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    Okay, so it took us about a month to get this together and actually take the time to post it. Here are some things that we have come to realize after being on the road for such an extended time:

1. Before we left home, we knew nothing of the world outside of Mississippi. Now we know just a very small amount.
2. Life in the USA is easy/much more privileged as compared to life anywhere else that we have been.
3. God is good. Seeing so much more of His creation has really improved our view on this fact.
4. Long-distance or extended travel is much more difficult than we expected it to be.
5. We have much less patience than we previously thought we had.
6. People in Fiji tend to have an extremely high tolerance for hallucinogenic drinks (kava). At least they are happy all the time!
7. Bus travel in many places (such as Turkey…the BEST!!!) is much more efficient and clean as compared to good old Greyhound USA.
8. Cold showers aren’t so bad…if you’re in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. However, they are awful in the Himalayan mountains in Nepal in 30-40 F temperatures!
9. The proper technique for using squat toilets.
10. Speaking of toilets, it turns out that they are NOT a basic human right. (Silly American us!) Some cost upwards of $1 with no tissue or cleaning provided.
11. Clothing is much cheaper in SEAsia than in the United States. Little shopping trip anyone? Nepal for cold weather clothes and Thailand, Vietnam, or Malaysia for warm.
12. Snowy mountains beside sunny beaches are not just in fairy tales! They are in New Zealand!
13. Trying the local food usually does not equal health or happiness for me or Jennifer.
14. We will never be able to see it all. Sadly.
15. Time really does seem to fly when one is having a marvelous time!
16. Everyone (almost) seems to hate us Americans. Turns out they are just jealous though…(Ha ha!)
17. It is possible to remain in absolutely awful shape even when a person walks 10 miles per day on average over the course of 8 months.
18. There are far more sheep in New Zealand and more kangaroos in Australia than there are people in the respective countries.
19. We are enormously blessed to have been born in a country where true Christianity is still practiced and applauded. More specifically, being from the south (the Bible belt) is an enormous privilege.
20. Photographs cannot do this world justice. It must be experienced through sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell in order to even understand half of what is going on around oneself. 

    As stated in my previous post, we got a car to drive around Europe. Now, to normal people this might not be such an exciting adventure. Just driving from place to place, stopping in some great cities along the way…Not exactly an ADVENTURE. For us, however, every day seems to end up in some adventure or another. Call us unlucky…Or maybe we’re lucky. At least we have stories to tell! We began this adventure by driving across eastern France. Beautiful countryside, quaint villages, Jen learning to drive a standard. What!?! Learning to drive a standard in our brand spankin’ new sports car? Well, did we mention that it carries full insurance with no deductible? No time like the present! She did great. Until she stopped in a town at a red light, that is. On a hill. With a line of cars behind us. With drivers who were in a town of 500 in the middle of nowhere but for some reason were in a real big hurry. Maybe their cows were having babies…Anyway, she did well overall. That’s what counts. She didn’t even yell at me or get mad when I told her how to work the clutch. Now that’s saying a lot.

    The next day, we were going to drive around in Luxembourg, a baby country crammed between Germany, France, and Belgium. We crossed from France to Belgium and then into Luxembourg that morning. After driving around for awhile, we were driving along a river and saw a sign that said Germany was just over the next bridge. We looked at one another, laughed a bit, and I took the turn onto the bridge. One minute, Luxembourg, the next, Germany. Drove around the little German village for a few minutes, then crossed back into Luxembourg. Our third and fourth border crossings of the day. Then we got a bit lost. How we managed to get lost in such a teeny tiny country, I don’t know. Long story short, we ended up crossing back into Germany accidentally, driving on a bicycle path (good thing we have a really small car!!!) for a few miles and getting ugly looks from cyclists, and crossing back into Luxembourg through some miracle. The 5th and 6th border crossings of the day. Later in the day, we crossed from Luxembourg into Belgium again…Good thing we’re in the European Union! If we were not, our passports would definitely be running out of pages!

    As a general rule, European road signs seem quite confusing and chaotic to us at the moment. On the expressway, there may be 2-3 names for every section. Road signs may show a city for awhile, then stop showing it with the driver having to rely on intuition to know when to turn. In the cities, one road may change names 10 times within a few short miles. No slight rights or left, just straight roads that change names for no apparent reason! Speed limits range from 35 or 40 miles per hour in towns to 85 miles per hour on the expressway. And no one pays any attention to the limits! Roads in the city may have lanes that cars and trams share. A bit nerve racking indeed! There are bicyles everywhere! I have ended up driving on random sidewalks and bicycle paths accidentally on several occasions. One way streets? Forgetaboutit!

    Well, since we got our car, we have seen a bit of France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and are now in Denmark. Stay tuned for all of our future adventures driving around in Europe! Wish us luck!!!

    Hi! We just wanted to add a short note to ease the confusion about the change in itinerary and location from eastern to western Europe so fast. We recently found out about a program called “Eurodrive” through the french car manufacturer, Renault. We signed up fast, since we love to have the freedom to drive around as we did in New Zealand, and because the publc transportation is so expensive in Europe anyway. We will have the car until August 1st, then will head out to Iceland on August 5th from London. We will write more on it later, just wanted to send a little update…