214.953 miles from Everest

This weekend, after three weeks of intensive language study we took a couple of days off to spend some time with Lucy’s parents who were passing through on their way home from Singapore.  We decided to get out of the busyness of Kathmandu valley and head south to the Terai (the name given for the flat plains of Nepal that border with India).

In what felt a little like an MI5 style of travel arrangements we phoned a number given to us by a friend.  When the man answered at the other end we confirmed his identity then stated the name of our contact.  This eased the conversation and we were immediately given instructions to be outside a certain landmark on a certain day on a certain time and everything else would by then, we were assured, have been arranged.  So on the appropriate morning we were almost ready to leave when we got a phone call from an unknown number telling us “I am here.” After some frantic wracking of the brains and the subsequently cobbled together Nepali we realised that this was the person we were supposed to meet kindly just wanting to let us know that they were at the rendezvous. We met him with no further problems and were ushered unto the waiting vehicle where we were handed an envelope and the journey began!

Travelling in Nepal is more like a cross between a rollercoaster ride and being in a washing machine on spin cycle (well for your stomach at least!)  With no set rules that in practice apply one should not be surprised to find oneself playing chicken with an articulated lorry on a blind bend of an un-tarmaced road half way up what we might call a mountain (the Nepali’s would class as a hill) with a sheer drop beneath you leading to the dried up riverbed below, that is waiting for the monsoon rains, or you to fall, whichever comes first!  And so it was with incredible skill that our driver negotiated such roads that led us from Kathmandu valley in what would be classed as the middle hills with a backdrop of Himalayas to the flat lands of the Terai. Here the horizon stretched out as far as the eye can see in both directions uninterrupted by any kind on bump on the landscape, and the sky somehow seemed a whole lot bigger all of a sudden. The feel of the Terai is more tropical with the temperatures noticeably warmer at the lower altitude and miles of fields interspersed with traditional mud hut villages and the occasional bigger, more developed town. 

It was at one of these towns that we stopped without warning and another unknown man got into our vehicle and, after greeting us with a warm smile, asked if we had the paper. This we concluded must be the contents of the envelope we had received earlier. It appeared we were correct in our assumption and we drove on to our hotel and had a wonderful couple of days being introduced to some of the local culture and wildlife, which included a baby rhino and twin toddler elephants, before repeating the 4.5hr journey in reverse!

Still 100 miles but feeling more like 7,531.28 miles

Last weekend (5^th/6^{th Feb}) the PTA of one of the international schools here in Kathmandu held a fundraising basketball tournament. For the first few days after we arrived in Nepal we kept meeting people who would take one look at Tom and ask if we were free for the tournament.  So the weekend arrived and Tom was due to play and referee some of the other matches. Lucy who after too many years of netball finds it impossible to run with the ball was down to be a scorekeeper. Early on Saturday we made our way to one of the city’s private schools that has three courts, only to discover on arrival that we had somehow passed through an invisible magic portal and rather than being on the playing fields of a Kathmandu high school we were now in America!

Tom and team mate Nico preparing for battle!

There was a marquee, food stalls, game stands, printed t shirts with local sponsors logo’s on, and a make shift tannoy system had been set up using trees as speaker stands playing pop/rap music.  On closer inspection you realised that the marquee was not white but rather made of beautiful multi coloured local fabrics and the food stands whilst selling some traditional baked goods also sold local snacks such as momos (similar to dim sum but tastier!) and samosas.  It made the stereotypical English school fete look like a jumble sale.

There were over 50 teams from schools and clubs across Kathmandu valley all gathered to play what is one of the nations favourite sports. Despite the average height of the country’s population only being 5’7” many players far exceeded this average and all of them showed a phenomenal level of skill.

Over the two days we had a lot of fun getting to know people from the local community and further a field.  There are so many differences between the different nationalities represented here and amongst the Nepali’s themselves but for two days we all enjoyed the same spirit of teamwork, fun, excitement and anticipation, all be it with an American edge! 

100 miles from Everest, Finally!!

Only four short hours from the sunshine of the UAE, Nepal welcomes you with open if a little chilly arms!  On our descent we caught some amazing views of the Himalayas and our first glimpses of Kathmandu itself.

We didn’t have any problems getting on to the flight this time (UAE have a very generous luggage allowance) but arriving at Kathmandu airport was more like arriving in rural Africa and the rules that apply for nationals are often waived for ‘Bedeshi’s’ (foreigners). We were ushered through security checks, and totally skipped customs altogether!

Once we had met the person picking us up we drove through Kathmandu to the UMN head quarters and what will be our offices.  The city is dirty, highly polluted and the air hangs thick with smog, but this feeling is exaggerated by the low lying mist that descends into the Kathmandu Valley during winter and blocks the mountains from view. Once the sun has set, the temperature drops significantly and with houses designed to keep the heat out it is often colder inside than out.  It’s usually around three degrees inside and so layers keep getting added, and hot water bottles tucked down jumpers!  That said, warm food and a good duvet make it all ok.

We are living in a city called Patan, which is right next to Kathmandu, divided by a river, which makes the Thames look drinkable! It is probably more like living in South London and working in the North than changing from one city to another in the UK. We are beginning to get our bearings (although every street looks the same at the moment) after a guided walk around with our link host, showing us the stalls which were safe to buy fruit and vegetables at, and those which were not! There are some unlikely finds down back alleys if you know where to look, like a bakery in a back room of a house at the end of a dirt track making fresh bread, croissants and even pizza!

We are moving into our temporary flat on Saturday, which we will have until June, our freight arrives on Monday (we hope!) and we start language training on Wednesday. There are busy times ahead but we are grateful for the peace God has given us about being here and the friendship and hospitality of the people we have met.

Abu Dhabi, only 1,959.02 miles to go......

As we drove to the airport our worries about the weight of luggage were confirmed at Heathrow by the scales at check-in. However, after playing the volunteer worker card and a few glistening tears from Lucy the situation was resolved by the kind gentleman at the desk choosing to let us pass without paying a fine.

We arrived in Abu Dhabi bleary eyed and sleepless after a comfortable flight, but missing most of the night due to time changes. But, so wonderful to see one of our great friends with whom we spent the next couple of days.  After concluding quickly that all there is to do in the UAE is shop, sand and sea we went ahead and enjoyed just that.  Ok, so the shopping bit was more like window-shopping, but we compensated by enjoying both the beach and a trip into the desert. On our last day we drove up to Dubai for some fun at a water park on The Palm Island.

Jumping on sand dunes as part of desert safari with friends!

It was very relaxing and for most of the time we forgot that we were in the middle of emigrating to Nepal. That was until we were asked by someone, “Where are you from? Where do you live?”. We realised that the first answer seemed quite straight forward but the second one was not so easy! How could we say we lived in Kathmandu when we had yet to set foot in the country, but after all the goodbyes our heavy hearts were sure we did not live in London anymore.  So we live in the State of Limbo, do you know it?  The now, but not yet kind of life?  We had a great time there, saw some incredible things, spent time with precious people, but the real adventure begins about 1,959.02 miles from here in our new home!

Well more like 4,605.57 miles.......

So it’s less than a week to go (we fly on Saturday to Abu Dhabi before heading on to Kathmandu on the 19^th) and we thought we better post something on here at long last!

We have said many goodbyes over the last few weeks and even months, and the sadness of this at times has felt too much. The reality of being separated from so many important people is beginning to sink in and the events we will miss sharing in with them. However the emails we have been receiving from people in Nepal looking forward to our arrival, has given us the excitement of anticipated hellos and new experiences at the other end, and for this we are very grateful.

Our freight was picked up today and so we are left with two suitcases to live out of for the next couple of weeks until we are reunited with our things in Kathmandu. Packing was an experience which tested us more than we anticipated. Deciding what to take? What not to take? What do you need? What do you want? How can it all fit? Eventually everything in the "take/need" pile and a few from the "want" pile got condensed into 5 packages weighing thirty kilograms or less in accordance with the strict airfreight rules. All of this was made possible by the discovery of vacuum pack bags, allowing us to watch in amazement as our super king size 15 tog duvet was reduced to nothing larger than a pillow!

We made a visit to our link group in Dengie (Essex) yesterday and were completely overwhelmed by the welcome we received. The three churches may be small in number but are not lacking in enthusiasm and we very quickly felt part of their community even though we had known them for a matter of hours.  Following the service in which we gave a brief introduction to what we will be doing, the church held a bring and share lunch (something they do every month but held an extra one in our honour!) which was incredible, we had never seen so much food!!  We met some wonderful people and heard about new ventures the church is starting within the local area. Once we had torn ourselves away from the yummy food we gave a more detailed presentation with members from the other two churches in the group arriving as well.  We are excited about the partnership we have with them and were truly touched by their genuine love for us, as one member said as we thanked her on leaving “Don’t be silly, you are family now!”  

This refreshed in us the amazing truth of the Gospel in the sense that all who are in Christ are indeed brothers, sisters, family! We are comforted that wherever we go we are part of this wider family and the strength that this gives us as we take the next step of getting on the plane!