change (or not). We are dotting 'i-s' and crossing 't-s' regarding leaving the condo and our lives here... still looking at various options and making decisions. We have signed up for some works shifts to make sure we can get through our time in England and the in-between stages before teaching. Most of the big stuff, though, is taken care of. Whatever our feelings, some definite decisions will be made shortly as we plan to apply for teaching positions before we leave for England. So... there will be a plan beyond the next 3 months whether or not our emotions are ready for it :-). We are confused and excited and unsure and grateful... and we believe this will eventually add up to something pretty cool. Stay tuned!

"The day you decide to do it is your lucky day." - Japanese proverb

CELTA week 4

Quick update. Finishing tomorrow!!! We are both passing. Final session with students today - to say goodbye. Then one more class tomorrow and it is all done.

We will be laying low for a couple of days ... a lot to digest and lots of choice to make ... so we'll will be quiet and out of touch for a few more days ...

But all is well. We are (virtually) certificated teachers of English to adults!!!

CELTA week 3

OK - so we're a) still alive, and b) still on the course. It has been hectic again with all sorts of things to do. We switched classes this week so both of us had new learners to work with .... Several of our fellow student teachers are struggling and it is sad to see but with only limited time and resources it is a bit of every man for himself. We are definitely growing quickly in our skills and confidence as teachers, but just as we start to get a handle on one thing, there's three more to deal with. The assessors are tough - if anyone complains they simply remind us that we chose an intensive class and so get on with it. Teacher boot camp.
A little extra (well a lot) stress happened when some how or other Andy forgot to clear his photocopier code, and so someone used all his copies .... without any copies left (and they won't let you buy more!???!!!) he had to rely on using Evan's copies very carefully so Evan didn't run out. It may be resolved now but it certainly added another level of stress to not be able to make any handouts or overheads for his classes!!!! It is just like a reality TV show!
One of the highlights was a fellow student making a grammar mistake in a lesson while teaching a class to beginner students on 'yet' and 'just' and the like. This mistake ended up with the sentence "They have not done it in Central Park yet" being written on the board and being spoken aloud for practice by several middle-aged Japanese and Taiwanese ladies. Cue Andy and his fellow students all sitting at the back next to the assessor trying not to curl up!! Sweating bullets!! One teacher cracked and was immediately sent outside and given a talking too!!! Oh, but it was funny!!!!!

One more week and we're done! Huge assignment this weekend - spent most of today on it and will spend most of tomorrow - but if we can hang in one more week we'll be certified teachers of English as a second language..... and then ......

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"Follow your bliss" Joseph Campbell

CELTA update 2

Just finished week 2 - lots more stress and activity but everything is going fine. We both passed the week 2 assessment on written assignments (but both us had to resubmit our written papers) and with our teaching practice, and so have now moved into the next stage of the course. Teaching has become more natural now, and we are getting into the swing of teaching different lessons - reading, writing, listening and speaking. We have learned how to drill and teach correct pronunciation - all interesting but very challenging to learn, understand, begin using and be assessed on using within a day or two. Parts of this week were quite overwhelming - such as the 2 hours lesson that covered all the phonemes in the English language (the individual sounds - not letters - about 36 I think) - their symbols, how each of the sounds, and how to drill/teach each one. So now we are assessing language at this level!!!
So, it has been quite challenging, but there have been some great parts too. We are enjoying the students very much and meeting people from all over the world. We have graphic designers, businessmen, and doctors learning English from us!!! The teaching model is very much communication based - and so it is interesting in how we are taught to teach - our talking time as teachers is meant to be very limited and the students are set up by us in different ways to talk as much as possible.
Anyway, that's all we've been doing. Nothing else!! Another assignment and lesson planning this weekend, plus possibly some more grammar revision (transitive verbs and superlatives anyone?!).... but we're fine - tired, overwhelmed, but fine (and having a little fun too).

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"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." (Thoreau)

CELTA update 1

Week 1 is done - whew!!!!
We really hit the ground running - even met students on the first day and started assessed teaching on the second day. We have both taught two lessons already - Andy is with the intermediate students and Evan is with the beginners. We have passed both sessions! Yea!

There is also a ton of English language and teacher training work - the first two days were very very stressful but we are now getting into the groove a little more now and feeling a it more confident. The pace is intense and if you got behind it would be very difficult to catch up - assignments and detailed lesson planning each night - so we are getting home about 8:30 or so.
Actually our day is a little like this - up at 5:30; leave house at 6:40 to cross into Canada just as the Nexus line opens (those Nexus cards are great!) - arrive at school about 8:15 - one hour of prep time and homework/study before classes start (things like phonology; language analysis, vocab etc) - an hour lunch then lesson feedback and assignment, teaching begins at 3:15 - 5:30 - 45 min sessions - we teach for 45 min and then observe/critique other student teachers. Then feedback and a bit more teaching and we are usually done around 6:00 - another hour to hour and a half to gather prep materials for the next day and start lesson planing - leave Vancouver around 7:15-7:30. Dinner at home and then a bit more work - practice and support to each other....

However, we have actually started to enjoy ourselves!!! The English language learners are great and really excited to be learning with us - they come from many countries - including Chile, Czech Rep, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Egypt, Iran and Spain! And we are doing OK with it too. Feels good.

Friday night was the time to relax!!!! An episode of Project Runway (aahh Becky!) and a beer.

It does feel rather like a reality TV show - the Apprentice or something - everyone running around and trying not to get sent home!!!

Send us good vibes!
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"Surviving is important; thriving is elegant" (Maya Angelou)

On Your Marks, Get Set, GO!!!

OK, seriously, there is nothing like this feeling. We want all of this so badly yet it is so scary too. Today was our final day at our jobs. We are prepping for the start of the course on Tuesday, and tomorrow will be a "retreat day" to ground and center. Yesterday, our dog walker, the son of Andy's boss, came over for orientation. This past Tuesday we did a practice run up to Vancouver. Both things went great. Colorado loves her new friend and the treats he gives her, and our Nexus passes made the border a sinch. Not to mention that the time we leave at seems to put us just ahead of Vancouver traffic... beautiful... perfect. We already have a special coffee shop right by school where we can study before class starts, and it seems we have all our ducks in a row. The Universe is clearly conspiring with us at this point, so it is all systems go! So, yeah, we are freaked out; by freaked out we mean scared and excited all at once with each emotion sort of coming in waves over the other (and with a bunch of other stuff mixed in). But it is so awesome. It's like getting ready to go on a big trip abroad only the sensations are doubled since we have no clue where we are going or when we are coming back.

Our trip to Portland with Mom and Nick was the perfect start to this adventure; a good time was had by all. Just as we predicted, it has been a bit of a snowball effect with all our plans and systems in place and just allowing them to unfold. As an FYI, this course is super intense. We will be in class for something like 130 hours over the next month, and we are told to expect 20-30 hours of homework per week on top of that, so we will be out of touch with everyone until the course finishes. We are sorry, but that is how it has to be to make this happen. We will try to do a mid-course update here on the blog. Our love to all of you. Thank you for your support in this. We are truly grateful to all of you, to ourselves, and to the Universe for all the opportunities opening up even as we type!

So... signing off for now... here we go

"Believe in Yourself and all that you are. Know that there is Something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." -Christian D. Larson

It's For Real

Emotionally, it is really hitting home that all of this is real. Yesterday was our visit to the vet to get Colorado's paperwork/ health certificate completed for travel. Both of us are feeling sad about the prospect of leaving her in England, though we know its best for all involved. It has also become increasingly clear just what a frantic pace our life has had the entire time we've lived here and how little time has actually been spent enjoying such a beautiful place. Because of this, we have made a clear decision that this is our home. This doesn't change our plans at all; it is more of a mental shift that provides us the comfort we need to step out into the great unknown. It also signifies an intention to spend more quality time here in the future enjoying the rugged beaches, beautiful trails, and funky downtown vibe.

All of that said, we are still very much looking forward to our time in England which we intend to spend 'doing' very little. Instead we want to just be; this is the space where we believe spiritual deepening can take place and our passions and bliss will be given room to reveal themselves more clearly. If we are ever to make such things as a charity project occur, we have to be very grounded in spiritual practice and knowing ourselves.

There are still many tiny details to arrange, but, in truth, the big stuff is done, and all we have to do now is allow our plans to unfold. The CELTA course will begin very soon now. We have a lovely sounding three days in Portland with Mom and Nick that we are truly looking forward to (we have vowed to do nothing preparatory so that we can begin this practice of 'just being'), and then we are on the course and off to England and beyond. It is sinking in quite quickly that it's all for real, and so we are excited and scared all at once, and that is exactly as it should be.

"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Getting closer

Few days late on this one ...
Well, we're still busy! Along with trying to work a little extra (we've both taken extra shifts this month) we have .... booked our UK flights, got further along with Colorado's travel plans to the UK, got our actual Nexus passes, studied grammar and begun working on the 46 page pre-class assignment, organized all the internet accounts, spring cleaned the computer operating system and files, and ... oh well - you get the idea. It's been busy.

However, the beginning of our next new start is in our sights - it's a month today to when we start our intensive English language teacher classes. Before then we have a trip down to Portland with Evan's mom and her partner - a nice reward to look forward to just before we start. Booking our flights seemed to further cement our plans, as did our final day notices at work!! We were very fortunate that the morning we had set aside to book the flights was the day British Airways announced a half-price air mile sale - so we scored on the flights - one of us flies for only 25,000 air miles, and the other is traveling free as we had also got awarded a companion flies for free coupon - so just the taxes to pay. This savings will go some way towards the additional expenses in shipping Colorado - we discovered on the same day she has to fly from Seattle via a pet transporter (most other airports allow you to make your own arrangements) - this will cost more but saves a lot of headache.

In the few hours of spare time, we've been enjoying the Bellingham summer - beaches, forests, and city walks. A quick side note - discovered in some occupational therapy magazines from a few months ago some articles about the Leprosy Hospital in Pokhara, Nepal. Andy visited it when we worked in Pokhara with the blind students and orphans, and Evan worked with one of the physical therapists and one of the spinal cord injury counselors, doing some massage and teaching. An occupational therapy student had gone there to do some of her clinical studies and wrote up two articles about her experiences. Interesting.

Enjoying the Walk Out Walk On book very much that we talked about a couple of entries ago after we met one of the authors. More ideas for our big picture project in a few years.

And of course, Evan is three weeks to the end of his final class in his final semester in finishing his degree....

Also saw the final Harry Potter movie, from where today's closing quote comes from ....
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"Just because it's in your mind, it doesn't mean it isn't real" (Dumbledorf (?))

So Exciting!

Well, as we expected, our return to the States has been accompanied by a bit of a 'snowball' of tasks associated with our plans: nexus passes are on their way, files are being organized, Colorado preparations are underway, grammar is being studied, and work is being pursued to get ever last possible cent in the bank.... to name a few. It really is exciting considering all the possibilities this plan offers such as jobs all over the world and time off between assignments to relax and process everything we are experiencing. We are looking forward both to our time in England and to our time in a yet unknown country in Asia or Eastern Europe.

We have been trying to truly appreciate the lovely town which has served as home for the last 6 years, so we are visiting many of those special places like the Bagelry, La Vie en Rose (delicious pastries), and Boulevard Park. This weekend we hope to take a trip to Anacortes to say our goodbyes there; while we likely will return at some point, it will never be the same, and what this area has been to us on our journey is significant and unique.

In the evenings, after updating files and attending to all the preparations, we have been watching the Star Wars films. They really are fantastic, being just as, if not more, interesting now than they were the first time. This has provided some nice balance in our lives, allowing us to be present while we are still preparing for the future. They also seem to have some pretty forward thinking commentaries on life and spirit embedded in them. In that vein of thought, we will continue along this path, reading the omens, and keeping you posted on what we think the Universe is saying about what we might do next.

"Luminous beings are we." -Yoda

Sunny times in England

Here we are in a very sunny England enjoying the weather and the country and Wimbledon - exciting being here for the tennis and Evan has even got into it! Unfortunately Murray was knocked out in the semi-finals ....

Highlights of our trip so far include (in no particular order):
- Visiting the Borough Market in London - a fabulous food market with hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of delicacies
- Walking both ways to the end of Southend pier (1 1/3 miles long out to sea) and enjoying the peacefulness of being on a jetty so far out in the sea
- Walking the northern England coast at Tynmouth including walking past the ruins of a medieval monastery and catching a ferry across the mouth of the river Tyne
- Surprising Andy's mum and dad with their anniversary trip on the Orient Express, the famous train from the 1920's
- Sitting in a cafe window in Newcastle/London/Southend sipping a skinny latte and watching the world go by
- Andy getting to volunteer to blow molten glass in a demonstration at the National Glass Center in Sunderland
- Walking along the river Thames in London - past the Tower of London, St. Paul's cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Globe theater, etc.

We've also (of course) been catching up with friends and family and enjoying all the things English that we miss, including fish and chips, Indian curries, and the little sidewalk cafes. Have been purposely not doing a lot of organizing and planning as we need a little R and R before we are back in the States next week finalizing all our plans for the next few months.

Just finished reading "Thrive" by Dan Buettner (Secrets from the world's happiest people). Here is a quote from this book (highly recommended):

"Here's a 103 year old woman who has no money and no real possesions, is living in a borrowed house, is half paralyzed and mostly blind, and she feels blessed .... How is that possible?" ........... :)

Can't Stop Us Now!

Things are all coming down the pipeline hard and fast now. It turns out that Evan was able to participate in commencement since he had so few units left to complete; this is apparently the way it is done; if one is to graduate in the summer, he walks in the spring commencement ceremony. Evan decided to participate for a certain sense of closure and accomplishment, though the proper celebration will take place in August. This marked another milestone in our journey, and it seems everything is happening very quickly now. Andy's parents returned home safely. Next we are off to the UK for a bit, then we have only a month or so before quitting our jobs, completing the CELTA, and taking off! There is much to do practically speaking, so we have posted a color coded list on the fridge of items to be completed each month until out departure.

Our NEXUS interviews are scheduled for after we return from the UK, so we will have those passes in time for the course. Andy's parents have excitedly agreed to caretake for Colorado while we teach, so the arrangements for her to move to the UK are also being finalized. Evan's 33rd birthday was this week, so that was a highlight (fleeting, as they all are with so much excitement), and now it is all about packing and cleaning up for the trip. Andy has already told his supervisor about our plans, and she was graciously supportive and hopes he'll return to work when we are in Bellingham.

With all that said, it is time to sign off and get on with things.... in the spirit of a lecture we went to on Evan's birthday, we are going to WALK OUT and WALK ON! Our next post will be from England.

"No one is coming to help. Now what?" - Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze, Walk Out Walk On

Moving forward in a 'summa cum laude' way

Not a lot of news regarding our plans - been busy with mum and dad touring and visiting and casino-ing. Having a very nice time. Felt exciting having mum and dad arrive as it felt like the start of all our new plans.

CELTA - we have bought our books to start learning more of the grammar that we need to have as a pre-requisite for the classes. Have been initially approved for a Nexus pass - this is the fast pass for border crossings USA- Canada - next have to schedule an interview in the next 30 days with USA and Canadian immigration - this will make the crossings very quick and easy for the training.

Evan is wrapping up his last week of term - only a photo project and one more class to complete for his degree. He just received notification that he will graduate "summa cum laude" (= "with highest honors")!!! Very well done!!!

That's all for now. Lots more to come!
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"What's the worst thing that could happen to you? Take a chance tonight and try something new" (Kylie Minogue - 'Get Out Of My Way' song from Aphrodite album)

International teaching and a completed Capstone Project

Quick update - mum and dad arrived safe and sound yesterday from the UK. Lots of sunshine today to enjoy Washington at its best. Planning little trips and days relaxing - including (of course) some time at the casinos!

Other updates - well we've narrowed the countries for our job search following our English teaching certification in September - short list is China, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. We have selected these countries because they pay well, are relatively easy to get jobs/visas as newly qualified teachers, and are safe and interesting places. So that is all getting quite exciting. ... Next step with the plan is we need to develop our grammar skills - this is a pre-requisite for the classes, and we were admitted to the program on the understanding we would know a little more than we did on the interview (!)

With Andy's parents visiting, that also means that is is not too far off for our trip to the UK in June. Nearly time to get ready for that.

Also, further good news this week was Evan solidly passing his Capstone Project for his degree with flying colors - what he had expected to be a draft was passed with an A by his adviser with just minor corrections. The degree is now within easy reach!!!

So, it now feels like we have moved onto the next step in the plan - the last few months of slog and hard work are starting to pay off, we can relax a little and let the next few months roll on. The countdown can begin!!!
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"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese proverb).

Europe and Asia starting to firm up

So things are moving on. We have been looking further on in the year (after our summer trip to the UK and our CELTA class) and making firmer plans. We want to spend some longer time in the UK again later in the year to really get more of a feel it when we are not just on a quick one or two week trip there. Also, it would be nice to spend a bit longer on traveling in Europe - but we don't want to blow the savings all at once! We have been doing some research and budgeting, and with a pretty strict budget we are pretty sure we can make a couple of nice trips happen while we are there. We have pretty much decided to spend two weeks in Malta (a small Mediterranean island country), and a week in Morocco. We would love to go to Israel too, but it is much more expensive, and we are saving our cash for doing some working and traveling in Asia once we have gotten our teaching qualifications. Current frontrunners for these longer term places in Asia are South Korea, Japan or Hong Kong (which we really liked when we were there in 2009). Now we have sorted out Europe options, we will now be looking more closely at these Asian countries for living and working ....

Evan has continued to work hard to get his degree finished (this will also make his teaching prospects and pay as a teacher higher too) and turned in his first draft of his Capstone Project this week - all 66 pages of it - a really interesting paper. It is a discussion of observances of religious practices around the world using 7 of the countries we have visited on our travels, both from the eyes of a traveler and from an academic perspective. He chose Cambodia, Spain, Nepal, Egypt, England, Indonesia and Argentina as the countries to analyze and discuss. Hopefully his adviser will like it. Andy was very impressed.

Andy's mum and dad are just a couple of weeks away from their visit, so we are also getting ready for that. Both looking forward to it. With their arrival comes our planned slight deceleration with our very busy work/school schedules - Andy will cut back down to around 35 hours a week (has been up to 45 or so) and Evan should start to wind down a little both with school and his private practice (which has been pretty much fully booked the last few months).

Well that's our news for now. More to follow!
.....
"What are you waiting for?" (Lope de Vega)

Updates ....

As Evan works closer towards completing his degree, and we are clocking up many additional hours at work, we've been pretty quiet with all the other stuff. However, as May approaches we are looking forward to a visit from Andy's mum and dad later on in that month, and starting to think about fun trips and places to visit. They will be our first proper visitors to our new home.

And then when June rolls around, we have two weeks off to go back to the UK for the 50th wedding anniversary celebrations. Just made plans for all of us (Andy, Evan, mum and dad) to take a 4 day trip up to Newcastle right at the end of June to see Aunt Sheila and Uncle Alf. Have a surprise organized with Steve and Sharon to mark mum and dad's big day. We're thinking that we probably won't do another side trip to Europe on this trip, to save time with family, as well as money for the bigger plans. However, have also found very cheap coach tickets to Paris and Amsterdam....

So at the moment, not much else to report. We're really getting ourselves well positioned to do some much bigger stuff later in the year. We have many ideas, but are just letting it all unfold right now as to the order we do it in. Still serious about teaching English overseas (obviously as we wouldn't take on the CELTA certification training), working as therapists (Hawaii, New Zealand) and traveling. But with exciting plans in May, June and onto July, and then the classes starting in September, the next few months will likely fly by. So we'll see what happens in October!!

The weather here is now very spring like, so we have been enjoying evening walks and time out on the beaches and parks around here. Time to appreciate what we have, and how far we've come.

Celta update and ongoing plans

CELTA update - we accepted the offers of the place on the class - to begin later this year. We will have some preparation to do, especially in making sure we are up to date with our understandings of grammar. We are excited about the opportunity, but also a bit daunted - it is quite a commitment to study and work, and it will fall so soon after Evan has finished his anthropology degree. But it is the next step forward, and we are very excited about all the opportunities.

In other news, we are starting our plans for more travel this year, including a trip back to the UK in the summer for Andy's mum and dad's wedding anniversary. Evan continues to work towards completing his degree, a goal getting closer by the day. With spring seemingly here, we are celebrating the fact that we no longer have a garden to keep up - a recent trip to the home improvement store was a happy event as we could breeze past the lawnmower belts and pesticides and the lumber to look at garden chairs and wall hangings!!! Wonderful. No we are not missing the house.

We are working hard to save more money for our education and travel plans. Evan's private clinic is doing remarkably well these days, and we are both busy at our jobs, but still finding time to travel to Seattle and Vancouver and the casino as much as possible. Visited the Japanese garden, Frye art gallery and various coffee shops and restaurants on our trip to Seattle this week. (Quick stop at a casino on the way home - $50 richer!!)

Hopefully by next post we will have more definite travel plans developed. People are asking us when the next trip will be - so we have obviously been too quiet for too long.

Just finished reading "Travel as a political act" by Rick Steves - highly recommend this book.
That's all for now!

......
"Follow your bliss" Joseph Campbell

Accepted

Well, Andy had his CELTA interview about a week ago, and Evan's was yesterday. We're happy to say that we both received offers to the program! If we accept, and learn to teach English on the program, we will be working with refugees and recent immigrants who cannot afford to take classes to learn English in their new country - so that is a cool bonus to working in this program.

With that said, we have a lot of thinking to do before we accept. The tutors were both discouraging of commuting from Bellingham because of the intensive nature of the course, so this would mean making arrangements for Colorado as well the added cost of staying in Vancouver during the week. We need to weigh out if that added cost is worth it, or whether we should reconsider doing the course abroad (in a less expensive country), or ignore the advice and commute anyway (if we followed all the advice we've received over the years, we would not be where we are; one has to pick and choose advice carefully); or simply not do the course since some employment is available with just a degree and no additional qualifications. We'll work on this decision tonight and then accept the course placements or not.

Ev has completed winter term and is now focused solely on his capstone project for the next couple of weeks- until spring term begins. This gives time for a bit of a breather. Timing is good since there is a lot to think about at the moment regarding plans for the future.

Andy continues to work hard and is back volunteering with the dogs at the humane society today after a needed break to move into the condo and settle in.

Life continues to tick right along- it is really stressful to be making plans of the scale ours are with all the other factors of everyday living, but the alternative seems pretty boring, so we are happy with our choices.

" Our souls look back in wondrous surprise at how far we have made it, so far from where we started." - Maya Angelou

California update

Quick update to upload our photos from our recent trip to sunny California visiting family and friends and old haunts ... oh the memories!!! Good times were had.

Monterey and Heart Castle with Mom and Nick.





Lauren and Walt in Berkley.


Gina in San Francisco Bay Area - including 2 of Andy's favorite places : Pier 7 and Cha Cha Cha's in Haight Ashbury.




and Cozy the French bulldog.....

We Applied

Well, our biggest news is that we finished our applications for the CELTA English teacher training course. There was an application form as well as a "task" to complete which involved reviewing a magazine article and identifying parts of speech and other grammatical details. We also had to attach a resume and make a statement about our reasons for pursuing certification. Anyway, we did all this, and this past Tuesday had a great day up in Vancouver, the highlight of which was dropping off our applications at the Global Village English Training Institute. The school was very nice and professional, and we were both impressed, so we are excited. Once accepted, we will study for an intensive month in September then be eligible to teach English all over the world!

The rest of our visit to Vancouver was very nice. We had lunch at a place called Lonsdale Quay which is a food court of all sorts of ethnic choices. We had a couple of coffees at Tim Horton's (an upscale Canadian version of Dunkin' Donuts). We did a lot of wandering and appreciating the hustle and bustle of a big city. It was a nice day away.

We look forward now to our Cali trip which is fast approaching... Ev is cramming in a lot of school work so our time there won't be filled with that, and Andy is cramming in a lot of work so that our trip is easy on the bank account. So nice and busy!

Won't include too may other details this post as the news of applying for the CELTA program deserves a bit of relishing.

" If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau

2011 plans come to fruition (and a ton of photos)

Now things are getting going.
We are now very organized with the nitty-gritty of our 2011 plans. Some short trips for the next few months (including a trip to California coming up in a few weeks) and a trip to the UK in the summer for Andy's mum and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. Then we will be taking a month to study and get our teaching English as a foreign language crendential in Vancouver, taking classes full time Mon - Fri and then working on the weekends. And then ..... taking some overseas time. We hope to achieve our dream of living and teaching in Asia by the fall - hopefully for about 6 months. We're open to where and when, although it is still very much our goal to spend some time travelling in China.

So now our focus is on working and saving as much as we can. Evan is hard at work nearing the completion of his degree in anthropology. His capstone project includes our worldwide travels, and an associated project is a photographic project of religious expression as we have observed travelling through the various countries - so this week we've been looking through hundred of photos that include the churches of England, Spain, Italy, Iceland and Eastern Europe, Cambodian spirit houses,Nepal funerals and Hindu gods, Egyptian pyramids and mosques, Easter Island statues and bird gods, palaces of Thailand, temples of Hong Kong and China, mayan sites in Costa Rica .... and on and on. Inspiring us all the more!!!!

So lots going on - all very exciting...

"That is the charm of the map. It represents the other side of the horizon where everything is possible" (Rosita Forbes)

Italy photos

Finally ... some of our photos from our recent trip to Florence and Pisa, Italy.

First five - Florence:
1. Florence's famous Duomo dome (main cathedral)
2. From the Ponte Vecchio along the river Arno
3. Piazza del Duomo - the main cathedral square
4. The fantastic interior of the Duomo dome
5. A not completely legal photo of the 17 foot tall David







Last two - Pisa:
1.From the top of the Leaning Tower of PIsa - overlooking the Field of Miracles
2. The cathedral and famous leaning tower