Well not much new to report on the processing side as we have not had to do anything the past couple days and will not do anything again until Sunday. That is when we expect to get Shanti’s travel documents from the Nepali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So in the meantime we’ve been trying to keep from going stircrazy. We’ve tried baths, shopping and other hotels – all with varying degrees of success.
The Bath – As you can see from the pictures, the children love the bath! It wasn’t always this way though. It took them a couple of days to warm up to the water, Sandeep was first and now they can’t get enough. They go into such an ecstatic state almost every time they walk into the bathroom because they think they are going to get one. This sounds cute until they start stripping off their clothes just before you are ready to go for lunch. When it is bathtime though, they are now totally fearless. They pour water over their heads, stick their faces right in the water and laugh that two-year-old-laugh that totally hooks you.
Verdict: Baths are GOOD!
Shopping – This was not the best experience either time we tried it. Last night we tried going for shoes since the kids were still wearing shoes from the children’s home that did not fit them. On our way to the shopping area, our taxi broke down. Two year olds don’t care about broken down taxis – they just want the gadi (car in Nepali) to keep moving. When we finally reached our destination in a new cab the kids were now cranky. Nepali’s don’t really let their children cry so seeing a screaming child with a foreigner certainly attracts a lot of steely gazes. One saving grace of this shopping excursion was the fact that we acquired two pairs of those shoes the have the LED lights in them that activate when you walk. Well these shoes have magical powers of distraction that will keep a child quiet in a taxi for quite some time. I highly recommend them. We had very similar results today when we tried food shopping and got stuck in traffic. More screaming and cold glances.
Verdict: Shopping is NOT GOOD.
Other Hotels – Yesterday we met a friend for lunch who was staying at another hotel. Susan and her daughter, Isabelle, left to return to America today so this was a farewell lunch of sorts. This was most definitely the worst thing we could have done. The lunch buffet was amazing, the rooms very nice, the area was quiet and there was a back garden that was simply beautiful. Our hotel is situated on a very busy street and there is a LOT of road noise all day long. We are now considering moving to that hotel if it doesn’t upset Sapana and Manoj, the director and lawyer that have helped us so much.
Verdict: Other Hotels are GOOD.
All in all, things seem to be improving slowly but surely day by day. The biggest difficulty would have to be the language barrier. Shanti and Sandeep have a lot of language that we cannot begin to understand – you think your two year old’s babble is hard to understand, try Nepali toddler babble! Anyway, we’ve picked up a few words that really seem to have helped like: bosana (sit down), palta yetah (lay down here), suta (sleep), narisau (do not be angry), hasnu (smile), pani (water), and the very valuable susu (pee pee) and achi (poopie). They have really bonded well to each other so it was a really good idea to put them together in July during our first trip. They really look out for each other. They make sure each other has food and water, they talk to each other and even help each other get dressed. We know that shortly that closeness will be turned on us, we just have to put in a little time first.