Back to Nepal!

As I write this, I am standing at a charging station in the Doha Transfer Terminal.  On a brief aside, this is arguably the worst airport ever, and being stuck here for 14 hours after a 15 hour flight Houston is not the greatest thing in the world.  That said, I’m in a surprisingly good mood, and am getting increasingly excited for my return to Surkhet!  The past two months have been a whirlwind, but an absolute blast.  I think the grand finale might have been the highlight of the trip as I was honored to be a groomsman in my great friend Andrew Haas’ wedding.  We had a wonderful weekend, and it was such a great way to end my 2 month “vacation” from Nepal.  For those of you who don’t know Andrew he is one of the more thoughtful people I’ve ever met, and for his groomsman gift he decided to sponsor Monica from Kopila valley!  I was extremely touched by this incredible gesture.

In other news, I will be getting into Nepal at 435 today, and then jump on the first flight out of Kathmandu Thursday morning!  Between the kids, staff, and volunteers I am ecstatic to see everyone’s faces.  After living with people for 6 months its amazing how close you get.  I view the fellows as some of my best friends in the world, the staff as family, and the kids as some of the most amazing young people I’ve ever met.  While I was home, I was able to show off pictures and stories of my time in Nepal and was giddy each time I had the chance to talk about it…alright, maybe not EVERY time (it can get tedious saying the same story a million times!), but I certainly could never get sick of saying how much I love the kids and the people at Kopila Valley. 

I will be sure to update the blog with increasing frequency now that I’m getting back!  Hope everyone is doing great.

Catching up!

Well its forever since my last blog post, so I figured I’d catch up on everything that has gone on during the past month.  Since we left India my brother and I visited Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Hong Kong.  The trip was amazing, and we got lucky at a few stops away including in Phuket, when the hotel upgraded us to an ocean front suite, with our own private pool!  We also got bumped up to business class on our way from Hong Kong to San Francisco, so I think we really had some great Karma during the last leg of the trip.  During our adventures, I would say my favorite stop along the way was the Taj Majal in Agra, India.  That said, India was easily the most challenging country we visited and I would suggest going elsewhere if you’re wanting to have a “relaxed” trip.  Beyond the Taj Majal, the temples of Angkor were amazing, along with Ha Long bay in Northern Vietnam.  Beyond the site seeing we had some great times in Phuket , Singapore, and Hong Kong.  The highlight of the tail end of our trip was meeting up with some of my friends from the States in Hong Kong for Easter weekend.  We had a blast, and it was great catching up with everything.

 

Angkor Wat

Halong Bay

After saying goodbye to those friends, Bobby and I took the flight to San Francisco to meet up with my Dad and Sister.  As you can imagine, we were tremendously jet lagged by the time in, and the 15 hour time difference certainly took a toll.  Despite the jet lag, we enjoyed a wonderful day in San Francisco, and spent some time at the Golden Gate Bridge, Union Square, and other notable San Francisco destinations.  Following our day in San Francisco we worked our way up the cost stopping off in Napa, Eureka, Eugene, Portland, and ultimately in San Francisco where we dropped off Bobby.  After saying goodbye to Bobby I took the cross country trip back to DC, where my sister picked me up from the airport.  The first night back in DC was surreal to say the least.  I think the biggest change was not the city but my perspective.  While nothing has changed, and I went with Mary to one of my favorite restaurants (Cactus Cantina), I have changed and it took me a little while to put a finger on what was making me feel a little off.  The following day I had a tour DE force of sorts, going to work in the morning, to lunch with friends, getting my suits ready, and then dinner with some other people before heading to the airport.  Which brings me to now, I am currently in Louisville Kentucky where I’ve been working since Monday!  While it was probably a bit too quick of a turnaround, I’m happy to report my skills have not completely left me, and I was able to jump back into a project in stride.  My old company has been tremendously helpful with regards to giving the chance to get some work in, which is wonderful with respects to the bank account!  I even wore my Nepali made suit on my first day back to work.

 

Golden Gate Bridge

As for the rest of my trip back to the states, I will be in Kentucky again next week, then DC for a few days before heading to Houston for one of my best friends weddings.  Following the wedding I will be jumping on a plane to Doha and headed back to Nepal!  Lots more updates and Blogs to come!

Friends!