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Tegan Ringham
I was hatched and grown in Canada. Now I am uprooting to fly to Norway. I love the outdoors, the sun, and anything to do with water. And I'm into stuff that makes my brain freeze in terror.Norwegian Ridgeback
Travel Blog Posts
March 18th 2012
I will quickly outline our last days in Nepal. The reason for the quickness: the final day and flights home are the more hilarious part of the story. After leaving the plains we arrived, once again, at the blessed mountains. Our final week of ministry was spent in the hills above Pokhara, in the shadow of the breathtaking Annapurna Machapuchare Mountains. We were staying at the Frontier Mission Center, which is a YWAM affiliated thingy; our host was a Norwegian dude named Oyvind. Oyvind lives and works at the FMC, but his real vision is something else. Oyvind has a vision to build a resort up in the hills (the only guesthouse up there). He is calling it the Machapuchare Yak Ranch, and it will be built in the historical Nepali Guesthouse style, and will have ... read more
March 9th 2012
We left the Best Milk Tea EVER (see previous blog entry) and turned our sites on a two small country villages. The first was a bit higher than the plains, but lower than the hills. We had to take another bus ride to get here, but his one was just over an hour, so none of us complained. And instead of a 3 hour hike, we took a man powered cable car across a river. On the other side we shouldered our packs and walked for a whopping 10 minutes, arriving at a quaint farming village. Our host family was nothing but gracious. They evicted themselves from their own house, their own rooms, to give us beds and the floor to sleep on, and they cooked for 5 days to fill our hungry bellies. We were ... read more
March 9th 2012
Before I describe the earth shattering experience of tasting the Best Milk Tea Ever, one must first have a proper understanding of what Milk Tea is. Upon observation, Milk Tea to Nepal seems to be what Chai is to India. I don't know if the 2 drinks are similar, or which came first, and since never tasting Chai I cannot attest to its goodness, but I can say, with great confidence, that Milk Tea is one of the best things I have ever tasted. Ever. Milk Tea is a staple in every Nepali household, or at least was in every Nepali home we visited. It is also served in every restaurant we visited. Which was great for me, because drinking it became my hobby of choice. How to make milk tea: The tea used in such ... read more
The Very Flashing Buddha OR "I AM NOT EATING THERE"
Published: March 11th 2012Asia » Nepal » Pokhara » Sarangkot
March 9th 2012
17 hours on a bus from Pokhara to Surkhet. A word about the bus. The bus didn't have much business being called a bus. It was neither clean, nor particularly comfortable, and no one seemed to care about safety precautions because there were double the amount of people inside than should have been. We, luckily, got seats at the last minute, so were able to sit for the entire 17 hour ride. Neither the aisle, nor the window is the better seat in a Nepali bus. If one sits by the window, they are pressed against the cold metal side, with all the dust from the road blowing in their face (the windows rarely close all the way, so this inevitable). The aisle does give slightly more legroom, but the sitter must contend with the Nepali ... read more
January 22nd 2012
Pokhara. We have spent 11 days here, and what a ride it has been. Mainly we have been working with a man named Ram, who runs slum/street kids ministry here in Pokhara. It has been great to go and see the kind of work he is doing here; very inspirational indeed. His "room" is about half the size of a regular North American bedroom, and sometimes there are 30+ children crammed inside, all loud and smelly and rambunctious (just like regular kids). Each day we went and worked with Ram we played music, painted their faces, and put on little skits they would enjoy. What great fun it was :) This week has been filled with many ups and downs. I have been struggling with insane levels of homesickness. Something tells me that after I return ... read more
A Tutorial on Peeing, by Rachael Jade Knudson
Published: January 16th 2012Asia » Nepal » Pokhara » Sarangkot
January 16th 2012
Ever peed in a hole? And no, men, I do not mean you. Ladies? Ever peed in a hole? Those are virtually the only thing available here in Nepal. Now, I have done a lot of camping, but peeing here is a WHOLE other ball game. There is no cosy tree to lean against, or rock to squat beside. Instead, there is a tiled cell with a hole. It is cold. It is dark. It is smelly. And completely hilarious. Now, I needed some help because, after 2 days in Kathmandu I was not able to pee successfully in a hole. I almost peed on myself once, and the other attempt ended in me giving up. Enter, Ms. Rachael Jade Knudson. The peeing tutorial master. Ms. Knudson has regularly had me in stiches during her account ... read more
I am standing by the huge pile of garbage....no, the one with 3 dogs, not 4.
Published: January 12th 2012Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » ThamalJanuary 12th 2012
Nepal? Awesome. Getting there? Worst. Experience. Ever. I left home on Friday Jan 6th at 8am. After a tearful goodbye, when I clung to my mother like a child on their first day of kindergarten, I sat in the float plane terminal in Nanaimo and bawled my face off. To the joy of all other passengers I did so quietly. After a bumpy ride and a quick shuttle to YVR, I lined up to get my boarding pass. Of course, there was a problem with my tickets. Finally, the little Chinese man threw up his hands and said, "I can only print you as far as Kunmig. Get your other boarding pass the next morning before you get on the plane". Alright, I thought. The plane to Shanghai was fine, for everyone except me and my ... read more
December 13th 2011
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES.... I have been back in Canada for 11 days. 11 days for English speaking, eating bagels, seeing sun, and feeling the togetherness that I have so craved. 11 days of feeling weird. 11 days of being so happy to be home. 11 days of not waiting to leave. Because, when you get right down to it, I know that my work away from home isn't finished yet. It just isn't. It's not that I don't like Canada anymore, or that it is boring, or that Norway is so much better... it is simply the knowledge that there is more for me to learn. And the learning is going to happen out there. The there happens in another couple of weeks. I leave for Nepal on Janurary 6th 2012 and arrive in Kathmandu on ... read more
November 30th 2011
This I will miss. The country, yes. The View, yes. But mostly, I will miss the people. because the people are what make everything work. and sometimes not work. but the not working always give s way to coziness. and everything is restored and beautiful and cozy. whether we are sitting aro... read more
November 27th 2011
Mini Outreach Mini Outreach is defined here as "5 days (but we really mean 7) in which all leadership is not present, and the students are thrown out of the school to go out to random islands off the coast of Norway to do stuff." It should be noted that we were put onto teams of 3 (which we did not pick ourselves) and were not given a choice of location. The island of Traena, here we come. We begin on Sunday, November 13th, on a boat (more precisely a ferry). In the middle of a storm. The worst storm. Ever. ON A M*THR ****ING BOAT (ahhhchem. Ferry.) This storm had been storming for a couple of days, but as we waited for the ferry I had this sinking feeling of "DO NOT GET ON THE ... read more
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