journey to nepal: January 2007

BLOG
January 17, 2007

To answer many of the questions regarding my disappearance for the good part of two months, I will simply state that “no, I was not made into a three course meal by a komodo dragon (sorry Hunter Goff for the disappointment), I did not take all my incoming support and head for the summit of Mt. Everest on a whim (sorry Eric D.), and furthermore, I did not die due to spontaneous combustion.” On the other hand, the latter is a peculiar thing that I might further devote more time to in personal study...

…Just kidding! I am, in fact, still here. I have just chosen to remain hidden halfway across the world behind a few brief emails. It’s complicated, I know! But, at your mercy, let me try to explain. I am not sure on the exact date, but recently (within the last month, I think) an earthquake ripped through the country we know as Taiwan. Due to the shifting of oceanic plates (I think), a lot of the internet communication devices were damaged, leaving much of Asia (yes, Nepal) without a decent working internet service, and for a few days, no internet service at all. For the good portion of two weeks I was able to send out only a few emails as long as they weren’t too big and had basically no pictures attached. I had planned to update thus blog with pictures and stories, but, due to my recent frustrations, could not at all. I had hoped that I could devote 3-4 blog updates to the bombardment of photos that I had taken and have wanted to share with you. I tried for 3 weeks with many complications and failures. So, rather than correspond with several non related updates, I will just make this one extra long and add a few photos for your enjoyment.

…and yes, I know that some of this will be repetitive to things you have already read or heard about, but you can skip over that much if you like…

Overall, Christmas was a new experience for Jordan and I both. Jordan’s includes countless, consecutive days of December alone in his room with his friend, Pilo. Thankfully, his run in with the bacterial infection subsided the week and a half surrounding the Christmas holiday. However, with his pilo frustrations and my days busy being a dad for the kids and picking out their Christmas gifts, we both look back and remember Christmas 2006 as one we will never forget. It was the first time that either of us were not expecting gifts under the tree. Even though our families did think of us by depositing money into our accounts (which we stated was the best option for Christmas gifts, opposed to the drawn out, costly alternative to shipping them), our Day was still different.

Usually, on Christmas Day, at home with two younger siblings (Krystal 22, Kirby 10), I am the first one up. I’m the kid, and I rush to wake all the remaining sleepers (that’s everyone else) so that we can see what Santa brought. It’s true; just ask Mom. I have never figured out why I had so much trouble waking a younger brother who is 15 years younger than me and used to be in the prime of the Santa Claus days. This year, it is like I graduated from 5 yr. old boy to 25 yr. old parent in the blinking of an eye, as my focus was not on what I would be getting, but what I would be giving. Now, at risk that you might think that I am good, I want you to know that I still struggled being content with Christmas as it was. But, looking back, it was what I needed—a holiday without many of the distractions.

In the days approaching Christmas, the kids here were not anxious because of the gifts that they might be receiving, but truly joyful because of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It was truly humbling for me.

Long before Christmas, Jordan and I were kicking around the idea of getting the children a puppy that they could play with and that would also grow up to be a good guard dog (don’t worry, we are not endangered here). Renee, our Australian volunteer, suggested the idea completely oblivious to ours. Three days after Christmas, and after consulting with Rina concerning our idea and whether it would be a good gift, we set out to find a puppy. We found Max, a 6 week old German Shepherd, in town at a local vet. He was a feisty little guy from the start. Sidenote: Rina and Santosh (her husband) were actually supposed to be getting a German Shepherd puppy from Santosh’s parents’ dogs soon after they had puppies. But for some reason, they never did. So, we found Max to be a good fit and replacement. The kids love him and play with him often, when he isn’t busy relieving himself on either Jordan’s or my own sleeping bag.

Our idea has proven challenging as we have had to educate the children how to care for a dog properly. Most of the dogs here are nasty, dying street dogs and are not really taken care of by society, but rather, they roam the streets drinking nasty mud water and hoping for one piece of meat. Have you ever seen a group of street dogs gang up on a fellow dog with the intentions of killing it and feasting on it? I can confidently say that I have. “Man’s best friend” in America becomes “Man’s daily annoyance” in Nepal. But, there are a few trusting families here who love dogs and have proven worthy of taking care of them. You don’t have to worry about Max. He is not a street dog and the kids have already shown signs of love and acceptance towards him. Way to go, Max!

…Now that you have lost your appetite for any food, due to the “cannibal dogs”, I find it in yours and my best interests to move on…

Jordan and I were blessed to have an opportunity to a free, home cooked meal with a couple from our church. Amidst our enjoyment of beef stew and during our conversation, they suggested that we spend a few days outside the Kathmandu Valley. We had never been outside of the valley in our almost 4 months of being here. On a whim, we decided to do just that.

Chitwan National Park is about 4.5 hours away if you choose to make the trip on a fast moving Microbus (basically a van, commonly used for transportation) which we did. I questioned whether I would get sick the whole way there, as we weaved in and out of and around slower moving, bigger buses that did not have the luxury (sarcasm) of our speed. Usually, I don’t get sick while traveling, but considering that we were descending rapidly while carving out a pattern that wrapped around a huge mountain, my stomach opted to disagree.
We found out that one of our Nepali friends, Biphan, from church, was from Chitwan and was headed that way. So we decided to go with him.

DAY 1 (Thursday):
Stayed with Biphan at his house with his family in Chitwan. Enjoyed the traditional nepali food. Tested our intelligence and speed, as the three of us watched the National Geographic Game Show (Jordan won). In the morning, took a walk with Biphan around his town (strangely enough, reminded us of West Texas, but held our interest a little more) and had a great conversation with him, while we met most of his relatives that lived in the area. Left for our “resort” at the Chitwan National Park.*

*Sidenote: For $50 (which covered ALL EXPENSES) we received 5 days at a resort on the lake in a nice room, 3 meals a day, a bus ride back to Kathmandu, and an itinerary full of activities.

Day 2 (Friday):
Took a day long jungle hike with a guide. Came within 20 ft. of a rhino. Saw a crocodile, wild boar, barking deer, monkeys, several varieties of birds, peacocks, and possibly heard a tiger growl in the distance (verdict is still out). However, failed to see a sloth bear (you heard me right, a sloth bear), a tiger, and Jordan…after the mysterious tiger growl in the woods.

Day 3 (Saturday):
Took a bike ride to the elephant breeding center (come on, it was included in the itinerary). Had lunch. Then, took a 2 hour tour of another jungle while riding on an elephant.

Day 4 (Sunday):
Skipped the bike ride to 20,000 lakes in order to have the day for rest. Relaxed at an umbrella covered table near the river, while enjoying the sand and the hot sun (it was nearly 80 degrees in January). Walked around the resort town and paid too much money to use the internet. Ouch!!! Lastly, enjoyed a culture dance at the local theater.

Day 5 (Monday):
Attempted to leave, headed for Kathmandu, but was delayed and sat in the bus for two hours with every other vehicle on the road during an extensive strike. Finally, we were on our way and got home.

…For $50, that my friends, is how you do a vacation…which brings me back to the thought I usually have with vacations…
…they are such a great time, but I am always ready to get back.

And, here I am a week later, sitting in my room in beautiful CWC.
(to be continued…)