the giants in the distance

As I woke, Michael tugging at my sleeve, from a quiet nap on our flight from Bangkok to Kathmandu, I saw what I thought were the clouds in the distance. I smiled at Michael and shifted to return to my nap when he said "those aren't clouds Kelsey, those are the mountains." This woke me up completely, and I turned again to the window to see Everest, rising slightly above its neighbors, a community of giants resting on the horizon.

Today is our first full day in Nepal. We woke to an early morning volleyball game outside of our window at the Volunteer Nepal volunteer house in Kathmandu. We ate a delicious breakfast of vegetarian fried rice (many of the meals will be vegetarian here about which I am psyched!) and a delicious cup of tea. We just spent most of the morning and early afternoon at Papa's House, one of four orphan homes in Kathmandu that Caite's cousin, Michael Hess, started here in Nepal. Michael and I jumped right into an intense basketball game with some of the girls who were quite good at basketball, and quite excited to be playing in the morning sun. It was the gittiest I have felt in some time. Everything about it was joyous - bouncing around the small court, missing every basket but mostly trying to pass to the littlest girl on our team. The girls giggled and played with pure joy. We also played volleyball, monkeybars, swings, and chatted with many of the girls and boys. They are amazing children. Most of them have come from a hard past, but now live much happier lives thanks to Michael and his great staff. We got to chat with Michael a bit, which was great fun for me both because I think he is an incredible man for what he has done for so many kids in Nepal, but also because I have heard so much about him, and what he is doing, from Caite through the years. When he realized that I was the friend who hiked the AT with Caite, and then connected the naked hiking day story, I hoped he wouldn't turn me in to the state department or turn me away from helping teach children here in Nepal, but he just chuckled and smiled.

Tomorrow we head on a three day journey to our volunteer placement at a Tibetan refugee Buddhist nunnery near the Tibetan border. It is a hefty bus ride and two day hike to get to the nunnnery. We will spend a month living at the nunnery learning about Buddhism, practicing meditation and prayer, teaching English and other subjects to the nuns as well as the local sherpa school in the valley below, and helping out around the nunnery. We don't know exactly what to expect, but we are excited by what we have heard. We aren't sure if there will be internet there, so if you don't here from us soon, it is because we are without internet.

Michael and I will spend the afternoon making sure we have all of the gear we need for our month at the nunnery as well as our six week trek. There is some great knock-off outdoor gear for sale that we hear is still good quality, but doesn't necessarily live up to its name brand (think $200 northface pants being sold for $13.) We hope to find another yummy supper (last night we found some somosas that were among the best food I have ever had - all for 80 cents!)

Shout out to my little brother Spencer for his 21st birthday that we will miss while at the nunnery. Welcome to adulthood Spencer.

Love and good wishes to you all!

Bamboo

Wow. I am not sure what has been the coolest part of the trip so far. Maybe it was meeting Anon, Mike's longtime friend and co-leader on trips to Thailand, and his family. He took us into his home and shared his world with us. As one of Michael's dear "brothers," it is clear that Michael and he share a connection, but from very different worlds. Maybe it was when we got to cut down a tree for firewood and bamboo for cooking on our trek with Anon in the woods, and then carry them two miles to his house. Maybe it is anything that has to do with bamboo because I am convinced it is the most amazing growing thing on earth. Maybe it was the Thai iced tea I had this morning that was deliciously rich and sweet and full of sugar! Maybe it was riding an elephant. Maybe it was sitting quietly at Anon's favorite hilltop temple overlooking the farming valley below. Maybe it was the "three hour car ride" that turned into a day long adventure because Anon wanted to stop and visit each family member along the way. Maybe it was climbing one of the highest mountains in northern Thailand with a mandatory guide who was smoking a cigarette and wearing flip flops the whole way - unphased by anything. Maybe it was the public hot springs that the local hill tribe uses to bath that we got to experience last night after sunset and this morning at the crack of dawn. Think Hot springs meets public bath - but its free. We would have paid more than $100 in the US for that time. But, I guess I don't really need to choose a favorite. The generosity of Anon and his many family members, along with the generosity of the many Thai people we have met has been tremendously welcoming and caring. This part of the trip has been a delight for me to visit a place that is so important to Michael. It has also been such a gift to experience a new culture that is so simple, but so complex at the same time.

Now we are off to Thai cooking classes this afternoon. We got to choose nine of our favorite dishes that we will learn how to make, and then we get to share them with our friend Pim, when we are done. Tomorrow we head to Nepal. We will probably have internet one more time before we head up to the Buddhist nunnery.

Hope winter is going well. Sending love and thinking of you all!

Sawadee Kup!

Eating buffalo skin. Being splashed with holy water. Riding elephants. Trekking in the jungle.

Thailand never ceases to amaze me. Each time I come, I fall deeper in love, and become more mystified, with the people and the culture. And having a local friend to take you around makes the experience so much richer.

After leaving Chiang Mai, we hopped in the Mighty Max truck (3 on a bench seat) for the ride to Mae Sariang. On the way, we stopped in his brother's village. Remote. On top of a mountain. The village is far from water, so a daily chore in trekking down the hill to fetch water. We saw the temple where I worked with the Sonoma Academy kids to build an outhouse. It still works. Ask Kelsey. Next, we went to Anon's sister's house where we sampled some of their homemade rice whiskey. They have a whole moonshining gig which is totally wild. When we finally got to our destination, Anon's other sister's house, we were welcomed to an amazing feast, including an omelet with ant eggs. It was surprisingly good (though Kels has a different opinion.) Later that night, while playing cards, we tried some of the grilled buffalo skin. It took all my effort not to throw up.

The next day, we left for Mae Hong Son. On the way, we went to a gorgeous mountain temple. Peaceful. Calm. Spiritually inviting. This was hilariously juxtaposed against our next stop: the moon shining hut in action. When we arrived at Anon's actual house, after unpacking, he took us to where he works. We walked from his house and immediately entered the jungle. For about an hour we followed a meandering stream. Then we scrambled up a steep hill with loose rocks and dirt. There, in the middle of the jungle, nestled into a steep ravine, were about ten others. Playing cards. Sleeping. It was break time. Shortly after, they got going sawing away, turning felled teak trees into 2x4's. This is illegal work. The punishment: 10-20 years in jail. The pay: about $100/month. The joy: hanging with your buddies in the woods, putting in a hard day of work. I tried sawing. Failed. And was laughed at. Returning to his house, we needed some firewood. So we cut down a tree. I did it. Rad.

The next day we hiked a gorgeous mountain. We took a guide. Was wearing flip flops. And had a cigarette in his hand the entire walk. We followed the hike up later that night with a soak at a local hot spring. Tons of people. You sit by the edge of the water. BUcketing yourself with almost scalding water. Soap. Shampoo. Splash. Splash. I then realized that most of the people there do not have hot water showers. This was there hot shower. Pretty cool. We went back there this morning at 5:30 for a good bye cleanse.

Let me just add something about Anon's wife's family, with whom we spent a lot of time. Her parents are Kareni refugees from Burma. Her dad was fought with the Chan against the Burmese army from when he was 13 to 26. Wow. (Made me think a lot of the great book: The Land of the Green Ghosts.)

Well. In Chiang Mai now. Head to Nepal tomorrow. In an hour, Kels and I will be taking cooking lessons. Excited.

Temples and Elephants

Today was a busy day of temples, elephants and delicious food. I just wrote a long blog about the day and then it was unfortunately deleted, so here is the abbreviation.

We took a nice long walk before sunrise. The sun came up as were winding down a side street, following a monk on his daily alms walk.

We were inspired by two temples that we visited in the city. We sat quietly in the hall, enjoying the calm of early morning.

Then it was off to the elephant camp. Kelsey was in heaven during our ride. She's convinced we need to buy one.

We visited two of my favorite temples, Doi Sutep and Doi Kham. The highlight for me was circling the major stupa thrice in a walking meditation. The monk at Sutep blessed us with holy water and gave us luck with a string tying.

Tomorrow we head to the mountanis, staying with our friend Anon.

Check pictures on the blog "see our pictures."

Dollars to Baht

After over 30 hours in transit, we arrived safely to Chaing Mai. The craziest part of the whole trip so far was getting out of Boston (two locos on the T...one man with a big bird and elmo doll in each hand and holding/treating them like they were his babies.)

Otherwise great travel! It is a cool experience to basically skip a day. But here we are. Just had a yummy lunch and headed out to wander the city a bit before meeting Mike's friends for dinner.

It's sunny and warm here today. We are twelve hours ahead of East Coaster time so most of you are hopefully sleeping right now.

Sending love. more to come. Michael and Kelsey

saying good bye to stella

Probably the saddest thing about leaving, is saying good-bye to the cutest baby ever: our niece, Stella Bella. Waking up every morning, we run into her room. Catching a smile from her is better than a blue bird day with fresh powder. Better even than a head high wave peeling right.

While it took a little adjusting to be long-term visitors in my sister and brother-in-law's house, we quickly got the groove of living here. We could not be more thankful for Annie and Jeff for letting us live with them and share in the daily bliss of baby-hood.

We leave tomorrow, and a week of Thailand awaits. The country is incredibly important to me. Traveling there during college was transformative. The rich Buddhist culture, the simplicity of every day life, the welcoming people- everything about the country feels right. Almost every year I have taken students there to engage in service learning projects. And each year I have worked with my trusted friends and guides Pim and Anon. I am thrilled to introduce Kelsey to these important friends. Highlights will include hill tribe trekking, elephant riding, and cooking classes.

Tomorrow we will head off with nothing but a backpack each. We are excited, eager, and a little nervous.

All our bags are packed...

The awesome journey continues for us. After a wonderful fall semester teaching and surfing in Costa Rica, we are almost packed and 6 days away from our next big adventure.

While we'll be sad to leave our beautiful niece Stella (who we've been staying with for the last couple of weeks), in just a couple of days we head to Asia.

We'll spend a week in Thailand, visiting and trekking with my old friends Pim and Anon (who were the guides on the many Thailand trips I led.)

Then we head to Nepal. We'll be teaching at a Buddhist nunnery, Bigu Gompa for a month. Then it's off for 6 weeks of trekking in the Himalayas! (I vividly remember my freshman year religion teacher, Jason Berv, crying when he described his journey to Nepal. Ever since, it has been way up on my list.)

After leaving Nepal, we head for a week to Istanbul, a historical giant. I'm hoping some friends choose to come meet us there for some fun and reflection. We'll see.

This journey ends in Charleston, South Carolina, where we'll get to see Kelsey's brother Wesley graduate from law school.

Kelsey and I will to use this blog to keep family and friends updated on our adventure.