Spring break: Part 1 - Kiev, Ukraine

We split our spring break between 2 places - Kiev and Stockholm.  Probably sounds a bit random, but we have friends in both places we were visiting.

Kiev was much nicer than I was expecting. It definitely had what you would think of as a Russian feel to it (though we've never been to Russia so who knows). We found it had good food, transportation, parks, enough shopping but not crazy shopping, and was incredibly inexpensive (has obviously fluctuated a lot in the last year).

With an absence of playgrounds in Kathmandu, this was one of our first stops

Watching the kids play at the playground

Independence Square, or Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the central square in Kiev; 

site of massive protests in 2013

Candles at Independence Square

Coffee from a pink snail?  Yes please.

Another park

Andreevskaya, or Saint Andrew, Church on Andreevsky Spusk street

Architecture

Love the gold roofs

We spent 4 days in Kiev and could have spent more, but having a friend/tour guide certainly helped!  Next up: Spring break Part 2 - Stockholm!  

Moving abroad with young kids

Have an infant or toddler (or both!) and thinking of taking your family abroad to live? Already taken a job abroad and are thinking about what you need to plan for your little ones? Though our kids were born while we were already abroad, we have some thoughts on this based on our experiences and those of others we know.

1. Seek out other families already settled in your new country well before you leave - what advice do they have?

If you are going overseas because of a job that regularly places people overseas they should be able to help with your transition. But if you are on your own find blogs/message boards/etc with families already living in the country or town where you will relocate to and reach out. I get emails all the time and do my best to answer questions. Ask them the questions you know you have, but also ask what their day to day life is like, this can give you a better idea of what to expect.

2. Think ahead to what you might need for the next few stages.
Will your baby start eating solids and need baby food? Start walking and need shoes? Will your toddler hit a growth spurt and need a whole new wardrobe (seemingly overnight as is usually the case)? What medicines will you need? Diapers? Training diapers? Once you have brainstormed, try to figure out what will be available in your new country. It's also good to know about shipping into the country and if there are restrictions.

3. People will have opinions about your move, and will probably voice them. Be ready with your response.
We come across a lot of surprise, polite questioning of motives, the "oh your families must miss you", and "I could never do that because..." (which is really often a judgement in disguise). We know why we live abroad and the benefits for our family and share these to varying degrees depending on the individual. Some will never understand. Some will be inspired. Some will live vicariously through you.

4. Make a plan of communication with family and friends.
Find a time that Skype works for you. Set up a blog. Facebook pictures. Email. Do what works for you and the folks back home.

5. Bring traditions from home and start new ones.
Christmas in a country that is Buddhist will never be the same as Christmas at home. Easter will go by without a blink of an eye. And you will have new holidays to learn and celebrate. Make the best out of all of it. Bring things from home or recreate holiday traditions and find some new things your family can do and possibly take with you when you leave.

6. Find other families to hang out with.

It'll help. For everything ranging from figuring out where to buy the good diapers to what preschool options are out there to venting about ____. Support networks are always a plus.

7. Think of some routines for bed and nap time that are not place specific.
Moving abroad will inevitably involve many different cribs/beds/airplane seats/laps/car seats - you name it - both during the trip there, but in settling-in and travel once you get there.

8. Know that things will be different, and different is ok, it can even be great! (Though fried pork fiber for baby? Not great).

Are you raising a young family overseas? What advice do you have?

Dubai

2 days in Dubai for work, with most of it in the airport, hotel and mall, left me utterly overwhelmed by wealth. The contrast between Dubai and Kathmandu is so vast that it's safe to say they are quite opposite.  Tall shiny buildings, shopping complexes bigger and more extravagant than I've seen in a long time, huge multilane freeways and nice things everywhere put me in culture shock.  

The one similarity I found was that the people in both cities don't use sidewalks (Kathmandu because they aren't there or if they are people aren't used to using them, Dubai I assume because everyone prefers driving in air conditioning to walking?).

So while I appreciated the nice hotel, Starbucks and H&M, I was also ready to head out. 

(Terrible quality, but that is snow inside of the mall when it's 100 F outside!)

Work travel

I'm in Bangkok for work this week and while I've only been to Bangkok a few times before, some of it is oddly comforting and familiar after being out of Taiwan for awhile.  Streets lined with food carts, 7-11s on every block, good fruit all over the place.  Anyway, so far I've mostly seen the inside of meeting rooms, but did get a chance to walk around a bit.  Here's some of what I saw:

Small things for small carry-ons

Sometimes little things can make travel better.  These 2 are my recent faves:

Smith's Rosebud Salve and J. Crew passport case - both christmas gifts

Oh, and flying without a baby after lots of long flights with one?  Amazing.  I read the whole time!

International flying with an infant

With two long international flights under our belts, and a few domestic ones also, I feel like we may have some advice to offer those who are about to undertake it.  None of this is new information, it's spattered all over the internet, but here you go just the same:


1. Bassinet seats - they didn't work for us since Tegan is not a great sleeper and was pretty big by the time we flew back to the states.  If your little one can sleep on their own in new places though, make sure to reserve a bulkhead bassinet seat!  Airlines vary in their bassinet reservation practices.

2. Get a seat for the baby if you can, the extra space is invaluable.

3. We packed 2 diaper bags, one we kept at our feet and the other in the overhead as back up.  During layovers I restocked and rotated out toys.

4. Bring some favorite toys and some new ones to entertain.  Also, the seatbelt or safety card can be fascinating new objects to explore (side note: some safety cards are better laminated than others, check yours before your sweet one eats the corner off the first page).

5. Pre-boarding is great for getting your stuff on the plane without everyone breathing down your neck to get past you, but not an easy time to sit on the hot plane with baby waiting for takeoff.  If there are 2 of you, have 1 pre-board with all of the stuff and the other hang out with your tot and board towards the end.

6. Nurse, bottle, or pacifier on take-off and landing to help their ears.  We also used a straw sippy cup when Tegan wasn't into nursing.  I recommend waiting until the plane is speeding down the runway to take off before starting any of these otherwise they are done before you are in the air.  Nursing is tricky in those tight spaces - watch their head sticking out into the aisle!  Bonus - sometimes these things combined with the rumble of take off will put them to sleep.  On the way down we started once we noticed our own ears popping.

7. Those things you don't want them to do on a regular basis at home (watch TV, play with your phone, eat sweet puff finger foods)?  I say go for it on the plane!

8. When the seatbelt sign is off walk and stretch as much as you can - you never know when you will be in turbulence and for how long.

9.  Your baby will cry, it's ok.  Most people we've talked to say they feel for the parents more than anything else.

10. Some immigration/passport checks have special lines for pregnant women, families with children and elderly - look for them (Taiwan and Bangkok both have them).

11.  Bring a blanket to lay out and play on during layovers.

12. Find the other babies/kids on the flight.  Let the kids check each other out; commiserate with fellow parents.

13. High fives all around when you land - you made it!

At the rodeo

Top 10 Taiwan posts

According to google analytics, these are our top posts about Taiwan over the last 3 years:

Rainbow Village
Leofoo Village Theme Park
Simply adorable (oh my how she has grown since this picture!)
Guava
Sun Moon Lake
Guo Nian
House of Unique Stink (I can still taste it...)
Having a baby in Taiwan
Modern Toilet
Musings (this one was fun for me to re-read since it was from the very beginning)

Sunny New Hampshire

We spent the last 10 days visiting New Hampshire and some of Jeremiah's family.  We started at Stout Oak Farm in Epping with cousin Kate and her husband Jeff and then went to Uncle Ron and Aunt Barbara's summer house at Emerald Island on Lake Sunapee.

We helped Kate where we could on her farm - weeding, harvesting, washing and taking the organic vegetables to farmer's markets.  We caught up over crops of onions and snap peas.  It was a great learning experience for us to see all that goes into growing and preparing organic foods and having fresh vegetables for meals everyday was amazing.

Jeremiah and his aunt weeding

Eight ball zucchini, garlic and scallions ready for market 

At Lake Sunapee we took relaxation to whole new level.  We chatted, read, kayaked, swam, and ate ice cream.  The weather was perfect, the house amazing and the company wonderful.

We are now back in Oregon now and have been greeted by rain.  This weekend we head to Central Oregon and at the end of the month we head back to Taiwan.

Hualien trip through an iphone

We just got back from a few day trip to Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan.  We were warned not to travel during Chinese New Year because of traffic but in fact had no trouble.  The highlight of the trip was seeing Taroko Gorge, but until I edit those photos here are some others from our phones:

 Tea and dessert

 Citrus tree - popular at Chinese New Year

Market food - candied tomatoes and strawberries 

Rice served wrapped in a leaf

7-11 character dressed for the year of the rabbit

Art from Irawaddy restaurant serving food from Myanmar 

(good food, but not very true to Myanmar dishes says our friend who lived there) 

Chili flavored ice cream - so spicy!  

(found at a "chili world" rest stop between Hualien and Taipei)

At the airport

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Leave the gum at customs

Being in Singapore almost felt like we had left Asia.  This is largely due to the people living there - a large part of the population (42% wikipedia tells me) are foreigners.  Walking down the street you see people from all over the world, and we heard languages ranging from Chinese to French with a lot of English.  On our hotel TV there was a channel in Chinese, one in English, one in an India language (I'm not sure which) with a variety of subtitles on each.  We also felt the British influence - people drive on the left, signs ask people to queue, and people spoke in British English.

 

The city was pristine (except for that gum I ironically stepped in after our cab driver told us it is true that gum is not allowed in Singapore). The metro was easy to use to get around the city.  Everybody was very nice and helpful.  All things that make for a great trip.  And it was a great trip.  Except... the malls.  Now I admit our hotel was located on Orchard Road, the shopping area, so our vision of Singapore may be skewed compared to others'.  But there seemed to be malls where ever we went.  Upscale, really nice, expensive malls.  On a 15 minute walk home we counted 3 Dolce and Gabbana stores.  The feeling of constant consumerism wore me out.

What did we love about Singapore?  The food, the diversity, the colors, the pretty authentic feel of the Little India area, the reverse bungee ride, and the view of the city at night.  And amidst all those malls were Christmas trees and decorations, which, being a sucker for Christmas decor, I loved.