His take, Her take

Traveling as a couple is quite an experience. There is so much you learn about each other as you are put in situations you wouldn't normally experience in everyday life. We were talking with friends of ours today about this and one of them said to just wait until we travel with kids. Yikes!

Here are some things I {Jenny} learned about Brandon:

We knew we wanted to rent a car for portions of our trip in Europe. But I'll be honest. I was so nervous about Brandon driving around Europe! I was also very curious to see how he would respond to certain things... the language barrier, different cultural norms, a parade of churches and museums, street vendors shoving objects in your face...

I have more faith in him as a competent driver than before. He was awesome on the autobahn and in a baptism by fire in the streets of Florence. There were times when we had to fight across lines of vespas and cars to make a turn and he did it! Round-abouts? No problem! There were times I wanted to hide my eyes when we were on those crazy two-lane freeways with big-rigs on one side and sportscars racing up behind us, but he rocked our sweet little Opel.

I was impressed at how Brandon jumped into each city without much reservation. He was attempting to speak the language and greeting shopkeepers and restaurant staff. His smile and kind greeting was warmly received wherever we went. I loved that! He is such a social learner. He thrives and learns through interpersonal connections. Every place we went, he was trying to start up conversations. I really admire that quality in him as I tend to be more reserved and introverted.

I was also surprised at Brandon's appreciation of the art we enjoyed. It was wonderful to share those art gallery walks with him. I loved how much we connected over art and history. Brandon has such a sense of adventure that I'm not sure I really knew the extent of before this trip. He was up for trying just about anything and taking my long walks... even after he had already experienced a few.

We shared so many wonderful experiences together. As with walking through each new challenge or experience, I love Brandon more now than I did when we married.

Here are some things I {Brandon} learned about Jenny:

In preparing for this trip, I relied on Jenny for a lot of the planning since she had been there before and was familiar with many of the things we were going to encounter. I know she's a planner and I love that about her and that we share that in common, but I was blown away with the level of detail she put into her planning. We didn't waste a moment on our trip and it was all thanks to her.

I was a bit nervous about the language barrier and having to converse in German, Italian, and French along our way. I knew that Jenny spoke French, but I was stunned by how beautifully she spoke it and how well she engaged the native French in all sorts of situations. Restaurants, on the phone, conducting business. Definitely a wow moment seeing her in that element. She is definitely a world traveler and she is in her element exploring this part of the world.

I learned that my wife is a bigger history buff than I realized. As we explored the sites and museums of Normandy, I loved that she was as into finding beaches, buildings, and exhibits as I was and I loved talking about the events and impacts as we drove.

I also discovered Jenny's public transportation persona. She gets incredibly serious, especially on subways and it's pretty intimidating. It's a stone cold forward facing look that says "DON'T mess with me!" It took me several uneasy trips to figure this out and I completely understand it now, considering all of her trips to Europe before this have been as a single woman. I'm glad that I can be there for her now and protect her from the guy in a Napoleonic outfit singing and dancing with a baby doll and the drunken English college students jumping up and down and shouting. Both true events on our trip.

Something my in-laws did not clue me in on before we left was something called a "Jenny-walk." To define it, a "Jenny-walk" starts as a walk to a destination that is "just a few blocks away." You may or may not get to that original destination, but the walk branches out from there until you've found yourself miles from where you started seeing things you never intended. Though we returned exhausted and with sore feet, those walks are now fond memories.

Blaming GPS and other invaluable lessons learned on the art of travel

During our trip to Europe, we learned a lot. We learned more about each other (more on that later) and we learned more about the art of traveling. Here are some of the top lessons we learned:

1. Print and organize copies of all your confirmations for hotels, train tickets, plane tickets, attractions, etc. It is also helpful to print maps of where each hotel is located; this is a great quick reference for you and for a taxi driver.
2. Try to fly in and out of the same airport
3. At that airport, rent a car for touring that you can return to the same airport. Traveling from point A to B with trains, buses, subways... can add up fast. A car rental is helpful if you plan on doing a lot of day trips or moving between several cities.
4. Car rentals in Europe from major airports are not very expensive per day. If you drop the car somewhere else, expect to pay A LOT! That was an expensive novice mistake.
5. There is a fine balance between time and money. An occasional splurge to save time (the car rental, taking a taxi) is often worth it.
6. Take plenty of cash. Budget well and write down purchases down to the last euro to answer the question "What happened to all our money?"
7. Tipping is different in Europe. Service is usually included in your tab and 1-2 euros will suffice for a sit-down tab. If the service is exceptional and the restaurant is on the nicer end, a more generous tip may be appropriate.
8. Sitting down at a restaurant or cafe will usually cost you. Especially at major landmarks and in outdoor areas. We avoided paying a hefty price for gelato by looking at the prices and not being afraid to get up and walk away.
9. Don't be afraid to exercise your NO. Being nice or polite to pushy vendors or people following you will only encourage them to push more. Give a firm, clear NO and people will leave you alone. We had vendors nearly touching us and thrusting flowers in our faces, we became very good at saying NO.
10. Take time to rest and eat. There's nothing worse than a cranky traveling companion.
11. Try to keep a stash of snacks from the grocery store handy. Grocery stores are wonderful spots to get drinks and snacks for a fraction of the cost of those carts by the tourist attractions.
12. Take water bottles to Europe. Fill them up at the hotel and you'll be set for some summer sightseeing. We brought water purification pills, but found our water to be drinkable at every hotel we stayed at.
13. Bring your phone. You never know when you'll need to call a hotel or use wifi to confirm a reservation. Be sure to read your service provider's tips on traveling internationally. Turn off roaming, data, and 3G. If you receive data via mobile service (not wifi), you will be charged $19.98 per MB in most countries. Sign up for global calling and text messaging (this costed about $16 on one of our iphones).
14. There's nothing like a good map. Even if you've been to the city before... *ahem* I have a tendency in being overconfident in cities I've visited before and contributed to a few of our longer exploratory walks/drives... We had many: Florence & Rome airport, London, Normandy, Paris...
15. Speaking of navigation, if you rent a car, get GPS! This will save you time and frustration. That way instead of getting mad at each other, you can blame the maker of the navigation system for coming out with such a shoddy product to get you lost. :)
16. For each destination, make a list with your fellow travelers of the must-see/must-do items and a secondary list. This helps with time prioritization and making sure that everyone is represented in planning daily itineraries.
17. Get out early (there'll be time for naps later). You'll be able to get a jump on the queues and you're likely to see a different city as it wakes up as opposed to the heavily trafficked version.
18. Gaining some familiarity with the language will take you far! People who speak English at popular destinations is very common, but if you are brave and graciously try to speak their language, most people will respect and appreciate the gesture. This is most valuable in France where the French are very proud of their language. At least master "hello", "thank you", and "please". Bonjour, Bon giorno, Gutentag Merci, Grazie, Danke S'il vous plait, Per favore, Bitte
19. For a cheaper meal, search for a spot further away from the attractions without outdoor seating.
20. Be sure to pack: sunscreen, bug spray, bandaids (blisters), clothing detergent, good walking shoes, outlet converter and wattage transformer
21. I cannot stress having good walking shoes enough! If you are lucky to find some that are more subdued or stylish, good for you. Brand shoes scream American, but if your feet aren't aching it won't matter as much. My Rainbow flipflops declared mutiny on my feet and I missed my old Birkenstocks that didn't survive my move to WA.
22. The most important thing: Be patient with the process and each other. In Rome a tour guide told us the rule of 70% in Europe. Things will work out 70% of the time. Accepting this will help you avoid some unnecessary stress. Even with hours and hours of planning, there will still be surprises. Stay on each other's team and work through it together. The more skilled you become at problem-solving together, traveling and, consequently living life, becomes more fun and beautiful.

Perception

In michaelangelo's depiction of judgement day, you may notice that the vision, the perception, of the damned is obscured. An eye is covered on every figure. Our Vatican tour guide explained that michaelangelo's purpose is to show how the perception of those people is flawed and they cannot see their sin clearly nor their need for Christ; therefore, they reject Christ and choose hell.

I began thinking about this issue of perception as I read Love & War (by John and Stasi eldredge) and I'm becoming frustrated with my weaker eye. My right eye sees clearly, my left eye is very blurred--together it's a headache. The irony of my physical perception problem is that this present chapter speaks to the issue of Satan's role in trying to destroy marriages. His primary strategy is trying to get us to make "agreements" with him. "Now, what the father of lies does is put his 'spin' on a situation. It typically comes as a 'thought' or 'feeling.'" For example: "she doesn't really love you. He'll never change. She's always doing that."

Perception is important, isn't it? How easily we can cover an eye to the truth or not correct our vision when it is flawed.

As for us, we are trying to be more mindful of agreements every day, especially as romantic adventures like Europe seem further away and more perilous adventures like moving our lives 700 miles south become imminent realities.

What an adventure we find ourselves on... together.

Closing out year 3

If you are a student, a teacher, or have kids in school, you understand the cyclical nature of education.

I feel like a gypsy teacher. For the past 3 years I have roamed and taught where God led. Each year, I invested all I could into the students and brought my wares into a bare canvas... the classroom. That classroom became my classroom.

The beginning of the year always starts the same. There's a rush to get ready. You're not quite sure what you're doing (even if you've done it before). The students are nervous and you're anxious to build a rapport with them. You focus a lot of energy on decorating the classroom and trying to get organized. (Note: photos are from my first year)

By the middle of the year, you've hit a stride. You have a system that works. The honeymoon period is over, you know which students need some extra positive support and which ones you can trust with their work (and your desk supplies). Making sure the classroom is decorated is an afterthought, if you think of it at all. Your initial organization techniques have fallen by a wayside for whatever works. For me: if it's piled on my desk and not filed away, it's on the to-do list.

At the end of the year, you're beginning to close things out with assessments and evaluations. Student and staff emotions run high. You see the fruit of all your work and care as you reflect on how the year started. He used to... Now he... At the beginning of the year, she... Now she... You say goodbye to the students, some are sad and some are just anxious for summer!

Then in a few months, it repeats itself.

Teachers don't do this to become financial moguls, we do it because we love it. We love teaching, learning, impacting students, seeing progress, thinking creatively, and seeing students become more of who they are.

Yesterday, I completed another year. I said goodbye to my students and coworkers, packed up everything, and felt a strong sense of deja vu as I saw the room return to its original state. I was thankful that my husband came to help me pack up.

I don't feel like I have words to describe what it all felt like... Those final moments when everything had been loaded into my car and I looked at the darkened classroom. My desk that had previously been covered with papers was bare. Everything was quiet and Brandon held my hand. Change is so hard, but having worked in 5 different schools and moving 7 times in the past 5 years, it feels refreshing and almost comfortable.

This post feels mostly incoherent, but that's where I'm at right now.

Last week of school quotes

Heard in the classroom this week:

"I found you on google!"

"WHAT?!?! You won't be here next year?"

"You don't love us!!!"

"I'm going to come down to California and burn it down!"

"You know what they say... Curiosity killed the... notebook."

"I'm going to stalk you with your email and look up your geotags on facebook."

And my favorite: "Mrs. Prior, I'll remember you forever."

The move has brought out a lot of emotions. Especially with my students... from threats of violence and terrorism to desperate emotional pleas. One of my students who tends to be inattentive and oblivious started crying when I told the class. If you knew the student, you'd understand why it's noteworthy. One more day with the kids. I can't believe it.

After absorbing numerous responses to our move and feeling more of the reality of it, I have started to feel it. We are starting to feel it. This week has been holding onto a rock in the middle of a hurricane.

It's passing, the sun is coming out, and there is so much hope ahead. Teaching interview next week, Master's comprehensive exam this Wednesday, Europe coming up, then, the move.

Moving alone is completely different from moving together. It's an incredibly bonding experience. On a hard day this week, Brandon and I were commiserating and he wrote the following in an email:

Home will always be together now.

Note: The photos are from our engagement photo session.

Meet Fadima: Why we started sponsoring a child through Compassion International

Brandon and I went to the Newsboys concert last night at Overlake Christian Church. Jumping around and singing with my husband made for an awesome date night!

Anyway, as incredible as the concert was... there were several parts of the night that had greater eternal import and immediacy than jumping around to the Newsboys.

Brandon and I have been thinking about and praying about where God is leading us in our marriage and in our ministry. We know that he has blessed us with many things to use for his kingdom. Namely, time, money, passion, education... Our hearts break for children, especially those impacted by human trafficking, poverty, oppression, abuse, disability...

There are many ideas that we are praying toward in these veins. But when I saw Compassion's booth at the concert I felt the leaning of the Spirit. A speaker named Bob Lentz gave a message and an appeal for Compassion International. He spoke about his brother who was impacted by a severe disability and how our job as Christians is to stand for and fight for those who are weaker than us. It reminded me of what I was called to at a young age.

Brandon and I whispered together about our budget and how we could cut our personal allotment to sponsor a child. After all, we can't outgive God. We raised our hand for a packet.

The packet said AFRICA at the top with a little girl named Fadima looking at us. If we needed any further convincing, we just needed to look at her birthday. December 7th. The same as Brandon. This was our girl.

She lives in a country that I was only vaguely aware of in western Africa. Reading about her life was humbling.

She is raised by her mom with 3 siblings. Her mom makes, maybe, $60 a year.

Brandon and I were raised by both of our parents. Brandon and I, together, make $60 in about 2 hours at our jobs.

Fadima lives in a poor country where 90% of income comes from farming which is dependent on a good rainy season.

Brandon and I live in a rich country where we have a variety of opportunities for income and we complain about too much rain.

Fadima is not presently attending school. Her school opportunities depend on sponsorship.

Brandon and I hold college degrees. I am almost finished with my master's degree.

So humbling. Earlier that day I pondered buying a workout shirt for $45. A workout shirt. When $45/month gives the premium level of sponsorship for a child with AIDS care for children and parents in addition to education, food, and clothing (basic is $38/month).

We're so excited to be Fadima's sponsors!

**Update 3/21/2016**
Sponsoring Fadima has been such a joy these past 5 years! And now we've added 2 more kids! We've grown together and now there's a bond between us that defies the distance and language barriers. She recently asked if we could meet. I hope one day!

I highly encourage you to think about sponsoring a child. I love showing my son photos and look forward to teaching him more as he gets older. The magazine they send for kids is an excellent resource!

Sponsor a Child