Literally.
From Thailand to Pakistan.
And to Blogger, after God knows how many years!
They are talking again about killing Blogger.ba, our Bosnian platform.
***
Nothing has changed in Mae Sot, even after 5 years. Okay, the number of international NGOs working in refugee camps has dwindled down, that's true. But - refugee camps are still there, and the peace negotiations seem to be exactly where they were 5 years ago.
Sara and I loved the freedom of moving around without stares of others (one thing that really sometimes bothers us here in Pakistan). We rented bicycles from Picturebook (yes, they are still there) and went roaming around - old Tesco, new Tesco, Robinson, River Moi market, Canadian Dave's, Bai Fern, Borderline, night market... and loved them all, all-over again!
Seeing May May, Sara's first Nanny who raised her after we first arrived to Mae Sot in 2008 was emotional and heart-breaking. Zoo, May May's husband of many decades, who was more of a grandfather to Sara than her real grandparents in Bosnia and Sri Lanka, died in a hit-and-run accident 3 years ago. This was the first time we came to Mae Sot that we weren't greeted by his gorgeous toothless smile and gentlest eyes in the world. While Sara was beyond happy to see her "Meme" (mommy), not being greeted by Zoo's bear hug and thousand kisses was a killer for her. Three of us hugged each other and cried for a long time, before being able to say any coherent words.
We found that Meme has become even a more "real" migrant than before, spending her time between Yangon and Mae Sot. She told us that Yangon doesn't really feel like a home for her and financially is difficult for her to survive, but Mae Sot is becoming more and more difficult to live as well, without Zoo's support and with frequent police raids.
But then, there were more sweeter moments to savor! Thae Thae came all the way from Yangon to spend few days with us; we saw Ruby; we caught up with Penny, Sonya, Layla...; we had amazing time with Sara's old friends from the homeschooling days, and her first-ever-crash was still around :). And bicycling, of my God, we did so much of it that our legs burned!
***
Islamabad greeted us with mild and not so cold (as expected) 15 C degrees. Not bad for end of November. We did make the fire this morning in my little "library" and enjoyed few hours of sparkling flames.
From Thailand to Pakistan.
And to Blogger, after God knows how many years!
They are talking again about killing Blogger.ba, our Bosnian platform.
***
Nothing has changed in Mae Sot, even after 5 years. Okay, the number of international NGOs working in refugee camps has dwindled down, that's true. But - refugee camps are still there, and the peace negotiations seem to be exactly where they were 5 years ago.
Sara and I loved the freedom of moving around without stares of others (one thing that really sometimes bothers us here in Pakistan). We rented bicycles from Picturebook (yes, they are still there) and went roaming around - old Tesco, new Tesco, Robinson, River Moi market, Canadian Dave's, Bai Fern, Borderline, night market... and loved them all, all-over again!
Seeing May May, Sara's first Nanny who raised her after we first arrived to Mae Sot in 2008 was emotional and heart-breaking. Zoo, May May's husband of many decades, who was more of a grandfather to Sara than her real grandparents in Bosnia and Sri Lanka, died in a hit-and-run accident 3 years ago. This was the first time we came to Mae Sot that we weren't greeted by his gorgeous toothless smile and gentlest eyes in the world. While Sara was beyond happy to see her "Meme" (mommy), not being greeted by Zoo's bear hug and thousand kisses was a killer for her. Three of us hugged each other and cried for a long time, before being able to say any coherent words.
We found that Meme has become even a more "real" migrant than before, spending her time between Yangon and Mae Sot. She told us that Yangon doesn't really feel like a home for her and financially is difficult for her to survive, but Mae Sot is becoming more and more difficult to live as well, without Zoo's support and with frequent police raids.
But then, there were more sweeter moments to savor! Thae Thae came all the way from Yangon to spend few days with us; we saw Ruby; we caught up with Penny, Sonya, Layla...; we had amazing time with Sara's old friends from the homeschooling days, and her first-ever-crash was still around :). And bicycling, of my God, we did so much of it that our legs burned!
***
Islamabad greeted us with mild and not so cold (as expected) 15 C degrees. Not bad for end of November. We did make the fire this morning in my little "library" and enjoyed few hours of sparkling flames.
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