a long layover, touching the tarmac, loadsharing blues, and a surprisingly chilly day.

I am safe and sound in Nepal after an arduous journey of a drive down to Portland, three bus rides, one plane ride, a ridiculously long layover in Abu Dhabi, a second plane ride, and a Nepali taxi ride (plus one flat tire). All in all, i'm very appreciative of a flat space to lie on, and non-recycled air, although Kathmandu certainly isn't "fresh". My 14-hour layover in Abu Dhabi was quite pleasant due to a business friend of my father's who recently re-located to the city with his family. He picked me up from the airport and brought me to his home, where his wife and two young daughters were already asleep (it was 10:00pm). I pretty much had the run of the place- his wife left out snacks for me, and he explained the cable and turned on a computer with wireless, showing me the shower and an extra bed. Luckily, my last plane ride was 13 hours, and i had a free seat next to me so i had already caught up a lot of sleep. This meant i ate too many of thier Milanos, watched Conan O'Brien, did that e-mailing thing, and read through all my journal entries from my last time in Nepal, which was both illuminating and re-assuring, already I felt much more prepared than I was 7 months ago.
I took a taxi back to the airport in the morning and boarded my final plane for Kathmandu, which was only 4 hours, a seeming eyeblink after all the traveling behind me. I had the luck to sit next to Martin, a guy from Sweden on his way to work in Kathmandu for 6 months for an organization that does conflict resolution. It was nice to talk with someone relatively my age, and especially to split the cost of a taxi ride to Thamel, the tourist district, from the airport. If anyone reading this is thinking of passing through Nepal you should definitely stay in Hotel Karma, the people are really nice, there are two beds per room, a western toilet, free wireless or a computer with internet, most of the time hot water, and the people who work there are really nice. It's also about $5. Just a little shameless plug.
After arriving I slept a decent amount, unpacked everything just so i could get it in order again and not live out of my backpack, and took a quick shower. I've had two big surprises since getting here: first, the loadsharing in Kathmandu has increased substantially, the electricity is out far more often than last time. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, in places where there isn't enough electricity to run everything they turn off the power in different districts for periods of time throughout the day, thus 'sharing the load'. Last time i was here it was only about 4 hours in the evening, but this time its 9-11 hours during the day, and probably more at night when everyone's sleeping! Right now i'm awake at 2:00am (darn that internal clock!), and the power has been on since midnight, but that's not really a good time to being going out. All in all, it's pretty inconvenient, i mean as soon as it gets dark I have to make sure i've got my headlamp and some candles. It's not so big a deal right now as I dont have a great need for using the computer (just a well-developed habit, which i should work on breaking), however, this could greatly effect the PhotoPals program in Sankhu, as we will need to charge the cameras, and I will need to get online to send and recieve the student's photos. I don't yet know what the loadsharing is like in Sankhu- I only hope it's less, and that internet is available during the time when the one internet place is open, if not things will become a lot more challenging, although i certainly won't give up- i'll find a way to make it work!
The other surprise is that it's actually COLD here. Cold. I mean, really? I've been from Maine to Alaska in the last couple of months, i didn't think i could get fazed after my 100+F monsoon season here, but i've been put, shivering, in my place. It's about 35 at night and in the 60s during the day, but it's very humid, and not comfortable without long sleeves. Luckily, this is just like May in Alaska, far more the weather i'm used to then the hot months from before. I went out and bought a nice knockoff Marmot -10 C sleeping bag this afternoon, in which i am currently quite toastily snuggled, so i plan to arrive at the village prepared for a comfy sleep.
Anyhow, I've enjoyed my first full day here, possibly because i didn't do much except wander around, and will probably spend the weekend here so i can go visit the women at Raksha Nepal and the children at the Kathmandu PA Nepal. I especially want to talk to the woman in charge of PA, Indira, about the particulars of the PhotoPals program in Sankhu, just so there aren't any issues before arriving.
My goal while i'm here is to write a letter a day, although I may have to send them in weekly or biweekly groups, so you should send me your address if you want to hear from me, i've got a rather abbreviated list of them. I also like getting e-mails from actual people instead of lists or spam, especially when i'm far from home! So send away if you've got a moment. I am missing home, but happy to be here, which is probably the best it can be. I'll check in before I head out to Sankhu. I hope you are all well and happy, and taking a moment to appreciate your comfy bed, non-airplane meals, and woolen sweaters.