Bowling

Yesterday we went bowling. Or to be honest. Leya and Nicholas bowled and I cheered.
They have to practice since my mother-in-law is coming in two months and she is PRO (the retired peoples organisation) Södertälje's (a city close to Stockholm) bowling Master.
Leya is about the same size as the ball, so Nicholas and she have a special technique.

And the winner is..... LEYA!

Cremations

Next to the river at Pashupatinath they cremate their loved ones.
This is very different from our culture since we either bury the whole body at a graveyard or cremate it in a special building with no people except the personnel presence.
You rarely talk about death in Sweden. It's huge and scary and not a part of life as it should be.
Yesterday almost every space was occupied with a cremation and the smoke was heavy over the river.
Here is the closest cremation to the place where we stood on a bridge. The man in white is responsible for the fire and to make sure the dried grass on top covers the body at all times.

Here you can see all the fires on this side of the bridge.

There was one family saying Good Bye for the last time.

Pashupatinath

Yesterday we went to one of the most famous Hindu temples in the world. We live close to this historical place too.
We got our yearly thread around our vrists from a well known priest who blessed us in an Adidas jacket in a flat somewhere up in an alley.
A friend of ours work in a shop there and she searched high and low to find him for us. Apparently he knew how to say the blessings correct, but of course we didn't understand what he mumbled.
This thread we will keep on our wrists until Tihar (Diwali in India) in the beginning of November and then we will put the thread around a cow's tail.
Doing this ritual we'll go straight to heaven when we die. We did it last year, but apparently you have to renew the ticket every year.
Nicholas gets a tikka and his thread.

Then it was my turn. In the background you can see our friend Nimila.

And then the priest blessed Leya.

Coffee at Boudhanath

Today we started our day with a coffee at Boudhanath.
For the first time since we moved to India in 2010 a young boy tried to steal from my bag. Luckily I saw him and screamed so he took off like a rocket.

Two crazy dancing guys with big hair and a scary face mask appeared and gave us a show.

Baby hair

Actually I don't have a secret dream to have hair again, so you baby hair can stop growing.
It's not funny!

Nani

Yesterday Nani wasn't in a mood for a walk.

Puppies

It's amazing to live in a house with puppies.
Cuddling with a puppy is the best therapy in the world.

Festivals

A few festivals are coming up.
Tomorrow it's Janai Purnima and on Thursday it's Gai Jatra.
I will update you with photos from our celebrations.

Bribes and threats

Being a parent is refreshing and exciting every day.
Yesterday I bribed with a three scoop icecream and today I threatened with no TV. Both ways worked.

Tired

It's really tiresome when your 6 year old behaves like a 2 year old.
I guess that's something all parents have to go through.

New friends

Leya have met a new NepalSister in the house where we live. They live somewhere else, but come here every weekend.
The girl's name is Kumari and she is very sweet, looking after her naughty little brother.

This cute little boy with ants in his pants, is the NepalBrother Sirsh and he loves Leya's teddy bears. This particular one needs a closing heart surgery.

Dance bar

On the way home we pass a dance bar. I can imagine what a dance bar is, but I have no idea what the shower is doing there.

Our fighter

Angel is the family's fighter.
She was in a dog fight with a few of the street dogs and she got bitten so badly that her left cheek is swollen.
No worries. She will be fine in a couple of days.

Emma shows courage

The Swedish high jumper Emma shows her support to the gay by having rainbow painted nails during the Athletics WC in Russia.
Russia just accepted an anti-gay law that gives the authority the power to put people in jail if they show they are gay. Completely insane, Russia!
We are proud of you Emma! More people should show courage like you!

Alibaba

Alibaba is a marketplace on internet and I've wished to get a gold membership for years, but it has been to expensive.
Normally they charge 3000 USD (almost 20 000 SEK), but this year they offered a membership for 300 USD (almost 2000 SEK), so I convinced Nicholas that we should try it for one year.
After one week I had the money back, so even Nicholas thinks it's a good idea nowadays.
It's a Chinese marketplace for sellers and buyers, but now it has spread all over the world.
The most annoying thing are all the scam companies claming they want to order huge quantities. I can't believe they passed the verifications. For us it took weeks of documents and phone calls before they accepted our application. For the last few weeks and many weeks to come I'm gathering photos and prices of everything we sell from here. Hard, but fun work!
Check out our Alibaba website here.

Leya is very happy!

I just want to calm down all worried grandmas back home in Sweden.
Leya came home after school, smiling like the sun.
She has 22 new friends in her class and she had a fantastic day.
I've taken the photo from Leya's room. You can see that the school is very close to our house.

Here she comes running with the neighbor dog Bullet.

And now she is coming through our gate.

First day at the new school

Leya looked this happy when she left home this morning for her first day in the new school.

But when Nicholas came closer to the school, that is located only 50 meters from our house, Leya refused to go inside.
So, as usual, the mean mom had to take her in my arms and carry her kicking and screaming inside the gate and leave her there.
The second day in a row the mean mom had to show her ugly face.
Leya is in a very delicate age at the moment. She is afraid of everything from spiders and barking dogs in the street to injections and kids her own age.
I hope this is a phase. We give her so much love an courage we can, but in the end she has to come through this on her own, as a stronger person.
Read about her new school Riviera International Academy here.

Rabies injection

Today Leya took her third and last rabies injection since she got badly scratched by the neighbor's cat a few weeks ago.
She was so afraid that she totally paniced. Finally I had to force her to sit in my lap and I hold her arms really hard.
I told the pharmasist to do it even though she screamed like a stabbed pig, like we say in Sweden.
Now you may think I'm a really bad mother and that Leya is traumatized for life, but she actually thanked me after and made me promise I would always hold her like that when she gets an injection.
I asked if she wants me to hold her even when she is grown up and she said it wasn't necessary since adults are more careful than children and rarely needs injections.
The good thing is that she is protected from rabies now and if she takes one more injection next summer, she will be boosted for a few years.

Boudha

I can't tell you how lucky I feel that we live only a ten minutes walk from the world inheritage stupa Boudhanath.
Yesterday they had put lights all around it, so it looked this beautiful in the sunset.

Read more about Boudhanath here.

Charlie

Today a different dog followed me all the way to Boudhanath.
The shop owner that I also visited yesterday with the little Tjabo, couldn't believe his eyes when I came with another dog today.
Since I have followers I could call me a guru. It's sad they don't have any money to give me. Haha!
This dog was big and sometimes difficult to fight of my leg. If I gave him a glance he would whimper like a girl for 10 minutes.
It's embarrassing having a dog putting his nose up your private parts and following you around like a tail. Especially if it's not your dog.
I pray to god Angel's period is over soon. We can't go outside. As soon as we open the gate up to ten male dogs are fighting and trying to get in. It's like a war zone.
Our landlords have put buckets of water inside the gate, so we can through water on them when we have to go outside.

Crazy lady

The other day it hit me that people must think I am crazy when I walk down the street.
I've realised I speak to all street dogs I pass. It doesn't matter if they are sleeping and can't hear me or if they are barking at my bells I have around my ankles.
The thing is that I speak with a clear voice. In Swedish.
I say things like "Ligger du här och sover, stumpan." (Are you sleeping, sweetheart) or "Nu ska du väl inte skälla på mig. Vi kan ju bli kompisar du och jag." (If you stop barking we might be friends).
This is my normal walking-talking mode, so if they think I'm crazy I don't care.
I most eyes I look like a Marsian anyway. Tall, bald with white skin. One of a kind, just like everyone else.

New friend

Today when I went to Boudhanath, the famous Buddhist stupa (see the photo above), I got company with a dog I don't even know.
I think he lives in a neighbor street and I was surprised he followed me all the way, stayed in the shop while I took lots of photos of prayer malas and walked me home.
I know he isn't trying to be my friend for real, I'm his only way to be close to Angel. Since he is small and not very aggressive like the big boys he isn't even getting close to her.
Whenever I gave him a second of attention he jumped my leg, but in between he just lay on the floor waiting for me.
I named him Tjabo, since I believe we are all entitled to a name.
Here in Nepal it's even common not to name the children until they start school and have to register. Then the kids are about 2 years old.
Very strange for us that named Leya already when she was in my stomach.

Angel is hurt

Yesterday I saw from the kitchen window how our neighbor across the street used a big, wooden bat (slagträ i kricket) and hit Angel.
Angel was fighting with his dog, but he used too much force to separate them, so I ran out and said my hearts meaning to this man.
He wasn't understanding for one bit and Angel ended up with a bruised paw that bleed and got swollen.
She jumped on three legs, but now she is much better.
I don't understand some people.

Happy birthday daddy!

Today it's my father's very special 65:th birthday. In Sweden this birthday means you can get pension from the government, but I know my father and he will keep on working for the rest of his life.
Leya and Eva made a congratulation video you can see if you click here.
My dad and his quarter horse Royal moving cows.

Lawyers

Why are lawyers such a money hungry dishonest people? (Of course I don't mean all lawyers in the world. Or do I?)
The lawyer who helped us getting the business visa five months ago is a big shot in this town and a family lawyer. We gave him 2 lakh Nepalese rupees (about 2,500 USD) and to renew it he demands about the same.
Last time he helped us starting the Niklas International Cargo Pvt Ltd, so there were some work involved. But now! He only want money the gready man.
Luckily Leya and I ran in to a women a few months ago and she recognised Leya. She told me her father is the Director General of the passport department here in Kathmandu and he loves Leya from Youtube, so we have called him and hopefully he can make the process easier.
I've promise Leya a three scoop icecream if she is polite and answer all the questions in Nepali. That should do the trick.
In love, war and the effort to stay in the country you love, everything is possible.

In heat

Our dog Angel is in heat and I wonder if our neighbors think we are irresponsible owners who let her canoodle in the streets with any male she wants.
Well, for your info she is sterilized and she's grown up, so she is queen over her own sexlife.

No computers in heaven

Leya is wondering a lot about death and today she told me that we will meet again in heaven and that there are no computers in heaven.
Just to be clear. If there are no computers in heaven, I don't want to go there.

A recap

Here comes a short recap from the last weeks:
1. I went to see a beagle puppy and we ended up moving to the sellers huge vacant flat instead.
So now we have three big rooms, a huge bathroom, a huge, proper kitchen and power almost all day since the neighbor belongs to another power group, so the houses have switched cables. (Maybe it's difficult to understand, but if you live in Nepal, you know what I'm rambling about).
Love it! It's only one thing: I miss the mountain view!
2. A brother to our sister's next door from where we lived before came home from USA to marry his college sweetheart. We were invited to the wedding dinner the day after the marriage and to our surprise only the groom was there. The bride was admitted to hospital because of weakness. Probably it had been stressful, but it was kind of sad that she wasn't there.
They had the most delicious buff meat, but I'm amazed, as always, that they care so little about decorating the wedding dinner place. Plastic chairs, no tables and concret floor and walls.
3. Kalee, the dog that lived in the old house before we moved in there when we came from Delhi, got poisoned. Even though the vet tried to do everything he could, Kalee died in my arms the following day. It was horrible to see him suffer the whole night and if I ever have a dog that gets poisoned like that again I will put it down right away. Once the symptoms show it's too late. My heart broke a little bit when Kalee died.
It was the fifth dog that was poisoned in our neighborhood in a short period of time, so I was glad we moved just a few days after. It didn't feel safe to keep Angel and Nani in our street.
4. We celebrated my birthday and our 10:th wedding aniversery the 25:th of July. First we had planned for a big party with all our friends and then Nicholas and I would go to Pokhara alone for a couple days. Then we decided for a small party with just a few friends, but since we moved just a few days before we had no energy at all to celebrate. Nicholas and Leya had fever that particular day, so we went to Boudhanath and ate dinner at the first place we could find, since the rain poured down and we had forgotten our umbrellas. (A mistake you should learn from the first 10 times it happens. During monsun season it will rain every day, even though the sky is blue and the sun is happily shining).
5. I got a terrible flu. Nicholas and Leya recovered quickly from their fever, but I was sleeping my fever off for almost five days.
6. I finally got my Gold membership at the marketplace Alibaba.
7. Suddenly I was into doing business with rudraksha and bodhi seeds. For Chinese people they are more worth than gold and I have to run from one supplier to another to gather information and prices. Very interesting with new things! So much to learn. These seeds are famous thanks to Buddha and are used in prayer malas. The current trend says: big rudrakshas and small bodhi seeds.
Crazy, but fun!
8. I actually enjoy washing dishes at a kitchen bench after almost 1,5 year sitting on the floor with a bucket.
9. Today we invested in a vaccum cleaner. Wow!
Over and out for today!

Decision

I've made a huge decision. At least it's huge for me.
For some years now I've kept up with two blogs, one Swedish and this one in English, beside all Facebook pages and Youtube channels, and for a few weeks I haven't felt any inspiration to write, even though many exciting things have happened in our lives.
So I've decided to take a break with my Swedish blogg and concentrate my energy on this instead.
I don't want to loose my Swedish readers, but the fact is that the English language is the language nowadays.
So I hope you will continue reading about us and our life here in Nepal.

Nicholas is home

Today, finally, Nicholas came home from the hospital. He has an inflammation around his heart, but other than that he is fine.
Medicine and rest for a week with a revisit at the hospital next week.

Heart inflammation

Nicholas got a horrible pain over the sholder and chest yesterday and he couldn't sleep at all during the night, so this morning we went to the hospital.
After a lot of tests it showed he had an easily treated heart inflammation, but he had to stay at the hospital over the night to be monitored.

Animal treatment centre

Leya and I went to the KAT (Kathmandu animal treatment) centre for some volunteer work.
We cuddled with the dogs and that was great for both us and them.

Amazing numbers

This is amazing! They know down to the number how many drug users there are in Nepal.
Since they don't know exactly how many people who actually live in Nepal I find that almost magical.

Tooth and birthday dinner

Two days ago Leya lost one of her upper front teeth. It jumped out in the middle of the exams, so there was apparently a little bit of a drama.

The same day we went to Patan to celebrate Leya's big sister Alina's 24:th birthday with dinner at a restaurant.

Walks

I've finally started walking again. Five laps around the temple in the evening with Angel should do it.
I'm tired of hearing that I'm fat. Here in Nepal people don't realize that their words hurt. I know it's a cultural thing and that they don't mean anything, but still ...

Happy Midsummer!

This weekend we celebrate the Summer Solstice in Sweden and we did some celebrations here too. We want Leya to keep in touch with the Swedish traditions as well as the Nepalese.
Read more about the Midsummer festival here.
We use to make the garlands from flowers, but I made them of vintage saris and feathers instead.
Dancing around the big pole made of flowers is a tradition as well as meeting family and friends and eat raw fish with fresh potatoes, barbecue and strawberry cake.
See the girls dancing around our Christmas tree that was pimped for the occasion.
Just like a typical Swedish Midsummer eve it was raining all day.

Parcel

We got a parcel from my mother and even though I've asked her to send big padded envelopes she insists on sending big parcels that we have to go and get at the post office.
Getting a parcel from the post office is one of the most complicated projects you can get yourself into without a college degree in logistics.
You are told to go between three different rooms over and over again and almost 10 men are involved in stamping and controlling.
It gives work opportunities, but I think it's time to look over the routines. We don't have all time in the world hanging around the post office.

Maya

I have a friend in Thamel, the tourist area in Kathmandu, and I've named her Maya (it's like sweetheart).
She follows me everywhere when she sees me. Even today when I went to have breakfast.
She is the sweetest dog you can imagine and I would love to give her a home, but we live to small for one more dog.
Amazingly no one tried to move her when she feel asleep on the floor.

After a while she tucked her self under my chair.

Mayuri

Today I finally met sweet Mayuri, an Indian woman who lives in Chicago.
She use to read this blog. That's how she found me.
She is going on a trip to Tibet with more than 70 other Indians and we are going to meet again when she comes back.
I'm very curious to hear all about the trip and help her with some proper shopping.

She even brought a Belle doll for Leya. Leya was so happy receiving this beautiful doll.

Ethnic boots

I've designed these handmade ethnic Nepali boots.
We have so many rustic, beautiful ethnic fabrics here in Nepal.
The foot part is made of a fabric used as an apron by the Buddhist Tibetan women.
These boots also work as riding boots.
We can make any size, even one pair. Just let me know...

Worms

I'm not happy with Leya's school.
Yesterday they apparently showed very scary pictures of children with stomachs full of worms and they lied and said they could get worms from eating sugar.
Sometimes it feels like the grown ups here don't think one step further.
Is this how we want to raise or kids? By scaring them and telling them lies?
Of course we checked the correct facts on the internet and told Leya, but how many other parents did that?

Princess wedding

Click this link and you can watch the wedding of the little Swedish princess Madeleine and her soul mate Chris.

Rain cover tarpaulin

This year we've made preparations for the monsoon rain.
Since we have the kitchen outside and have to go outside when we go to the other room or the bathroom, this is making our lives even better.

Star struck

Yesterday we went to a supermarket with lots of Western food and there we met a man who knows about Leya and NepalSisters.
He got star struck and could almost not speak, but he was in good company. Leya is always shy when she meets new people.

Funny sign

Seriously! I rather pay 100 % for a whole t-shirt.

18 small dishes

Sunday we went to another post-wedding-party, Nepalese style, at our temple.
Here we are waiting for the food to be served.

I must say they are effective when they start serving. I'm glad I like spicy food nowadays. Otherwise I couldn't eat much.

Here we are thanking our friend, the groom, Akash for inviting us.

One thing to remember for next time. If you don't want to eat with your hands BRING A SPOON.