obamanos in nepal

I saw the most wonderful woman..ever. After spending my day wandering the alleys again, I spotted her around the corner from my favorite cafe. Standing no more than four feet tall, her face engraved by wrinkles carved deep, her tiny little body bundled up in a colorful wool shawl, and her eyes set intently on the screen in front of her. When she spotted me smiling at her, her face immediately lit up in a Cheshire grin, cheek to cheek, and she just pointed at the screen and smiled back at me. She was watching a rafting video outside a trekking store..just standing, watching, smiling. We just stared at each other for a minute before I continued along my way, looking back to see her still standing and watching, completely enthralled by this video. This is Nepal!

So for all that are interested, I made it to Nepal! It's been about a week so far, and I could not be happier. What a wonderful and much needed break from the craziness that is India.

Although the journey here was a bit tumultuous; from getting harassed by a drunk Indian on the overnight bus ride, bouncing along a road that is not even a road, to spending ten hours sitting upright without a backrest surrounded by Nepali men and women asking me "madame why are you alone?"

Well...Kathmandu is another busy, polluted, and honking city, but in comparison to the Indian cities I have spent my last two months in, it is a mecca of lush green hills, marvelously golden stupas adorned with Tibetan prayer flags, and charming Nepali people. I have been charmed once again.

On a last note...all I can say is hell yes for OBAMA. I spent an hour searching for the US embassy party that would be showing the final polls. I finally found it in just as the polls were closing and people were chanting 10, 9,8....A room filled with Americans, crying, cheering, chanting, hugging, and jumping up and down. Although I am sad to have missed the outrageous street dancing parties in the states, it was wonderful to feel the support on a global scale. All the Nepali people want to talk about Obama as well. I am utterly overjoyed, and anxiously anticipating being back in the states at some point to feel overwhelming energy surrounding me.

cheers.