tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752747884119288242024-02-01T22:41:13.496-06:00Travels with Trevor"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about." --Charles KingsleyLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.comBlogger714125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-24135137353357949372020-07-07T04:36:00.000-05:002020-07-07T05:15:08.637-05:00<div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'>Travels<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><a href="http://bit.do/fGpWd">http://bit.do/fGpWd</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.1pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-56799340141611206202018-05-12T05:11:00.001-05:002019-08-02T15:00:58.765-05:00<div class="WordSection1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-10628309778338979122018-03-13T07:06:00.000-05:002018-03-13T07:04:29.210-05:00FWD: Interestedsup Travels <a href="https://goo.gl/Zkex3E">https://goo.gl/Zkex3E</a>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-14479818974849289972018-01-18T19:17:00.001-06:002018-01-18T19:17:37.130-06:00Greetings Travels
<br>
<br><a href="https://goo.gl/mDYhc9">https://goo.gl/mDYhc9</a>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-29900211574691595452017-11-29T07:56:00.001-06:002017-11-29T07:56:45.999-06:00Hi Travels
<br>
<br><a href="http://bit.ly/2juhzrK">http://bit.ly/2juhzrK</a>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>lisagroshongLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-84612991844782762482015-12-28T21:16:00.001-06:002015-12-28T21:16:37.022-06:00Hello travelshi travels
<br>
<br>
<br><a href="http://cfhc.iphysicianhub.in/yesterday.php?missing=yqnqb1q129kmgz6k">http://cfhc.iphysicianhub.in/yesterday.php?missing=yqnqb1q129kmgz6k</a>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br><a href="mailto:lisagroshong@yahoo.com">lisagroshong@yahoo.com</a>
<br>lisagroshongLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-86796461336306215372010-07-20T08:32:00.003-05:002010-07-20T08:46:38.457-05:00Reverse culture shockBack in Zambia many months ago, Trevor and I attended a "close of service" conference to talk about post-Peace Corps life. We talked at excruciating length about reverse culture shock-- the notion that the adjustment to home can be much more difficult than going away in the first place.<br />Along with our absolute glee over being home, we have both experienced darker moments of melting down in the grocery store, momentarily forgetting which is the "right" side of the road, and missing our quiet routine, free time, and friends in Zambia.<br />Having adjusted to life in Zambia, we now see America with a much more critical eye. I'm especially having trouble with the way people here fritter away their time (Facebook!) and money, then complain about being broke and overbooked.<br />The upside is using this information to make better decisions about how to craft our own new/old lives. And lots of practice in keeping our big mouths shut!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-77641849104161398432010-06-30T17:39:00.003-05:002010-06-30T17:41:37.653-05:00PostyYou've may have noticed that I'm not updating this blog much now that I'm back in Americaland.<br />Even though every day with Trevor is an adventure (and we continue to travel, just much smaller journeys!), I'm not feeling all that inspired to post anymore.<br />I may shift over to my craft blog soon-- when/if I do, I'll put a note here!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-50102775391540761902010-06-10T09:52:00.002-05:002010-06-10T10:08:40.974-05:00TechnologyWhile I used my intermittent internet access to stay in touch with America while we were in Zambia, I hadn't counted on technology connecting me back to Africa. I guess I figured I would only keep track of Zambia by way of our remaining Peace Corps friends.<br /><br />But to my happy surprise, more and more of my Zambian friends are popping up on my Facebook list. This morning I heard from a buddy in Chadiza that a colleague Trevor and I worked with closely died unexpectedly last week. This guy was young, probably in his mid-30s, with small children. His untimely death comes as another grim reminder to me of what Zambia taught me again and again-- life is short (especially for Africans with crap health care and limited public services!).<br /><br />I don't know the circumstances of our friend's death, but coincidentally another friend in Zambia posted on Facebook that she saw three dead bodies on the road yesterday, reminding me to be grateful for ambulances. Amen to that.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-51663306920109022392010-06-09T09:43:00.002-05:002010-06-10T09:52:44.109-05:00FixupsOver the past two years, Trevor and I spent a lot of time scheming ways to fix up our home in America. Trevor mostly wanted to dig his hands in the garden. Me, I'm more interested in the interiors.<br /><br />We spent one year in a mud hut with dirt-colored walls and another year in a tiny house where the landlord didn't even want us putting pictures on the wall. Upon taking possession of our own home again, I made a visit to the hardware store for gallons of paint-- mango, yellow, robin's egg blue, minty green. Our rooms look like an Easter basket.<br /><br />A new couch is on its way to replace the dirt-colored one passed down from my grandma. Also, we replaced our fridge. The new one has an <span style="font-style: italic;">ice maker</span>.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-87349454988489573442010-06-08T09:26:00.000-05:002010-06-10T09:43:14.184-05:00NeighborhoodTrevor and I loved the street life in Zambia-- countless people cruising the roads by foot and bike at all times of day, in town and way out in the bush.<br /><br />Still, we yearned for our friendly and safe neighborhood back home, both when we lived on a walled compound (locked in with our argumentative and often drunk landlords) and when we lived on a family compound in the village, where we could only escape constant scrutiny by hiding in our dark little hut.<br /><br />In America, we live in a funky old house with a huge yard, around the corner from my parents and a mile from a flourishing downtown with an impressive public library. Now that we're home, I walk the dogs around the block and chat with the friendly neighbors, feeling very Mr. Rogers. We eat dinner at the picnic table in the front porch and greet the strolling passersby. All last week, folks stopped by in to welcome us back to the neighborhood, bringing fresh strawberries, lettuce, and flowers from their gardens.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-29790690200103183852010-06-04T16:49:00.002-05:002010-06-04T16:57:25.604-05:00Home, sweet sweet homeEven though I am surrounded by drip-covered cans of paint, half emptied boxes, lamps with no bulbs, and complicated to-do lists, I am so incredibly happy to be home in my home that is filled with luxuries large and small.<br /><br />I've got a contented little dog sighing on the couch next to me, a laptop that's repaired after contracting nearly deadly viruses in Africa, a very secure wireless high-speed internet connection, and ice clunking out of the ice maker I insisted on installing in my new refrigerator.<br /><br />Best of all, I have upcoming dates with friends and family AND a husband on his way home from day three of his perfect new job and leaving Sunday for a conference while I audition a potential second dog.<br /><br />And I am soaking it all in.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-16672103343780523162010-05-26T12:37:00.002-05:002010-05-26T12:45:00.867-05:00Domestic travelingOn our drive up to Fargo last weekend for the marathon we had many hours to admire the stark but bewitching Midwestern landscape. Barns, fields, cows, etc. We also had the opportunity to indulge our love of road food (Fritos, giant fountain sodas, a cooler full of sandwiches), rest areas (especially the info centers staffed by friendly, helpful senior citizens; the ones in South Dakota even gave out commemorative pins and called the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead for opening hours!), and radio (the highlight: hearing the tie-breaking extra inning of Sunday's Cardinals game).<br /><br />I love how the highway also incubates great conversations. We talked about how we might use what we learned in the past two years to shape our future.<br /><br />And the future is already underway-- we've swung right back into painting our house in preparation for moving in over the weekend (we hope) before Trevor starts his new job Tuesday!!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-17669596746857748022010-05-18T10:23:00.003-05:002010-05-18T10:30:01.272-05:00TwirlingIn the week since we've been home, I've remembered how frantic and busy life in America can be. Catching up with friends and family, making way too many trips to Target, fixing up our house to move back in, job interviews (Trevor, not me), eating our weight in tortilla chips (me, not Trevor) ...<br /><br />All this, and we're headed to Fargo this weekend for a marathon that we signed up for back in January. Those initial slogs through Zambia's rainy season seem far away now. Trevor has kept up with his training schedule through all the travel and time changes, but I've struggled with motivation and now a cold and a weird pain in my knee. Luckily I'm only doing the half marathon. If I have to, I'll walk. Or crawl.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-55408430447271484822010-05-15T16:28:00.002-05:002010-05-15T16:36:19.901-05:00Home againI have debated whether to continue writing the blog now that Trevor and I are back home, and I've decided I will for now. After all, life with Trevor is always a journey!<br /><br />And we're still traveling! We spent part of this week on the road, visiting family in St. Louis. We observed that culture shock hits much worse in the city than our relatively sleepy little town. St. Louis takes America to the extreme, with its sprawling strip malls and multi-lane highways full of Hummers (seriously!??!) and angry, honking drivers. Although I love having the opportunity to buy a 32 oz. Diet Dr. Pepper for 59 cents, I didn't miss family drama or traffic.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-11089409142486625322010-05-09T16:33:00.002-05:002010-05-09T16:41:25.412-05:00Final legWell, the journey is now complete-- we're home, at least in our hometown, if not in our own actual house (that will be another week or two). We managed to dodge the cloud of volcanic ash and arrive just a few hours late instead of days late as I had feared.<br /><br />It's fabulous to be home! Although we're still a little jetlaggy, we're soaking in what's left of the spring flowers, catching up with family and friends, eating way too much of everything, and plotting our next steps. Trevor already has a job interview.<br /><br />Maybe we'll get slammed by the reverse culture shock that everybody has warned us about, but for now I'm loving the grocery store full of a zillion choices, listening to NPR while I go for a run wearing whatever I want and not getting stared at or commented upon, and letting the dog sleep on my pillow. (Although she snores.)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-68542640895123128302010-05-05T11:29:00.003-05:002010-05-05T11:32:30.745-05:00Volcano, still.I feel like the universe is messing with me as I nervously scroll the interwebs trying to figure out how I might change our airline tickets if, in fact, the Dublin airport does not open back up in the next 36 hours. This is one of those times I'm cursing myself for booking online instead of through a human being, and for not buying travel insurance.<br /><br />I just want to go home. I would swim if I could, though my giant heaps of luggage would quickly pull me under.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-15206218081172558172010-05-01T07:50:00.001-05:002010-05-01T07:54:43.813-05:00The morning afterAs we walked from Amsterdam's Central Station back to the hotel where we're meeting Trevor's dad and brother, we lamented the fact that the family had to arrive on such a gloomy day and after the Queen's Night festivities. Not only did Trevor's brother miss the flea market, which he would have <span style="font-style: italic;">loved, </span>but the normally pristine streets are filled with wet garbage. And a lot of other really icky stuff.<br /><br />But when I walked our laundry around the corner, I saw scrubby Dutch people out, sweeping the sidewalks. And the sun keeps peeking out.<br /><br />Now, if they would just hurry up and get here!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-20550679966394123492010-04-30T08:56:00.002-05:002010-04-30T09:02:08.130-05:00FleasWe went out late yesterday afternoon just to see what all the Queenès Night fuss was about, only to find that just about every street in Utrecht's city center had become a long, skinny garage sale. We walked around in the increasingly packed streets until just past dark, around 9:30 pm, and bought a few small things. The market and accompanying party were allegedly going to continue all night but it started thundering and raining around midnight, which quieted things down a bit.<br /><br />In the morning, a few hardy souls were setting up their stalls again in the drizzle, but other people had dumped their wares off the tables and abandoned the junk on the streets. A dumpstererès delight!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-10875847646183571282010-04-29T04:04:00.002-05:002010-04-29T04:09:08.488-05:00QueenieBy accident, we've landed in Utrecht just in time to celebrate Queen's Night (and day), an overnight, citywide drunken party commemorating the Queen's birthday. According to our hosts at the Hostel Strowis where we're staying, the entire city will also be filled with a giant flea market.<br /><br />Knowing us, I'm more nervous about the flea market than the party.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-58466031172240212492010-04-26T02:10:00.003-05:002010-04-26T02:19:34.505-05:00Like ChristmasAfter a full day of strolling around Amsterdam, shopping like the day after Thanksgiving, lamenting all the treasures we lost in our bags, and being somewhat relieved to be rid of what we could freely admit was four giant bags of mostly junk, arrived back at our hotel to discover our luggage was on their way over from Schiphol airport.<br /><br />Praise be!<br /><br />Now, not only do we have our original stuff back, but Trevor has an entire ensemble of Dutch hipster clothing, complete with purple trousers!<br /><br />Also, during our travels, Trevor dumpstered a giant pile of old maps, so now we have even more crap than before. (And remember how before, it was already way too much stuff, mostly garbage? Yeah.)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-51998121818707311362010-04-24T20:51:00.002-05:002010-04-24T20:51:00.936-05:00Spring forwardI knew we had re-entered civilization when we landed at the Cairo airport and promptly spent $30 on <span style="font-style: italic;">breakfast</span>.<br /><br />But aside from sticker shock and disappearing luggage, I have to say that it's a complete pleasure to be back in the first world.<br /><br />We flew almost directly north from Johannesburg (according to the in-flight map, we actually flew right over Chipata!) and even though we traveled for 24 hours, we didn't change a single time zone. <span style="font-style: italic;">But </span>we left behind blistering equatorial weather and the worst mosquitos in 27 months, landing instead in gorgeous, cool spring weather with blooming daffodils and sunlight until past 9 pm! Plus sidewalk cafes, jazz on the radio, free high-speed internet, coffee on every corner, and people <span style="font-style: italic;">who mistake us for locals</span>.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-55754913183603344352010-04-24T13:39:00.002-05:002010-04-24T13:52:00.443-05:00Trevor finally gets an excuse to wear my undies."Praying for the best" did not turn out to not be a winning strategy this time.<br /><br />We managed to arrive in Amsterdam without a single delay, but our bags did not.<br /><br />Things got off to a bad start when the check-in agents in Lusaka tried to charge us $590 for overweight bags (a dubious claim, since they somehow got much heavier between being weighed at the office and arriving at the airport). Then the agents offered to help us sort out the manner if I could give them "a little something to buy drinks."<br /><br />When they mocked the size of my bribe, I knew we were in trouble. But I could not have guessed that "trouble" would mean they seemingly did not check in our bags at all. All four have completely disappeared from the airline's computer system, though we have the claim tickets.<br /><br />Well, the silver lining is that, as noted above, Trevor finally has a legitimate excuse to share my underwear. (Though we bought him a new set of clothes-- including undies-- on the way to the hotel.)<br /><br />And in our frenzy to collude with the gate agents and make it look like we were making our bags lighter, we threw a ton of stuff from our checked bags into our carry-ons, so we have a bunch of things that would otherwise be lost now. And my carry-on contains the clothes I planned to wear on the holiday, so even though Trevor landed with nothing but a toothbrush and sandals, it could be worse. We have <span style="font-style: italic;">money</span>, so I think we'll manage somehow.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-61254720364108141162010-04-23T06:42:00.002-05:002010-04-23T06:54:09.829-05:00BaggageNormally, we travel light-- for example, once we spent two weeks in Europe with carry-on luggage alone, including <em>bike helmets</em>.<br /><br />I had hoped it would be the same thing for our trip home, seeing as how we're traveling via Europe, with about ten billion stops along the way. But alas, we have managed to accumulate even more stuff than we came here with, which is even more incredible when you realize we have jettisoned nearly everything we arrived with and acquired all new stuff while we were here.<br /><br />As a result, we've spent the morning madly weighing our numerous bags and checking airline websites to make sure we're within the limits. As with our reservations, I can't get a definitive answer so I'm about ready to give up and just pray for the best.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75274788411928824.post-48718231704722645122010-04-22T04:24:00.002-05:002010-04-22T04:31:13.251-05:00ReturningThat's it-- after a few teary speeches, handing out of commemorative patches, and ringing of a bell (actually a tire rim, but close enough), we're now officially Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.<br /><br />Seeing as how we're still not 100 percent sure we're going anywhere tomorrow (more likely: we leave Zambia and sit in Cairo for... awhile), this seems a bit premature. But still! We're done!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02984526341389613097noreply@blogger.com0