On the Peace Boat we talked a lot about sustainable living and eco-friendly lifestyles. Since I've been home I've been trying to practice it! I've done lots of cooking from scratch, and spent hours gardening and landscaping, and today Emily and I built a little patio outside her window. It's a project that she's been envisioning and planning for awhile and today was the day! It was hot and sunny, but the corner where we worked was in the shade. First we leveled out the ground [with lots of help from Dad!] then put down some sand and laid the bricks. We used a pattern that Em found online, called "Flanders Weave." It is perfect because not only is it beautiful, but it is also named after one of Emily's favorite places, Flanders in Belgium.
Flanders is the Flemish [very similar to Dutch] area of Belgium. Belgium is an interesting country. It's almost like two countries in one, with a French-speaking area and a Flemish speaking area. Brussels, the capital, is bilingual. Cities have two different names. Anyway, Emily went to Belgium and lived there for two years. It is a beautiful place with amazing food, the best chocolate in the world [for example, have you heard of Godiva?], beautiful architecture, charming small towns and spectacular cities. It is definitely one of my favorite parts of Europe, and one of the nicest things about it is that it's not terribly crowded with tourists. It is still possible to walk around the streets and feel like most of the people around you are moving about their normal lives. Bustling cafes are filled with happy locals. Families walking with their dogs stop at the corner shop and buy a big paper cone filled with fries to snack on as they continue down the street. In Antwerp you can by perhaps the best waffles in the world, piled with "slagroom" [whipped cream] or fruit or chocolate... Yum...
Anyway, we built a patio in Flanders Weave style, using old bricks from a barn that burned down. They were old but they had so much character! They are not all the same solid color, and they are slightly different sizes. Best of all, we were able to re-use, and keep those bricks from just being "waste." Now they are a beautiful patio! :) We laid the bricks in the nice pattern, then we filled the cracks with sand, and made the corner SO much more attractive than it's ever been! Now THAT was a productive day! And I only dropped one brick on my foot... Now it's time to go shower and rest!

Hardin County looks different from above! I knew that we had a great agricultural base, and I have always loved driving through long stretches of fields... What a beautiful place to drive!! But today Em and I got to fly up above it all... It was incredible to see how far the fields stretched, and how small the towns seem compared to all of the greenspace. It is the opposite of Japan... There the towns and cities are mostly crowded into spaces between mountains and along the coast...We are very blessed to have such great natural resources! And it's no wonder we build such big houses and drive such big cars...

One unique aspect of life on the boat was "departure ceremony" at each port. When we left behind new friends or visiting family members the tradition was to throw paper streamers to them. If they caught them we would hold onto both ends as the boat pulled away from shore. They held us together for a few extra minutes. I usually helped collect the streamers after they broke to keep them from going into the ocean. Jovan, Rose and I then became the three-headed streamer monster!

One unique aspect of life on the boat was "departure ceremony" at each port. When we left behind new friends or visiting family members the tradition was to throw paper streamers to them. If they caught them we would hold onto both ends as the boat pulled away from shore. They held us together for a few extra minutes. I usually helped collect the streamers after they broke to keep them from going into the ocean. Jovan, Rose and I then became the three-headed streamer monster!

I Miss My Bike

In my childhood, I rode bikes to play. It was fun! It was good exercise! My friends were all doing it. But that’s all I thought bikes were about. Fun. Turns out I was dead wrong.

When I moved to Japan, suddenly my bike was my main mode of transportation around town. (For out-of-town excursions there was my beloved, truly wonderful train system. I’m still waiting for America to catch up.) Of course I never my bike anywhere more than an hour away. It didn’t have gears and it had a basket on the front. It was what they called a “mama-chari,” more suitable for old ladies than for the Lance Armstrongs among us. But I loved it.

It took me to work and back every day, to my favorite park for hiking, to the beach when I needed a change of pace, and perhaps most importantly, to the grocery store. I am not a big shopper, but grocery stores are the one place that I can really blow a wad. I love food, and I love cooking. I could walk through a mall and not spend a penny [except at the food court] but I cannot walk out of a grocery store empty-handed. Lucky for me, my bike gave me the perfect excuse for portion control.

Granted, the first few times I shopped I was still in my US mentality… fill up a cart full of groceries and throw them in the car. That made for some interesting rides home. With my bike basket overflowing and a couple of extra bags hanging on each handlebar, it was harder to control where I was going. I came to admire more than ever the Africans that I used to see riding their bikes up and down mountains, loaded down with a hundred pounds of charcoal, bananas, etc. It was even more unbelievable to me when I later visited Vietnam and saw entire families sharing a bike. I will never begin to match them. But once I got used to the carrying capacity, I came to really enjoy the limitations of my bike, and of the hand-held grocery basket that I carried with me up and down the aisles. Furthermore, the ride to the store and back helped me feel better about the meals and snacks that I was carrying home. Now that I am back in Hardin County, I desperately miss those bike rides to the store. And I have some extra pounds that prove it.

My voyage on the Peace Boat made several stops in a region previously unknown to me. I have known many people who were from or had lived in South and Central America, and even more who had travelled there. In fact, my grandfather and his siblings grew up in the Amazon region of Brazil! Because of this family history and because I had not yet travelled to South America, Belem was one of the stops that I most looked forward to. When we first discovered that we would be there for the new year, everyone was really excited! Where in the world would have bigger parties for New Year's?

Well, as it turns out, lots of places...

As we approached Brazil, we got more and more bad news... First, we were dropping anchor an hour upriver from the docks, and the ferries would stop running at 10 pm. Second, most hotels would be booked already by the time we arrived. Third, apparently Belem is not a safe place to be, and passengers were warned not to do much independent exploration. Finally, because it was a weekend and holiday, most places would not be open.

It was looking bleak. In fact, many of these points proved to be true. Even the tourist information bureau was closed, and the only tour agency open had ALL tours fully booked by Japan Grace, the travel agent arm of the Peace Boat conglomerate. So much for taking a trip to the Amazon rainforest... Well in spite of these setbacks we managed to have a pretty good time in the ghost-town of Belem at New Year's.

First of all, the Ver-O-Peso market WAS open. Although it was one of the spots flagged as "Dangerous," it was very interesting and full of life. I saw not nearly as many signs of danger as of poverty. There was a distinct line drawn between the people there in the marketplace and those on the other side of the high fences, coming and going from the brand-new ferry terminal and shopping center. Guards at the gate were experts at intimidation towards impoverished locals, but smiled sweetly as cruise-ship passengers came and went. They were the guards of the gates--the physical barriers--but there were other walls separating people as well. Those exist everywhere, but I felt them strongly in Brazil.

In the market itself we saw interesting fruits and vegetables that I'd never seen before and all kinds of spices and potions sold by women who a local told us are "witches." I'd love to go back and get some traditional medicinal recipes! There was also a "food court" and areas selling clothing, small electronics, and all of the other things you might expect to see in a developing country's marketplaces. New Year's Eve night a group of Peace Boat people were there, eating at various food stalls and chatting with the locals. We had tasty meat, potatos and vegetables for a very reasonable price.

Later that night throngs of people flocked to the port area for a fireworks show. The barriers were as apparent as ever, with marked difference in the people gathered in the market area and those at the port terminal. On one side people gathered with their families and sat on the ground, while on the other people came dressed to impressed and mingled indoors at the VIP dinner or outdoors along the riverfront walk. We walked through both areas. The port felt very safe and sterile and glitzy, but the market area felt ALIVE! It was full of playing children, amorous couples and people there to enjoy, not impress, each other. There was great people-watching potential everywhere, and the warm breeze off the Amazon made it hard to believe that it was really New Year's. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the revelry, and that was the closest we came to getting a true taste of Brazil's party atmosphere.

The next day was so quiet it was surreal. We walked the deserted streets and everything was closed. Very few people were out and about. Other than the bright tropical midday sun, it felt much more like 3 am in a small town. Eventually as we rounded a corner we saw some children playing. The young boys were friendly and started trying their English on me. "Hello! How are you?" I really believe children are the greatest force for peace in the world. They are naturally open and loving. They can make friends with anyone. They see the true beauty and wonder in small things that I typically take for granted. It is impossible for me to see children in any country and not smile. ...And I don't think I am the only one...

Those boys were just the first wonderful children to cross my path that day. A few blocks ahead we came to a park. There were beautiful mango trees and just as we were passing a man had arrived with his two daughters. They had a couple of rocks tied to a long string, and they tossed one end of the string over a branch of the tree. Then they pulled back and forth, back and forth, shaking the branch until a mango fell down onto the grass. The girls laughed with delight and ran to scoop up the tasty treat. It was such a beautiful moment I felt blessed to share it with this happy family! I smiled and we walked on, but soon one of the girls came running up behind us, and held out a mango to us. I was humbled but thrilled at this act of welcome and generosity from such a small child who lived with so much less privilege than I do. But then again, what is real privilege anyway? They live in a beautiful city surrounded by the incredible nature of the Amazon, and they obviously have a father who loves them. That alone makes them very lucky little girls...

It has been a whirlwind trip through the Mediterranean! We spent a day each in Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Malta, and Libya followed by an overnight in Italy and a day in Spain. Each place was amazing and definitely had its own character. I can’t believe how many things I have seen and done in such a short time!! Jordan was incredible... I thoroughly enjoyed Petra... such a mystical and peaceful place! I can't describe the feeling of floating in the dead sea... I was rolling over on the water! Such great fun!! In Egypt we saw the pyramids and sphynx, and I made a trip to the market in downtown Cairo. Like last time, the market was my favorite part! It is so interesting to be there, where the LIFE of the country is. Being in Athens and Rome was like a living art history course. I saw so many statues and buildings that I had read about in school and seen many pictures of, but I was still awed by their beauty and their incredible size! I felt so small in St. Peter’s Bascilica! In Malta I had an unforgettable lunch with friends in a cafe overlooking the island, with Valetta and the sea in view. Incredible feeling!! I wasn't allowed off the boat in Libya, but some friends of a Libyan friend got on for a cultural exchange. We had a great time playing sports and chatting. I hope next time I can get off and meet some women as well! In Barcelona, Gaudi's architecture/ art was unlike anything I have ever experienced! Today we are stopping in Gibraltar. I have already seen the rock, and it looks just like all the pictures. Not sure what adventures I will find but I am sure it will be a nice day! Wishing everyone a great holiday season!! All the best!

It has been amazing visiting wonders of the ancient world! Within the last week I have visited Petra, the Pyramids and Sphynx, and now the Acropolis/ Parthenon in Athens. It is amazing to see these things with my own eyes, and imagine what life must have been like when they were built... What a rush!