One of the reasons we were so damned excited to settle in Chiang Mai for a few weeks was that we wanted to be able to enjoy the holidays without packing or traveling. Braeden, ever the typical American 4-year-old, had been peppering us with questions about Christmas since maybe, oh, last Christmas, so it goes … Continue reading A Very Merry (Southeast Asia) Christmas →

We watched as Braeden shuffled on his knees up to the gaunt monk who was sitting, cross-legged and placid, swathed in orange robes.  The boy held out his wrist respectfully, eyes wide.   The man in orange looked at him with a glimmer in his eye, nodded, and gently tied a cotton bracelet around the … Continue reading Falling in Love with Chiang Mai →

I’m writing this sitting in our living room in Chiang Mai, looking out our balcony doors over the city.  Juliann is out getting some last minute Christmas shopping done, and Braeden is at the kitchen table working on a YouTube drawing lesson, his brow furrowed, his treasured Lightning McQueen pencil gripped in his little fingers, … Continue reading The City of Angels →

Vegas in the Middle East After two comfy months in our island home we flew out of Mauritius around 4pm local time on a (relatively) short flight to Dubai – six and a half hours – on Emirates. Emirates is our new favorite airline.  The service is impeccable – you can’t peck it, don’t even … Continue reading A Week in Dubai →

Excuses, Excuses It’s been over a month since my last post.  It sucks, I know. One of the first things you figure out when traveling around the world (other than “don’t take comfy mattresses and soft toilet paper for granted”) is that internet speeds in the U.S. are fast.  Sure, there are places in the … Continue reading Hurricane Matthew and the Joyous Genius →

RTW Health Care Shortly after my brother Scott arrived in Mauritius we had two appointments scheduled:  one for the Blew family and one for me. The first was a dentist appointment for all three of us, one right after the other.  We were all due for a cleaning and a checkup, and one of the … Continue reading Sunsets and Hospital Visits →

We’ve been in Mauritius for a full month now.  The first couple of weeks were spent adjusting to the culture shock and feeling homesick for France, but now we’re enjoying our new island home.  We’re also starting to realize that we’re probably going to be homesick for Mauritius when we leave this beautiful island. We’re … Continue reading Adjusting to Island Life →