Photo Recap.

Too much has happened since Erik and I parted ways at the beginning of June. Well not too much, but more than I have the desire to recount here. Instead of using words I am going to post a few photos to summarize a bit of what I have been up to. So here we go.

Lynn was working the first week I was in Australia so I had plenty of time to walk and enjoy the nearby seaside. It was blissful.

Above is a photo of my favourite place in Port Stephens. We whale watched here and I grew incredibly fond of the area. 

Train ride en route to Kuranda. 

A cute Kangaroo. 

We attended the Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney. Hello Chef Stone!

Of course, the Opera House. 

Cuddles on my return home. 

Miss Avery Sharlene. Such a sweet face. 

Camping in Clearwater. We went for my nephew's baseball tournament. 

And I still have many photos on my camera to upload. My time home has been spent with family and friends and I have been perfectly busy.

I Survived!

I have officially survived my first day back at work. There were only a few minutes of terror in the middle-ish where I second guessed five things at once, but I made it!

It was nice to be welcomed back by some loved colleagues -- I thankfully knew most of the girls working today. I was given many hugs and all of my questions were answered no matter how silly they were.

It felt good to contribute to something again. To be a part of a team. To help someone else. To think critically. I won't say that I am particularly glad to be back -- I rather enjoy my life outside of work -- but I do enjoy aspects of my job.

Sleep was difficult to come by last night, but I felt ok when my alarm finally went off this morning. And the day went mostly smoothly. My partner today was exceptionally helpful, which I always appreciate (doesn't everyone??).

It was a good day and I am less anxious to return tomorrow night as the first day is usually the most intimidating.

so this happened while i was gone.

December 2012

July 2013

still in bed.

I am lying in bed still. I am desperately trying to savour this moment -- the one where I still have little responsibility for one day more.

I start work tomorrow. Eek! It is back to reality I feel as though nausea is barely being held at bay. I am so thankful that I had 12 days of peaceful bliss since returning. It was absolutely necessary -- ok, it may not have been necessary, but it was absolutely wonderful.

I have a long list of things to accomplish today most of which is preparation for tomorrow. I have been stressing about silly things like what to pack for lunch. It is funny how much you forget while you're away.

I dropped by work earlier this week just to ease my mind a bit. Seeing two names I recognized currently manning the floor did nothing to abate my fear. There has apparently been plenty of change since I last donned my uniform and a slew of nurses have both come and gone (mainly gone).

I am thankfully starting on a Sunday which means things are typically a bit slower as there are no elective surgeries performed. Praise the Lord for that little mercy.

The sunshine is beckoning me despite the comfort of my bed. Today is entirely beautiful and I am going to enjoy every moment of it.

being home.

I am snuggled in bed in the beautiful home of some even more beautiful friends. They are more than generous and are allowing me to stay with them for a while.

I feel overwhelmed at the thought of trying to catch up on this here blog. I think two months of my life will just be skipped as it is too much to try to recall the happenings. Maybe an update entirely of photos is in order.

I am home. It has been ten days and it feels as though I never left. The only strange thing about coming home was how natural it felt. It was uneventful (aside from reuniting with the people I know and love). Life just continued on while I was gone. I spent 200 days traveling the world, but my friends and family spent 200 days continuing their normal lives and I just melted right back in. It is both comforting and disconcerting.

I remember when Lindsey had her twins... I went to the grocery store the morning after meeting my beautiful nieces and picked up a few things. I distinctly remember watching everyone else going about their every day and felt an intense urge to loudly announce that my sister had just delivered two babies from her nether regions. The people I was watching looked bored and uninspired and I wanted them to know that a miracle had taken place. But that day was just another ordinary day for most people.

And it is similar being home. I got to experience all these incredible things, but they mean nothing to anyone else.

I locked my keys in the car the first time I drove to the grocery store and felt the need to announce that I hadn't driven in seven months because I was busy hiking in Colca Canyon, or seeing Machu Picchu, or strolling through the hills in Scotland, or riding a dirt bike to the equator, or eating larva, or snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, or visiting Angkor Wat. I had an excuse for being so silly -- I hadn't driven a car in seven months because I off gallivanting. I felt that it was important for people to know as I saw a few customers roll their eyes at me. I sheepishly had to ask to use a phone to call my Dad to come help me. Now that I have written this I'm not entirely sure how it ties in...

I'm not expecting people to be amazed at my trip or anything -- it isn't that at all -- but life went on while I was off on my adventure. And that is awesome.

It feels like a dream, our trip. I have looked through a few pictures of our travels and it is surreal to think of the miles we covered over the last seven months. I feel as though it should have more of an impact on my life. I feel as though it should have changed me. I should be more compassionate, more thoughtful, more thankful, more intentional, more educated, more empathetic, more generous, and more inspired. And maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I am tangenting off so far I have no idea where I am going with this thing.

I am curious to see the impact this last chapter in our lives has on us. I wonder if it has changed us and how. Was it just a vacation? What did we learn? How will we be inspired? How will it affect our daily life? Will it be an isolated event that we experienced with no lasting effects?

I cannot wait for Erik to come home from Alaska so we can sit with these questions and the many others that have been rolling around in our minds. I am interested to debrief with him and to see what we learned.

For now, it is nice to be home. It is comforting that life just went on for everyone else. It is easy to pick up where we left off. It's true, there is no place like home.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

*** *** *** ***

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

*** *** *** ***

I'm home!!

Just a quick update.

Australia was wonderful.
Lindsey wasn't at the airport when I arrived.
I keep driving on the wrong side of the road.
I locked my keys in the car.
Maelle didn't recognize me.  She didn't believe us (her ma and me) when we told her who I was.
My nieces are giants.

And much much more. 

Our Last Hurrah!

Erik and I have come to our final 24 hours together. How did that happen? We have just arrived back in Bangkok and we fly out tomorrow -- him 5 hours after me. 

What do you do at the end of a trip? We are planning on eating, showering, walking, and just enjoying each other's company one last time. After this we won't see each other until July 19. That seems like an incredibly long time as we have spent every single moment together for almost six months. 

Aside from it taking me over a month to recover from whatever illness I began our travels with, we have come out relatively unscathed. A few days of diarrhea (one bout), one leg gash, two skin infections, one case of vomiting induced by motion sickness, and... I think that is all! I would say that is pretty good especially when compare it to the evident injuries of other travellers. 

I don't remember what I have written about and I am composing this offline, but I will briefly recap the last couple weeks. We spent some time in Kuala Lumpur, which was awesome! KL had incredible thunder storms, an unbelievable amount of twins, beautiful buildings, a lovely central park, free transit (holla), cheap movie theatres (we went twice), and delicious food. 

After Kuala Lumpur we went to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. We ate some more incredible food, explored a few trails that ended up going nowhere, and went on an adventure (mossy forest, tea plantation, butterfly and reptile farm, and a strawberry farm). 

And we spent the last few days in Koh Tao. Yes, we were there earlier with our friends. We thought about going to the west coast of Thailand (ko lanta or railey beach), but decided to end somewhere we knew. We loved Koh Tao equally on both occasions. It was nice to finish off with something familiar instead of expending all the extra energy to explore a new location. 

And now we are in Bangkok. 

I was looking through some of the photos from the beginning of our trip. Peru feels like a vague and distant memory. I think I took as many photos in our first two weeks in Peru as I have in all of South East Asia. Believe it or not, I have 3650 photos... A far cry from the 16,000 I was expecting. I have been very diligent about going through and deleting. I was at least, but that has become more relaxed as I have taken way less photos. 

But I digress. It is time to go enjoy the last bit of our trip. 

Eliah Len

We had two nephews born in the same week! The second finally named five days after making his way into the world. Here is the boy himself. 

Eliah Len

Born May 31, 2013 at 02:13.

Weight: 8lbs 3oz.

Height: 22 inches.

Mr. Eliah, you are absolutely precious! 

We were so excited to hear about your arrival 

and now we can't wait to meet you.

We love you.

Welcome to the world!

A Letter

To the Individual Who Stole My Sandals,

I really hope you were in desperate need of new ones. You see, I loved my Berkenstocks -- I really did. They have been around the world with me and have proved to be the most comfortable piece of footwear I have ever owned. 

I was baffled when I realized they weren't where I left them at the entrance to the beach side restaurant. I did not see any sandals similar to mine so I know they weren't taken accidentally. I quickly experienced frustration over being robbed and sadness over it being one of my favourite possessions.

Allow me to share some of the grief I have experienced in the hour since you took said sandals. I had to walk back to my hostel in bare feet. I suppose this doesn't sound too terrible, but my hostel is over two kilometres from the beach we were relaxing at. As you know, 2pm is one of the hottest times of day, the sun is high in the sky and there is no shade making the pavement incredibly hot. My poor feet were subject to this intense heat. My husband was kind enough to spell me off by giving me his sandals, but those gave me blisters on the tops of my feet. We traded on and off most of the way home. So now the bottoms of both of our feet are burnt and the top of mine are blistered.

And we have you to thank. 

We only have five days left of our vacation together so I suppose you could have taken them at a much worse time. I plan on wearing my runners for the rest of the holiday which isn't terrible, but made slightly less comfortable due to the blisters. 

I hope they serve you as well as they served me. They are wonderful little sandals so treat them well. 

Sincerely,

Ashley

Nourishing Traditions

I have always been wary of food and diet fads. I find them incredibly intimidating and counter-intuitive. I have been interested in "eating healthy" for years, but failed to do any research because I had an invisible barrier between me and knowledge: fear.

I was afraid of what I might find.
Of what it would require of me.
Of how much work it would be.
And of how expensive and time consuming it would be.

This trip has given me an overwhelming amount of time to leisurely think about whatever I please. It has been wonderful! For the first while I just thought amazing thoughts. Made amazing life plans. Did plenty of self reflection. Talked with my husband about anything and everything.

And thirsted for knowledge.

I have read things on the internet. About birth, doula-ing, parenting, relationships, eating, and current events around the world. And all this has been interesting, but internet is often hard to come by and who wants to sit staring at an iPad? That requires low-light and seclusion.

When our friends came to join us last month I asked them to bring me a book. I took some time to think about what precious book I was interested in and decided on a big, heavy book.

Nourishing Traditions. By Sally Fallon.

I decided it was high time to face the giant and learn more about this thing called nutrition.

And you know what, it has been wonderful.

This book has made me fearless. It has shown me that our family really does an excellent job of eating healthy and nutritious foods. It has validated my fears about various food fads and shed light on benefits of a balanced and inclusive diet.

Everything I have read has revealed how intuitive healthy living really is. And how easy.

Yes, there are a few changes we need to make, and even more that I would like to make. For example, I want to start soaking grains, nuts and seeds. I want to add more fermented foods to our diet (more sauerkraut please) and make some of those foods myself. I want to purchase better butter, better salt, and raw dairy products. I want to make bone broths.

But I feel affirmed. We have a firm foundation to continue building on and I feel excited and empowered to continue on this journey. Inspiration has replaced fear.

Nourshing Traditions. Read it.

More thoughts to come.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Ok, I am definitely cheating by adding words but this week was extra special as we wecomed two new babies into our family! My brother, Jonathan, and Erik's sister, Shawna, both welcomed little boys to their families this week. Seth was born on the 25th and Shawna's new baby was born just this morning. 

In honour of our two new nephews, the two best things to happen this week, you get two photos today. An extra special treat!

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

*** *** ***

Mr. Seth. Taking his Pa for a walk outside.

The newest. Passing his older brother's inspection.

Not pretty.

We made or way from Kuala Lumpur to the Cameron Highlands in what was undoubtedly my least favourite trip.

The ride was only four and a half hours, which happens to be one of our shortest trips, but I was miserable. We were on a bus and the driver seemed to have something to prove because he was flying around corners (of which there were many).

I spent the second half of the trip with my face in a plastic bag. I don't know if my nearly empty stomach made things worse or if it saved me from some misery, but my poor tummy made a valiant effort to rid itself of whatever it could.

At one point I was ready to jump off the bus and walk the rest of the way because I felt so awful. I have terrible flashbacks of choking on vomit or on that stupid plastic bag as I desperately tried to breathe between heaves.

I am not looking forward to the ride out of here. And if anyone knows how to puke into a little plastic bag without getting vomit all over your face then please share -- I want to be fully prepared when I board our next bus.

Seth Benjamin

Seth Benjamin

Born May 25, 2013 at 21:35

Weight: 8lbs 1oz.

Height: 21.75 inches

Allow me to introduce the youngest little mister in the Jansen clan, my sweet nephew. 

Mama, Pops and baby are all doing well. And I am absolutely smitten.

Seth Benjamin, you don't know me yet, but you will. 

Your auntie loves you more than you can imagine. 

Welcome to the world, sweet one. 

Fabric Obsession

I cannot stop buying cloth souvenirs. It is awesome and terrible. I make it sound like I have bought a lot, which I haven't, but what I have purchased has been cloth of some sort.

I was hoping to buy a painting for our home, some carvings, and maybe some other interesting things, but I haven't. 

Cloth packs well and it is nice to have things that pack well when you are carrying everything on your back. 

Another factor is that African artwork is my favourite. I am not a huge fan of the paintings I have seen in both South America and South East Asia -- they just aren't my style. And I haven't loved any of the wood carvings we have happened upon. 

In Peru I purchased a tablecloth. Same with Ecuador where I also picked up some yarn, a hammock, and a Christmas ornament. In Scotland I bought a blanket. In Laos I got a small cloth ornament. In Cambodia a scarf. And I have now bought a blanket and a scarf in Indonesia. Oh, and I finally found some fabric!

All fabric! 

We saw this awesome mirror I wanted to buy, but who wants to carry a mirror around the world with them? Same goes for pottery etc. 

It is true, we have sent boxes of things home on two separate occasions, but they were when we left South America and when we arrived in Bangkok so we had been carrying whatever we sent home for a while. 

We have three weeks left and then I have three in Australia. Here is to hoping I find something out of the fabric family to take home with me. 

PS. Friends and family back home -- I haven't bought gifts for anybody. Sorry! I was thinking about it but it got way too stressful. 

In the Quiet.

I wake up early most days. My internal alarm clock goes off between 04:30 and 05:00 giving me a couple hours before Erik thinks it is an appropriate time to get out of bed.

Most mornings I lay and think, savouring my husband's arms wrapped around me and listening to his even breathing. 

Some mornings I read. I try to keep these mornings few as the light disturbs Erik's sleep. 

Some mornings I just listen - it is amazing what you hear when you are actually listening.

And often I pray.

This morning I headed to our porch and read from Isaiah. 

That is where I sit as I write this. 

The sky has gone from nearly black to a deep blue.

The roosters are increasing the intensity with which they are begging the sun to rise.

The birds are chirping.

Bugs are cricking, twitching, clacking, whistling, and buzzing.

And my heart is still. 

Amidst all the noise (for it is down right loud) I have been quieted, stilled. 

It is strange how a verse can speak to you one day and hold no personal meaning the next. I regularly happen upon verses I have underlined in the past and I question the significance they once held. In one moment they speak deeply to the heart, in another they have less impact, but they are always truth. 

Today, and I hope everyday, this verse filled me with hope and peace. 

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;

He rises to show you compassion.

For the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him!"

Isaiah 30:18

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a splendid weekend!

A list.

• Erik boards a homeward bound plane in a one month. He gets to wrap his arms around everyone I love so dearly three weeks sooner than I do. I am partly jealous, but mainly just sad that he will be leaving me. I am excited to go on an adventure on my own! At least I will be onmy own  until Lynn picks me up at the airport.
• I think I am going to go through some pretty intense Erik-withdrawal when he leaves. We have spent every moment of every day together and I have loved it!! 
• I am looking forward to Australia -- so looking forward to it. I cannot wait to see Lynn and to be in a home!!! She was gracious enough to not say no when I told her I was coming for three weeks. That is an exceptionally long time for a houseguest. I will have to be on my best behaviour. 
• We are in Lobmok, Indonesia. I have to admit that Indonesia is my favourite country in South East Asia (of the one's we have visited, obviously). They have all been wonderful, but there is something about this place that gives me the warm fuzzies. 
• We went for a scooter ride around part of the island yesterday and it was breath-taking!! So green and lush with rolling hills, rice patties and a stunning ocean view. Amazing.
• Erik and I will have two new babies in our family by the end of the month, one Jansen and one Olson (...kind of). Erik's sister, Shawna, and my sister-in-law, Courtney, are due at the end of the month, just one day apart from each other. I cannot wait to "meet" the little ones. And I cannot wait to hear the birth stories. I am a sucker for birth stories.
• I love rice. I love eating rice with every meal. I need to eat less of it when I come home, but it is delicious. I like it plain, fried, with or without sauce, hot, cold, any which way. It is so good.
• I love the availability of vegetables in South East Asia! Veggies were scarce is South America, but they are plentiful in these parts! How can people survive without eating vegetables? 
• And that is all I have to say this morning. It is shaping up to be another beautiful day in paradise! 

Friends!

When we were planning our trip we left an open invite for friends saying anyone could join us at anytime. Matt and Elaina (a nursing friend from school) called us the day after Thanksgiving to inform us that they would be joining us at the end of April. They happened to want to see Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and the dates they were coming happened to match the time we would be in that area.

Now here we are in Malaysia with Matt and Elaina. They have been with us for a week and we have been to Bangkok, Koh Tao, and now Langkawi. We are going to Penang tomorrow... I think that is a province, but I can't tell you the city we are heading to because I don't actually know where we are going.

We spent a couple days in Koh Tao. We rented scooters, went snorkeling, swam in the warm ocean, and enjoyed the stunning views the island had to offer. I have never been to a beach as beautiful as the one we went to in Koh Tao. The water was crystal clear and there were thousands of incredible fish swimming in the coral just below the surface around the edges of the bay.

It is great to have travel companions. It is nice to have someone else make decisions and to be able to tag along. The first few days took a bit of adjusting, but we have found a comfortable stride.

The rest of my trip can be measured in thirds. We have three more weeks with Matt and Elaina, then three weeks with just the two of us before Erik heads home and I have three weeks in Australia.

I am very excited to see Lynn in Australia. I think I would want to go home soon if it weren't for that. Well, if my ticket home were booked for tomorrow I wouldn't be too disappointed. If I have only learned one thing traveling (and I have learned many more than that) it would be that there is no place quite as wonderful as home. I love Canada.