Wandering Browns

More than any place we have lived, I am having a hard time with the people and culture of China. I'm not sure if it's my pregnancy hormones, or Landon's constant inability to listen and his boundless energy, or the setting of our assignment where we are in the middle of a fairly large city, but nevertheless it has been a hard adjustment. Coming off assignments in western countries, and before that very friendly Asian countries in Korea and Indonesia, I guess my expectations for behavior are a little different. What makes it more difficult for me is this is the most cushy assignment we have been on! The hotel is great- Landon has his own room with doors! Breakfast and dinner are provided, and we have more space than we have ever had! It really is the best assignment for us right now and most comfortable for me as I get more pregnant. This is how far Landon is ahead of me... almost always unless we're near a busy road To me, it seems that while the Chinese people w...

Scene from our drive Austin's project again has some delays, which left us with a free weekend. We are hoping to go to Bali later this week after getting an official temporary release. Here's to hoping that it comes through!Anyway, Saturday morning came around and we found out we would not be able to just up and leave for Bali like we were planning. We had to wait for more official approval and stuff, which was not going to happen over the weekend. Finding that out around 8:00 am Saturday, Austin suggested that we go to Yogyakarta for the weekend. There is a ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there, so we could go to church, and there were some ruins that I really wanted to see. Plus, we wanted to get out of Cilacap for awhile. We have literally done everything there is to do here. At 8:45 am, I looked up hotels in Yogya. There happened to be a Hyatt Regency there where we could use our accrued hotel points to stay there instead of money! Yay! Au...

So far in our wanderings, we have lived in countries that are primarily Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. Korea had many Buddhist temples and Buddhists as well. I have found out a few things about the human family that are encouraging and I wanted to share. Please note that this is based on my observations and my opinions alone. I am not a sociologist or a theologian, just a traveling observer with some time to think. First of all, I think the undercurrent of all of these religions is love. Love for family, love for God (in whatever form) and love for others. Of course there are extremists in all religions that don't practice this principle, but I have found that most people that I interact with are kind, loving and courteous. Case in point: after humoring us by allowing Landon to trick or treat around the hotel, some hotel staff came back the next day to drop off a pumpkin bag, candy, treats and another present. This is going way above and beyond anything that they would be...