Another update

Getting ready for Galapagos. Emma is coming to Romania. Maria is taking the SAT. We spent $500 on swimming suits. Next week my old highschool friends are meeting in a restaurant in Bucharest and I cannot go because I will be in Puerto Villamil. Nobody knows and nobody asked and nobody cares where is that. It is at one of the ends of the world...
We spent a lot of money buying various things, a new videocamera, battery and memory sticks, headlamps, special towel, special sleeping bags, ear plugs, medicines and sunscreen. Then Ileana saw a book in the library and reading something there I found Coolibar, special clothing for being in the sun. And yesterday we got our $500 swimming suits. We didn't take it out of the house (we have freezing temperatures here now) but it was so cool to try it and we had one of those moments "How could we live without it until now?" There are three pieces each, long sleeves, long legs and a hat, but they are rated UPF 50+ sun protection, we are going to use it in Galapagos and in Australia and in Bali.

Maria is a bit stressed out with the SAT this week but she did a fantastic job preparing for it and she's going to do very well. She even sacrificed some of her time for Nanowrimo! Then Emma visited us last weekend, we talked about her life and her plans for travel, she's saving money for her Turkey trip and maybe also for Romania, she had no idea when she might go and how much she'll need. After spending a few minutes on the internet she had some clear plan and information and four days later she had a plane ticket. She is going to take the train from Istanbul to Bucharest and join us for Christmas. Today I asked jokingly if I should go and pick her up in Istanbul and Maria immediately wanted to come. A moment later she asked herself surprised: "When did I start to get excited about travel?" And we didn't even start yet.

We learned a lot about Galapagos and probably we are going to do very little and try to be very frugal. Land accommodations and day trips. We are saving for the big trip and cannot afford to blow our money on cruises or scuba diving. We booked a house for 5 nights but we don't have the first few days or the last week and we will leave it open for when we get there. We will get to the port, get on the available boat and find out then on what island we'll go first. We might go West to Isabella or go East to San Cristobal. And then when we land we'll look for a place to stay and stuff to do. How crazy is that?

Întrebări

Aseară ne-am uitat la "A Map for Saturday" un documentar făcut de un tip care a mers în jurul lumii (pentru el) și a intervievat pe cei cu care s-a întalnit, care si ei mergeau in jurul lumii, despre ce inseamna pentru ei sa treci printr-o astfel de experienta. Foarte bine facut documentarul (autorul lucrase in televiziune ca producator de emisiuni sportive). Ne-a spus despre faptul că s-a hotărât să plece, despre reacțiile celor cărora le-a comunicat decizia (variind de la șoc la încurajare), despre euforia care te cuprinde când îți începi călătoria, de senzația de sâmbătă permanentă, de relațiile pe care le faci, la început te legi foarte tare, apoi pe măsură ce înaintezi în timp, te bucuri de relație în prezent, apoi realizezi ca viața fiecăruia a mers mai departe și comunicarea devine superficială; de locurile și civilizațiile pe care le întâlnești, de curiozitate, de oameni, de progresele pe care le faci în a te descurca în această viață de nomad, de zidul de care te lovești, când cea mai frumoasă cascadă ți se pare obișnuită, pentru că ai mai văzut încă douăzeci, și cumva toate ți-au ajuns, de siguranța și sentimentul deosebit pe care îl ai când depășești zidul, de faptul că nu vrei să te mai întorci acasă și totuși o faci, te bucuri că ești acasă si ești trist, pentru că deși te întreabă cum a fost, nu sunt interesați de răspuns, pentru că n-ai cu cine să împarți experiența prin care ai trecut. O vreme continui să comunici cu cei pe care i-ai cunoscut in călătorie, apoi din ce în ce mai puțin, pentru că ești din nou preocupat de o viață sedentară și un serviciu cu program regulat.

Ne-a prezentat și faptul că nu avea un răspuns potrivit pe care să-l dea celor care câștigă aproximativ 300$ pe an cum a renunțat la un serviciu de zeci de mii de dolari pe an doar ca să se dea prin lume. Și imediat mi-am pus întrebarea: eu ce aș răspunde?...
Motivul inițial să fim împreună cu copiii, acum avem timpul, suntem sănătoși și cred că aș putea să mai lungesc lista. Dar pe măsură ce ne apropiem și mă gândesc cum voi face față, găsesc răspunsurile personale. Plec ca să învăț despre lume, dar de fapt ca să mă cunosc pe mine și ca un exercițiu de creștinism.
Viața mea de zi cu zi este protejată. Am un program pe care mi-l fac singură, sunt propriul meu șef. Am mai multe tichii: de soție, de mamă, de profesoara a propriilor copii, de bucătăreasă, de studentă (învăț chineza în vederea acestei călătorii și corespondez în italiană doar pentru a face efortul de a mă exprima într-o limbă străină)și de directoare la școala de duminică (tichie proaspăt achiziționată în această săptămână). Contactul meu cu oamenii este limitat și dacă ceva nu-mi convine, am timp să întorc pe toate părțile evenimentul, până fac pace cu el, dar nu înseamnă că am ajuns la concluzia corectă. Vezi lumea așa cum ești! Eu vreau să ajung să o percep așa cum este, fără prejudecăți, făra așteptări, să iau ceea ce este în prezent, să dau ceea ce am pe loc, un zâmbet, o mână de ajutor, un sfat bun, să mă bucur de toate ca și cum ar fi ale mele, știind tot timpul că nimic nu-mi aparține. Vreau să fiu mai bună, să nu mai judec lumea și pe ceilalți după măsura mea, să învăț să ascult, să mă interesez de alte persoane, să văd din punctul lor de vedere, să nu mai fiu egoistă. E cam greu să fac toate astea când stau acasă și mă ocup doar de familie.
Am luat hotărârea că vom avea doar bagajul de cabină. Asta înseamnă un total de 3 schimburi de haine, inclusiv cele groase si de ploaie! Lucrurile de toaleta vor fi doar în bagajele adulților, pentru situația în care vom dormi pe sexe (trusa de toaletă este încă în procesul de proiectare: vreau să fie ușoară și să conțină toate lucrurile de care ai nevoie când te duci să te speli, va fi special pentru familia noastră)
M-am gândit ce am putea să luăm cu noi să oferim celor care ne oferă ospitalitate. La ce ar putea folosi cineva o monedă de 50 centi cu chipul lui Kennedy pe ea sau o vedere cu New York? Sau cum poți să ajuți pe cineva care te-a impresionat cu povestea lui?
Nu am răspunsurile la aceste întrebări, dar sper să le aflu. Sper ca în drumurile noastre să ne întâlnim cu acele situații în care să fim buni, să vedem și din punctul celuilalt de vedere.

Shakira and us in Montreal

We are in Montreal on a 4-5 day vacation. Staying in a hotel on Rue St. Denis, I am typing this as Ileana, Ioan and Maria are playing a cards game. We left home yesterday morning and made it here 10 hours later after a pleasant drive, a couple of stops and one hour in traffic for the last 20 km. We wanted to come here for some time but never had the chance. Several things happened. Shakira announced her first concert of the new world tour. Ileana and the kids only cared about their two-week camp, initially they didn't see a need for another vacation. Then they had the camp and came back exhausted and begging for a trip. I used their time away to work more and I needed a break. We didn't buy tickets for the concert at the beginning, even thought of not buying at all, or just trying to get one at the door at the last moment. Anyhow, they had a good deal online and we got cheap tickets.

So here we are in Montreal, the concert last night was fantastic. We stayed up on the 6th floor but we saw the scene from the side, we could guess her form on the scene and we could see two of the giant screens. We all had a good time. She is the best. A good mixture of new and old songs, the same fascinating artist and entertainer. Using our previous experience we planned to arrive at 9 or 9.30 pm for the concert scheduled to begin at 8. We started walking the streets looking for some food and ended up paying $50 at the show stands were a beer was $8 and a small slice of pizza was $5. We got in our seats a few minutes after 9, the concert started and ended up shortly thereafter. By the clock it was maybe 100 minutes but it seemed so short.

Today we walked the old city, visiting an eskimo store and a small coffee shop that had a maple syrup museum in the basement. Walking somewhere by the river and ending in the Chinese village, we bought tickets for a light show in the Notre Dame Cathedral, ate lunch at a chinese buffet and spent the last 3 hours in the hotel room. It turns out that somehow I lost 60 dollars, no idea how. A tough one to accept. But as always -it could be worse. Getting ready for church, outside is raining cats...

We went to the Notre Dame light show. It was easy to get there by car, we found a parking spot next to the entrance and got there with plenty of time to spare. A very good show, not much more expensive then the regular church visit and allowing a brief 15 minutes to visit at the end. Next we ate chicken in the pizza place downstairs and went to bed after another couple hours of reading. 

Friday was a wonderful day. Perfect weather, we spent the morning in the Olympic park, first in the Montreal observation tower, the biggest leaning tower in the world and then in the Botanical garden. It was late in the afternoon when we got back in the middle of the town and after looking for a few minutes for a restaurant we found the new Montreal market place. A bright new shining building but desolate and disappointing in some way. We bought baguettes and cheese (Morbiér!), pâté and ham and focaccias and had a picnic in front of the market. We spent $50, but we still have some food left. Then we went on the Mont-Royal mountain for a few minutes and some pictures and the kids saw somebody feeding raccoons. This was a first, amazing how they stood up and took their bread with their front paws, they took turns and left after a while.

We returned to the hotel at 6 pm and I left with Ileana to get a stamp. In the first 5 minutes we saw ten people lying on the side walk, part of a dance performance, a couple young ladies dressed with underwear over their clothes, a guy climbing a tree on his bicycle. We ended up back home after a couple of hours and after spending $250 on RTW boots. We entered a sporting goods store, looked at coats for a while then Ileana went to the guy in the shoe department and explained that she needs some shoes to live in. "Sorry?" said the guy with a thick French accent. Ileana explained that she plans to go round the world and she needs some shoes. The first pair she tried she liked, the guy probably knew his job. He understood what we wanted, something soft but firm plus water repellant but breathable and of course nice looking for the city and sporty for the mountains in the same time. There is no such thing you might say and I would totally agree. The company that makes them seems to be well known and present throughout the world. Looking on their website I didn't see anything that I would ever buy and we couldn't find our shoes. Our shoes, of course, because we ended up getting identical models paying several times more then the most expensive pair of shoes I ever bought. Why? For a couple of reasons. We have a year until we leave but we only have so much time and spending it on finding shoes and gear is not necessarily the best use for it, we live in a small village and it takes time to get to a big specialized store. And we go to Galapagos soon so we can try them there. Funny - people come to WG from all over the world to buy shoes and coats, but we never found anything decent. 

This was the last night in Canada. We gave up the initial plan of going to Quebec, too long drive for too little time. Saturday we woke up early and left by 8 toward the border. We crossed the big bridge twice to admire the empty city, got lost on the way out but finally made it. I was expecting the gas to last until back in US but it was getting a really close call. After we decided to refuel we got on a stretch of highway were they were repairing and no gas station was working. We made it to the first gas pump in US with the last drops of fuel. Before leaving Canada we finished the French cheese and all the other food, but nobody asked about food at the border.

We went to Alexandria Bay to visit the Thousand Islands region, an amazing display of water and land on the mighty St. Lawrence river. We took a good 2 1/2 hour cruise on a big 3 level boat. We stayed on the top level in the front row, by the guide and the boat captain. Our daughter Ileana was the only one of the 200 people that got soaked at some point. She got everybody's attention a few minutes later when she went to get some pink lemonade and the wind blew off the dollars in her hand. Her sister was there to help and support her. Ioan was the first child to try his hand at maneuvering the boat and getting a captain certificate. We ended the trip with the supposedly top attraction: Boldt Castle. A disappointment not because it was a ruin that they are trying to restore, but mostly because it lacked any taste and any originality. Apparently Mr. Boldt was a very rich man and he wanted the best, but he started as a dish washing boy in America and his taste was influenced by his education. Or maybe because we saw other things build in the same time like the Romanian Pelisor Castle? Anyhow, not worth even a first visit, we'll never go there again. It wasn't bad enough to spoil another beautiful day. 

We got home in the early evening, it's a nice 3 hour ride to the Thousand Islands, exactly as to the Niagara Falls but in the opposite direction. After 4 days of fun and travel we feel refreshed and enlightened... And as it became usual for the two of us and for our kids, it's all done with the thought of our round the world trip somewhere on our mind. Navigating a new subway system, trying to find a parking spot or figuring out breakfast. Making the schedule or deciding where to have lunch. We're getting closer to the target and we are getting better. The kids participate full time and we learn to take and use their opinions. More to come...

First Post!!! (Ileana's first post)

Ever since I was little, I have wanted to travel. I never really had an actual reason for this, and was quite put off when my daddy told me to invent one. So after he hounded me for my little essay for a couple months, and after I realized he wasn't going to shut up about it, I sat down and wrote it. Here it is:


WHY I WANT TO GO AROUND THE WORLD

I want to go around the world for a number of reasons. I haven’t yet figured out which one first made me decide to travel the world, but all in all, these are my motives

• I like vanilla ice cream :-)
• I was hit by a car
• My name is Ileana Dascalu
• I was born that way
• I want to travel and see places
• I am secretly planting atomic bombs (just kidding)
• And I want to!

Explanations may be given.

I don’t see the connection between traveling and vanilla ice cream, but it is very important, I’m sure.

Being hit by a car made me realize that life is short and I could die any second. So with this in mind, I want to do something crazy!

What does my name have to do with this? It’s my identity, it’s who I am, and travel is part of that.

I’m pretty sure “I was born that way” is self-explanatory, as is “I want to travel and see places”.

Um... The atomic bombs were a joke, so I won’t go into that....

And, again, “I want to!” pretty much explains itself.

So, yes, I am going around the world, whether or not it’s this year, or the next, or when I’m 64, I have decided and, as Maria put it,

“Ileana is like a cat. She does what she wants, when she wants, if she wants.”

And you can’t change that.

So... yeah, that's pretty much it. This is my first post!!! Yes, we're going around the world!!! Eventually.... and I just lost terribly in a game of Whist!! (just when I was getting off my losing streak...)

The First Year

It's been a year since I started this blog. It's been a little over a year since we decided to do this. How we changed and how our life has changed.  How much did the kids grow during the last few months. It is hard to describe the specifics but it is impressive. We have a goal, we are building a plan and in the same time we are still living our lives. Everybody works as hard as possible and we spend our free minutes talking, reading, learning, dreaming. 

Almost every word and every action is marked by the thought of our trip. Ioan's 10th birthday in November was the last one that he spend home until his 14th. Maria's next birthday in our house will be as an adult. We will not be home for the next three Christmases. Yesterday we installed the window air conditioners and I only have to do this once until we get back. So many major and minor things. Ileana has worked so hard on her garden, but she is getting used with the idea that it might all be lost. We had our first garage sale last month and we got rid of many things with a mix of various feelings. We made $435 (after Emma got her 10%). With Emma's help, Ileana and the children did all the work and knew all along why they did it. It is July and finally summer, it is hot and hard to work. My children had 2 weeks of vacation last month and started their new school year with determination and without any complaints. Everybody else is on vacation but they will have their time "when we go".


Maria contributed her first post to this blog and was surprised: "You had this for a year and you never said a word???" She is now the third author and the third person who knows about this web site.

We are still trying to define our theme and decide on our itinerary. I kept track of some of my ideas under the itinerary/route tab. I feel that I know what I want, but it is necessary to let the other four members of my family progress at their own pace toward finding their own way. I'm sure there will be some great ideas. There are several parts to this, not just an itinerary, but a theme, a goal, a vision. I always felt attracted by the extremes of this world, I always wanted to get to Ushuaia, Invercargill, Easter Island, Alaska, Siberia, Nepal etc. I always wanted to see all the great museums of this world and all the major monuments. We could easily aim for those places, but I think other things are more important. I want to experience the variety of cultures of this world and I will be happy if in the same time I could get to the most important touristic destinations. I was impressed to discover yesterday that Ushuaia is no longer the southernmost city in the world. We can simply just get to Puerto Williams if we decide to go to Tierra del Fuego, but I'm not sure that we want it. It is something that is just starting, the process of letting go and realizing that we cannot get everywhere. Just in the last few weeks we agreed that we don't really want to go to Israel, that we would be OK without Greece and so on. I still have a hard time accepting that we might not get to Prague, Berlin or Lisbon. Not to mention Ethiopia... A few years ago I felt so happy to learn more about Vanuatu and to realize that I don't want to go there. It was a great relief to learn that there are some places were "I don't have to go". I was hoping that soon after that I will start making a long list of places where we don't have to go but sadly a few years later there is no progress and I am questioning my decision not to go to Vanuatu!
We realize that we will need to be careful not to try to do too much. Yesterday we discussed this and decided to have our Sundays off or if not possible take another day off every week. Then we will schedule several weeks of vacation during our trip, weeks when we will just stay put in one place, going to the beach or the pool and spending just a few hours visiting. I can see a week like that in Easter Island, Malta, Mauritius, or Siem Reap. Then we will take our time when we visit a big city, hopefully rent an apartment and spend at least a week in places like Buenos Aires, Rome, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Delhi.


We also made some major financial changes in our life. In the last 12 months we were able to pay $51000 of our debt. We did not save anymore for retirement or for college, but we feel comfortable about our financial decisions and we feel optimistic that we will save enough money to have a decent trip. We might not be able to save as much as we would like, but we are not giving up on that.


In summary - it's been a very interesting year, we loved every minute of it and it's just the beginning. We only have 483 days to go.

A Slice of the World

So we're going around the world and I'm supposed to write an essay about why I want to go, so that people don't tell our parents that they're crazy.

Truth be told, I can't think of a single good reason. I have lots of mediocre ones though. Who said a reason has to be 'good' anyway? This fact alone: the fact that I don't have one single reason to go around the world-- probably makes me the least willing person in the family.

But I'm stalling at this point. So here are my reasons:

I want to drive in a camper in the Australian outback.

I want to visit Christchurch; excepting for the fact that it is in New Zealand, I have no idea what it is, but Dad's mispronunciation of the place's name and subsequent surprise over the occurrence have aroused my curiosity.

I want to relax in Malta.

I want to see the Hayao Miyazaki museum in Japan, no matter what I said when Ileana first suggested it.

I want to taste Indian food.

I want to smell a Sahara.

I want to touch an ostrich or a rock in Africa.

I want to hear the silence in a temple or the noise in a Turkish market.

Looking over the list, I suppose I want to experience the world. Not just see it-- I want to smell, taste, hear, and touch it. Because just 'seeing' is what's on the front of every postcard. I want not only a postcard, but a slice of the world.

And when I've had that slice, I want to write about it. I want to share it with the people who can't have that slice firsthand. That's my reason.

Tema

În ultimul timp am intrat pe internet încercând să găsesc alte familii care merg sau au mers sau vor merge în jurul lumii. Mihai urmărește deja câteva, dar voiam să găsesc eu, de una singură. Am căutat și în limba română și am găsit o familie de români care locuiesc in Franța și care și-au încheiat călătoria in mai 2009 peicipecolo. E ca o lume paralelă, în care toți au cunoștințe de geografie, aproximativ aceleași interese, cu oameni care trăiesc din puțin, muncitori. Te uiți si vezi pozele pe care le-au făcut, pe unde au mers, cu ce s-au transportat. Verifici listele lor de obiecte cu care au plecat, cu ce s-au întors, ce le-a folosit si ce nu. Și în ciuda faptului că citești pe toate părțile ceea ce au scris, parcă tot nu e suficient. Vreau mai mult. Nu-mi ajunge doar să citesc despre aventurile lor, vreau să le trăiesc pe ale mele!
OK. Unde mergem? Oriunde, n-are importanță pentru ca vrem să vedem cât mai mult. Dar nu putem sa mergem peste tot! Bine, dar cum alegem? Ne-ar trebui o temă. Unii urmăresc unde sunt maratoane. Alții merg unde sunt locuri sub protecția UNESCO. Alții după animale amenințate cu dispariția. Unii străbat o regiune si o studiază in profunzime, iar alții aleg locuri reprezentative ale unei culturi. Ce ne dorim noi? Greu de răspuns pentru că trebuie să ne concentrăm și să punem priorități. Știm ca vrem sa le arătăm copiiilor lumea, să fim împreună în acele locuri noi.
Îmi fac treaba obișnuită prin casă și mă gândesc: cum o să ne descurcăm, cum o să fie să dormim înghesuiți, pe o saltea cu ghemotoace (tare nu ne deranjează), eventual cu goange, cum o să mâncăm toate mâncărurile necunoscute, iuți, sau de proveniență necunoscută. Și cu lucrurile care rămân acasă ce o să se întâmple? Grădina, obiectele (va trebui să le împachetăm în vederea închirierii casei sau le vom lăsa să se prăfuiască?). Ce păstrezi, ce dai? Ce interes vei mai avea în subiect atunci când te vei întoarce? Și chiar trebuie să ne întoarcem? Pentru noi este mult mai simplu: ne-am mutat din țara noastră și ne-am adaptat aici. Ca să plecăm și de aici nu ne pune probleme.
Care-i tema noastră?