The road to Kathmandu IS very long

this is my hair after a bucket.
p.s. no other pics would upload, sorry.

Namaste!
Okay, I am finally here and over the jet lag and over the altitude sickness. My flight over was insane. I ended up staying the night in Bahrain which at first was scary and confusing and then later nice. My flight to Kathmandu was 9 hours later than I had expected. I could see Mt. Everest over the clouds when we flew in though, and that was amazing. I haven’t started work yet since I needed a day to get acclimated, but I start today. People here are very laid back, schedules are loose, things change constantly, and no one is in a hurry. I think their stress level must be zero, I wish it would wear off on me. It’s a hard adjustment, but I think it will be a good one.
I am staying with Shanti and her son and husband. She has a huge house and I am renting a room on the 4th floor. The pictures are of the house and my room. It is very hot right now and no one has air conditioning. The internet is VERY VERY SLOW and not wireless. Skype is virtually useless so you won’t be able to call me. I have tried to post on my blog twice and it hasn’t worked. I really hope it works this time. I need to talk to Shanti’s son about the best place for internet. He is sixteen and out of school due to the teacher strike. Yesterday we watched Nepali VH1 and he could play virtually every song that came on with his guitar. Her Daughter is in Utah
I’m finally getting over the culture shock. I was flying for so long and I was so tired I kinda had a little bit of a crying fit at the end of the day. I was so confused and no one told me what was happening. Everyone is so nice to me, but I just felt so lost and out of place. I’m doing much better now.
The pollution is very bad in the main parts of town. Most people speak English but there are also long bouts of Hindi and Nepali spoken in between. The power goes out for 2 hours in the evening. Not using toilet paper is not cool, but it will stop me from biting my nails I guess J. The shower is a bucket you fill up with cold water and dump on your head; I’m not kidding. It is taking me a little bit to get used to the food. I think I’ve already lost 5 pounds. When I told Shanti I was going to lose weight she said "your mother will think I haven’t been feeding you." There is a white Pomeranian type dog in one of the down stairs levels. He’s cute and makes me miss Rocky (p.s. spell check tried to capitalize miss, so it would be Miss Rocky). I am getting a cell phone in a few days and have decided that since internet sucks here, and is great in the states, so David and my parents need to buy a Nepalese number for their computers and I can call them. ( just to be sure guys, it will look like +977). It is very expensive to talk to the states on a cell phone here. To call from a phone in Thamel (a 3 dollar cab ride away) It is 30 rupees per minute (50 cents) and you have to talk in front of a crowd of people. Some time before the rains, in the next week or two, I want to fly up to Mt. Everest. On the weekends I want to see the temples and gardens in Kathmandu. Towards the end of my trip I am planning on taking a tour (with a group) up to Poukara and Chitiwan national park to ride the elephants and see the sunrise. It will be hot and rainy but I don’t want to miss out. I bought a fan yesterday for 20 dollars, very pricey for Nepal. It was the cheapest one they had but it is the best purchase I have ever made. I’m also getting some Saris made. The material and tailoring for each one was 17 dollars. I am getting 2 to wear to work, one is green and the other is turquoise, surprise surprise.
On another note, I really do miss all of you. I never have been so solitary. I know I’ll fit in soon, but you’re my crew, and I miss you….and shower heads…and toilet paper.

Bye

I get on a plane in 3 hours and I don't get off for days. I love you, I miss you, take care of David and Rocky for me. I'll talk to you soon.

culture shock

I bought a brand spankin new camera for my trip and here are some pictures from it. Tonight is Elizabeth and Leah's very sweet "Namaste Chandle" party. It will be great to see everyone. I'm getting nervous and excited about leaving. I've never traveled abroad alone. It's going to be amazing. I'm certain I've forgotten something because my bags are so underweight. I guess AmeriCorps taught me how to pack light "I can only wear the same pair of pants 5 days a week, right, guys?" I've been bad about posting, and I'm anxious for the party so I decided to post, but there's not much to say and this way you get to see sweet Isabella.

P.S. They don't use toilet paper;
I accidentially bought waterproof boots made of a cow god, so Scotch guard and tennis shoes is the next best thing;
It's rude to point your feet at other people;
there is no silverware.

Leaving on a jet plane

I'm officially done with school and I survived a whole year of Graduate school. I now have completed 25 hours of graduate level credit. I can hardly believe it. So I leave for Nepal a week from Monday. A travel warning was issued last week but I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm going to Siloam tomorrow to wish my mom and sister a happy mother's day. Here's a link to check out the news from the Kathmandu Post.

A Happy Birthday was had

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, it was a great one. My parents came down last weekend and my mom made me an amazing German Chocolate cake. Joy also got me this great carrot cake. I'm headed home on the 13th but I'll be back for the fabulous going away party Elizabeth and Leah are throwing me. If you want to come, it's at 8pm at Leah's house. If you want to come send me an email and I'll forward the invite.

You dirty dog

Only David Carpenter would have a dog this attracted to dirt. I let him out for 15 minutes. When I tried to go out the gate, he jumped on me and I screamed bloody murder.

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

Okay, I know everyone is just dying to talk to me when I'm in Nepal (check out the zack morris). There is a 12 hour time difference, so remember, when it's 6pm here, It's 6am there. I have elected to buy a phone number for my computer. You can call this number and reach me where ever I am and you're cell phone will think it's calling a Northwest Arkansas number. My skype phone number is (479) 439-1519. It's active now. There is a small delay when I talk to you, but it cost $12 for 3 months unlimited, as opposed to $ 10 a minute in Nepal. You can reach me whenever I'm signed in. I also have voicemail. Also, if you want to see my smiling face, my skype account is chandle.devor. You can sign up (it's free) and talk computer to computer.

Happy Earth Day

I haven't been writing very much, but I've been REALLY busy with school. This morning I saw a bird on tv from Australia. The bird made the sound it's supposed to make, then made the sound of a siren, then made the sound of a buzz saw. It made me cry. So in honor of that bird, here's some things you can do to reduce you're impact on the Earth:

• There's a huge Earth Day fair at the Clinton Library tomorrow. From 4-6 you can clean up the river.
• If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, the cumulative effect is enormous. It would prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that from nearly 800,000 cars. It would also save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes for a year.
• Defrost your freezer. It will run more efficiently and save your household money.
• Unplug the chargers and save money. Reduce your electricity bill by unplugging chargers for your cell phone, digital camera, and MP3 player.
• Turn off the water between shampooing and conditioning your hair. A simple turn of the knob can save up to 50 gallons of water a week.
• Use recycled paper. Every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, and the energy equivalent of 380 gallons of oil.
• You can reduce the volume of your trash by 80% simply by collapsing packaging, and composting organic waste.
• Turning off un-used electronic devices could save you about $300 a year.
• The simplest way to save the most water: place a bottle filled with sand in your toilet's water tank. Save water each time you flush.
• Protect our natural resources by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth. It saves you 5 gallons of water every minute.
• Cook your food faster and cheaper. Put a lid on your cooking pots to reduce the energy used by up to 30%.
• Recycle your junk mail

Lunch at the Govenor's Mansion

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Mrs. Beebe at the Govenor's mansion. It was beautiful, and the food was great. I'm headed home tomorrow,so expect cute pictures of the kids.

And the award for crazy goes to.....

Remember that picture of Virginia that we would all go look at to laugh? The one with her and Vanessa at the party. I think I have found a replacement. David took this on top of the water tower in Jacksonville. He was trying to keep his eyes open, but he was struck with WHITE BLINDNESS!!!!!!!!!