Our Town and Family

I wanted to take some time to introduce you all to where Passang and I live and the family we live with.

The town we live in is called Anden, but you won't find that on any maps.  However, you will find the nearby town of Sombaria.  We live in the state of Sikkim in India.

http://goo.gl/maps/1BL7k

Anden is in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains, so everything around us is on BIG hills.

Here's a view of the hills from Anden.

Here is the house where we live.  Our house is the one at the bottom of the picture.  The group of houses just above ours is where Passang's mom and sister live with their families, and his brother's house is the small one at the very top.

Here's a closer view of our house

Here are all the people who live in our house

Left to right is Passang's father (his name is Pur Dorjee, we call him Papa. SF (Sherpa Fact): Papa is Sherpa for father), Passang's brother Dawa (we call him Daju. SF: Daju is Nepali for older brother), Passang, me, our niece Snowly, and our sister-in-law Tshering Doma (I call her Didi.  SF: Didi is Nepali for older sister).

As you can tell, a lot of our family lives either with us or really close to us.  This is really different from American culture, but it's really common around here.  It's taking me a little bit of time to get used to this kind of living situation, but so far I'm liking it.  It definitely makes it easier to get to know everyone when they're all right there.  And there is always someone around to talk with (or, for me, attempt to talk with) or have a cup of tea with.  It has been great to have Passang's sister-in-laws and sister around to show me how things are done!  I don't know what I would do without them!  I'm so thankful for my new family!