Small and Large Graces on a Tough Day

I'm slowly reading Small Graces by Kent Nerburn.

Each chapter is a short, gentle reflection on "the quiet gifts of every day life." Today I feel the graces I've received are more like Large Graces. I've had a rough day, a day that found me with two flat tires, crying (for various reasons) while walking down a hot, dusty road next to a car dealership, unable to connect with any friends or family (for the moment) due patchy service in this small town. 

I found a coffee shop hoping to borrow the bathroom, cry my eyes out, and splash some water on my face. When the woman behind the counter asked me how I was doing, I told her I'd been having a rough day. Her response was so deeply kind and caring that I started crying again -- this time happy tears. Then I talked to my mom and my sister and they were so full of grace and understanding even though when I'm feeling fragile I can be taut and combative.... and self-centered. 

This minimalist nomad life is (for me) so fabulous and dreamy that I can't believe it's real sometimes. It just feels so wonderful that we created this and get to create it every day. But it can also be hard; it can be challenging in the way that all unconventional lifestyles are. Creating this every day, putting myself out there as an author, coach, and consultant takes constant creativity, focus, unshakable confidence, and an ability to wear a stunning variety of hats. I love it, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've been given to live this life. But sometimes life is hard... and I have a day where moisture builds up behind my eyes... a lot.

So this afternoon I'm grateful for the Large Graces of caring family + friends and strangers in coffee shops.  With gratitude, I can create anything I can imagine, and I do. You can too.

Follow me (@Genevievewrites) on Instagram!

Packing Lust and Nesting

I skipped posting on the last full moon -- the first one of 2016. Why? -- a combination of forgetting and then feeling too busy to post. Last year it was fun to post on or before the full moon -- at least once a month. That was less frequently than I was posting when I started Packing Lust in June 2012, when we were just starting off on our adventure of living overseas. Around once a month felt about right for last year, the big year of being a new parent.

After moving to Los Angeles just a few days before Christmas 2015, there's been a lot going on. We lived in a temporary furnished apartment near the La Brea Tar Pits (which was awesome -- not the pits at all) for a few weeks before finding a charming apartment mere feet from the spot Prince Charming and I met in 2010. We couldn't resist living in and around the same apartment complex where we fell in love, not to mention the fact that we have dear friends who live walking distance away. This building is almost 100 years old and the place itself has needed a bit more work to make it clean and functional than a newer place would.

There's more too. With every move, I've handled the instability and unknown somewhat well. But this last move has been harder than the little temporary moves before it that helped us to adjust to life back in the states. Since I know we're going to be here for at least a year, I have plans. I've been nesting. And I've put a lot of pressure on myself to get and keep my home cleaned, childproofed, painted, decorated, etc. And it's still not done... even though we've been here for almost a month. Which is pretty normal, except that I feel like I've dropped my writing, this blog, and everything else to work on it. I definitely overestimated the amount of projects I could get done while also making sure my 14-month-old isn't running around with scissors in one hand and a knife in the other. And while making sure that I don't miss his adorable smiles, games of peekaboo, and delightful discoveries.

Now I'm feeling overwhelmed and sort of stagnant at the same time. I need to give us more time to settle in and find more patience with the process.

Missing my normal full moon post last month made me realize I needed to think about when and what I want to post on Packing Lust in 2016. So I'm going to keep thinking about what I want to make of this blog in this new year. Until then, Packing Lust will be on hiatus.

I like having this blog as a way to share photos and stories in packing, travel, and adventures. It's been a sort of family photo album, a way to stay in touch with anyone who wants to, and place to practice writing. But I'm not sure that with everything already on my plate there's room for it right now. We'll see.

I'm hoping to continue to share some of our adventures and simple living toolkit stuff on social media, so make sure you're following me on Instagram if you want to keep in touch for right now.

My Snowball Fight in Palestine

Late 2013

I was out walking in the snow when I saw a group of young men who made me begin to doubt the wisdom of my strol.

They emerged from a hookah joint housed in the bottom floor of a large buildin in downtown Ramallah, the seat of the government of Palestine. I was the only woman around, the only person around on the deserted, snow-gray streets. Just me and the red-eyed men rifting out of the café toward me.

It had been snowing for days. All across the West Bank, there was an extended power outage. People washed with water heated on a gas stove and huddled around their propane heaters. We had two; the larger one we lovingly called our R2D2, and the smaller one we delighted in calling by the brand name etched onto its metal plate: ORGAZ. I was still cold. No matter how many blankets I layered around me or heaters I crouched in front of, my feet and nose stayed cold. I was angry cold. Bored cold.

The anger, fueled by the cold and pent-up energy, made me feel restless and twitchy.  I bundled up, put some plastic bags over my shoes to help keep the hree feet of snow out, and announced to Prince Charming that I was going for a walk. I left with a quick "bye!" without giving him much time to respond. I heard him manage to eke out a "be safe!" and I was off.

My cabin fever was quickly replaced by wonder. Glittering snow banks smothered the garden and turned trees into bowing swans. Getting from our apartment's vestibule to the street was tricky. I had to find a way around and through the snow banks. Having grown up mostly in moderate climes where a few inches of snow a year was the norm, I had no snow-walking skills to draw from. Each step I took was a new experience. My foot would sink down six inches, then when I lifted up the other foot that first one would sink down another ten inches into the snow. I hobbled my way out to the street, where the snow was less thick and a truck had made a pack-snow indentation I could follow.

I threw my head back and gazed at the sky to take in the joy of being outdoors, finally. It was still snowing, gently, not the thick blizzard of the last few days. When I got to the main street, I could turn left, or I could turn right. Left would take me away from the city center. Right would take me towards the city center, Al-Manara, where there's a monument with four stone lions that has become the iconic backdrop to many Palestinian protests against the Israeli occupation. I turned right. The city was feeling a little post-apocalyptic-deserted, and I was hoping I'd bump into someone in the center, anyone, a friendly face. I imagined we'd gesticulate to each other about the eauty of the now; it would be easy even though we might not speak the same language.

But instead of a friendly face, I saw the men. Unsmiling young men, maybe seven, with more behind them, jacked up on icotine. One puff on a hookah pipe was, I'd heard, the equivalent of smoking a bundle of ten cigarettes, so if they'd been smoking all morning, well, it was s if they' alread smoked hundreds of cigarette that da. Restless energy coursed through their wiry bodies. I'd heard these oung en called "shebab." I wasn't sure what it meant. It seemed to denote "outh," but the connotation was "unemployed, disenfranchised, hopeless, able-bodied oys and men who must roam the streets because they have nothing else to do." As they emerged from the café, I was reminded of a scene from the 2007 movie I Am Legend, where Will Smith's character is stalked by bloodthirsty mutants who hibernate in clusters in dark corners of the city. They moved slowly in my direction, as if meandering, but their bloodshot eyes, I noticed, were intensely focused. On me.

Suddenly I felt very self-conscious. Afraid. My active imagination quickly supplied me with headlines of the "Brutal Gang Rape" variety. I had a friend who'd been sexually harassed on the street not far from here I was. I looked around, behind me. No one. Just me and the shebab grouping. Get a grip, I thought. These are not bloodthirsty mutants. These are people, just like me, curious. It's human curiosity to want to see the foreigr alking by herself in the snow.

ut I had to take action. I couldn't continue my walk nwards, knowing I was getting farther from home and that I'd have to walk past the shebab again on my way back. I'd be scared the whole time. I couldn't turn around either, not without an interaction. I didn't know how they'd take it. It might be okay. Or they might follow me back, harassing me the whole way, finding out where I lived. They might just leave me alone, thinking I was scared of them, which was true.

Either way, they'd have effectively ruined my stroll, and the thought made me angry. I wasn't going to let these guys ruin my outing. I was so tired of sticking out on the street, of being the foreigner, of being looked at with an inscrutable combination of lecherousness and discomfort. I was an oddball. An American woman who wasn't afraid to go jogging on the streets, show my knees, or yell curse words at wayward bus drivers.

So I bent down, packed some snow together, and, smiling, hurled ball of snow at the man closest to me.

My snowball glanced off his legs. is reaction took a moment. Surprise. Then delight. Whether malicious or kind, I couldn't tell.

I was betting that the bridge-building power of a good snowball fight was universal. e gathered up a snowball of his own, and pitched. is was no lo. The speed ball hit me square in the face, the impact leaving me breathless. I couldn't feel my mouth or nose anymore. When sensation started to come back, everything stung. I tried to smile, hoping that's what my mouth was doing; I still couldn't really feel my face. Bleak pain. Oppressed young men of the West Bank have one weapon left. One way to fight back, vent frustration, protest, cause damage. Stone throwing. They learn young and, as observed by horrified Israelis, can do impressive damage and some even claim there have been several deaths resulting from stone throwing.  I'd picked a snowball fight wit throwin experts. I gathered my second snowball and made what I was hoping would be seen as a spirited throw, a game attempt by the obvious underdog. But instead of cheering me on, one of the bystanders joined his fellow shebab and chucked another snowball at me. Then a third joined the fight against me. At this rate I'd be unconscious within moments, was my only slightly hyperbolic thought.

I had to win allies, and fast. I opened my arms wide, palms up, trying to figure out how to get some of these guys on my team. My Arabic was meager at best, but in the moment I remembered how to ask for help. I tried the phrase, pointing to two others who hadn't gotten involved so far. I gestured, inviting them to my side. I tried to say some numbers I'd learned, Arabic to express that I needed more people I my team.

They understood. I could see it click: of course. A fair fight. Three against three. Quickly a couple of them joined my side scooping up snow and throwing icy projectiles at the other shebab.

Chivalry wasn't dead. Disparity would be addressed. Justice might win.

I exhaled a huge sigh of relief. And despite my aching face and earlier apprehension, I started to have fun. More customers of the hookah cafe joined both teams.

After what I shall diplomatically refer to as a tie, we ended the game. Our hands were cold, blood was pumping, spirits were high. We were all one team, just a group of young people playing in the snow. I waved goodbye, said "Ma'a Salama."

I walked home no longer angry cold or bored cold. I'd found a friendly face. More than one.

Teddy Island

 

I love that we can be in a city that feels so urban with high rise buildings and a constant hum of activity, and then just a few minutes down the road feel like we are deep in the forest, complete with swamp bugs and a green canopy high above.  The green space I'm thinking of is Theodore Roosevelt Island, or Teddy Island as I now think of it, a memorial to our 26th president.

We visited on Saturday. A kind stranger took the top shot of our family gathered at the feet of the impressive statue of Teddy in an energetic pose, almost like he's dunking a basketball. Or preparing to kick a tourist.

The memorial area around the statue has these stone structures with quotes from Teddy on topics like MANHOOD, NATURE, and YOUTH.

Crossing the Potomac via a pedestrian bridge on the way off the island, we paused to take more family photos.

Baby in the City: Our New Life in Arlington, Virginia

We moved to Arlington, Virginia on July 15th. This could be temporary, a three month visit to the D.C. area, or we could stay longer. We are here because Prince Charming is doing some consulting for a nonprofit in this area, and of course, because we have wanderlust.

Exploring a new city with a baby (now 8 months old) is a whole new world, a world troubled by fear of poop seeping out of a diaper and onto the varnished oak table of a trendy brunch restaurant. And other concerns, like is it okay if my son licks the glass window of the metro train, and is it better to deal with the sweat and back strain involved in baby wearing or the hassle of maneuvering a stroller into and out of elevators, metros, and through the narrow hallways of a trendy brunch restaurant.

We embraced wanderlust, we embraced packing lust, and now we are embracing the result of all that lust, which is a baby. Primary upside: he's adorable.

Deeply adorable. The world -- when I can sweep away the sheer weight of responsibility, thoughts of the strongly worded letters I may write to all installers and maintainers of baby-changing stations in bathrooms, and concerns about poop, germs, and poop, and poop -- is a different place when I am out with Bump.

When we are outside (and inside, and pretty much all the time except when he is extremely hungry or sleepy), Bump acts as a representative of the office of spreading glorious happiness. I watch the faces of people approaching us on the street, the stressed students, the tired tourists, the careworn business people. Those faces transform when they get a glimpse of Bump's slow sunrise smile. They slow down. They smile. Their shoulders relax just a little bit. They sigh. They say things like,

"He smiles from his heart."

"He adorable. He is like, a model baby. He is the model adorable baby."

"Does he always smile like that?"

"Is he always like this?"

Usually I say, "yes, pretty much" in response to the last two questions, but after giving it some thought, I realize that people are hoping they are special, that Bump is smiling at them, really seeing them, seeing their uniqueness and giving them a smiles that recognizes the best in them. And he is. So I may begin to answer differently, perhaps.

Perhaps sometimes I will say, "No, he's not always like this. It's you. You've got a special soul and he recognizes that and wants to give you the gift of his smile as a way to say thank you for sharing that which is good in you with the world."

Or, maybe I'll keep letting Bump's sweet smile do the talking.

Two Charleston Trips

There was a little flurry of road trips about 7-8 months ago, before Bump arrived, and one of them was to Charleston, SC.  It was a quick trip. We saw my sister-in-law and niece, and we took one of the carriage tours that the city is famous for. We admired the old fancy homes, took a quick water-view selfie, and ate a beautiful meal.

Having been raised mostly in the South, I am used to the strong connection to Civil War history places like Charleston have, including the display of the Confederate flag and monuments to fallen Confederate soldiers. However, Charming, a California boy at heart, found it strange to be surrounded by what he was educated to view as "symbols of slavery and prejudice."   I tried to explain to him that most Southerners feel a deep connection to a complex and painful history, including the Civil War, but it doesn't mean they don't condemn slavery and racism.

Seven months later, I found myself back in Charleston. This was last weekend and the city was reeling in shock and grief from the murder of nine of its African-American citizens who were killed in cold blood by a maniac who explained his actions by saying he wanted to start a race war.

In the aftermath three days ago, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the State House building in Columbia, South Carolina, saying it was a "deeply offensive symbol of a brutally offensive past." Hopefully this act will help create a more inclusive, unified state that can heal from the racially motivated act of violence that rocked the state and the country.

During this recent weekend trip, signs hung all around the city, declaring unity and thoughts of sympathy to the families of the slain and the church they belonged to. The photo at the top of this post shows one of those signs, displayed in the city market and signed by passersby.

I was there with three college friends to celebrate our 30th birthdays, which we did mostly by talking, relaxing by pool and beach, and by going out for fish tacos.

After tacos Saturday night, we walked next door to an outdoor art showing we'd passed by earlier in the day. The large, graffitti-inspired murals had been a backdrop for an inclusive community event earlier that was open to the public. We arrived after the event closed, but walked around the outdoor area to one of the murals that was lit with votive candles lined up under it.

We held hands and said a prayer for Charleston as dusk deepened. A fellow latecomer arrived to the art event on a bicycle and offered to take a group photo for us.

This second Charleston trip was just as beautiful as the first, but marked by a turning point that will hopefully bring good out of evil for the city.

Dance of the Spring Moon

Prince Charming, Bump and I visited our first powwow as a family on May 3, which, not coincidentally, was a full moon.

The Dance of the Spring Moon is a well-known event hosted by the Lumbee Tribe here in the Robeson County, NC area. In an article about the powwow in the local paper, The Robesonian, an attendee said that he heard that this event was well known in the Native American community for having the best drummers.

The annual Spring event would be a great one for visitors to the area to attend any year. The environment is friendly and educational and all are welcome to enjoy the atmosphere and learn about the various ceremonial dances and traditions of the Native American Tribes who attend.

2014 In Review

I started off 2014 in cold water.

After feeling like just another member of the hoard of tourists that constantly pulse through Venice, Italy, we found a remarkably local-feeling celebration in the city on New Years Day, 2014. It was at Lido Beach, at an annual event of the Ibernisti club. I joined a bunch of other so-called "hibernators," mostly middle-aged men clad in Speedos and ladies in swim caps, in a celebratory plunge into the ice-cold Adriatic sea. (Anyone is invited.) Scroll down to the lower part of this blog post to read details.

During the ensuing adrenaline spike, I enjoyed a warm lentil sausage soup, and, improbably, the sounds of my Carolina upbringing as a live band played Beach Music there on that Italian beach.

In February we spent some time enjoying the not-so-dry season of the dry lands around Israel and Palestine, including the examination of an extra large hole in the ground.

As Spring came to Palestine, I spent a lot of time at Juthour, the arboretum nurtured into being by our  tree-loving friends, American-Palestinian couple Morgan and Saleh.

Out on the land, I enjoyed long walks with Jelly Bean, getting away from the commotion that came with living in the city center of Ramallah, and picnics with a dear group of friends that we became close to and who made Palestine feel like home into our second year there.

As the year wore on,  I started to feel the pangs of wanderlust.

In April, while celebrating our two-year wedding anniversary at the beach in Tel Aviv, we scheduled a visit to a doctor nearby and learned that the home pregnancy test I'd recently taken was correct.

I was pregnant! We'd been trying for what seemed like a while and had been discouraged and thought it might never happen. After we heard that little heart beat, we joyfully called our family to share the news.

In the first half of the year, we had the pleasure of hosting some friends in Palestine.

When Kimberly visited us, we had the usual Dead Sea shenanigans, plus some new explorations in Nazareth and Jerusalem.

In late June and early July we took a big trip to the USA that included a cruise with a stop in Canada. We saw New York City; Boston; Halifax, Nova Scotia; then Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. I had an inspiring bowl of Pho. We went on a cruise with family and I have a wonderful memory of soaking in a hot tub on deck with my dad and siblings  as evening came on and Hurricane Arthur pelted our faces with cold sideways rain.

We arrived back to a summer of chaos and bloodshed in Gaza. In our home in the West Bank, we were never in danger, but our hearts went out to the people who lost so much during the escalation in Gaza, those whom Prince Charming served in his position with a large humanitarian aid organization.

August and September were bittersweet, as we prepared to leave our friends in Palestine and looked forward to giving birth in the U.S., surrounded by family and friends. My belly was growing, and I looked forward to being able to not worry about overcoming a language barrier with healthcare providers in the U.S.

Morgan spoiled me with a spa day that included an all-natural face mask that made me look like an alien.

I ate a lot of bananas and drank a lot of green smoothies.

We visited Armageddon (underwhelming) and the Bahai Gardens in Haifa (wow).

 And we said goodbye.

We arrived in Lumberton, North Caroline where we've been staying with family. They have been so generous in giving us a place to land in the U.S. so that Prince Charming can take a sabbatical and enjoy new fatherhood.

Once settled, we set up the baby stuff and took some short trips: babymoons to the Richmond, Virginia area; to Holden Beach and Asheville, North Carolina and to Charleston, South Carolina. We met the medical staff who'd be attending the birth of our baby.

Then, just before we were scheduled to sit down for a Thanksgiving feast with lots of extended family, I started to feel the birthing waves begin.

Some fifteen hours later, he arrived. Our beautiful son.

We spent the rest of the holiday season lost in Babyland, the reason this blog post is so late. It's an enchanting place to travel to and get lost in. It's a hormone high every time he coos or caws. It's been so fun to get to know this little boy who gets bigger and brighter every day. Time is flying.

Packing Advice on Packing Lust

IN 2013, I posted only one packing advice article on packing lust. in 2014 I did a little better, and posted 5, with a little help from others:

I'm happy with the increase in posts about what to pack this year.

Professionally

Professionally, 2014 saw me simplify my web business situation, combining my coaching practice with Packing Lust. I continue to learn and grow as a creative entreprenuer. I have some changes planned for 2015 to clarify what I do and make my site easier to navigate so visitors can find what they are looking for. Sales of Minimalist Living were strong in 2014 and the Facebook community continues to grow. The Minimalist Living page had around 6,000 "likes" at the end of 2014. I worked on my next book, which will be about the habits required to make a living as a writer or artist, in 2014, but did not make my goal to have it finished and published in 2014. Hopefully I will publish it in 2015. I want to share what I've learned about making money from my writing, but I want to test what I've learned before I do so. I want to earn more income myself through the application of the habits and practices I've been studying. Then I'll share what I've learned in the book since one of my professional goals is to help other writers do the work independent creative work they want to do and get paid for it.

Travel and Bring Back Courage as a Souvenir

It's Day 5 of the Your Turn Challenge, and the optional daily question is:

What advice would you give for getting unstuck?

I've heard this term "unstuck" a lot lately. It's either a trendy word or it's that reticular activator thing.

You feel stuck. You'd like to travel the world but you just can't get out of the situation you're in.

Everywhere you turn, you encounter another obstacle that makes it feel like you can't move.

-Your lack of vacation time

-Your fear of flying

-Your fear of getting lost, robbed, or just looking like a fool

-The 50 pound cat your mother gave you

You keep turning, and you'll keep encountering obstacles. You know there's probably a solution to each obstacle, but thinking about that hits a little too close to the truth: the obstacles are excuses.

There are two obstacles that are probably really at play:

1. No one in your circle of friends travels the way you want to travel. So you don't know what it looks like, feels like, or smells like. You have no reference and you'll have no real support.

2. You aren't willing to sacrifice what you need to give to take the trip: the difficult conversation with your boss, the time to attend the hypnosis sessions to beat your fear of flying, or the guilt and/or worry that comes with letting a stranger cat-sit.

If you have travel dreams and you feel stuck at home, know this: travel does require a degree of discomfort. Not just when you're on the road (or in the sky), but when you're interviewing strangers to look after your overweight cat, or when you are mispronouncing words in a foreign language.

So don't go. Don't do it. It's too hard. It's going to exhaust you, stretch you, and test you.

What? That's what you want? You want to get out of your comfort zone?

In that case, getting unstuck is simple. Take one step forward, even if it's a little scary and uncomfortable. Just one. And then the next.

Then bring back your courage as a souvenir. Share it with your friends. Travel - and growth -  is contagious.

Where We Are Now and The Birth of Our Son

Where In the World Are We?

We are currently staying in Lumberton, a small town in southeast North Carolina where my family lives, and where we chose to have our first baby.

The Ecstatic Birth of Our Son

The birth of our son was an incredible experience at the local hospital. We had competent and caring healthcare providers, including a nurse who told us she was leaving her job soon and wished our birth could've been her last because it was so touching.

Prince Charming held me in his arms for the ecstatic final moments (or was it hours?) of my 15 hour overnight labor. He skipped the lavish Thanksgiving feast (that he helped cook) to be there for every moment. I rewarded him by hitting him (apparently, although I have no recollection of that) when he came too close to me with breath smelling of powder-cheese snack crackers.

Magic and Romance

Parenthood has been magical. Our little boy is so deliciously perfect he's almost edible. We delight in snuggling with him and kissing his chubby cheeks. I give him new nicknames every hour. Charming likes to discuss solutions to world hunger and poverty with him.

New parenthood has also been hard. Hard, as in, sleepless and grumpy. The romance has taken a predictable hit. You know things are bad when, asked what he would like for his birthday, your husband says "just be nice to me."

Please keep in mind my sleep-deprived and cranky state as I describe our current location.

Lumberton, The Ugly

Located in Robeson County, NC, Lumberton is known for its violence, drug-trafficking, and obesity.

Parts of the county are considered a food desert. It's franchise fast-food for as far a the eye can see. And the eye can see far, as the land is flat here in this part of the state. My high school cross-country team would go to the man-made byway overpasses to do hill training.

There are no independent coffee shops or bookstores. Two recently opened businesses include a drive-through Starbucks and a large, almost warehouse-sized sex shop.

Lumberton, The Love

There are some things to love about Lumberton. Most importantly, my family is here, and they are immensely loveable.

It's got that slow-paced, small-town friendliness. We were standing in line at the post office, asking the attendant a question about the location of some government offices she didn't know the answer to. Three people in line behind us volunteered answers and other helpful tidbits.

People here are kind, friendly, hospitable, and truly caring. They have time for each other. There isn't much elitism, and, with a population evenly divided into four main ethnicities, the racism is, at least, a fair fight.

The town is also known for its extensive healthcare facilities. It's marketed to retired couples who make use of the healthcare facilities and enjoy relatively low-cost housing.

The landscape can be beautiful, especially if you enjoy lush fields of soft white cotton buds, lanky pines, and tastefully dilapidated tobacco barns. The Lumber River hides secrets in tea-colored water that languidly flows around knobby Cyprus knees.

The weather is mild in the winter. Air conditioning is plentiful in the summer.

The Lumbee Indian tribe here has a compelling history worth reading up on. The local, incomprehensible, deep-country dialect of English has a lilting musicality.

Lumberton isn't a place I would likely choose to spend much time in if my family wasn't here.  Sometimes it feels like I have a love-hate relationship with Lumberton. But the truth is, a place is really all about its people. And if that's the true, then Lumberton is a place to love.

Cheap Travel and Skipping the Souvenir Trap

Two travel tips for you today:

Save by Planning Ahead

According to a Wall Street Journal article published October 23, 2014, the best day of the week to buy a plane ticket is now Sunday, when prices tend to be lower. According to the Airlines Reporting Corp, you'll find the lowest price for a domestic ticket 57 days before departure, while you'll want to purchase your ticket for an international flight 171 days before departure for the best price.  Those are specific numbers. You win by being an above-average planner and counting back from your intended trip dates to get your ticket on the cheapest day.

 Avoid Schlepping Extra Stuff

I love this tip from one of my international traveler friends. She suggests taking pictures of souvenirs instead of buying them. Next time you're shopping abroad, pause before you hand over your cash. Take a picture instead. I snapped the top photo in a crazy flea market in Hollywood, California.  This photo reminds me of the visit and takes up less space in my home than if I'd brought home one of those carafes, kettles, or bowling pins.

If you buy souvenirs as gifts, instead have someone take a nice photo of you standing in front of a landmark and give that away instead.

For more simple living tips, visit SimpleLivingToolkit.com

Creating a Digital Vision Board to Inspire Your Travel Dreams

 Happy New Year! I'm still a bit happily lost in new baby land, so what a great time for a guest post. This one comes to us from Brittany Taylor over at SimpleLivingandTravel.com. It's about creating a place where your dreams are represented visually so you have a daily, hourly reminder of what's important to you. Many of you have written to ask how to overcome obstacles to traveling the world. Well, if you have your travel dreams in front of you all the time, your mind will start coming up with solutions even while you are working on other things. Charming and I spent NYE creating a shared vision board for the new year, and my sister created her own digital vision board which she shared via Instagram:

A photo posted by Lucia Parker (@luciajune) on Jan 1, 2015 at 10:43am PST

So many of us want to travel.

We dream of it while we are at work, going weak in the knees as we scroll through images of dream vacations in tropical paradise, clutching our warm mug in the dead of a northern winter. We fight reality while denying ourselves the dreams that linger deep within our hearts. Or at least that is what I used to do. Then, I decided to start living my dreams.

One amazing thing I discovered while on my journey to dream-realization was about creating vision boards. When I started indulging in vision board creation, I not only learned about the power of images, but I also started to view imagination in a whole new light. I realized that in my focusing on what I wanted, I had the choice to either allow myself to sink into a feeling of lack, concentrating on what I did not yet have, or I could embody the emotions I would feel if I had what I wanted and really indulge in my fantasy. I chose the latter and I decided to consciously start indulging in my dreams on a daily basis.

Images can be truly powerful. We have all experienced how a picture can be worth a thousand words, or how an image can be scarred into our memory. We can harness that power and use it to our benefit.The idea behind creating a vision board is to put together a collection of images that inspires us. We can then keep that

vision board somewhere close by so that you will see it regularly, thus activating those awesome emotions those images bring to us.

How to Do It

There are so many ways to go about creating a vision board. There is the old school way of gathering magazines and sitting around sifting and clipping. And there is the new age way of going digital and harnessing the power of the net. I prefer going digital because it doesn’t take up the physical space in my life and because I can usually find the exact image I know will bring me ultimate inspiration (and in much less time at that).

As far as the subject matter of a vision board goes, this too can vary greatly. It may feel good to just do a general board, hitting on various areas of our lives, or we may want to hone in on a topic, like our physical health, our living space, or our professional life.

For the sake of this piece, let’s hone in on creating a digital vision board that specifically pertains to travel. We want to travel. Nearly all of us want it so badly that if someone asks us where we want to go we already have a place in mind. Some of us have lists. Some of us have lifetimes of it planned. How about we make that a reality?

When to Create

There’s no wrong way to create a vision board, but the timing is important. It’s important to be in the right frame of mind when going into vision board mode. Perhaps you will find yourself inspired and ready to go. Or you may need to do some work to get there. Take a few minutes to clear your mind, to breathe and just be. Do some light stretching or movements to get connected to your body. Do whatever you need to feel comfortable in all parts of you.

Now that you have set your internal environment for the creative time ahead, allow your mind to fantasize about your travel dreams. What do those dreams feel like in your body? Do you feel good imagining them? Make sure you are feeling excited and abundant about them before moving forward. Then, try asking yourself some questions and see what comes up.

What places excite you when you think about visiting them? What sights do you want to see and experience? What cultures do you want to learn about? What foods do you want to try? What music do you want to hear? What smells do you want to breathe in? What activities do you want to try? How do you see yourself moving from place to place? Where do you envision resting your bones after a day of exploration?

Ultimately we are looking to gain a sense of the feelings you want to experience and the images that come to mind when you feel those emotions.

As far as project duration goes, don’t worry about having enough time to complete your vision board all at once. Some boards get created in an afternoon and some take shape over a longer period of time. Yours will come together in a unique way for you. Just set out when it feels right and leave the rest to unfold naturally.

Finding Images

Now that you have fully set the stage, it’s time to find those images.

Start by creating a “Vision Board” folder on your computer (or a safe space to store images on your phone or tablet). This is where you will save your images as you come across them.

Now seek out those inspiring pictures. Perhaps you already have some in mind, maybe from a friend’s recent trip or from something that caught your eye on social media. If that’s the case, grab those ones out first and save them (no worries about copyright infringement because this is for your own personal viewing).

Most images you are going to have to search for. This is the fun part, which I really favor using Google Images for (although I encourage you to use any image finder you enjoy). Using the first image you have in mind, search a word or phrase that you think will generate the results you are looking for. This sounds fairly straightforward, but sometimes it can be tricky.

Remember there are a lot of images out there. For example, you may get really excited by the thought of backpacking through Europe. However, upon a Google image search of “backpack Europe” you may find that the results are not what you had in mind.

I suggest honing in on what you are really envisioning. Is it a Villa in Italy? Or perhaps a small café in France? Is it the coast of the Mediterranean? Or night life in Madrid? Whatever it is, get more specific. Perhaps your phrase is something as precise as “moonlight on water in Greece” or “mangoes market Spain”. The clearer you can be, the more success you will have in finding the results you are looking for.

You may also decide you want certain inspiring words on your board. If this is the case you can either search for them or create them in a program such as Microsoft Word’s WordArt, then save them as an image file.

Putting it All Together

Once you feel like you have enough images, it is time to start putting them all together. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

There are a number of programs you can use to put together your digital vision board. Basically, choose anything that is easy to paste images into while still being able to crop and resize them. Some common programs that would work are Photoshop, Publisher, Gimp, Word, Pages and although I have never used any, I believe there is even software you can use that is specifically for vision board creation.

Once you have selected your preferred program, enjoy pulling in the images you found that feel good for you. Play around with where you want them positioned on the page, what images you want side by side, what size you want them, and so on.

You don’t have to use all of the ones you’ve gathered. You may find that you want to have a very open, spacious board

and so you just have a few pictures. Or perhaps you prefer the excited energy of having everything together. Whatever you decide, it is your creation.

Check in with yourself throughout the process of creating your vision board. Make sure you are feeling excited and playful. If it starts to feel like work at any point, just stop and continue the next time you feel inspired.

Once you have completed your board, sit back and marvel at your finished product. Then, post it somewhere you will look at it regularly. Perhaps it will become your desktop background, or the lock screen on your phone. Maybe you print it out and hang it on your fridge or in your office.

Take pleasure in the viewing of your vision board as frequently as you would like. Let the emotions fill you and remember that you can have everything you dream of.

As you grow and shift, so will your fantasies. If it is fun for you, keep creating vision boards along your journey, saving them, so you can look back over time and take note of all the beautiful ways your dreams have unfolded before you.

Adventures in the Antarctic (and what to pack)

Note: This is a guest post by Christine Bernasconi, a professional photographer, blogger, avid traveler and people lover. I'm really excited she's sharing her 2013 adventures in the Antarctic with the Packing Lust Community. I hope you enjoy! --Genevieve

Going to the Antarctic was always a dream of mine since I was 5 years old :) I'm not exactly sure why I had this dream at such a young age. I just remember looking at books and giving my Dad the 'Scott' book {not sure which one} for a birthday one year.

It obviously started something for me.

It way exceeded my expectations and I feel humble and blessed that I've had the privilege of experiencing this awesome part of our planet.

It really was the trip of my dreams. Whales, seals, penguins (lots of them) birds, beautiful landscapes and icebergs – I really, really loved the icebergs.:)

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We organised our trip through Quark (click here if you’re in the States) or Peregrine in Australia (click here).

We booked the ‘Crossing the Circle’ Tour  which was 14 days aboard the ‘Sea Spirit.’ – a beautiful ship. Well appointed spacious rooms, an open bar :), dining room, theatre lounge, a library, gym, a hot tub, gift shop and lots of deck areas to relax and take in the sights. The service? Seamless. Nothing was a chore for the staff and everything was done with a smile.

A zodiac heading back towards the Sea Spirit

A zodiac heading back towards the Sea Spirit

The Sea Spirit

The Sea Spirit

The ship carried 114 passengers of which 49 of them were Australian. Being such a small group meant great friendships were formed early. We were all linked by the same thread – an adventurous nature and the desire to experience the Antarctic. I met people from all over the world. I  know I will remain friends with some of them forever. We all shared something very special.

Our voyage left from Ushuaia (the bottom of Argentina) and it was a two day trip to the Antarctic Peninsula across the Drake Passage. I loved watching the mainland of Argentina disappear behind us. To me it felt like a true adventure. We explored many bays, islands and channels of the Antarctic Peninsula over the 14 days of our voyage.

Leaving Ushuaia and the South American Continent behind

Leaving Ushuaia and the South American Continent behind

The most amazing part of the trip however (besides the scenery) was the service and professionalism provided by the expedition leader and her team. Cheli is a true leader and a wonderful, passionate individual. All of her staff have an expertise, whether it be birds, whales, glaciers, photography or history. They have all done many similar trips and their experience and knowledge is second to none.

Each day in the Oeanus lounge, one of them would present a lecture on a particular aspect of the Antarctic – marine mammals, the great Antarctic explorers or sea birds – just to name a few. There were even some documentary movies about this fascinating part of the world. It was wonderful to be educated and to hear them speak so passionately.

Most nights one of the expedition staff would sit at your dinner table to get to know you and mix with the passengers. This really personalised the trip and within a few days, they were also friends.

Each day we usually had two zodiac expeditions to an island or part of the Antarctic mainland. Getting everyone in and out of the zodiacs plus keeping everyone safe and informed was handled brilliantly by the expedition staff.

Each disembarkation and embarkation meant going through a disinfection process (you had to step in a solution) to protect the fragile environment.

These outings were fantastic. Whilst you saw lots of scenery from the ship, getting out on the water, feeling the wind in your face and observing the scenery and wildlife from this low perspective was awesome :)

Hootin along...

Hooting along

Every single island or mainland excursion offered something individual. The landscape was always vastly different, and yes, there were always penguins :)

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I never tired of looking at the endless beauty that surrounded us. I loved being on the shore and exploring. Lots of the islands had relics from days gone bye – old whaling boats and whaling stations, whale bones and huts that would have housed the brave people that spent part of their lives living here.

An old hut - Deception Island

An old hut – Deception Island

The wildlife was spectacular. Albatross flying at the back of the ship, humpback whales, Minke whales and even Orca’s! Wedell, Leopard and Crabeater seals and of course, penguins. Sometimes these animals were seen from the decks of the Sea Spirit. At other times you were up close and personal with these animals in the zodiacs.

Imagine being in a zodiac – drifting through the brash ice – icebergs all around you and a humpback surfaces around 50 metres away? What a scene. Absolute magic.

This humpback whale was so close to our zodiac...

This humpback whale was so close to our zodiac…

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Look at the size of him…

So close...

So close…

The Albatross. What a magnificent bird

The Albatross. What a magnificent bird.

The staff organised trivia games, we danced the night away a couple of times , met the Captain at the ‘Cocktail Party’ and I got ‘over enthusiastic’ in an auction to raise money for the penguins (I really wanted that Antarctic water.)

Other nights we sat in the bar talking to our new friends over a glass of wine (or two) – well, you couldn’t go to bed early as there was up to 18 hours of light per day!

We celebrated Australia Day on board with a BBQ up on deck and one patriotic Australian had our flag – I certainly won’t forget Australia Day 2013 in a hurry!

I also participated in ‘The Polar Plunge’ – yes, you could dive into the Southern Ocean (with a rope tied around your waist) to experience the ‘coolish’ waters of the Antarctic. Yep, I did this too. Click here to read about that adventure.

I slept a night on the ice – yes, I did. You can also read about that here :)

I also also slid down a mountain at Neko Harbour (it was so much fun, I felt like a 5 year old)

Yours truly...

Yours truly…

One of the highlights (there were so many) was Crossing the Antarctic Circle. That was a great day. The weather was really cold (-2) and it was a fantastic to think we were at 66 deg 33’44′ S.  To mark this occasion, the crew organised a fantastic event called ‘Kiss the Fish’. We all grouped outside on the bow of the ship to Cross the Circle and the crew dressed up in various ‘fishy’ style outfits. King Neptune was there and we all had to ‘Kiss the Fish’ before being given a red mark on our foreheads which denoted ‘Crossing the circle.’ One word – hilarious – especially kissing a frozen fish!!

Me, taking a pic and kissing the fish

Me, taking a pic and kissing the fish

The most common question I’ve been asked since being home is ‘How cold was it’? On the warmest day it was 8 degrees and the coldest -2. Nowhere near as bad as I thought. The only time I felt really cold was on the ‘crossing the circle day’ and at times in the zodiacs when we were going a little faster than the normal trawling speed. Quark supplies you with a parka (yours to take home) that really does the job. They also lend you ‘boots’ for the duration of the trip. These are used every time you leave the ship.

For anyone that's going on one of these trips, here is what I took with me…..

• All the sea sick medication I could find (travel calm, the wrist bands, ginger tablets) – It worked for me, I took one travel calm the first night – just in case and a couple of other ‘rougher’ sea days wore the wrist bands – all good.

• 2 sets of thermals – bought from the Kathmandu store – black bottoms and pink/black/white and blue/black/white long sleeve tops.

• 2 really warm zip up hoodies – one from Kathmandu and the other from the gift shop on the ship.

• 4 pairs of super warm socks (Kathmandu store.)

• 2 pairs of warm track suit pants.

• A warm hat.

• 2 pairs of water proof gloves (only ever wore one pair) and they were too cumbersome to take pics with, so I bought a fingerless pair from the gift shop on the ship.

• A warm sleeveless vest (bought from a shop in Ushuaia.)

• Waterproof pants – if you're an Aussie, you will pay a fortune at home for these. I bought them in Ushuaia the day before we left at around $50AUD – bargain – (there were plenty of sizes and choices and plenty of shops selling this gear in Ushuaia.)

Check out the sunny weather...on this day I just had a tshirt on under a hoodie...

Check out the sunny weather…on this day I just had a tshirt on under a hoodie…

Each day when we went on a shore excursion off the boat I wore…

• A thermal top and bottom and trackpants over the thermals.

• Waterproof pants over the track pants (the track pants tucked INTO the boots.)

• A warm sleeveless vest over the thermals or, if I felt a bit colder a long sleeve hoodie.

• 2 pairs of socks (always.)

• The parka, hat and gloves.

Here I am in one of my 'thermal tops'

Here I am in one of my ‘thermal tops’

On the ship (which was as warm as toast) I wore…

• Jeans and a tshirt and sometimes a hoodie. I dressed up one night for the Captains cocktail party  (if you call a skirt and top seriously dressing up.)

• Closed in shoes (my rockports.)

Back in Buenos Aires and Santiago I wore….

• shorts and tshirts (super humid.)

So if you’re interested in going and want to know more – I'm gonna have to come with you to show you the ropes :)

Please feel free to contact me in the comments section below or on Facebook , twitter  or pinterest.

Me in action...

Me in action

Best [Travel] Bags of 2014

Prince Charming and I both have a love affair with finding the perfect luggage. Of course, the perfect bag doesn't exist, which makes the pursuit an endless one. There's always a better bag out there, and that makes it fun to keep looking.  It also means we love our almost-perfect bags because, well, they are almost perfect. Here are the best bags of 2014 as recommended by me, Prince Charming, and two other expert travelers:

1. Convertible Carry-on by Rick Steves

In a phrase: Classic, affordable, and dependable.

This is my go-anywhere bag. I've been traveling with it for about two years. I own it in graphite (a dark grey) but wish I'd purchased the same bag in a lighter color - something easier to notice on a luggage carousel on the rare occasions I need to check it.  Something like this color would have been nice:

bg-xts_03

I love this bag. It seems indestructible. I've never had an airline tell me to check it due to luggage size restrictions.  Things I love about it:

• It has a easy-access mesh water bottle holder on the side.

• It has back back straps and a waist belt that offer lots of support but can fold away if I want to carry it like a suitcase.

• I can easily put it in most overhead bins.

• It has lots of roomy exterior pockets.

• It can expand past carry-on size when necessary.

• The bag has very no frame or wheels, so it's very lightweight.

• It's affordable, making it the only thing on this list good for travelers with a luggage budget of less that $150.

My only major issue with this bag is that it doesn't have wheels. Sometimes it would be nice to roll in airports. I do feel that carrying backpack style is safer than rolling with less risk of the bag being stolen.  Also, the bag is just a little too big, making it too easy for me to over stuff it. (Yes, sometimes I'm guilty of over packing despite writing a blog about living with less baggage.)

2. Red Oxx Luggage Set

In a phrase: The toughest, ruggedest, manliest, locally handcrafted luggage money can buy.

You guessed it, this is Prince Charming's preferred luggage. He has an entire set. It was one of the first things he introduced me to when he was wooing me.

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He loves how these bags are made to last. They will probably outlive our great great grandchildren, unless by then we are all traveling with only Replicators - that's the thing that instantly makes whatever you need in  Star Trek, right? Anyway, Red Oxx bags are made by hand in the U.S.A. They have really big zippers and these wonderful shoulder straps that are thick rubber so they never slip off your shoulder even if you lean over to give someone a hug goodbye at the airport.

Here's Prince Charming with the shoulder strap of one of his Red Oxx bag's visible. Even though it's twisted and definitely not centered on top of his shoulder it's not slipping around.

strap stays in place

Personally, I prefer backpacks or rolling bags to one-shoulder carry bags. I sense that carrying weight evenly will prevent back and shoulder injuries. Many Red Oxx bags, including those Prince Charming owns, are one-shoulder carry, but the company does make some back packs. No rolling bags though, obviously because rolling a bag creates a loss of manliness points. Seriously. Picture a man rolling a bag in the airport. Now picture the same guy carrying a sturdy shoulder bag like it's nothing. See what I mean? Just for the record, Prince Charming has a racked up such an abundance of manliness points that he could roll a bag for the rest of his life and still  keep his man card.

3. The Atmos 50 by Osprey

In a phrase: Ready for any adventure.

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Here's a bag that withstood a cat peeing on it in a closet in North Carolina and the multiple washings that followed (which did get the smell out). And then it happily traveled South America. This is the bag my friend Kimberly owns and used as a weekend pack during her trip to Colombia. She loves its "Airspeed Suspension," which I think refers to a lightweight frame and special features that make carrying it less sweaty and more fun than other, less air speedy packs.

Other features of the bag include:

• Hip belt

• Hydration Sleeve

• Sleeping pad straps

• Loops and ties for holding tools (such as an ice pick for those icy climbs).

4. 2nd Generation Wknder Wide by Spencer Divine

In a phrase: So pretty, can I touch it?

BC_WW_camel_2

For non-vegans, there's nothing quite like smooth, buttery Italian leather. This bag is a splurge, and a favorite with my stylish sister who got it on sale on Bottica.com. She carried this bag when she visited us in December and it was amazing how much warm winter gear she was able to fit in it while still looking like a free-spirited bohemian sprite. The term "schlepping" could never apply here.

sister bag

Things I ooh and aah-ed over:

• It's not just pretty, but strong and practical.

• It can carry as a shoulder bag, suitcase, or bacpack.

• Okay, back to the pretty. There's a colorful cotton lining that's like a special party for your eyes only in the bag.

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Okay, those are my top four bags for 2014.

Have you found your almost perfect bag?

If you have a tripped planned, which bag will you be traveling with? Let me know in the comments please.

5 More Packing Tips from a Long-Term Missionary

This is part two of a guest post by Thomaida Hudanish, a writer, blog reader and traveler whom I met when she came to Palestine as part of a long-term volunteering/mission trip. Make sure you check out part one of the post here. Enjoy. - Genevieve

Type of Trip:

Extended Volunteer/Mission Trip/Pilgrimage a.k.a. Around-the-World-to-Help-Children

Length of Trip:

Indefinite

Destinations:

India, the Middle East, Western Europe

5 More Tips

1. Guidebooks

During trip prep, I love reading guidebooks for historical and cultural insight, maps, and background info about top sites. I thought I would easily find guides as I went, but this wasn't the case. Airport bookstores or large, chain bookstores(where you could find them) were the most reliable places to find guides.

2. Bearing Gifts

Previous volunteers clued me in to what gifts I could bring for the orphanage at my first destination, such as mosquito nets, coloring books and printer ink cartridges. You may also consider some easy-to-pack items unique to your home region. For friends at my second destination, I purchased gifts in India. For hosts at my third destination, I brought something from Turkey and so on.

3. Excercise

I walked a lot and used the stairs more, but let's face it, I wasn't active in the same ways that I am at home. I packed two exercise bands and although I didn't do as many bicep curls as I planned, I was thankful for my occasional mini-workouts.

4. Final Preparations

In the 10 days between my last day of work and take-off for my trip, here's what I did: took a private 1-hour camera lesson, picked up leather inserts to boost the support in my well-worn walking shoes, purchased an international driving permit at AAA, distributed copies of my itinerary, financial info and contact information to trusted friends, drafted a power of attorney, requested a PIN code for my credit card and alerted them of my travel plans, renewed my drivers' license (which was due to expire while I was gone), and purchased travel insurance.

5. Teachable Moments

Although I made a few "mistakes" in my packing, I don't regret anything because it all worked together to make a memorable trip.

• Too many shoes? I packed 4 pairs of shoes + flip flops; seems like a lot for a light packer. I was glad to have extra shoes after I accidentally left my trusted walking shoes on a bus.

• Consider a Global SIM. I found out that in some countries it takes 3 or more days to activate a local SIM card. I think I should have had my phone unloacked and purchased a global SIM (from companies such as gosim.com or worldsim.com) so that I had an emergency communication option available at all times. I ended up purchasing a phone in India and local SIM cards as I went. Now I have a phone loaded with fun Indian ringtones that I can use anywhere.

• Bring a nit comb and favorite lice treatment if you're going to be working with children. I didn't wear my hair back, gave lots of hugs and got lice. What's the positive side? I bonded with one of the older girls while she picked nits out of my hair for two hours and after two weeks of combing and searching, multiple home remedies and lots of washing, I was nit-free! I'll know exactly what to do when facing lice in the future.

• Be Prepared for Air Pollution. India and Palestine have poor air quality for different reasons. I wish that I'd packed a nasal rinse system to help alleviate the coughing and sinus issues I had. Instead, I learned how to rinse with a cup and now I have a new survival skill!

• Brush Up on Driving a Manual Transmission. Not only will you be ready to help out with driving anywhere in any car, but in many cases you may find that stick shift cars are cheaper to rent and more readily available.

For Further Reading:

Two books that I referenced in preparation for this trip were Ron Wolf's Vagabonding and Lonely Planet's First Time Round the World. Although my travel style is less vagabond and more volunteer/pilgrim/tourist, I found practical advice and inspiration in both of these books. One great suggestion they made, for example, was to ship souvenirs home as you go, so you don't have to carry the extra weight in your suitcase. Additionally, I read packinglust.com and travelfashiongirl.com, among other girl-written travel blogs, to keep my naturally functional style balanced with a little bit of fabulous.

While on the road I met up with two other writers whose blogs and travels inspired me prior to departure. Whatever you take away from what is written here about packing and traveling, I hope that you'll also consider that the Internet is a window revealing just a small view of the amazing relationships and places out there to discover. I challenge you to move from the virtual and the vicarious to the rewarding experience of meeting each person and destination with all your senses.

May your journeys be blessed!

Thomaida wrote a series of articles about her 7-month volunteer pilgrimage covering India, Turkey, Israel/Palestine, France, Germany and England at www.honeybeebuzz.org. She lives, writes and dreams up new ways to make the world a better place in Portland, Oregon.

5 Reasons to Have Hope for Palestine

By the time this blog post publishes, we will, if all goes according to plan, be back in the U.S. and our time in Palestine will have come to an end. It's been a challenging and adventurous 28 months here. With the ongoing conflict and occupation, it can be hard to stay hopeful about Palestine's future, but there is hope. I want to leave Palestine with hope that the people here will one day be free, and that the conflict will come to a peaceful and just resolution. To share that hope with you, I've compiled a brief list of links and reasons why I have hope for Palestine. These five (mostly non-political) things give me reason to be optimistic about this place.

1. The Arc

Many people in Palestine hope for a one-state solution to the conflict: a single, democratic state where all people can live freely in equality no matter their race or religion. While I think that idea is wonderful, I see it as unlikely.  I think a toxic amount of racial injustice would result if the two countries were to become one and it would be very difficult for everyone to have equal opportunities because of the history here. However, perhaps it's better to try and face those obstacles than not try at all. A second-best and still hopeful option would be a two-state solution, with a free and independent Palestine living in peace with Israel.

Enter the Arc. The Arc is part of a plan for the physical infrastructure a successful Palestinian state would need. Created by the Rand Corporation, The Arc gives an important and inspiring vision for a thriving Palestine.  Check out the 9-minute overview video here. It's worth a watch. More resources on the Arc are available here.

2. Occupied Pleasures

Photographer Tanya Habjouqa is capturing some amazing images of Palestine and Palestinians. From photos of the head-to-toe covered women of Gaza to images of belly-dancing Palestinian drag queens in East Jerusalem, her work is diverse and fascinating. Most importantly, the images reveal the deep humanity of a much-misunderstood group of people.

3. An Israeli Soldier Speaks

This compelling talk by former Israeli soldier Eran Efrati will give you an inside view into what it's like to be an Israeli soldier occupying Palestine and having the earth-shattering realization that you're "on the wrong side of history." His emotional, heart-breaking, and at times funny speech allows us to see what the conflict is like up close on the ground from both sides.  It really is a must-watch, revealing talk. To read more soldier testimonies, check out the book Our Harsh Logic.

4. Juthour Arboretum

From the website "Juthour Arboretum in Ramallah offers a natural reserve where we preserve native trees and plant species, working through educational programs and eco tourism to model and encourage greater individual and communal responsibility towards our threatened natural environment and heritage in Palestine." This eco-park was started by our friends and neighbors in Ramallah, Palestine. I've visited and hiked its terraces many times with Jelly Bean. They've put an incredible amount of work into saving trees so that Palestine's natural heritage will not be forgotten or destroyed by the many threats to it such as the occupation, violent extremist settlers, over-development, construction dumping, and littering.  Check out and support what they are doing, especially if you care about preserving the natural beauty of Palestine.

5. The People

I've met some incredible people here, resilient people who have an amazing ability to keep going and maintain hope in the face of an under-occupation experience ranging from the utter monotony of three hours of checkpoint traffic to the overwhelming brutality of missile strikes on civilians in Gaza.  To read more about the people we've met here, check out some of the posts in the Palestine category.

Top 5 Packing Tips for A Long-Term Mission Trip

This is part one of a guest post by Thomaida Hudanish, a blog reader and traveler who I met when she came to Palestine as part of the trip she talks about in this post. Stay tuned for part two which will be published in early November. Enjoy. - Genevieve

Type of Trip:

Extended Volunteer/Mission Trip/Pilgrimage a.k.a. Around-the-World-to- Help-Children

Length of Trip:

Indefinite

Destinations:

India, the Middle East, Western Europe

Overview

In November 2013, I set off for a trip to volunteer with Orthodox Christian ministries in various places, beginning with an orphanage outside of Kolkata, India and continuing to a school in the West Bank, Palestine. While I packed with the intention of continuing to volunteer after these first two assignments, instead I returned to the United States via a 5-week tour of France, Germany & England, to seize a job opportunity in line with the same goals and mission that inspired me to take this journey.

Tips

1. Two Kinds.

Rick Steves says that there are two kinds of travelers: those who packed light and those who wish they had. I agree and I'm still in the second camp. As much as I wish that I could throw everything on my back and jump onto a moving train, that's not the kind of trip I planned and let's face it, that's not the kind of traveler I am. So, yes, PACK AS LIGHT AS YOU CAN. Then read on to learn why I'm still glad I brought more than I wanted to.

2. Tell Your Story.

I packed a letter-size laminated US/World map and an inexpensive, 20-pg photo album with pictures of friends, family members and everyday happenings in my life at home. These are two tools that helped me to share about my life and relate with new friends, in many cases across language barriers. Alternatively, you might consider making a little slide show to flip through on whatever electronic device you bring.

3. Compartmentalize

I'm a huge fan of packing sacks, regardless of brand. They help me to stay organized even after I settle into a location. The other thing I did was to create designated Ziploc bags for my office, first aid & medications and electronic accessories. For example, the "Office" bag held pen refills, a permanent marker, binder clips, a highlighter, sticky tack, post-its, and a glue stick. The "First Aid" bag had Bandaids, anti-diarrhea medication, vitamin-C packets, hydrocortizone cream and so on. Another Ziploc held chargers, plug converters, cords, and extra batteries. This way, even on the road, everything had a place. I also packed a few extra Ziplocs in varying sizes.

4. Fashion vs. Function

Knowing that my travel destinations could involve the beach, a formal event or a professional work setting, I had to plan for variety, but focus my packing on the known activities: playing with children and going to church. Long skirts were a must for the conservative cultures and monastic environments that I intended to be a part of, so I brought three. Additional favorites were: a merino wool pullover, a cream-colored long- sleeve shirt with some lace detail to help dress up some outfits, a lightweight henley with adjustable sleeve-length, black leggings, and a pair of comfortable, sturdy mary-jane style Privos. A daily moisturizer with SPF was the MVP of my cosmetics, but I also used a little makeup, sparkly hair accessories and earrings for special occasions.

5. Technology on the Road

I didn't want to lug my laptop around the world--what a hassle! As a writer, however, it's the one tool I used every day. I brought along an extra hard drive for biweekly backups and packed it in a separate bag from the laptop in case of theft. In addition to writing a blog, editing photos and keeping up with my family and friends via Skype, I used the laptop extensively in each volunteer position. I purchased a new camera for the trip because documenting my experiences for readers at home was a priority. My older point & shoot camera came along as backup for excursions involving sand, water or questionable security.

Another gadget I like for journeys big and small is the humble headlamp. It's great for reading in bed after you've crawled under the mosquito net for the night.

Thomaida wrote a series of articles about her 7-month volunteer pilgrimage covering India, Turkey, Israel/Palestine, France, Germany and England at www.honeybeebuzz.org. She lives, writes and dreams up new ways to make the world a better place in Portland, Oregon.

Pho and Everything else in America

There are rare occasions when traveling that one experience rises so far above the others,  that no matter how amazing the others are, they fade into the background when remembering the trip.

Such is the case with one experience from our pretty-epic-if-I-do-say-so-myself July travels around the U.S. (and a quick trip up to Canada).

Now, if I saw you on this trip, I don't want you to be jealous. If I sailed on a boat with you, went to a funeral with you, rode a cruzbike with you, danced in your bedroom, crab-clawed my way down a mountain with you, cherished your adorable newborn, planned world domination with you, rode in a hot air balloon with you, chased waterfalls with you, cuddled with your loving, one-eyed Chihuahua, or floated in a jacuzzi during a hurricane with you, please don't be jealous.  I'm telling you I had a wonderful time.

If you are my husband, please don't be jealous.

I think you will all understand.

What happened was, I fell in love with a bowl of Pho. It was just so delicious.

More specifically, this bowl of Pho served up at New Tu Do on Bowery Street in NYC is the one that has my heart:

For the uninitiated, Pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle dish usually prepared in an oxtail broth that has been slow-simmered for a long time.

This one had juicy pieces of thinly-sliced beef, bean sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, and lemon. I dressed it with the perfect amount of Sriracha. How my heart longs for it again.

I emailed a friend, "I can have hope in all things turning out okay in the world because that bowl of pho exists."

Now let's put that bowl of Pho in its place in the trip.

Saying Goodbye

My trip began a week earlier than we had planned with the passing of my Aunt Jenny, who had been suffering with brain cancer for almost two years. I wasn't planning on going to the memorial service, but after I talked to my mom, Prince Charming and I decided to scramble and see if I could fly home to NC for a week before our regularly scheduled trip which would have begun in NYC. I could and I did.  It was great to be with my family during this really sad time. Of course, joy was mixed into our grief, because Aunt Jenny's suffering has ended.

It's always fun to get together with my big family, even if though what brought us together was sad. Being one of the oldest cousins on this side of the family, I remember the birth or toddlerhood of most of my cousins, who now, inexplicably, have become handsome young men.

The handsome part is explicable (those good genes everywhere) but not the grown up part, and not the "men" part. I have no idea why there is a preponderance of males on this side of the family. Out of my seventeen cousins, there are 13 boys and 4 girls.

NYC

Next Prince Charming flew over and I flew up. We met in NYC where we enjoyed civilization, including lots of people-watching and wandering the streets of Manhattan. During our time in the city, we ate things like hipster pork sammies served on chopping boards with artisanal sasparilla soda. But more importantly, I met my other soulmate, that aforementioned bowl of Pho.  The first time I ate it, I regretted not being able to finish the bowl. Even though I was stuffed, I immediately wanted to go back to the restaurant. I begged Charming. I hoped for burps that would bring back the taste. I had a very vivid dream in which I was eating it again. So of course we went back a second time. I made sure to get a pho-to of the two loves of my life.

I think this pho-to captures the crazy look in my eyes revealing my obsessive adoration.

Both times after I took that first bite of Pho, I felt my unborn child move in my womb. No joke. I wasn't sure if I'd felt fetal movement before, but the kid loved the pho and decided to let me know. Oh! Yes, we are expecting. This is the first time I've mentioned it on the blog. If all goes as planned, we'll have our baby in December.

After eating the Pho the second time, we left the restaurant. I was just thinking of how excited I was to tell everyone about the Pho and the baby kicks, and then I looked down and there on the ground was a fifty-dollar bill. No joke. The streets of New York paid for both meals.

The Boat

Immediately after the second pho-ntastic experience, we met my family on this cruise liner in Brooklyn.

We had a lovely family reunion on board Cunard's Queen Mary II.

Boston & Halifax

This cruise had two stops: Boston and Halifax. Boston was rather rainy and cold due to Hurricane Arthur. We spent most of our time inside foggy-windowed cars, busses, and restaurants.

Halifax, Nova Scotia was more fun. We debarked and enjoyed shenanigans around the old port city.

Then, back in NYC after the cruise, we took the last opportunity to hang out with the family for a while and enjoyed a nice, long, getting-a-bit-lost walk on and around the Brooklyn bridge. My sister hurt her knee and had to be carried part of the way.

Portland

From New York, Charming and I parted ways with the family, enjoyed a couple more days in the city, and then got on a plane bound for Portland, Oregon.

My dear college friend and travel buddy Elizabeth and her husband Chris had welcomed, just a few days before our arrival, their firstborn into the world. What a little bundle of heart-melting sweetness! I'm so thankful for getting to share this special time with Chris and Elizabeth and their tiny one.

Elizabeth and I both had the extreme good luck to fall in love with and marry devilishly handsome, virile men who do all the grocery shopping and cooking for the household. I know. You want to hit us. It is pretty awesome since we all know the corollary to "love covers a multitude of sins" is "a fresh baked loaf of sourdough bread covers a multitude of sins."

The guys talked sauces, charcuterie, and local produce. A friendship blossomed.

Chris took us out chasing waterfalls and showed us the splendid natural beauty of the area.

And of course there was lots of gorgeous hipster food, including the city's famous Voodoo Donuts (second photo down).

My weekend activity in Portland was the World Domination Summit, which was incredible, and which I will postpone writing about until later this month. For now, suffice it to say I rode in a hot air balloon.

San Francisco

After Portland, we jumped on a flight for San Francisco. This time, it was all about seeing family, friends, and enjoying my uncle's amazing electrified Cruzbikes.

Los Angeles

A few quick days in LA were next, and that trip was about seeing friends too. It's been more than two years since Charming and I have been together on the West Coast, where many of our friends and connections live.  We are so grateful we got to spend some time with these folks and even more who aren't pictured.

Back to Palestine on One of the Last Flights

This is a long post, and it doesn't even cover the whole trip - just some of the good stuff. I didn't even have time for the misadventures, the things the hurricane ruined, the arguments, the vomiting, the hurt feelings, the flight delays, the exhaustion.  There's always more to the story.

Shortly after we got back, flights into Tel Aviv from the states were grounded until further notice. We got back safely to Ramallah, preparing ourselves to try to understand exactly how bad things are. Things are indeed very bad in Gaza (although we are safe here). Israel's bombs and chemical weapons have killed and injured many children and civilians in Gaza, and likely more by the time I publish this. Thousands of people have been displaced. Remember our friend Osama from Gaza? He and his wife now have 28 people living in their apartment, and he says they will soon run out of water. This conflict needs to end, and it needs a truly peaceful and just resolution.

Holy Land Sites: Nazareth and the Dome of the Rock

In late May and early June my dear friend Kimberly came to Palestine to visit us.

Kimberly is a friend I've known for a long time - since before our first year of college when I called her in the summer of 2003 to find out what kind of person my future roommate was. I knew we'd be friends when I found out she drove a car that she'd painted the exterior of, covering it completely in brightly colored flowers. She still an artist; now she's a professional painter and muralist. And one of my favorite people in the whole world.

Of course, since this is her first time to the Middle East, we made sure she got to experience plenty of Holy Land sites around Israel and Palestine during her two-week trip. Many of the places we went have been covered previously on this blog, but we did take her to two places that were new to me: the Dome of the Rock in the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Palestinian city of Nazareth in Israel.

Photo credit goes to Kimberly for almost all the pictures in this post.

The Dome of the Rock

Commonly confused with Al-Aqsa Mosque (which has a silver dome) the Dome of the Rock is the famous gold-domed shrine on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. You can see the dome behind Kimberly in this photo.

Only Muslims are allowed on the Temple Mount and in the Dome of the Rock, except for during limited visiting hours. Getting to the Old City of Jerusalem is difficult enough that planning to be there during certain hours simply hadn't happened for me previously. However, during Kimberly's visit, we made it happen. The guards told us the visiting hours on our first trip to the old city, and on the second, we experienced the Temple Mount.

First we walked up the wooden footbridge over the Western Wall.

We encountered a stack of riot gear on the way.

At this point we were in the center of the center of one of the most religiously turbulent places in the world. Through the wooden slats, we peered down upon the holiest place in Judaism, the Western Wall, the only remaining piece of the Temple. Ahead of us lay the Dome of the Rock.

The Dome of the Rock is a sacred site in Islam because tradition says that miracles occurred there, including the Prophet Muhammad's ascension into heaven. Additionally the Foundation Stone around which the Dome of the Rock is built is sacred to Jews as it's considered to be the foundation of the Temple and was the location of the Holy of Holies.

All this results in a strange simmering stew of resentment for members of both religions. On the day we were there, tourists wandered curiously around circles of robed Muslim women who sternly yelled religious chants from texts they held their hands. Some of the tourists appeared to be Jewish, and some were pretending to be Muslim so they could enter the shrine.

One Muslim friend told me he was praying at the Dome of the Rock and a bunch of female Jewish Israeli tourist soldiers entered the male prayer area without appropriate clothing. Apparently the Israeli army uses its military power over the region even to the point of openly disrespecting one of the holiest places in Islam.

Kimberly and I were both labeled as non-Muslims by the guard in front of the shrine, presumably because our heads weren't covered. We weren't allowed to enter, but it wasn't clear whether that was because we weren't Muslim or because we weren't dressed properly. To the guard, it seemed to be the same thing. We circled the shrine and consulted with some tourists who had seen another group of tourists who were allowed to enter.  They told us you had to "pass" as Muslim to enter. We were unwilling to lie about our religion, but very willing to dress differently, and that seemed to be all that mattered to the guard. We donned scarves and tried again, only to be turned back because we were wearing t-shirts that showed our elbows.

I'm 80% sure we would've been allowed to enter if we'd covered everything but our face, hands, and feet, so if you are a female non-Muslim who'd like to visit, make sure you dress accordingly.

Kimberly and I had to settle for walking around the grounds of the magnificent shrine.

It was truly spectacular.

Nazareth

Nazareth is famous for being the birthplace of Jesus. We toured the Church of the Annunciation, where tradition says Mary received a message from the Angel Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus.

I loved the courtyard of the church, where portraits of Madonna with child hung, each from a different country, and reflecting a different idea of Mary's appearance. My favorites were Thai Mary and Chinese Mary.

The church is new, so very different in appearance from traditional churches I'm used to visiting. I was happily surprised to discover that the modern interior was warm and soaring. The multiple levels and open central area allowed the chanting from the ongoing Greek Orthodox service to waft up to tourists on the floor above.

None of the photos captured the beauty of the interior, so you'll just have to go visit the church yourself to see it. Here's a sneak peak of the ceiling.

More Fun

Here are a few more photos taken around Israel and Palestine that I can't resist adding.

Kimberly got to see a herd of camels,

enjoy the Dead Sea and mud,

and see the Church of the Sepulchre.

Juthour Arboretum

I also took Kimberly to Juthour Arboretum, our neighbor's project to preserve the natural heritage of Palestine.

They've made incredible progress on the Arboretum over the past year, and now are running an Indie Go Go campaign to raise funds to forge a sustainable, green Palestine. Please support it below. It's a great cause, and a politically neutral one.

 That's Just Wrong

I'll end on a funny note, which is a hilarious onesie we saw when we were shopping for a mutual friend who is having a baby. When clothing with English on it is produced and sold in countries where English isn't widely spoken, this plane-wreck of a fashion situation is what can happen.

Yes, that's for real.

Thanks for a wonderful visit, Kimberly.