Today I just wanted to share some of the favourite things we have bought while we have lived overseas. We haven’t been that great at collecting items – we just didn’t have time in Pakistan (we were only there for three months before we were evacuated) and there just wasn’t that much to buy in St Lucia. Unless you wanted to load up with cheap tackiness from the Cruise ship terminals! But look hard enough and know where to go and there’ll always be something worth parting with your money for. I love these items in particular because of their colours, and they brighten up our British-dull home as we await our next oversea Adventure. How about you – do you have any favourites brought back from foreign lands?
Beauitful bright blue shoes from Pakistan
“Jingly jangly” trucks were everywhere in Pakistan. We couldn’t resist buying some mini ones to come home with us.
Wooden masks hand-carved in St Lucia. We would see these along the road-side on journeys along the coast. Eventually we found the man who carved them and I managed to buy a couple just before we left.
I lugged a painting of a mother brushing her daughter’s hair back from Jakarta recently. Ceramic tiles from Italy. Colourful birds and bells on a string from India. Handwoven kente cloth from Ghana (still not sure what to do with this as it’s very delicate!). Blankets from Hyderabad. Beaded Masai wall hangings and our picnic blanket from Kenya. Basically without travelling, I have a very boring house!
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Cloth is always a difficult thing to know what to do with! I had cloth from Cameroon for ages – eventually I used it to make a dressing gown and a tablecloth. I’m hoping we’ll be able to stock up when we go to SA and the surrounding countries – although I think the best tactic is to wait until you’re ready to leave as by then you’ll know what you love the most.
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