Back in the U.S. of A.

This update was started mid-July in the lovely state of Delaware, the land of chicken and watermelon farms, where I (Michele) have been recuperating at my parents' house from 48 hours of delirium in travel. Kenneth has been resetting his own internal clock in Philadelphia, visiting with his good friends Dan and Kristen. In a few days we will eagerly head for Asheville, to reconnect with friends and clean out our storage unit... BUT you'll have to read through this entry to find out where we're moving to!!
A mere two weeks ago, our heroes were headed for a few hours' travel on the remarkable transit system of Melbourne, Australia. Our journey took us to the Yarra Valley, northeast of the city, a region reknown for vineyards and farmland. We were met at the bus station by our final wwoofing host, Ian Cuming, a farmer of kiwifruit and teacher of Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic agriculture. Our days with Ian consisted of pruning kiwi vines (the fruit had been harvested a few weeks prior), assisting in the sale of kiwifruit at two farmer's markets, and relaxing in the evenings around a toasty woodstove (I know that doesn't sound too appealing to those of you suffering from summer heat, but it was cold there!), entertained with conversations about Steiner's methods, Aussie sport, and all sorts of everyday stuff. At the end of our time with Ian, we spent half a day visiting the Steiner teacher training program outside of Melbourne. We were invited to tea with the teacher trainees, who asked us to stay and observe two classes: form drawing and craft (right up our collective alley!). Lunch was a delicious opportunity to sample from the school's biodynamic gardens. We met with two senior faculty at the school, asked and answered questions, and headed back to the city.
The time for making decisions was upon us. Would we return to the States, pack up our stuff, say a fond farewell to our friends and family, and spend the next three years halfway around the globe? After carefully weighing all the factors that are important to us, we came to the conclusion that while we would like to spend more time exploring Australia, we were sick and tired of traveling and wanted to GO HOME. The temptation of starting a new life in a new city in a new country in a new hemisphere was certainly appealing, but we had to confess to each other that we preferred the idea of living and attending school in.... California! Head west, young persons. We took the train right to the travel agency, booked our flight and left Melbourne the very next morning.

Now, on the very last day of July, we're here to report on various travels throughout the U.S. of A., both past and future. Kenneth joined me in Delaware for some time with my mom and stepdad Ted (and to experience his first authentic water ice, courtesy of Rita's). We then drove to central Virginia, to spend two nights with our friends Rain, Jon, and Jin in their rambling house outside Charlottesville. We arrived in Asheville in time for a timely dinner at Jack of the Woods pub, and left the next day after visiting with friends Jason and Liz. Off to Kentucky, to see Kenneth's family! Five days of siblings, parents, pooltime (at a converted quarry) left us eager to return to Asheville, where we are presently house- and dogsitting for friends Justin and Michelle. Good thing they're out of town, because we've trashed the house--going through our storage unit is an unwieldy affair! We promise we'll have it spic and span when they get back from Costa Rica... although we can't guarantee the dogs won't strew the house with more fluff from their bedding, while we're en route to the airport. Next on the agenda: we meet with a realtor tomorrow, to see if maybe, just maybe, we could afford a little house in Asheville to buy now and rent out while we're in school. It sure would be nice to have a place of our own to come home to.

Independence Day: Photo Albums 12 & 13

We leave Melbourne today to head to the suburbs... the Yarra Valley, to be precise. It's been an eventful and, as usual, challenging time in Melbourne. For all you folks out there who think that travelling is pure fun, let us clear things up for you!! Daily we are faced with fodder for disagreement or at least discussion (which, if you know either let alone both of us, you understand can be an ENDLESS affair). Questions we encounter include: what should we eat? should we go out or to the grocery? where should we go if we go out? what should we buy if we make our own meals? what should we do today? it's cold and cloudy. what are we doing here anyway? should we move here? when should we move here? why would we move? what are we after, anyway? what kind of life do we want? what's the meaning of life? ..... And most of this happens before noon.
While we've been in Melbourne we've stayed at a house in an inner suburb, much cheaper than a hostel. We had to commit to two weeks, so we've filled our time with visiting the Alexander Technique training program, wandering through neighborhoods with adorable houses and beautiful stained glass windows, skipping in the city parks, renting bicycles to ride along the Merri Creek path, checking out community gardens and a center for sustainability, researching on the internet, treating ourselves at this marvelous little chocolate shop nearby, dancing at several venues in town, watching movies with our housemates, and getting to know some new friends, Don and Sophie, courtesy of our Australian friend in Asheville, Paul. Alright, alright, it doesn't sound half bad, but interspersed throughout all are these unanswerable questions that dog us unrepentantly. Today we are heading out to visit the area near the Steiner teacher training program that has interested Kenneth. Will he like it? If he does, should we move here and live in the city (so he commutes) or in the suburbs (so I commute), 1-1/2 hours away? Is that any better than the situation we found in California? Why would we choose Melbourne over Berkeley/Santa Cruz? When would we start? Kenneth has decided he'd like to also try the Alexander Technique training program; how could he manage to attend both -- in what order? Should we split up the training time between the States and Melbourne, half or two-thirds? What if he doesn't like the Steiner school? Where then should we go? Should we move to Melbourne just for the hell of it, try it out? If we're not going to go to school in Melbourne, should we keep travelling around Australia? When else would we get back here? Are there other schools/cities we should look at? When are we gonna fit in getting married and having kids? And what should we do about buying a house? *** You can see how the list is endless. (Kenneth would like to interject that he does not worry so much about when we're having kids. But of course, he won't be having them....[ooo! he says. that hurt.]) By the way, we are eager to hear the wisdom of others, so feel free to put in your two cents worth. As always, we miss you and send you our love. --M&K
P.S. A special thank you goes out to new friends Mike and Vive, who graciously took us in for a wonderful final evening in New Zealand--complete with engaging conversation, a tasty dinner, a warm bed, and a ride to the Auckland airport in early morn of our departure. See, the world is a warm and friendly place!