Portugal...

After 10 days in the Med, we landed in Lisbon on the 1st. Right now, we're in a small hotel in the city of Porto, in the north of Portugal. We made the 3 hour drive here from Vermelha yesterday morning. Vermelha is a small town set in the countryside about 40 minutes north of Lisbon, 10 minutes from the coast. It's also the home town of our friend Bruno, and he's the reason we chose to end our trip here. Bruno's family owns a house settled above acres of vineyards and it sits empty most of the year... we are thankful to Bruno and his family for letting us stay here. I wish I had pics of his house uploaded to the computer, it's ridiculous. We light a fire most days, sip wine on the porch, stroll through their land, go to bed late and sleep in. We also toured a few neighboring cities with some friends and Bruno's mom. We're having dinner tomorrow night with some of Bruno's friends we've come to know over the last week and a half, should be nice. Three months has flown by, see you next week!

Here are a few pics of Italy...

Pic 1... Venice 2 days before the flood

Pic 2... Dolomites

Pic 3... Osteria with no Oste (bar with no bartender)

Pic 4... Cheers to our Italian hosts, Franca e Umberto

Pic 5... Autumn in Italy

Happy Thanksgiving!

We haven't had access to internet for the past few weeks but wanted to write a quick note to say Happy Thanksgiving! We miss you all. We are celebrating in Sardinia, Italy over grappa and pasta. Our time in Italy was unreal thanks to our hosts. We will write about it when Internet doesn't cost $1 per minute. Love you and can't wait to see you soon.
Aaron and Jacque

"On to the next one"

We’re all packed up and ready for our next spot.  Our flight leaves Tel Aviv in the morning.  We had 12 days in total between Israel and Jordan.  We went from the Dead Sea in Jordan to Petra to Galilee and finished in Jerusalem… with several day trips in between.  We moved at our own pace in Jordan and Israel, slow at first.  For the most part, we weren’t alone in India/Nepal.  We were with people almost everyday… working at the school in Nepal and daily meals with local families and friends.  We were fortunate to have friends in India in almost every city we visited.  But landing in the middle east was a welcome adjustment of both being on our own again and having some modern luxurious… although we both miss the people, simplicity and pace of life in India/Nepal.

Several of our days in Jerusalem were spent soaking in the views from our roof top terrace with a book and a bottle of wine.  Our Guest House is perched high in the middle of the Old City with a views of the Mt of Olives and Temple Mount.  We met several of the local shop owners and residents on our path up Via Delarosa to the Jaffa Gate, in the northern part of the city (our daily stroll).  We found a nice Garden café tucked in a neighboring hospice; that was our morning spot.   We’ll miss it here but we’ve got a lot to look forward to.

We’re in Italy for 12 days, staying with Cristiana’s (Joe’s wife) family for the entire time.  Her brother lives in Verona and parents live outside of Venice.  We’ll likely split our time between the two.  We’re excited to stay with locals we know and Cri’s mom can cook.  So it should be REAL NICE, I gotta start running in the mornings or something… my jeans might not fit after a few days.

Aaron

Pic 1: Old City at night, out front our Guest House

Pic 2: Jacque floating in the Dead Sea

Pic 3: View from the roof of our Guest House

Pic 4: Me and Jac in front of the Treasury in Petra

Farewell Nepal...

2 weeks later… I am writing from our hotel in Jordan overlooking the Dead Sea. We feel a little spoiled, but after 2 weeks of modest accommodations we appreciate this place that much more. Before we write about our time here, we must dedicate this post to our experience in Trishuli (now that we have internet).

For 12 days we worked at National Bethel Academy, a small but well-developed school with 82 students ages 4-9. If we knew this place would steal a piece of our hearts, we would have planned to stay longer. On our way there we had no expectations, but we left feeling inspired and hopeful to return in the future. Trishuli is a small village 3 hours north of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. It was a long and windy ride there as we were cramped in a “micro-bus” with 18 locals. When we arrived, the Principal of the school and Pastor of the church kindly welcomed us at our hotel, “Hotel Trishuli”. Each day we enjoyed a 30-minute walk to the school. Trishuli is a very beautiful place. Surrounded by rolling hills, rice fields and a flowing river that looks and sounds unreal, the scenery is quite picturesque. It was a very peaceful place to spend 2 weeks. Our days consisted of helping in each of the four classrooms, playing with the children, and conducting a one-hour English class for the teachers after school. The students are adorable! They speak little English, but when asked “How are you?” in their innocent voices they reply, “I’m fine. Thank you. And you?”… so precious. We tried not to have favorites but at times we couldn’t help ourselves, a few of them were borderline Elsie cute, if that is even possible.

Most of the teachers are our age, so we instantly connected with them. At first it was hard to communicate, but by the end their English improved and we were able to have conversations, if we spoke slowly. Joel, the principal, is fluent in English so he translated when needed. All together there are 10 staff members, 8 teachers, an accountant, and the principal. They all have amazing hearts for this school and it shows in their passion and dedication. Hearing their stories and how God brought them there was inspiring. We saw first hand the positive impact this school is having on the community and the quality education it’s providing to many children. We feel blessed to have been a part of it for a short time.

Right now we are on our way to Petra. I still can’t believe we are here. We will blog again in a few days when we get to Israel. Love you all and miss you!

Jacque

Trishuli & the Taj

This time the Himalayans were visible from 32k feet, the view would have been better from a window seat... at least we were on the 'viewing' side of the plane. We landed in Kathmandu, from Delhi, for the 2nd time in two weeks. We were greeted at the airport by a local man holding a sign bearing the names. "Aaron/Jacquelyn Studdlefield". Oct/Nov is peak season in Nepal... monsoons have passed and the weather is ideal for trekking so we sat outside our guesthose with a pot of Nepali milk tea and met our friend, Samuel, for dinner.

Our bus for the village of Trishuli departs in the morning. for 12 days Jacque and I will be working at a school for 90 kids of various ages all under 8 years old... some are orphans. We will play games with the children, teach English in the classrooms and meet with the teachers in the evening to assist them with their conversational english speaking skills. Basically, we will ask them a bunch of questions about themselves and help them through their responses in English, when necessary. I think we'll stick to the traditional, orthodox style of teaching English to kids... hangman, nursery rhymes and bingo. We have no expectations going in, only the reality of entering into a culture and way of life that is completely unfamiliar to ours and our daily habits back at home.

Also cold showers and no internet in Trishuli... and our guesthouse is $4/night.

about Delhi briefly... we wrapped up our stay with a visit to the Taj Mahal, the structure is mind-blowing and we will post pics asap. I need to let Jac will blog about her experience since she was the celebrity. Trip would have been paid for if I would have charged 30rs per pic with her. Not stretching the truth, old, young, men, women, children all wanted a pic with her... they were literally lining up at one point. I had to be rude on her behalf, it was too much towards the end. I was invisible but happily endured the neglect. With her it's inevitable though, I have a beautiful wife.

We love you guys and miss everyone.
Aaron

So long Shillong...

After two refreshing weeks in Shillong, it came time to say our good-byes and continue on our journey. It was hard to leave the place where we felt most at home. We met so many amazing people who welcomed us into their lives and treated us like family. Most meals were prepared for us, transportation was arranged, and we were escorted through the city… it was a real treat to be there. Some of our favorite memories in Shillong were hanging out with the students, Aaron got in a few games of basketball and I enjoyed shopping with some on the girls at the local mall. We will miss them all very much.

Last night we arrived in Delhi after 6 hours in the car and 3 hours on a plane. We were quite exhausted when we got to our hotel but we wrapped our day up with some domino’s pizza, which of course made it all better! I was the one who insisted on ordering it; sometimes you just need some good American comfort food. We will be in Delhi for 3 more days until we head back to Nepal to work at a school for 2 weeks. As Aaron just wrote about, today is one of the biggest holidays in India, Diwali. Due to the pre-celebration fireworks last night, the air is already smokey. I can’t imagine what tonight will be like. It should be fun!

Tomorrow we plan on visiting the Taj Majal, so we will post some pics of that. We miss you all very much! We finally booked the rest of our trip and will be heading home Dec. 15^th. Can’t wait to see you all and share our experience with you!

Jacque

 

Happy Diwali!

We managed to hit Delhi on one of the biggest festival weekends in India, Diwali.  It marks the New Year for all Hindus and there's about 1 Billion of them in India, literally.  They celebrate with a lot Fireworks and sweets... like New Years and Halloween combined.  We're told the entire city is black for three days as a result of the all the air pollution from smoke.  The actual day hasn't even started and our hotel walls are vibrating every 5 minutes from what sounds like dynamite going off in the distance... what kind of fireworks do these people have access to anyway???  Tomorrow should be interesting... our goal is to find a high viewing point in the city and perhaps a gas mask. Jacque is a bit anxious about it all... I can't wait!!!  Pictures to follow...

Trekking, Curry and Naga's

Sorry for the lag in updates.  Nepal and Northeast India aren't exactly known for their lightning fast broadband access... if the google logo isn't visible within 2 minutes of clicking the IE icon, I give up.  

It's been almost two weeks since I last updated from Pune.  I am now sitting in a quiet guest house in Shillong (far northeast India).  It's morning here and Jacque is still asleep.  Our room is perched above a quiet street across from one of the most prestigious Universities in Meghalaya (the Indian state we're currently in).  I can hear car horns, the faint conversations of street food vendors and the occasional thumping of Hip-hop music blaring out of a passing taxi, apparently Khasi's love Jay-Z.  Shillong is the state capital of Meghalaya and was referred to as the Scotland of the East by the British who once occupied this land.  The city is built on hills, and has a moderate climate, similar to Northern California.  Jacque and I took a day trip last week with a few locals to Cherrapunji, dubbed "the wettest place on earth".  The region is home to the 4th largest waterfall in the world among many other natural wonders.  Our favorite part of the day was walking, or crawling, through a cave 150M in length, it was otherworldly.  We left Cherrapunji quickly after realizing Julia Roberts was in town with an entourage filming "Eat, Pray, Love".  I won't witness a beautiful, untouched region of the world be vandalized by a hollywood production, haha. 

Let me back up and recap what has happened these past few weeks, for my sake too.  We flew from Pune to Delhi and Delhi to Kathmandu, Nepal in late September.  The lack of heat and humidity made Kathmandu immediately welcoming.  We met up with Loknath (one of the most interesting people I've ever met and a good friend of Gary's) and some of the other THI folks. Meeting locals in every city has made this trip better than expected.  We spent a night in the city and took a flight to the mountain town of Pokhara. Pokhara is breathtaking, it's the city Nepali people take Holiday, I assume.  From Pokhara we hopped on a 2 hour bus ride to the beginning of our trail head to start our 3-day trek.  I should devote an entire blog to our trek, as those of you who have experienced understand.  In short, we trekked for 6 hours on day 1, up-hill for the last 4 hours.  Eight hours on day two and 3-4 hours on the final day... for a total of about 26 Kilometers.  The Annapurna mountain range was in view, including "Fish Tail"... I will post pics.  We strolled through countless villages, saw children playing and working.  Jacque and I stopped to rest and talk with some of the villagers when we could. I learned about 6 Nepali phrases from our porter, so communication was limited when a translator wasn't present.  I will let Jacque further describe the trek on her next blog but it was 4 days we will never forget and we're planning another trip back to Nepal on the 16th of Oct to work in a school 50 miles north of Kathmandu... we might take another trek on our own, this time on the Everest side.. still planning though.

We left Nepal for Calcutta, spent the night in a transit room (rooms inside the airport), then left for Shillong the next morning.  You don't actually fly to Shillong, you fly to the city of Gwahati and take a 4 hour taxi up the mountain to Shillong.  It was a long journey but we love this place, which is why we decided to stay for two weeks.  We have been hanging out with the students at the Schools here and have had meals with some of my Dad's good friends.  Eating and spending time with the locals has exposed us to authentic Indian culture... listening to their stories and seeing how they live has been eye-opening but I will go into more detail later.  

I played golf last week with Ray, the son of a my Dad's good friend.  Golf was classic!  18 holes, a set of rental clubs, a caddie and a ball boy... yes, a boy who actually runs up the fairway before you hit to make sure you never lose your ball, he even improves your lie, removing the guilt of having to do it yourself.  All this for 500 Rupees or the equivalent of around $10 USD.  I don't think I've ever had more fun.  We tipped our caddie's 300 Rupees each; earning them more in 4 hours then they do in two weeks, they couldn't believe it. 

Today Jacque is going shopping at the local mall, Police Bazaar, with a few of the students we met yesterday.  They know all the good shops apparently and will bargain for her; shop owner prey on westerners.  I am playing basketball and getting some much needed exercise.  We sill don't have anything booked outside of India yet but Israel and Jordan are looking like our next destinations... then to Italy to see some friends, hopefully.

Jac will probably write her own update later today or tomorrow... so look for that.

We miss you guys!

Love,

Aaron

Pics below...

Pic 1- Me and my caddie, Gotam, analyzing the break in my next putt.

Pic 2- Local Bazaar in Kathmandu, Nepal... Jac is wearing my backpack.

Pic 3- Jacque and I on our trek with a small view of the Himalayan Range in the back.

Pic 4- Rickshaw'ing through downtown Pune - I am sitting behind all those bags.

India

I am writing from Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, India. Jac and I made it here safely last week... several taxi rides, a 4.5 hour bus trip and a rickshaw (3-wheelers) ride through downtown is for the most part how we got here. Indians can fit rickshaws through mind-boggling traffic openings - they don't bother with lanes, stop signs, traffic lights or pedestrians for that matter, you merge into oncoming traffic and cars dodge and speed by you as if they expected you to merge ... it's a bit unnerving at first but you realize the system works here and you accept your fate because you have to. Jac and I would still be roaming Mumbai with our bags had my dad not been waiting at the airport. It feels good to turn our minds off and let someone else figure out the transportation details. One of India's largest Hindu festivals is going on now, people are partying in the streets all night and fireworks are visible from our balcony. My dad might as well be Royalty here... we eat like kings and our Indian hosts go out of their way to make us feel welcome. Jac is at an orphanage 40 minutes north with some friends and we leave tomorrow morning for Nepal so I will try and get her to post some pics before we depart. We're on our own starting Oct 9th.. nothing is planned after that date... we have some options but we'll see where we end up - maybe the south or northeast.

It's nearly impossible to describe India in words... a person here described it as God's raw land - loving people, ancient culture and history, spirituality, traditional morals & values, beauty and poverty all in one place. I had visions of what the country might look before we arrived - they weren't even close to the reality. I won't go into it now but my first impression is very favorable, mainly because of the Indian people. I love it here already and it's been 4 days... we have many more.
-Aaron

Bonjour

We are only on day 4 of our trip, and boy has it been eventful! We spent 2 nights in London and filled our days with as much as we could. We walked by all the major sites (London Bridge, Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park), attended an Arsenal football game, and saw Coldplay at Wembley Stadium. It was my first time in the city and I definitely want to go back! We departed London yesterday and arrived in Paris at midnight after first missing our flight and sitting at the airport for 3 hours.... yeah we don't really want to talk about it, but I will say we learned our lesson and it all ended up working out. After we landed in Paris we booked a cheap hotel in the center of Paris. When we arrived to the hotel we were pleasantly surprised, for 45 euros a night we have a small but very clean room, a comfy bed, re-modeled bathroom, and a flat-screen TV.... a very good deal for Paris. Today we visited Notre Dame, walked by the Louvre, and enjoyed some time relaxing at a park. We have 3 more days here and look forward to exploring the rest of the city. Here are some pics of our trip so far.... 

Jacque

Londres - Tuneless

Jac and I landed in London yesterday afternoon, semi-rested.  We are here for 3 days, then to Paris.  Some hi/lowlights for the trip so far...  

-Left our only Ipod on plane

-London Bridge at night

-T. Fox hook'd up great Arsenal Seats at Emirates

-Coldplay at Wembley tonight hopefully

-Jay Z Blueprint 3 on the playlist via Jac's Mac until Brent comes thru with a loaded Ipod next Thursday in Mumbai... thanks Beezie.

I will try to post some pics later tonight.

Aaron