A Short Story

I have one more story I want to tell about Nepal. Sheesh..... I can't seem to let that place go!

This is a story about one little girl. Her name is Mindo Tamang and she is an orphan. As I have said before, there are many problems in Nepal, and one of them is the overwhelming number of kids without parents. Parents die of disease or many leave their children because they don't have the means to take care of them. Some children end up in orphanages, where they are provided with food and shelter. Otherwise, many will live the life of an outcast, where they have to beg in order to survive. While there are many orphanages in Nepal, there is just as much corruption in these organizations. I am a kid person, I love them. Sometimes I relate better to kids, than I do to adults, and it breaks my heart to think about a suffering child. I felt the desire to help in some way, but I didn't know how...


Then I met her. While trekking in the Langtang region, we came to a small village of only 4 guest houses. As we approached the one we stayed in, I noticed this young girl carrying a baby on her back. I was immediately struck by her and couldn't take my eyes off the pair. Later that evening, while talking to the owner of the guest house, we learned that this girl, Mindo, is an orphan. The owner told us that Mindo's mother and father split up, and both left her. The mother has had many men, and also has many children that she leaves in different villages. The owner told us this was a big problem. He doesn't want to take care of this girl, he already has raised 5 of his own children and given them the best he could. Mindo is a burden to him, and it shows. Although I think he is a good person, he is looking out for the best interests of his own family. The extra money it costs to support Mindo, is something that he resents. Mindo tries to help, bringing in fire wood, stoking the fire, but she is treated like a pest. I try to be understanding, but I feel sorry for this little girl. Her options in life aren't good... she's unwanted and uneducated. She doesn't even speak Nepali, only the local language of her village.

I stay awake all night, my mind spinning with ideas of how I can help Mindo. Amazingly, the day before we met a gentleman from England who supports an orphanage in Kathmandu and he is staying in the guest house next to ours. I get up in the morning and ask him if there are any options for Mindo, if there is any space in his orphanage? There is also the problem of money, I can give some money, but know I can't support her for the next 10 years. We've already heard the sad stories of tourists trying to help, giving money to support kids in the short term, but then not following through. I don't want to do that.

After talking with the English man, Andy, I call the orphanage. They don't have space and they don't have money. There is also the problem of Mindo not speaking Nepali, and that she only knows mountain life. She has never seen a car, let alone lived in a crazy busy city like Kathmandu. Which life would be better? The option of an orphanage would at least give her an education and maybe some hope for a better future.

The story continues... we run into Andy again on the trail and he tells me that money is not a problem, that his community near Oxford England can pay for Mindo to go to an orphanage! This is incredible to me! With this in mind, the orphanage can find space in a different home for her. The orphanage is affiliated with a guiding service, and they can come and pick her up and take her back to Kathmandu (the guide even speaks her language,Tamang)! In the orphanage, she would get new clothes, food every day, a roof over her head, and a decent education. It's all coming together, but I'm wondering if it is my place to change this girl's life. Again my mind is reeling! We still don't know what is going to happen, and when we leave the mountains, I give Mindo my fleece and the owner some money for shoes and books. I tell them we have to wait and see....


Since then, the pieces have been put in motion. A guide went up to the village to get Mindo, but unfortunately the owner asked to put one of his own children in the orphanage instead of Mindo. Then he asked if he could have the money to support Mindo himself. Like I said, he has his own best interests in mind. I knew it couldn't be so simple and I still don't know what exactly will happen.... Either ending of this story will be hard on Mindo, but I believe if she does get into the orphanage there will be hope. With an education, maybe her life will turn around.

I learned some of my own lessons from this experience. Even though I still wonder what will be best for Mindo, I am amazed at how it all has fallen in place. I am reminded of the power of intention, and how life comes together when you put your ideas out there. I've experienced this same power of serendipity with the Global Library project (right, Kelly?) and I am trying to trust that things will happen the way they are meant to.

The rest of the story is to be continued....
Erin

Global Library Ebook from Nepal

Hey. I wanted to post the ebook that Drew and I created in Nepal with students. If you want to hear more about the experience, you can read our blog post on November 25, titled Trekking in the Annapurna Region.

For those of you who don't know, The Global Library is a project that was thought of by Kelly Keena and myself, and is made possible by the ebook software created by a former professor of Kelly's, Mike McGuffee. The idea is to create books with students from around the world, focusing on their communities. These books can then be sent to the schools and each student receives a copy to take home. The hope is to provide access to literacy for students that don't have many books, and it also gives them a medium to express their pride in their communities. These books can then be shared between schools across the globe, linking cultures through the eyes and words of kids! It really is a dream project for me, combining cultural and environmental awareness for both the students we work with and for my own understanding. It also feels like a way to give back to the communities we visit, which is something that has become more and more important to me while traveling.

To view the ebook copy and paste the link below into the address bar. I hope you enjoy it!!!

http://send.realebooks.com/?bH=d63&c=e3bd7f57

Erin

Our Visit with Ben and Casey - In their Words

Hope everyone is fat and happy after big Christmas feasts and enjoying some quality time with friends and family before 2007 is a wrap. We're going to switch it up and offer some guest commentary on our blog this time around. We figure some fresh voices will be good. I assure you, it has nothing to do with lack of motivation.

As you know, we're staying with our friends Ben and Casey in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They are good friends of ours with whom I went to college at Bucknell. They're in Malaysia for a year and a half while Casey does research for her Ph.D. thesis in the field of medical anthropology. Without having to work any sort of 9-5 jobs, they're pretty much fully funded through grants so it's a good gig they have going.

The other key piece of background is that my good friend Ben who is an otherwise healthy and robust 31-year-old like myself had a stroke in July. That's right, a stroke. It was a crazy development out of nowhere which initially left him paralyzed on his left side. He has since made a miraculous and speedy recovery and is now walking around on his own and leading a very normal life. He continues to improve and regain strength and coordination day by day. The way he and Casey have handled it has been absolutely amazing and incredibly courageous. To let you know just how amazing his recovery has been, we actually went bowling a few nights ago and the dude beat me in the first game, 145-142! It's not like I had too bad a game either; it was amazing!

It's been a real pleasure to spend some quality time with Ben and Casey, and we owe them dearly for opening up their home to us for a few weeks. Without further ado (and without their approval), I'm going to steal the last two posts from their blog (www.bchilliard.blogspot.com) and reproduce them here. Casey, that doesn't break any academic plagiarism rules, now does it?

Let the Fun Begin - Casey's Post, 12.16.07

Hey, everyone. How is it going? I hope the fast approaching holiday season has everyone feeling happy and joyful not harried and crazy. We are doing our best to capture the spirit here, though its not easy with the absence of family and cold weather. Somehow palm trees and 90 degree weather do not scream Merry Christmas. No matter though, we do have our friends in town and lots of love and joy in our hearts so we won't be feeling like complete scrooges this holiday season.
So its true, Erin and Drew arrived late Wednesday evening and we are so happy to have them here. We are doing our best to show them what Malaysia is all about. So far we made them an all American breakfast of greasy eggs, bacon, hash browns, and coffee, dragged them to one of the biggest and busiest megamalls in Kuala Lumpur, offered them giant messy burgers at Carl's Jr. for dinner, made some super cheesy homemade pizzas, went to an expat filled coconut reggae party at one of the high end condo buildings in the city, and downloaded the complete season 4 of Entourage for all of us to sit around and watch on the couch in our air-conditioned apartment. How about it! Today, they wanted to do some cultural stuff and explore the city so we sent them out on their own with a city map and a cellphone. We wished them good luck and promised to call them later to arrange a spot to meet before dinner. We're thinking that some place like Starbucks or Coffee Bean would be ideal.

Sadly, I am not joking. Of course, having just spent the past 5 weeks traveling on foot in Nepal, backpacks strapped to their backs 10-12 hours a day, eating the same vegetarian fare every meal, sleeping in a different low rent guest house each night, and getting into bed with their books by 8PM each evening, Drew and Erin's KL experience so far has been the exact jolt to the system they were looking for. Some all-American grub to fill their hungry bellies, some crazy commercialism to shake off the peace and tranquility of the Himalayas, and some good old-fashioned quality TV to mush up their minds after all that reading- it was just what the doctor ordered. Even after the most awesome, breathtaking, and memorable experiences, the most grateful and adaptable travelers can't help but crave a taste of home. I think, amazingly we have not only fed that need but overwhelmed it, in just few short days.

Its actually a sad revelation for Ben and I. It feels like we might have caught a mild form of expat fever living here in the center of KL, taking taxis everywhere, eating out at Western restaurants, and spending way too much money, while justifying it by translating it to USD. Despite our best efforts, we have been infected. It is easy to slip towards the comfort of what's normal, it's natural and no crime but still its nice to be awakened to how far we have slid.

That is one of the differences between travelers and expats, I guess. Travelers keep moving on so they never have a chance to really get too comfortable. They are also motivated to consistently seek out new experiences and see all there is to see since they only have a short time in each spot. Whereas those of us who stay awhile start to make the foreign place home, adapting to it but also molding it to fit our personal comfort zones. We start to seek out routine and forget to explore our surroundings. However, we also take for granted that what is now normal to us may not be so normal to our traveling friends. For instance, the megamalls or the crowds of traditionally dressed Malay women wearing head scarves intermingled with the scandalously clad trendsetting Chinese youth, who make even Ben blush, or early mornings in the park doing QiQong with a spontaneous crowd of local Malaysians.

This last one has actually become Ben and my favorite Saturday and Sunday morning activity. About a month ago, I rode my bike to the very large city park near our apartment to do some 'research'. By research I mean sitting and staring at, sometimes stalking, all the people out for early morning exercise. Someone said to me before I left you are going to be so fit after this experience. Ha, ha, I am finding I prefer to watch. Anyway, while wandering around the park, I stumbled upon a large group of men and women spread out across a field playing follow the leader with a small, very skinny old Chinese man. He said nothing just did his movements and the crowd followed. The best I could tell it looked like QiQong, a popular exercise here in Asia that consists of slow coordinated movements designed to get the Qi in your body moving (its a form of Tai Chi) but the truth is the more I watched, the more suspicious I got. It seemed like the instructor, taking advantage of his aged and wisened appearance, might have creatively taken communist cadre callesthetics infused them with a few fancy arm and hand movements and tricked the crowd into thinking he was an ancient QiQong master. Didn't bother me much though, it looked like fun and I joined in.

When I got home I told Ben about it and how I thought it would be perfect for him since it seemed to really stretch the body out while also demanding many bilateral coordinated motions. To my surprise, he agreed that it sounded like fun and followed me to the park the next weekend and we have been faithful QiQongers ever since.

As it turns out, Simon (this is the name we have given the instructor due to the uncanny feeling that we are playing a silent form of Simon says) is there every Saturday and Sunday morning at 8AM and has been since the 1980s. He wears the same yellow shirt, blue workout pants, and big Jackie Onassis sunglasses every weekend. He never says a word. He just begins moving and everyone follows. The session last for about 45 minutes and then he stops. The crowd is great too. It usually starts with a handful of Malay women and keeps growing from there. On Sundays, a crowd of about 50-60 people gathers. All ages, both sexes, its great. And this past Saturday there was actually four Americans in the mix.

So I guess we are not all that insulated in our expat world. We just forget that what we deem as the mundane is not always that mundane. With Drew and Erin here, we are not only going to get the chance to see our experience through fresh eyes but also get to seek out some new adventures. It is going to be refreshing to get to live like travelers for a bit. In fact, we are heading out this morning on a long distance bus for the beach. Finally, the beach! Rain or shine, I cannot tell you how happy I am to be getting out of the city. I can't wait to sink my feet in the sand.

Take care and be Merry! Oh and I placed a link to Drew and Erin's Travel Blog if your interested in vicariously taking an adventure around the world. Just be careful it is envy inducing!

Casey

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - Ben's Post, 12.26.07

I am writing this the day after Christmas and true to Christmas form I am sitting here fat and satisfied after gorging on a Christmas feast. We were embarrassed after our Thanksgiving debacle of KFC and fish soup so we decided to do Christmas right. In the land of fried noodles and fried rice we feasted on a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Casey, Drew, Erin, and I all contributed to figure out the Celsius/Fahrenheit conversion, we mastered our ghetto propane stove, we each did a bit of cooking, and we all sat down to a delicious meal. Special kudos to Erin and Casey for making apple and pumpkin pie. SEDAPNYA!!

I love to host parties or dinners with Casey. She always errors on the side of too much and going overboard is putting it gently. Casey, as usual, went a bit overboard and she and Erin made 4 different types of Christmas cookies. Drew and I being the lucky recipients have expressed our gratitude by pounding down cookies every hour on the hour. This is a shot of Drew, Erin, and I patiently waiting for the bird to cook. We kept ourselves entertained by watching National Lampoon's Christmas vacation (sorry, substitute photo and blurry at that)

Christmas Feast with Friends - Cisco, Casey, Erin, Elizabeth, Ben

Although we had a delicious feat, we missed spending time with our friends and families. Thanks to Skype and cellphones, we were able to connect, but it just isn't the same as being there. Next year we promise to be stateside for the holidays.

We are still in the middle of vacation season here. We have had an awesome time with Drew and Erin although I feel a little guilty as we did not do Malaysia justice in our role as tour guides. Malaysia is a diverse and beautiful country, but we managed to limit ourselves almost exclusively to KL. We did, however, escape to the beach for a few days and even though it is the monsoon season we were blessed with three full days of sun.

Annette and Z (B&C's friends from Germany & Malaysia), Ben and Casey, Erin and Drew

That, in case you are wondering, is just enough time to get completely sunburned and peel off an entire layer of skin. Tomorrow we are off to meet David and Cindy Hilliard (Ben's parents) for an epic vacation. A few days in Singapore, a few days in Malaysia, and then 2 weeks in Australia. After one full year here in MaLAZYia, we will see if Casey and I can keep up with the Hilliards - I'm betting no. It will be a few weeks before we will be able to post again so Happy New Year to everyone and don't forget to watch AND cheer for THE Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan 7th.

Ben

Life is Good

I wanted to share some of my thoughts from Nepal before moving onto our new stories from Malaysia. It's amazing how easy it is to change mindsets once you are in a new place, where all the moments you were once living and experiencing, simply become memories. But I had so many thoughts and inspirations from Nepal, that it would be a shame if I didn't express some of them here...

Our trip into the Langtang Valley was an amazing experience in so many ways. While walking through the valley, we had lots of time... countless footsteps surrounded by towering peaks. With this sort of time, your mind can't help but unwind and your thoughts are free to wander. We also had lots of time to talk with the local village people, and often our evenings were filled with long conversations in broken English. Many times, our conversations had moments where the Nepali people were complaining of their lives and the hardships they face. They are poor, they have to work hard every day, the government is corrupt, and they don't have many choices for changing these things.... So, as we walked each day, my mind was often filled with the reality of life in Nepal. Life is very different in the mountains of Nepal, much simpler and in many ways harder. And with each contrast, I am again reminded of my own life.

First off, think of life without cars... Every time you need to get somewhere, you have to walk. Life as we know it in America couldn't exist. In many ways, I think it would be a great life, because I am a firm believer that time spent driving in a car directly correlates with a decrease in the quality of life. But cars are oh so convenient, and it allows us to work across town from where we live, drive to see family in a different town, pick up groceries for dinner, and pretty much get anywhere in a hurry.
In the mountains of Nepal, they have to walk everywhere they go. Many times children will walk hours to get to school each day! People carry all their wares from a village near a road, sometimes many days away. And this includes things like a cast iron wood burning stove, all on some one's back! The result is a totally different lifestyle, slowed down with a lot less stuff. There is something wonderful about walking everywhere, and it's environmentally friendly as well. This is something I think we can all use more of in the US.

Next think about basic things like food and water. When we want water, we turn on the tap and whoosh out comes clean, pure water, in either hot or cold. Do you ever think about how amazing that is? In America our water is cleaned and cleaned again, fluoride and other minerals are added for our health, and we even use this drinking water in our toilets!
In the mountains of Nepal, they get their water from a local river. If it is not near their home, they have to carry it (think of how heavy water is and how much you use a day) and the lucky people have a hose that goes directly from the river to their house. The water comes down from the peaks and is the same stuff people bathe in, wash clothes in, and where all the the rainwater runoff goes. If we drank it, we would get sick instantly because it is so full of bacteria and other organisms. But the people of Nepal are used to it. Unfortunately, many of the trekkers buy bottled water and the result is plastic bottles everywhere!

When we want something to eat, we go to the store, and there in front of us are thousands of different items to choose from. I'm thinking about the number of different kinds of cereal, talk about variety! We can get fresh meats, organic milk, and apples from New Zealand all in the same place. The average piece of food we eat travels 1500 miles to get to our stores, amazing and disturbing! We can pop things in the microwave or turn a switch on the stove and cook up a variety of feasts.
In the mountains of Nepal, most people grow what they can. The crops are usually corn, rice, potatoes, barley, and millet (to make wine). Everything else is carried in, including the Coca Cola you see in even the most remote village. The result is that they eat the same thing every single day, dal bhat! When they want to cook their food, people first have to gather wood by cutting down limbs of trees. You can imagine what this does to the areas that don't have many trees. They carry this back home, along with yak dung in the high mountains and start a fire each time they cook. The result is long cooking times, smoke-filled homes, and a constant hacking cough that all Nepali people seem to have.

Now think about the people you love most in the world. When we ourselves or our loved ones get sick or hurt, we can rush them to the hospital. When someone has a disease, our doctors have the means and the medicine to treat us. We can be treated for everything from pneumonia to cancer! When we have babies, we have proper facilities to take care of us. If there are complications, our doctors are ready to help us.
In the mountains of Nepal, there aren't medical facilities. If someone gets really sick, they have to be carried in a basket to the nearest town. 85% of women have their babies in their homes with only their family to assist. When things get complicated, they have no one to turn to, no one to help. The result is many more deaths, both in childbirth and from common diseases we wouldn't even think could be fatal. Think of this tonight and give someone you love a hug!

And now just think about your life. Our kids have the opportunity to have an education and pretty much do whatever they want with their lives. We are so lucky! We can choose any job we want, and if we don't like it, we can change our jobs. Even young couples can make enough money to have their own homes, and each family can have two cars. We can dream big, and for the most part we can make our dreams happen! Although some may argue with me, we can pretty much trust our government. We have a voice in our government, and the ultimate decision of who runs our country is in our hands. Things work, buses run on time, roads are fixed when they fall apart.... Just stop and think about all the things that work together in our society to create a well-oiled machine!
In Nepal, things are different. There are less choices, less control, less opportunities... Many people's dreams can't become a reality. We heard over and over that people wanted to come to America, but couldn't get a visa. They want opportunity, they want money, they want cars and things.
And there are certainly many lessons we can learn from the Nepali people. Living simply, having a sense of community, being in touch with the earth are just a few... My vote is life without cars! And I think it's important to be grateful for what we do have and not take for granted the ease and comfort of our lives, as well as the opportunities available to us. In so many ways, we are very lucky people!

I also wanted to wish a Merry Christmas to all our family and friends!!!! We are so grateful for all of you in our lives and we are missing you during the holidays. More than ever, we are realizing that the holidays are about being with family, not about things or presents. I'm using this time to be thankful for what I do have and for the blessings in my life. We will be treating ourselves to a full Christmas dinner with turkey and all the works! We're so glad to be sharing it with Ben and Casey in their lovely home here in Malaysia. We'll be thinking of all of you back home!

Erin

Our Himalayan Journey

Hey y'all! Great to hear from and catch up with everyone. Please keep the comments flowing as it is great to know the scoop back home.

I'm writing this from the relative comfort and convenience of the couch of my friends Ben and Casey's apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We've officially made the transition from the cold and challenge of trekking and travelling in Nepal to the ease and warmth of first-world tropical Asia. It has not been a hard transition. We're psyched to be here with our good friends and kick back and relax for a while. In our first 48 hours here, we've sought out some soul food and drink in the form of homemade bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches for breakfast courtesy of Ben and Casey, a Super Star combo (that's a huge double cheeseburger with fries and Coke) at Carl's Jr at the Mega Mall, a half dozen Dunkin' Donuts, and some Jim Beam. I think we just needed to get it out of our system and will return to our normal trajectory of trying to experience the local culture and food - but it sure was nice for a bit.

The Langtang Valley, peak of Gang Chhenpo at the head of the valley and mani walls (rocks inscribed with Tibetan prayers) on left

I'll fill in more details on KL on future posts, but now back to Nepal where we concluded our trip there with an incredible trek in the Langtang region and a few final days in Kathmandu. We thoroughly enjoyed our trek - even moreso than the first - due to a number of reasons. A big factor was that we were on our own without a guide which gave us the freedom to hike and explore at our own pace and in our own direction. It also gave us alot more interaction with the local people since all our food and accommodation were handled directly with the local teahouse owners and not via the guide. It also saved us alot of $ and was cheap to trek independently. Many times, our room was free and we might have spent $10-15 per day per person, usually all on food. Another aspect we liked more was that Langtang was much less trafficked than the Annapurna region. The Annapurna region is incredibly beautiful, but like Everest, it is super popular with the world travel crowd. Langtang is well-equipped and easy to travel in but with about 10 times less people. Our trip was in December which is also the tail end of the trekking season so that contributed to the smaller crowds. Often times, we had a guesthouse to ourselves or maybe shared it with one or two people. That also allowed for more interaction with the local hosts. And finally, we just really dug the people there. Almost all the local residents are Tibetan, either from refugee families that fled Tibet after the Chinese invaded in the 1950's or from ethnic groups that moved down from Tibet within the past few centuries. Tibetans are a colorful, friendly, hospitable people that practice Tibetan Buddhism. Erin and I really connected with these folks and learned a ton from speaking with and being around them.

Face of Langtang Lirung

The Langtang Valley is a gorgeous, glacier-carved valley in north-central Nepal, just south of Tibetan border. We took 3 days to hike up the valley to the last high mountain village called Kyanjin Gompa at about 13,000 feet. This a quaint spot with towering mountain walls and glaciers lining both sides of the valley. We spent three nights up here to check out the surrounding peaks and valleys. The first afternoon I scampered up past the local gompa (Tibetan monastery) to the moraine at the foot of two glaciers that are piling their way down two huge peaks in the area called Langtang Lirung and Kinshung which are about 24,000 and 22,000 feet, respectively. The east face of Langtang Lirung was one of the most impressive and imposing rock walls I've ever seen. From that vantage point, I was pretty close to the peak at an elevation a hair over 14,000 feet. That means the summit of Langtang was about 10,000 feet over my head which is about 2 miles straight up. It was a staggering sight.

Erin's summit push

The next day Erin and I successfully climbed a 'small Himalayan peak' in the area, Tsergo Ri (ri means peak or mountain in Tibetan). This was one of the highlights of our trip, as it was the highest either of us have ever been - 16,348 feet! We were psyched. And the views were absolutely amazing - the best of our trip to the Himalayas. We had high mountain views in all directions - 360 degrees of mountains and rock faces and glaciers and valleys, including a bunch over the border in Tibet. There were a ton of peaks in the area over 6000 and 7000 meters (meaning over about 20,000 and 23,000 feet). The climb itself was pretty straightforward and doable. Other than the high altitude, the only objective hazards were a few small, glacial-melt stream crossings and a firm snow field leading up to the summit. And we had the place all to ourselves to savor for a while.

View from the Top - Gang Chhenpo

The next day we set out to hike farther up the valley to get a different perspective on some of the same peaks we saw the day before and also to check out the glaciers at their foot. The night before was crazy windy, and we woke up to low clouds and high winds. The weather opened up for a while, and we headed up the valley but after a couple hours were turned back by snow, clouds, and cold, gusty winds. An early Himalayan squall had rolled in. While we were disappointed to not get to our destination, we were glad we had clear skies the day before and figured if we're gonna have bad weather, it might as well be snow. It was good to experience a snowstorm in the Himalaya.

In addition to the natural beauty and adventures of the area, we really enjoyed the company and stories of our host at our lodge, the Buddha Guest House. On the way up the valley, I had befriended the owner of the lodge, Tenzin Lama. As a background, on the first days of the trip, I was just finishing up the book Freedom In Exile which is the autobiography of the Dalai Lama, the exiled religious and secular leader of Tibet. I'd always heard the phrase and seen stickers saying Free Tibet (especially in Boulder) and had a vague sense of what that meant. But I read this book and finally had a clear understanding. What an incredible tragedy! For those not in the know, the Chinese invaded neighboring Tibet in the early 1950's after the Communists came to power and have absolutely ravaged the country and the people. Out of something like 6 million Tibetans, they've killed over a million, I think. They've destroyed 99% of the 6000 monasteries that were the religious lifeblood of the people. And the stories of the torture of the monks, nuns, and laypeople are beyond belief and not suitable for recounting here. I'm really not trying to be dramatic or one-sided in my view of the situation either. Check out the book or others like and your eyes will be opened but not in a good way.

Lakpa Sherpa (cook), Tenzin Lama (lodge owner), Erin, Drew

Back to the story. On the way up the valley and just days after finishing this book, I met Tenzin Lama whose family fled Tibet at the same time the Dalai Lama left in the early 1950's. He began to recount for me the tale of his grandfather who was a well-to-do Tibetan leaving his home and land and all of his possessions behind to escape the Chinese army. He carried Tenzin's father who was a young boy at the time on his back for many miles. He explained how they faced heavy snows and were ill-equipped for the journey but faced no alternative if they wished to escape the oncoming oppression of the Communist regime. Unfortunately, once the family came to Nepal, they had nothing and had to start over. Tenzin himself is not an educated man and told us these stories in his broken English which he has learned from trekkers. Due to some hard work of his own and some huge generosity of some German trekkers (not uncommon in Nepal, we found), Tenzin now has a lodge of his own and is sending his son to a private boarding school in Kathmandu. In Nepal, the private schools in the city provide a way better education than the local, scrappy government schools (like the ones we worked in). So Tenzin is living a parents' Nepali dream - which like the American dream - is to provide their children with better opportunity than they had. For me, it was an incredible life lesson to gain a personal understanding of the story and nature of the Tibetan people.

While for me the stay in Kyanjin Gompa was the high point of the trip, the rest of the trek was quite enjoyable as well. Over the next week, we made our way back down the valley and then hiked up onto a ridge which led to some high alpine lakes and a pass. One of the lakes, Gosainkund, is sacred to Hindus and Buddhists. We made our way past the string of lakes and on up to Laurebina La, a high pass over 15,000 feet. From there we retraced our steps back down the ridge and made our way back to civilization over the next few days. A 9-hour bus ride later and we were back in Kathmandu. As it turns out, we made it out just in time as we caught a bus out on Monday AM and the Langtang area got heavy snows Monday night and all transportation was shut down for days. Thank the lord! As awesome as Nepal was, it was tough living and took its toll on us. We were psyched to come down to KL and kick it in the warm weather and creature comforts of the city with our friends for a while.

Descending to Gosainkund from Laurebina La

There are so many more thoughts I have on the Nepal experience that there are too many to share. Hopefully the above gives you an insight into our adventures and experiences.

And now...off to a Cocunut Rum Reggae Party with some expats and the Hilliards in KL!

Peace.
Drew

Heading to Langtang

Just wanted to give a quick update on our whereabouts and plans so people know where we are. We're back in Kathmandu at the moment. Took a brutal 8-hour bus ride from Pokhara today. Tomorrow we face an even more brutal 9-hour bus ride to Dhunche/Syabresi - half of it on unpaved roads. Not psyched. These are the tougher days of travel; it is not all easy.

So we had a few days to relax and take care of errands after our first trek. Tomorrow we leave for the next one. We will be taking this next trek on our own, sans guide. We're confident it should be pretty straightforward. The area we are headed to is the Langtang Valley. It's a valley north of Kathmandu and only about 5 miles south of the Tibetan border. The people there are Tibetan in origin and ethnicity. There will be big peaks lining the valley - some over 7000 meters. We'll be pretty close to Shishapangma, an 8000 meter peak in China/Tibet but won't be able to see it. We may get a chance to scramble up a 'small Himalayan peak' if weather and conditions are OK. That will be a thrill if it happens but no big deal if it doesn't. We should be back in about 10-12 days before we fly to Malaysia on Dec 12th.

Take care and please give us a shout if you're reading this.

Drew

Trekking in the Annapurna Sanctuary

Poon Hill (Bishnu-porter, us, and Ganesh-guide)


We just recently returned from a 12 day trek into Annapurna Sanctuary. It sounds like a long time in terms of backpacking, but for Nepal, it is quite a short time. First of all, trekking in Nepal is not a wilderness experience. Although the scenery is amazing of the Himalaya, you are never far away from a village. In fact, you walk from village to village, usually no more than 2 hours apart, and you can stop and have lunch or stay the night where you please. The trails are pretty busy, both with ther trekkers and with people that are carrying goods from other villages. They usually have a basket that they carry with a band around their forehead, and they can haul an incredible amount of weight. So, although we were away from cars and walked everywhere, we were never away from other people.

We were blessed with great weather. Everyday it is clear in the morning and for sunset, but when we were in the sanctuary, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The temps got cold as soon as the sun went down, but while it was shining, we could hike in shorts (a skirt for me). The views were incredible each day, and one of the highlights was waking up before dawn one day (a major feat for both Drew and me) and walking up a place called Poon Hill, and watching the sun rise on the Himalaya. First the mountains turned pink in alpenglow, then golden, then whitish blue as the sun rose completely. It was magnificent!

Sunrise from Poon Hill

We also saw some cool animals along the trek. There are forests of rhodadendron in Nepal. I grew up with bushes in Seattle, but these are huge trees! I'm sure it is beautiful in the spring when they bloom. In the trees, we spotted langurs, which are white monkeys with black faces. We watched them for a long time as our guide, Ganesh waited patiently. In Nepal, they aren't very excited about monkeys, since they see them all of the time. We also saw a strange animal called a tahr, which is like a mountain goat.

When we got into the Sanctuary it was picture perfect. Annapurna Base Camp is in a natural amphitheatre surrounded by huge 7,000 and 8,000 meter peaks. The actually mountains almost seem stunted by the immense size of everything. Drew and I both read a book about Chris Bonnington's expedition up the south face of Annapurna, and it seems so crazy. It's incredibly steep and you can constantly hear rockfall and avalanches coming down. Plus there are huge glaciers to cross, and unbearably cold weather. I think I'll just stick to looking up at the mountains!

Machhepuchhare ("Fish Tail") from the Sanctuary

Besides the obvious glory of the Himalaya, we both very much enjoyed the cultural experience of the trek. We learned a lot about the country and the people. In some ways, it makes me feel very lucky to be American, because we have opportunities that many people in the world don't. The people who live in the countryside of Nepal are quite poor, living mostly by farming for themselves, selling what they can to buy a few things that they can't grow. There is something beautiful about the simplicity of their lives, living hand to mouth, and a happiness that shines through sometimes bleak conditions. The people who are doing the best make money from the tourists, which makes us a target. Sometimes I am bothered by this, and yet I understand that everyone wants to make a living. I think I can learn a lot about simplifying my own life from these people, and to remember that happiness can exist with very little.

The highlight of the trip for me was working in two local schools in small villages, writing ebooks with the students. It felt like a truly authentic experience, where we weren't simply tourists, but teachers. Drew was so helpful, taking pictures and was just as involved as I was with the students. He also set up the project with the second school on his own, which I feel so grateful for. The schools were both quite poor. The kids wore torn clothes, and some had strange cuts that weren't healing properly. But they seemed happy, all the same. The schools were both chaotic in nature, with kids of all sizes coming in and out of the classroom, totally curious of what we were doing. But, we learned so much from the experience, and how different things can be in Nepal on so many levels. In the end, both sides won, and while we learned about the people in more depth, the students will each get a copy of a book they wrote about their village. They are trying to learn english, and so it was also an opportunity for them to practice, and for them to teach their parents. It was the beginning of a bigger project that Kelly Keena (in Colorado) and I am trying to do, where we write books with students from around the world about their communities, called the Global Library. It went fantastically well, and I will post a link to the books when they are finished.

We also celebrated Thanksgiving on the trek, and while we were dreaming of turkey and mashed potatoes, we instead ate dal bhat.... again. It is actually quite delicious, lentils over rice with a veggie curry, but not like homecooked turkey. We've become vegetarians in Nepal, after our stomach bugs, and I can eat an incredible amount of food these days. But anyways, we still talked about all of the things we are thankful for and I wrote in my journal.... "I am thankful for my family, and when family is doing well, life is good. I'm thankful for Drew's family, and the two new members, Braeden and Bridget. I'm thankful for my friends. I'm thankful for this opportunity to travel and for having Drew to share it with. I am thankful for my health and happiness...." I feel like there is a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! We celebrated the next day with a dessert called a snickers/mars roll. It's a candybar rolled in dough (like a springroll), and deep fried! It's dangerous, gooey, goodness.

I feel I hardly expressed my thoughts and emotions that I felt on this trek, but hopefully it scratches the surface of the incredible journey we are having. We are always thinking and loving

our friends and family, so even though we are far away, you are always with us.

Annapurna Sanctuary

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey 'all,

A few days late but Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This is a holiday that Erin and I really missed. My bro emailed me a picture of his holiday feast with his family, and Erin and I were drooling at the sight of the food spread on the table. We would give anything for some turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie... (not to mention friends and family which, of course, is more important). But we've been eating primarily porridge (oatmeal) for breakfast, vegetable curry with rice for lunch, and daal baht for dinner every day. Ben and Casey - if you are reading - we are going to have a fat, fat meal for Christmas. Please tell me those ingredients are available in Malaysia!

We just returned today from our 2-week trek into Annapurna Sanctuary. It was a fascinating trip and went well. We'll give more details and pic's soon. Just wanted to say hello and let everyone know we're alive and well.

By the way, I noticed the Dallas Cowboys and Boston Celtics are both 10-1. We're back, baby!

Cheers,
Drew

Hawaiian Reflections

Erin's feeling a little under the weather today with a stomach bug - which is all too common here - so we've pushed back the start of our trek for a day. Hopefully she'll be feeling better by tomorrow and is resting and recovering in our room. We knew there would be days like this so we're prepared for it. After spending most of the day reading and playing nurse and launderer (the legal kind), I'm now passing some time in a cyber cafe while she sleeps and gets well. It's a good opportunity to recap my thoughts on Kaua'i which I haven't had a chance to do.

So the first part of our trip was work, not play. We're trying to contribute in some way to the places we go and not just play tourist. It allows us to get "closer to the ground" and have a more rich experience than just passing through and seeing the sights. It lets you meet the people and have experiences and relationships and conversations that you wouldn't otherwise have.

We worked in Koke'e Forest on the mountainous west side of the island. It's significantly higher and cooler than the Hawaii I pictured (beaches, sand, palm trees, bikinis, surfers...) It's about 15 to 20 degrees cooler up in the forest than down below. We had very simple, cabin like accommodations and worked real hard. The work of removing/killing non-native species (aka weeding) plants sometimes as big as trees is not easy. It consists of being hunched over all day ripping plants out of the ground if they are small or slashing them with machetes and then treating them with herbicides if they are big. We were spent after every workday.

The goal of the program (Kauai Resource Conservation Program, www.krcp.org) is to eliminate non-native plants in certain areas of Kokee forest. What happens is these plants come in and outcompete the native plants and take over the forest, eliminating the biodiversity and threatening the survival of the native plants. The plants we targeted were kahili ginger (from Nepal ironically) and strawberry guava (from Brazil). Unfortunately, these plants already have a stronghold on the island and dominate large tracts of the forest. It was frustrating and somewhat disconcerting after having spent a full day working to remove and kill these plants and getting into a van for the 10-mile drive on a dirt access road back to the lodge and seeing ginger lining the road on both sides the entire way. So the program has it challenges set out for it. To be frank,I'm not sure what to make of our efforts and those of the program. I understand the goal at this point is not to eliminate the plants altogether but to prevent them from spreading into select tracts where native plants are flourishing - or to postpone the spread of the non-native species until a better and more effects deterrent to their spread is figured out (like a biocontrol or fungus which may create issues of its own). In any event, it's a challenging and complex issue to address and I'm not totally sure what to think about it. I do commend the folks at KRCP for fighting the fight.

In addition to giving back to the local scene, volunteering at KRCP also afforded us with some opportunities to connect with some permanent Kaua'i residents and get a glimpse into their lives. Thanks especially to Katie and Jim for their over-the-top hospitality and generosity. We greatly enjoyed both the local housewarming party and beach bonfire to which you guys invited us.

After the first week of working, we were free to explore Kaua'i on our own accord. We took the local bus and hitched around the island to get to the start of the Kalalau Trail. Kalalau is an epic backpacking trip along the Na Pali coast that is regarded as one of the classic hikes in the world. "Pali" means "cliff" in Hawaiian, and this hike merits the description. I've done a decent amount of rock climbing and some mountaineering in my day and even I was spooked on this hike. Picture yourself on a thin (perhaps a foot or less wide in places), loose, small rock and gravel trail that is in disrepair at times and is perched precariously above a steep drop-off of hundreds of feet (think pali) into the raging and notorious north shore of Hawaii. The high surf was incessantly pounding the rocks below in a loud torrent. Add to this a strong and menacing gusty wind that threatened to throw you and your 35-pound pack off balance and also intermittent rain showers. It makes for a dramatic walk.

But eleven hard-earned miles later you get to a special place. There's a large secluded beach with a two-tiered waterfall that's a hundred feet high and provides fresh water to drink and a shower to bathe in. Kalalau is held to be a sacred place by the Hawaiians who used to have a village here and this is the place that I half-joked to Erin that is perhaps protected by the spirits of the gods they worship.

Above the beach is a lush and fruitful valley this is inhabited by an interesting, eclectic, and free-spirited group of hippies who squat and live there. As every good Easy Rider fan knows, "these people should be proud. They're doing there own thing in their own time. It's not every man who can live off the land." But that's just what these people are trying to do. Some have spent most of their lives there (30 years in some cases) with just brief trips out to the real world. They gather greens and fruits (mangoes, oranges, bananas, lemons, limes, breadfruit) and grow vegetables to sustain themselves. They have a gathering place called "the sanctuary" where they meet in the evenings to share communal meals. One night we attended and were offered bread freshly baked over a campfire and fish and a salad that had been picked that afternoon. They were quite gracious hosts. As Erin mentioned, they need to clean up their act in terms of dealing with their waste and garbage, but if they do that they will be a long way towards sustainable living which is no small feat. There's also the minor detail that living there is illegal so that's a hitch. But it was a cool and unique experience for us to enjoy and observe.

After a few relaxing days at Kalalau and a speedier and less treacherous hike out, we mostly relaxed and toured the beaches and waterfalls of the island. I really enjoyed camping at Polihale State park which is a remote beach park on the west side with lots of sand but few people. (Surprisingly enough, there were traffic jams and bumper-to-bumper traffic at times around the main towns of Kauai, a real bummer.) I also really liked the north side of the island that had cool, hip towns and gorgeous beaches, including Erin's favorite Secret Beach. Another chill spot was the Queen's Bath, as shown among the pic's below. Erin uploaded some more HI pic's by the way so check back to the older posts for more shots.

While in Hawaii, I read the book Hawaii by James Michener. I highly recommend it for insights into the people and history that shaped this island. It's historical fiction so readable with lots of action, personalities, and steamy drama thrown in. It covers everything about Hawaii from geological formation to arrival of Polynesians to arrival of white men (mostly whalers and missionaries at first) to the ensuing plight of native Hawaiians to the blending of Asian peoples (Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos) into the population (at first as cheap labor and later as citizens) to Pearl Harbor and WWII to Hawaii's annexation to the U.S. Lots to understand. Hawaii is no ordinary U.S. state.

Here are some other random "points of interest" about Hawaii. They're all more or less true, exact details not withstanding.
- Hawaii was likely first inhabited by man when Polynesians sailed thousands of miles in a two-hulled canoe from Tahiti or Bora Bora or some far-off Pacific island at a time when no other civilization in the world was even sailing hundreds of miles on the open ocean - an amazing feat.
- The Hawaiian islands are part of a chain of mountains, mostly underwater, that stretch across the Pacific all the way up to Siberia.
- There's actually another underwater "island" in the Hawaii chain that is currently forming off the coast of the Big Island. Check back in a few million years and there may be some more real estate in HI.
- The native Hawaiian people are a small minority of the people on Hawaii. I read somewhere that the population by nationality goes something like 1) Caucasians 2) Filipinos 3) Japanese 4) Hawaiians. For some reason I was surprised by that. There are tons of white people (called haoloes - "howlies") and tons of Asian people but surprisingly fewer Hawaiians than I expected. When white men arrived, they brought with them lots of diseases like measles and changes that the Hawaiians were not adapted to survive. Their population dropped from 400,000 to 40,000 in half a century (or something like that). These people and their culture (which is a very cool one) seem like they are all struggling a bit to find their way. But in the meantime, Hawaii is an amazingly diverse place.
- The original native Hawaiians could recite their family's oral history back over a hundred generations by memory. That's 1000's of years! Totally amazing. In contrast, my siblings and I are struggling to research our family history back 5, 6 generations.
- There's actually a small island off the SW coast of Kauai called Ni'ihau that is forbidden to visitors and populated solely by native Hawaiians. I guess it's a little contrived because the island is owned by a rich white family that has decided to do this but it's an interesting situation.
- The only mammals native to Hawaii are a bat and a seal, owing to the extreme isolation of the place.
- To let you all know how budget Erin and I are, the cost of all our accommodations on Kauai for 3 weeks amounted to roughly a 100 bucks. That's what I fondly call "ghetto living." It consisted mainly of staying at the lodge in Kokee for free because we were volunteering and then small camping fees. But I must say, it was awesome waking up close to the ground every day whether that be in the forests of Kokee, on the lush farm of our friends' family, or looking out over the beach and the Pacific Ocean.

Well, those are my rambling thoughts about Kauai. Perhaps longwinded and scattered but I'm glad to get those things into writing. In each place we go, I'm trying as much as possible to immerse myself in the nature of the place and its people and history by reading, talking to people, asking questions, and observing so as to better understand. I figure I'll share a boiled-down version of what I've learned via the blog to drop some of the knowledge. Hopefully it's well-received.

Now being in Nepal for just a few days brings up a huge array of new thoughts and perspectives and issues related to peoples, races, nations, religions, wealth vs poverty, materialism vs simplicity, and so much more. It's like the wheels in my brain can't stop turning. Check out the blog of a friend of a friend from Colorado who's volunteering at a school in the town of Pokhara that we're currently visiting. www.blogspot.wandertheeast.com He's a skilled and entertaining writer and describes well the issues at hand here. Also, check out the book Annapurna Circuit by Andrew Stevenson for a great read by a man who treks through the same general area we're heading out to see tomorrow and describes vividly the landscape and people and contrasts what he sees to his own Western life back home.

Finally, last thought. Our view every morning includes Dhaulagiri (the 7th highest mountain in the world), Machupachare (the striking mountain in the photo below), the Annapurna massif, and Manaslu. I don't care what anyone says, the Nepalis are lucky!

Off to see the patient. Ciao.

Drew

Namaste from Nepal

We made it to Pokhara after 8 hours in a bus. The sad part is that the distance between Kathmandu and Pokhara is only about 100 miles, but it's a days journey. Pokhara is much more our speed of city- it's smaller, quieter, and the air is clean. The city sits on a large lake and has the backdrop of the Annapurna range of the Himalaya. Today we woke up to our first full glimpse of the mountains, which were pink with alpenglow and absolutely stunning! We are getting more and more excited for our trek into the mountains which begins in two days! View from our room in Pokhara of Macchepuchare

Today we walked up to a stupa, or Buddhist temple, above the lake. We were greeted by many people, but one group of kids linked arms and blocked our way. Then they sang and danced for us because it is the middle of a five day festival here and that is part what they do. The kids go from house to house, store to store, singing and dancing for money. They recieve a small token for their efforts. It's similar to Halloween, in a way. So, every day the streets are filled with the sounds of children singing and fireworks exploding (which scares me every time!) Also, each day they honor a certain animal, first the crow, then the dog, today it's the cow. The animals that are normally a ferrel creature, have their day of glory, in which they are decorated with flower necklaces and red paint on the forehead. It's funny to see the animals roaming the streets all decorated.

So, soon we'll be off to explore the mountains and I'm sure we'll come back with many stories and pictures, so stay tuned for that....
Erin

Hotel Karma

Namaste!

We've arrived safely in Kathmandu. We're staying at Hotel Karma so hopefully that bodes well for us. It's been quite an eye-opening experience just walking around and checking out the city. Lots of local crafts and traffic and people. I read somewhere that the local drivers use their horns more than their brakes. Now I know that to be true. It's chaos out in the narrow streets but a very vibrant place. We're here one more night, then take a bus to Pokhara - another main city, then off to start our first trek a few days later. Our guide, Ganesh Adhikari, seems great so we're psyched about that. Thanks, Erin Sovick of BCM, for the hook up. The website and contact info for our guide service can be found at http://www.asahitreks.com/. I feel we're in good hands with them. Off to explore Kathmandu.

Peace.
Drew

From Na Pali to Nepal

Hey y'all. Hope everyone is enjoying autumn and doing well, even the gloating Sox fans of which I seem to have many among my friends and family.

Just wanted to drop a brief line and let you know that we've safely arrived in Bangkok so the greater part of our journey to Nepal is complete. We spent last night here and will fly to Kathmandu shortly. Our 3-night run has been Waikiki to Bangkok to Kathmandu. Such exotic names and places, sounds so exciting. Our travel has been smooth thus far so we're thankful for that.

As Erin mentioned, we had a stellar time in Kauai. It's a very chill and unique and beautiful island. I felt we had a great and rewarding close-to-the-ground experience there. When I have more time, I hope to share more thoughts, sentiments, and reflections on Hawaii and Kauai. We did manage to post a few pic's below and will fill in more when we have a speedier connection and more time.

But now on to Nepal. This is the part of the journey that I have been anticipating and looking forward to the most. I'm prepared to see the biggest, baddest mountains in the world and the friendly, ancient, and unique culture of the Nepalese people. We'll be hooking up with a guide in Kathmandu, then heading out on a 12-day trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary/Base Camp where we'll be surrounded by 7- and 8000 meter peaks. I think it will be a highlight of all my travels anywhere, anytime. We shall see. Can't wait.

All our best to everyone,
Drew

Hang'n Loose in Hawaii

Today marks the last day of our adventures in Hawaii, so here is a quick explanation of our adventures here....














Looking west on Na Pali Coast with Kalalau beach near foreground

After our week in Koke'e, we finally got down the mountain to the beaches of Kauai. We headed straight to the Napali Coast, where we backpacked 11 rather treacherous miles into the Kalalau Valley.
When I say treacherous, I mean it's pretty dang hard. You hike over 5 main headlands, which equals to about 5,000 ft of elevation gain. At about the 7th mile (mom's, maybe you should skip this part) you hike along a hair-raising stretch of the trail which is loose, very narrow, and with about 100 foot cliff dropping into the ocean. On top of that, it was so windy, it would push you around, just to make things tricky. More than anything, I think it's a mind over matter thing, and I kept the mantra in my head "I will not fall, I will not fall..." and we didn't!

It was all worth it because when you reach the Kalalau Valley, it's a stunning sight. Kalalau means "Wandering" which seems so fitting for our own travels! The setting is a golden stretch of beach, with it's own waterfall pouring down over a cliff, perfect for a shower after the long hike in. The waves on the north shore are huge and powerful, so much that they don't advise swimming, but the sound of the waves thundering down eases your soul anyways. The beach also has a couple of natural caves to explore and swim in. The next day, we went into the valley and found more swimming holes along the stream to swim in and cool off, and there is plenty of edible fruit trees when you get hungry. To me, it's a place almost too good to be true, like the garden of eden. Drew said, "It's almost like the place is naturally protected though, because it is so hard to get in and out." It has a natural protection from the swarms of tourists that would be there if it wasn't so tucked away, which is lucky for us.

It's such a cool place that people have chosen it as a home. There is a group of people living in the valley, hiding from the rangers (which we never saw), and trying to find, as one of them said, "enlightenment". One man named "mayor" Ronnie has been in there for 28 years! When we visited with them in their hangout spot called "the sanctuary" Ronnie began with "welcome to the wildlife perserve for humans!" They try to live mostly off the land, share everything, and they were very welcoming to us. The downfall is that these people create alot of trash that there aren't systems in place to get rid of. So, in this beautiful setting, there are piles of trash bags as a constant eye-sore to what humans can do to a place. It really got me thinking about how much waste we all produce (we just don't see it so clearly) and how I hope to really work on my own waste footprint in my life. I'm thinking alot about how many resources I use, how much waste I produce, how much energy goes into each thing I buy, where my food comes from, and how I can simplify my life. I am already learning so much from other people how to do this, and how not to do it. These are all things I've thought about in the past, but they are becoming more imprinted into who I am through this journey.

The Queen's Bath with start of Na Pali coast in background. Note the waves filling up the bath.

We spent the next fews days exploring the rest of the island, going to different beaches and natural gems like "Queen's bath" which is a a big tidepool that you can swim in. We only had one mishap where we got our SUV stuck in the sand at a remote beach called Polihale. We've met some locals, read more than I ever have in my life, and I even touched a sea turtle during our last day in Kauai, snorkeling! We've had a great relaxing time in Kauai and have had lots of time to talk and think, reflect and look forward. We're leaving for Nepal tommorrow morning, and after a grueling flight we'll get there on the 6th of November.

Thanks for all of your thoughts! Your comments make our day, and crack us up. Keep 'em, coming!

Erin