Back on the Airplane Again

After arriving back in Nepal, beginning our very sincere first two weeks at homeschooling, working nights, and getting over jet lag, I hopped on a plane to Singapore for the 5-month pregnancy scan. I was able to do the 3-month scan in Albuquerque since we were in the US anyway, but a foreign service pregnancy in many locales such as ours means a lot of extra scheduling, paperwork, and trips. Lucky for me, I like Singapore. Unlucky for me, Uncle Sam doesn’t pay for the family members to come.

Despite the doc creeping me out a bit, the news was all good! We have a healthy, normal baby girl on the way!

Never say "Never"

Two significant and vaguely inter-related events have taken life by the ankle shaken it all about. Both were pre-ordained by “I’ll never” statements I foolishly have made.

One: I’ll never homeschool my daughter. 
I actually really, really, like the idea of homeschooling. Molding the young mind, enticing her with topics and activities that she would love and wouldn’t be possible in a traditional school setting. But she and I working closely together on a daily basis? Ha! From our first homework assignment in Kindergarten (one of only two that year), where it took 30 minutes and many tears to count the number of Thursdays in February, I have had the strongest conviction that me teaching her is a Very Bad Idea. However, we have had a number of extremely frustrating educational experiences at the American school here, with the lack of actual education being so terrible and the parental scuttlebutt of next year’s teacher being so dour that we have actually discussed home schooling, for 3rd grade at least.

Two: I never want to be one of those moms with a tweenager and a baby.
Yep, I’m pregnant. After 6 years of trying to conceive and all the attendant misery, I get pregnant when I have a soon-to-be 8-year old and am staring my 40th birthday in the face. Despite the “never” statement, of course, we are absolutely thrilled. The future big sister was tearfully happy as well, and now that she has endured a number of pregnancy-related (mis)adventures (mostly, er, food-related) and had to put up with an exhausted mama, she is a little more wary. Still a good sport, however.

Currently we are on leave in the US. All the critical family members have now been told of the big news, and we are also getting a lot of practice explaining the coming school year thusly (God willing):

• Since we are, ahem, not too thrilled with the school anyway, we will start out the 3rd grade year homeschooling (aaah!). 
• Mid-November, daughter and I travel to the US, kicking our tenant out of OUR VERY OWN house. I will transfer to a midwife Ob-Gyn practice in Fairfax, have the baby there, and we will stay in the US until summer time. 
• Hopefully, the 3rd grader will attend our neighborhood school (if I can talk her into it, in a time of such major transition). We’ll stay till the end of the school year for her, and so that we can avoid a couple of trips back-and-forth to the US with the newborn (and the attendant springtime pollution that settles over Kathmandu). 
• Hubby will come to get us settled in November, come again for Christmas and baby’s birth (due first week of January), and come out a third time for US-based home leave in late May. 
• We all return to Nepal, baby in tow, in late June. 

A Hike in the Hills

What some of us may call “mountains” are mere “hills” in Nepal. A mountain is something that towers above the clouds. Recently we joined friends for a hair-raising drive to a lovely hilly getaway at Namobuddha, just on the rim outside the city. Supposedly, there is a view of actual mountains from the hilltop resort, but we did not see any evidence of this. In late April in Kathmandu, after a long dusty winter where fires abound for warmth and heat, and before the monsoons have started to knock down factory and vehicle exhaust, everything is hazy.

Partiers wave an enthusiastic goodbye,
the kids can't get out quick enough.

Regardless, we enjoyed a lovely locally grown lunch while the kids pecked at their food and played on the hillside, and then took a hike over to one of the ubiquitous hilltop monasteries. Remarkable notes on the walk included, 1) actual trees in what could rightly be termed a forest, 2) a number of Nepali picnic-parties along the way, rife with loud music, local beer, and revelry (with one of such a giddy mood that all of us – especially the reluctant kids – were pulled in to participate in dancing / clapping / cheering), and 3) a high vantage point over a hazy valley that made one really, really wish the air would clear because the view must surely be spectacular.

Here are the we hikers as we set out.

Here they are again, at our destination. 

Daily Rhythm at My Desk

Woof.

Woof.

Cockadoodle, cockadoodle;

Woof woof barking running mad pack:

Ding-a-ling temple bell.

Honk! Honk-honk-honk!

Ding-a-ling temple bell.

Cockadoodle, "Amaa!!" 

"Eh?"

Clink! Clink! Tumble glass!

Motorbike buzzz.

"Amaa!!"

Rumble bumble old truck.

Engine starting generator buzz.

Ping! Ping ping bong! Metal drum bong!

Beep beep! Crrryyyy baby.

Moooo.

Ring ring bicycle bell, Seller's ca-aaalll! Ring! 

Come to the biii-cycle!!! Buy my stuu-uufff!

Clink, clink, bong!

Ha-BAA. At-TAA. Monks! Do! Exercise! YAH!

Murmur-and-roar, men-next-door, mumble, murmur want a job send me abroad. 

Metal rumble store fronts tumble come and buy some coke and soap.

Blaaaare-of-a-horn-tru-umpet. It's time for puuuja! 

Beep beep honk!

Door SLAM! Yell!! Mad or glad? Shriek and laugh.

Tick tick, belch.

Yelling clink clink! Tumble glass!

Loud-speaker! Listen to me! Words and music!

Sizzle, sizzle, fry.

Bumpy tractor bouncing by.

"Eh?"

Flap, flap, sheets shake and fold.

Cough-hawk-spit.

Woof woof beep!

Cockadoodle.

Rumble.

Beep!

Best Buys

We've found that living abroad entails a few deprivations--mostly minor reminders of America. There remain a few items that make our lives so much easier and more comfortable that we're frequently reminded of how grateful we are to have made these best buys.

1. VPN (virtual private network). How did we live abroad for over 2 years before we finally purchased one! It allows us to mask our location and change it virtually to the U.S. (or a bunch of other places). It allows us to view webpages (barnesandnoble.com) and services (Netflix) that are not available to people with a non-US ISP. Thus, we've been able to watch non-Bollywood movies and the Olympics (thanks CBC and BBC, but not NBC).

2. Couch covers. In a world where EVERYONE has the identical furniture including couches, ours can at least appear to the different than others.

3. Espresso Machine. Have a favorite corner coffee shop that serves espresso, lattes, and mochas?  We don't. Even if we did, we'd still be grateful to have an espresso machine to save us from a treacherous drive for some coffee.

4. UPS (uninterruptible power supply). A battery back-up to keep power on the TV, DVD player, and computer during the frequent power fluctuations/outages saves us the agony of losing work on the computer or having to re-start the movie multiple times.

5. Pam. Yes, it's that useful. You try going without cooking spray and see how your baked goods turn out.

Tips for walking around Kathmandu

1. Always walk with your mouth closed and watch your step
2. Be aware of wandering cows (see #1)
3. Don't bother covering your cough because the person next to you is hawking up a spitball (see #1)
4. Bring a change of shoes (see #1)