Jai Nepal!

In less than four weeks I will once again plant my feet on the soil of my second home...Nepal. I can't wait to see Sudip and to laugh and laugh and laugh with him. This time I get to play hostess for a few American friends. Ahead of me will arrive, Viviane, student at the Clinton School, in Nepal for her international project with READ. Following me will be Ellen who will be on a buying trip with me for our new women's design business (Stay Tuned!) Someone else who is smart enough to visit Nepal is Joe, my Clinton School classmate.

I'll be staying, at least at first, with my family, the Mulepatis, in the guesthouse. It will be fun to see all of my friends in the Basantapur/Freak Street/Durbar Square neighborhood. I love the rhythms of that part of town.
I'm also looking forward to meeting many of my new Facebook friends there.

I have missed eating momos,yomari, curries, and drinking milk tea (it just ain't the same here)!

Anyhooooooooooooo.....I can't wait.

Yet I know I'll be returning to an insecure Nepal, a country struggling to take shape. The loadshedding is much worse and we can expect 8-12 hours without electricity per day. C'mon monsoons!...as the rains make the water that makes the electricity. We'll be facing water shortages, more numerous transportation strikes, chaka jams and bandhs. For now, the Terai is closed and Chitwan is inaccessible. Heading east to Darjeeling, a dream, is dicey. Getting to Pokhara is possible but delays are likely. I feel my capacity for patience growing just thinking about it all.