Consumables

By definition, they are things you consume, use up. Think of everything you will consume for the next two years, and that is what we brought with us. Two crates full. 2500 pounds. Can you imagine?
Toilet paper, paper towels. ziploc bags, laundry soap, wipes, garbage bags, Band-Aids.
Oh, and the food. I can't even begin.
I went from having one can of Pam in the pantry to this:

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It took us months to accumulate this stuff. You know that photo on the front of your Costco coupon book of the family's cart piled to the ceiling? That was us. We made countless to trips to various stores and stocked up on everything. We bought on sale, we planned ahead. Then we lugged it up from the parking garage, found a place to store it, and finally sent it off so it could meet us in Kathmandu.
Well, it's here, and I'm telling you, I am one happy camper. When I get overwhelmed or discouraged, I walk in our pantry and I know all is right with the world.
Now I really want to bake. Except that I'm so exhausted, and I couldn't find a spoon or bowl anyway. But I can find red food coloring. Or agave.

Special Delivery

Our stuff is here!
You really have to live it to fully relate.  It's Christmas in July. We haven't seen these things in a year and a half. I don't even remember half of what's in it. The hard work is yet ahead, deciding where to put it all, the exhaustion. But having it delivered, having it here, is such great fun.

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8 crates! It's mind-boggling. Each truck held one crate, with 5 trucks in our driveway at one time. The monsoon started just as they arrived, so I got to watch our belongings get poured on while they unloaded. Fun.
It just kept coming. So much stuff, so completely overwhelming.
And wonderful.
The kids got a front row seat, and we resorted to desperate (electronic) measures to keep them safe and entertained during the entire spectacle.

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Oh, and the crates (did I mention 8?) Our didi and her family wanted to use the wood to make furniture. So they broke them down and it took two seperate trucks over the next few days to get them home.
I'm happy to have my stuff. They are happy to have my crates.

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Monsoon Madness

In case you missed it, it's monsoon season here. I've never experienced a real monsoon before so I didn't know what to expect. Now I do. It's called the wet season for a reason.
Maybe there are other differences between us and our neighbors, but one is that my children go outside. Theirs go in.

B especially loves the rain. The second she hears it start she puts on her boots, grabs an umbrella, and heads out. This picture will forever remind me of the joy they all experienced playing in the pouring rain. Together.
Happy.

Purple Box Car

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It's been rather isolating to not have a car. But now we do -- with an appropriate name from the kids. It's small. And old. But who wants to drive anything else around here? It seats 7, though I believe that was meant to mean 7 cats or gerbils. Not 7 living, breathing people (with 3 car seats). But it's here. Our car.
Does it count as our car if I can't drive it? I won't be driving for two years. Two years! I will seriously need remedial driver's ed when I return.
We met our driver when he drove our car home. I like him already, mostly because I will rely on him for everything: errand-running, transport, door opening. He'll be my GPS and knows how to find anything.
Call me Miss Daisy.

Sunday at Thamel

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Husbands are good for many things. Mine is good for getting us out to explore.
We spent our Sunday wandering through Thamel, a myriad of alleys, shops, people, temples, and of course the iconic Durbar Square. In case you're wondering, we were quite the spectacle. This is the main tourist part of town, full of restaurants, hostels, trekking outfitters, and cyber cafes. We were certainly not the only white people to make their way. However, not many casually stroll through with four young children in tow, so we got stares from everyone. C spoke Nepali with anyone and everyone, which made us stand out even more. We were celebrities.
We shopped and came home with some lovely table coverings to add to our collection. The kids weren't sure what to make of everyone surrounding us trying to sell us stuff. It was a little unsettling for them at first but by the end they were rather unphased.

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The highlight of the day, the real show-stopper, was our first family bicycle rickshaw ride. We crammed into two. C negotiated the price, which amounted to $1.30 per rickshaw, which was a great deal considering we would have been carrying Addie the entire way. We held on for dear life and off we went. If you ask the kids now, they'll say, "And it didn't even have seatbelts!" It was a ride they'll remember.

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These snapshots speak 'Nepal' (so far)

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For not having a car (yet) and having only been here just a few days, we've still managed to see some cool things.
Patan Durbar Square is the plaza around the royal palace of the old Lalitpur Kingdom, one of three Durbar Squares in the valley. It was our first experience of the sort, we were quite impressed, even though Patan is supposedly the smallest of the three. Rightfully, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and looks nearly the same as it did when it was built during the 1600s. Cool.
That's one thing that's great about Kathmandu: there's no shortage of things to experience and explore here. Culture and history abound. It will take us two years to scratch the surface, really.
And that's just the valley, not to mention the amazing treks and day trips out of town. Oh, and the Himalayas. Let's not forget about those.