Leaving for Malaysia

It seems like I have meant to come in to write quite a few times in the last few weeks, but time got away from me. The last weeks have been very nice, seeing friends, visiting with family, and packing up the last of our items. We are tired today as we sit at the airport, but happy to be on our way to our new adventures.

Today we leave from Riga to Amsterdam. We have 9 hour transit time and will try to go into town to see a few things, eat lunch and inner and return in the evening before our flight leaves. The next leg of the journey is a direct 12 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur. We arrive there at 3:00pm, settle into the hotel provided by the school, and meet some of my new colleagues for dinner already. Our goal is to stay up as long as possible, and then try to go to bed at a normal time. We will be going forward by 5 hours. The adjustment shouldn't be too bad. Monday I have an orientation already at 10am in the morning!

Some last impressions of Latvia as we leave. We love and will miss our apartment, but know that my friend Diana and her son will take excellent care of it while we are gone. As Namejs said recently: Latvia is 75% picture perfect! We will miss the beauty of the nature, the rolling hills, our Baltic sea with its cold water, and the unique Latvian traditions. We recently went to Kapu svetki in Aluksne where we were reminded of how much Latvians value their ancestors and families, visiting the cemetery to remember them, clean up the graves, and sit and chat with other community members. Really also a reminder that any reason to celebrate is a good one. We will miss all of our favorite foods: pickles, smoked ham, pork chops, rye bread, serenades, karumi, and the boys will especially miss the good Latvian milk. But mostly we will miss our friends and family. Hugs and kisses to all of them as we leave.

It is strange not to be flying back to Uzbekistan, and I send positive thoughts for an excellent school year for all of my ex colleagues and students there. But I have to say that it is a relief not to have to fly to UZ because already the flight process has been simpler. We checked in our bags, and thank-you to the kind Air Baltic clerk, who let our extra bag slide and we didn't have to pay for it, even though we offered to do so! A nice beginning to the trip, and I hope it is a sign that the rest of the trip will be similar.

And now we are off! We look forward to seeing all of you who have promised to come and visit!