seesomethingnew

i've spent the last 10 or so days at a tibetan-refugee settlement in the solukhumbu region of nepal, with intentions of researching the way people practice farming there. i got off the plane and started walking, not really knowing how to get there, and having no map or guide. i just kept stopping and pointing ahead, asking "chailsa?" (the name of the settlement) to everyone i passed. i eventually got there, after a 2 hour walk uphill and went in search of a man named norbu to whom my teacher had written a letter. norbu is his friend and this letter was asking him to help me during my time there. i was directed to his sister, who took me further uphill to norbu's house. we found him sleeping (and drunk, i think). he read the ... read more

i am sitting in the saturday cafe in kathmandu. norah jones is playing in the background and i am surrounded by handmade clothes and shelves filled with books in a language i can read! there are quotes painted on the wall by mark twain and thomas edison. it's hard to believe i'm in nepal. i just ordered some tomato lentil soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, so i will type as i wait for my food to come. it's day three in kathmandu and i am falling more and more in love with this place every moment. i can't exactly explain it other than to say nepal has a much different energy than india and i feel so much more at peace here. more at peace than i've been since i left the united states over ... read more

another week in india this one has seemed to go by rather quickly. the routine of school helps with that, considering we are in class all day five days a week. i am enjoying my monday off, sitting in a cafe watching the rain coming down outside, finishing a cup of gingerlemonhoney tea. i just bought a bunch of techno/electronic music on itunes and am definitely jamming over here in this dimly lit corner. one thing that i have to make note of that i'm noticing in terms of cultural differences is that here it's apparently ok to stand over someone's shoulder and and look at what they're doing on their computer. example: the guy that works here just stood over my shoulder for a good couple of minutes just chilling and watching me. i hope ... read more

dharamsala, day...3? after a 12 hour train ride, a four hour jeep ride (one hour spent stalled on the side of the road in an indian village waiting for women protesting against not being paid for 10 months to clear the streets) we arrived in dharamsala a few days ago. our first meal that day was dinner, at the momo cafe across the street from our hotel which is right in the middle of town. in the middle of the meal it started pouring and the electricity went out all over the city (this is a frequent occurance). water was rushing through the streets like a river, and even came in through the door of the restaraunt. the past few days we've spent finishing up orientaion; language classes take place in the local kindergarden which i ... read more

this place is hot the air is thick drivers move fast beeping horns make presence known they speed in tight spaces weaving in and out of one another creating chaos that somehow makes sense tragedy averted! death by elevator avoided! deep breaths stay calm we'll get through this if we can and learn to laugh about it later transportation fails collectively too heavy we all ate too much... read more

Hello from India to all the people I love so travel blogs are a great thing to get started on when you wake up at 430am after a solid two days of traveling when you're body thinks it's something like 8pm the day before it actually is. main lesson that i've learned so far: time travel is possible. it's real. and now i can say i've done it. after tearful and loving goodbyes i got on the plane in boston and flew to los angeles. i got in around 830pm and wasn't flying out until 145am. after some time on the computer, goodbye phone calls, more tears, a gin and tonic, and some reading it was time to go to hong kong. i had prepared myself for something seriously awful when thinking about a 14 hour ... read more