Here are the facts: Nia and I only have five more months left in Malawi. Nick has closer to six months. We have to sell a crap-ton of stuff because we’re moving from a house with a big yard to...
India
This is a collection of posts from our tour in Mumbai, India from August 2018 through July 2022.
Ever since Nia was introduced to Bollywood dancing at the Holi Festival a month ago she’s been Bollywood obsessed. We now listen to Bollywood music in the car, watch one or two Bollywood music...
Blog Readers – I know you think I forgot about you, but I swear, I didn’t. It’s just been so. dang. busy. You know how I know that the stress is getting the better of me?? I keep...
T minus three weeks and things are moving right along. I wrapped up work last Thursday and am now in full-on selling mode. We’re moving through the stuff at a nice pace though, which should...
Yo, yo, YO! Sarah here. I’ve been in major packout mode here but in my few moments of down time I like to fantasize about India. Sometimes these fantasies are amazing (like me spending a month...
Hello again! Aren’t you impressed that I’m posting for the second time in 24 hours?! We unexpectedly got pictures of our new place and I didn’t think it would be right to keep them...
We’re about 60 hours in to our stay in Mumbai and man oh man am I feeling optimistic. Jet lag’s a b*tch, as usual (it’s currently 3 AM) but even that can’t bring me down...
My daughter has no idea how lucky she is. Her new school, the American School of Bombay, is the creme de la creme. Every aspect of her education has been carefully crafted and shaped around the...
We are almost one week in and I’m floored by how quickly the time is going. It’s been a shockingly busy first week and I attribute that to a few things: 1. Nia’s school was already...
Seriously people. It just keeps getting better! Yesterday I joined a shopping tour that our Community Liaison Officer (CLO — my former job) put together. It consisted of three shopping stops +...
My general approach to life overseas is to say yes to as many opportunities as I can, even if I have little information about what I’m getting into. As long as there are no safety concerns...
Nick & I went out for a city tour on Labor Day (Monday, September 3rd), which happened to be the day after Janmashtami (see my last post). Dahi Handi is celebrated in the Maharashtra State (where...
The Hindu deity Ganesh (the God of new beginnings and remover of obstacles) is the patron saint of Mumbai. Mumbaikers LOVE him. Today marks the beginning of the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival which...
Awhile back I posted the initial photos we received of our Mumbai apartment. If you’ll remember, it was pretty dang barren and the lighting wasn’t great (although, don’t get me...
Ughhhh. Not gonna lie. This week sucked. People who were gonna show up didn’t show. Orders that were supposed to be delivered were incorrect. Salads that were supposed to go down easy came up...
Hello – Me again. Good news. Alice, our housekeeper/cook/nanny finally started on Monday and I’m feeling much more capable of managing the household now (mostly because I’m not...
Twas a week of firsts, dear readers! The highs continue to be very high and the lows, while less frequent, still feel very low at these early stages. I will prevail though, so don’t you worry...
Hello friends – Can you believe I’ve been in India six weeks already? I continue to be shocked by how fast the time is moving and how each week seems to hold some fascinating new learning...
There is rarely a dull moment when taking Nia out in public here. She attracts loads of attention as a fair-skinned, blonde child (a rarity here, I’ll admit). It’s almost guaranteed that...
Oooh, I am embarrassed by how behind I am on posting this. Totally meant to get it up before going to Malawi (and then while I was in Malawi) but the time never materialized. But better late than...
Last Saturday we had the pleasure of attending the American School of Bombay’s Incredible India annual celebration. I continue to be in awe of the level of quality at which ASB does everything...
Nia turned seven in October, and ever since she’s been struggling to define herself as a big or little kid. On one hand, she desperately wants to be seen as a big kid doing cool, big kid things...
Happy 2019, my dear readers! If your December was anything like mine, then it is only a hazy blur in the memory. And the weirdest part is I can’t even think of what we did that kept us so busy...
I’m so excited to share this all with you. We just finished up what will undoubtedly be one of the coolest cultural experiences of our lifetimes — a 5 day wedding in a rural village in...
The food experience in Gujarat definitely merits its own post. For starters, it was all vegetarian, all the time. What was surprising was how many different distinct dishes they could make out of...
On the day we arrived they were doing Mehndi for the ladies. Mehndi is what we would call a henna tattoo in the States and is very common before an Indian wedding (for both the bride and the women...
Nothing excited me (or freaked me out) more than the clothes. I was given this basic information in advance: – There will be five events over three days. – People change clothes for every...
Hello Readers! This is the 5th and final installment of my Gujarat Wedding series. Today’s post will be on the various ceremonies that we got to witness as guests. I’m gonna be honest, I...
So I’ve been hard at work decorating for the last month. I’ve had furniture and mirrors hand-carved, slipcovers made, custom pillows & runners made, tons of painting done and 16...
Parenting is hard. Like really hard. Just when I think we’ve gotten through one issue, the next comes on full force. I find that aspect of parenting really exhausting. However, it has helped to...
I’ve mentioned in previous posts how much we love Nia’s school in Mumbai. They just go the extra mile in everything, which never fails to impress me. Take STEAM (Science Technology...
Hello everyone – Greetings from frigid Mumbai (overnight lows of 70 F). It’s no Minnesota snowstorm but we’re staying warm with extra layers. The Indians just can’t get over...
Hey Everyone – I’m short on time tonight, so no narrative along with this post. I will, however, come back later in the week and show you some more close-ups and explain what I was going...
I’m glad so many of you enjoyed my recent post about how I had decorated our apartment. I thought for today’s post I’d go into more detail about my design vision, the unique items I...
I’ve never been one to take many risks when there was the potential for injury. I was so injury averse, in fact, that I earned myself the nickname “Safe Sarah” from my family during...
We recently learned about the Cat Cafe Studio in Mumbai (near Versova Beach) and decided to check it out one Sunday. The premise of the cafe was simple — come sip coffee and munch on some food...
Three months ago I noticed that I had this strange little scratch on my chest. What was odd was that I didn’t remember scratching myself. So I slathered it with ointment each night, waiting for...
So unfortunately the surgery thing didn’t go as planned this morning. We got to the hospital at 7 AM and they were VERY disorganized (seemed to be just opening but I can’t imagine how...
I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t been writing these last few months. Well, it was a combination of things – lots of end-of-year activities, still finding work/life...
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m a wee bit behind on my blogging due to my computer dying. But I didn’t want you to miss all the excitement from April and May, so I’m just going back...
I feel someone tapping me and catch sight of the clock – it’s 5:58. “Mom, wake up!” Was it Christmas? Oh heck no. Even better. It was self-led conference day. What are self...
After 35 days away, I am finally reunited with my family and back in my own bed again! And boy oh boy does it feel good. As you might imagine, being away was quite novel at first… no demands...
Wasn’t expecting to write again this soon but jetlag has kicked in full force and I am wide awake as of 3 AM today. Speaking of early mornings, I wanted to introduce you to a new 2019 practice...
It’s my favorite time of year in Mumbai – Festival Season! For the next three months it’s non-stop festivals. This week is Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s Birthday) & Dahi...
Oye. How did another month pass without me blogging?! This full-time working thing is getting in the way of me keeping you updated! I’d apologize, but it’s really work’s fault, not...
If you have been reading for awhile, you know that I like to keep it real. Mostly because keeping up a perfect facade is EXHAUSTING and I thankfully learned that lesson early in life (hello...
October has started out in spectacular fashion. The nine-day-festival of Navratri just came to an end on Monday. During this festival Mumbaikers honor the divine feminine by worshiping a different...
October has been such a stellar month. We’ve had three four-day-workweeks in a row. And here’s the best part – Nia had school on two of the three days we had off of work! You know...
What do you think of when I say the words “Hare Krishnas”? Most likely, you think of orange-clad devotees singing and proselytizing in airports in the 1970’s. And yes, you’d...
We were delighted to welcome our first visitors to India last week — my parents! Since all of us are working full-time, we had to jam a month’s worth of fun into a 10-day-trip. Thankfully...