The last time we saw our son and his family was in December, 2019 just before the pandemic began. We hoped to see them this year, but in spring, Keola told us that they were moving to Sri Lanka.
What? Where the heck is Sri Lanka? But we had a cruise scheduled until late May. Keola felt they'd be so busy that it wouldn't be a good time for us to fly to Maryland in July since they were leaving in August. We also had a bunch of doctor's appointments scheduled for all of us around that time. Whatever the case, they had a bunch of unfortunate delays and they ended up leaving in early September.
Keola said they'd always told us they wanted to go overseas.
"I know." I said, "But I guess I hoped you guys had forgotten about that." Both Keola and my daughter-in-law met when they were Peace Corps Volunteers so I supposed it's how they view their lives.
Around that time, we heard news about the citizens storming the presidential palace in Colombo. Accck!
"Not to worry," said Jon. Unlike the January 6th insurrection here, the people even waited in lines to storm the palace and did not seek to destroy it like the Trump supporters did at the U.S. Capitol.
They flew out of Washington's Dulles International Airport. It was a 12 hour flight to Doha (capital of Qatar) with an 8 hour layover before their 5 hour flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Needless to say, they were exhausted as my grandson is showing here as he mimicked the statue.
So what is Colombo like? I was rather surprised. It's a city. Keola told me guns are banned here. No kidding? Awesome! It'll be safer than the U.S.
They've already visited an aquarium and had fun at a children's park train ride. One thing that unnerves the boys are people staring and wanting to take a photo with them. The other thing is the food. It is very spicy and right now, Keola is trying to figure out what sort of food they can get for them.
I guess he and my daughter-in-law had always planned this sort of life for themselves.
Art and I will have to adapt.
My son and daughter in law are supposed to be moved to Germany this year by our department of defense. He works in our embassy all over the world as an IT.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded that my daughter brought back a little tin tuck tuck replica from her trip. It was around for a long time. Now, where di it go? TG she was not inclined to stay or return.
ReplyDeleteAsk them to try "idli" and "dosa" without the spicy accompaniments. These are local dishes made out of legumes and rice. Idli is steamed. We eat it with chutney (spicy) , but when my kids were small, they enjoyed it with peanut butter. Dosa is like a very thin pancake, quite bland by itself. It is often had with a kind of vegetable stew, which can be made to your taste. (These are eatables native to southern part of India, and also Sri Lanka).
ReplyDeleteAnonymous above, was me, Ugich from Mumbai...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your advice, Ugich. I've texted my son to check out what you've suggested. Fingers crossed the boys will like it. I know my son and daughter in law love Indian food. You'd think they'd have some of that in Sri Lanka too.
DeleteKay, I am absolutely positive they have this food in Sri Lanka. Everyone eats it. I was also thinking that they might be able to get a cook to come in and make these things , including American things that the kids like. Best wishes to your kids and grandkids in Sri Lanka !
DeleteUgich
What a wonderful experience for the children, to see the world at their ages, to understand that people are just people, no matter where they are. I am glad for your son and his family, but I am sure that it is difficult for grandma and grandpa.
ReplyDeleteThe monks from the meditation center I attend in FL are all from Sri Lanka. They do a Taste of Sri Lanka dinner as a fund raiser and it is spicey, but also good. I am sure they tone it down quite a bit. My favorite is an eggplant dish but I have forgotten the name now.
ReplyDeleteI imagine Art is planning a trip?
I'm sure they'll be fine. Is Art planning a trip for you to travel there soon?
ReplyDeleteWe're thinking of meeting up with them in Tokyo next year. Maybe. And then ... maybe in 2024?
DeleteIt sounds like they will have a wonderful life in Sri Lanka. And it will be a wonderful place for you and Art to visit.
ReplyDeletePictures are nice and their new life is nice but I don't see how you can bare it. My son is 80 miles from me and my daughter 31 miles from me. I can never complain about not seeing them. You and Art are good parents to be able to let your children go.
ReplyDeleteThey are so adventurous glad it is working out well. I would feel the sane as you about this
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience for them but also the children. Loved your grandson mimicking the statue:) Thinking you and Art need to visit them soon??
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping we can be together in Tokyo, next year. Maybe.
DeleteThere are several other assignments that I bet they could consider in less desirable areas. A city with guns being banned sounds like a nice place to visit and have grandchildren raised. My niece and nephew learned lots of things being in other countries with my State Dept brother. They did come back to the U.S. for their last 3 years of high school. One had a job in Turkey for awhile, in IT, but then went to Texas, and is now in Oregon. The niece has been everywhere as an adult with a job that lets her be anywhere. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI understand her job would require them to be in more 3rd world countries. So they'd never be sent to Japan or Canada or England, etc.
DeleteYep, my brother was in Somalia, Kenya, Morocco, the country of Georgia, Tunisia, Zambia in Africa, El Salvador, and a few others. It drove our family nuts, for many reasons. The Sri Lanka spot sounds good, like maybe one of the more posh assignments. My brother and his wife retired from AID/State Dept and settled in Texas. Get used to mail via Diplomatic Pouch, which is different and doesn't rely on the country's postal system, so you have to send presents very early. Ask them about the timing and rules. Linda in boring Kansas
DeleteAt their invite, I DID sent my son to visit them, joined with his 2 cousins, when they were stationed in Zambia, South Africa. The kid had a blast for 2 weeks between semesters with his Uncle and Aunt, enjoying the food, Embassy treatments, photo safaris, bunging jumping over the Zambezi River and being able to use the Diplomatic Mail pouch to ship large souvenirs back to the States. Linda in Kansas
DeleteI discovered that using a flat rate box with a DPO (Diplomatic Post Office) address is a couple dollars cheaper than sending a flat rate to the mainland. Awesome sauce! I just sent them a box. Fingers crossed it gets there OK. What an amazing experience for your son and his cousins!
DeleteLin Floyd says I see another trip coming in the future to that special place...
ReplyDeletePart of me hopes that one of my children end up in such a place to give me an excuse to visit it. But of course the other part of me would like to see them just across town so visits could be more often.
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in Indonesia for two years with one child in a missionary school and the other at home, it was a learning experience, and I would not trade that for the world. I was not close to my parents, sadly, so they did not tell us they missed us and they were too old and parochial to travel.
ReplyDeleteKay, from the pictures, it all looks good! Another spot for you and hubby to visit...
ReplyDeleteThis all looks and sounds fabulous. Do they have an amount of time they will be there or is it permanent? My grandson's best friend since kindergarten moved to Spain this year. The family is originally from Ireland and just enjoy going and living in other countries for various amounts of time. Judah misses his friend but they are able to FaceTime almost every day. I'm hoping my kids will be able to travel to Spain to visit this family. I encouraged our daughter to start getting passports for everyone.
ReplyDeleteWhat a enriching experience for your grandsons! So hopefully you are not worried as much and will plan a trip there in the near future.
ReplyDeleteWell you know Art. I can see the gears in his brain working to convince me that we should go.
DeleteWell, you have to go there, of course. And go while you are still in good health and can travel easily. You will never regret it.
ReplyDeleteThe house and furnishings are really nice.
ReplyDeleteA long, long way away.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks so cozy and comfortable. And the school and city sound like paradise. You reminded me that it used to be like that here, but no longer. A place where guns are banned sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteWow, how exciting for them. As Grandmother though I feel "oh my!" My kids moved 300 miles away years ago and when I retired I bought a house 2 blocks away from them, that's me, like gum on a shoe. :-) Then my eldest son followed. Now we are all within 10 miles except for one grandgirl, 300 miles to the North. Many of us traveled but we always made it back except for one cousin who married a girl from England and stayed there. Not sure what that says about us.
ReplyDeleteLovely photographs you've shared.
ReplyDeleteVery exciting for them but not easy for parents/grandparents.
Perhaps you will be able to plan a visit?
All the best Jan
Very good of you to adapt. So kindly. It is exciting and interesting and they are clearly on a life mission. It's tough for you, and for their kids of course, but the kids will be recompense by amazing experiences, opportunities and memories. I hope you do get to see them soon dear
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to see family go so far away. I would never discourage my kids from going away ,but I wouldn't like it. I often think back about how my mother felt when I went to the Arctic. She never said anything to me but I'm sure she thought many things.
ReplyDeleteIt looks and sounds like a wonderful place but it's SO far. I hope you can plan a trip there once they get settled. I know what it feels like to have children (and grandchildren) far away. :(
ReplyDeleteMy friends from other countries have children all over the world. I have one set of grandchildren who may be the same!
ReplyDeleteMy older children still talk about their life in Singapore back in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteSort out your passports - insurance - tickets (any vaccinations you may need)…..…and off you go!
Brush up on your teaching credentials! You and Art could teach at the Overseas School. Cots in that huge kitchen will be your new bedroom! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteThe daunting problem of traveling there is that we'd have to fly to Dulles in Washington, D.C. and then to Qatar and then Columbo. I'd be a basket case by the time we get there. Right now, the plan is to meet them in Tokyo along with our daughter and granddaughter. It's a plan anyway. And maybe 2024 could be a year to siiiigh.... travel to Sri Lanka.
DeleteUgich here. Why would you need to fly across the US to the east coast? When I first came to the US from India (absolutely next door to Sri Lanka) for grad school in 1969, I flew Mumbai-Hongkong-Honolulu-SFO. Those planes were not like the 747's. I think today you might be able to go Honolulu-HKG-Colombo(SriLanka).
DeleteOh my gosh, Ugich, thank you so much for letting me know. Art had been checking a month ago through EXPEDIA and couldn't find a way to Sri Lanka from Hawaii. He will have to look again or we can go to our travel agent. It's really helpful to know there IS a way.
DeleteCheck flights from Honolulu-Chennai(India), and Chennai-Columbo. Singapore Air flies frequently to Chennai.
DeleteKay of Musings: Thank you, thank you so much, Ugich!
DeleteKay the first sentence of this made me sad for you & Art, but things got more & more better as I read along. What an amazing experience this will be for your kids. Their new home is beautiful (love the windows), the school & library sounds impressive, and I'm ready to move there with the no gun laws! I'm really happy for them and I'm sure you & Art will work things out and see them soon enough.
ReplyDeleteI knew where Sri Lanka is but I definitely would not want to live there or take the flight.
ReplyDeleteIt’s so hard to have grandchildren so far away, I know. They grow and change so quickly. But what an opportunity it is for the boys, to experience life in another country! And I just bet Art is already on line planning all the details for a trip for you two to Sri Lanka!
ReplyDeleteOh, Sri Lanka is just next door to us in India. In fact, long long ago, it was a part of India. And you can always fly straight from the US to India. We just flew back from SFO (where our elder son lives) and there are direct flights from SFO to Delhi & Mumbai & other major cities in India, and then many flights onwards to Colombo. I am sure there will be flights from Honolulu too. You could take a break in Delhi and see the Taj Mahal. Fascinating as it may sound to you, the tuk-tuk (called an auto-rickshaw in India) is the normal mode of transport for kids to school in India too. And yes, guns are banned on the whole Indian sub-continent. You will love this part of the world once you visit & see for yourself.
ReplyDeleteHello Asha! Thank you so much for your message. I'm sorry I didn't answer you right away. I got distracted by other things and because this was an older post.... darn.... I forgot. I hope you come back to see this answer since I see I can't respond to you directly.
DeleteI am so relieved to know there could be an easier way for us to travel to Sri Lanka. I know our son and daughter in law spent 3 weeks in India before they had children. They sent a lot of photos of the Taj Mahal and said that was one place that lived up to every expectation they might ever have had. They spent quite a bit of time there admiring its beauty and grandeur.
I do remember being in a tuk tuk when we visited our son in Bangladesh when he was working there many years ago. I see our grandsons are loving traveling in it and just enjoying all the new things they are experiencing.
I also see from their photos what a beautiful place Sri Lanka is. Yes... some day... we'll come. Thank you again, Asha!
Thanks, Kay….and when you do come to India to see the Taj Mahal, do pay a visit to Mumbai, which is lovely too. I live in Pune just a few hours away from Mumbai, and would love to meet you.
DeleteKay of Musings: Gosh! I wonder if you know Ugich of Mumbai who commented earlier.
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