house pics

We've been so busy moving in that I haven't had anything interesting or blogworthy happen to me lately. Or it could be that we've been in South Asia for long enough now that funny things are normal to us, and we don't notice them anymore. That's a little sad if that's the case because I like seeing the humor in our daily lives. Is it weird or normal that we watched the World Series live at 6am? How about having a beggar woman, with a cane, mind you, chasing me down the road asking for money? Or taking my morning walks along side cows; that's normal, right? Or going to watch your "nephews" play Little League baseball at no less than te American Embassy...doesn't everyone go to the Embassy to catch Little League?

Well one thing that I know that's new is our house! It is definitely still a work in progress...for example, our living room is currently enjoying a Christmas theme. We inherited the couch and chairs, and they came with bright red cushions. We had already decided to do the living room in a light-ish green, a color that would give off a cool vibe in the summer, but could still do a nice warm for the fall and winter. Luckily the cushions will be re-covered tomorrow, so I can stop explaining in an embarrassed voice that this is not how I'm keeping the living room. Here are some pics:


The Before Picture of the Living Room


Oh yes my friends, that's a bathtub!


The camel design in the other bathroom.


My favorite parts of the kitchen: the organized pots and pans rack, and my alphabetized spices.


The Yellow Room - when the sun shines through at midday, the entire room turns yellow.


Chini loves her new house! Here she is snuggled up on Husband's sister's bed away from home.

reasons to celebrate!

We found a flat! It surpassed our expectations, and I've been wanting to post about it, but we've been questioning if we were actually going to get it up until today. But, tomorrow husband is signing the 2 year lease. It's a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom place on the ground floor so it stays pretty cool. There's a tiny yard for Chini in the front, and the back patio opens up to a park. I love the kitchen, and there's an area for the washing machine so both baths are actually usable. And the spare bathroom has some tiles with camels on it, and frankly, that's just fun. Here are just a few pics, mainly of the outside because the inside still needs a bit of cleaning and prep before our November 1 move in date. It's a 3 story house and our flat is the one on the ground floor (first floor to the American eyes). This house was shown to us on my birthday, and I just know it is a gift from above.







This is the view when we open our back gates. Of course the tree debris will soon be gone. :)


Also this past weekend was the big Festival of Lights. We celebrated with some of our coworkers with taco soup, queso, and crackers...as in fire. Crackers are pretty much the biggest part of this festival, and we didn't want to miss out. Husband turned into a big kid, finding creative ways to light these questionably safe crackers in the street. At one point, a man with a very loud drum came by and played us some mood music which we enjoyed, some of us more than others -ahem, husband- and because my camera's flash was off all the pics look like there are just ghosts in them. The drummer wanted money, and then some other drummers came by for their money, although they had yet to play. When they began asking for money, I asked, "What did you do?" and they responded, "We played the drums!" Oh those tricky silent drums.



The Ghost of Husband dancing for Festival of Lights

happy birthday to me!

Today's my birthday!! It's only 9:30AM and already it's been a fulfilling day! I got to Skype with my in-laws and open the presents they sent me (great stuff!: candles, scrapbooking stuff, books, B&BW, and some velveeta and rotel!) and then immediately after that my mom and dad called to sing Happy Birthday to me, and they even sang in harmony! The property dealer has at least 3 flats lined up for us to check out, so we'll be leaving soon for that. I've never apartment hunted for my birthday, but I have gone to class or work on my big day, so this sure beats taking notes or sitting in front of a spreadsheet all day. Although I do love Excel.

I know exactly what I want for my birthday...a new home. :)

greetings from the Capital!

We've arrived in the Capital and in some ways, I feel like I'm back in America! Yesterday I ran to the market to pick up groceries for today's meals, and it took a total of...wait for it...35 minutes! And that included the walking to and from. So here are the positive differences I've noticed in just 24 hours of living in the Capital:
1. Produce and eggs can be found IN the grocery store.
2. Said produce is packaged.
3. Not only can I get broccoli here, but there is also lettuce and my personal fave, zucchini. Hello again, green veggies!
4. Parmesan cheese is back in my kitchen.
5. When I walked into the store, the three men glanced my way and then quickly began their conversation again. I am no longer such a novelty.

Given my incredible excitement, each one of these items should be followed by an exclamation point or three. However, I luckily realized that would be overkill.

Now before everyone begins reminding me that Capital life is not all zucchini and parmesan, I will say that I know there will be hard times that balance out these great times. I just wanted to share my joys of the moment. Thank you Boss for the small joys and reminders of your grace!

cracker party!

Tonight we had a Cracker Party with Kristof and Katarina. It wasn't a party with fireworks, or crackers as they call them here, although that would've been fun. And it wasn't a party for only white folks, although none of us represent another race. It was actually to eat the perishable food in our refrigerator with crackers. At first it was just an excuse to pig out on a big roll of half eaten summer sausage that we have. But then I realized I had some cream cheese, and an opened salsa jar, some cheddar, and some leftover hummus from this weekend, so the party evolved to crackers. It is rare to eat any meat besides chicken here, and really, the chicken doesn't taste all that good anyway (at least not to me), so a big buffet of USDA approved red meat was nice to indulge in.

the non-golf day

Saturdays are designated Date Day. Husband and I had the idea to go try out the golf course that is an hour north of us. It's billed as one of the highest and oldest golf courses in the world, so of course we had to try that out before probably never having that chance again.

Now I should mention today was going to be my first ever time to play real golf. Upon arriving, we were told immediately that since we didn't bring any balls with us, all used balls would cost over a dollar a piece. (!) We almost turned around when we heard that, but kept going because we really wanted to play, or in my case, try. After walking up a steep hill to get to the center, we were shown a sign saying that as foreigners we would pay twice as much to play as the locals. That really didn't upset us, even though in principle it should, but we're so used to it already. However, we were told that even though we were only playing 9 holes, we had to pay the 18 hole price. I asked the guy why, thinking he could enlighten me, but he only said, "Those are just the rules." Alright. Then the man told husband, "This is a 10 handicap maximum course," which in golf terms means you're really really good. He was insinuating to us that neither of us were good enough to golf there; he was half right.

Realizing we would be paying double what the locals pay, and then double for 9 holes, we concluded it was actually 4 times the real amount. Then add on to that the fact that it cost an arm and a leg to play at a course that wasn't well maintained and we'd have to fork over more than a dollar per ball, we decided to just take a couple of pictures and then leave. But of course not before I told the man that just because we're white doesn't mean we have a lot of money, and that we weren't going to return. I ended with a flustered, "That's not right," which I for some reason blurted out in half French. Even though he probably didn't understand what I was saying, I felt like the Rosa Parks of foreigners in South Asia. And I'm sure that guy felt like...oh who am I kidding, he didn't care one bit.

The date wasn't entirely lost though. We had a good lunch and the hour ride gave us plenty of good conversation time. We'll just have to save our golfing for the Capital.

sentimental leaving post

Oh come on, you knew it was coming. :) The boss has blessed us so much to live in such a beautiful, picturesque part of the world! Now that we're moving, I've been frantically taking pictures so that I can remember everything. I've been planning to do a scrapbook page on the seasons of this town, and I have each month except winter. I'm really sad about that because with the snow that supposedly comes (didn't happen last year) it should be beautiful. Hopefully I'll get a copy of a picture of the winter scene here from someone, or steal one off the internet. I'm not above pulling off a picture as my own. :) So here are pics of our little Himalayan town from the past year, which we will cherish forever:

Mountain view from my daily walk with Chini

Springtime


Summer


Monsoon


Autumn

a packing mess!

So just in case you don't know, the big news is that we're moving to the Capital! And as of today, we have 8 days to pack. I was starting to get a bit nervous about how exactly we were supposed to pack without any boxes when husband pulled up on the bike today with 17 kgs of boxes! Apparently there's some recycling place in town that you can buy cut up boxes. It requires quite a bit of our rationed duct tape (in fun colors thanks to my mother in law!), but only cost us just over $2. I think that's worth it, don't you?

So now we're trying to pack up our belongings, and the house is a mess. And anyone who knows me knows that this freaks me out. Oh well. In 8 days, it'll be gone. And luckily the furniture (minus the bed) belongs to the landlord, so big items are at a minimal.

a change is coming...

So we have big news! Anyone care to venture a guess? :) For those of you who get our newsletter, we'll elaborate in the new one, which should be emailed out on Monday...

guess who's coming to dinner

Last week, my landlord's wife and I made plans that their family would come to our house for dinner. That day arrived yesterday, and husband and I were very anxious. The people in our area tend to be quite ethnocentric about their food. The most adventurous food the average South Asian eats is food from the other side of the country. Sometimes they enjoy Chinese food, but since China is a neighboring country, that's like an American calling Mexican food "exotic". Now, their food is very tasty, so I don't blame them, but it is humorous to watch their faces grow tense when we ask them over to dinner. We've been here over a year now, and although people show up at all times of the day except meal time, this is the first family to agree to come to our house for dinner. We have seen many times firsthand how word gets around about us white folks. For example, I've met people on the road who already know my husband's name, know where I live, and know how much I pay for rent. Husband and I realized if this dinner was a failure, everyone in town would know it, and we could forget having any future guests over. This is why we were a bit nervous.

Since my landlord's wife is strictly vegetarian, meaning she doesn't eat meat nor eggs, we decided to make vegetable fajitas, rice, refried beans, and ranch potatoes. In the middle of making the tortilla dough, I asked husband if he could call and make sure they remembered they were coming for dinner. I'm glad he called, because the wife had apparently never told our landlord, and they probably wouldn't have shown up! The wife was probably hoping I would forget I ever invited them over. Luckily they did arrive, albeit very apprehensive. We told them this was our own homestate's variation on Mexican food, and we taught them how to roll the food up in the tortillas. Surprise was etched on all of their faces at how much they liked the food. They exclaimed over and over again how delicious it was, and even my landlord's wife, who speaks little English, told me it was "very tasty." I think part of why they liked it so much was because their expectations had been so low that Chini's mutton and oatmeal would've tasted good.

We forgot to take any pictures of our time with them, but since last night was a success, I'm hoping we'll have more opportunities. Do you think they're ready for fried okra yet??

new friends

I have begun to understand why so many people in Seattle commit suicide from the rain. It really is depressing, and I was getting pretty homesick for awhile there. But this past week, some great things have been happening, starting with that bright light in the sky. I think it's the sun, but since I've forgotten what it looks like, I'll just have to assume. It's been there for about 5 days in a row now, and wow, what a difference.

Also, ever since Priya got married and moved away, I've been a bit lonely, thinking I had no friends in town. But I went over to hang out with my landlord's wife a week ago, and the next day she sent husband and me some delicious lunch. I was so happy to be reminded that the boss still cares for me that I took a picture. Seriously, food here is not photogenic in any way, but it sure tastes good. Our landlord and his family are coming over tomorrow night for dinner, and we are cooking them a mexican fiesta! I hope we can start to build a relationship with them, especially since in the winter, they will be moving below us.

Then, we met Kristof and Katarina, a new couple who have come here for the same reason as us. They are from Slovakia and are close to our age, and we have a lot in common. Kristof is even just as much into Macs as husband, and Katarina and I share a love/hate relationship towards the computer. (mine stems from that I love our Mac but hate to tell husband that he was right :) Katarina and I spent all day drinking coffee and shopping for things for their new flat, and Kristof and husband spent all day getting their internet set up. We are hoping to partner with them in our work, and it'll be great to have a female to work with.

take a bite out of monkeys

You may have noticed that we haven't had many posts about monkeys in a long time. The main reason for this is Chini, our super monkey crime fighting dog. Here is our Super Dog by day, relaxing before her moments of monkey madness. But don't let her peaceful facade fool you. She has learned early on the dangers of the primate, and thinks constantly of how she can fight them off. In what must be one of the many differences between Chini and dogs raised in the States, all we have to say is, "Go get 'em, Chini!" and she darts up to the roof barking and growling, ready to fight off not cats, not strangers, but monkeys.

Today for some reason, the gray monkeys have been going nuts on our roof, and I had the chance to catch Chini in action. Here are some pics of her in between her manic running from one side of the roof to the next.

And here are a few pics of Chini training for her role as Super Dog...

if at first you don't succeed...

Today was my first ballet class, but I don't know if you can call it a class since no one showed up. I didn't take it as a good sign when I arrived and not only was the director not there, but the room where the classes were supposed to be in had two big ping pong tables in it. Technically, someone did show up - a Russian girl staying at the Y sat in the room, and chatting with her helped me pass the 30 minutes I waited to see if I would have any students. There's still hope though. A few headmasters have expressed interest in me possibly teaching ballet at their schools, so as soon as I can get in for an interview, I'm going to try again.

Something funny did happen from the experience at the Y though. I had to change back out of my dance clothes, and a worker there pointed me towards a bathroom. Apparently he pointed me to the men's room, because after changing in the shower area, I looked for a bathroom to use, and a guy was in a stall, using the urinal with the door open! I could have walked out unnoticed, but I couldn't help blurting out, "Oh my gosh!" and he laughed, and I said sorry and giggled on my way out. Fun times at the Y.

silly American

I'm a sucker for anything remotely American, especially patriotic songs. In 2004, our home office had the Imperials come for 4th of July, and when they sang Lee Greenwood's biggest hit, I cried the whole way through it. At our last baseball game before leaving the country, I cried during the national anthem. Actually, there's usually a 50% chance I'll cry during any rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, leaving the country or not. And when an American Olympiad wins a gold medal, that percentage jumps to about 90%. I'm an emotional cheesefest when it comes to America.

So I shouldn't have been surprised at my actions in the Dubai airport, but oh, I was. Before leaving South Asia, we had changed our local currency into US$. During our layover in Dubai on our way to Tanzania, I saw that they had a Starbucks. (that word is always followed by a choir of angels in my head) Not having a single Starbucks in our country, I of course had to get some, and realized to my dismay that we only had dollars, not dirhams. "No problem, we take US$," the cashier told me. I laid the $20 on the counter (they've changed since we've been gone!), and something came over me. I hadn't even looked at American money in a year, not to mention bought anything with it. So as I looked at Andrew Jackson, my eyes filled up with tears. I am not exaggerating, I started crying over a stinking piece of currency!

I think I've taken patriotism to a new level.

the ironies of monsoon

We have no water in our house pipes. Never mind that it rained for 3 days straight after we got back from vacation. Somehow, our house has the only drought in all of South Asia. The city hasn't pumped water in our tank for 3 days, with no explanation. I was only able to do 2 loads of laundry (and that's coming-back-from-vacation laundry) before we ran out.

So today, of all days, was the first day since probably mid-July that we've had a sunny day. I immediately thought, Finally! My clothes can dry on the line and not next to a heater. But of course, on our one day of sun, we have no water to wash clothes with. Ah, the irony.

the vacation of a lifetime

We're back! It was the trip of a lifetime, and I think we'll never have such a cool vacation again. I mean, Tanzania and Dubai! So here are some of our highlights, with pics, and of course words, because I'm a Babbling Brook (Dr. Chapman, anyone?:).

TANZANIA
We arrived in Dar es Salaam on the east coast of Africa, ready to see our friends and explore! The very next day, they whisked us off to a secluded beach to join the retreat of some of their (and our) coworkers. It was kind of hard to swim with all the rocks, but who cared with such a beautiful view?

Safari The next day, we drove 4 hours to Mikumi National Park for a safari! We stayed in these awesome mud-type huts, and rode around late afternoon to check out the wild animals. We saw zebras, hippos, impalas, baboons, a warthog, buffalo, a baby croc, and my favorite, the giraffes! The place we stayed included a delicious dinner (consisting of course of beef!) and after dinner, we played Hand and Foot until the electricity went out. But what was so cool was there was a feeding pond within viewing distance of the cafe where we played cards, and we could hear some animal dying, and then a lion roared! So even though we saw no lions, we did get to hear them! The next morning, before dawn, we went out on a prebreakfast safari, and saw animals as the sun rose over the plains.
Zanzibar After the safari, we went to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania. We shopped in Stonetown, a really cool old town in Zanzibar. The streets were narrow, the alleys were full of shops selling all sorts of things, and the buildings were white with red-painted tin roofs. It was scenic to say the least. That night, they took us to a place to eat, which I'm not calling it a restaurant, because as Brad and Alison said, that would be using the term a bit loosely. In actuality, it was tables and tables of fishermen selling their days' wares. The swordfish, red snapper, baracuda, octopus, squid, lobster, and more, were precooked and on kebabs, and you just walked up to a table, told them what you wanted, and they grilled it for a few minutes. They placed the fish on paper plates and then we sat on a rickety table on the shore a few meters away. Definitely one of the coolest eating experiences of my life! Not to mention the most tasty fish I've ever had. The next day we went to the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. I've been to Hawaii, which is stunning, but overcrowded. Zanzibar is secluded, and just as beautiful. We also got to fly back to Dar es Salaam in a little 12 seater plane!
Dar es Salaam They also took us shopping! There are such cool markets in Africa, where you can find wood carvings, tinga tinga paintings, and more modern things as well. There are many more restaurants to choose from in Dar as well. I loved this city and country, because it had some modern conveniences but seemed untouched by the technicologically booming world around it. With the exception of their fancy cell phones, of course! The people were always smiling and the women still walked around with buckets and baskets on their heads. What a cool place!

DUBAI
Dubai is a booming city in the desert of the United Arab Emirates. Not that we've ever been to Vegas, but it reminded us of that desert city. There are 1.1 million people living in Dubai, and 80% of them are expats looking for a tax free, crime free modern city to live in. Not to mention that these people must be all millionaires, because that city is the richest I've ever been to, and everything costs an arm and a leg. Just check out all the Armani and Gucci and other haute couture shops in the malls! And speaking of the malls, they all seemed to have a theme. One we went to was done in different countries of the world, and done lavishly at that. Another one has a snow-skiing place inside of it, and if they didn't have an official theme, they still had an unofficial theme of We All Have Money. It was insane. We also got to swim in the Persian Gulf, eat a Middle Eastern feast, check out the gold souk, and the best part, go on a Desert Safari.
Desert Safari I was highly nervous of the desert safari, namely because of the dune bashing. The rest of it I was extremely excited about, but unfortunately, I had to endure the dune bashing first. What exactly is dune bashing? you may be thinking. Well I'll tell you. Husband and I picked up at our hotel in a Land Cruiser, complete with rollover bars, which he thought would reassure me, but all I could think of was, so there is a reason to have these? We drove about an hour out of Dubai to the desert, and they deflated our tires before we drove off the road into the dunes. There was a caravan of Land Cruisers, full of crazy people like ourselves, ready to subject themselves to this rollercoaster on sand. We flew over dunes, and slid down them at crazy speeds, bumping all the way. More than once found me yelling, "Omigoshomigoshomigosh" and "We're sideways! We're sideways!", and everytime we stopped to take a pic of the otherwise serene desert, I hoped we were done.
After the dune bashing, they drove us to a bedouin camp where we rode camels, went sand surfing, ate a bbq, and I got henna done. After the bbq, a belly dancer came out, and at one point, pulled husband up on the Persian-carpeted stage, and made him belly dance with her too! I was sad when it was time to leave.

ballet, anniversaries, and travel

A very quick post with a few things:

1. The ballet class has been approved! I'm so excited. However, the director warned me that the class may be very small since not many people here even know what ballet is, so I'm sending money that the right girls that the boss has prepared will come to class, and it will still be fun, even if it's small.

2. As of today, we've been in country for exactly one year! Wow, time has flown! And, we're celebrating by...leaving the country. It's time for a vacation! Although we live a life that to some may seem like it's vacation already, we still need a physical and mental break. We're flying out to Africa to go visit our good friends and coworkers tomorrow. That leads me to the third point...

3. Please send money for our safety. This isn't the best week to be flying, but we know all of life is in the boss's hands, and how could I get through life without that fact? Please ask that he'll keep us safe through our travels for the next 2 weeks.

See you (with pics!) in 2 weeks.

love and the unloveables

South Asia, like most of Asia, has a 'shame' culture. Just as powerful as a jail sentence for a crime is for the person to also be shamed in public for his felony. So, it appears also when someone does something stupid, it is not ignored, but pointed out. Case in point: About a week ago, I was walking up one of our many narrow streets. There were two teenage girls walking near me, and an army truck (huh?) coming up the road. Now in South Asia, the pedestrian does not have the rightaway, no matter how much they claim to value life here. This truck was taking up almost the whole road, and these two girls weren't exactly paying attention. Though I'm still not sure how they managed to drown out its incessant honking. The driver, as he passed one of the girls, yelled at her to move. Of course he was going too fast for his yells to make a difference, and one of the many tires on this monster ended up scraping her arm, giving her a nasty road rash, bruise, and possible strain. I immediately went over to the girls to see if they needed help as dozens of people stared at this girl. Then a man walked by, stuck his finger in her face, and although I didn't understand what he was saying, I just knew from his tone of voice he was lecturing her about "her" mistake. So, in a moment of pure, unadulterated un-love, I stared at the man and said, "I think she knows!" Oops.

Also, last week when I was walking in the rain, I stepped on a slippery part of a hill, and I not only slipped, but fell. Everything in my hands went flying and I was sprawled on the ground. I gotta say, not my most dignified moment. As I was picking myself off the ground and dusting the mud off my clothes, a man walked up to me and said, "Why were you walking there? You should not walk there." Hey thanks, buddy, but I think the kerplat on the ground helped me figure that out without your help. Luckily this time I didn't say what I was thinking. Next time, I'll have to work on not even thinking it!

Something I'm learning is what the boss said about love. It's easy to love the loveable, he said. But can you love the unloveable? Not that South Asians are unloveable, but there are times when any foreigner is living in a new culture, those little nuances, like shaming an already repentant person, can drive them nuts. On the flipside, think of the typical overly hospitable South Asian family moving to America, and none of the neighbors ask them to dinner or come over to visit. It's hard, no matter where you live. So I'm learning, one mistake at a time, how to love the (sometimes) unloveable.

why monsoon season is no fun

I know, I know. I really shouldn't complain, because I could be in the capital right now, where it's monsoon season AND it's incredibly hot. We just have wet here. However, since our elevation is so high, we are literally in the clouds, and have been for about a month, and will be for about 2 more months. Couple that with no insulation and drafty windows, and you have a very wet house. Our sheets, towels, bedspread, clothes, everything, stay in a permanent wet state. We can fight this - a little - by turning on the heater in our room, but we still get into bed and within a few minutes are sticky from the moisture. I just took these pics, one on our terrace and one just outside the door. It wasn't raining at that moment, those are just the clouds.

Our clothes don't dry, either. These clothes have been hanging on the line since Monday morning. Today is Wednesday. They are still damp.

Yesterday I went to put on my leather sandals, which happen to be an expensive gift from generous friends in the States. As you can see, they are covered in mold. And they weren't even kept in a dark area, but in a room with a window!

But at least it's not hot. Capital (and plains area) folks, I don't know how you do it!

pre-emptive strike

The government in the country we live has banned blogs for now. So somehow I'm able to write blogs, but I can't read anyone's blogs. So I don't know if soon we won't be able to blog anymore, either. We have no clue when this ban will lift. This to say, just in case you don't hear from us for awhile, it's simply because we have lost our blogging privileges. :(