The Ants Go Marching 100x100

My life revolves around bugs. The extent to which I think about, strategize against, and am tortured by bugs has increased 100 fold in a few short weeks.

We saw a tailless whip scorpion in our sink. Ugly. But whatever. I'm no wimp.

However, the mosquitos have our kids looking like intravenous drug users (combined with Lou's green-tinted hair from the pool, and she's really starting to look like a 90s club kid). They basically go to school in the jungle. And when we pull up to drop them off, entire extended families of mosquitos settle into our car for a roadtrip.

Manley killed a freaking TARANTULA in our house and maybe got bitten by it and so now has a sore paw and is wearing a cone of shame.

We are the foxes.

They are the hunters.

And the ants, OH MY GOD THE ANTS. There are tiny ants everywhere, and I don't mind them too much. But every night, the big fat ants invade our home and make us feel unwelcome. I bought a bunch of delicious bananas the other day. When we woke up the next morning, the ants had eaten all the peels off, like some freaking horror film killer mutants. Today, I reached into a bag of tortilla chips (totopos) that I had rubber banded and clipped tightly, and it was full of ants. As I write this, Tom is playing Ant Field Hockey—a game where he dribbles them with the broom all the way to the back door and then sling shots them out the door. I hate the ants so much. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them.

This is what our pool looks like every night.

So yea....

had to

Our First Home in Mérida

When Tom and I were here in June, our main priority was finding a school for the kids. We didn't look for a house, so we tried to sort that out after we got back to Portland. We kept our home in Portland (which we own), and are renting it out. And we plan to rent in Mérida until we have a better idea of our long-term plans.

Back in Portland, we weren't super excited about committing to a long-term rental house in Mérida without seeing it in person, so we found a short-term rental in a neighborhood we were familiar with, and we moved in here when we arrived.

We'll only be here until late October. Then, we move into our long-term rental. Our current house is really special. It's an old Spanish colonial with the original pasta tiles and beautiful Mayan art throughout. We feel really happy here, even though it probably wouldn't suit us long-term. 

Here's our current house, Casa de la Artesania. (And yes, there's a whole lot of Catholicism up in this house, which we could definitely do without. But we're trying to view it more as art than as dogmatic religious artifacts.)

Back to Escuela

I don't really know how to structure these posts. When we were traveling full-time, it was easy to know what to say and when because it was chronological and temporary. But we live here now. So when do I post what?

As I say all the time, "No sé."

But if you know and love Tom and me, you are probably really here just to hear funny bathroom stories and see pictures of our kids. As a parent, I use my kids all the time to break the ice and make excuses, and this blog is no exception. So while I know lots of people want to hear why we moved and how we chose Mérida, those feel like loaded questions right now. So allow me to use my kids as a buffer and, instead, tell you about their new school.

Tom and I came down to Mérida in June 2022 to see if it might be a good place for us to move. A huge factor in that decision was schools. We really want to give our kids new and even challenging experiences. We want them to learn another language and to understand how big and interesting the world is. We want them to meet people from all over the world and to learn to be comfortable in discomfort. But we also don't want to traumatize them, and we both care a lot about education, but maybe not in the way you would expect. Of course, we want our kids to learn a lot...all the stuff...but more important to us is that they learn to value themselves as learners. And we think the way that happens is by being in an environment that celebrates curiosity and questions, that welcomes "failure" with love and intrigue, and that knows that every child—every person—is brilliant. Not in a "everybody gets a trophy" kind of way. More in a "what's your superpower" kind of way. 

Before we came to Mérida, we had visited another place where we were sure we would move. For many reasons, it wasn't right for us, and we'll tell you more about that another time. One of the reasons was the schools. They just weren't what we wanted for our kids, and so exploring schools in Mérida became a priority.

We visited three schools in June, and we liked all of them. We would have sent our kids to any of them and been confident in doing so. But when we found Kin Academy, we knew that we couldn't not send our kids there. It's in an old hacienda and is surrounded by jungle. (or forest? trees? what makes a jungle a jungle?) There's a massive green field, beautiful streams and walkways, chickens, ducks, and fruit trees growing around campus. It's small, project-based, and incredibly warm and loving. 

We arrived on a Wednesday in late afternoon. We were supposed to go to a parents-only meeting at the school on Thursday night, but that didn't happen because our house flooded (get ready for that story). But we did go to the meet-and-greet on Friday morning. And people—I almost cried. Now if you really know me, you know that's a big deal. I don't cry about anything related to me. I can't. I'm broken. I cry during even the most obscure Olympic medal ceremonies for people I've never heard of. I cry when I see someone in labor on TV because I'm so.proud.of.them. I cry when my friends' kids accomplish something huge. But something in my life that is deeply moving or sad or happy? Nary a tear. I can't do it. And yes, I'm in therapy. But I almost almost cried at this meet-and-greet. Louisa hasn't been entirely enthusiastic about this move, and she was very nervous, and so we all were nervous. Louisa's emotions are big and have a way of influencing all of us. We walked on campus, and we were welcomed in a way I don't think I've ever experienced. The teachers swooped in on our kids and engaged them meaningfully and without being pushy. Administrators we had met only once greeted us like old friends. Parents we were meeting for the first time, when learning we had only arrived in Mérida 36 hours earlier, very genuinely offered their support in all things—real estate, grocery shopping, play dates, mom dates, etc... And they really really meant it. I felt part of a community instantly, and it was clear the kids did, too. 

The kids left for their first day of school just a few days later, and I didn't have a single worry about it. Any parent knows how huge that is. 

"Just me" (I die.....)

The school is mostly families from other parts of Mexico who have moved to Mérida (because it's incredible). There are also some South American families and a few American families. They teach in English, but there's lots of Spanish conversationally and mixed into the lessons. There are several active WhatsApp groups for parents that makes me feel like "we're in this together" even though I have to copy and paste everything in to Google Translate, and I don't get all the jokes, and there are still fewer than three people in this whole city who would even notice if I disappeared. 

Back to the first day of school—just a few hours in to it, we got pictures of them making new friends already, which I don't think I can post because they have other people's kids in them. That's a thing right? Totally fine for me to exploit my own children to benefit my personal narrative, but not other people's kids? Even though no one even knows I've restarted this blog, so probably no one is reading it? TBD. 

A few highlights of the first 7 days of school:

• Watching the kids walk in and out of school together. Louisa is always taking care of Frank, and it makes me think that (just maybe) we're doing something right.
• After we pull in the driveway of the school, the kids hustle to unbuckle from their carseats so that they can call out the window to the ducks and chickens on the property. Somehow, they never tire of this. 
• New friends! Louisa has a buddy named Belen. Belen's little brother, Tomas, is Frank's buddy in his class. And they both love our new friend Jude and his little brother Waylon. 
• Louisa says "Teacher Edgar" and "Teacher Meli" with such a convincing Mexican accent that I question if she's actually my child.
• Frank adores his teachers and refers to them with a great deal of reverence. 
• Louisa discovered a love and a knack for ice skating at a mall here, and we found out one of the teachers at school (Jimena) is an ice skating instructor there, and Louisa is fan-girling a bit.
• Frank's class has a stuffy named Porkybee that is the "class pet." Each weekend, someone gets to take Porkybee home to care for, and Frank got to do it the first week. He considered this a great honor. 
• They both have yoga twice a week, drama once a week, and sports twice a week. 
• Louisa and her friend found a tarantula in the bathroom at school, and Louisa was so excited (see above about questionaly genetics).

The vantage point for optimal duck and chicken viewing

Porkybee being loved to death

Nothing makes you feel like you really live somewhere than having your kids start school. I'm sure there will be challenges ahead, but for now, it all feels pretty good. 

We're at it Again

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Over ten years ago, we started this blog to chronicle our 13 months of traveling in India, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa. The internet wasn't what it is today, so we were always behind on getting our blog posts up because we rarely had reliable Wifi. And we never even ended up posting about our time in Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. 

We also didn't chronicle the even bigger adventures—Louisa, born in 2016; and Frank, born in 2018. (And our pup, Manley, who we adopted in 2015.) After our trip, we settled back into San Francisco, changed our careers, got a dog, had a baby, moved to Portland, Oregon, bought a house, had another baby, renovated that house, changed jobs again, and weathered a pandemic. 

And right now? We're in Mérida, Mexico, where we moved only 12 days ago.

The preparation for this move was considerable. The emotions have been all over the place. The logistics were daunting. Our time here so far has been challenging at times—stories coming up about getting electrocuted, our house flooding, and Manley killing a tarantula in our house. But it's mostly been surprisingly wonderful—the kids' new school, an action-filled city, day trips to beautiful beaches, the beginnings of new friendships. And we want to remember all of it, so we fired up the old blog.

In the next few weeks, we hope to: update the blog's navigation and theme, give some background on our move, and share some updates about life so far. Maybe we'll even tell you about that time we drove a camper truck into a bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa, back in 2013. 

Until then, have some ice cream.

Fun to Say, Fun to Stay - Luang Prabang, Laos

You guys, it's been almost year since we were in Laos. A YEAR! And I'm just now telling you about it. How embarrassing. How ridiculous! But there's no time like the present! It's never too late! Yadda yadda yadda. (Click here for my favorite "yadda yadda yadda" moment.)

In any case - I'm telling you now. I'm writing it now. Whether you want to read it or not!

Remember how much we LOVED Vietnam? (Read our wrap-ups here and here.) I could have stayed there for a year. Or more. But, with flights to Australia less than two weeks away and with a desire to still see Laos, we knew we had to leave Vietnam (skipping several places we wanted to visit) so that we could squeeze in 10 days to explore another country. We decided to head to Luang Prabang (loosely pronounced Lahng Prah-bong) to start our time in Laos.

Luang Prabang Sneak Peek: They leave out busted coconuts to attract ants and then collect the ants to eat!

An Explanation...and 30 Days of Ass Kicking

Well hello there, friends! It's been a long time hasn't it? I know things kind of ended abruptly back in October after we posted about our time in Vietnam. Maybe you're wondering why that is? I'll give you a bit of insight on that (though that's not the purpose of this post).

We got back to SF in September. It was wonderful to be home. I loved having my own bed to sleep in (even though it's lumpy and needs replacing). I went into serious nesting mode. We were painting walls and buying settees and hanging shelves. Reconnecting with friends was amazing. And I was excited about taking the next steps in my career. (Tom was, too.) So that kept us busy for a month or so and, within days of being home, our big trip felt like it happened in a distant memory. And then the newness of being home wore off, and suddenly writing or talking about the trip wasn't fun anymore. It hurt. I was sad that it was over. Like, really, really sad. I didn't want to talk about the trains in India, diving in Thailand, my birthday in Vietnam, our family in Australia, or our safari in Africa (neither of which you have heard about yet). I wanted to DO all of those things...again. I lost my mojo for the blog and for the stories left to tell. So I didn't write. I moped. And I guess, in some ways, I still am. I don't think this is a bad thing (and certainly not shocking). I think it's good because here I am, home for 6 months, and it's still something I think about all the time. That's a pretty good kick in the ass towards understanding what's important in life, isn't it? Tom and I are still figuring out what that means for us. We think it means that we should move towards a life with more balance (something we've been talking about for years). We love travel. It's kind of the 3rd character in our relationship. We aren't "us" without it. So why have we spent so much of our time with it absent from our lives? That's an answer and a balance we're still working to find, but I know we'll get to where we need to be.

Swains in Hoi An, Vietnam

Vietnam: The Good, The Bad, The "Are You Effing Kidding Me?!?!"

Now it's time for the Vietnam version of 'The Good, The Bad, The "Are You Effing Kidding Me?!?!" But, like before, when we reviewed India, Burma, and Cambodia, we'll start with "The Bad," then move on to "The 'Are You Effing Kidding Me?!?!'" and end with "The Good."

Vietnam, Revisited

If you want to catch up on our Vietnam posts before you read our wrap ups, click through for: Ho Chi Minh City, Steph's 30th Birthday in Lang Co, Huế, Hoi An, Phong Nha, Halong Bay & Cat Ba Island, Hanoi, Bags of Cats, and Gourmet Vietnamese Recipes.

When I think about our time in Vietnam (now almost 6 months ago!), I get the immediate itch to go back. Along with India and one other place (stay tuned), it's the place we talk about the most now that we're home and are being asked about our trip all the time. It was a very special place for us. We absolutely loved it and are convinced that no amount of time there will ever quench our thirst for all things Vietnamese. We hope to be back in the near-ish future. I already can't wait!

In Phong Nha, Vietnam

Did You Know...

What's up bloggy people?!?!

We're back in SF! Confession: We've been back for over two weeks!

Don't worry, we still have a ton of travel updates to share with you and those will be coming soon, we (kind of) promise. We also have a lot to tell you about what it's been like to return, what our lives are like now, and what's on the horizon.

In the meantime, all of the pics from our trip (at least the international parts) are uploaded! Did you know that you can view them at any time from our blog?

Just click on the Pics link in the menu bar on any page of the blog.

From there, you'll be taken to a page with links to all of our trip photos.

Just click on any photo or description and you'll be taken to our Flickr page with all of our albums. So, even though we haven't written yet about Laos, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, or Zimbabwe...you can still check out our photos.

We hope you'll keep reading our updates and, in the mean time, check out our photos.

See you soon with our wrap-ups about Vietnam!

Last Stop in Vietnam (Hanoi, Vietnam)

People - we LOVED Vietnam. Loved it! ADORED it! We're ready to go back. For this reason, our time in Hanoi was bittersweet because it was our last stop. The dive boat in Thailand (read here) and Vietnam were the only two places where I actually felt myself mourning for leaving. But, alas, with flights awaiting us from Bangkok to Australia and because we still wanted to visit Laos, we had to push off from Vietnam.

Chowing down on some spare ribs (I think) in Hanoi

We actually visited Hanoi twice. First, we took a train from Phong Nha (read here) to Hanoi and spent a few days enjoying the city. After that, we took a bus to the mystic Cát Bà and Ha Long Bay region (read here) before returning back to Hanoi for three more days of urban exploration.

On the train from Phong Nha to Hanoi. This guy crawled up in our bunks to take photos with us. Love the friendliness!

Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

Don't worry...this isn't another post about bags of cats. Cát Bà is the name of the next destination we visited in Vietnam. I hope you had a chance to check out Steph's post about Phong Nha. It was definitely one of the best parts of our trip. After we left Phong Nha, we took a train up to Ha Noi and spent a few days there before bussing it to Cát Bà Island. We'll tell you more about our time in Ha Noi later, as we actually visited it twice and want to share it with you all at once.

When we decided that we were going to Vietnam, we kept reading about Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay (meaning "Descending Dragon Bay") is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been a popular tourist haunt for years due to the limestone karsts jutting out of the ocean. It creates an otherworldly scene, especially if there is some mist rolling in off the ocean. It's easy to understand where the name comes from. The typical tourist thing to do is to go on a 1-3 night boat trip around the Bay. Since we had already done an overnight boat trip in India (read here), we decided to skip the overnight option and do some day trips instead. We've mentioned several times that the best choices we have made traveling were based on the advice from other travelers so, based on the pointers from other Vietnam backpackers, we decided to head to Cát Bà Island instead of the busy, touristy Ha Long Bay. Cát Bà has the same karst formations and topography as Ha Long Bay, without the mass tourism, and actually borders Ha Long Bay, so we got to see it anyway! We booked lodging at Cát Bà Homestay, which is one of the great choices we made on the trip.

Floating Fishing Village, Cát Bà Island, Vietnam (our view from a kayak)

Cold Beer and Tackling Fear (Phong Nha, Vietnam)

It's above us, below us, surrounding us. It's as if the darkness has swallowed us up whole. It seems to go on forever. The air is hollow and silent except for the sounds of our breathing and of our arms and legs softly swishing through the black water. The water is so cold that my legs cramp behind my knees. Is it possible for someone to forget how to swim? I'm worried I might. Occasionally, I reach out to clamp on to Tom's arm/hand/back/head/foot just to have a touchstone.

We're in one of the many caves in Vietnam's Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park (a UNESCO site), and I'm scared. They had told us what to expect, but I was still unprepared. I never considered myself a brave person, but here I am, swimming in the deep, black waters of a mysterious cave that I was terrified to enter. The only light comes from my headlamp and the headlamps of my companions, though I know (from backpacker tales) that they will soon ask us to turn out our torches and tread water in the apparent infinite vastness. Just the thought of it makes my heart race. I reach out again to my touchstone. That's enough for the moment and, in a quick second of calm, I am in awe of what we're experiencing.

There are only a few guesthouses in the area and the most popular one, by far, is Phong Nha Farmstay, owned by an Aussie (Ben, one of the first people to explore the region's caves) who married a local Vietnamese woman (Bich) and is staffed by fellow long-term travelers stopping off for awhile in the countryside. Later that night, when it's all over and I've survived, I tell Ben how scared I was in the cave. "That cave terrifies me," he agrees, "We don't know what's in that cave!"

Now you tell me.

Pre-Spelunking

Cambodia: The Good, The Bad, The "Are You Effing Kidding Me?!?!"

Have you already read our Cambodia, Revisited post? No? Well, go read that first and watch the photo slideshow. Go ahead. We'll wait for you.

Welcome back! Now, it's time for our full wrap-up of all the best and worst parts of our time in Cambodia. We call this, 'The Good, The Bad, The "Are You Effing Kidding Me?!?!" But, as usual, when we review countries, we'll start with "The Bad," then move on to "The 'Are You Effing Kidding Me?!?!'" and end with "The Good." (We're idealists, remember?)

Cambodia, Revisited

If you want to catch up on our Cambodia posts before you read our wrap ups, click through for: Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Sihanoukville, and Chuck Norris Dim Sum.

It's bittersweet that my 15 year goal to visit Cambodia has been achieved. When I was 14, I was introduced to this country - both the beautiful and tragic parts - and it has remained close to my heart all this time. Cambodia was more than a destination to me, it was the place that started it all. It was the place that first made me interested in traveling and it was the first place about which I ever said, "I want to go there some day." And now I have!

Gourmet Vietnamese Recipes from Loose of Limits!

I think we told you how much we loved Hoi An, Vietnam. It was incredible. Beyond Hoi An, we loved all of Vietnam for a variety of reasons. Near the top of that list? We ate the.most.delicious food. You have no idea. It was amazing.

One of the best things we did in Vietnam was take a cooking class. One day, while biking to the beach, we were hungry and stopped at a random little roadside restaurant. Most of the restaurants in the region are family-owned and consist of a few tables in a sparsely decorated garage below an apartment. They mostly serve the same foods so, we considered ourselves incredibly lucky to stumble upon Red Dragon. It took ages for our food to come, but all was forgiven when we started eating. The food was incredible - a combination of old-style Vietnamese food with a modern flare. A good meal is so satisfying. It was the best meal we'd had in 8 months and we were so happy. Impulsively, we asked the chef if he would give us a cooking class and he said yes!

The next day, we made four tasty dishes and I wanted to share the recipes (and some pics) with you guys. Enjoy!

Nature's Beautiful Bounty!

If We Had a Top 10... (Hoi An, Vietnam)

If we were making a Top Ten list of our favorite stops on this trip, Hoi An, Vietnam, would definitely make the cut. (Though I don't think we ever will make a Top Ten list because it's next to impossible to rank all these amazing experiences. What makes something a favorite? Was it the best beach? The most intense? The funniest experience? The friendliest locals? Impossible. So we probably won't' do that.) As I mentioned in our post about Hue (read here), we visited Hoi An twice. The first time, we visited on a day trip with Roman while he was visiting us in Lang Co, Vietnam (read about Roman's visit to Lang Co for my 30th birthday here) After Roman left us, Tom and I decided we wanted to spend more time in Hoi An and ended up staying almost a full week.

Japanese Bridge, Hoi An

Best Birthday Card Ever!

I've been meaning to share this video with you all for awhile. My good friend, Nickie, sent me the best birthday card to Vietnam. (Read about my 30th birthday here.)

You guys, that's a talking horse with the voice of my friend, Nickie. Everyone needs one of these.

Thanks for thinking of me, Nickie! (She also sent an awesome lip balm with SPF from Hurraw. It's organic and vegan and raw and fair trade and all those hippy dippy things, and I LOVE it!)

Death by Africa (This is just a joke, Mom.)

So, as it turns out, when we casually and impulsively decided to visit Africa (read here), that we were unprepared for the amount of planning a trip like our's requires. Tom has been hard at work on an itinerary for South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia for weeks now. We'll share some details about how we plan on exploring Africa in a later post. For now, I want to tell you some scary shit I've been reading. I've been reading several different guide books and have come to one very serious conclusion: Death in Africa is pretty much a sure thing. 

(Mom, That was a joke. It's safe. I promise. Kind of.)

Huế in a Day (Huế, Vietnam)

Roman, Tom, and I are quite the trio. Tom knew Roman from the first time he lived in San Francisco (about 13 years ago when I'm sure they were involved in some shenanigans I'd rather not know about) and, when we returned to SF together in 2004, I was quickly introduced to Roman. His giant personality was overwhelming to a newbie like me but, over time, I couldn't help but love Roman. This was no more evident than the time about 5 years ago when Tom told Roman that he and his cat could move into our apartment with us for a few months without consulting me. (Roman had just bought a condo in the city but needed to leave his rental before the condo was ready, so needed a place to stay.) Of course, I gave Tom a stern talking-to for springing this on me without asking but, mostly, I was excited. It was during these two months that we really became the Three Amigos, the Three Musketeers, the Three….Little Pigs? What I mean is that we perfected the art of staying in, ordering take-out, and making games out of whatever was on TV. We had so much fun together, and we were all sad to be apart when Roman moved into his new place. It was also during this time that Roman became as much of my friend as he was of Tom. So, to say that I was happy to see him when he FLEW OUT TO VIETNAM FOR MY 30TH BIRTHDAY is an understatement. I was over-the-moon! The best part about our time with Roman was that the three of us got to be together again. But another great part of his visit was that we took 2 really great day trips. The first day trip we took was to Hoi An, which was amazing! We'll write more about Hoi An later. It was so fantastic that Tom and I went back and spent almost a week there after Roman went back to the States, so we'll combine our stories and photos from both visits into one post - coming soon! Another day trip we took was to Huế (pronounced "Whay"). Huế was the capital of the Nguyen dynasty and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of impressive monuments, including an impressive Citadel that we toured.

My Dirty Thirty! (Lang Co, Vietnam)

You guys, I have the best friends in the world. And, beyond that, my husband is the bomb-dizzle. He's the cat's pajamas. He's the bee's knees. He's my numero uno. Seriously, you should be jealous that my husband is so fantastic. And that my friends are so amazing. Here's why.

I turned into a grown-up a few months ago. That's right, I turned 30. And, because my life is amazing right now, I turned 30 IN VIETNAM! I have to admit that I was a little down about turning 30 away from home and my friends. We make a big deal out of birthdays in my circle and both of my BFFs (also turning 30) had surprise parties for their big days. (I made special videos for them. Check out the videos I made for Ashley and Lauren.) There was a part of me that really wished I was going to be home for my 30th and showered with attention, surprises, tiaras, theme parties, and feather boas by my pals. But, of course, I was still psyched to be lucky enough to be in VIETNAM for the big day! My biggest request for my birthday was that it be a bit luxurious. I didn't want to deal with haggling over a room rate, the possibility of bed bugs, or running out of hot water mid-shampoo. We used Luxury Link to find amazing deals on high end hotels for our honeymoon three years ago. (Read about our awesome honeymoon here.) Remembering how well Luxury Link worked for us before, my awesome husband (see above) returned to the site to book a place for my birthday and settled on the Angsana Resort in Lang Co, Vietnam. (Part of the Banyan Tree brand of properties.)

Embarrassing Sneak Peek of me, the Birthday Girl