Just checking in again. Continuing to have a very nice time in Florida. The half marathon went very well - Andy did better than he hoped and came in under the two hour mark - official time 1 hour 55 minutes.
Since the last post we've been to more of the Disney parks, visited the coast and the Everglades, and attempted to see a 4:30 am space shuttle launch - which was crazy mayhem - cars everywhere. Unfortunately, the launch was postponed and we just couldn't make ourselves go through it again for the next planned launch attempt!
We visited Sarasota yesterday and met a cool lady running a fair trade shop and got lots of ideas and suggestions from her. More inspiration for the future. We've also made an effort to get off the beaten path a little, and have seen a very different side of Florida. It's certainly not all beaches and theme parks .... there's some very odd little towns and folks hanging around them!
We're heading back to Bellingham Friday evening, and with a renewed energy to move onward more with the big project plans. Until then, keep warm!
.....
"Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stonger than you seem, and smarter than you think" (Christopher Robin to Pooh)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Florida notes
Just a quick update for this week. Having a great time in Florida with mum and dad. Race training is going well - big day is this Sunday - hope to beat my personal best and run the 13 miles in under 2 hours... We are also luckily here for a planned sapce shuttle launch on Sunday too ...
We visited Andy's old home a few days ago - now sadly a little run down, and Daytona Beach and St. Augustines - a very nice old (1500's) town onthe coast. Also had some fun at Epcot and the rather excellent Animal Kingdom Disney Park that includes a very authentic Nepali village that made us feel a little homesick for Nepal and our friends there. Mistakenly boarded a 'train ride' which was actually a fast and backwards roller coaster - mum was NOT happy!
Today the sun is shining and we're off to go wildlife spotting at a nearby coastal park (Homonossa Spings) where we hope to see wild manatees.
Having a good time.
We visited Andy's old home a few days ago - now sadly a little run down, and Daytona Beach and St. Augustines - a very nice old (1500's) town onthe coast. Also had some fun at Epcot and the rather excellent Animal Kingdom Disney Park that includes a very authentic Nepali village that made us feel a little homesick for Nepal and our friends there. Mistakenly boarded a 'train ride' which was actually a fast and backwards roller coaster - mum was NOT happy!
Today the sun is shining and we're off to go wildlife spotting at a nearby coastal park (Homonossa Spings) where we hope to see wild manatees.
Having a good time.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Next steps
So, now we have our first choice, we've been learning more about the country and stating to plan our first visit there to begin identifying possible locations and opportunities. It has been an interseting way to proceed with our big dream. Most people who set these kinds of projects up tend to do so after they have visited a place and for some reason, feel attached to it. We wanted to try and be more objective about it - especially as we have visited many different countries, and seen many kinds of organizations in action - including the pitfalls and problems. So our approach was more to determine not only where, but how - the feasibility, the safety, the immigration and red tape aspects..... and now we get to have a little fun.
So, while we are off to Florida to have some R and R with mum and dad, we are starting to look at when we will go to the Dominican Republic - this year definitely, and hopefully soon. Our first visit will be just a short trip to look at the possibilities on the ground level, and to figure out our next steps. We have also been developing a business plan, and want to have that really polished before we go.
So that's where we're at .... and now off to Florida and Mickey and marathons ... and a trip to Hudson to see where Andy used to live...
.......
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" (Oscar Wilde)
So, while we are off to Florida to have some R and R with mum and dad, we are starting to look at when we will go to the Dominican Republic - this year definitely, and hopefully soon. Our first visit will be just a short trip to look at the possibilities on the ground level, and to figure out our next steps. We have also been developing a business plan, and want to have that really polished before we go.
So that's where we're at .... and now off to Florida and Mickey and marathons ... and a trip to Hudson to see where Andy used to live...
.......
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" (Oscar Wilde)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
And the pick is.........
Having narrowed down our choices to the final nine countries, we were at a loss as to how to move forward. All things weighed together, these nine came out fairly equal according to the criteria we value. It was time to seek some guidance from the Universe.
At first, we couldn’t figure out why we were being directed to Puerto Rico … it’s not particularly needy… it certainly isn’t on our list. Then we realized, Puerto Rico is right next door to Dominican Republic. Should we ever need to, we could actually base ourselves here, Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory. It began to make sense, and since that connection, all things point to Dominican Republic.
We don’t know if this will be the location of our charity, but we do know we have been directed there, so the next step is to look at the Dominican Republic in more detail and plan a trip there to research the possibilities more thoroughly.
We are very excited!
.......
“The time is always right to do what is right.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
At first, we couldn’t figure out why we were being directed to Puerto Rico … it’s not particularly needy… it certainly isn’t on our list. Then we realized, Puerto Rico is right next door to Dominican Republic. Should we ever need to, we could actually base ourselves here, Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory. It began to make sense, and since that connection, all things point to Dominican Republic.
We don’t know if this will be the location of our charity, but we do know we have been directed there, so the next step is to look at the Dominican Republic in more detail and plan a trip there to research the possibilities more thoroughly.
We are very excited!
.......
“The time is always right to do what is right.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Vanuatu to Madagascar and a few places in between
Oh it’s hard work here … but exciting too. We are researching and studying every day to move our dream project forward. From learning about individual countries, to understanding immigration and business laws, and to dreaming of the possibilities. We thought that each week we’d explain a little more about our process and what is happening. Today … the countries. We are down to 9 now, from an initial list of over 160….
Our first criteria was to identify all the possibilities and not just limit it to countries we had heard of or visited. Using criteria such as the Human Development Index and Gross Domestic Product, we identified all countries that are considered as developing (versus developed). Next, we used broad criteria to narrow the field down – so we looked at how easy it is to obtain visas, disparities between wealth and poverty, safety, access to healthcare, attitudes to homosexuality (gay people are put to death still in a number of countries …), cost of living, and presence of tourism (for needed funds for the project).
This brought the list down to a possible 49! Still a way to go, so more in-depth research was called for, and narrowing the list down to 16 definite candidates . This list has been our focus this week. Time to use more stringent guidelines, including desirability to us – as we may be there for extended times eventually. So here are the final nine based on all of these (and some more) criteria:
Cape Verde Islands, Vanuatu, Madagascar, Vietnam, Namibia, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Panama and South Africa.
Quite a list! And quite a lot of difference between them. Some are higher in our rankings than others, and we hope to narrow it down to the final two or three in the next few days. And then comes the fun part – we would next visit the first choice and see!
Juggling this around our upcoming trip to meet up with Andy’s mum and dad in Florida, a trip to Vancouver to see the Winter Olympics, a trip down to California in the spring, and the plan to go and teach in Nepal ….. we hope we can make it all come together ….. Stay tuned!
……..
“When your heart speaks, take good notes.” (Judith Campbell)
Our first criteria was to identify all the possibilities and not just limit it to countries we had heard of or visited. Using criteria such as the Human Development Index and Gross Domestic Product, we identified all countries that are considered as developing (versus developed). Next, we used broad criteria to narrow the field down – so we looked at how easy it is to obtain visas, disparities between wealth and poverty, safety, access to healthcare, attitudes to homosexuality (gay people are put to death still in a number of countries …), cost of living, and presence of tourism (for needed funds for the project).
This brought the list down to a possible 49! Still a way to go, so more in-depth research was called for, and narrowing the list down to 16 definite candidates . This list has been our focus this week. Time to use more stringent guidelines, including desirability to us – as we may be there for extended times eventually. So here are the final nine based on all of these (and some more) criteria:
Cape Verde Islands, Vanuatu, Madagascar, Vietnam, Namibia, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Panama and South Africa.
Quite a list! And quite a lot of difference between them. Some are higher in our rankings than others, and we hope to narrow it down to the final two or three in the next few days. And then comes the fun part – we would next visit the first choice and see!
Juggling this around our upcoming trip to meet up with Andy’s mum and dad in Florida, a trip to Vancouver to see the Winter Olympics, a trip down to California in the spring, and the plan to go and teach in Nepal ….. we hope we can make it all come together ….. Stay tuned!
……..
“When your heart speaks, take good notes.” (Judith Campbell)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Our Big Plans
As promised, here are our plans for the coming year. We are in the process of developing a charity business venture. As most of us know, the balance of power and wealth in this world is unequal. We want to do our part to help equalize this imbalance through providing training, employment, and education for disadvantaged people in a developing nation. We plan to achieve this through the founding of an uncommon community center in a developing country that will offer free to low cost therapy, English language learning classes, community resources and education, as well as providing employment and work skills training through the project’s coffee shop and bed and breakfast.
We have been hard at work developing a business plan, establishing priorities and goals, and researching resources and potential locations. From a possible 160 plus countries, we have narrowed the possibilities down to 16. We are currently narrowing this down further to our top 3 picks. We’ll talk more about that process, the countries, and our criteria next blog.
We have also been in contact with Seeing Hands and have been invited back this year. We are hoping this will fit in with our commitments to our project as we would love to go back. Over the next week or so we’ll have to make some decisions.
On a lighter note, our friend, Gina, came up from California, and she and Andy opened up a time capsule from 10 years ago. Included in the contents were letters written 10 years ago to our future selves.
……
“Of different stripes, we dance as one, in a celebration of unity and joy!” (Unknown)
We have been hard at work developing a business plan, establishing priorities and goals, and researching resources and potential locations. From a possible 160 plus countries, we have narrowed the possibilities down to 16. We are currently narrowing this down further to our top 3 picks. We’ll talk more about that process, the countries, and our criteria next blog.
We have also been in contact with Seeing Hands and have been invited back this year. We are hoping this will fit in with our commitments to our project as we would love to go back. Over the next week or so we’ll have to make some decisions.
On a lighter note, our friend, Gina, came up from California, and she and Andy opened up a time capsule from 10 years ago. Included in the contents were letters written 10 years ago to our future selves.
……
“Of different stripes, we dance as one, in a celebration of unity and joy!” (Unknown)
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Year
Happy New Year
..........
"And now let us welcome the new year - full of things that have never been"
Rainer Maria Rilke
..........
"Be the change you wish to see in the world..."
Gandhi
..........
New year ... new start ... new opportunities ...
..........
"And now let us welcome the new year - full of things that have never been"
Rainer Maria Rilke
..........
"Be the change you wish to see in the world..."
Gandhi
..........
New year ... new start ... new opportunities ...
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