Zach in Kathmandu

Zach attended the SAISA International Art Conference in Kathmandu the first weekend in March. I tagged along with some friends but we went our separate ways once in Nepal. Zach's graphic arts teacher shared these photos from the weekend. Zach said it was a great experience and like me, he would love to go back again! The people were so warm and friendly and you can't beat the landscape and culture. So different from ours and so interesting!

Cabaret 2009

Every year the school presents a student Cabaret and this year Emma, along with several of her friends, performed a dance. They practiced very hard for several weeks and it paid off. They did a wonderful job and the show was great! It was amazing to see all the talent at the school.

My Son the Artist

This weekend I attended the PTA Mardi Gras ball. We had a great time. The five of us that went to Nepal got together for a picture and spent the evening discussing where we should go next! The most fun I had was posing by the billboard that Zach had designed for the ball. We went the next morning so he could also get his picture snapped with it. We're wondering if we

can put this up in our basement back home!!! I told him it would look cool behind his drum set.We are very proud of you Zach!

Emma's Basketball Tournament

Emma participated in a middle school basketball tournament with the Bombay, Bangalore International schools and a local team. Unfortunately I was gone to Nepal with Zach during the tournament but I did manage to catch a game the week before. The girls had fun and Emma has really improved her ball skills. Mainly they had fun! They got up at 5:30 every morning for about 6 weeks for practice and I think they all enjoyed the tournament. Thanks to my neighbor Mark for sharing pictures he also took last weekend! Way to go Emma!!!!!!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Nepal trip of a lifetime

Zach attended the SAISA Art conference in Kathmandu last weekend, so four of my friends and myself tagged along for our own trip. We toured Kathmandu and Pokhara during a five day trip and it was definitely the trip of a lifetime. Betsy, Karen, Rose, Darlene and myself made good traveling partners and we had a great time. I highly recommend this trip to anyone. Also I have to thank Yan and Katrin for all their invaluable suggestions, as they had done this trip before! Enjoy the photos. Sorry there are so many but I had to whittle it down from almost 300 photos!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Wedding reception

Priya with some relatives.
Jan, Lynn, myself and Neoma enjoyed our banana leaves!
The newlyweds with "us foreigners"!
Happy couple!
This picture has nothing to do with wedding but got imported. Anyway, this is the lovely banking facility where we get money exchanged. You can't see it but you have to walk across a wooden plank over a ditch to get in. Not sure how secure this is???

Recently we attended the wedding reception of our housekeeper's niece. It was the first wedding function I have attended so I really enjoyed it. Everyone is beautifully dressed in their colorful saris. Gifts were presented to the couple while musicians played and then we headed down for a meal. The traditional South Indian meal is served on a banana leaf, usually some stews with rice and several relishes on the side. South Indian food is very spicy, so I was a little worried about it. However, they also had some oriental dishes that were less spicy so I didn't choke from the spices. Priya and her mother were so happy that we had come. Myself, along with three other friends, gave the newlyweds an electric grinder which is considered a necessity in an Indian kitchen. Not really sure what all they grind up, but I remember when we were looking for kitchen appliances when we first came, the salesperson couldn't understand why we wouldn't want a grinder! When we left they offered us a coconut because according to tradition, a guest should never leave empty-handed. A fun evening!