Signing off..

Hey everyone! Since it's inconvenient to update this blog and facebook when everyone has facebook, I'm done.. Check facebook for any pics, but I'm coming home in 4 days (Woo hoo!) so I will see you all then. Love you!

adorable kids and a random one..

We went to an orphanage/women's shelter over the weekend. The kids were SO adorable! The one in pink, I won't even try to get her name right, was attached to my hip all day. I look unbelievably pale next to them haha. My camera died before I got a single picture, but Carly was nice enough to get some for me. There are more on other cameras but I haven't gotten them yet so here's a couple:

While we were in Sarangkot there was a bus accident and 2 people from the village died. In honor, they put yellow on their foreheads like this:

More Pictures!

Above: This disturbing Hindu picture hangs above my bed.. and I wonder why I have nightmares!

Here are the lovely public toilets.. I definitely won't miss these!

The health post in Sarangkot.. not a whole lot to do!

Here's some Nepali writing, although I couldn't tell you what in the world it says..

On an island on Phewa Lake, Pokhara. Absolutely gorgeous!

Here's everbody swimming the next day. Starting at left corner: Ruth, Megan, Nate, Amanda, and Joyce. The water was so nasty but we still had so much fun! I roasted, of course.. I no longer tan like I used to :(

Paragliding last week in Pokhara.. It was amazing! Damu (my guide) wanted to do some acrobatic moves at the end though, which was a bad idea!! Right when we landed I started hacking up whatever was left of my lunch.. EWW! These are happier times:

Back in KTM

Hello! Back in Kathmandu, since the clinic in Sarangkot had very little for us to do. No worries, just a small hiccup. I'll post pictures asap, it just takes about 10 minutes for ONE to load, and I'm not the most patient person!

STEPHANIE -
1. MJ died, wow! That's such a shocker given his huge UK comeback tour.. I'm oddly sad even though I didn't particularly like him.
2. The Killers are coming back so soon?! Of course I want to go! I love that they're from Las Vegas so they come there so often; it's so convenient that they are my absolute favorite!
3. No worries, I teared up a little during "A Dustland Fairytale." Great video!
4. I can only imagine how crazy Kaitlyn is going! Tell Derek I'm sorry..he's just going to have to stick it out for a litle bit :)

Love you all! Have a wonderful day!

The Ant Problem Update

Glad you liked the pictures, yes the ants are all taken care of! After our backfired attempt we asked one of the guys at the Butterfly Lodge (that's where we're staying for now) for help and he cleaned it all up. We are ant free!! I start at the Sarangkot clinic tomorrow, we've just been hanging out here in Pokhara. We actually just went canoeing out on Phewa Lake, which is absolutely beautiful! We did a little swimming in the nasty lake water but oh well, if you're gonna rough it that's the way to go! Love you all!

Pictures!

THE ANT PROBLEM! We tried to kill this small trail of ants going from our window to the sink, but it backfired horribly. I guess they were living in the pipes because they came flooding out. EW!
Here's Monkey Temple:


This is a wishing well, the pot in the bottom corner is where you aim, but of course I missed. Oh well!



Here's Mt. Everest. The pictures don't do it justice, the flight was absolutely breath-taking!


Here's Boudha, they're having some sort of religious ceremony in that building.
The girls in this picutre are: Ruth, Megan, Kriton, Carly (my roommate in Pokhara), Joyce, Amanda, and then me. They are all so much fun!
Here's the view from the top of the volunteer house in Kathmandu:

This is Kriton, Sunita's daughter (the woman who owns the volunteer house) playing with some pigeons in Boudha. It reminded me of Mary Poppins, "Feed the Birds" haha..

Kathmandu, Nepal

Namaste! (That's hello in Nepalese) I arrived in Kathmandu yesterday afternoon and am slowly getting settled in, even though I'm likely leaving in 2 or 3 days for Pokhara, where I'll stay for the remainder of the trip. The drive from the airport to the homestay here was crazy! Nepali people don't pay much attention to lanes, and there is constant honking (it's more of a "hey I'm here" than the "get out of my way" Vegas kind of honking). But I arrived here with no bruises or scrapes to speak of. Yesterday a few of the girls and I went to Boudha, an area in Kathmandu where there's a Buddhist temple and loads of shops and things. I bought some prayer flags for 50 Nepali Rupees, which is less than one US Dollar. They are said to bring blessings to those who hang them. Today, however, there is a large strike going on in the heart of the city, so we've been advised to stay close to the homestay. (Don't worry, it's not violent or anything, we're just erring on the side of caution). We did go out to lunch though-I had a buffalo knaan (a pita-like bread with spiced buffalo meat inside) and it was quite delicious. Tomorrow, we have the Mt. Everest flight at 6:00 am and I am unbelievably excited for it! I'm going to take loads and loads of pictures! Then, we are taking a tour of the city, which will include the Monkey Temple, some monasteries, and other tourist attractions, so it will be a FULL day tomorrow. The weather has been pretty mild, not really humid or anything, but the monsoon is likely to start in 2 weeks or so. Hooray! :( I'll try to get some pictures uploaded ASAP, sorry for the delay.

Thailand!

Hey everyone! I'm stuck at the airport in Bangkok, Thailand for a few hours so I thought I would write a little something. So far my trip has been going good. Just one little hiccup-my first flight to Los Angeles was delayed, which would make me miss my connection to Bangkok. Luckily I was able to buy a new ticket with Southwest and get to LAX in time. LAX..the international terminal feels like a foreign country in and of itself. Going through security, the officer is yelling "Pasaporte!" instead of "Passport." I had to stop and ask myself, I'm still in the United States, right? Then I got onto my 17+ hour flight. Thai airlines has quite colorful airplanes-all the seats are bright pink, purple, or orange (mine was pink, if you were wondering :) ). I slept for a bit and then watched Watchmen (it was edited, don't worry Mother!) and really loved it. It's a bit dark and depressing, but it's a more realistic version of the popular "superhero" genre. Well, I'm sure my time on the computer is almost up. I'll update you all again as soon as I can and try to post some pictures (I can't here at the airport). Have a wonderful day!

And so it begins..

Here's my first post!
I set this blog up so that I could post pictures and updates for everyone back home. I set out on my Nepal adventure in just 2 days! I'm a little nervous but for the most part looking forward to this trip. I'll be staying in Kathmandu for only a few days before taking a 3 hour bus ride out to Pokhara, where my clinic is located. I'll let you know what it's like when I get there, but for now, here are some pictures I found: