08/14/17

Hi family and friends,

It is hard to believe that we have started our second year in Myanmar. We had a busy summer. The boys were in summer school & summer camp through the beginning of July. It was hard keeping them entertained here in Yangon. There aren’t a lot of places for kids to play. And, since it is raining season, it is hard to plan for outdoor activities. We were really looking forward to July vacation.

Unfortunately, our vacation got off to a difficult start. Ellie had been sick all of June. We had been getting her checked out, and she seemed to be on the mend. So, we carried on with our travel plans. We were literally on the way to the airport when Ellie started throwing up. We were on the phone with our pediatrician the whole way to the airport. She said, considering Ellie had been sick for a while, she would medevac us to Bangkok that day anyway. She said Kuala Lampur, where we were headed, had good hospitals so she advised us to keep going.

Ellie threw up repeatedly on the way, but we made it. The next day we were at the hospital, and the doctor diagnosed Ellie with a lung infection and double ear infections. The doctor admitted us for iv antibiotics and nebulizers. Ellie spent 3 nights in the hospital (including her birthday). She responded well to treatment so we were able to leave the hospital. The doctor wanted to follow up a few days later so we ended up canceling part of our vacation (in Penang). After Ellie saw the doctor again, she got a clean bill of health and we were able to continue on to our other destinations.

Out first stop after Kuala Lampur was Bali. We got in late and took a taxi to Ubub, about an hour from the airport. When we woke up the next morning, we had breakfast with our dear friend Sarah Smalley. The kids were thrilled to see her. They love Aunt Sarah! And, it was great for Mark and I to see such a good friend. We feel so removed sometimes.

In Ubud, we saw monkeys at Monkey Forest and we saw a Balinese dance show. Ubud is a really cool little town with cute restaurants and cafes. (I wish we could have explored more, but traveling with 3 kids in tow makes it hard to just wander.)

After we left Ubud, we took a taxi to Nusa Dua. When we first arrived, our room wasn’t ready, and, with low tide, all we could see on the beach was rocks and coral. However, by the end of the day after some negotiation with the hotel, we were in our own private villa complete with our own private pool.   And, the next morning, when we walked to the beach, we saw one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. The kids loved playing on the beach and in all of the pools at the resort where we were staying. We visited Sarah in Kuta, and she came back to our villa with us for a little while. We truly loved Bali!

 

After Bali, we visited Singapore. (Ellie met Elmo in the airport.  She was so excited!)  We did some shopping and sightseeing. We took the cable car to Sentosa, we took a river cruise, and we visited the gardens by the bay, where the kids loved splashing in the water play area. We also crossed the Singapore/Malaysia border to bring the kids to LegoLand, which was a big hit. The kids loved the Star Wars lego mini city (i.e., the first six episodes of Star Wars depicted in legos). They also loved the rides. (Mark and I tried our best to enjoy the rides too, but neither of us is fond of roller coasters.)

We got back from our vacation at the end of July and spent a couple of weeks preparing for school. The kids started school yesterday, August 14^th. Alex and Zachary are at the same campus. Alex has a male teacher from America. I think it will be really great for him to have another male role model. Zachary has an older teacher from Australia. I think it will be really good for him to have someone with experience who can help ground him and encourage him.

Ellie is in a new class at her school. She was thrilled to see her teacher, a Myanmar woman named Rosa, and she was excited to see her friends. She was a little clingy when I first dropped her off (with our nanny who stays there with her to make sure she is ok!), but by the time I left she was dancing with the other kids. (She loves “5 little monkeys jumping on the bed.”)

Mark has a new boss at work so he has been gearing up for some potential changes in the coming months. I have started work with the U.S. Embassy. I am working on a project to do some program evaluation and teacher training for the English Access programs they fund in the county. There are 7 Access programs in Myanmar. The programs provide English language instruction to underprivileged adolescence around the county. The program also covers topics that promote leadership, critical thinking, and peace building skills. I visited a program in Kalay this past weekend. It was truly inspiring to see how hard the teachers are working to provide opportunities for their students, to prepare the next leaders of Myanmar, and to give back to their communities.

We have a busy year ahead, and we hope to make the best of our final year in Myanmar. We hope to travel some more. And, we hope to really be able to appreciate the help we have. (We now have a full time nanny, housekeeper, and driver. We will never be this pampered again in our lives.) But, we are also looking forward to returning home. We are planning an addition to our house, which will be ready by the time we get back. We are also talking a lot about, “When we get back to Maryland…”, which seems much more real now that we have only 10 months left here.

We miss you all!

06/12/17

Happy Summer!

It is Monsoon Season here in Myanmar. We haven’t had constant rain yet, but the streets have been flooded a few times already. The boys and I got caught wading through a flood on the way home from the Australian Club the other day. It reminded me of wading through floods in New Orleans when I was young.

The boys are off of school for the summer.  A lot of their friends are away.  Since they live abroad for extended periods of time, many families go on “home leave” during the summer months.

Alex is in tennis camp at the American Club with a buddy for a couple of weeks.  Zachary is in a summer school program at his school with some of his buddies for the month of June.  They are both occupied and having fun, but there aren’t as many options for summer activities here as there are in the states.

The boys had lots of end of the year festivities at their school. They each had a student-led conference (i.e., a conference in which they went over, for the parents, all they learned this year), a music concert, and a class party. I can’t believe Alex is going to be in 4^th grade next year! Zachary is going to take kindergarten again next year because he is so young for his grade (He turns six in October!), and it seems like an extra year of kindergarten might be good for him.

Ellie is finishing out her year in the pre-2s class at her little preschool. She is graduating to the 2-year-old class for next year. She is attending the schools’ summer program in June. She loves being around the other children. She had been developing a reputation as a biter, but she seems to be growing out of that. (Thank goodness!)

This summer I will be working on a small project for the U.S. Embassy, which runs an English access program for disadvantaged youth in Myanmar. I will also be preparing to teach at a local university next year. I received a Fulbright Scholar Award from the U.S. Department of State, which supports me in teaching at a local university and learning about/contributing to education in this country. http://www.education.umd.edu/CollegeNews/2017/wnrSilverman-teach-Myanmar.html

Mark has been busy with the ICRC. The president of the ICRC was recently in town meeting with top leaders about the humanitarian situation here. Mark had a lot of work to do to prepare for the visit, and now he is spending a lot of time working with his colleagues to use the momentum from the visit to accomplish some of their priorities. He is learning a lot about working with folks in the ICRC and here in Myanmar. There are a lot of cultural differences to navigate, and Mark thinks more strategically than a lot of folks here. But, he seems to be doing really well at work. (I just wish he didn’t have to travel so much!)  https://www.icrc.org/en/document/myanmar-icrc-president-concludes-official-visit

We will be taking vacation in July. We are heading to Malaysia, Singapore, and Bali. It will be good to take a break from Yangon. We look forward to being in places that have more activities for kids and some more “developed” amenities (like Starbucks;)!

There is a new Hard Rock Cafe in Yangon.  (Sign in the background.) Surprisingly good hamburgers;)  It’s our new go-to place for western fare.

Here are a few Myanmar moments we have experienced in the past few months. Enjoy!

• Mark and I went out to a fancy dinner at a new restaurant with a Swiss Michelin Star Chef. The restaurant was lovely, and the meal was absolutely delicious! But, when Mark went to pay for the check with our credit card, we were told that the credit card machine was not working. (This happens often in those few places that do accept credit cards, but we didn’t expect it to happen at such a fancy restaurant.) So, one of the workers at the restaurant escorted us (he got in our car) to the ATM so we could withdraw over 200,000 kyat to pay for our meal. How romantic!
• My friend, Aylin, was shopping at the local Korean market. It is one of the better places to buy meat, other than the outdoor wet markets, which I am too intimidated to frequent. Aylin saw a gigantic rat running through the store. (She said it was so big so thinks it might have been pregnant.) When she went to the clerks to explain, they didn’t understand her. So, she got out her phone to show them a picture of a rat. The clerks shook their heads and responded that they didn’t sell that kind of meat at the store. They were sorry to disappoint!
• Construction in Myanmar is often a bit shoddy. The other day, as I was sitting at the rent-a-desk in the office center where I work, I looked over to see water streaming out of the light fixtures in the conference room. Apparently, the roof above the conference room was not built for the rainy season!

We miss you all and hope you are well!

P.S. Congratulations on graduation, Lora!!!!!  And, congratulations on passing the CA bar, Gretchen!!!!! We are so proud of you both!

Happy Thingyan!

This week marks the Myanmar Water Festival and New Year Celebration.  People in Myanmar, so I have been told, get drunk and throw water on themselves.  I guess it is like Mardi Gras with water instead of beads.  The kids have off of school so we are leaving for the beach.  It’s been a while since I have written.  Life has been busy!

We have moved to a new apartment in Yangon!

Here are some pictures of the before residence:

Notice the exposed wires, the garbage in the basement, and the sleeping security guard!

Here are some pictures of the after residence:

We think the new digs are much more our style;)

Here are some pictures of the kids celebrating Thingyan at school:

Below are some pictures of our recent trip to Bangkok.  It was nice to be in a city that is more modern than Yangon.  We went shopping, and we had Starbuck’s, Subway, and McDonald’s.  It was a little taste of home away from home.  (We also went sightseeing, but I think the kids remember the shopping more than the sightseeing;)

The kids are thriving.  I can’t believe we have been here 8 months.  After Thingyan, the kids will be in the home stretch of this school year.  All 3 of them will attend summer programs in June, and then we will do some traveling in July before we begin our second year here.

We are heading to the Israeli Embassy for Passover dinner tonight.  Then, we head to Ngapali beach in Myanmar for about a week.  We, the Silvermans, want to say Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all of you back in the U.S.  We miss and love you all!

01/09/17

Happy New Year!

It has been a while since I have posted. It was a busy month. The kids had lots of end of the school year activities, my mom came to town for a month, and we traveled to two Myanmar destinations over winter break.

Here are some highlights:

Despite the fact that Myanmar is 80% Buddhist, there was quite a lot of Christmas here. There were fake Christmas trees and cheesy Christmas tunes in malls and grocery stores. I even heard Silent Night in the grocery store one day. We don’t even play music that religious in public places in the states! I get the sense that businesses play into the commercial side of Christmas.  Both boys had a Christmas concert and a Christmas party. They looked adorable all dressed up.

Lae Paw, our nanny, invited some Karen children to our house for Christmas caroling. (The Karen are a Christian ethnic group in Myanmar. Lae Paw is Karen.) Lae Paw also gave us some traditional Karen outfits to wear for Christmas.

This year, the first night of Hannukah was on Christmas Eve. We lit candles at home then attended a candlelit dinner at the Italian restaurant on Inya Lake. A Santa arrived in a skiff and delivered presents to our kiddos. Santa gave Ellie a pink backpack. It is so adorable to hear Ellie say, “backpack.”

On Christmas day, we attended the English mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church, and we went to the Strand Hotel for brunch. The Strand was built in 1901. Author John Murray, in his 1911 ‘Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon,’ declared it “the finest hostelry East of Suez.” Recently renovated, the colonial building was a beautiful venue for Christmas brunch.

The day after Christmas, we flew to Bagan where we spent 2 days exploring the ancient city in the Mandalay region of Myanmar. We visited at least a few of the thousands of temples dating back to the 9^th through 13^th centuries. The boys particularly enjoyed climbing to the tops of the temples to see the beautiful view. (They also enjoyed taking motorbikes from temple to temple while my mom, Ellie, and I rode in a horse drawn carriage.)

After Bagan, we flew to Inle Lake in Shan State in Myanmar. Lonely Planet describes Inle Lake as, “a vast, serene lake – 13.5 miles long and seven miles wide – fringed by marshes and floating gardens, where stilt-house villages and Buddhist temples rise above the water, and Intha fisherfolk propel their boats along via their unique technique of leg-rowing.” For two days, we rode by boat to see traditional methods of weaving, jewelry-making, boat building, etc. Being on the water for two days was truly a special experience for us all.

The most interesting thing about traveling in Myanmar is seeing how so many people live so simply. Much of the country looks and feels like it could be the early 1900s. They have adapted, of course, to capitalize off of tourism, but, at its core, the way of life for many people is not very different from 100 years ago.

The oddest part about traveling in Myanmar is strangers wanting to take pictures with the boys and, especially, Ellie. It feels like a paparazzi is following us around, and not in a good way. There are very different cultural norms around taking pictures of an with other people here. I’m not sure I will ever get used to that.

Today is Alex’s birthday.  He is having a party at Waterboom, a Myanmar waterpark, next Sunday.  Meanwhile, we celebrated at home with cookies.  (He’s not eating cake anymore!)

The boys are back in school today. (They had three weeks off!!! I was so ready for them to get back on a schedule.) Ellie will start a baby preschool tomorrow. Mark will be traveling a lot for the next few weeks. And, I will be trying my hand at teaching an online course this spring. So, I may have to cut down blog updates to once a month, but I will keep posting about major events and observations from our lives in Myanmar throughout our time here to share what we are up to with you, our family and friends, and to document this crazy adventure we are experiencing.

 

12/28/16

It has been an eventful two weeks for the Silvermans in Myanmar!  Let me fill you in…

The weekend after Mark’s birthday, I spoke at my first Myanmar conference at the Yankin Education College.  The experience was humbling, to say the least.  The education college, run by the Ministry of Education, had concrete floors, no air con (it is 90 degrees here and it is considered the cool season), and holes in the ground (squatty potties) instead of toilets.  Despite the crumbling building, the attendees were eager to learn all they could at the conference.  Teachers from all over the country attended speeches and workshops.  My session was on supporting critical thinking in primary age students.  My session was translated by one of the students for teachers who didn’t speak English.  The translation made the workshop more stilted than I would have liked, but I think it went ok.  It was the first time I have ever had a monk in the audience at one of my talks!

That same night, we attended the Fun Fair at the boys’ school.  The highlight of the fair was a ferris wheel that was human-powered.  The boys had a ton of fun. Despite the human powered ferris wheel, the fair felt very American, with cotton candy, a talent show, and a bouncy house.

The next week was a short week for the boys.  They had off on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving, but we left on Wednesday for the beach to take advantage of the long weekend.  This was our first Myanmar vacation, and, despite some literal and figurative bumps in the road, it was quite a success!

The 5 hour drive to Ngwe Saung on a bumpy, windy, narrow road shared by buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles, bikes, people, cows, goats, dogs, and chickens started and ended with Ellie throwing up.  Apparently she gets car sick like her mommy.  Mark did a remarkable job keeping us all alive, though.  I was constantly gasping in fear that either we would hit someone or someone would hit us.  But, I guess all those years of playing frogger paid off, and we made it there and back just fine.

The road to Ngwe Saung revealed a side of Myanmar I hadn’t yet seen.  Most of the villages we passed were made up of a bunch of huts with no signs of electricity of running water.  People were clearly tending and living off the land.  We passed rice paddies and teak and rubber plantations.  The abject poverty we saw was heart-wrenching.

Then, almost out of nowhere, we arrive at the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  With the exception of a few resorts on the beach, the area was largely undeveloped.  Ngwe Saung is on the Bay of Bengal.  The water was warm, and the waves were perfect.  They were fun for the kids to ride, but not too scary.

Several families from the boys’ school were staying at a neighboring resort, so the boys had playmates.  We didn’t have turkey for Thanksgiving, and we missed our family and friends, but it was a good way to spend the holiday if we had to be away from our loved ones.

We hope all of our family and friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We were thinking of you and missing you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/14/16

This year, Mark’s birthday, which is today, coincides with the Tazaungmone Holiday.  This holiday, in the 8th month of the traditional Burmese calendar, is also known as the Festival of Light.  Read more here: https://anydayguide.com/calendar/2698.  The holiday marks the end of the rainy season in Myanmar.

For us, this meant a day off.  Ellie is sick so we spent most of the day at the doctor or napping.  We sang Happy Birthday to Mark, though, and wished him a Happy 41st!

Over the past two weeks since I have written, Mark and I attended the Marine Corps ball; we visited the Yangon zoo; Alex had his first soccer match; and the boys started baseball.

The Marine Corps ball, honoring the birthday of the marines and held by the marines who staff the embassy here in Yangon,included a lot of hokey traditions (e.g., they marched a cake down an aisle).  It reminded me of a fraternity or sorority formal.  But, I guess it was kind of cool to attend.

The Yangon Zoo was depressing.  The zoo was really run down, and the animals did not look pleased to be there.  The boys are into snakes lately, so they were enjoying the snake exhibit.  But, the fun ended abruptly when Alex fell into a manhole.  (The grate was not on securely.)

The boys have been enjoying sports.  And, Ellie likes to join in the fun as well.

Looking forward to a long weekend for Thanksgiving in two weeks.  We will be thinking of all of you, and we will be missing you terribly.  I’m going to start writing every two weeks instead of every week.  Now that our lives have gotten into more of a pattern, I have less to write about weekly.  Happy early Thanksgiving to you all!

 

 

10/31/16

Happy Halloween from Myanmar!

Despite the fact that Halloween is not celebrated in Myanmar, the Australian Club hosted a trick or treat party, the American Club held a pumpkin carving party, Gymboree hosted a Costume Party, and the boys’ school held Halloween parties and parades.  We missed trick or treating in Kensington and the candy isn’t as good here, but we had a good time anyway.  Hope everyone back home has a great Halloween!

10/24/16

We are back from Thailand!

For my 40th birthday, Mark planned a family vacation to Koh Samui and Bangkok.  We spent 6 nights in Koh Samui.  Our hotel was located in a small inlet with calm water.  It was an ideal place for the kids to play on the beach.  The pool at the hotel (The Imperial Boat House Hotel) was shaped like a huge ship.  The boys loved the pool!

The boys jet skied with Mark.  We brought the kids to a video arcade.  We even went on a boat trip to some isolated islands off the coast of the big island.  The boys jumped off the boat into the ocean and kayaked with Mark.

The weather was beautiful, even though it is still considered the rainy season.  We had delicious seafood (e.g., fresh sea bass and prawns) every night.  And, we got a chance to spend some quality time together after what has been a very hectic three months living in Yangon.  I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present!

After Koh Samui, we went to Bangkok for 2 nights to do some shopping.  The boys picked up lots of toys that are hard to find in Myanmar.  Zach picked out a huge Lego set for his birthday, and he even agreed to share it with Alex.  (Of course, Alex is needed to help put it together, but that is beside the point;)  Bangkok reminded me of New York.  It is a huge city with shopping and restaurants at every turn.  The Bangkok public train service (like the Metro in D.C.) is clean, air-conditioned, and easy to use.

We explored a market and the children’s museum, which had great climbing structures.  A lot of the more traditional sites (e.g., The Grand Palace) were closed because Thailand is in a period of mourning following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13th.  There were billboards and shrines memorializing him all over the city.  We will have to go back to Bangkok to see the sites we missed (and do more shopping) in the near future.

My birthday coincided with the Myanmar holiday known as Thadingyut, which is the Myanmar Lighting Festival marking the end of the Buddhist Lent.  The kids were off of school for the whole week, which made it a perfect time for our family vacation.  Before we left, the kids celebrated the holiday at school.  I went to the Thadingyut party at Zach’s school.  The Myanmar families gave all of the children longyis to wear.  Zach was adorable in his longyi.

 

All in all, it has been a fantastic couple of weeks since I last wrote.  Hope all is well at home with all of you as well.

10/10/16

The first bit of news for the week is that Zachary is now 5! In some ways, it has felt like he has been 5 for a while. In other ways, I can’t believe my baby boy is 5. He had a great birthday party at the American Club with a bouncey house and cake. After his party, he went swimming at the club. All of his presents were knock offs. (You can get name brands like real Legos here, but it is crazy expensive. A little box that might cost $10 in the states costs $50 here.) He knew they were knock offs. (The boys have learned about knock offs since we have been here because there are a lot of them.) But, he didn’t mind at all and seemed genuinely excited by all his gifts.

The second bit of news is that I made my first trip to Bangkok on Friday. Long story, but I think worth sharing so you get the flavor of what life is like here. My rash came back two weeks ago. The Australian doctor wanted to be sure it was just an allergy so he referred me to a Myanmar dermatologist.

I went to the hospital for the appointment. The tiny waiting room was filled with nearly 50 people. We were crammed in like sardines. Babies were crying. People were coughing and vomiting. I thought to myself that I might leave the hospital in worse shape than I arrived given all the germs circulating in the waiting room.

When I finally met with the doctor, she took a look at my rash and, without doing any tests because they don’t have the right tests in Myanmar, she declared that I had a serious and chronic disease. She said I should take a bunch of medicine (I left with several prescriptions) and avoid hot baths, spicy food, seafood, milk products, nuts, and eggs.

As I was waiting for the medications, I looked up the disease on WebMD. The symptoms didn’t quite fit and the treatment said nothing about hot baths, spicy food, seafood, milk products, or eggs.  I went back to the Australian doctor totally confused. He took one look at the doctor’s report and snorted. He said he knew for sure the doctor completely misdiagnosed me. He told me not to take the medications that were prescribed and to go to Bangkok to see a specialist as soon as the rash appeared again.

So, a week later, last Thursday, when my rash came back again, Mark booked a flight to Bangkok for me. I left the next morning. I saw a dermatologist at Samitivej Hospital there. He assured me that my rash is just contact dermatitis, which one gets from an allergy, that can be managed with cortisone cream. He said I may be allergic to the material on my couch or the cleaners used on taxi seats. Or, it could be that we haven’t gotten the detergent issue completely under control with the housekeeper.

I was hugely relieved. But then I began to think of all the people who may be misdiagnosed by the Myanmar doctor. I would have taken a bag full of medications and a list of precautions for something I didn’t even have. I know now not to trust the local health care system here. And, I feel so very lucky for the quality of care we have in the U.S.

At any rate, it was interesting to go to Bangkok. It is only an hour plane ride from Myanmar, but a world away. Bangkok has huge malls and every name brand imaginable. (I went to the mall while I was waiting for my appointment.) Buildings seem to be better maintained, and the streets and sidewalks are free of litter and spit from Beetle nut chewers. (There is a lot of litter and spit on the streets and sidewalks of Myanmar.) But, there are fewer signs of cultural uniqueness than there are in Myanmar too. For example, everyone is in western clothes instead of traditional dress like the longyis in Myanmar. I guess with development, cities become more homogenous. In a weird way, I missed Yangon. (Of course, the fact that Mark and my three babies were in Myanmar had a lot to do with that feeling of missing home.)

The best thing about going to Bangkok was that I got a Starbucks fix. (I spotted 3 Starbucks on my 20 minute walk.) New things are opening every day in Myanmar, but still no Starbucks, McDonald’s, or Disney yet.

As a sign of how fast things are changing, the new international airport terminal in Yangon has opened since we arrived here in July. It is beautiful and modern. I think I would have had a very different first impression of Myanmar if I had landed there. (We arrived in the old terminal that was old, rickety, and dirty.)  I imagine that if we visit Myanmar again in 10 years we will hardly recognize the place.

I arrived home from Bangkok to a house of sick people. Mark and all of the kids were sick. But, we soldiered through to Zach’s party, and he had a great time. (We had to bring Ellie to the clinic after the party on Sunday due to a high fever. They gave her a suppository with acetomenaphine to bring down the fever. It seemed weird to me, but Mark says that how the Europeans do it. And, her fever came down quickly so it worked.)

Mark left for Thailand last night, and I will attend a school birthday party for Zach this afternoon. I will try to get all of our kids better this week. Hopefully we will adjust to the new germs we are encountering soon.

A few random observations from Myanmar to close out this week’s blog:

• In fast food restaurants, shopping malls, and airports, explicit versions (i.e., with curse words) are playing on the loud speaker. I guess no one knows what the words mean, but it is jarring to hear the f-bomb in public places.
• It is hard to buy lotions here because everything is whitening. Asians are trying to be whiter while white people are trying to get tan. No one is happy in the skin they are in.
• The spitting of the beetle nut juice is really getting to me. Taxi drivers either open the door to spit at every stop or carry a little bag to spit in. It is nauseating!
• There are “beauty clinics” all over offering everything from lipo to face lifts. Given the healthcare I received I shutter to think what happens in those clinics.
• There are shrines to the Buddha all over – on the street on a little wooden stand, in cabs hanging from the rearview mirror, in stores next to the cash register – but I recently saw a billboard saying it was against the law to have a Buddha tattooed on your body. Freedom of expression? Division between church and state? Not so much!
• People in Myanmar know there is a lot that is kind of backwards here. They speak of “the Lady,” Aung Sang Suu Kyi, having a lot of work to do. There are a lot of hopes resting on her.

 

 

10/03/2016

Shana Tova!  (Happy New Year to our Jewish family and friends!)

There aren’t many Jews in Yangon.  It seems like all of them were gathering at a Lebanese restaurant tonight to celebrate the New Year.  Since the dinner didn’t start until 7:30, we opted to celebrate at home.  We ordered in from the Lebanese restaurant!

Perhaps the biggest news of the week is that we now have a walker!  Ellie has really taken off.  She still prefers to hold our fingers, but she is letting go more and more often.  She is so fast.  She’ll be able to keep up with her brothers soon.

She also is starting to talk.  She says mama and dada and ball.  She is really growing up!

In my quest to get the kids involved in activities (and out of our too small apartment), I enrolled the boys in a bouldering class.  They had a great time!  (Even Ellie gave it a try!)

In other news, I am starting to get more involved in education here.  Last week I attended a workshop held by the Myanmar Education Consortium, which is run by Save the Children.  The MEC brought together partners from organizations across the country to share data they have collected about multilingual education for ethnic minority children here.  I am hoping to become more involved over time.  There seems to be a huge need for support for teachers serving children who have been marginalized by the education system here.

I feel like we are more and more settled everyday.  But, sometimes the more settled I feel the more I miss all of you back home.