and the baby is a...

we had an ultrasound appointment this morning to meet dr. arena at maternity hospital #2. the only problem was we didn't have good directions, there are hardly no street signs in bishkek and the one's that do exist are normally small and hidden from sight and in russian (which we are getting better at reading). we got lost. were running late. and as a result the doctor cancelled on us.

UGH. double ugh.

we have been counting down for this day as we are so, so excited to learn if "it" is a boy or a girl. pretty much put us both in foul moods all day until date night later in the evening.

food always makes jen feel better.

we rescheduled the appointment for thursday morning so hopefully we will find out then.

it is good to be home

it is good to be home. it feels funny saying that about bishkek... bit it really is starting to feel like home. especially since we are content with the fact that we will be back here next year. i am still looking at other opportunities and haven't ruled out the job in nablus as an option. but qsi is a good organization to work for... so it makes sense to stick around instead of taking a teaching job with another organization. as i have mentioned before, qsi has 38 schools in 26 countries. so after paying our dues for two years here in central asia... we could end up in eastern europe which would be amazing.

but we don't look at staying here another year as treading water. we really like bishkek. it is a quarky place to live... but fun. clean. safe. inexpensive. and we are starting to build a great community of friends.

bishkek is also starting to feel like home because we are in the process of looking for a new place to live. since we are having a baby... qsi is letting us move into a two bedroom (or "three room" as the russians call it) place. we looked at a great house today which is north of the school off of manas and chui. the house has it's own courtyard and a back house with a kitchen and sauna. a perfect place to live with boone (whom we are planning on bringing with us here next year) and a great place to have people over (there is a bbq in the yard). our other option is a small (smaller than what we have now) three room apartment right in downtown. walking distance to friendship park and the monuments on chui. and it is right across the street from our good friend charlie (his sister-in-law owns the place). not as nice as the house or our current apartment but the location is amazing.

we are both excited to decide on a place in the next month and move in before summer. that way we can have some time to decorate a nursery before the baby gets here.

exhusted, sleepy, road weary... but happy

we are back home safe and sound after another epic day of travel. too much to say and too many amazing experiences to share with just half a brain (some of you might say that is all i ever work with).

namaste

are we home yet saturday

we were dreading our return to delhi. at the beginning of our trip... we were only in the city for a quick five hour stay at a hotel and then hightailed it out at first light.

today... we were going to be in delhi from 640am until 1030pm at night. we were dreading the long day without a place to crash. we were dreading the pollution. the people. the poverty.

delhi was pretty all that and more!

i woke around 530am just a little bit before jennifer and started breaking down my bunk and packing up our stuff. she woke shortly after that we spent the last hour of the train ride looking out of the window as the sun rose and watching the "slumdogs" (can you tell we just watched the movie?) go about their morning duty.

india is a poor, poor country. despite the great leaps forward it has made in the past 10 years becoming a technology giant, etc. most of the country is poor. basics like running water and sanitation are considered a luxury. most of the time... people get drinking water from the same water where people wash their clothes or go to the bathroom. many people live in terrible conditions. either on the street or in slums on the outskirts of towns.

we saw all of this as the train lumbered into delhi. we saw hundreds... no i would estimate thousands of people relieving (think #2) themselves next to or on the train tracks. an hour almost non stop bathroom- going. the trash and filth was overwhelming. the kids running around half dressed or naked. the diseased and disabled.

as soon as we arrive at the station and disembarked from the train... things got crazy. swarms of "guides" and "drivers" insisting that they help us. one after another after another. hard not to get angry and annoyed as it is non-stop but i kept telling myself that most of them are honest hard working people just trying to get by. a $2.00 taxi ride could mean enough money for someone to buy dinner that night.

we didn't want to carry our bags with us all day so jen talked our way into a five star hotel called the imperial. super, super swank. i have no idea how they let us in as we both smelled and had on week old dirty clothes. at the concierge desk i asked if they could keep our bags for the day and they said that the service was "only for guest of the hotel". jen broke out with the "but we are friends with chris hattayer from the american embassy"... which was true with the exception of the fact that chris works at the embassy in bishkek and has never even been to india. the clerk was impressed though and agreed to watch our bags. we checked them in and then hung out at the hotel for about 45 minutes... taking turns cleaning up in the restroom and using the bathroom (yes... real toilets!).

the travel has finally caught up with jen and she was feeling low energy and tired all day. we made an effort to walk around central delhi for a while but ended up spliting our time between a mcdonalds (no quarter pounders or big macs... chicken and veggie burgers only)... a coffee shop... and a pizza hut (we were tired of indian food and needing comfort food at this point... we don't have any "american" food in bishkek).

although our flight wasn't until almost 1100pm... we decided to head to the airport a bit early... like six hours early! that way we could find a nice, cool place to sit and jen could nap to her hearts content. we were ready to get home.

in the crowded terminal we ended up sitting next to a guy from houston... pretty small world.

our flight out of delhi was uneventful and we landed back in almaty around 330am sunday morning. bought transit visas. met our driver outside the terminal (he showed up!) and then immediately crashed in the car (jen in the front with the seat reclined and me in the back) for the five hour drive back to bishkek. arrived home around 900am.

farewell to udaipur friday

today was our last day in udaipur and we spent most of the day doing some last minute shopping, exploring, taking photos, and getting my haircut by a local barber (an experience!). we had a great five days here... the city is lovely and it is built around a lake and is surround by hills. the people were wonderful. the city is very clean (by indian standards) and i don't think we were bugged (maybe that is the wrong word and it lacks compassion... but it is how it feels sometimes) only a few times by beggars. and so, so many things to see.

we talked about "if" we would come back to india and if we would... would we visit udaipur again? our answer was both "yes" and "no". yes because it is such a great place and such an authentic indian experience without the smog and crowds and poverty. but no because there are so many other places we want to explore not just in india... but in the whole world. in india... we really want to go to darjeeling which is located in the foothills beneath mount everest. from there we can explore "tea country" and travel into nepal. goa... home of india's famous beaches... would also make for a great trip.

but the problem is that the world is such a big place. so many places to see and so many cultures to explore. teaching abroad gives us the chance to see the world. and being in central asia gives us access to so many places... uzbekistan, mongolia, china, southeast asia... so many places to see and so little time. and now we have to consider what traveling like with one... then two... and maybe three kids will be like. i am not complaining... we are blessed to have the "problem" of deciding where to explore next.

around 400pm we checked out of our room... returned the moped ("goodbye moped... oh how we loved thee")... and took an auto rickshaw to the train station. by 630pm we were on the train and on our way to delhi. we had another eventful night in the sleeper car. jen slept like a baby. i kept worrying about our stuff... about jen falling off her bunk... about us sleeping through our stop in delhi (which was still 12 hours a way... so little chance of that).

farewell udaipur.