Christmas away from our "home away from home"

Not only are we spending Christmas away from the states this year, we're also away from Nepal living out of suitcases.  It's got me thinking creatively about how to recreate some traditions (see point 2) and celebrate the season.

Here is some of the ideas we've come across so far:

-No Christmas trees?  Go small, artificial or make your own (crepe paper, ribbon, felt, or paper - lots of ideas online)

-Last year our family took a hallmark recordable book and recorded them reading it.

-Crafts!  Paper snowflakes, salt dough ornaments, paper chains, advent calendars

-Elf on a shelf is everywhere, at least everywhere on Pinterest, but something that is easy to do where ever you are

-Movies - easy to take and watch anywhere

-Christmas books - there's an app for that when the real thing isn't available

-Matching pajamas (this takes some thinking ahead so there is time to find/order) but certainly identifies you as a family!

-Food - tricky if ovens are not common in your country and with ingredients that may be hard to find; improvise!  In bigger cities restaurants or import stores may offer Christmas dinners, just book in advance.


Anyone have other ideas?

Election day

Yesterday was election day in Nepal - a big deal and a tad complicated.  There's been a number of bandh days leading up to the day though only a few that affected our school.  The goal is to elect a new Constituent Assembly with the hope of writing a Constitution to govern the nation.

Photo from here

"More than 100 parties are contesting the elections, including three major ones, the Maoists, the Nepali Congress and the Unified Marxist-Leninist. Of the more than 16,000 candidates, nearly 6,000 are women."  [emphasis added]

"Officials said turnout was high and voting largely peaceful. Earlier, three people were hurt by a bomb in Kathmandu which followed a series of attacks blamed on opponents of the poll." 

"The vote is the second since a 10-year Maoist revolt ended in 2006. The previous assembly failed in its task."

See the whole article here:  Nepal voting ends for new Constituent Assembly

Results will take a few weeks.

How to spend 3 weeks in Bangkok when you are 36+ weeks pregnant

You can follow my lead:

Read, watch Elementary on your laptop and bad crime shows on local tv, facetime home, and go out only for food and necessities because really, it's awfully hot out there.

Negatives: No Tegan or Jeremiah, the heat, dealing with the logistics of having a baby away from home

Perks: Good food, air conditioning, bubble tea just down the road, maid service

Nothing like a good case of boredom to really get you ready for the chaos that is about to come!

Dashain break in Bali

We took a family vacation to Bali, staying in Sanur, with another family over Dashain break.  Bali was a great place for our group: a 33-week pregnant woman, a 2 month old newborn, a nursing mom, a toddler, a pre-schooler and 2 dads.  Mostly we hung out at the pool, ate on the beach while the kids played in the sand, and took one day trip to Ubud.  Sanur was a nice, slow pace for us, clean but not over-the-top resort-town feel.  Ubud was much more touristy but we saw some nice sites on the way.  It was all a good change of scenery from Kathmandu!

House pool

Bali Bird Park

Temple

Temple

Ubud

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

Festival of Lights

I've been in Bangkok for a week now, waiting to have baby #2 (!!).  Last weekend was one of my favorite times in Kathmandu - Tihar.  Since I missed it, here are some of the pictures I took last year at the Babar Mahal Revisited complex (where we frequent the restaurant Chez Caroline).

Happy Halloween

We joined a Halloween tradition in our area of trick-or-treating among the neighborhood expat families, about 5 houses, and ended at a house that hosted a party for everyone.  In our group we had a knight, firefighters, witches and our own little minnie mouse and to say we attracted some attention would be an understatement (the adults wearing costumes as well probably added some extra attention - a very pregnant cat and a squirrel on either hand of that adorable minnie mouse? yeah).

It was the perfect amount of fun and candy treats.

From the outside

At the end of last year we decided we needed to move.  Our last house was great, but set up for a single person or a couple, not a family.  This house belonged to a family at school who was leaving so we snatched it up.   We're loving it!

The colors, I know, I know.

Guard house

Beautiful garden

Our beast of a gate

So many of these flowers!

From one of the upstairs patios - a swing set up for last Dashain still up