Pregnancy Party ktm style

As my belly grows larger, I am learning more about pregnancy and birth related traditions and customs in Nepal. Since the baby will be born here, and I am surrounded by Nepali ways of life, I have an opportunity to learn other ways of doing things and to try different cultural experiences. I will try to write about and share these experiences as the arise. Here's the first one.

Unlike the pre-birth "baby shower" tradition I grew up with in Canada, Nepali's don't like to give

baby gifts, particularly clothes, before the baby is born. Instead, it is a tradition in Nepal that when a woman reaches the last month of pregnancy, her family comes to her home and brings her special food and she feasts. The food often includes lots of sweets, and the special holiday "beaten rice" (which is exactly what it sounds like - a dish that I find hard, chewy, and a bit puzzling...)

Knowing that we have no family in Nepal to celebrate pregnancy with, a group of J's colleagues came to our house on Sunday and brought delectable Nepali dishes to feast on. Delicious!

Aside from the great company of the lovely ladies, who filled me in on all sorts of Nepali customs around babies & birth, there was: the rich and creamy butter paneer, mutton curry, roast chicken, chicken biryani, and a tasty masala salt salad. And for dessert was the famous khir, thick, rich, sweet yoghurt from Bhaktapur.

Now this is one tradition I could really get used to....  yum yum!

From KTM to Vanuatu in 16 days

Although it is a slight deviation from our posts about life in KTM, I recently went to Vanuatu as part of a UNICEF research study and wanted to share a few photos from the trip.  I spent two weeks travelling around Vanuatu but spent the majority of my time helping conduct a survey on early childhood care and education on the island of Maewo.  For those of you who don't know where Maewo or Vanuatu is located, here is a link to Google Maps (http://goo.gl/maps/poggK).

This particular island is quite remote (two small planes and a boat ride to reach the island) and not a tourist destination.  The local population was incredibly hospitable and welcoming.  No electricity on the island besides the occasional generator and pretty slim choices in terms of meals.  Lots of taro, fresh coconut, mangoes, and fish.  Amazingly (to me at least) the drinking water was simply rain water collected in large holding tanks.   Here are a few photos from my trip.  Hope you enjoy.

Santo Airport

Our second flight of the day.  The planes keep getting smaller and smaller...

A final early morning boat ride to Maewo.

Children playing marbles with stones.

A view of Maewo at dawn.

A typical beach on Maewo.

Remnants of a long forgotten lava flow.

A kavaa bar (men only).  These establishments can be found in every village.

A waterfall at Naone.

After a 4 hour hike to the falls, this dip in the pool was much needed.

A beach on the southern coast of Maewo.