Note about Anonymous Comments

This is just a quick note to let folks know that when you select Anonymous as you are submitting your comments, I won't know who you are. Sometimes, I can make a guess but sometimes it's hard to tell.

I can understand that you may not want personal information posted on the web. A first name would be enough for me to recognize you. Also, you can indicate in your comment that you don't want it published.

Merry Christmas!

The last couple of weeks have definately been interesting! With my resignation there has been a flurry of changes at work and I've been trying to do what I can to leave my team in a good situation. We have also been amazed by how much encouragement and support we've received from family, friends and co-workers. It is something we really appreciate because it helps to fight back that apprehension I mentioned in an earlier post. We feel so blessed to have this opportunity to travel and experience the beautiful Thai culture in so many ways.

In response to my team asking me where we are going in Thailand, I have prepared this map which shows the places we are currently planning on visiting. I do have to include a disclaimer because Karl says our plans may change once we get there. The Thai people are so friendly and welcoming that we were wishing on our last trip to Thailand that we hadn't planned everything so strictly. We often wished we could stay just a few more days with our new found friends.

We are really getting down to the wire and I don't expect to be able to make another post until after we arrive in Thailand. There is a lot to do to get packed and prepare for my sister's arrival.

4 days of work remaining and 10 days to take off!

- Elizabeth

Start Spreading the News!

The news about us going to Thailand has been spreading around our families and a few friends, but mostly by word of mouth. It’s about to become common knowledge because we just mailed out our Christmas newsletter! Not that our Christmas newsletter is equivalent to the evening news but we send it to quite a few people whether they want it or not. Sometimes I’ve wondered if we should include unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of the Christmas newsletter for those poor folks that really don’t care to hear about the yearly goings on at the Decker household.

There was a time when I was against Christmas newsletters because I thought they were so impersonal. However, I have since discovered that with families as large as ours, handwritten notes to every family member at Christmas time is quite impractical unless we both quit our jobs for the entire month of December. I also realized that when I received Christmas newsletters from others that I got a lot more information about what was going on than from the handwritten cards. I was reluctant at first and only sent out short little quarter page newsletters, but for the last four years I have done a full double-sided newsletter. Karl and I do try to make it interesting but I will let the recipients be the judge on whether we are successful. I do know that we enjoy all the holiday cards and newsletters that we receive. It’s one of the things that we love about the Christmas Season.

In addition to spreading the news to our friends and family, I have just resigned from my job. When we made the decision to go on this trip we knew that it wasn’t likely that I would be given a leave of absence. We agreed that this opportunity to travel for several months was one that couldn’t be passed up. Even though we have talked about this, there is still a little apprehension as we take this step. After all, we are just regular people not financially independent or anything like that. I think a little apprehension is natural for this situation and actually the feelings of excitement, enthusiasm and freedom are a whole lot stronger. For those that are doing some worrying on our behalf; don’t! We’ve planned well and should be just fine while we look for new jobs upon our return.

Before I close this blog entry, I do need to make a note that some of our Christmas newsletters got printed with out our email address that we will be using while we are in Thailand. I’m not sure who got the newsletters with out an email address, but everyone got this blog address. So, if you want the email address please post a comment here and ask for the address. I have to approve all comments so I’ll get your message and be able to send you the email address. I don’t want to post the email address on the blog because then we’ll get all kinds of junk in that email address.

24 days to go!

- Elizabeth

Let the preparations begin

We've actually been preparing for some time for this trip but things are really getting more definite now.   A few months back Karl bought a new digital camera. He got a new SLR but I'll leave the details to him.   He's been practicing to make sure that he knows what all the buttons do and he's not fumbling with the camera as the perfect shot gets away from him.



We have an exchange student staying with us again.   Her name is Ploy and she is with us through the end of December.    She is very nice and we enjoy having her stay with us.    Ploy is from Thailand near the Bridge over the River Khwai.



We also had an exchange student last year.    His name is Due and he is back in Thailand finishing his last year of school and studying for college entrance exams.    We hope to be able to visit him and his family during our trip. Here is a picture from our trip to Utah with Due Thanksgiving 2005.   This picture was taken with my little digital camera not Karl's new one, but I think it did a fine job.    I'll be taking my camera with us as well.

Besides the camera we are also getting some gear.    We need to travel light so the conventional luggage isn't going to do it.    We're getting backpacks for the camera and laptop and duffle bags on wheels for our clothes and toiletries.   It's going to be tough to decide what not to pack so that we don't have too much stuff to haul around.

We also got a global phone.    It is kind of cool because the phone will work anywhere in the world where there is a local phone service, but it is expensive for the calls that we make or receive (about $2/minute).    So, we'll just use it as a backup in case of emergencies.   Anyway, the best way to reach us is through this blog.

Wish us luck with the packing!

- Elizabeth

Getting Started

Although I work with computers for a living, this is the first blog that I've put together.   I guess I just don't get too caught up in the latest things until I find a need for it.   Well, going to Thailand for a few months has presented a need.   Blogging seemed to be the best way to keep our family and friends up to date on what is going on.   All the other means for doing this required user names and passwords for people to get access and that is just too much trouble.   Believe me the stuff we are going to be putting up here doesn't need protecting.   So, we're going to give blogging a try and see if it provides a no fuss way to communicate to a lot of people (We both come from large families).

- Elizabeth