Friday, August 03, 2007

In Retrospect: A Year of Challenges and Adventures

In two weeks time life as I know it will once again change. My family and I are moving to Qatar in the Middle East for an initial contract period of 2 years. I am excited about this move and looking forward to it. However I have spent some time recently reflecting on the past four years in Bangladesh and in particular the past 12 months and all the adventures and opportunities I have had. Last Christmas I declared defeat and did not write the usual update letter to friends and relatives. Claiming exhaustion, and finding a beach to flop on was the best I could do. Now I am thinking, well why does an update letter have to be just at Christmas, so I am taking a more pragmatic approach and getting in early with communication of events that have changed my and my families lives and outlook over the past 12 months. I was surprised to find that over the past 12 months I have visited 8 different countries. In this blog post I want to briefly share these travels with you along with two photos from each destination (decisions as to which 2!)

Bangladesh: Dhaka
Yes, we have lived in Dhaka for four years and have lots of wonderful memories and photos. These two were taken in our last week in Bangladesh in June 2007. I commissioned the aspiring artist, Bishwa to paint our family portrait. The day we visited for a final 'sitting' was hot and sticky. I remember Bishwa and his friend being very hospitable and gracious.



Nepal: Kathmandu
A trip with colleagues and family in October 2006. Fantastic place!

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More photos of Nepal

Indonesia: Bali
Our Christmas trip...yes the beach, the pool, the relaxing Balinese ambiance.

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Thailand: Bangkok
John and I went to Bangkok in early January for the Search Associates job fair. I cannot find any photos from this trip..it was far too stressful to take photos anyway!

Germany: Dusseldorf
I attended and presented at the ECIS IT conference in March 2007. It was cold, stark but beautiful!

More photos from Düsseldorf and the ECIS IT conference.

Qatar: Doha
A preliminary visit to our new school for training in June 2007.

Qatar_June07058 Qatar_June07005

USA: Atlanta, Georgia
The NECC event! Such a great time.


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More photos from NECC07

Australia: Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast
The never-ending holiday back in Oz for the summer/winter. Time for family, relaxing......

Qld_2007054 Qld_2007060
Sydney07024

and thinking about future footsteps on the sands of time.......

Qld_2007059

4 comments:

Dr.T said...

Hi Julie,

Check my blog (http://drctedd.wordpress.com) - you’ve been tagged. Just read the directions at the top of the post.

Have fun,
Cheri

Durff said...

you were tagged. http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

So sorry we missed being able to catch up when you were visiting in sydney. Never mind, another time! Meanwhile congrats on your new venture, and good luck with all your future learning initiatives. Cheers, Judy

Mr. Bangkok Hotels said...

Thank you so much for sharing your story. It's very informative. I love to read it and do hope to read your next story.