3 Ginger Snaps

168 hours ago I was on the edge of my seat putting the finishing touches on the preparations for a once in a lifetime trip with my family. Now we are one week into the experience and things are nothing short of awesome. And I am not just referring to the absence of dead skin on my feet. Although I really can’t believe how smooth they feel after only a few minutes in the fish tank… It is only the end of our first week here and I am a both surprised and proud of how much we have already experienced on this journey.

Of course, it would be misleading to suggest that thus far everything is perfect. Indeed, there have most definitely been struggles. Take jet lag for example. Whatever I thought I knew about jet lag I didn’t. From sleep patterns to bowels to general attitude towards one another jet lag is all consuming. If it hadn’t of been for Harry Potter, I’m not sure how we would’ve made it through those very early mornings. 

Of course, this is a first world problem and I am currently in a developing nation so I won’t dwell on this. I will just be grateful for the fact that I am here.

Speaking of developing nations, witnessing the poverty we have encountered thus far is also a source of internal struggle. It is hard to know what to do when approached by a very young child selling postcards in the middle of the school day outside a UNESCO world heritage site. I suppose there are varying perspectives on the right course of action in this circumstance. The fact that we are travelling with our own kids who are of comparable age to the many children we have encountered in, what we would say in North America is, an “at risk” scenario makes the internal struggle that much more relevant. On our cooking class today we learned that many children do not go to school past grade three or four. Especially if they are girls. Charlotte is in grade 5. Ruby is in grade 2. The sense privilege we are experiencing is profound. 

Speaking of daughters, travelling with mine is tremendous. Except for when it’s not. Our family is not at all accustomed to spending all of our time together. As a result, we may have butted heads with one another a few times… today… and yesterday too… And probably again tomorrow… and same goes for spouses. We are all enrolled in a crash course on conflict resolution and I’m not sure if I’m keeping up with the readings… I happened to watch Captain Fantastic on the plane ride to Hong Kong but I think I might need to dig a little deeper into the parenting book I brought with me if I am going to have any hope of keeping it together over the next 5.5 months together. Of course, we are also having tons of fun together and learning loads together. And that contributes to the struggle in the sense that we know we are out on this once in a lifetime journey and so we feel compelled to make every minute count when in reality we know two things:

1. We can’t make every minute perfect no matter how hard we try

2. Every minute counts no matter what we are doing

 No doubt there are many more highs and lows to follow.