When I arrived in Nepal I had no idea I would be traveling in time.
It is currently October (or Magh) 2070 here. All those people trying to predict the end of the world didn’t expect this. Nepal survived December 21, 2012 before it was cool to even worry about it.
As to be expected it was a bit of an adjustment to get used to living 56 years in the future. There are no hover cars or robots. In fact electricity is pretty hard to come by. Indoor plumbing was passed over for the simple squatty potty and bucket shower. Hot showers are for the weak.
Almost every man over the age of 15 wears sweater vests, most of which are red or pink and sparkly. Butter is hand churned with milk from the water buffalo out back, and cinnamon is ground fresh for our morning chai.
Life in the “future” is surprisingly simple. There aren’t many things to distract us from what is happening all around. Witnessing a baby’s first steps becomes the highlight of the day and milking the water buffalo is the biggest event on the agenda.
Living the simple life gets me thinking a lot about what really makes life special. Is it the number of channels on our cable or the number of smiles we see each day? What do I want to take with me into the future?
I hope that when we get to year 2070 in the States we remember the simple life. Sweater vests and squatty potties can stay in the past. But I pray that the uncomplicated ease of life continues on.
