We have arrived!!

We left Sunday night and arrived today in London!  The boys were great on the flight and mostly slept.  Bren actually fell asleep on the way to the airport.

There was a bit of confusion about getting picked up at the airport but eventually we settled in to our apartment (flat) in Soho where we will be for the next week and a half.  It a very cool place and their neighborhood is pretty neat too.

We unpacked, found a general store to buy some groceries and made our plans for getting around on the tube.

In appreciation for the boys cooperation we had a special lunch- McDonalds.  But promised that it won’t be something regular!  Dinner was a favorite- peanut butter sandwiches!

Going to India last year was the experience of a life time.  It was incredible and all of us gain so much from going.

The first full day we were there was the Sangeet party.  It was a celebration before the wedding.  Two men came and each of the women had a chance to have beautiful henna designs drawn on our hands.  It expanded to several of the American men.  Both boys were fascinated by the designs and tradition.  It was offered for each to have designs drawn on their hands and both refused.  After one of the older boys decided to take a turn, Brendan changed his mind but Aidan didn’t.  Finally Aidan came around, but it was too late.  The men had left.

Aidan was disappointed, Bren was glad he said yes.  We had a conversation that night about how experiences and opportunities are sometimes once in a lifetime and how when offered, you need to be willing to try something and step out of your comfort zone.  It was reinforced throughout the trip by all who commented on Bren’s henna and asked Aidan where his was.  For all the experiences in India, when either would be wary (riding a camel, horse and elephant, dancing in the wedding procession, meeting new people), we would simply say “this is like the henna….”.  It would make them think and say yes.

And that has continued often throughout the year.  Simply mentioning “this is like the henna” puts things into perspective.  What a lesson to learn at such a young age.  One they will keep with them for sure.

The boys loved our trip to India.  They simply fell in love with traveling.  It doesn’t help that we have a world map hanging in the bathroom, there are plenty of opportunities to look at all the places we could discover.

Chris and I talked about travel and something we felt was important to do with the boys.  It is a big world but increasingly smaller.  One of the 21st century skills often talked about is global learning.  How better than going places and seeing how other cultures live.  We certainly saw a lot in India and it piqued their curiosity.

So that led to making a plan.  Each year after school ends we will try to take “big trip.”  We will choose a place to visit, learn a little bit about it and then go and discover.  After much conversation- still ongoing some days- we decided our 2014 trip will be to London.

I have started a Pinterest board to collect ideas for places to go and things to see.  It is 10 months away but it is exciting to start planning!