I have Mountains

Dear All,

As some (perhaps most) of you have heard, I've decided to stay on for at least another year here in Nepal. While is wasn't the most difficult decision I'd ever made, I can assure you a lot of thought has gone into it, and I'm as confident as I can be that this is absolutely the best thing for the me I am right now. But as at least one friend has very emphatically asked, "Why would I want to stay another year?". I'm not sure I'll do it justice, but let me try to explain.



I'll be the first to admit that at times life here is remarkably challenging. We face water shortages, electricity shortages, and as of late, even governance shortages. The weather is often hotter than any good Michigan girl should ever have to endure. I haven't had good ice cream, worn cowboy boots, or sang karaoke in longer than I care to count. I've danced to a swing song with a partner a grand total of two times and I've only had one shopping trip with the girls.

But, here, I have mountains. No matter where I am, they are always looming in the background, looking peaceful and calm, kind of the way I picture God to be. And when it rains here...well I'm yet to find the perfect words. But more than that, I have a job or rather, a project, that occasionally drives me to the brink of insanity, but in the end, always leaves me feeling contented and accomplished in ways I'd never even dreamed of before. I face a million challenges here, both as a foreigner and as a single woman, but with these challenges my confidence continues to grow. And though I've yet to climb Everest, I'm now certain that if I wanted to, I could. It's as simple as that. (I don't want to. Just for the record)

Here, I've also grown a family that I cherish and worry over as much as I do all of you. I've worried with them over the failing health of some of the older people in our family, and I've rushed to the hospital to welcome our newest nephew. Here, I have a group of friends who will sit with me when I have a concussion, who will shower me in chocolate on my birthday, and who will patiently explain everything that's happening in a Hindi movie, no matter how much it annoys the people around us. And yes, here I have my Buffalo, who is a constant source of support, comfort and laughter in everything I do.

None of these things alone would be enough to hold me here, so far away from all of you, and all the things at home I've always loved, but together, especially now as I continue to grow in to the academic, and the person I've always hoped to be, the pull is to much to resist. So I'm apologizing now for another year of missed birthdays, Christmas parties, and trivia nights, but I've no doubt in my mind, when I come near to you again, my new glow will be enough to convince you this time apart was all for the best.

Neither time nor space could ever dim my love for you,
Me