I's be in Europe

"Out of the mouths of babes..."

Being home for Christmas has been a nice treat, spending time with family and reuniting with friends. one set of friends that i have been able to see a good bit is dave and talia blanchard and their kids vivi and bo. they have opened up their home in decatur/avondale to me over the last week, and i have spent the night down there a few times before and after christmas. dave and talia are incredibly hospitable people who love to share everything with friends, and this generosity has carried over to their children.
on sunday before christmas, a group of friends had the annual stocking/present/dinner gathering that a few of us started about 12 years ago. it is a great time of fellowship, food, and sharing, and i was blessed to be able to attend this gathering after a six year hiatus. talia graciously put together a full stocking of chocolates and presents for me, and soon bo was inspecting the contents with me. he was particularly interested in the big chocolate santa in the bag.
at about 7:30 the next morning, bo entered into my room to see if i was up, so i spent the next hour with him putting together puzzles. during that time we had an interesting conversation.
"i know what we can do with santa," he tells me as he retrieves it from my stocking.
"what is that?"
"we can break it up and share it," bo informs me.
"that is a great idea, part for you and part for me."
"no, no, part for me, you, mommy, daddy, and vivi."
i was shocked, "wow, that is even better! you are being a great elf."
but bo was not done; he had bigger plans. "i know what. we can break it up in pieces and walk around the neighborhood and give it to people on the streets."
now i was floored at what this three year boy was saying. what a moving statement of giving that was coming out of his mouth. i did not know how to respond to him except to give him a hug and a kiss on the head.
if only we could keep that kind of spirit as we grow older. little man bo just spouting out how he thinks we should all act towards one another. if that kind of Christmas spirit could spill over to others all year round, then there would be a lot more giving and a lot more goodness hanging around.
we all need to keep our eyes and ears open, especially when around kids because we never know what lessons we might learn.

before i left later that morning, bo grabbed me and reminded me about our earlier conversation. i promptly grabbed mr. santa, plopped the wise one on the chair, and we proceeded to break up the chocolate one into five separate piles for the family and yours truly.
i have always been a chocoholic, but this little friend taught uncle rob how much more enjoyable it is to break up chocolate figures and put them into separate piles than it is to consume them.
thanks for the Christmas lesson, bo.

Flying into Marrakesh and being instantly inundated by that Moroccan cultural hotbed is a shocking way to be introduced to this north african culture. but that is how i was first exposed to morocco when i landed in marrakesh late one december night. i was hoping to land in this most diverse and energetic of moroccan cities in time to catch a late train to rabat where jonica asteros was going to pick me up, but my flight was delayed so i had to stay overnight, and i am glad that it turned out that way.
marrakesh is a crazy city with the most intense medina and market in the country, and i was able to witness all of it due to the inconvenience of the late flight. after catching a taxi from the airport at 8:00 to the medina, i was quickly approached by a young man with a stack full of hotel cards who was excited about showing me around the finest establishments in marrakesh. i finally settled into one for an exorbitant 80 dirhams ($10) a night, and i defintitely got what i paid for; i am just happy that i had my sleepsack for the night.
after dropping off my stuff, i headed out to explore marrakesh and its square, and it was an eye-opening experience. there were booths all over the place serving all kinds of exotic foods, from sheep heads to mint teas to who knows what else. it was interesting to see all the various displays of foods lit up in the different booths around the square. there were also little groups set up playing music, doing tricks, and entertaining. it was a eyeful and it continued the next morning at the medina.
i had to catch the 11:00 a.m. train to rabat so i took off to see the market area of the medina. it was enormous and i did not know what i was getting in to. i got so lost in the thing that i did not think i was going to find my way out in time to make the train. the medinas are like labyrinths, and if you don't know where you are going you might not get out. i finally had a guy help me out of there, but of course he wanted a tip for his directional services, much like most people in morocco expect for general courtesies. this was the first of the medinas i would visit throughout morocco, with the fruit and vegeatble stands, the meat markets with every part of the carcass for sale, the fish area, the leather, rug, and metal shops, and most everything else you can dream of, and i was overwhelmed seeing it all by myself with no preparation of any kind. it was easier to handle a medina with locals and guides, as would be the case in the next couple of weeks in other cities; however, it was thrilling to go in there on my own.
arriving in rabat later that afternoon and meeting jonica for the first time at the train station, things slowed down a little. jonica, who is from georgia and asheville, north carolina, is teaching overseas at the american school in rabat. we had been emailing each other for a few months and now we finally met in person. she was kind enough to give me a place to stay while in morocco. it was also nice to be around a lot of americans and canadians, and that night we attended a Christmas party hosted by the director of the school. that was my first Christmas party and what i thought to be my only, and with the possibility of spending Christmas alone, it was great to be around that environment.
over the next two weeks, i saw rabat and casablanca and fez, all big, different, and interesting cities. in rabat, jonica took me around to a few different sights and ruins and restaurants and i rode around and saw a lot of things on my own while jonica was in school. i visited the hamman, the scrubbing spa, twice while i was there. i took a daytrip to casablanca and saw the second biggest mosque in the world, the hassan II mosque, which cost $800 million to build and can house 25,000 praying people at one time, and i had lunch at rick's cafe after walking around their medina. casablanca is the financial city of morocco, so it is mostly metropolitan and not the romantic city most people have images of from the 1940's movie of the same name.
fez, the oldest city in morocco with a nice historical feel within its huge medina walls, was an overnight trip that jonica, adrienne (a teacher friend), and i took on friday night. we hired a guide named ahmed to show us around on saturday and he was wonderful. very insightful, intelligent, and with a great personality, ahmed made visiting the medina fun, easy, and educational. we got to see so many things that we would not have been able to experience without him, including the interior of some houses, a delicious meal on the roof of a restaurant, and insight into so much of the architecture, culture, and history of fez and morocco. plus, we did not get lost in the medina. we had a great day visiting fez and then headed back to rabat to attend another Christmas party that night.
morocco is a different world than most westerners are used to. it is an extremely dirty place with people throwing their garbage out and burning it periodically. the beaches are beautiful from a distance but the closer you get to them, the more you notice the trash littering them. the sewage is dumped directly into the ocean at certain points making it difficult to venture into the waters. the driving and traffic rules seem non-existent to us but seemingly have a chaotic order to moroccans. it is obviously a different culture, being muslim and arabic, but overall the people are open and friendly and welcoming to visitors. it is a great place to visit but i don't know if i could to live there.
jonica was another great hostess on my seven month journey, taking me in and showing me around for two weeks. she allowed me to use her bike to get around the city while she was at work, as well as driving me when she was not working. we had a great time together hanging out and getting to know each other. with jonica being from gwinnnett county, there are a lot of common people we know and a lot of stories to share. thanks for everything jonica and for making morocco a wonderful experience and great way to end my odyssey.

I have just been hit upside the head with the news that we really do not know what our future holds and that God can put a crimp in our plans whenever he wants to. within a period of 24 hours this week, my foreseeable future underwent some drastic changes. on monday, december 14th i was in rabat, morocco at jonica asteros's place checking the internet for sahara desert trips and treks into the atlas mountains and trying to figure the best method of getting to egypt in a few weeks; four days later on thursday, i am eating dinner at provino's in snellville, georgia with my parents, jonica, and her parents. what a crazy and unpredictable turn of events that led to this next chapter in my life.
it all started on monday when i was trying to figure out where i was going to spend Christmas. jonica, with whom i had been staying in morocco, was leaving to go home to georgia and asheville, north carolina, on the 19th of december. she had offered her house and car for my use while she was gone, so i was planning to take a desert trip and probably spend Christmas there. to be honest, i was a little worried about how i was going to get along during the holiday time. it is one thing to be away from family during Christmas, but it can be do-able if you are surrounded by friends or at least people who celebrate Christmas. however, to be by myself in a muslim country was going to be extreme, so i decided i might as well be doing something really different and exotic, and the desert seemed appropriate. i also told myself that since i was going to be removed from all of the hoopla and commercialization that unfortunately has become christmas (or x-mas) to so many people, i was going to embrace being outside of all that and sincerely concentrate on the birth of Christ and the real meaning of this world-changing day. now that i am back in the real world, i need to keep that pact with myself and celebrate Christmas for the real reason.
as i was researching that stuff and getting a grip on my itinerary, i received an email from my principal mr. jim markham at mill creek high school in hoschton, georgia. he had recently emailed me about whether i was planning on returning to mill creek for the 2008-09 school year and i assumed this email was a follow-up to that. mr. markham's concern for me and his understanding of this whole situation has truly meant the world to me. from the first day last march when i went in to discuss the issues in my personal life and my plans for taking a year off to travel up until the last phone call and email i had with him on wednesday, he has been nothing but supportive of me and concerned for my well-being. i cannot thank him enough for that.
this email was a little more drastic and required a bit more deliberation on my part. he informed me that there had been a language arts resignation that morning and wondered if i would be interested in filling the position and starting january 2. let the internal conflict begin.
wow! the most difficult decisions i have had to make over the last seven months dealt with where and what to eat, how to get somewhere, or whether or not i was going to stay at a particular hostel. suddenly out of the blue, i was going to have make a real-life, grown-up decision and it was going to have to be quick. what a wake-up call. my initial thought on the issue was, "no, i am over here and still have places to be and people to see, and i do not want to jump on this and then regret three years down the road that i missed out on some great experiences." also, one reason for this odyssey was for me to work on moving away from living how society expects you to live and stop thinking so conventionally about everything. the practical thing would be to go back and work half a year, get the benefits, some money, and the retirement time., but i was resisting that urge. for most of the day i was telling myself 'no' and that i would stay over in africa, but i decided to take a night to sleep on it and seek advice from others. i then emailed two of my brothers, phil at home and noel in ireland, to get their input, advice, and prayer for clarity. i also called my parents, more just to let them know than for any advice because they have a slightly biased slant on this whole issue, but they had already heard about the whole proposal from others at home. i took the issue up in prayer several times to see what God thought about it. later that day i discussed it with jonica and then, over dinner, with two of her international teacher friends in morocco, adrienne and el. i was interested in what their perspective on this would be since they are not living the conventional life with their overseas teaching. they thought that it sounded like a good situation and that i could always make a little money, at least more than i make right now, and then take another little vacation in the summer to some of the places i have not seen.
i appreciated everyone's help and i started thinking that i have been gone seven months now and i only have less than three left, and i am going to have to get a job when i return anyway, so maybe this is a good situation.
after thinking about it overnight, ruminating over people's input, weighing the pro's and cons, and listening to what God put on my heart, i emailed mr. markham and told him that i would take the job and thanked him for thinking of me. so i next chapter begins.
the next ordeal dealt with the logistics.  i started looking into the best and cheapest way to get home and if i should stay for another week in morocco and do the desert thing. it was going to cost over $1000 to get back to london and to move my return ticket up to this week. i also realized that dealing with the logistics of jonica's car and my flight home was going to be a headache, so i looked up the flight jonica was taking out of casablanca on wednesday night and booked it. the next thing i knew i was filling out an online application and packing up my stuff and helping jonica with her three huge duffle bags worth of rugs, lamps, and assorted Christmas gifts for friends and family, and the next night we were on a plane out of morocco.
what a whirlwind that twenty four hour period was, and now, four days after the initial email and a day after the climax of landing in atlanta and meeting family and friends to eat, i look at all that has occurred in that four day period with amazement, awe, and jet-lagged eyes.
we think that we have control over our lives and that we know exactly what is going to transpire. however, we don't know and although we have the power and ability to make decisions in our life, God is not afraid to throw some curveballs in there to keep us on our toes. i was told in the last email from my principal that he believes that "this whole thing has been the 'Great Spirit' working in your favor," and i could not agree with him more.
now back to the real world.

Sprawled out on my back on the hard tile floor in the steam room with some strange Moroccan man scouring my arms with what felt like steel wool, i bristled in pain and wondered how and why i was here. thoughts raced through my mind about how i had gotten myself into this and how to escape this steaming torture chamber as this seemingly harmless little man scraped the scouring pad across my chest and nearly removed one of my nipples. it was sheer pain and something i will never forget.
the hamman, morocco's version of the turkish bath and the german sauna, is a cultural must for many locals and was something i wanted to experience after hearing about it from my friend jonica. the hamman is as much a social event for moroccans as it is a therapeutic visit, and since i missed out on the turkish bath when i had the chance, i did not want to regret missing this.
after navigating the streets of rabat on bicycle while trying to follow a hand drawn map with no street names illustrated by a local friend of jonica's, i eventually completed the twenty minute trek to the hamman after a measly hour and fifteen minutes. understanding directions in arabic is a feat in itself, and with fifteen different people giving fifteen various interpretations of precisely where the "hamman ryad" just added to "the amazing race" feel of this particular adventure.
upon arrival, the next obstacle was the ordering of products. not a bit of english, french, or arabic was being dually exchanged at the counter of the hamman, and after some going back and forth, we finally settled on two buckets, a sponge, and a bag of this gooey black mess for a mere 30 dirhams, roughly $4. i took it and headed inside into the unknown.
there is a lot to be said about jumping into an adventure clueless. going into something blind can be both frightening and exhilarating simultaneously because there is the obvious fear of the unknown, but also the excitement of realizing that you are accomplishing something on your own without the aide or crutch of anyone else. much like most of the past seven months of my journey, i have been winging it and figuring out things and places and adventures on my own and as they come along. not that i am beginning to compare myself to some lewis and clark or magellan, with the internet and tourist info booths in every city, but there is still a sense of freedom and individualism when you are not part of a tour group or being led around by a local. now, of course, there are benefits of the latter example, and i have experienced that mode of travel also with babis and lahela in greece, the bohlanders and ryan wark in germany, noel in ireland, hunter in london, and jonica in morocco. this type of travel allows you to relax a tad and really take in your surroundings because you are not concentrated on your next move or destination; it is nice to let others do all of the planning sometimes, but you lose some of your independence and appreciation with the trade off.
i was being overrun with all of the aforementioned feelings as i entered into the hamman. "why did i not get hassan from the school to come with me to walk me through this," and at the same time, "relax, watch others, and just go with it; you can figure this thing out." i entered this foreign place with these conflicting emotions swarming around throughout my being. i picked up my two buckets, sat down on the benches, stripped down to my skivvies (because that is what everyone was doing or had done), and then wondered what in the heck do i do next. i must have mastered the lost puppy dog look, or at least the stupid american persona, because that is when the on-my-own stronghold vanished into the mist.
that is when he approached, the small man in orange shorts who obviously had a knack for picking out the weak, confused ones in the room. with his broken english and gentle smile, he lured me in to a state of comfort and trust, took my clothes and backpack to the storage locker, and then led me into the rooms of doom. i sheepishly followed as he took me through three rooms of varying temperatures and steam until we settled into the last and warmest of them. after claiming our spot by pouring hot water on the floor to cleanse it, much like a dog watering the mailbox or fire hydrant and saying don't mess with this locale, he instructed me to lie down for four minutes, and so i did (because he was in charge). i was still a little naive about whether this guy worked at the hamman or if he just happened to be a proverbial good samaritan who wanted to help out a brother, so after six or seven minutes alone i started wondering if i was on my own now or if he was coming back. i deduced that i was indeed solo so i began the task of imitating what the other men in the room were doing with their products. and what were the other partakers in this ritual doing? - some were lying prostrate on the floor, one was stretching, others sitting up, some were scrubbing themselves while some were scrubbing others, and a couple of them were dousing themselves with buckets of water. i decided to begin the process of exfoliation when my man scampered back in, told me to lie down again, took my glove sponge and mixed in some of the black goo, and then while hovering over me and placing me in a extremely vulnerable position, he muttered the heart-breaking words, "do you have any money for this?" how cheap he made feel, like i was in some house of ill-repute. i muttered back yes and then the floodgates were slammed open. he went to town like a man possessed. he started working that steel wool like nobody's business, sliding that thing across my body with all his weight behind it. he worked with the precision and concentration of a master craftsman, making me his tiny wood carving being planed over and over with sandpaper to get it smooth and without blemish.
i could not believe the pressure that was being exerted onto my body between his body weight and the hard tile floor. i really felt that i was going to walk out of that place with a pink exterior after all layers of epidermis and dermis had been effectively removed. i also was thinking that there might be an outside chance that he had removed every hair on my body, as well as both my nipples, which did not get any preferential treatment from the sandpaper indiscriminately touring my body. no gentleness here.
after doing the legs, he flipped me over and took care of my backside. i thought i was going to be knocked into a state of unconsciousness when he moved down to my bad ankle which i have not been able to bend or straighten out in two months after twisting it in croatia. well, i discovered that it can straighten out because he did it. i felt it would be more advantageous to suck it up and pray for him to move to the other ankle quickly than to try to communicate to him to lay off it. he did move on and i did survive, and after i was finally able to breathe again, i relaxed a little.
when the scrubdown was about finished, he stood me up, handed me the glove, and motioned to me to take care of any other parts of my anatomy that he did not cover, which i am extremely thankful that he let me handle. he then retrieved more buckets of warm/hot water and poured them over me to remove the several black spaghetti looking strands of rolled up dead skin all over my body and the soapy black goo. the rinse felt wonderful and warming, and then we proceeded into the second, less steamy room, and he rinsed me with cooler water, which was exhilarating and refreshing. it woke me up and brought me back to my senses. at this point, i felt like butter due to the scrubbing and the different type of massage that i had just received while lying on a hard tile floor. i headed out into the locker room, cooled off, redressed, and headed on my way. i was finally free of this place and made it out alive.
what an moroccan cultural awakening the hamman was.
it was such a miserable experience that ... i tipped the little old man 100 dirhams and went back two days later for another hour of torture.

Family, Friends, Fellowship, Food, and Football- that pretty much sums up Thanksgiving for many people in the States, and that is definitely what I experienced during my visit home to Georgia in November.
  Sitting at Noel's in Enniskillen, Ireland around the first on November, I came up with the bright idea of taking a little respite from my travels and surprise my family for Thanksgiving. I had just bought a plane ticket from dublin to edinburgh with the idea of venturing around the isle of england and scotland. what helped cement the deal was the fact that Mill Creek, my high school football team, was playing in their first ever state playoff game. after discussing the whimsical idea with my irish host noel and with him concurring that it would be a nice thing to do, i started looking into to seeing if it would be financially feasible to make a second round trip across the big pond. when i found a reasonable ticket, i changed my edinburgh flight to london and then made plans for a two week rendezvous back to georgia.
  my brother tom was the only one i called to tell i was coming so he could pick me up and take me to my parents. he was going to be in new york, but his friend lisa picked me up at the marta station, took me to get tom's car, and i headed up to surprise my parentals.
i was excited about being back home for about 20 minutes, until i hit the traffic on 85 and 316 at 8:00 p.m. that was a sobering reminder of what i do not miss about atlanta or the states. i made a quick exit to take a break from the traffic and to get something that i had been craving for a while - waffle house. i ate way too much of course and invited the nice fried/grease aroma to cover every inch of my body and attire, but it was well worth it. thirty minutes and no traffic later i was sitting in my parent's house waiting on them to arrive so i could surprise them. after separate arrivals by my parents and the shock wore off both of them, we settled in to talk details of my return trip, and we finished the jet-lag laced night telling stories of events and travels and making plans for the next few days.
   i won't bore you with every little detail of my two and half weeks at home, but i will hit some of the highlights.
   Family - obviously parents, brother tom, my aunt judeye and uncle greg, kaye and donny, many other cousins, some former family members, my little god-daughter ruby reese, and my dog scout. i took a three day extension in order to go our extended phillips' family christmas dinner on dec 1, and it was wonderful to get to see so much family. i spoke to my grandmother in tennessee a few times but i am sorry that i was not able to see her. being away for an extended amount of time does make seeing people that much sweeter.
   Friends - i was blessed to be able to see so many great friends while i was in town. my high school buddies got together one night in dunwoody, all of the coaches at the game and then for a cookout, teachers from school, the bolliers, camps, hicks, allens, jarvises, stancils, and maginnises. i got to spend the night at josh and shannan's house so i could wake up and help feed ruby reese. i got to visit my college friend arthur in athens, and there was the 20+ gathering of people for thanksgiving dinner at pam's house. my mentor teacher amelie had me over for a lunch and conversation. i know there are plenty of people i forgot to mention, and i apologze.  i am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. whenever i get down about my situation, i always remember the words of wisdom from clarence to george in it's a wonderful life, "no man is a failure who has friends."
  Fellowship - it is hard to put a rating on time spent with family and friends. whether it is sitting at a football or basketball game, driving in the car, sharing a meal out or in the comfort of someone's house, visiting your church, or simply hanging out, these times are priceless, and once again, being away from something for a long time makes it all the more enjoyable. jonica, my host and friend in morocco, and i have discussed this a few times over the last few days. she is teaching overseas and personally knows what it is like to miss your family and friends. people, don't take those seemingly mundane and monotonous moments for granted, and appreciate all the time you have with those you care about. that is one thing i have learned from this  journey.
  Food - Wow! it was poetry for the tongue. starting with waffle house and ending with the christmas dinner, i was in hog-heaven. the thanksgiving feast at friend pam's house showed off dishes from ten or so lady's recipe books and the christmas dinner was its typical southern medley of casseroles, meats, veggies, and desserts. in between there was shannon's ribs and hoyt's boston butt and jimmy's steak (one of the best i have ever had),  and of course my mom's and aunt's delicious meals.  i have experienced some nice dishes throughout europe, but it is hard to beat good ole' southern food.
  Football - tv - no; movies - not really; music - no; football - yes.  fridays and saturdays have been tough sometimes over here, and saturday and sunday mornings usually arrive early for me in order to get onlne to check scores and highlights of the high school and college games. i have missed it, and it was nice to see some games while i was in town. even though the mill creek playoff game did not turn out like any of us had hoped, i was thrilled to see all of the coaches and players and i can not express how proud i am for what they did this season.  i saw  some great college games also. even though i will miss the bowl games, i think i got my fill and will survive until next season. but i will still be rising early to check on scores come late december and early january.

  The time home was worth the cost of any plane ticket. almost every visit with aquaintances was wonderful and made the money spent well worth it. the reprieve from hostels and hotels allowed me to relax after being on the road for five and a half months and it also gave me the chance to re-energize for a few more months of traveling. it also showed me that i am a home-body. there is no doubt that i love to travel, see other places, and experience other cultures, but i also love my home, family, and friends, and i believe there is a lot to be said about that. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder - at least for most things.
  i also realzed that i will have to enter back into the real world eventually. i have been living in a sort of fantasy world the last few months in order to try to heal my heart a little. going back home was a proverbial "slap in the face" wake-up call, shouting at me that i am going to have to make some grown-up decisions again soon, like about shelter and income. welcome back to reality. i even looked at a house while i was there - scary! 
  another lesson learned is that wherever you run or go, you will always take your probems, issues, or baggage with you, not that i expected this odyssey to be a quick fix. i do not nor will ever regret taking this leave of absence, but it is definitely not a leave of life, because i am dealing with the same hurts, pains, confusions, doubts, and angers in africa as i would be dealing with if i was in china or the phillipines or still in buford, hoschton, monroe, or athens, georgia. people have to figure out what is the best way for them to deal with their issues. my hope lies in my faith and relationship with God, and i pray everynight for my heart to be protected and healed. i am by no means there yet, but i am getting there little by little by the grace of God and the wonderful people He has put in my path along the way.
  did not intend at the beginning of this blog to get so personal or solemn, but there you have it.

  as for where i am now, i am in rabat, morocco in north africa staying with a friend jonica, who is teaching in an international school here. different world, but more on morocco later.

                                                                                                                                                      take care and God bless,
                                                                                                                                                      rob
 

I am a seasoned traveller now, braving the elements, different languages, bus, train, and plane schedules, cantankerous taxi drivers, metropolitan cities, quaint villages, and remote trails, unorthodox foods and unintelligible menus, and conversions of various currencies, temperatures, weights, heights, and distances. i feel i can get around most anywhere rather comfortably, and some have even mentioned testing my skills on "the amazing race." that has peeked my interest a tad. still, it was nice to take a little respite from pounding the pavement, soaring the skies, gliding the rails, and sailing the seas to relax a bit back home in georgia over thanksgiving.
feeling much more confident about my finely honed abilities of travel than the first rendezvous i took on back in may, i set out once again from the comforts and security of home to brave the unseen and undiscovered world (at least unseen and undiscovered by me). packed with my new found confidence and swagger, the first leg of my excursion was to conquer the wild world of marta, the transit system of atlanta. after tackling that forty minute leg of the journey, i then entered the intimidating and sometimes overwhelming black hole of atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport, the busiest airport in the world. not intimidated or overwhelmed one iota (because of my new found swagger), i marched right to the check-in counter, proceeded to ditch the shoes, belts, and water bottle for the security check, and then headed straight to the terminal. with both my recon skills and physical stamina in tow, i gazed down the flashing sign, "5000 ft, 1500 m to terminal e," laughed and scoffed at the multitudes of people pouring into the tram that would effortlessly and sweatlessly herd them to their desired destination, and then began to march down the mile of tunnel that would take me to my plane. after a couple of turns, a few signs, two elevator rides (there were no stairs to take), and four minutes, i passed through a metal detector and entered into the... somewhere very familiar ... the arrival area for passengers directly next to the marta station.
unbelievable! how in the world am i supposed to make it in foreign countries with foreign languages if i can not even find my way around the atlanta airport, which i have frequented quite often.
after scolding myself and thanking goodness that i had plenty of time to spare, i headed back for the security check, undressed again, explained to the guard who remembered me from before what i had done, and eventually conquered the 1500 meters to terminal e and my aerobus. only this time there was a little less swagger in my step.
i still have dreams of competing on "the amazing race" one day. i think i have a shot, if only they do not start off at hartsfield-jackson international airport.

Sheep, cows, more cows, and even more sheep. that defines the most common sights along the countryside of ireland; we saw many more sheep than people on our weeklong trip, which is not a bad thing. oh yea, we also saw cliffs, beaches, fields of limestone, a giant's sidewalk, beehive homes, a kissing stone, mountains, lakes, rockwall lined pastures, foxes, green, green, green, castles, oceans, donkeys, boats, fog, stone forts and oh yea, rain.
i have no idea where to begin nor how to construct this entry bc so much has happened and i have met so many people over the last three weeks. first off, i have been spoiled rotten here by noel, who keeps using the excuse of my birthday present, which is now long gone. i spent the last few days in enniskillen decompressing from the tour that culminated with three days in dublin. i ended my brilliant stay in ireland on tuesday when i flew out to london to stay with hunter marsh and her two girls.
to continue where i left off before, saturday the 27th of october began with hosting nine of the neighborhood boys in noel's youth group for an ulster fry (breakfast), which includes, of all things, baked beans. i enjoyed meeting and getting to know these 20 year olds over the next few weeks and observing the similarities and differences between them and teens in the states. after breakfast, we took off for belfast and picked up deb stephens who flew in from england. we saw the city, had a coffee/hot chocolate respite, deb tried her best to shop as much as possible, and we then headed to our hosts neil and kyra orr's house in temple patrick, just outside of belfast. they are long time friends of noel's and we stayed in their carriage/guesthouse for four nights while we toured northern ireland. they, along with their boys jack and ben, were in the process of moving into their new beautiful home, so we helped them around the house whenever we could. the first night there we ate dinner with two other couple friends of the orr's.
sunday began with noel speaking at a church in belfast and then dinner, or more like a feast, followed at joan's, a lady's house from the church. it was a six-course meal for nine people and it was something else. we left there and went to carrickfergus and to the castle on the sea, and followed that by going to a sunday night service at a cfc church in belfast. there was great worship and a fired-up crowd of young people there praising; that was encouraging.
monday was the start of our real tour, which actually was done in kyra's suv bc noel's car would not cooperate, when we drove the famous antrim coast road, a windy, coast-hugging road built in 1832. this majestic drive led to the carrick-a-rede rope bridge that takes you precariously over the ocean beckoning you from hundreds of feet below. noel sat that little walk out while deb and i explored the wee masses of island on the other side. the coast road then meanders around to the giant's causeway, a spectacular outcropping of flat-headed, hexagonal stones that jut out into the ocean like an unfinished sidewalk. it looks man-made bc they are so symmetrical and organized. what a natural creation, one of the many we would experience over the next week. monday was capped off perfectly with a lovely tea (dinner) at ian and linda's house in cullybackey, another suburb of belfast. ian and linda are the best friends of neil and kyra's, and they invited us to dinner on saturday when we ate with them at the orr's. we had a wonderful time in their beautiful home, and then we headed back to hit the sack at neil and kyra's. what a first day.
our intitial plans for tuesday were to drop deb off at the airport and then head back to enniskillen and spend the night at noel's before heading out for the west coast of ireland on wednesday. however, noel's car was still not starting, so plan b turned into dropping off deb, who we had a great time with, and then driving around west belfast where the majority of the tensions are between the protestants and catholics / loyalists and nationalists. there is actually a green wall that was constructed to separate the two feuding hoods, as well as the famous murals that express their political/social/militant philosophies. it was interesting and at the same time depressing to think about "the troubles" that have plagued this area and everywhere else around northern ireland over the last thirty odd years. later that day i rode around with neil orr while he ran errands and noel stayed at the house to help around there. it was a Godsend bc neil and i had a wonderful conversation about what i have been going through. he is such a strong and sharp man of God and it was a very powerful talk that we had; i benefitted greatly from it. the rest of the day and then wednesday was spent helping around the house. i changed some plugs on the american lamps they ordered so that they would fit their british power outlets and then did a little plumbing, all with the help, of course, from eddie hicks, who i called for advice. he still can't get away from my nagging phone calls even from 1500 miles away. noel and i finally left the comfort of the orr's after tea on wednesday night and headed back for enniskillen and the halloween bonfire that night.
the bonfire is a traditional thing for the neighborhood each halloween. the kids start collecting tires, crates, trees, and basically anything that will burn months before the event. they will stash their collections and camp out many nights to protect their cache from being looted by other neighborhoods. it is a big sense of pride, and when i saw it i realized why - this thing was forty feet high, and how they did it bewilders me. the whole neighborhood was out for the inferno, and it was a sight to behold. i hung out for a while talking to some of the boys, then headed in to get a good night sleep for our long travel day on thursday.
thursday was the longest driving day we had. micheal, noel's brother, let us use his car bc of the realibility issues with noel's, and the first stop we made was in sligo, ireland, home and burial place of w.b. yeats. we then drove through the connemara area, stopped in galway for tea, and then found a b&b farmhouse in doolin. it was a scenery day and it was breathtaking. we drove towards the west coast and then worked our way down south, making various 'kodakmoment' stops along the way to try to capture the sights on film.
noel enjoys having visitors and he loves showing off his lush and friendly country. he has certain routes and itineraries that he uses for his international and local guests, but i was glad that he was seeing things and places that he had never seen before. he was just as amazed as i at some of the views we were seeing.
afer a breakfast of smoked salmon and eggs and fruits friday morning, i spent a frustrating hour trying to burn my 1200 pictures to a dvd so i could free up space on my memory card; it was unsuccessful and we finally ventured out. our first stop was the cliffs of moher - inconceivable! these 213m high cliffs jutting out of the ocean were spectacular, one of the highlights of my trip. this is where they filmed the cliff scene of the princess bride. we then drove through the burren, a 260 sq mile region of limestone. it was not the most beautiful landscape, but it was unique. we made a stop at a 3000 year old dolmen, an ancient burial rock structure in the middle of nowhere. after finally burning my dvd in limerick, we found another b&b in tralee, had a chinese dinner, and turned in for the night after another fruitful day of sightseeing.
saturday had in store for us maybe the most stunning landscape and vistas in all of ireland. the more touristed 'ring of kerry' is the drive you read about in most guide books, but many locals find its southern neighbor, the dingle peninsula, the more picturesque of the peninsulas. we began our day driving through connor pass with some wonderful views and then headed to the small coastal town of dingle. our next stop was an ancient stone fort on the coast dating back to 500 b.c. and these ringfort living settlements with beehive huts (they look like stone igloos). families would build up these 5 ft high, 6 ft wide circular walls and inside them would have their settlements - a couple of beehives for their families and one for animals, a storage area, etc. it was fascinating to see how they built and how they lived. the method used for building these structures is called corbelling, the art of stacking the stones inward where they would eventually meet in the center, thus preventing water from entering, even without any kind of mortar. the method was used for the next archealogical site we visited, the gallarus oratory, a 1300 year old christian gathering place. it is untouched to this day and still waterproof - fascinating. slea head is a little community at the tip of the peninsula that does not have many people living there, but sheep are plentiful. it is here that hollywood loves to visit. far and away used this area for scenes, as have other productions over the years, the most famous being ryan's daughter. the small beach encompassed by rocky cliffs was used extensively in the movie. on our way to blarney for the night, we stopped in inch at a huge expanse of sandy beach, and of all things there were surfers out there. ireland actually has some of the best surfing in europe, and they surf year round bc as one surfer lady told me, "the summers here are not much different than the winters." i walked around on the beach and took pictures with my tripod as noel took a wee nap in the car, and then we took off and got a room in blarney, close to the castle that we would visit the next morning. the city of cork was only ten minutes down the road, so we headed down there for dinner and to walk around. pretty cool town.
sunday, our last day on the road, began with a tasty breakfast and good conversation with the owners of the b&b, and then we headed off to 600 yr old blarney castle, where their famous attraction the blarney stone, legend has it, offers the gift of eloquence to anyone who plants a big fat one on it. um, i don't think, ah, the kiss, has helped me any, you know. the castle and the grounds of the castle are unbelievably beautiful. after visting the castle and kissing the stone, noel and i walked around the gardens and grounds for over an hour and it was a lovely way to spend a crisp, clear sunday morning. that was another one of the highlights of the trip. we then took off for the four hour drive up to dublin, where noel was going to drop me off with leonard (len) for the remainder of my trip. we made it to dublin and the church apartment in the middle of the city where len lived and worked. noel came in and talked for a while and then took off back to enniskillen bc he was working on monday, while i attended the church service in the building with len. that was the end of the unforgettable road trip with noel, and now i was to looking forward to getting lost in dublin and seeing this historic town.

Dublin
over the next three days, i ventured around the bustling city of dublin seeing the sights. i enjoyed learning more of the history of the city and their centuries long fight for freedom from england. the kilmainham gaol (jail) was intriguing and at the same time disheartening, thinking about all of the political prisoners and executions that occured in there between the 1796-1924 existence. trinity college, established in 1592, was very impressive to tour and to see the book of kells, an ancient copy of the gospels dating back from the 6th-8th centuries. but even more impressive than that were the manuscripts from the chester beatty museum, which houses some of the oldest known copies of the gospels and letters of paul, dating back to 200-250 a.d. i also enjoyed visiting the many sights of the famous writers hailing from dublin like oscar wilde, w.b. yeats, and james joyce, johnathon swift, and shaw to name a few. that is a pretty impressive literary resume for a city.
len housed me in his flat at the top of the irish church missions building for which he worked. his place was right in the middle of the city on the liffey river, and i stayed there from sunday until thursday. i was blessed to be able to attend their sunday service and a bible study led by len, as well as eat at his parents' house on tuesday night and hang out with his friends on a couple of nights. it was nice getting to know len better over those few days, and i deeply appreciate his hospitality.
after taking the bus back to enniskillen to noel's, i originally planned to ferry over to scotland on saturday, but i instead flew to london on tuesday. noel was up to his usual hospitable self with dinners and friends and a day trip to londonderry with a couple of the lads. we got to eat dinner at the johnson's house after church on sunday and i got to do a little yard work, which i enjoyed. i had an brilliant time in the beautiful country of ireland with the wonderful host noel. i can not thank him enough.

i am staying with hunter marsh and her two girls for a couple of nights in wimbledon, england. hunter and i visited the kew botanical gardens outside of london on this beautiful sunny day, and it has been nice spending time with ella, georgia, and hunter. they are kind enough to put me up in their place until i head out on thursday to ... who knows where.

God bless

The plane and I touched down in Dublin, Ireland at 11:30 in the p.m. on Wednesday, the 24th of October, not with the usual trepidation that accompanies the first minutes of stepping off the train, bus, or airplane wondering where to get a map, how to get from the terminal to the city, or where to get your hands on the local currency, but instead with the smiling face of noel kearney waving me down in the waiting area. this warm welcome set the standard for the irish hospitality that i was to experience for the rest of my stay in his country.
After our greetings, we set out on the two and a half hour ride up to his home in enniskillen, northern ireland. noel was taking the morning off of work on thursday because of the long night, so on thursday morning i awoke to a bacon, eggs, and toast breakfast to start off our day of seeing the town and exploring. noel then took me around for a quick recon of enniskillen so i could get my bearings for my later solo excursions when he would be at work. we had a coffee/hot chocolate sitting in a local cafe, he departed, and i took off to survey this charming town.
the central commercial area of enniskillen sits on a little island girdled by a river and houses little shops and cafes and churches. most of the residents have moved out of this area and live on the outskirts of town. noel's place, which he shares with his brother, is a relaxing ten minute walk from downtown, but he, like many locals, grew up in the town center before it turned all commercial. i enjoyed checking out the shops but not the double-the-american priced items. i even ventured in the clinton centre (yes, the bill clinton centre), which houses a hostel, cafe, and area for local exhibitions. he has visited here before tracking down his family lineage, so he has a building here. an hour later noel picked me up in town and took me on a tour of the rolling hills, countryside, and forests that exemplify ireland. there is a majestic seven mile loop though the forest that culminates at a stunning overlook from the cliffs over the river valley with the atlantic ocean in sight. he allowed me to experience the fabled "magic road" that is famous in these parts where your car, resting in a dip in the road, will supernaturally climb and roll up the small ascent to escape the depression - exhilirating. after our nature excursion he treated me to a appetizing lunch at a local cafe before he headed back to work. i spent another hour sightseeing and then headed back to noel's and spent the rest of the day relaxing, catching up on the news, and messing with pictures.
after eating a fish and chips dinner that he brought me home, we, along with chunky and paddy, two twenty year olds who are in noel's youth group, drove to a nearby atlantic ocean coastal town for a night of bowling. paddy and chunky were in greece this summer, so it was good to see them, and we had a fun night out. it was intiguing standing on the sandy beach that 3,000 miles away on the same ocean is where i have vacationed all my life in hilton head, tybee island, florida, or other various places along the east coast.
after a day of shopping and lounging (i found a nice heavy jacket for only £9($18) and a new flat golf hat to replace my classic one that i lost last week), noel fixed me lunch and then headed back to work. paddy picked me up at 6:00 and took me up to noel's school, and he gave me a tour of the catholic primary school that he works in. it was a really nice school that has real character and history, and is extremely clean and well kept thanks to noel and the other self-proclaimed unsung heroes of the cleaning staff. we then went over to james's house, a youth group leader with noel, and hung out with ruth and sarah, two friends and leaders. it was a open and friendly group and a enjoyable night at james's farm.
tomorrow after we have some guys from the neighborhood over for the weekly saturday breakfast, we head off to belfast to pick up our brit friend deb stephens and then begin our journey of ireland. we are going to stay with some of noel's friends and noel is going to preach at a church on sunday, and then we are going to explore.
and the hospitality will continue...

What a difference two decades can make, and this observation is evident in the country of Estonia and many other states-turned-countries of the former Soviet Union. estonia is in the northern part of eastern europe across the baltic sea from sweden and finland. i was blessed to attend a missions' conference for various maritime ministries in europe. the skipper's conference is headed up by birger borgemo, the founder of "shalom," a mission organization in sweden and estonia, and alex macris from hellenic ministries in greece. it has been held in different countries and this year it was in parnu, estonia for the first time.
talking to a pastor from england and to birger, who both have been to estonia many times in the last 20 years, has given me a good idea of how this place has changed since being freed from the communist grip of the USSR. back in the 80's if you were able to get into the country, which was a miracle in itself, you were able to witness the dark and harsh effects of communism. the british pastor and his wife decribed how there was no fruit to buy and there would be kgb officers attending the church services to censor anything that might be construed as averse to their rule. the landscape of the buildings has changed drastically, but there are plenty of remnants of the old life.
in 1990, birger's boat "shalom" was the first foreign boat to dock in estonia (still russia) in 51 years. after facing the russian coast guard, having a rocket shot over their head, and finally being allowed to dock in parnu, estonia, they pulled up to shore to a crowd of about 8,000 cheering and estatic russians who had heard that there was a foreign sailboat out there trying to get to estonia. that feeling is something so hard for most americans to grasp bc we have always enjoyed our freedom. after birger and his crew enjoyed eight days at port with over 1000 locals visiting their boat, met with the mayor and received a flag of the city, gave out food and medicines and supplies they brought with them, passed out as many bibles as they had, witnessed to hundreds of estonians, and saw many people accept Christ, they headed back to sweden with a new sister city. they have been back many times and eventually expanded their shalom ministry to parnu with a children's shelter, homeless shelter, and a secondhand store. it turned out to be a wonderful relationship, and it is still growing. they are praying for a boat to start a boat missions in estonia.
there were mission groups from germany, finland, sweden, estonia, and greece represented at the conference, and the funny thing is english was the language used by most people speaking. when i spoke to the group about what was going on in greece, i made the comment that i was honored that everyone was speaking english just for me. sometimes there would be four different translations going on throughout the audience or up front. what a feeling it was to be with so many different nationalities but with one thing in common, and that was our love and desire for Christ. it was special and inspiring to hear what each ministry was doing out there to spread the word, and i, of course, got much more from the conference than i felt i gave.
this weekend has also been a great time for fellowship, both with the greek guys i was with and with others that i met. i have enjoyed getting to know alex, dimitrios, antonis, and giannis better, as well as the swedes birger, ida, johanna, and jessica, the germans, finnish, and estonians. what a fun, alive, and energetic group they are.
estonia and sweden are beautiful countries, and the place we stayed out in the country is a spread straight out of southern living. we were surrounded by a big stream with rolling hills and log cabins dotting the compound. absolutely stunning.
oh yea, and it was pretty cold there.
what a wonderful time i had there with these beautiful people. i hope to make it back to sweden in the next few years and stay with birger and his family and maybe do a little sailing.

after leaving estonia, we ferried over to finland and stayed in a bible school guesthouse while alex, giannis, and birger taught a session of bible school and we went and visited the new missions boat "jenny kruse" that birger helped get for the finnish missions team. we got in the sauna one night there and for the greeks, it was the first time. it was hilarious seeing them cover their eyes when the steam would rise off the coals. they did not enjoy the dry heat too much.
we then fairied back over to sweden overnight on the 23rd. the ferries we took along this trip are cruise ships, along with the entertainments, casinos, restaurants, etc. many people will do a weekend of overnight ferrying from one place to the next and that is their entertainment. it is a floating party for people.
yesterday, the 24th, i had the whole day in stockholm again so the greeks and i went to a museum for a sunken battle ship vasa from 1628 that was raised and restored back in 1957. it was one of the best museums i have ever been to. i also got a day in stockholm before leaving for estonia and went to an open air museum featuring homes and buildings from the 1400-1700's scandanavian countries, giving a taste of lifestyles and the way of life hundreds of years ago. alex and the greeks left for the warmer weather at 1:00, the swedes headed back home, and i left for ireland at 10:00 p.m. on wednesday night.
what a great little taste of scandanavia i was able to experience, along with wonderful christian fellowship.
now for ireland and the incredible host noel. we will also have a visit from deb from england, who will grace us with her presence for a few days. i look forward to seeing her again after greece.

take care and God bless,
rob

My main goal was to not throw up. i did not think i would have a problem, but you never know. a few years ago at a carnival i inhaled the majority of a funnel cake and then suffered through one of those multi-spinning-in-all-different-directions rides and soon felt myself turning green. i found my way to the wc/toilet/bathrooom and purged my system in order to placate my stomach. that was the only time i ever remember getting motion sickness, but being on a sailboat with strong winds and good waves can be another story.
i made it over to athens last week and stayed with my friends babis (bobby) and lahela before heading out on "the morning star" friday afternoon. alex macris, the captain, was taking out the group of students from the alpha program, an english taught one-year bible school in athens, who are going to be his crew this year for the maritime ministies. it was their maiden voyage where alex would start training them in the art of sailing. i knew most of the guys in the course from this summer - nate, jay, ben, andrew, ron - and garyfalia, janet, alex, and neil macris also were going along. they graciously invited me to come along for the sailing weekend, and i gratefully accepted the invitation.
we went out to the porto astro property late friday afternoon and had a bar-b-q. it was the perfect time to introduce everyone and tell stories and catch up on what was going on with people. it felt great to be back in greece and on the property and with this group of guys. after eating, all fourteen of us headed out to the sailboat and eventually fell asleep for the night.
some woke up earlier than others to a beautiful morning and got us going to our weekend destination. at 6:15 a.m., we were motoring along to a port on the isle of evia. eventually all the others, including me, woke up and enjoyed the tranquil ride in the aegean. a few hours later, we arrived, docked the boat, had a little free time where some of us swam, some of us rested, and some of us roamed around town, and before lunch had a bible study/issues time with neil. it was a great discussion on eternal salvation with good debate and questions. we then had a delicious lunch prepared by garyfalia and then, of course, the beloved siesta time. i miss that mandatory nap time whenever i am in other countries around europe.
after siesta, we took off around town to pass out bibles and some literature to households. we had packets and distributed them around town. it sometimes can get a little hairy in some locations, but we had no altercations or problems here.
later on we ate another wonderful dinner (i have no idea how garyfalia does it in that tiny kitchen), and then ahd another discussion time with neil. we ended the night falling asleep to casino royale playing on the tv and heavy rains dancing on the boat over our heads.
after breakfast on sunday, we rested a little and then the sailing came in. we took off from port and alex began his training. i was going to merely watch and stay out of the way bc these guys are going to be his crew, but alex told me to get in there and help out with nate. sailing has always amazed me and blown my mind, and i had no idea what i was doing. but we got the sails up and had great winds and really got to experience the feel of the sea. we would dip up and down, get splashed by waves, feel the breakfast sloshing around in our stomachs, the whole nine yards (or is it nine meters in europe). it was intense and some had to regurgitate their earlier meals. then all of the sudden the winds died and i searched the skies to make sure that ole' albatross was not hovering overhead anywhere, and we had to motor in the rest of the way. what a way to spend a weekend in greece.

i spent the next two nights with babis and lahela, going to a bible study led by sarah wheway one night and to "love meals," a soup kitchen down in the city on monday night. once again it was rewarding to serve others and to see a lot of people from the summer.
thanks again for the hospitality of lahela and babis, letting me eat and sleep there, use the computer, watch movies, and for making me feel at home.

i spent the day in stuttgart, germany after flying up here this morning. i will sleep at the airport tonight and then fly out at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow morning to stockholm, sweden, spend a day there, and then meet up with alex macris and some swedes and ferry over to estonia for a missions conference.

after the conference and visiting finland, i will fly over to dublin to meet up with my irish pal noel to see his wonderful country.

things are going well with me. i am scared i am coming down with a bug that has been going around athens and some of the guys on the boat were fighting this weekend. today was a daze for the most part and i slept the entire flight and then for a couple of hours under the warm sun in a park in stuttgart. i hope i can nip it in the bud and not get the brunt of this cold.
hope all is well with everyone out there.

take care and God bless,
rob