Two years ago when we started telling our friends and family that we were selling everything we owned, quitting our jobs, and that we were moving to the Middle East, I’m sure lots of people thought we were crazy! We weren’t though, we were just looking for an adventure and new travel opportunities.
Last summer, when we were back in Minnesota, and were sharing the news that Rachel was pregnant and that our son was going to be born in Kuwait, I’m sure lots of people thought we were crazy! We weren’t though, because we knew that we had a great doctor and hospital here in Kuwait.
We’ve taken some crazy trips, been in a few sticky situations, and have been lost numerous times in foreign countries, but no . . . . we’re not crazy.
Ok, ok, maybe we ARE a little crazy sometimes, but this week we made a very mature decision that proves that we aren’t always CRAZY!
We were supposed to fly out to Istanbul, Turkey today for a week vacation for Spring Break, however earlier this week we made the decision to cancel our vacation. (insert sad music here)
Turkey has been in the news a lot lately, and unfortunately . . . . not for good reasons. There is a bit of unrest in the country right now, which is very unfortunate, because it is such a beautiful country with great people. I was there last November and had a wonderful trip!
Due to the recent unrest in the country, the United States Department of State issued a Travel Warning for Turkey on March 17th. It’s always been our rule of thumb, that we wouldn’t travel to a country that had a current Travel Warning. We figure that the government knows more than we do, so we just listen to their advice.
According to their website, they issue a Travel Warning when:
“we want you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all. Examples of reasons for issuing a Travel Warning might include unstable government, civil war, ongoing intense crime or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks. We want you to know the risks of traveling to these places and to strongly consider not going to them at all. Travel Warnings remain in place until the situation changes.”
I’m sure we would have been safe if we had gone to Istanbul, but now that we have Hayden in our lives, we know that we should just take it easy and follow the advice of the professionals.
So there it is folks, we aren’t entirely CRAZY! We like traveling and love the adventures that come along with it, but we also know that sometimes it’s just best to reconsider your travel plans. So instead of a trip to Istanbul for Spring Break, we are going to enjoy a little “stay-cation” here in Kuwait!
You can visit the U.S. Department of State’s website to view a complete listing of Travel Alerts and Warnings here.
The Might as Wellers 