Nepal…

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Goodbye Nepal

It is the morning of our departure from Nepal. The last two weeks have been filled with many goodbyes. It has not been the slow and reflective farewell that I hoped for but rather an event of endurance as we race from one thing to the next. It was a goodbye that lasted almost 2 weeks and has left us exhausted but very grateful.

There are still many things we did not see and places we did not visit. But instead we have collected a wonderful group of friends who we have promised to visit again in the future. I feel happy that we invested time in relationships rather than tourist attractions. The people will be very much missed but have captured a very large part of our hearts.

So, as we bid farewell to Nepal to spend the next 6 months travelling, I feel ready. Ready for adventure, ready for a new beginning, and ready for the flood of emotions and memories that will live with me as I remember Nepal.

And while I will continue my reflections here over the next 6 months of travel I would also like to bid a very fond farewell to my Honouring Fridays posts. For a year of Fridays I took the time to reflect on things I was grateful for and it helped me transition in my new culture and share what I was seeing with people I was far away from. I have learned that a life inspired is truly a life lived with gratitude.

With lots of love,

Tlell

Honouring Fridays: January 1st, 2010

Welcome to a New Year!  Last night was my farewell party with my organization.  I spent the evening surrounded by many of the people who have filled my working time in Nepal and felt so honoured and celebrated.  The evening reminded me that so much of our work here is built on relationships.  That the [...]

Honouring Monday (because Friday got the best of me): December 28th, 2009

Merry Belated Christmas!  This is a late blog post in lieu of one that was half finished for last Friday, Christmas Day, when I just simply ran out of steam for writing.  It was a combination of packing for our big move on Boxing Day and the preparations for a pseudo-Christmas dinner that ran into [...]

Honouring Fridays: December 18th, 2009

It’s official. I am starting to feel nostalgic about leaving. I am seeing through rose coloured glasses again and remembering all the things that I love about living here. I know that I will come back again but it won’t be the same – I will be a visitor in a city [...]

The month that democracy forgot

The month of December is shaping up to be a hectic month for bhandas. The political situation is tense with a recent outbreak of small violence in some of the far western regions of Nepal. Accusations are flying about who is responsible for the death of a group of landless individuals who [...]

Honouring Fridays: December 11th, 2009

I am the least patient person in the world…or at least in this room at the moment.  I hate waiting and I catch myself, in moments where my patience has worn thin from waiting, trying to come up with good reasons why waiting is worth it.  Because good things can come from waiting.  Waiting for [...]

Honouring Fridays: December 4th, 2009

I am beginning to disconnect – with just over 1 month left in Nepal I am sensing an urgent need to be unimportant in the cogs of everyday work. I actually think this has helped to illuminate a couple of key flaws in how I have worked here – I have made myself too [...]

Honouring Fridays: November 27th, 2009

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Honouring Fridays: November 20th, 2009

As I snuggled down into bed for a few more minutes of warmth and rest this morning I wished, for just a moment, that it wasn’t Friday.  This particular Friday represented the end of calm and the beginning of a rather severe work storm.  For the next seven days I will be attempting to support [...]

Taken for a ride

So I have a story. In fact, this story took place almost a year ago, but I had almost forgotten about it until last weekend when it jumped back to mind. My story goes something like this.
Enter a blonde Canadian woman looking moderately overwhelmed but determined. She approaches a busy intersection to try and flag [...]