School's out!

The local schools are out now for 2 months.  It makes our hearts glad to see the kids playing again. 
They have to study so much during school and hardly get to play, even in first and second grade.  Now
they are playing cricket in the empty lot behind our flat everyday.  It means Cora has more friends to
play with, too!

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Catching up

We haven't blogged in a while, so I thought I'd just give you a quick look at our past few months, which were really busy.  We had a wonderful time when Alicia's parents came to visit back in November.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with the only other American couple we know of in the city.  Then in December, we celebrated Evie's and Jay's birthdays.  As Christmas approached, we decorated cookies, hosted parties, shopped, ate, and had a great time celebrating our Lord's birth.  Then we had to leave for our every-six-month visa run, so we were in Bangkok for New Years.  What a fun, crazy time it's been.  Now we're getting back into the swing of "normal" life, whatever that is.

Cora and Evelyn just loved having their Umah and Papa here.   (Sorry for the sideways picture)

The famous temple downtown, where they just recently discovered a huge treasure in the underground vaults.  Look it up if you like.  It's called the Padmanabha Swami Temple.

Cookie decorating party with friends.  One mother who was there took pictures and showed all her friends and family, who had never seen or heard of such a thing as this.  We had lots of fun!

Enjoying new Christmas toys.

Evie's favorite Christmas present was her Little People farm set.

The girls in the Metro station in Bangkok.  Evie really enjoyed the "train" and talked about it with everyone she met.  Of course, all she can say is "train, train, train, train, train..."

  

Happy New Year!

Siam Ocean World:  Great big crabs in  a great big aquarium under a great big mall.  Loads of fun!

Evie didn't think swimming with the sharks was so much fun, though.  She was a little freaked out by the underwater tunnel.

No wonder we didn't see Santa in Trivandrum.  He was shopping in Bangkok.

Billabong Bangkok - who knew?  Doesn't that manequin have a lovely face?

The view from our hotel window.  Bangkok was probably the cleanest, most modern city we've ever been to.  Or perhaps our perspective has changed!?   I don't know, but we enjoyed it a lot.  And these flowering trees were everywhere, making it even nicer.

Some great wall hangings!

We finally got some professional pictures of our girls to hang on our bare walls.  And they were much cheaper here than in the States!

Fishing, etc.

Our little swimmer loves the water and can hold her breath underwater for at least 8 seconds. 
She'll be spear-fishing in no time.

Cora and some friends helping the local fisherman pull in the net.

It takes 2 rows like this of fishermen about an hour to pull in the net.  Sometimes it's empty.

A local fishing boat in the mix.

Being home-schooled doesn't guarantee a distraction-free environment.

Cora learning how to surf

"Let's catch another one, Daddy!"

The locals use a net; the crazy foreigner dives down and spears them.

Hiking at Thenmala

     We took a day to get out of the city with some friends a few weeks ago to a place called Thenmala.  The name means honey mountain.  We didn't see many bees, but we saw lots of other interesting creatures.



These giant flowers were on the side of the road, where we had to stop because we were all getting car sick from the winding road.



 The lake at Thenmala.  Just over this wall was a HUGE snake, maybe a constrictor, but I couldn't get a good picture of it.  You'll just have to believe me!



Paddling a teacup isn't an easy thing.



We were environmentally friendly and threw our trash in the waste basket.  Then this monkey took it out and ran up a tree with it.



A snack break along our hike.  We had to walk under this mother with babies crawling all over her to continue on our trail.



This waterfall was a short drive from Thenmala.  "Bathing" was allowed at the bottom of the falls, where men stripped down to their skivvies while women bathed in their Salwar Kameez or even full burka and veil.



Some not-so-wild monkeys.  The ice cream man said he gives more food to the monkeys than to people.

Random pictures from the last month

When you live in the tropics, sometimes you just have to pretend.

Onam 2011

     Onam, Kerala's biggest holiday, has come and gone again.  It lasts 5 days and is celebrated by Keralites of all religions, although it's roots are Hindu.  We were invited to our house helper's house for a meal, then our friend's house for another meal the same day, then we went to the fair the next day. Today, although late because of a transportation strike, our flat held it's Onam celebration with another big meal.  I'd have to say we're Onam'd out.



On the way to Auntie's house, we went through village after village with the streets filled with shoppers.  Very slow going.  It was like Black Friday at home.



The traditional Kerala meal:  Rice and dahl served on a banana leaf with a lot of sides to mix in.  We love it!



Auntie and her husband.  The tradition is for the guests to eat first, then the family to eat.  It's really awkward for us, but they won't have it any other way.  Auntie's husband fell from a coconut tree when their kids were 1 and 3, resulting in total loss of hearing.  He was also paralyzed for a very long time and has been out of work since.  Auntie has had to work to provide for the family.



Auntie's son, a taylor, made these traditional Kerala dresses for our girls.  So sweet.  Aren't they beautiful?



Preparing the flowers for an arrangement called Pookalam with kids in the flat



The finished product



Enjoying the rides at the fair

The park had hung these swings from all the trees, much to Cora's liking.