Mention the word “Pakistan” and danger and/or violence are pretty much the only things that come up for me. I couldn’t tell you any good things about Pakistan, likely because I’ve never taken the time to challenge my initial perception of the country; an impression...
I reached down to grab my first handful of gulal but stopped short as a blast of yellow hit me square in the chest, the excess disappearing between my cleavage, tickling my torso as it tumbled its way down my tank top. I spun around to see who had hit me and was ambushed once again, a...
Hey All – Sarah here for our semi-regular touch-base! Has it really been three weeks since we last talked?? Ughhh. I blame February. It just seemed to evaporate! It’s crunch time here with less than five months left in India. I’ve still got a few places to check off my...
I am delinquent in my blog writing, I know. Let’s get caught up, shall we? The weeks between our trips to Udaipur (right before Christmas) and Pench (mid-January) were rough ones. If you’ll remember, our house had been torn up since early December due to the Sprinkler Debacle...
As the morning progressed, I couldn’t help but compare this safari experience to the ones we’d experienced in Africa. The first big difference was that there were far more cars around this time–it was very rare that you’d be the only one viewing an animal. The park...
It’s 6:30 AM and dark as night. I cinch my blanket tighter around my arms and neck, a largely futile effort considering that the searingly cold air is smacking me at 30 mph and clearly has the upper hand. The cold permeates every pore in my body and I hastily nuzzle into Nia, hoping...
Day 2 in Udaipur The plan for our second day in Udaipur was a daytrip to two sites that I’d heard were worth the effort–the great Mewar Fortress of Kumbhalgarh and the splendid Jain temple Ranakpur. They were completed in 1458 and 1496, respectively, and both initiated by Rana...
Last Thursday marked the end of our first “adults-only” trip in four years, to none other than romantic, stunning Udaipur–the Venice of India–complete with tours of the Maharana‘s City Palace and a 600-year-old fort, candlelit dinners high above the glowing...
It started out as a nice, normal Friday afternoon. Nick and I were preparing drinks for Happy Hour, debating what to do for dinner. We’d been told the “sprinkler guys” would be coming between 4 and 5 to test the fire sprinklers. We didn’t really know what that...
Photo by Jeremy Dorrough on Unsplash Hello dear readers — Thank you for stopping by. No, I really mean that–THANK YOU! I know that there are a bazillion and one things demanding your time and attention but you faithfully return to Novakistan time and time again to read about...
Hi Everyone – We spent the morning hiking amongst the beautiful ruins of Hampi, an ancient civilization from the 14th century. I am trying out a more detail-oriented style writing for my book and thought I’d practice by sharing a unique experience we had this morning. I hope...
We arrived in India 38 months ago. It was August 2018 and our first time having a three-year tour (which we later extended for a fourth year). It felt like I had all the time in the world as I busily went about setting up our house and getting settled those first six months. My GSO work...
Photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash With our next assignment now confirmed, we’ve entered what I like to refer to as the “Senior Slide” portion of the tour. This is the beginning of the end at post. Much like how getting accepted to a college made it feel...
Almaty, Kazakhstan! “Almaty North view” by blavandmaster is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard of Kazakhstan but would have trouble picking it out on a map. Kazakhstan is actually just North of India and the Middle East...
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash The idea of writing and publishing a book is such a daunting task for most people that they immediately dismiss it outright (which is what I did for a long time). The sheer volume of time it takes to write, when combined with the steep learning...
Photo by Aung Soe Min on Unsplash Greetings dear ones — Happy Monday. I am here with exciting news. Not the news you were likely expecting about the location of our next tour, but a different kind of adventure for sure, more of an inner journey. Let’s just cut to the chase...
Hey All — It’s good to be back with you again. I’m thrilled to report that Nick is home after 22 days in Abu Dhabi. We missed him immensely but were so proud of the amazing work he was doing getting Afghan refugees on planes to America! It was a powerful experience and I...
Pic by Kristen Our auto-rickshaw sped through the streets of Jodhpur, careening this way and that, locked in a tight race for God-knows-what with the motorcycle next to us. I close my eyes as I’m thrown against the meager padding of the rickshaw cab as we swerve just in time to...
Hello again! This is a continuation of yesterday’s post, so if you haven’t read that yet, do so first to give you some context! We spread our sightseeing out over three days in four hour chunks that we could sneak in from about 8 AM – 2 PM before the rain started at 2ish...
Nick is away for several weeks on a TDY (temporary duty assignment) in Abu Dhabi. In order to break up what would be a very long stretch of solo parenting, I decided that Nia and I would need to go on some sort of adventure as well. However, we had some constraints to consider when...
I have long been fascinated by generational differences, especially in terms of how they show up in the workplace. I was born in 1980, which means I straddle two generations (Gen X and Millennials). There is no authority of note on this topic, so ranges for each generation can vary a bit...
Hey folks – Been feeling very reminiscent lately. I recently came across one of those “Children of the 80’s” posts on Facebook that showed all the popular items from our youth. One of the featured items was a Walkman, which got me thinking about my relationship...
I thought parenting would make me a better play-er. When I give my daughter the option to choose an activity for Mommy/Daughter time, she inevitably chooses imaginative play with some combination of her Hatchimals/Littlest Pet Shop/Playmobil/Ponies. I can’t tell you how much I...
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash It’s that dreaded time of year folks . . . bidding is upon us. Instead of just complaining about how stressful it is, I thought it’d be fun to give you a little refresher on our bidding history. Can you believe we’re bidding for our 6th...
For those of you getting your Novakistan posts via email, I wanted to let you know that I recently changed email subscription providers because Feedburner was no longer offering the service. I switched to follow.it, which is a robust Feedburner alternative, offering even more choices for...
Since my last post was all dramatic and depressing, my goal for this one is to keep it a bit lighter. No promises though because my general mood lately has been very “angsty teenager-esque”. On Monday, August 16th Nia went back to school in-person for the first time in a year...
Hope and I have had a rocky last year and a half. You see, I placed all my trust in her, counting on the fact that she’d come through for me like she had in the past. In August 2020 I was sure she’d have us back to in-person school. In January 2021 I was absolutely certain...
Image by Nick Fewings on Unsplash Hello dear ones – It’s 2:33 AM in Mumbai and while I’d love to be sleeping, my body has other plans for me. So I thought, “Why not write to my readers and give them a quick update?” So here we are. Let’s do this! As you...
Things that Make Iceland a Great Travel Destination The sheer amount of things to do and see (it was very hard to narrow and we had two weeks!) The natural beauty (Iceland is GORGEOUS, right up there with Hawaii and New Zealand) All of the natural sights (waterfalls, glaciers, lagoons...
In the second week of our trip we made a last-minute decision to extend our trip by one day (leaving Sunday July 11th instead of Saturday July 10th) so that we could try and see the active volcano that is erupting just outside Reykjavik. Unfortunately, as the day grew closer, it appeared...
Yes, Minnesota may be the land of 10,000 lakes but I think Iceland should get it’s own distinction: “Land of 10,000 Waterfalls”. I kid you not, there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE here. So much so, in fact, that they start to feel passe. “Another beautiful gushing...
Remember when I said in my last post that Nia and I were most excited about seeing Puffins and Icelandic horses on this trip? Well, not so for Nick. Ever the adventurer, he decided his “must do” was hiking a glacier. And he really wanted us to all do it together (cue me...
I bet you didn’t know that Iceland has it’s own set of islands just off the Southern Coast! They’re called the Westman Islands (also referred to as Vestmannaeyjar). The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4200 people and is home to the world’s largest...
HELLO READERS! I’m back. Yeah, I know. I’ve been gone awhile. I swear, I wanted to write, I really did. I knew I SHOULD write, that you’d be wondering what I was up to. But I just wasn’t feeling it. Like many things right now, it just felt like too much work. So...
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash As my fellow parents can attest to, this last year has given us the “opportunity” to revisit prior grades alongside our children. I have had the pleasure of going back to three months of 2nd grade and now all of 3rd grade! What has struck me...
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Have you noticed how during the pandemic there don’t seem to be any “good” options anymore? I definitely have. So much so, in fact, that I even coined a phrase for it last summer – “What’s my least worst option?”...
Howdy blog readers! Happy Tuesday to you all. Please note that I am writing my third blog post in two weeks (woot woot). Really trying hard to write consistently and get back in the habit of blogging! Keep the encouragement coming! Our life continues to be pretty mundane. January was a...
I was so delighted with how many of you took the time to read my post yesterday and comment. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside….which makes me want to do it again! I guess that’s behavioral reinforcement theory in action. :) The focus of today’s post is THE HOLIDAYS...
Ughhh. I’m embarrassed to write because it’s been sooooo long. Was my last post really in October?!!? All I can say is that COVID fatigue has hit hard and writing feels like way too much work. Today I was feeling inspired though, so here I am trying to get back into a blogging...
We transferred from Bend, Oregon to Minnesota on October 3rd. I knew it was risky coming back to MN in the fall but I was hoping for mild weather since we have no winter clothes along (who knew we’d stay out of India for so long!?!). Of course, I should have known that MN would...
I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. Forgive me. It’s just that I don’t feel much like writing lately. Mostly I blame COVID-induced malaise. And the fact that I’m rarely without my mini sidekick who is always asking for things from me which leaves little time or headspace...
A lot has happened this I last wrote from Bend. In late May we decided to make a cross-country trip from Bend, Oregon to St. Paul, Minnesota. We broke it up into six days and took a day of rest in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Our two big stops were in the Grand Tetons near Jackson Hole and...
One of the things that made me a great Life Coach was that I was deeply empathic, meaning that I could feel others’ emotions (especially pain) quite intensely. This served me well in coaching but also has a downside too. You see, when there is a lot of pain in the world, I feel it...
I typically have a very positive outlook on life and can discover beauty in even the most challenging situations. This COVID-19 pandemic is really pushing my limits though. I’m having a hard time finding ANYTHING good about it (will write a longer post about that later). But if I...
As promised, here are the details of our repatriation flight from Mumbai back to the U.S. If you haven’t read my last post then you should probably start there. That way you’ll have some additional background. Rewind back to Wednesday, March 25th when the Government of India...
Uff da. It’s been a hard four weeks hasn’t it? I, for one, am EXHAUSTED. Trying to work, oversee school and cook/clean left me feeling hopelessly ineffective at all three. There’s a reason why each of those is a full time job! When I last wrote March 13th, we were on the...
I was feeling so good about things. Virus reports everywhere, yet nothing in Mumbai. Mind-blowing, given how many people are in India and what close proximity they live in. Now, it may just have been reporting naivety, but I was willing to go with it, especially since I tend to be a...
My 40th birthday is just around the corner (July 9th) and as a result, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of aging. I had a sobering moment the other day when I heard an old favorite song on Spotify, looked up the release date and realized that it was 20 years old, not 5-7...
Hello dear readers – Goodness gracious, can you believe it’s mid-February already?? Everything feels like a blur lately, which is largely because work has been so intense. Happily though, something has changed in the last six months that has shifted the intensity from...
I haven’t written about Nia in awhile and I know she’s one of your favorite subjects so today I’m devoting an entire post to her! Nia is eight now and continues to evolve as a little person. The top words I’d use to describe her at this stage in life are: curious...