I’ve only got about 36 hours left in Kathmandu before I start the (incredibly long) journey home. Esther left this morning, and I’m pretty much stuck in the city. We visited Chapagaun yesterday, and I was very lucky to get out of there this morning. The fuel shortages are getting out of control, and there are still lots of strikes going on. But let me back up a bit and talk about my trek. Esther, Sarba (our guide), and I set out for Pokhara early last Tuesday, and spent the night there. We had our last decent meal (though it was pretty sub-par chicken tikka masala), and got ready to leave the next morning. The Baglung bus park is where most trekkers catch buses to their various starting points, but we showed up there on Wednesday ... read more

Okay, so it wasn’t MY birthday, it was my host mom’s grandma’s birthday. And it wasn’t her birthday, it was the day she turned 77 years, 7 months, and 7 hours. Anyway, this very important day full of 7s is the first janko (old age ceremony) celebrated by the Newaris (an ethnic group). The other jankos occur at 84 years and 99 years. It’s a huge deal, actually, because not many people live long enough to reach this milestone. A Newari birthday party doesn’t have a big cake, balloons, or presents. Instead, all the female relatives (and volunteers staying with relatives) get dressed up in traditional outfits, the men can wear whatever they want as long as they don a traditional cap, and then everyone tromps around the hometown of the old person, making sure to ... read more

Greetings from Nepal, land of the monsoon! It started on June 10th, and well, there's been a lot of rain. It's not so bad in Kathmandu and in the Valley, but everywhere else, it rains SO much. My clothes are probably permanently mud-splattered, and it's almost pointless to carry an umbrella because you'll get drenched anyway. In the midst of this lovely weather, we decided to take off for another remote village. Well, we didn't think it was that remote. We were told a four hour bus ride from Kathmandu and then a thirty minute walk. Wrong-o, my friends! Apparently it's possible to get to this village (and I don't even know the name of it!) this way, but only outside of the monsoon season. Instead, we had a four and a half hour bus ride, ... read more

Greetings once again from rural Nepal! I had a new partner in crime this week: Sonal, a doctor from Atlanta. We broke out our maps and attempted to hike various trails in our part of the Kathmandu Valley. There aren’t many roads…mostly a bunch of footpaths, so we made do with that. Sonal speaks one of the many languages from India, which is similar to Nepali, so she was able to ask for help when we were lost in random villages. Thank God for that, or I might still be wandering around looking for Bungamati! After finishing up our respective activities at the health center (nothing terribly exciting to report this week), we’d tie on our hiking shoes, fill up our bottles with boiled water, buy a samosa or jelabi and head out with our two ... read more

We had just planned on spending a relaxed afternoon in Patan, but of course, we got more than we had bargained for. It turns out that Patan (a city right smack next to Kathmandu) is in the middle of hosting its biggest festival, the Rato Machhendranath Festival. They make these gigantic chariots out of what looks like sticks and evergreen boughs. Put it on wheels, stick some flags on top, attach a rope, and voilà! Insta-festival. The chariot actually holds an image of a Nepali Hindu god, Machhendranath. They parade it through the streets of Patan for a full month because they believe that the god will bring them good rains. The thing I don’t understand is that it’s practically monsooning every day, so I’m not quite sure how much more rain they’re praying for. These ... read more