Does it make a difference....

 Happiness, isn't it a wonderful feeling? This has been a good week. Maybe because my trip to Colorado is getting closer. Maybe because I had a really great workout on Saturday. Maybe it's just because I have nothing to be sad or stressed about. I think I am just living my life in the moment and enjoying all that is good about it. 

Life isn't perfect though, I have major plumbing issues that is impacting when and how much water I use at home. The plumber is so far behind right now he will not get to me until after I return from my trip. I worry that the repairs are going to be quite costly too. But I have to expect things like this as I live in a nearly seventy year old home. I am fortunate to have this charming little home though and I enjoy fixing it up so that I will have a cozy place to grow old(er) in. 

I am still on a high with the planning of my volunteering trip to teach in Nepal in two years. I am a very detailed planner and like to have each little thing planned out well in advance of any trip. The one issue I keep struggling with on the timing of this trip though is when I travel over in September the weather will still be warm to mild. In Kathmandu it will still feel like summer much as it does here in Texas ( same latitude) Once I travel up to Salleri it will cool down a bit but will still be mild but rainy, the monsoons usually continue into early October.  Once the monsoon season ends it will begin to cool down and it will be winter before I return home. Now I can only pack so much, probably two duffle bags and my back pack. Clothes for temperatures from 90f down to zero. I will need to find out what I can purchase locally in Salleri to fill in for what I won't have room to bring. 

I have started an online Nepalese language course. I hope to learn enough to be able to communicate the basics without having to rely on Google translate all the time. learning to read and write will be the most challenging. I hope to at least learn to recognize a few important words. So I have mastered Woman - Mahila, Man - Purush, Boy - Keta, and Girl - Keti. 

Volunteering in a foreign country has it's pros and cons. Some people (and I am guilty of this) only can commit a week or so. Work, school and other commitments limits the time that people can spend away from home. Do these short term assignments have an impact? Are they more harmful than good? I suppose that depends on what you are doing. I personally feel that to commit to less that two weeks is a burden to those that have to prepare and train you to do the job you came to do. I know it can take me several days to feel comfortable in a new place. When working with children consistency is key to having a positive outcome. High turnover in volunteers disrupts the patterns. In the case of teachers it is crucial for consistency in what is being taught and how. I really wonder if my 8 weeks will be too short. 

I have a friend that went on a mission trip to Guatemala recently. She fund raised for the trip and stressed over the cost of going but felt that God was leading her to go and to make a impact on these unfortunate Guatemalans. The way she talked about it I thought she was going for six months or longer.  Her trip was one week. ONE WEEK! She cam home talking of the impact that it made on her and how blessed she was to help these people. She felt like she had such a positive effect on them. I'm just shaking my head. I'm glad she feels so good about what she did. It hopefully help her to make more positive changes in her life. But we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that one week in a disadvantaged area helping out will even be a drop in the bucket for it to have an impact on the lives of the Guatemalans. 

I know that the time I spent helping out at Kidane Mehret Childrens home was just that. It was helping the Sisters to get a break from their duties. It was an extra pair of hands to feed a toddler. It was helping a older child with their homework. It was an extra set of eyes on the preschoolers on the playground. It was someone to read a book to them in English so they would start to learn it. But I knew that when I left, I would be forgotten. Someone else would step in and take my place. I loved what I did, and I was filled with a joy of being able to help. That is why I want to teach in Nepal. I hope to be there long enough to make friends. To create memories. To be so lucky to do so in such a beautiful country is a bonus. I know that English teachers are desperately in need. Native English speakers are preferred for the older kids to practice conversations with. I know that I will just be one of many that these students will have over the course of their school years. I may be a passing memory for them. For me it will be so much more. I guess that is what inspires us to volunteer, the hope that you can make things better for someone for just a day and that for you it makes your life better forever.  

Optimistic

 The trip to Colorado is just around the corner. I've quite a few things organized and packed. I'm trying to keep the final preparations to a minimum. Meals will be super simple on this trip. Energy bars and Starbucks iced bottled coffees for breakfast, PB&J for lunch, Kind bars for snacks and dinner is Shin Black Ramen, Mac and Cheese and Jajangmyeon (Black Bean paste) Ramen

The weather is nearing perfection in Mueller State Park. The forecast lows for the coming weeks is in the low 40's and daytime highs in the mid-60's. Little to no rain is in the picture too! I'll be glad to escape the heat here in Texas. It is forecast to be in the mid to upper 90's up until we leave.

My workouts have not been great lately. I have only been getting to the gym on Saturday and Sunday. My Saturday workouts have been good, 2000 steps on the stair master, and 1.5 miles on the treadmill mostly at 15% incline. Sunday's though have been a bit more of a struggle on the stair master. I managed 1600 this past Sunday, but did extra time on the treadmill. I have really struggled with going to the gym on week nights as I am either really tired or I just can't tolerate the number of people there working out. Young  bratty kids being the worst of it. My membership expires next week so I am going to take a break until November. I did get on my stair stepper at home last night and I will get back on it regularly during my break. I will also hit the trails again at Mother Neff State Park. I think for the next six months I will concentrate on hill climbing and when I do return to the gym the treadmill will dominate my workouts. I will return to the Stair master as I get closer to my Inca trail trek. But as it is still about 18 months away I will focus on what I have planned. After this upcoming Colorado trip I will return to Enchanted Rock and Lost Maples for what I plan on being an annual birthday hike. I'm then off to Big Bend for five days of hiking in February. 

I always have a trip to look forward too... isn't life great!

Another Step in the Journey

 

Another Step in the Journey

A week ago I reached out to a Nepalese NGO that places volunteers in different regions and job types in Nepal. They are one of the few that have placements in the Himalayas. I sent a brief resume along with the type of placement I was looking for and that I wanted to be in a village rather than a large city ( I don't do well in large crowds and noisy places). I wanted to be somewhere I could go trekking during my free time and was very interested in teaching in a Buddhist monastery as I want to continue to learn more about Buddhism. I did let them know I would not be available until the Autumn of 2026, but I would be willing to commit up to eight weeks teaching. 

They were impressed with my background and that I am planning on obtaining my TEFL certification prior to traveling. They have the perfect location in Salleri, Solu Khumbu in the upper foothills of the Himalayas. Salleri is the original starting point for the EBC trek. It was here Sir Edmund Hillary began his trek and ascent of Everest. It sets at an elevation of just under 8000 feet. Is is also a starting point for the newer Pikey Peak Trek which is a 3-4 day trek. It has an elevation of 13,369 feet and views of Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Mount Numbar and Kachenjunga.  In this village I would live with a local family and teach English to the young student Monks and then also teach in the local public school. This was exactly what I was hoping to find. Salleri is built on a hillside. It will be great training for the EBC trek. Starting the trek here will add an additional three days to the trip going up and 2-3 days coming back down. I am so excited to get the opportunity to teach in a rural village in the Himalayas. Students that learn English have better job prospects as they can work in the tourism trade which fuels this areas economy. 

This journey to get fit enough to be able to trek to EBC began because of my desire to volunteer in an area that would expand my horizons and a place where I felt I could make a difference. Nepal immediately captured my interest. It was while researching the volunteering options I stumbled across information about the EBC trek. It became my focus as the driving force to get physically fit. I also knew though too that even if I would not ever be fit enough to take on the trek, I still wanted to volunteer in Nepal. I will be securing my position in the coming months and will begin the TEFL certification process, Nepalese language courses and planning the logistics of a three plus month long trip. While two years seems a long way off, I know how quickly time flies by. I am so excited to have taken this step to making this dream a reality.

Salleri Village

Salleri Monastery