a mystery

there is a mystery that I have been dealing with since rainy season started...

I have frogs in my house.

They are of all sizes, big, tiny, and medium size. I will be sitting in my living room and one will hop across the floor. Once I spot said frog I go through the process of cornering the frog, catching it, and then releasing it back into the wild.
trying to catch the frog in my house
releasing the frog into the wild...aka my back yard

What I want to know is how are these frogs getting into my home!?!?!

I've checked all the windows and doors. I have yet to find a crack big enough for them to come through.
All of my drains are covered except one...the squatty.
My theory is that the little frogs are coming up and out of the squatty toilet.

So, what do I do now? Are there frog traps? Can I put some sort of powder in the squatty to keep them out? What are the chances that they will lay frog eggs in my toilet? What does one do with frogs in the house...or toilet as it may be? (sigh)

As they say in Nepal "ke garne" (what to do?)

Kathmandu and Food

One of my favorite things about living in Kathmandu are the restaurants. For years tourist have been coming to Kathmandu. thus having a large influence on some of the places to eat here.

Now, the food is not always guaranteed to be good. There are days when it is a hit or miss. One is however, guaranteed some great atmosphere. Most of the restaurants are indoor/outdoor. Some of them are housed inside refurbished stables and old buildings from the time when kings of old ruled Nepal. There are always candles on the table and fresh flowers in vases.

A few of the local favorites play jazz on certain nights of the week. That is where this whole blog was inspired.

A guy named Sean Michael came to KTM just a few weeks ago. He is "internet famous" for auditioning in season 6 of american Idol. It is with this "fame" that he is able to get into just about any bar, cafe, or restaurant to play his music. He is a strait forward Christian and his music clearly shares his love for Jesus. A bunch of friends and I went down to a restaurant called New Orleans cafe to hear him sing.

To my happy surprise my friend "Kav" opened for him. While Kav lived in KTM she lead worship for our house church. Let me just tell you this girl can sing.


You would think that living in a third world country a girl might get skinny from lack of food. Suffice it to say that this girl has no problems finding good places to eat. If you are ever in KTM here are a few of my faves....

* Fire and Ice-the pizza, lasagna, and ice cream are some of the best in town. It is the only place that serve soft serve ice-cream
* Road House-it's a pizza place as well but I love them for the hummus and ranch chicken wrap
* Downtown-the best Indian food...and mashed potatoes
* The Red Dingo-Australians run this place and they have a great chicken pot pie...and it is rumored that Orlando Bloom eats here when he is visiting Nepal
* Mikes Breakfast-waffles
* She' Caroline-Amazing Italian food and great atmosphere
* The Lazy Gringo- the ONLY mexican food place in town...and it's family owned (wink wink)
* Tsherigns Resteraunt-the best Nepali food around and her kids are likely to entertain you while you wait.

WARNING
***many of my favorite foods are dependent upon electricity
***restaurants are not liable for food poisoning
***hair found in food is not grounds for making a restaurant bad
***there is ALWAYS a charge for refills.

bungy jump

I will try just about anything at least once....maybe even twice if you are a smooth talker.
I would not consider myself an "extreme sports" kind of girl but should the opportunity present itself then count me in.

A few months ago in the spur of the moment I decide to go with a group of friends to a place called "The Last Resort". Our soul purpose in going was to bungy jump.


The resorts web site describes it like this...(http://www.bungynepal.com/index.htm)
"Bungy Nepal at The Last Resort may be the most spectacular jump on the planet. AT 160 meters high in a tropical gorge, Bungy Nepal is Nepal's ultimate rush and one of the longest free-falls in the world. The stunning natural surroundings so close to Tibet make the jump an almost magical experience. "

When you check in you are put into groups according to weight. My group was the third group to go. I was not nervous until I got on the bridge. That was when I started questioning my sanity and reasoning behind jumping. I however, was on the bridge and there was no turning back.

When they called my number (weight) they strapped the bungy to my ankles made and made me walk out onto the platform. After walking to the edge I heard a one, two , three, and then I jumped.
Now, I can not even begin to explain exactly what it feels like to jump off a bridge that high up. The first few seconds where sheer terror. The later few seconds felt like flying. It was a rush beyond any rush I had ever felt.
Would I do it again?....maybe. At this point and time I'm not sure
Would I recommend any one else to bungy jump? hands down YES!
I truly believe that everyone should at one time in their life experience what it feels like to fly.

what happened to June and July

I'm not exactly sure what happened to June and July. I don't know about you but they were super busy months for me.

I started off June by having a birthday. My friends were great in helping me celebrate. My friend Tammy made me a funfeti cake (one of my faves) and then a few days later some friends and I spent all day at the spa. A day full of massages, manicures, pedicures, swimming, and good food...I can not think of a better way to celebrate a birthday.

In the midst of all the celebrating I was also preparing for a medical team to come. The Medical camp was a huge success as was reported in a previous blog. What I did not share however was how pretty much EVERYTHING came together at the very last minute. I had plenty of days when my prayers where "God, only you can work this one out".


As I was working on organizing the medical camp I was also working on obtaining my Nepal visa.
Getting a long term visa in Nepal is not easy and when your computer crashes and the offices go on strike it is even more difficult. Again, this became a situation when my prayer was "God, only you can do this". Sure enough, on the day my tourist visa expired Nepal gave me a 10 month visa.

After my medical team left and I got my brand new visa I boarded a plane for Thailand. Now, there is something that you should know about my trips to Thailand. I don't truly interact with the Thai culture when I visit Thailand. I might have one plate of pad tai and say thank you in Thai but that is about it. You see, for those of us Americans that live on this side of the world Thailand is the closest thing to our culture that we have seen in months. So my time in Thailand is spent going to the theaters, eating, and shopping.

Some of my favorite parts of this most recent trip to Thailand where...
*First class theater. Imagine, reclining chairs, blankets for the AC, and all you can eat popcorn and Coke. You just push a button and they come to your seat with a refill.
*Eating. Outback Steakhouse, Burger King, Mc Donald's, Subway, Pizza Hut...I got my fill of beef, pork, pepperoni, and greasy food.

*The Flight of the Gibbon. One day a group of friends and I went on this adventure located in the Rainforest of Chaing Mai. We spent two hours zip linening through the forest. It was so much fun.
*The 4th of July. The American consulate hosted a 4th of July party in Chaing Mai. I ate a hot dogs, line danced, and watched fireworks. It truly felt like an American celebration...I loved it.

Now, I'm back in Kathmandu. I had a week off and it was a great time of rest and adjusting back to life here. This week my schedule has picked up again. I am teaching english 3x a week. Tutoring English students 4x a week and still taking Nepali classes 2x a week. I will have this schedule for the next 2 months. It is going to be busy but I know that it will be a good busy.

One Year

The past couple of months have been crazy to say the least. I have either been without a computer or far away from home thus preventing me from updating this blog of mine.

The problem with being away for so long is now I have all these things that I want to write about but am not sure where to start. Should I start with today and work my way backwards? Yes, I think it would be best if I just started with today...

Today marks my being in Nepal for one year. I've known for some time now that time flys by. This is especially true in the states. You see, Americans jam pack their lives so full of stuff that they don't have enough time in the day to complete everything. South Asians on the other hand view time completely different. They are all about stopping in the middle of their busy work day to drink tea and shoot the breeze. So what, if there is a line of people waiting for them. A tea break is a tea break.

So although in hindsight this year has gone by quickly, I've got to admit that there were days and weeks when time seemed to slow down and an hour felt like an eternity. If you have ever lived in a third world country for any amount of time you know what I am talking about.

You may be wondering how I am going to celebrating this one year of living in Nepal.
First on my list is to get the car tire repaired. I punctured it on a rock coming home from the store yesterday.
Second to do on my list is to walk my scooter to the mechanic because it will not start.
Also on my list is try to figure out what happened to my Word and Excel programs for the did not seem to make it with new hard drive. I would not mind too much except for the fact that I can not do my financial reports without the Excel program.

Today is truly a Nepal day...i.e.. nothing will come easy, sweat will be poured, and there will be some confusion. I guess there is no better way to celebrate being in Nepal then to have a "Nepal Day". Maybe if I'm lucky I will get stuck in a traffic jam, run into a protest, fall in a hole, and the power will go out.

Stick with me readers for I promises the next couple of blogs will be much more positive. I just had to get that off my shoulders before I could move on.

Medical Camp in June

Yesterday I returned from a week long trip to an area of Nepal called Helambu. I took a team of 10 Americans from South Carolina to put on a medical camp. The medical camp was great...hard but great. Here are a few facts about the camp


* In four full days we treated 1,111 people
* Four people had bugs pulled out of their ears (insert shiver)
* Every morning I would wake up with mysterious bites on my arms and legs
* One toilet for 1,000 + people emits an oder that one cannot begin to describe
* I have seen enough fungal rashes to last me a life time
* People from the village+hot weather+standing in line= flies flies and more flies
* I still believe ridding on top of the bus is the best way to travel
* although at times my faith is small God constantly shows up in BIG ways


On a different note....

some of you know that I have been having visa problems. You will be happy to know that I am just a few days from obtaining my visa. Tomorrow (Sunday is a work day here) I will drop off one document needed to complete my visa process and then barring any strikes I will pick up my visa on Monday.
The visa will arrive just in time for me to board a plane to Thailand on Wednesday. I will be in Thailand for two weeks for training.

I will be getting my computer back soon and hopefully will be able to keep up with e-mails, skype, and blogging. (thank you Ang Holy and friends for helping me with lil Mac)

Happy June and I will talk to you again in July.
(thanks Stacey for the pics)

if I could...

A few weeks ago my Mac lap top died. It has been sent back to the states and I hope to have it back soon. Until it's return I am now forced to use internet cafes and phone booths to make contact back home.

If I had my computer here are a few things I would take more time to tell you about...

*my sisters birthday

*Nepal's first lack luster independence day

*how I miss Mac's automatic spell check

*the history of my electronic curse (6 digital cameras, 2 lap tops, and countless copy machines have fallen prey to said curse)

*pray request for my Nepali visa. If I don't have one soon I will have to leave the country for the rest of the year

*a congratulations to my friends who have recently graduated

if I could write about these things I would but as it is I have been at this computer cafe for an hour and I need to go home.