AND THE ADVENTURE BEGINS….

See Nadine smiling at the gate of her plane to begin leg #1 on her trip of a lifetime. The route I've chosen (to save money) is Minneapolis-Toronto-Istanbul-Tel Aviv. I was SUPPOSED to leave Minneapolis at 4 pm Wednesday and arrive in Tel Aviv at 830 pm Thursday night.

See Nadine Smiling as she learns that the flight is delayed due to bad weather in the Toronto area. Oh well, it's not delayed too badly. She can still make her dinner plans with friends in the Toronto airport.

See Nadine Smile as she learns that the friends in Canada got stuck in their driveway (which is only 900 feet long) trying to leave for the airport. Sigh! Nadine will not be seeing friends that she hasn't seen in a number of years. Oh well, at least she's going to have lots of time in the airport to have a nice dinner, albeit alone.

See Nadine Smile (less brightly now) as she learns that the flight is delayed for a second time, this time only giving her 1.5 hours to make her next flight. Oh well, fortunately she is optimistic AND an experience traveller AND she knows that things like this are out of her control, so she can just deal with it.

See Nadine get out her credit card and get online because having the computer along is a great babysitter. This will keep Nadine smiling.

Stay tuned for details… the fun has only begun
(Nadine is still smiling….)

PACKING PACKING PACKING
Uffdah… what to put into one suitcase to last one month that includes climates of 68F, 33F, rain, sun and modest coverings?!
I started packing about three days ago and thought I had it covered. But then a last minute panic attack sent me back to the drawing board  (Drawing closet?) and ended with me switching suitcases with my daughter. She's not traveling with me, but I am bringing a full suitcase of her clothes. (SHE has clothes in three different countries, but that's another topic)
A smart person would have just three pairs of pants, 6 shirts, a coat and two pairs of shoes.
What fun is that?!
I'll let you know if I made the right decisions.

Hello? Are you there? It's me... Nadine

Dear Friends, Family and Random Blog readers

YES! I am still alive, and YES! I am enjoying life in Pelican Rapids. I've decided to renew the blog postings as I am preparing to take the trip of a "lifetime" (or at least this lifetime).

I will be gone for three weeks, travelling without David, but not necessarily alone.
My current plans (inshallah) are:
Feb 5 depart Minneapolis, via Toronto, via Istanbul to arrive in Tel Aviv on Feb. 6. Anna Leigh lives there (for a bit more) and I am visiting her (and the country). Unfortunately (OR I guess FORTUNATELY) she will be leaving Israel when I arrive as she's got an interview in North Carolina at Duke University. I'll be doing some site seeing, resting (and re-acclimating to the culture) until she returns. Stay tuned for pictures.
Feb 9 Anna returns to Israel. "HER PLAN" is that we rent a car and drive around areas of Israel that she's not seen. Again, stay tuned for Details.
Feb 10 and 11 I get to be HAPPY MAMMA as I watch Anna perform in the Hebrew University production of AIDA. She plays the role of a slave where she's got "A song AND a death scene".
Feb. 15 We depart Israel for Bremen, Germany, home of Jacobs University. Anna is returning there to finish up her last semester of undergrad.
Feb 16-18 I am hoping to be in Hamburg Germany, visiting Dietmar Bethge, the former 1980 Rotary Exchange student and his lovely wife.
Feb 18-22 I will be between Berlin (visiting German Dennis, Rotary Exchange student Pooja in Berlin) and/or Godsister Marion in Aachen. Details being worked out.
Feb 23-25 Travelling to Amsterdam and taking an opportunity to see her through local eyes.
Feb 25-March 1 Flying to Dublin, Ireland to see Kuwait friends JER and MR. Can't wait to see these fine ladies and explore Ireland through their eyes. JER is Irish and I've been "warned" that it's tough to keep up with her in a pub. We shall see.

Current plans is that it will be a planes, trains and automobiles type of adventure. I'm excited about seeing all of these sites--some of them for the first time, others as a re-visit.

I'll do my best to keep posting pictures and comments.
Thanks for reading and we'll write again next week!
NOW, it's time to pack.....

More fun than is legal

Returned to the Mn State fair with my long time 4H buddies. Pictures are worth many words..especially since I laughed and tAlked so much I am still hoarse!

Crazy two Months

Completely remodeled our first floor floors ( David worked his butt off!)..attended the beautiful wedding of our favorite soccer son...Enjoyed a visit from a dear Kuwait-made friend...Gathered with my beloved Library Ladies...Played piano at the wedding of two delightful soccer family members...Got to play with my oldest sister and 99 1/2 year old Aunti...Relished in the fact that for two weeks both of our children were in the same state...and joyously received all our possessions from Kuwait just after our remodeling was completed. UFFDA, life is good :-)

More HOME shots

Okay so it is not as exciting as Egypt or Cyprus or Prague , but it is pretty exciting to me! Pictured below are downtown PR at noon on a Wednesday, our newly planted front yardnand our faithful watchdog...all of these places and beings patiently waited for us while we frolicked through the Middle East and beyond.

I have been out of Kuwait for one month now and I would like to say that I have processed all of the lessons that I lean red in five years. Notice I said " I would like to say ..." I don't think that I will ever finish processing all of what I learned in my Middle East experience.

I thought about making a list of Kuwait' s Top 10 ala David Letterman. I even tried to write them down. But i failed as in truth, it all runs together. Friends here have asked me " what will you miss most about Kuwait." And that is even hard to do because it all blurs together. It is hard to separate individual moments into saying " this is the worst, or this is the best". Yes there were good..GREAT parts and a few bad ( not many though). But it's a little like saying " what is your favorite child because I loved it all, good and bad.

Leaving Kuwait was a lot harder than I thought it would be. As the plane was taxing down the runway on our final departure, I was a blubbering mess. David said to me " I don't understand you. You desperately wanted to move home, yet here you are...sobbing as we are leaving".

I will return inshallah to visit Kuwait. I would like to return when the class of 2015 graduates and/or when Russ McLean retires as superintendent. But I will only be visiting, not living there. Will never get that feeling of coming "home" to the desert. Yes leaving in august was always hard, but I knew I was returning to something familiar. And it was a good feeling.

Our friends and family members here have been fantastic to us upon our return. They are giving us enough space to process, yet reminding us that we Are HOME. With a few people, I feel like they want us to say that yes, we are feeling safe here and that it was horrible living in the ME and we are so happy to be back on red, white and blue soil.

We haven't had any flashbacks or really severe re integration problems besides getting kicked out of a sauna in Germany for WEARING a swimsuit ( modesty got the best of me). We had sticker shock when we ordered two large pizzas and they were 40 dollars. Don't even ask about gas prices as we were prepared for that shock. ( going from not driving for 9 months of the year to almost daily dependence on a vehicle is almost a blog entry in itself.)

No I am not done processing. But I do have a huge warm spot in my heart for Kuwait and I know it's not from sunburn.
More later as the process continues....