Four thousand stone steps, a sunrise, and the Himalaya Mountains...

Nepal is stunning.  I think that seeing the Himalyas first-hand should be on everyone’s bucket list. Seriously.

This last week, three friends and I embarked on a short trek in the Annapurna Circuit of the Himalaya Mountains.  Our goal was to see the spectacular views from Poon Hill, which is a mere 10,500 feet high.  The first day we set out past small farming villages and rice fields, following a dirt/stone path that slowly began to wind at a steep ascent up into the Annapurna range.  We had faithful dog, whom we named “Old Faithful” follow us for the first five hours of our trek, stopping and waiting when we rested at a tea house for a hearty meal of dhal bhat (rice, lentil soup, fried vegetables, and saag – SO GOOD) and waiting patiently when we stopped to rest our sore feet.  The last two hours were spent climbing a steep (and I mean, STEEP) staircase of a mere 3500 stone steps to reach our first tea house where we would spend the night.  I have never slept so well, or appreciated a hot shower, in my life!  The following day was much of the same: a steep stone staircase up (and at rare moments, down) the sides of the mountains and we climbed closer to our goal: Poon Hill and the extraordinary view of the Himal Annapurna range.  As we slowly but steadily crawled from one mountain to the other we encountered stunning waterfalls of the clearest, coldest mountain water, emerald forests, friendly faces of fellow trekkers, and small, painted villages of blue tea-houses and welcoming Nepali villagers.  Upon finally reaching Ghorepani (the village at the foot of Poon Hill) we finally rested our weary bodies, enjoyed hot chocolate and a fire, and headed straight to bed.  At 4:00am we crawled from our warm beds and prepared for the final 400 meter ascent of Poon Hill, racing the sun in order to watch it rise over the Annapurna Himalayas.  It was hard, hard work, but the views were INCREDIBLE (see photos below).  Pictures cannot do justice; the immensity of the beauty and strength of those mountains, as the clouds slowly recede like the ocean tide to reveal snow capped mountains tipped in blazing orange and pink as the sun slowly climbs into the sky – it is breath-taking.  

The next two days found us slowly descending (who would have thought going down took so much energy and concentration?  There were many times I thought I would just pitch headfirst down the mountain…especially with all those pesky loose stone steps I found!)  But the sights were just as beautiful: mountain jungles, rhododendron forests, some wild ponies, and more tea-houses with gracious Nepali hosts/hostesses.  At the end of our trek my legs hurt as they have never hurt in my life, but I can understand the thrill of the climb and why there are people who have done both ABC (Annapurna Base Camp), EBC (Everest Base Camp) and Everest itself multiple times.  The mountains are a wild and dangerous place, but that only enhances the beauty and wonder of what you find there.  Thank you Lord for creating something that can give us a glimpse of what it is behold something so beautiful and majestic, yet terrifying.

Ok, back to the everyday life and chaos of Kathmandu….!  Enjoy the pictures :)

During the sunrise....

Just before the sunrise....have no idea who this man is, but he adds some perspective and depth to the picture...

Just to prove that the above photos are not stolen from google, and that I really, actually was there.  (Mom, this one is especially for you!)

A soul that was charmed...

"Beggars Heart"

You changed my mind

You said something I had never heard

Something that is too high

It's left me limping and in wonder

Because all the things I know

Suddenly seem so small

When You build, it feels like You tear me apart

When you heal, it always leaves a scar

And even when You fill, You leave me with a beggar's heart

Hands reaching through barred windows

Falling asleep on the sidewalk

You say You draw near to the low

Now I'm here, I know I'm not low enough

Because all the things I know

Suddenly seem so small

When You build, it feels like You tear me apart

When you heal, it always leaves a scar

And even when You fill, You leave me with a beggar's heart

-Bethany Dillon

A few big changes....

Jaymasi!

I feel a little like a drifter or a hobo...I am in the process of house-sitting for a few different people here in KTM and that means I have been living out of a backpack for the last couple of weeks.  Now I am "permanently" at a friend's apartment for the next month while she is gone for work - her flat is at the very top of a six-story building, which means lots of stairs :)  I'll be there by myself, which means I get lots of practice in learning to live alone in Nepal! I get to deal with water shortages, installing new gas cans, killing giant roaches and spiders all by myself (well, I don't know about that one-I might be calling someone for assistance, especially if the bug is a spider), and working with a Didi (house-help) who speaks NO English.  It will be great language practice I suppose!

...speaking of language: classes are going very well.  Klaas, Dineke, and I are learning lots of vocab and key phrases for functioning on a day-to-day basis in Nepal.  We are enjoying getting to know our language teacher's family more, and even went to a Nepali wedding with them yesterday.  The wedding was beautiful - the couple were a Christian, so they mimicked a western wedding ceremony.  The bride chose to wear white instead of red, the traditional wedding/marriage color for a bride's clothing.  The food was incredible, including a dessert of fried syrup with yogurt (SO GOOD, trust me).  However, a storm hit before the festivities had finished, and since everything in Nepal is done out of doors, we all go soaked :)  But it was still a great time!

Earlier this week I experienced my first "bundh", or strike.  If any of you like to follow world news, you may have heard that Nepal is in the process of re-writing its constitution, and there a few different people groups who would like to have certain legal rights included.  However, their wishes have been largely ignored, and thus there was a strike.  I went out at 6am with a friend for our morning bike ride and there were NO VEHICLES OF ANY KIND on the roads! It was crazy, there were just a few people out walking, where as normally the city streets are already full of people and vehicles, dust, honking, etc.  As we headed back to our neighborhood we noticed military guys stretching barbed wire across the main roads; therefore I decided to take a vacation from language class and my other commitments and spend time at home.  It was really nice - is it weird to hope for another bundh?  Maybe....but a forced vacation day is SO nice and guilt-free :)

When I have a better internet connection I will upload a video from language class, as well as more pictures....pheri beTaula!

Charging cows, chaar and chaa, and a conference thrown in for good measure....

Jaymasi!


Life has started to calm down just a bit, but here are a few highlights from the last three weeks....


1.  Conference: we had a wonderful conference in Badanthilkantha (northern KTM) where all of our staff came for a four day conference and retreat.  We were VERY busy fitting everything into schedule, and I'll admit I have never been so tired in my life (which is what happens when you volunteer for all the committees, help out with worship, MC, and help organize the whole thing in general!) but it was fantastic.  I finally was able to meet the majority of my colleagues, who are from all over the world :)  They are amazing people who inspire me and leave me feeling honored to be able to work with them and serve them.  At the end of the conference, I had the same bittersweet feeling you get when you are saying goodbye to relatives after a vacation....many of these people/families I won't get to see again until next year at conference, as they work far away in very remote areas of Nepal.


2.  Language Class!  I have 'officially' started my "for real" language class :)  Two dutch friends and I are being tutored by a Nepali man and his family by use of the Greg Thompson method.  Basically, this method is non-academic and mimics language learning methods used by young children: in short, you learn to recognize sounds and actions through games and interaction...your homework involves going out into the city and interacting with Nepalis (whether at a restaurant, the supermarket, your taxi driver, etc.) and reporting back on your experiences.  I'm very excited about it, and our teacher says that we are doing very well, which is always encouraging!  I did have a bit of trouble with "chaar" and "chaa": the first word means 'four' and second means 'six' - and let me tell you, they sound EXACTLY THE SAME.  It is very humbling to work for a half hour on pronouncing '1-10' correctly!


3. Cows....Yesterday a friend and I rode our bikes down to the General Mailing in KTM in order to pick up a package.  The bike ride is about a half hour both ways.  As we were zipping around the corner of a chowk (roundabout) we (me, my friend, and a rickshaw driver) almost crashed into a pack of charging cows in the middle of the road!  There was lots of shouting, honking, swerving...but we all got out ok, even the rickshaw driver.  That night at dinner, we all laughed about how the biggest hazard on the road is COWS....and potholes the size of craters.  Ah, life in Kathmandu!!!!


I am seriously beginning to fall in love with this place....

ke bhayo?

jamasi!


My my, so many things to write about!  My life here in Nepal is most definitely a constant paradox: there are both moments of extreme hilarity, and extreme sadness as I am thrown against a culture and religion that is so tangibly LOST.  


To start, a few moments of pure hilariousness:
1.  A friend and I biked to a bakery in order to purchase some sort of dessert for a dinner party we were invited to.  I was inspecting desserts in the cooler that resembled something like a very large swiss cake roll.  Looking at the sahuniji (female shopkeeper), I asked "ke bhayo?".... what I meant to ask was "what is this" or "yo ke ho?", but instead I pointed at the cake and asked her "what happened?"  She gave me a very confused, slightly offended look, and my lovely American friend jumped to my rescue, asking her the correct the question.  I shared this story at our staff meeting on Friday, and everyone loved it, assuring me that there will be many awkward moments to come!


2.  While driving in a taxi, a friend of mine asked the other passenger and I "how do you say 'stop' in nepali?"  Simultaneously, both of us replied "roknus!", at which point the taxi driver slammed on his brake (my forehead almost hit the dash) in the middle of the road!  Luckily he was good-natured and got quite a laugh out of our "nepali bhashaa practice" :D


3.  Early in the morning I was walking to language class, and was almost run over by a motorcyclist...ok not usually funny, but this particular gentlemen had his helmet on askew, and was belting out a nepali song at the TOP OF HIS LUNGS...I can't believe I almost died for the sake of a Nepali love ballad.


Sobering moments:
1.   I visited a temple with a friend about two weeks ago...it was the strangest thing: there were so many videshis (foreigners) leisurely strolling around with their cameras, taking pictures of both the temple and the Nepalis, who were frantically scurrying around the temple desperately attempting to spin each and every prayer wheel on the hopes that one of their gods will acknowledge their prayers.  What struck me about this was the looks on these people's faces: FEAR.  Fear that their cries will not be heard or acknowledged, that their cosmic deities really have no interest in their hopes, dreams, and fears.  Laughing videshis taking pictures of a people group desperately trying to appeal to their gods....I couldn't stomach it.  What a privilege to know the ONE TRUE God who knows each and every hair on our heads! Every prayer is heard, and every prayer is answered.  Do we know how blessed we are?  I think most of us take our Lord and His constant care and provision on a daily basis for granted...and this includes me.  But at times maybe we find it easier to take something so amazing for granted rather than be overwhelmed by the enormity of it every day...


My Lord God,
Your attention and guardianship are overwhelming to me!
That nothing in this world or the supernatural realms can touch me without your permission
is completely beyond my frail, human comprehension.
Grant your servant the ability to live each day in this reality; 
to take risks, to seek the lost, and love the un-lovable.
For we are immortal until the moment we complete on Earth the tasks which You created us for.
To You all alone be all glory and honor!

Our place within Your liturgy....

Prayer flags at Swayambu

"After the football game...."


While at the end, the immense crowd flowed laboriously into the narrow streets, I reflected, Lord, that human history, for us a long game, is to you this great liturgy...
A prodigious ceremony initiated at the dawn of time, which will end only when the last celebrant has completed his final rite.


In this world, Lord, we each have our place.
You, the far-sighted coach, have planned it for us.
You want us here, and our brothers need us, as we need them.


It isn't the position I hold that is important, Lord, but the reality and strength of my presence.
What difference whether I am forward or back, as long as I am fully what I should be?


Here, Lord, is my day before me...
Did I sit too much on the sidelines, criticizing the play of others, my hands in my pockets?
Did I cooperate with my team without seeking the limelight?
Did I battle to the end despite set-backs and throw-backs?


I come in now to rest in the pavilion, Lord.
Tomorrow, if you kick off, I'll play a new position.
And so each day...
Grant that this game, played with all my brothers, may be the imposing liturgy that you expect of us,
so that when your last whistle interrupts our lives, we shall be chosen for the championship of Heaven.


-Anonymous


Snapshots.....

Prayer wheels at the Swayambu temple (Buddhism)

Burnt Offerings....

Burning of paper...unsure if the women wrote prayers or sins on these slips of paper before the burning.

deep in thought....

Santhi and Esther, my guides for the Kathmandu Zoo

dogs, motorcycles, and temples oh my....!

Well it has been eventful last couple weeks to say the least!

First, my roommate for the next three months arrived, which means not only a partner in crime for cultural and city orientation, but also the start of language classes!  We started on Monday, and our lovely teacher Chalita is very gracious and kind, and talks v....e...rr...y s....low.....ly for her "bidishi bidhyaartis" (foreign students).  Here is a brief recap of some sentences I can put together:
Mero naam Meghann ho.
Mero desh America ho.
Ma Kathmandumaa, Patanmaa, Dhobighatmaa baschuu.
Ma Nepali baashaa sikchhu, ma bidhyaarti hu.
Mero jholako rang seto, raato, ru kaalo chha.

Translation:
My name is Meghann
I am from America.
I live in Kathmandu, in the suburb Patan, at/near the dhobighat.
I am learning Nepali; I am a student.
My purse is white, red, and black.

CLEARLY I am well on my way to effortless fluency.  You have no idea how much I can with just that little amount of Nepali ;)

Anyways, Jessica, my roommate is wondeful! We have been having a great time.  She will be here for three months teaching some of our mother tongue translators (MTTs) how to improve their English and professional writing skills.

New subject: DOGS.  Apparently the dogs in KTM have determined that white foreigners can usually be dependable for small food handouts and to NOT throw rocks at you.  Therefore, dogs will sometimes attach themselves to foreigners who are out walking on the streets.  This usually isn't too much of an issue, but tonight my friend and I had a small female dog get so attached to us that she followed us for almost a half hour, waiting outside the bank for us, crossing the busy jawalakelchowk (roundabout) with us, etc.  The reason became clear very quickly: every time we passed a male dog, of which there are many, they would snap, growl, chase, and try to EAT HER until we had passed...I was certain that both the dog and my leg were probably gonna get chomped on.  I have never been so relieved to go to a restaurant as I was when we finally ditched the dog for some yummy Chinese food.

Motorcycles...sometimes, they just get a bit too close for comfort.  Maybe its my western "personal space bubble" kicking in, and there a few other reasons, but motorcycles are starting to make me jumpy.  Guess I'll just have to take the plunge and purchase one myself....if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! :)

Yesterday we visited the Patan Durbar square.  It is a beautiful and clean square in the center of Monghol Bazaar which houses both temples boasting stunning Newari wood carvings, and the residence of the former Royal family.  There were many nepali youngsters hanging out listening to music, old folks smoking and chatting, and foreigners enjoying good food at the museum cafe and taking lots of pictures (of course!)  See pictures for examples of some of the temples...there is also a picture of my friend Stephanie and I in our new kurtas (traditional female nepali outfit) and a shot of our street with the Himalayas in view.

Stephanie and me!

One of the temples....

Another temple....

Can you see the mountains?

To finish off, its been a great, yet exhausting couple of weeks.  Thank you all so much for your prayers and support - the community I have found and friends are most definitely blessings from God and results from prayers!  Please continue to pray that God will loosen my tongue and sharpen my mind with language learning, and that I will continue to learn and discover all that God wants to reveal to me in this city.  Namaste...