This past weekend I went to Hong Kong for a Mormon women’s conference. I had a great time and it was a wonderful conference. The keynote speaker was Julie B. Beck, a woman who I greatly admire. The conference was very well planned and I was spiritually uplifted.
I decided at the last-minute to go, only three days before the start of the conference. I’m really glad I went. I shared a hotel room with my friend Gaby. She was a great roommate and we had a ton of fun together. She brought her 10 month-old son Elias with her and he was a perfect baby. He added to the fun. For only 10 months-old, Elias has a pretty funny sense of humor. The three of us laughed a lot. And Gaby’s more developed sense of direction kept me from getting lost; a problem I often have in big cities.
However, although I had a great time with all the women who attended the conference, in general, I don’t just love taking girls trips. I usually avoid them. The reason for this is because I prefer to travel with my husband. If I’m going to take a trip, I want it to be with Jason.
Now, Jason and aren’t perfect companions in all things. For example, we hate each other’s movies. For Jason, a movie isn’t worth seeing if there aren’t a lot of explosions. I prefer a lot of accents. Jason likes car chases, while I prefer period costumes. I would rather stick needles in my eyes than watch a movie with Bruce Willis. Jason would rather shove bamboo under his fingernails than watch a movie involving anything British (James Bond excluded). Now, for the record, he pretended to like my movies before we were married. We frequently attended the international cinema at BYU when we were dating. But after we were married, he admitted it was all a ruse to get me to like him. The things guys will do to get a girlfriend …
So over the years, I have had to deal with the letdown of his movie choices. But he has made up for that little lie in other ways. And travel is one of the biggest ways.
Jason and I travel really well together. I have often said that Jason and I are at our best when we’re out-of-town. Jason is a great trip planner and I’m the beneficiary of that. Trying to capitalize on our great travel experiences was one of the biggest reasons we decided to join the Foreign Service. There is no one I would rather walk through a foreign city with than Jason. There is no one I would rather try new food with than Jason. There is no one I would rather hop on a plane with than Jason. There is no one I would want to see an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie with, including Jason. (Sorry for the digression. But I really do hate action films.)
In conclusion, my favorite way to spend a day is to explore a foreign city in a foreign country with just Jason. That’s my perfect day.
{A perfect day in Portofino, Italy}
Six Abroad 