The Traveling Min

Summer Solstice

Today, June 21, is my absolute favorite day of the year. Better than Christmas. Better than my birthday. Better than Thanksgiving, or the last day of finals, or New Year's Eve (which I really don't like at all).

It's summer solstice!

While today is not the latest sunset (that occurs later in June or in early July) the notion that summer is here and there is so much blessed daylight makes this my favorite day of the year.

I got to celebrate summer solstice this year by actually seeing Brodie home before 11pm or midnight, and the three of us ate a fabulous Italian dinner near Smithfields Market (Margot and I will visit that tomorrow - it's been the scene of lots of drawing and quartering; additionally, in the 18th century, husbands were allowed to bring their troublesome wives to sell at the market along with their wares - gotta love that!)



A highlight of the day included our visit to St. James' Park (again). While there, Margot overheard a father admonish his son, "Don't be cheeky!" Margot laughed out loud and turned to me immediately and said, "Don't be cheeky, Mommy!"

One thing that Margot loves about the park is the giant sandbox, and I have to admit it's pretty awesome for kids. All the British tykes run around barefoot, but Margot wears her sandals. A friend of mine, who is living in Tanzania, had an unfortunate run-in with hookworm from a sandbox with her two-year-olds, and I'll never be able to allow Margot to play barefoot in a sandbox as a result. Margot is definitely annoyed that she can't take her shoes off, but I remind her that it makes it better to climb on the surrounding rocks with shoes on. So far she's accepting that explanation.

Minor Successes Provide a Major Thrill

It's 12:35 AM and I'm the only one awake here. I tried to sleep but I am jet lagged and just not tired. It doesn't help that I didn't wake up until 11:30 AM London time (which is my normal 7:30 AM wake up time at home).

Not sleeping gives me some time to reflect on why we're even here and why I just can't seem to settle in one place. And I realized this: traveling allows me to revel in minor successes. Living - even visiting - another country makes minor accomplishments a thrill. For instance, today I found an adaptor so that Margot could watch her DVDs on my computer. Score! Oh, and we walked to a normal grocery store and bought milk and bananas and porridge. Awesome! Margot and I ate lunch today for 2.95 pounds. A bargain! Tomorrow I plan to get a SIM card so that I can get my cell phone to work. In Philadelphia, my phone works and my computer works and I can drive to Trader Joes.

It's not the same as going to the grocery store at home. Here, I had to find out where the store is, then look it up on a map (a physical map, not mapquest.com), then load Margot (and Babi the pig) into the stroller, and then walk. Granted, shopping and such is not nearly as challenging here as it is in a developing country, but I can still manage a thrill from my own resourcefulness.

I remember when I first arrived in Thailand (ten years ago) that I thought it the most uncivilized and thrilling place on earth. Four months after I first arrived in Thailand I went to Nepal for three weeks. To this day, I specifically recall how I felt when I arrived back in Bangkok after my first trip to Nepal: I sunk into the cool air-conditioning of my taxi and thanked God I was alive and back in civilization. I felt safe. Thailand is a fully developed nation compared to Nepal - or at least it was ten years ago. What a thrill - to walk on the edge and come back to comfort. (I was, quite literally, on the edge. Public busses in Nepal plunge off cliffs all the time. It's really terrifying. You can read more here and here.)

I am starting to ramble a bit now. But know that I look forward to tomorrow's accomplishments (figuring out how to get my cell phone to work and who knows what else!)

Across the Pond

She's arrived! And now she has her very first passport stamp.

The actual traveling part was (almost) a breeze. I say 'almost' because I lugged 100+ pounds of toddler and luggage by myself, and so got quite a workout walking here and there with a car seat strapped to my back, my computer on my shoulder, Margot and her stroller, a carry-on stuffed with books and items that would have put our suitcase over the weight limit, and a suitcase that weighed exactly 49.5 pounds. We accidentally sat in the first-class car on the train trip from London/Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station, but I was too sweaty and tired to care so we stayed put. (Turns out the AC in the first-class car was broken, so we sweltered AND paid more for it! But I digress...)

Flying was far better than walking. Margot performed for our section of the plane for more than an hour (endless renditions of the ABC song, "You Are My Sunshine," "Hickory Dickory Dock," and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," among other songs and nursery rhymes) but she didn't scream nor cry and I'm fairly certain everyone appreciated it (the absence of crying, not necessarily the singing). By the time she finished, we actually pushed back from the gate. (Oh, how I love flying US Air.) Minutes after taking off, she fell asleep.

Whenever I try to hush Margot from singing too loudly and disturbing others, she always turns to me with this hurt expression and says, "But I'm singing my ABCs!" It's hard to explain to someone who so earnestly believes that her singing trumps others' rights that she should really take the volume down a notch or two.

I was pleasantly surprised with our flat when I arrived. It's spacious and modern, although it has a VHS player and no DVD (never mind, I can just use the computer for Caillou DVDs). I take great pleasure in hearing Margot refer to it as "the flat." There is one problem with it though: there is only one bedroom. The apartment manager was kind enough to provide a crib for Margot, but there's nowhere to put it that's quiet and private for her to nap. We tried putting it in the half-bathroom (not the first time), but she can easily turn on the water from the tap while standing in the crib, so that lasted all of 30 seconds. Alas, she will have to sleep in the bedroom. So much for the rest of us sleeping this summer...

Today the weather was just fantastic. It felt like late September here - 71 degrees and sunny. This is so much better than the 93 degrees we left behind in Philadelphia. Margot and I walked through the beautiful churchyard at St. Paul's Cathedral, which is just steps away from our flat. I really dig English gardens - they are so perfectly green and manicured! Also, their grass is better. I don't know the technical terms for it (horticulturalists out there, feel free to comment) but it is thin and wispy and lies flat. It makes the ground appear woven together. American grass is coarse and stands upright, like a brush. It's not as comfortable for sitting




After our visit to St. Paul's (we didn't take an actual tour, just wandered a bit) we picked up some lunch from Marks and Spencer and then took the Tube to St. James' Park. There we found a terrific playground - just what Margot needed. She swang and slid and see-sawed and dug in the giant sandbox, and was genuinely happy when we left. I note this happiness because there have been a few meltdowns since we arrived yesterday (some tears and crying that she wants to go home). I'm going to hold off on the heavy site-seeing until she's used to things, and we'll just spend the next couple of days doing one thing each day that she really likes. I'll save the six-hour marathon in the British Museum that I have planned for another week.

Double Take