Just an Update

It's monsoon season in Nepal, and with the change of weather I thought it would be a good time to send an update about life in South Asia and what's on the horizon for Steffen and me. I know what you're thinking - it's Steffen and I - but it's not, so come on people, focus. 

This is not an update of epic proportions. There are no babies on the way, so let's just get that out in the open right now. But we did have a wedding anniversary in Thailand, which was gorgeous.

Uh oh, we're starting to match

Part of the reason we decided to rendezvous in Thailand was that Steffen has been working there for the past four weeks. So, BOO for Steffen's boss making him travel on our anniversary, but YAY for giving Steffen the weekend off to explore the island of Phuket with me. 

It's cool to wear a helmet

The second reason we decided to take a trip to Thailand together is because this November will mark one year since we moved to Nepal, and we have decided to wrap up a fantastic year, and move on. 

Just like the baby disclaimer, I'll spare the parents and grandparents the suspense and get this out there right away- We are not quite ready to move back to the States yet. We are just too good at being abroad. The languages, the foods, the constant challenge to figure things out and learn the ropes. We want another adventure, and as of right now the front runners are Thailand and Singapore. 

Why Thailand and Singapore? 

Mostly because Steffen is always traveling around Southeast Asia for work. I know what you're thinking - "Didn't you move to Nepal for Steffen's work?" Yes, but we chose Nepal over a lot of other more practical options because, well, it was the most adventurous one! We figured that now was the best time to be somewhere like Nepal because we're young, used to roughing it, and able to enjoy the place in spite of constant political turmoil, cat food shortages, lack of electricity, etc. 

I think we would stay in Nepal for a while if Steffen didn't have to travel so much. We have a nice routine here and there is still so much we haven't seen. I have an amazing job here that I love and owe much of my professional development to. But alas, we did the long distance thing for long enough to know that we can make it, but also long enough to never want to do it again.

I have a few leads on jobs in both countries, and (for all of the Nevadans out there) even had an interview today with UNLV-Singapore. Yes, they have a campus in Singapore! So, look for an update soon on where we decide to move. 

In the meantime, [drum roll please] we are planning on coming home for a trip this winter. There is no itinerary yet and Steffen will be working remotely for a lot of the time. Tentatively we will be on the West coast during a couple of weeks of Thanksgiving time, and in the Midwest for a couple of weeks of Christmas time. Let the planning begin.

An Ode to Visitors

For my entire adult life and a good portion of my youth, I have fantasized about my sisters and I all being grown up, paired off with dazzlingly attractive mates, and having glamorous adventures together. This past April, one such dream was realized....

in...
Angelina and Travis's 
Epic Visit to Nepal

When you live abroad, you always fantasize that people will visit you so that you can show off what a savvy member of the host community you have become. Believe it or not, previously the only visits I had had abroad were in 2005 when my BFF Aimee visited me in Europe where I displayed mostly my inability to function in cold weather, and lack of knowledge about the Autobahn; and in 2009 and 2010 when Steffen braved two Kazakh winters to be with me, and I again had trouble functioning in sub zero temperatures. 

Both visits featured my loved ones and I being pickpocketed (actually, digital cameras in both cases), and both visits were just way too cold. But without those visits my stints abroad would have been incomplete, and I have rarely felt more loved than when waiting nervously to pick these two up from the airport.

And then, a few months ago, there Steffen and I were at the Kathmandu airport, welcome wreaths of marigolds in hand per Hindu tradition, waiting nervously for my sister Angelina and her husband Travis to emerge warily from the relative safety of the Arrivals terminal and out into the chaos of the city.

Luckily, there were no robberies reported when Angel and Travis came to Nepal. But, as Travis will testify for all eternity, there was one very cold night spent at 3400 meters in a too-small sleeping bag in a tent covered in hail.

Part of my work is taking the occasional field visit to the various rural communities my organization supports. Angel and Travis's visit was the perfect time to visit our most popular placement, "the monastery in the mountains" - a small Buddhist nunnery in a village called Bigu.

Bigu is about 7km from the Tibetan border, and as such, the air is thick with spiritual ethos and the promise that there is a meaning of life to be learned. After a seven hour jeep ride from Kathmandu to the town that serves as a trail head, and two incredibly long and arduous days of back country trekking, the remoteness and serenity of Bigu was perfection.

Sure, there were some bumps along the way - the sleeping bags we had rented for Angel and Travis were about two feet too short, and the Chinese knockoff Thermarest that we got Travis was fully deflated before he was able to nod off. Stef and I were psyched to get some use out of our camping equipment, especially the new 2+ tent and camp hammock...but we regretted opting out of the rustic tea house lodge when a hail storm started in the middle of the night. This mistake was not repeated on the trek back down, and the we gladly kept the camping gear packed in exchange for the warmth of the tea house (attributed mostly to the newspaper pasted all over the walls for insulation, and kitchen fire pumping carbon monoxide throughout the structure).

Hands down though, nothing beats sitting with your childhood best friend (sister) and adulthood best friend (hubs), and awesome brother in law, dangling your feet off a 3400 meter ridge in the Himalayas.

An Ode to My Job

A recent article reflecting on my work in Nepal:

http://www.volunteernepal.net/blog/2012/06/28/reflecting-first-half-2012

Me and the staff of Volunteer Nepal in Kathmandu

Past the Three-Month Mark

It's been a pretty eventful three months in Nepal. I don't know what I expected, but this ain't it.

Kathmandu is not a peaceful city. It is loud and overcrowded. I am reminded of the old tale of a wise professor filling a large jar to the top with stones and asking his students if it was full. Of course they fall for it and most say yes, and then he pours in pebbles to fill all of the spaces, and asks again. About half still fall for it, and say the jar is full, and then he goes on to blow their minds by adding sand, and then finally brings it home by pouring in water.

His moral is that you can fit all kinds of things into your life, but you have to take care of the big things first because they won't fit if the little things are already in the way. All I think about when I hear this story now is the streets of Kathmandu.

Add just the cars and trucks, and Lazimpat road- the main road in my neighborhood- looks not too different from any road back home. Those are the big stones. Then you've got rickshaws, most of them motorized on this road, but sometimes rigged to bicycles. And speaking of bicycles, there are also the people who have strapped a massive bookshelf to their bicycle, and are slowly walking in down the street to some unapparent destination. Then, like the sand rushing in to fill all of the empty spaces, are the thousands of motorcycles, always weaving, cutting in, swerving, with two, three, and sometimes a family of four people riding on one bike.

Coming to the main road from my small street, I see the road as most of the students saw the jar of stones. My brain tells me that it is full. But then people push past me (politely - gotta love the Nepalese), and proceed to glide into empty spaces, timing their advances with the moving vehicles, crossing the street in a feat that looks like it belongs on some Japanese obstacle course reality show.

I'm still terrified enough of traffic that I wait for comically long periods of time to cross the street, but it is funny how my brain now sees that big jar full of stones, pebbles, sand, and water, and feels no shock. And sure enough, as I pass a goat tied to a telephone pole in this urban center, or a monkey traipsing along the electrical cables, I know that there must be some type of molecule that could be injected into that full jar to make it even fuller.

Latest news:

• I'm hiring staff for the Volunteer Nepal office..."How to conduct an interview" is now on my Favorites tab
• Steffen leaves Monday for New Zealand. He'll work for a few weeks, and then I'll fly over in March!
• Motorbike has happened. We took a road trip to Bhaktapur (UNESCO world heritage site, Newari village). We wore helmets!
• Kathmandu is in the middle of a gas, petrol, water, electricity, and cat food shortage. The power is out around 11-14 hours per day, and people sit in line all day to fill their gas tanks. The cats are in heaven because we're feeding them tuna, chicken, and the occastional Puppy Chow (which, oddly, is abundantly available).

R.I.P. Chaka

Chaka passed right before Christmas, from an unknown genetic disorder that claimed two kittens from her litter. She will be remembered for her insistence on talking while eating, and her cute tiger stripes. R.I.P. Chaka.