Sixintheworld.com

As some of you know, in my real life, I am an Internet executive providing internet services to millions of people. When those services go down, it is like a 5 alarm fire. We do everything we can to get them up quickly and keep them flowing. In my travel life we run a nice family blog, which is more than able to handle the traffic from our friends, family and fellow travel lovers. When I built the site, I broke most of the rules you need for a high traffic site. I opted for pretty over fast. I chose a platform which was easy to update and maintain instead of efficient, and I opted to do the entire thing myself instead of asking for help from my engineer friends. Yesterday those choices came home to roost and our readers paid the price. If this was a business, I would spend lots of money and buy all kinds of server capacity. It is not, so I am spending a little bit of money and doing all the things I can in my capacity to lighten the load and let more people on. You may experience a few more days of congestion, so please be patient and keep trying. We’ll be back and hopefully worth the effort.

UPDATE: All seems to be well once again. If you want to see the show a friend has posted a link at Andrus Family on Oprah

Technorati Tags: technical difficulties

Many of you at home have asked us to describe our “normal” day on the road. This is an impossible task, because there is no normal day. There isn’t even a normal week. We piece together different forms of travel for different parts of the trip. I will elaborate later, but by means of travel, I do not mean mode of transportation–I mean the whole shebang, the complete travel experience. At times this creates problems as we have to adjust from one routine to establish another, but on a whole it keeps the entire trip free and new. To understand what I mean, here is our list of different approaches to travel.

Phase 1 American tourists on a self-guided rapid exploration - New Zealand and the first week of Australia.
During this time we were our own travel agents. Since we were in a hurry to see things, we were in constant motion touring these two countries in a camper van and a minivan respectively. It was a great way to jam a lot of cities, sites, and activities into a small amount of time, but at the end of it we were more tired than when we began.

Phase 2 Australians on Holiday - Next 3 weeks of Australia - We spent a 3 lovely weeks in Caloundra just hanging out by the beach, much like an average Australian family on holiday. We factored in some activities but most of our time was focused on relaxing, doing school work, and meeting people.

Phase 3 Backpackers - 3 months in China and Southeast Asia - When we all went to REI and picked out our backpacks, this is the kind of travel we had in mind. We moved from place to place but at a slower pace than in Phase 1. When things felt right in a city, we stayed longer then we planned, e.g., Beijing, Hanoi, Saigon. When things didn’t go well we just packed up and left, e.g, Xian, Mui Ne. One of the highlights of this form of travel is the many new friends we made along the way. The low point however is the number of days we had to sleep in our mummy sacks for fear of catching something from hotel bedding. There is a way of avoiding this, which we use whenever the budget allows: bumping up to Flashpacker level. Flashpackers travel independently and spend just enough money to avoid bugs and have their own bathroom. Whenever things get too rough on the accommodation front, we throw in a stay at a Sheraton using our Preferred Guest points. A little luxury never hurt anyone.

Phase 4 Volunteers - 3 1/2 weeks in Chennai, India - 3 1/2 weeks teaching, playing and living with kids. Our rambling ways were put on pause as we lived in the volunteer home/preschool. Trying to overcome the massive culture shock India imposes on Westerners, we stayed close to home and tried to acclimatize ourselves gradually. We were so glued to the home that we didn’t even have time to go and explore Chennai or Mamallapuram (the Unesco World Heritage site 50k down the road). Oh well…next time.

Phase 5 American tourists on a travel agent-guided exploration - This is the phase we are in right now. In general we avoid travel agents and prefer to set our own itinerary and make our own arrangements. India is so overwhelming in its size and cultural differences that Anne decided she would turn the details of our non-volunteering phase over to an agent in Delhi who came highly recommended. She gave him a list of cities we wanted to visit and things we wanted to do, and he magically turned them into an itinerary complete with hotels, a few activities, three flights, a train ride, and some drivers. Doing so came at a price, and much like when building a house, the specified budget fell by the wayside. (Fortunately we were under budget throughout Asia, because we’re making up for it now.) With the arrangements worked out and a driver to whisk us from place to place, our pace has picked up significantly. We are seeing one city a day and covering a lot of ground. As a result we’re exhausted and will probably put the brakes on in South Africa.

I personally like the backpacker form of travel the best. I don’t mind the smells or the bugs, and I think the pace gives you more insight into a place and its people. The rapid exploration phases check more things off the list and generate many more pictures per day, but the speed wears the family out and tensions build as we focus more on getting to the next place than enjoying where we are. It also costs much more per day because as we’ve learned: motion=money.

I polled the rest of the family and here is what they like best:

Anne - Backpacker…ok Flashpacker (she has a thing about cockroaches)
Dax - Holiday
McKane - Volunteering
Kieran - Self-guided exploration
Asher - Self-guided exploration

I guess with that tally we will keep mixing it up. We still have a number of phases left, and I can’t say with any certainty which of the upcoming countries will fit in each category. I assume we will go back to being backpackers in South America, take a bit of a holiday in South Africa, and have spurts of rapid exploration in Eastern Europe. No matter how it turns out, it’s been a great benefit of this trip to learn we can do it all. Previously we were very good at rapid exploration. Our standard two week vacations (17 days with weekends and holidays) were always a rush to see as much as possible. We would throw in a couple of beach days to try and relax, but many times those days became the casualties of some other interesting temple, museum, or architectural wonder we needed to hurry and get to. It’s hard to imagine how we’ll ever travel in two-week windows again, but there’s a good chance we’ll bust out of our traditional mode and take more time to smell the roses…or the incense.

We’ve spent the past week traveling in an entirely new way and we’re paying the price. I sit now in our hotel in Jodhpur where I have 10 minutes of internet access with the sole purpose of getting this ditty up to let you all know we’re still alive. In the past week we’ve flown at a madcap pace through Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur, Pushkar, Udaipur, Jojowar, and Jodhpur. We’ve seen amazing sites but have had no time to wash our clothes or get online. Those of you who have sent emails…we’re sorry for not getting back to you but promise we will soon. We are hopping in the truck now to go to Jaisalmer where we have one night in a hotel before heading out on a 2-day camel safari. We’ll try to find a place to get all our posts up and do emails tonight. All we can do is hope.

At least the camels won’t mind if our clothes stink.

Five months ago Anne and I talked about two non-travel posts that would be a little deeper and more introspective than our normal posts. The first went up when we got to China, so it is only appropriate I get the second one up in India. China and India have been the two biggest unknowns for us. They were the most intimidating and probably caused us to think the most about why we were taking this trip. There is nothing like a little fear to stir up some deep musings.

Top 6 lessons we want the family to learn on the trip and how we apply those lessons (and because I can’t make it through a January without doing some kind of performance review, I will also include a grade on how we are doing)

1. It’s a small world and we are all brothers and sisters
Application - Obtain a love of and sense of responsibility for all people in the world.

Status - I would grade us a A- on this one. During our time in Australia and New Zealand we didn’t make much progress on this goal, but traveling around China, Southeast Asia and now India we have given ourselves much more opportunity to learn this lesson. We have met people from all over the world, we have made friends with locals and travelers alike. We have had to be comfortable and supportive in situations where people think differently, where people look differently, and where people’s goals and opportunities are radically different from our own. We have also gained a much greater understanding of the day to day reality of people in multiple countries which are much less fortunate than our own. We have been surprised how small things can make a big difference. Small amounts of money can make huge differences in people’s lives. Small acts of friendship can go a long way. For example, it has been hard on Asher as her blond hair gets her noticed everywhere we go. In some countries she has been such a novelty that we’ve had to plan extra time just to get from point A to point B because so many people want to take their picture with her. As a family we decided to not get angry or dismissive, but rather to indulge people’s curiosity, smile, and allow them to pull Asher or the boys into their pictures. We learned how letting people practice their English on us helps prepare them for a better future. I have been proud of the kids’ reactions to situations where we have to think about others. We’ve discussed many of the world’s major problems, such as pollution, poverty, sickness, lack of employment and education, and health issues. We’ve exposed them to people and ideas that are trying to fix these problems. Hopefully our actions will back up our discussions and the seeds we are planting today will grow into action as our children continue to grow.

2. Family first - Grow together, play together, work together
Application - Create memories to share forever and look for ways to help one another

Status - This is a tricky one. I see all the good the trip has created, but I also see the tension and bickering which come from 24/7 companionship. I would give us another A- and ignore the bickering: what family doesn’t bicker? In New Zealand and Australia the kids had to come to grips with the fact that their only playmates for the next year happened to share the same DNA. They found innovative ways to play together and to bridge the age gaps between them. The relationships between the children are all much stronger than when we left and Dax is much more a part of Kieran and Asher’s lives. As the trip has progressed the number of shared experiences and things to joke and reminisce about has grown exponentionally. Some of these memories are the big ones you would expect–climbing the Great Wall, Zorbing in New Zealand, riding elephants in Thailand. Some come from being part of another culture such as visiting Richard’s house in Australia, crossing the street through a sea of motorbikes in Hanoi, or sharing dinner with new friends in Beijing. But even the smallest experiences are rich with inside jokes which will prove fodder for lifetime of family laughter. The kids’ camaraderie is enhanced by the added responsibility the big ones–Dax and McKane–have taken to look after the little ones–Kieran and Asher. McKane is especially attentive to the whereabouts and status of each family member. So the bottom line is although we still have our moments of frustration, the good is far outweighing the bad and the family is coming together as a result of the trip.

3 Perseverance
Application - When difficult things happen–such as injury, sickness, lost items, or money problems–we buckle down and get to the next good thing
Grade: B

I put this goal in to remind us to keep going if things ever became really tough. They haven’t been tough yet and hopefully they won’t be, so this goal may have to wait until after the trip. We haven’t had too many trials or concerns so far. Most of the problems have been small, like broken computer cords or lost iPods or silk sacks. There is still room for improvement sice these small things often cause us too much mental anguish. The power cord we left in a hotel in Coff’s Harbor, Australia is gone (the hotel went out of business); we will never see the bag we left in the taxi in Xi’an again. So just as with life at home, we still need to learn to put things in perspective and not sweat the small stuff.

4 Hard things are good things
Application - Get out of your comfort zone; gain a sense of accomplishment from conquering challenges
Grade: A

As I mentioned above, we haven’t had any big trials to date, but we’ve done a great job of throwing everyone out of their comfort zones. Whenever we’ve become comfortable in a culture, it is usually time to leave. When we were in Saigon, I hit a wall. After figuring out our rhythm, I was ready to set up camp. I didn’t care if we missed a couple other countries. I was tired and at that point Vietnam was becoming easy. Anne did not indulge me, and we pushed on up the Mekong to Cambodia. A similar thing happened in Thailand, and again thanks to the coercion of my wife, we pushed on to Laos. I am glad we did. Each of us has had hard things: Kieran the food, McKane the languages, Anne the pollution, Tom the smells, Dax the missing of friends, and Asher the constant grabbing and touching from foreigners, but nothing has slowed us down.

5 Gratitude
Application - Less focus on stuff and money and an increased spiritual focus that comes from being grateful
Grade: B+

In deciding to take this trip and spend a hefty chunk of our savings, Anne and I took great strides toward focusing more on experiences and less on material goods. Anne tried to simplify at home and minimize the “stuff” we left behind and I acknowledged that a pause in earning was an acceptable career move. Eleven months of living out of backpacks and buying only what we need to get by–cookies, pens, memory cards–seemed an enticing alternative to maintaining a house, a few cars, and busy schedules. We’ve found a great sense of liberation in our decreased consumerism and a heightened sense of gratitude for the opportunity to even be on this trip in the first place. (An added benefit is that is makes dealing with souvenir salespeople a no brainer. We simply say, “No thanks, it won’t fit in my backpack.”)

This one has been much harder for the kids and admittedly is a lot to ask from children. Dax has excelled, contenting himself with a new pair of iPod headphones and a few T-shirts over the past 5 months. The younger ones still want to buy toys and tchotchkes everywhere we go and struggle at sharing the few treasures they brought along. Our strategy has been to give them a small allowance, which they use on expendable items (which Asia in particular is full of). We’ve left many a 50 cent toy in a hotel room for the maids to take home, a reality they’ve accepted but which doesn’t prevent them from wanting something new at the next stop.

But we have nearly broken that cycle and are thinking less about what is the next big thing is we need to acquire, although a “pool table” does come up once in a while. We have become much more focused on experiences rather than stuff. And the family is also grateful daily for these experiences. Perhaps seeing God’s creations and spending so much time meeting His people everywhere just lends itself to gratitude much more than a new car, computer, or plaything. We have created a great foundation for gratitude but we still have a ways to go.

6 Gain a zeal for tackling all the world has to offer. (sights, sounds, people, smells, tastes, etc.)
Application: Purely loving the world and embracing all it has to offer

Grade: C

This is our stretch goal. If we only had the big boys, I think we could have done well on this one, but we have to be much more tempered in our adventure and zeal with a 4 and 6 (now 7) year old. I realize I am a hard grader on this one. We have made progress and accomplished much trying to cram a lifetime of travel into one year, but there is still much more we could do. After 5 months of traveling, we have days when one or more of us will sit on the bed and say, “I don’t want to go.” Most activities have one or two detractors who would rather be doing something else, like watching TV or playing computer games. We sometimes indulge those interests–Anne would say too often. We should make more progress on this goal over the second half of the trip as the country count goes up and we have fewer opportunities for such distractions.

For those who are new readers, we don’t digress like this often. We will be back to our normal travel postings in the next day or two. India is giving us plenty to write about.

Technorati Tags: Australia, China, Goals, New Zealand, Nonprofit, Rising Star Outreach, Rising Star Outreach, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW

I am currently shedding tears in an internet cafe in Laos. I have had no internet access for the last 2 days as we floated down the Mekong in a slow boat. When I logged on tonight, I was shocked to learn that one of the finest men I have had the privilege of knoing passed away a few days ago.

Garry Betty was the CEO of EarthLink and a big part of why I joined the company. He was an even bigger part of why I stayed with EarthLink for the past 8 years. It was largely because of Garry’s professional and personal blessing that we embarked on this trip. Garry was a great CEO, a wonderful friend, and a magnificent mentor. My heart goes out to his wife, Kathy, and the entire Betty family. If it were humanly possible, I would be in Atlanta for his funeral. Because it is not, please accept my long distance condolences and know how much I loved and appreciated this great man. He was the best of men: strong in intellect, tough in business, and the kind of ethical leader most companies can only hope to have at their helm. Garry, I cannot express in words how much you will be missed.

I will continue to have limited access for the next few days. When I am able, I will reach out to my fellow EarthLinkers. Until that time, know that our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Just as soon as we got settled into our wonderful, wi-fi enabled home away from home in Chiang Mai, an earthquake shook things up off the coast of Taiwan, bringing much of Asia’s internet traffic to a grinding halt. Thankfully, there were no resulting tsunamis and loss of life was minimal, but an undersea cable that routes and carries untold amounts of voice and data traffic through the region was seriously damaged. So we are trapped. We can access a few select sites, send emails, and make calls on Skype, but we can’t get to this blog, approve your comments for posting, or add new content…bummer, since we were using Chiang Mai as a place to do a lot of updating. Hopefully we’ll regain access in a few days, but since we’re heading into Laos on Monday or Tuesday, we may not have time to get much done. Tom’s mom, Lorelie, has been kind enough to post this for us so you’d know we’re still out here.

So even if they don’t show up, please keep leaving comments and sending emails. We’ve got lots to tell you about the King’s Flora Exposition, the food in northern Thailand, and how we never want to leave Chiang Mai, but that will all have to wait for another day.

This hiccup in Asia’s connectivity is yet another reminder of how fragile much of the world’s communications and business
infrastructure really is. All it takes is a power outage, a natural disaster, or a crazed politician to cut you off from your money, your family, and your ability to do much of anything. We get frustrated when we can’t use plastic to pay or e-tickets to board, but cash and paper talk when computers are silent.

We’ll see you again once the curtain has lifted.

This is one of two philosophical posts I have been thinking about since we decided to take this trip. I could have written them as two of our first entries, but I decided to post them when our travel train had a full head of steam. After three countries and a little time in China, I think the boilers are on high. We might even be getting to the point where this has become a lifestyle and not a vacation.

During the months leading up to our trip, we talked to a lot of people about what we were doing. Their responses fell mostly into two categories. The first group of people thought, “How wonderful,” and joked about joining us in one capacity or another. The second group gave us mystified looks and bluntly asked, “Why?” In both groups, I am sure there is still a bit of wonderment, a “why this?” or “why now?” I will admit the timing could have been better, but it also could have been a whole lot worse. Anne and I have been talking about doing something like this for years. It was often one of those late night subjects and was usually spawned by the discovery of a family, individual, or couple who had decided to travel around the world. We would talk about it, mention places we wanted to go, and let it pass into the realm of dreams. However last year was a pivotal time in our lives. A confluence of occurrences drove home three very important lessons and pushed me to take this trip and take it now.

The first happened about a year ago, when good friends of ours lost their 16 year old son in a car crash. It was a tragic situation for those who knew and loved him, but it was especially hard on our friends, his parents. As they went through the grieving process, they both said things that touched me. They pointed out how fleeting this earthly existence is. Comfortingly, we share a belief in an afterlife where we will see our loved ones again, but that doesn’t take away the pain they suffered as future graduations, marriages, grandchildren, etc. disappeared in a single night. Their response was to glory in the time they had spent with their son and to fondly remember the many vacations they had taken together. The lesson to me was to enjoy the kids more while they’re still young. They grow up quickly and you can never get your time with them back.

The second epiphany happened while I was on a volunteer trip cleaning up New Orleans from the devastation left by Katrina. We spent a couple of weekends working in different areas of Mississippi and New Orleans, removing trees, gutting houses, and trying to lend a hand to those in need. However, it was a single moment on one of these trips that impacted me the most. We were in New Orleans about 10 weeks after the hurricane; some were getting their lives back together. Some restaurants were open, some people were back in their homes. We even stopped to get beignets at Cafe du Monde on the end of our first full day. On the second morning, we were driving into the city to gut a house in the 9th Ward. As we came around a bend on I-10, we could see the Superdome with all its damage on the right and to the left was an equally impressive structure. A large landfill had suddenly appeared just to the side of the city. I had driven the road a few years earlier and knew there had not been a landfill in that location. Then it hit me: that giant landfill with bulldozers running across it had been people’s possessions only 11 weeks before. Many of the people who were now putting their lives back together were doing it without their stuff. As gut wrenching as it was to add people’s wedding albums, family photo albums, and treasured wall hangings to the pile, I knew they would all be fine even in the absence of these keepsakes. For those whose families had lived through that terrifying day, they would pull things together and start over. I then tried to think of how I would fare in similar circumstances. I hope I would be fine without stuff, but my actions reflect a different prioritization. I spend a lot of time acquiring, using, and servicing possessions. My trip to New Orleans drove home to me a very important lesson: stuff is just stuff.

The third thing I learned was fairly common. It is a lesson I know comes with age, but one I had hoped would come decades down the road. In March I had to get my hip replaced. I knew this was coming and had postponed the surgery for a number of years. In preparation, I needed to get a physical to be cleared for surgery. I hadn’t been to a regular doctor for a number of years and did not have a primary physician in Georgia, our residence for almost four years. I found one in the Yellow Pages and went in for a quick check up. He did all the normal tests. My blood pressure was low, my cholesterol good, and my general sense of invincibility–enhanced with with bionic joints–remained in tact. A week after the physical, they called and said there was a problem with my blood. They suggested I go see a very specific hematologist. I quickly looked him up on line and noticed that he was not a hematologist but an oncologist. My mind raced down paths I did not want it to follow. After a week, I got an idea of what had scared my primary doctor. The oncologist decided to run a more thorough series of tests and told me to wait another week. I spent another seven days on the edge of my seat before the oncologist asked me to come back to his office–not the best sign. Fortunately, the only thing broken was the machinery that ran my first blood test. I was cancer and blood disease free. The oncologist was great and told me to try and avoid him for 40 or 50 years. I recognize this is such a minor scare that I hesitated to write about it, but it was the first hit of a one-two punch (the second being complications after surgery) that helped me realize life is both fragile and short. We need do the important things when we can.

In the wake of these three lessons, I felt forced to metaphorically jump out of the plane and spend a year dedicated exclusively to the family. The travel and service will only enhance the experience. Everyone will be out of their comfort zones. Each of us will have only each other. We will need to rely on and enjoy each other much more than we have at any time in our lives.

This year I was given the decision whether or not to do school. Of course I said yes not wanting to just skip a year of school and go back a grade, even though that would put me at the normal age for that level of schooling. So I began my online school courses from BYU. These courses are for the most part o.k. Some are quite good and some are lacking. I have decided to put my top six pros and cons of BYU online onto our website. And yes, this means I am doing school for all of you who thought I wasn’t.

Top Six Pros
1. Freedom. I can do what classes when and where I want.
2. Teachers. I don’t have to put up with some of the inadequacies of some teachers today.
3. The work itself. I can be in charge of what work I’m doing, and there’s not much ‘busy work’ as in school.
4. School Online. My grades are given to me instantly, no more waiting for teachers to grade your tests.
5. Simple easy to use interfaces. The courses are very easy to use. They don’t require knowledge of anything techie.
6. No paper. It’s a miracle, no paper means no heavy books, and no writing by hand. Phew, no more getting hammered for my handwriting.

Top Six Cons
1. Freedom. I can seriously mess myself up. If I don’t do the school, then I don’t progress, and I’m not exactly the most motivated person ever.
2. The courses. They can be good, but some are confusingly written and the tests don’t prepare you for anything you’ll face later in the final.
3. Computers. My entire school livelihood depends on a couple of computers. If they don’t work, no school.
4. Nagging. My parents are ALWAYS nagging me about my school. I know they’re trying to help but enough is enough!
5. Not having internet. If you don’t have internet, you can’t submit tests, which is a problem.
6. No other students. This is the hardest, I am all alone, I don’t have anyone to compare my work to and since I have no one to try and beat I may do worse. There is also no social aspect involved which is very bad.

There you have it, a little insight into my life.