Back in Kathmandu

It took almost 40 hours of travel but we are back in Kathmandu, and it feels great! In case you missed it, we went home for a few months for the birth of our daughter, Ryan Abigail. In her first two months Ryan received a quality introduction to her nation of birth. Of course we introduced her to all of her loving family and many of our closest friends up and down the Eastern seaboard.The little girl visited 12 states as we shleped her to New Jersey and back for her first Passover and later on to Florida for a beach weekend. While in Atlanta, she saw all of mom and dad's favorite parks and joined us for beers (or margaritas) at numerous regular watering holes. In between these grand adventures, there was the minute and the mundane. I can now change a diaper and warm a bottle with the best of them. And as dad and daughter spent quality time on the couch, letting mom rest, Ryan listened with rapt attention to tales of the great Seminole Nation. We had a blast. But now this family of three is back in their adopted home with more adventures to come. Those will be detailed in future installments of Serenity Now. Until then, enjoy some more of my personal favorite pictures of Ry-Ry.

Kathmandu Cool

I think I've figured out this blog thing. I'm not the most inspired writer, so why not let a pro carry the load from time to time? This article in the Daily Beast by Nepali writer Manjushree Thapa describes Kathmandu in a way that I could not. I encourage you to read it. It's not long but it's pretty and informative. And when you are done, you'll want to come for a visit.

Back in Kansas

Here are a few little things, in no particular order, that I enjoy about being home:
1. Traffic laws
2. Garbage disposal
3. Cow-less streets
4. Everything related to food...its cleanliness, variety, availability, recognizability, and Waffle House
5. High speed internet
6. Public parks with clean air
7. Knowing what the heck is going on

Having said that, I miss Nepal as well. These things most of all:
1. Buddhist temples with monkeys
2. Hindu temples with sadhus
3. The Himalayas visible from my window
4. The Nepalese people
5. Momos
6. मलाई नेपाली भाषा बोल्न मन पर्चा, or To me Nepali language to speak my heart falls on it (i.e. "I like to speak Nepali.")
7. Never knowing what the heck will happen next

The moral of the story is that it's not easy to live abroad, especially in a developing country. I've stretched myself and tested my comfort levels in ways I'd never imagined. But the perspective I've gained is worth all the challenges. Still, as Dorothy said, there's no place like home.

It's a little known fact...

Sorry to follow up a cheerful and buoyant post about the joys of parenthood with the wet blanket of reality that is international affairs, but hey, I'm a foreign service officer. And I felt this article was too interesting not too share. That is, if you are curious in any way about the hermit kingdom of Bhutan and a little known mass expulsion of ethnic Nepalese in 1992. It impacts somewhat on my work in Nepal. But also, I think it is good for Americans to know that we open our country to many refugees like this. And if you happen to ever meet someone from Bhutan in the States, you may know what brought them here.

Born in the USA

Now that things have calmed down a little bit, I guess it's about time to update the blog with some minor news. I'm currently in the U.S. on paternity leave. Our little girl Ryan Abigail came into the world ten days early, but still at a very respectable 8.4 lbs. Elyse called me at work in Kathmandu last Wednesday morning, just after I had left the visa line, to tell me it was time. I was on a plane that night, traveled 32 hours via Doha and London, and went straight to the hospital from the airport. Not seven hours later I was holding my daughter. (Elyse can fill in the birth details if she wishes but, other than a brief period that would have made George Carlin blush, I'll just say she did great.)

Aside from an extra couple of days in the hospital due to a minor complication, it's been smooth sailing. Parenthood hasn't phased me yet. Feels natural, honestly. It probably helps that Ryan is a content baby who seems to love nothing more than nursing and sleeping. And she does both very well. Based on the reactions we get from other parents, we've lucked out in the sleep department. Ryan usually only gets up twice a night, roughly around 2:00 and 4:30. Then she and dad get up at 6:30 or 7:00 to hang out on the couch and watch Sports Center while mom catches up on her sleep. Next we listen to Morning Edition, she with her milk and I with my coffee, and discuss the news of the world. The brainwashing has begun: she already loves the Phillies and knows which politicians are simpletons. To top it off, Elyse and I have managed to keep leading our regular lives. The three of us have gone for walks in the park, seen the Tibetan Buddhism art exhibition at Emory's Carlos Museum, thrown a pizza party, and quaffed a pint at our local pub. And did I mention she's cute? See pictures below for proof. If you haven't already, I hope you can meet Ryan Abigail soon.

Day 2

Who sleeps this way?

Pretty happy after a bath

Sleeping on and under hand made gifts from friends in Nepal.

She falls asleep immediately in this thing.

Ekdam Thik Nepali Weekend

This is one of those posts where I'll let the pictures (and links) do much of the speaking for me.
Last weekend I visited two of Kathmandu's spiritual treasures. First, on Friday evening I went to Pashupatinath, one of the most holy sites in Hinduism. Honoring Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of creation and destruction, Hindu pilgrims come from around the world to worship at the Pashupati Temple and surrounding complex. It sits on banks of the holy Bagmati and is the site of many cremations on the complex's riverside "ghats."




The night I went was unique as it preceded by only two days Shivaratri, an extremely important Hindu festival honoring Lord Shiva. So there was a certain energy in the air...as well as a lot of marijuana smoke thanks to the sadhus. These colorful (literally and figuratively) Hindu ascetics flock to Pashupatinath from far and wide to honor Shiva, seek enlightenment, and smoke weed. The environment was truly exotic as I wandered through the ancient temple complex while bodies smoldered on the ghats and monkeys wandered through the crowd. One of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley, this is definitely a spot to visit again.

Namobuddha to Dulikhel hike
The next day I went on a day hike with most of the Consular section to Namobuddha. Namobuddha is a Tibetan Buddhist stupa and monastery. It's actually a grand complex of multiple buildings, incredible architecture, and panoramic views.

Sitting on a hilltop with amazing vistas of the Himalayas, the site supposedly marks the location where a past Buddha came upon a starving tigress. Unable to feed her cubs, the Buddha allowed her to consume him, an act of compassion that transported him to the higher realms of existence. After the hike to the top, I was also quite peckish. So I ate a Cliff Bar. I remain in the same realm of existence, but I got some enlightening pictures.

Due to the vagaries of Nepal's weather, clear views of the Himalayas are never guaranteed. However, on this day we were extremely fortunate.

Not bad photos for a BlackBerry cell phone.

No!

So here's my first pregnancy blog entry. I hope, for everyone's sake, that there won't be too many more on this topic. You, as a reader, I'm sure could find a better blog than this one, if you were interested in reading about a woman's perspective on pregnancy. And me, at 37+ weeks, hopefully won't be pregnant too much longer. Not that it's been a horrible experience, but I haven't "loved every second," as some women seem to claim.

Ted Stevens summed up pregnancy pretty well in this clip. There are so many things that people tell you are "no nos" during pregnancy. For example, the seemingly obvious things like smoking and drinking alcohol, but also undercooked eggs, smoked fish, ibuprofen, cleaning cat litter, etc. After my midwife appointment last week, I'll add rock climbing to the list.

The problem is, not many of these things that are off-limits are backed by science or knowledge. For medication safety, this is for good reason. What mom-to-be is going to volunteer her body and possibly the health of her unborn child to participate in large, well-controlled trials that would provide this much needed data. So all we have are out-dated, happenstance-type case studies. For certain foods, the risks are real, but infections are so rare from ingesting something harboring Listeria, for example, that you wonder how careful you need to be. For rock climbing and other physical activities, the "experts" giving the advice often don't know enough about the activity to give a well-informed opinion. That doesn't stop them from spewing the negativity, though. In the case of my midwife last week, after she stopped staring at me like I had 3 heads when I told her about how great it felt to rock climb at 36 wks, I asked her why she didn't approve. She made up something about the thinness of the walls of the uterus and the dangers of bumping it. I could tell it was BS and if she only knew how many times I bump my belly walking around my apartment, she'd have a heart attack.

So, where have I come to with all of this? I've done the best that I can, to do what I think is right and safe based on the information available to me. I've had a couple sips of wine along the way, I've taken some supposedly safe medications, and yes, I've been rock climbing throughout my pregnancy (without bumping my belly). Hopefully, the kid turns out ok. We'll see in a few weeks.