Our trip is drawing very near and we are down to just a few days before we leave. I am so excited to experience all the new countries and cultures. I am not sure if I can define what one thing excites me the most. Each city/country will offer us something unique. We have planned our activities with a nice mixture of scenery and city tours so I am hoping we will also enjoy a nice pace.
Architecture always excites me and we are about to be bombarded with that. I am also excited to spend time in Singapore and Tokyo before and after the cruise. There is a unique distinction about being a tourist verses being a traveler. The ability to navigate the transportation systems and communicate in a foreign language are protected and predictable when you are on tours. To be a traveler, one must merge with the society you are visiting.
I am also excited for the learning which will go on, on the cruise. There is a photographer on board who is teaching classes, using our cell phones instead of a camera. It seems like a small thing, but this excites me greatly to learn to trust that I don’t need to lug around my heavy SLR camera around. This is the first trip I am leaving it at home. There is also a historian on board who is lecturing on each of the countries we are visiting. We can never have too much knowledge!
Finally, I am excited to be spending so free much time with Alan. Getting away from the mundane jobs of cooking and cleaning always renews our energy. As our granddaughter would say…just three more sleeps! That is unless we manage to move our flight to Chicago forward by a day. We are currently punting to try to make our challenges as simple as possible. We are expecting a massive snow storm in our area Sunday into Monday. Since it will be measured in feet not inches, we are hoping to get out of here before it hits! If not, this may be the most exciting part of our journey!