Home Sweet

So...we are living in a great house just outside Kathmandu. It is quiet and away from the noise and pollution of the city. Perfect to get the creative juices flowing. It is a new house, three stories. We live on the top floor with a giant balcony and a great view of the hills. As of now, no one occupies the other floors, so it is all ours. I have a bedroom and Erika sleeps on the floor in the living room..very return to college. Our water is delivered once a week (tap water is way out of the question!) A lady down the street hand washes our clothes once a week for $2.00. We get the paper delivered to the door step for under $1.00 a month (by the sweet family at the sweets shop). It's the little pleasure in life here.

The community is very small and it is a village lifestyle. We get our vegetables from the local shops. Tomatoes from one guy, eggplant from another. When there is no bread or eggs in the town everyone knows about it. Light bulbs from the guy on the corner and cooking gas from the guy at the end of the road. No Home Depot, no Costco. We are celebrities/freak shows in the village and I love knowing all my neighbors. A wave from the barber's daughter on the corner makes my day and the fact that her dad looks at us every time as if it is the first time he has seen us lets us know we are home. They are so intrigued by our "purchases" and way of life. No other foreigners live in the area. I have never felt more safe. A Sunday morning on the balcony with a coffee, the view and the Kathmandu Post is as close to perfect as it comes.