It’s ironic that I am sitting in a Romanian coffee shop and yet I’m writing my very first Nepalese blog. The plains of the Himalayas + 4 hours of electric per day + 3 hours of water + no internet access = detrimental blogging conditions. My apologies to those who follow my blog, but this month has been the longest, yet shortest month of my life! (I hear that’s a theme on the race). It seems like yesterday was February 1st and my team was taking the midnight bus of terror up the Himalayas into the city of Kathmandu. You see, getting to Nepal was NOT easy…
It all began when we left the orphanage in India on Monday, January 31st on a 7 hour overnight bus to the city of Hyderabad. For those of you who have been following, you know that Hyderabad means one thing – Hard Rock Café!! Now before you judge me, you must understand that I am all for being part of the culture when visiting a country, which can unfortunately mean eating their food, but I got so hungry at the orphanage that when I took my flintstone vitamin I considered it snack time. My Indian diet consisted of rice (I could hardly eat anything else) with a snicker’s bar chaser (someone please remind me to send a thank you card to the snicker’s corporation when I return to the states). So was Hard Rock everything I had expected? Umm, YEAH! And SO much more! I got a double cheeseburger (you can actually find beef in the city) with fries, a coke (no ice of course unless you want to spend the rest of the afternoon hovering over the squatty potty) and, wait for it…APPLE PIE!! Hard Rock was a great way to begin and finish an awesome month in India!
On Tuesday, February 1st, my squad and I slept outside of the Hyderabad airport on the concrete for about 8 hours (it was odd yet surprisingly restful – but only when we weren’t on guard watching our packs) then flew to the capital of India, New Delhi, on February 2nd. We were able to spend a half a day in New Delhi where we visited an underground market, the Red Fortress (a ginormous fortified fortress tucked away in the heart of Delhi), local shops and parks, and of course pizza hut! (once again, please don’t judge). The night of the 2nd we boarded a 14 hour overnight sleeper train where it was umm, quite the experience, then immediately got on a 13 hour overnight bus ride to Kathmandu, Nepal.
After 5 long and grueling days of travel, we finally arrived in Kathmandu in the wee morning hours on February 4th to a dark, cold, and desolate city. This was one of those “Where ARE we?!?â€� moments that my teammate Lauren Rush would often exclaim – all for good reason of course. I was hungry, cold, grumpy, a little nauseas from the bus, and ready to go to sleep. We arrived to our hostel, the Hotel of the Himalayas, and I completely crashed for the night. The next morning I was pumped to see the once lonely and abandoned city come alive with people, quaint shops, coffee houses, and some of the best restaurants around. I had died and gone to Nepalese Heaven! I spent the day hanging out with the other leaders of T-squad and topped it off at an amazing Italian Restaurant. Mission get to Nepal = complete!
On Saturday, February 5th my team and I said our goodbyes to our fellow T-squaders and headed to our ministry site for the month. I guess my own logic should have told me that what goes up the mountain must come back down, including Team Fugee, but since we came up the mountain in the dark, I was unprepared for what was to come. Team Fugee came down the mountain all right…STRAIGHT DOWN that is! Packed into a tiny jeep tighter than sardines in a can, our team drove through the Himalayas with Mt. Everest erected in the distance. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. To see God’s fingerprints all over creation is a miracle in itself!
For the month of February, my team and I worked on a fish farm for GEMS Nepal, a local Christian Ministry organization. Oh the fish pond…just WAIT until you hear about it…
Much love from Team Fugee!
