November 26-December 2: Final Thoughts

I ask you the next time you look East of where you are, know the possibilities beyond the horizon.  Be not afraid of placing one foot in front of the other, get out there, and, fearlessly, be ready for life in real-time.

There are many who journey to the country of Nepal to disappear and dissolve into another existence and rightfully so for this land offers multiple outlets and avenues for one to evolve into an alternative presence. This is a country landlocked from the world and still full of surprises both spiritually and socially. Here lies the seduction of the largest mountains man has ever seen as well as multiple religous and social beliefs, some ardent and strict, others left to interpretation and, frankly, need of change. When you venture here from the western world you, as much as you try not, have little choice but to make comparison of this land to your home. During my stay in Nepal, these past seven weeks, there was no choice but to throw in my participation at head-over-heel uninhibitiveness and, in lieu of disappearing, make my presence known, stay involved, and, most importantly, be not afraid to make mistakes. How else was I to learn the meaning of this journey.
There is a kindness of the Nepalese people, regardless of their personal challenges, that never faltered; whether my students, my host family, or a stranger working in a shop down within a Kathmandu alley, who helped me with finding a hardware store in the city, they all had an openess to join with outside stimuli. There were strangers on micro buses who knew I might have jumped on the incorrect route and did not hesitate to jump off the bus with me at the next stop to assure my sails were into the wind insead of against it.  There is so much not organized in this country and you are not given much choice but to become one with the confusion and find your personal sanity within.
This is a great land. There were many parts of Nepal I did not see and I am sure a return trip lies somewhere down the road. But what I did experience was unique and full of color, it was, at times, brutal and raw, and gave me opportunitity to think on my feet, repeatedly.  From that, how can you not be changed at jouney's end?
I will always be grateful to the Dahal family for the generosity and patience and an un-ending need to make sure of my comfort. To the young people of the Jitpur Secondary School there is a large amount of gratitude and respect I have for their energy to keep looking for the answers and doing the work as well as keeping in tune with the world.  And to the gentleman who asked me to just call him brother and who I worked beside in the field, thank you for your ethic and guidance and allowing me to till the soil along with you. In a small part I hope my hand lent nourishment to a dinner table somewhere in your land.
As I bring this Blog to a close I am clean-shaven and in front of cable tv.  I have exchanged many stories with Janelle, my wife, whose 2008 trip was my inspiration. It is terrific how, through the differences in our two journeys she and I gain perspective of our own.
I look at my watch here and picture my schedule and routine 12 timezones away and very real it will always be because you can ever leave a place like Nepal, or mark it off the proverbial bucket list.  Nepal is an experience that has been bringing explorers to the land's open arms for centuries. And similar to those before me, never will I be immune to the inability to release and let go of the deep impressions of this country and its people.