Travel planning always takes longer than I thought it would.

 As my Boomeresque Facebook friends know, ever since we returned from New Mexico in October, I’ve been mostly consumed by planning our trip to Southeast Asia and Hawaii. Some 32 years ago, I had the dumb luck good fortune to marry someone who gets to travel to warm interesting places as part of his job. Steve (a/k/a Mr. Excitement) is now old senior enough to be able to send younger more junior faculty to meetings at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota —in February, while he covers meetings in Hawaii — in February. Last February, when he was performing this crucial task, the head of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center asked if he would consider doing a three month sabbatical there. We He thought about it for a fraction of a nanosecond during which he probably thought (but was too polite to say), “Yay. Saved from spending another February in Philadelphia with Mrs. Excitement and her Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).” This is how we came to find ourselves fleeing leaving 6 degree (-14 degrees C) Philly on a Tuesday morning. (We won’t even mention the wind chill—because our teeth were chattering too much to mention anything).

For this first installment of Mr. Dr. and Mrs. Excitement’s Wonderful Adventure, I’ll share some observations and insights I’ve acquired thus far:

1)      Trip planning is labor and time intensive, but if you fancy yourself a travel blogger, whining about the process will only trigger derisive comments from your true love along the lines of, “And you call yourself a travel blogger?”

2)      Notifying your credit card company in detail about your international travel plans does not mean your credit card won’t be suspended by a fraud alert at 2:00 a.m. when you are in the middle of trying to book flights #9 and #10 of your itinerary.

3)      Just because you can squeeze fit it into your suitcase, doesn’t mean you should.

“All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go…” — with apologies to John Denver and Peter, Paul and Mary.

4)      Reserving aisle and window seats in hopes that no one will be seated between you constitutes magical thinking and means you probably deserve to have a slightly odoriferous Canadian sitting between you. (BTW, some of my best friends are Canadian! Eh.) In his defense (or defence, if you’re Canadian), the odor might have been caused by his having had to sprint to make his connection at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) due to the late departure of his flight from Toronto because someone forgot to fuel the plane. Reportedly, the pilot was not amused.

5)      Asking for hot tea when you’re flying over the Rocky Mountains against the jet stream is not smart.

5a)  Asking for hot tea when you’re flying over the Rocky Mountains against the jet stream and you have your lap top open on your tray table is a guaranteed “what was I thinking?” moment.

6)      Pulling an “all nighter” before leaving on your trip does not mean you will be able to sleep during your six hour flight to San Francisco.

7)      San Francisco International Airport (SFO) does not have helpful signage for international travelers and public address announcements are mostly inaudible.

8)      The food in the pre-security International Terminal at SFO is largely inedible — except for white rice. The white rice is fine.

9)      When Philippine Airlines puts up a sign that check in for your 9:25 p.m. flight will start at 5:00 p.m., they mean you can line up at 5:00 p.m., but flight check in will start at 5:30 p.m.

10)   When Philippine Airlines sends you an itinerary showing that your flight from San Francisco to Manila will stop in Guam and you will change planes from a Boeing 747 to an Airbus 340, what they mean is that your plane will stop in Honolulu and you will stay on the plane for an hour while it is refueled.

11)   When the itinerary says that your trip time from San Francisco to Bangkok is 23 hours and 10 minutes, you will wonder what possessed you to add a flight from Philly to San Francisco and from Bangkok to Chang Mai as part of the same “travel day(s)”—daze(?).

12)   The Pacific Ocean is really big. Seriously, it makes flying across the Atlantic seem like a puddle jump.

This is why I always insist on a window seat.

13)   Lots of things break on an aging Philippine Airlines 747 which, judging from the signs in Arabic in the lavatory, enjoyed a prior life in the employ of a Middle Eastern airline (or sheik).

14)   After an all nighter, followed by an all dayer, you will be able to sleep for 10 hours in a trans-Pacific 747 business class seat (even if it doesn’t recline flat—as long as you can put your feet up on the ledge under the window). Being able to sleep for 10 hours is vital on a 16 hour flight where the aircraft’s advertised personal entertainment systems are not functioning, seriously stressing out the lovely lead flight attendant (purser). (This poor lady was having a truly bad trip, having spent the trip in bound from Manila to SFO “talking down” a passenger who decided that he wanted to commit “suicide by airplane” — by opening a door and jumping out).

15)   The International Date Line is a freaky thing and especially discombobulating when you cross it during a ten hour flight in the middle of the night – or is it day? – or is it tomorrow?

16)   The business class Philippines Airlines lounge in Manila does not have reliable wifi, so you will not be checking your work email. (What part of v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n doesn’t Mr. Excitement understand? As for your vital travel blogger social media responsibilities — Girl, when are you going to learn how to pre-schedule your tweets and Facebook posts?)

I don’t usually fly in search of haute cuisine, but this poached prawn and scallop salad with pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) and coconut milk was pretty tasty.

17)    Lunch on your Philippines Airlines flight from Manila to Bangkok was really good. Your personal entertainment system — not so much.

18)   It’s best to have some paper reading material when all electronic devices must be turned off and you are on a flight with Mr. Excitement who is engrossed in a heavy tome he has been lugging across continents and oceans (the fifth volume of Game of Thrones) or you will have the following conversation:

Mrs. Excitement: I can’t read now. We’ll just have to converse.

Mr. Excitement: Then I guess you’re in trouble.

19)   Bangkok International Airport is ENORMOUS and in January is full of Russians coming or going to Thai beach resorts. They wear heavy gold jewelry and cut in line. Speaking of lines, the one for Thai passport control was about 45 minutes long, but they stamp a 30 day visa in your passport for free — contrary to everything you’ve heard and read.

In Thailand, a majority Buddhist country, the “namaste” position is omnipresent for greetings, thank you’s and you’re welcome’s.

20)   In Bangkok International Airport, Ronald MacDonald appears to be a Buddhist.

21)   On a 55 minute flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Thai International Airlines — they give you a snack box and a hot and cold beverage — for “free” and your Thai pilot speaks better English than you do.

22)   Going on a month long trip to Southeast Asia followed by 3 months living in Hawaii, during the coldest winter in decades in your home town is a good thing, but it doesn’t mean you won’t worry about your 89 year old mother and miss your dog.

What was your longest trip? How did you get there? 

Steve right before saving me from an elephant sneaking up behind me.

Our visit to the Elephant Nature Park, 60 kilometers from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, was replete with wonderful photo opportunities. At one point, I carefully aligned my camera to take a photo of my husband Steve (a/k/a Mr. Excitement) and was somewhat annoyed when his fake smile disappeared and he became a little agitated, waving me to one side. My pique evaporated when I finally realized he was not trying to interfere with my photographic independence, but was trying to warn me that there was a large elephant fast approaching behind me. Considering that an Asian elephant can grow to ten feet in height and weigh up to 11,000 pounds, you would think you would hear one walking behind you, but in fact, they move very quietly on their wide, well padded feet.

No pitter patter from this foot.

We had already learned that they can travel at 25 miles per hour and this particular elephant was on a mission to get to her baby who had wandered off. One swat or “nudge” from an elephant trunk would definitely get me to move, but with my Baby Boomer osteopenic bones, a broken hip is always a possibility — not the way I wanted to start our month long sojourn in Southeast Asia — even though it would have made for an impressive “how I broke my hip” story.

I moved. Quickly.

An ENP herd member wondering if it could be snack time.

In researching our trip to Thailand, it became obvious that some type of elephant encounter had to be on our itinerary. There are many options for interacting with pachyderms in Southeast Asia, but many of them are not fun nor healthy for the elephants. After consulting some blogs, I arranged for a visit to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP), a rescue sanctuary for exploited, injured and abused Asian elephants founded by Lek Chailert. 

Moi making friends with an elephant.

I arranged our visit to ENP in advance on line. On the appointed day, we were retrieved from our hotel by an ENP 10 person van where we met Ae, our guide for the day. On the ride out to the refuge we watched some videos about Asian elephants and about Lek’s work with this endangered species. During the day, we stayed in our small group (all nice people) and had the chance to feed elephants (they’ll eat watermelon, but they looove bananas), to help bathe them — so they could re-dirtify themselves asap, and to visit the elephant clinic and the new dog rescue facilities. BTW, most elephants eat bananas, peel and all, but for some of the older herd members who no longer have teeth, the bananas are peeled and we fed them steamed pumpkin.

Elephant bath time.

Lek adopted her first elephant in 1995 and the ENP herd now numbers 36, ranging in age from six months to about 76. There are no elephant rides nor elephant tricks. Indeed, the ENP’s elephants have been rescued from logging operations, street begging and elephant performances where the elephants’ compliance was achieved by training methods ranging from harsh to torture. Each rescued member of the ENP herd has his or her own tragic story.

A baby elephant’s cries brought its family running to comfort and protect him.

At the ENP, the elephants are allowed to be elephants to the greatest extent possible. We learned that depending on their prior life experiences, the elephants naturally bond with either one other elephant (a true BFF) or small herds (“families”). We witnessed one instance where a year old (very cute) elephant who had been born at ENP vocalized some distress and was instantly protectively surrounded by the four fully grown elephants in his family. This baby was a miraculous gift to the herd from an elephant who had been rescued some 20 months before she (surprise!) gave birth. (Elephant gestation is generally 20-22 months). If it seems difficult to believe that no one noticed the pregnancy given that Asian elephants weigh between 250 and 350 pounds at birth, consider that some humans also manage to pull off the same feat. “I just thought I was getting a little chubby”.

Three members of one family within the herd head for their feeding place.

Bananas. Yum.

Given the traumatic pasts of many of the elephants, each is assigned his or her own mahout (elephant handler). The ENP re-educates mahouts who previously worked with elephants using less enlightened training techniques. Many elephants arriving at the ENP require veterinary care which is provided at the ENP’s elephant clinic staffed by volunteer veterinarians and veterinary students who are afforded a unique opportunity to do “hands on” large mammal care. The ENP also provides free care to outside elephants as a way to encourage local elephant owners to provide good care for their elephants.

A canine resident of the ENP enjoys an afternoon snooze.

Lek (and the ENP) is not only devoted to elephant rescue. The ENP also cares for over 400 dogs rescued from the streets in Chiang Mai and Bangkok and over 150 formerly feral cats. Some of the dogs wander the grounds, seeming utterly at home, finding sunny places to snooze. A number of the dogs wear red collars to warn visitors that they might not be pacifically receptive to being petted by strangers. The baby elephant seemed to enjoy chasing dogs, but never strayed too far from mama, so the dogs always got away. One Anglo-Italian travel blogging couple visited the ENP and ended up staying for a month caring for the dogs in what they describe as a life altering experience. 

Time constraints prevented us from signing up for what I think would be the best way to visit ENP – a week-long volunteer stay where you currently pay approximately $365 for the privilege of cleaning up elephant poop and preparing elephant food. You also get to interact with and learn from the elephants themselves and, of course, from Lek and her dedicated staff. A one night, two day volunteer opportunity is also available. If the vegetarian lunch buffet we enjoyed during our visit to ENP is representative, you will also eat really well. Funds raised from visitors and donations help to defray the costs of running the ENP. Elephants eat a lot — as much as 330 to 340 pounds per adult elephant per day.

Getting ready for an after bath dusting because no self-respecting elephant wants to be too clean for too long — plus some nice mud helps protect from insects and the sun.

Our visit to the ENP was definitely a “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Philadelphia anymore” experience and one of the highlights of our trip.

Should you go?:  Absolutely, if you are fond of animals and are not terrified  afraid of interacting with ones that outweigh you by maybe 10,000 pounds. If you are visiting Chiang Mai, it is also a nice opportunity to get into the countryside, out of the bustle of Thailand’s second largest city.

How to arrange a visit: You can register and a pay a deposit for your ENP visit or volunteer experience on line. It is best to do this as far in advance as possible to maximize your chances of them having a slot available within your travel schedule. (Search for “Elephant Nature Park Chiang Mai Thailand” to find the latest website where you can make a reservation).

Update: So, I thought Asian elephants were big and imposing—-until I ran into some African elephants on a game viewing safari in South Africa. You can read about that (and see a photo of a really.large.elephant. HERE.)

Would you consider visiting an elephant sanctuary? Have you had any eye opening experiences with animals on your travels?

Warning: Do not read this if you are consuming a beverage which you do not want to see coming out your nose. 

Even for those of us who love to travel, getting around in countries where we don’t speak the language and often can’t even read the alphabet, can be stressful. As Southeast Asia has become a go-to tourist destination, the locals have tried to help us out by posting helpful information in English — with varying degrees of success. Usually, we can get the gist of what they are trying to communicate, but sometimes — not so much. Many times, the signs bring a smile to our lips and sometimes a full throated guffaw escapes.

Actually, I even found a few head scratcher signs in Hawaiion our last trip. Here are my favorites from our recent trip which included stops in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore.

At the main Wat (Buddhist Temple complex) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, there was this warning:

While you are trying to figure out what this sign says (why are the guides having a playoff game?), chances are some one might have sprinted away with your property.

In Singapore, you might not be allowed to chew gum, but you can get a green man — I’m not sure if other color men are available.

English is an official language in Singapore (a former British colony) and most people speak it quite well. So, wassup with this?

Even my native Singaporean consultant wasn’t sure what this slogan is supposed to mean.

I’m not sure what happens if you actually do fall while waiting in line at the Manila International Airport.

At least they’re polite about it.

I realize that there is mystery in religion, but this declaration at a Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang, Laos still has me scratching my head. Maybe it’s a test and you can forget about Nirvana if you don’t “get it”.

We have this one courtesy of my husband (Mr. Excitement) from over the urinals in the mens’ room at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. He was very brave to risk a photo. They’re pretty strict in the Royal Palace complex — lots of gun toting soldiers and signs telling you not to take photographs. It might have been difficult to try to explain to a Thai judge (not to mention, our sons) why exactly he was taking photos — in the mens’ room.

We could call it “the Anthony Weiner defense”. “But Officer, I was taking a photo in the mens’ room for my wife…..”   I think what they are trying to say is, “Our aim is to keep this bathroom clean. Your aim will help.”

In the caves at Halong Bay in northern Vietnam, they could maybe use a little help with prepositions.

In other words, leave your gang sign somewhere else — or else!

Finally, here’s my favorite from the back of the door rules and regulations at the Manichan Guesthouse in Luang Prabang, Laos.

I told Steve not to bring his prostate to Laos, but did he listen?…… I guess we could have tried the “but we weren’t making sex movies” defense.

I assure you, this is all in good fun. At least they try. I don’t recall seeing a lot of signs in Laotian or Thai at City Hall in Philadelphia.

Have you experienced any amusing language-based incidents during your travels?

Protective serpents (naga) guard a Buddhist shrine in an old city Chiang Mai temple complex.

Our 40 hour marathon trip from Philadelphia ended in Chiang Mai, a small city  in northern Thailand. After a decent night’s sleep in a real bed and a slow morning, we set off to find out what’s up with wats in this former capital of the ancient Lanna empire. (I was on the fence about engaging in any word play with “what’s” and “wats”. Obviously, my corny less mature side won out).

Anticipating (correctly) that we might be jet-lagged and feeling lost in a country with a foreign alphabet (this was the name of our street — ถนนราชมรรคา — ), I pre-booked an afternoon guided tour of Chiang Mai’s major wats for our first afternoon. Our English-speaking guide, a young woman named Meeow, and a van driver picked us up at our hotel. This turned out to be a private tour because no one else signed up.

Novice Buddhist monks await the start of a meeting at the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University on the grounds of the Wat Suan Dok complex in Chiang Mai. (This University must have a nickname!)

What is a Wat?

Our first question was, “What is a wat?” Meeow explained that a wat is a Buddhist temple complex, often accompanied by a Buddhist monastery and a monk training school. She told us that most Thai males do some period of Buddhist monk training, even if it’s just for three months. Poorer families often deliver their sons to the monastery at a young age for this training as it may be their only opportunity to have an education, so you see some quite young boys with shaved heads and orange robes.

Meeow explained that close to 95% of Thais are Theravada Buddhists. As in Christianity, Buddhism is divided into “denominations”, each with a somewhat different doctrine and rules. In Theravada Buddhism there is no worship of a supreme being, per se. However, Buddha is revered as a wise teacher who ultimately managed to achieve the completely enlightened state of Nirvana. Theravada Buddhists believe that we are doomed to a constant cycle of life (and its attendant suffering), death and rebirth until and unless we achieve Nirvana (the final, true enlightenment) which can only be accomplished through meditation and living the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

Meeow and I retrieve our shoes after visiting a shrine while the guy with a sleeveless “what was I thinking?” T-shirt looks for a suitable robe.

As in western cultures, it seemed that in Thailand, much treasure, human genius and toil has been devoted to religious art and architecture. To a large degree, this is displayed in elaborate wats, often built by successive rulers and maintained by donations from the faithful and support by the Thai monarchy. There are over 300 wats in the Chiang Mai area. Meeow took us to three of the most important.

If you will be visiting wats (and you absolutely should be if you are touring Thailand, Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar), do yourself a favor and understand that respect for Buddha requires that you be appropriately attired. For men and women, this means your ankles and shoulders must be covered and you will be removing your shoes. If your clothing does not pass muster, robes will be provided or available for rent.

Wat Chedi Luang

Within the confines of Old City Chiang Mai, stand the ruins of Wat Chedi Luang. Construction of this temple pagoda (chedi) started in about 1400, but it was partially destroyed by an earthquake and flood in 1545. It has been only partially restored. Many ancient wats, with their gold painted stupas (monuments) are so well maintained that they look brand new. To me, Wat Chedi Luang seemed evocative of the veneration of Buddha through the ages.

The ruined temple at Wat Chedi Luang in Old City Chiang Mai, still guarded by its naga and elephants.

Wat Suan Dok

Our second stop was at Wat Suan Dok located about one kilometer west of the Old City Chiang Mai moat. This site is even older than Wat Chedi Luang, construction having started in 1371. The impressive, gold painted main chedi stands 157.5 (48 meters) high and is said to contain a relic of the Buddha. The next door shrine holds several enormous Buddha statues with an intricately decorated ceiling and pillars. The various Buddhas are in different positions, each signifying another aspect of Buddha’s life and teachings. This Wat Suan Dok complex also contains a field of white stupas containing the ashes of members of the Lanna royal family.

The main pagoda at the Wat Suan Dok complex said to contain a relic of Buddha.

A 500 year old, gold painted, bronze seated Buddha inside the main shrine at Wat Suan Dok with a standing Buddha, facing the opposite direction, visible behind him. The people in the foreground reveal the massive scale.

While being enshrined within the pagoda at Wat Suan Dok, the Buddha relic is said to have mysteriously split into two pieces. The king of Chiang Mai in about 1383, used a sacred white elephant to transport the second piece of the holy relic. It is said the elephant walked to the top of nearby Mount Suthep where he laid down. The King determined that this was a sign as to where he was meant to build the Wat to house the relic.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

The impressive towering chedi at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

The last Wat we visited with Meeow is perhaps the most famous in the Chiang Mai area and is the one constructed starting in 1383 where the white elephant came to rest on Mount Suthep (alt. 5,499 feet, 1,383 m.). The road to the Wat spirals upward through deciduous, and then evergreen, forests. There are scenic viewpoints overlooking the city of Chiang Mai, the center of which is 15 kms. distant.

At the top, Meeow gave us the option of climbing the 309 steps to the Wat or taking the funicular. We wimped out and opted for the funicular. This impressive Wat is a popular destination for locals and tourists and so was quite crowded.

After we walked around the Wat and visited the ornate side chapels and large bells scattered around the site, we walked down the 309 steps. At the bottom, the street is lined with food stalls run by the local mountain tribes people.  Meeow took us to a jade factory and store. Although the items were lovely, we now pretty much confine our souvenir purchases to refrigerator magnets, so we passed and kept our hard-earned baht.

The decorative roof of a side chapel at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Many Buddha statues in various positions surround the chedi at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Where have you been impressed by religious art and/or architecture?

Friends and relatives Readers who have been following this blog know that my husband frequently appears in my blog posts as “Mr. Excitement”. I hope new readers will continue to somehow find themselves at Boomeresque, so I think Mr. Excitement finally deserves an introductory blog post. (Especially because I’ve already written two about Dino — our dog.)

Having an exciting time at the beach. This is how Mr. and Mrs. Excitement “roll” much of the time.

I first conceived of Boomeresque as a serious, “nothing but the facts” travel site. I assure you there are plenty of facts and some photos of beautiful places in my blog posts. I’m a lawyer so, of course, you can trust me with the facts. However, as my blog has evolved, it seems the “voice” my readers are most drawn to is one where there’s a real, live person behind the words. Given that I’m the real, live person, Mr. Excitement is going to be there — a lot.

Atop Huayna Picchu in Peru during our 1982 honeymoon. You can tell by my attire that we didn’t realize how exciting a climb it would be.

Mr. Excitement is mentioned quite often because for over three decades, we’ve been together for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health ….. you know the rest. And before that, we were “just friends” for ten years, having met in 1971 at our work study jobs in the Williams College fresh”men” cafeteria. (Thank you to whomever it was who assigned us both to sort silverware that day).

But why “Mr. Excitement”?

It’s because he’s part of Mr. and Mrs. Excitement. One of my two sisters once explained our respective marriages this way:

[She] married our father. (Her husband is a very outgoing clown. No, seriously, he’s a real clown). Jenny (our younger sister) married our mother. (She married a nurturing nurse practitioner who still packs lunch for her to take to work). And Suzanne — married herself.

In our family, I have had a reputation for being overly serious, responsible, reserved, rigid and inflexible. (My wild and crazy phase lasted for about two weeks during law school —don’t ask.) Steve’s family viewed him in a similar light. Hence, our marriage was dubbed the union of “Mr. and Mrs. Excitement”. They were being sarcastic ironic. (I guess you won’t be shocked to learn that we are both the first born child in our respective families).

Four Things to Know About Mr. Excitement

Dressed for his day job.

1)  His real name is Steve Albelda. He’s a physician-scientist and professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His research is focused on trying to find effective treatments for mesothelioma and lung cancer. (This could be why he’s kind of a serious guy).

2)  In his research laboratory, he has trained other physicians and scientists from all around the United States and the world. He also collaborates with other medical researchers nationally and internationally. Therefore, his work results in many travel opportunities.

Although I would like you to believe that the New York Times and/or National Geographic pay for all my travel because I’m a brilliant travel writer, it appears they haven’t yet discovered me. Therefore, I’m very lucky that Steve invites me along as a trailing spouse on many of his work trips. When possible, we tack on vacation time to be able to see more of wherever his work has taken us—not to mention that he did a three month sabbatical at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. We raised our two sons about 15 minutes from my parents house, so I was able to travel with him even when they were young. My parents would move into our house while we were gone. Now, the only other occupant of our empty nest is our dog. He is a really nice dog, so there have been friends and relatives who seem are happy to have him stay with them. (Read my blog post about how to travel without your dog.)

Mr. and Mrs. Excitement seeming to amuse the elephants at the Elephant Nature Park outside Chiang Mai, Thailand.

3)  Over the years, Steve has proven that he really meant that “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health” thing. He works long hours and he usually enjoys his work, but he has always made time for me and our sons. We managed to sit down and have dinner as a family almost every night — even the many nights when our boys spent the meal sniping at each other, causing us to wonder exactly why we thought family dinners were a good idea. 

4)  He’s not perfect. He sometimes uses very bad words during Philadelphia Eagles games.

He got some wings in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City.

Things Thing to Know About Mr. and Mrs. Excitement

We’re way more exciting than they think!

 Tell us about the Mr. or Mrs./Ms. Excitement in your life? Do you travel well together?

We’ve been sweltering under an excessive heat warning here in the northeastern United States. I’m hunkered down in Brigantine, a New Jersey beach town where it’s supposed to be cooler than my home town, Philadelphia. However, with a heat index of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) even at the ocean’s edge, escaping “down the shore” has not helped. It’s hard to believe that on August 31st, I’ll be flying to London, carrying my winter coat because the last part of our trip will be in Iceland. I’ll pretend I don’t notice the strange looks I expect to receive in the Philly airport.

If you live in the United States, you’ve probably been involuntarily humming the musical theme for the NBC TV Olympics coverage. This week, the Zentangle Diva challenged us to produce a composition with an Olympics theme. I’m always hopeful that the Olympics will cause peace to break out in the world and my challenge composition reflects that, but for the first time, there was a refugee team at the Olympics, so clearly, peace remains elusive. Here’s what I came up with:

Tangles used: Cadent, N’Zepple, Tercero, Printemps, Huggins, Abeko and Pokeleaf. (Tercero is a tangle deconstruction I introduced last year.)

I’m blaming it on the heat, but I was a few day’s late in realizing that I missed World Elephant Day on August 12th. I’ve been especially fond of elephants since visiting an elephant rescue and sanctuary in Thailand. You can read about our experience, with a bonus photo of me hand feeding a 77 year old elephant, here.

Amusing the elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand in 2014.

If anyone is still reading……in response to last week’s challenge, I used a tangle I invented made up. There seemed to be a minuscule amount of some interest in it which is all the encouragement I needed to come up with the step outs. You can check out Aurabead here.

Have you been watching the Olympics? Which is your favorite Olympic sport?

The 2020 appearance of Covid-19, a novel Corona virus, has infectious disease experts recommending ways to try to contain the spread of this highly communicable disease. I propose adopting namaste as an appropriate greeting and farewell.

Covid -19 is an airborne spread pathogen. When we sneeze, cough or even talk, tiny droplets are released into the air. They can then settle onto people, and even inanimate objects, waiting for an unsuspecting person to grasp a contaminated door handle, keyboard, writing implement, etc. When that person then touches their face (which apparently we all do, all.the.time), it’s possible to unwittingly infect oneself. A possible silver lining flowing from the pandemic could be fewer people stealing walking out with other people’s pens (of which I’m guilty as sin), and food from the office refrigerator (I swear it wasn’t me ).

A medical artist’s rendition of the Covid 19 Corona Virus. So pretty to be causing so much civic pain. (Photo credit: CDC Public Domain).

Public health officials have suggested ways to slow the spread of the disease. We have been instructed to do frequent hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds.  Counting one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, etc. all the way to 20-Mississippi can be tedious, so public health officials have suggested singing a 20 second song. A Google search reveals a range of appropriate ditties, some written specifically about germs,. However, if you’re not inclined to want to learn a new hand washing song, apparently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) instructs you can sing Happy Birthday to You two times. Personally, I’d feel more comfortable if they provided a metronome setting, but in the absence thereof, I’m going with a moderato tempo, rather than lento or allegro. Hopefully, when you are standing there at a public restroom sink, washing your hands while belting out Happy Birthday to You — twice, you won’t be embarrassed when someone pops out of a toilet stall. I’m not sure if it’s less embarrassing if one sings Happy Birthday to two different people (i.e. dear So-and-So, and dear “what’s his name”) or if “dear Rover” twice is more appropriate.

When I was growing up, my father carried a handkerchief (gah). By the time our sons were in elementary school, we were invited to donate boxes of tissues for their classrooms. They were also taught that it’s good manners to sneeze or cough into their elbows, rather than to spray offensive droplets into the common air. Hopefully, they learned that lesson well since it is now an official CDC (Centers for Disease Control) guideline for preventing slowing the spread of Covid-19.

Finally, we are being urged to unlearn the Western convention of handshaking as a polite form of greeting and farewell. (If you’re from a European culture where a kiss on each cheek is de rigueur, you have more to unlearn.) Many of us can recall being taught a proper handshaking grip — not too hard, not too soft. We were going for “just right”, while looking one’s co-handshaker in the eye so as not to come off as lacking in self esteem a shrinking violet. (When I was a baby lawyer, a large opposing counsel who looked like the KFC colonel, once actually growled at me as he stuck out his hand. I gave him a Jedi grip handshake while staring into his eyes like a laser beam. (Um, no I didn’t, but to this day, some 40 years later, I wish I had.)

Greeting Techniques in Lieu of Handshaking to
Combat the Spread of the Covid-19 Corona Virus

It turns out that despite our being drilled in the proper germ destroying hand washing protocol, we are to avoid shaking hands at all costs. Various techniques have been recommended to replace handshakes. One technique favored by politicians who want to lead by example is an elbow bump. Personally, this seems like a bad  an odd idea if everyone has also been walking around sneezing and coughing into their elbows.

An alternative greeting is the toe tap where each participant extends the toe of their right footwear to tap the right footwear of the other person. This makes it difficult to maintain eye contact since there is an involuntary reflex to look down when extending one’s foot to meet another’s foot. This technique could also be painful awkward if one toe tapper is wearing steel tipped work boots and the other is wearing, say, flip flops (a/k/a thongs in Australia, and jandals in New Zealand). I suspect Donald Trump could reverse the stock market dive caused by Clovid-19 by pointing out that the toe tap greeting will result in more robust sales of shoe polish.

Some Trekkies (Star Trek afficionados) like Mr. Excitement are pulling for the Vulcan salute to become the acceptable replacement for the handshake. I see several problems with this. Some people have been living under a rock have never heard of the planet Vulcan even though it’s sufficiently embedded in popular culture to have a Wikipedia entry.  Others have a hard time getting their fingers into the double V position. There is actually a physiological explanation for this difficulty that I shall spare you.

If Earth is ever invaded by Vulcans, Mr. Excitement is ready.

My suggestion is the namaste greeting, hands and fingers pressed together in a praying formation with elbows out, thumbs touching the heart space, and a slight bow of the head and shoulders. The namaste greeting is widely practiced in India. It is also used when parting. Although namaste is of Hindu origen, many people in southeast Asian countries such as Thailand also use it even though in those countries the dominant religion is Buddhism.

In Thailand, even Ronald McDonald uses the namaste in greeting.

In some cultures, touching other people in greeting is considered way too forward. Since, as is described above, I’ve never quite perfected my handshake technique, I was relieved to find an alternate socially acceptable greeting that doesn’t involve a handshake or more uncomfortable still, a kiss on both cheeks (quelle horreur!).  In Sanskrit (the Latin of Hinduism) namaste means “I bow to you” and is intended as a sign of respect. I’ll not go down the rabbit hole of opining whether using a namaste greeting will consign an individual to H-ll. (You can google that yourself).  I’m quite sure the CDC doesn’t want you to go there.

What is your choice to replace a germ filled handshake?