Chapter 2 From the balcony of the small guest house, I watch cars and motorbikes edge along dusty streets. It’s not yet eight in the morning but hammering, drilling, shouting, birds, and drum beats compete for space in the heavy air. And spitting. Thick, jelly loogies shoot from mouths and…

Aging seems to get a bad rap in some circles, but I’d like to think I’m becoming a stronger, wiser, more patient, more grounded, and overall more confident person. Leading up to my birthday, my goal is to complete 35 acts of kindness. I will make them public in hopes…

You think that if you change things outside, you’ll be okay. But nobody has ever truly become okay by changing things outside. -Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul Chapter 1 “Taxi! Taxi! You need taxi?” As soon as I exit Tribhuvan International Airport, a swarm of men shout. Discombobulated and tired after…

People in my home country, America, know of Nepal’s rubble. Following the 2015 earthquake, photos of toppled buildings and battered streets flooded newswires. My American friends have heard of Nepal’s poverty. Visitors to Nepal often arrive unaware of the costs of daily living (a tourist balking over the price of a guesthouse tea — and the subsequent arguments…

I thought I knew what love was. I had been disappointed by it, enthralled by it, willing to risk and change and give my life for it. I arrived in Nepal as a heartbroken twenty-nine year old. I was convinced love had slipped through my hands, that if I had…

5 considerations for those wanting to pack up and move — to a new country I came to Nepal to volunteer two weeks, hike Everest Base Camp and be on my way. Two years later, I call Nepal home. I live in a community where, on a good day, I…

I first came to Nepal for Mount Everest. The mountains lured me, but after learning about the state of Nepal’s education system, I signed up to be a volunteer. The government teacher at the school I found myself in told me with complete sincerity, “I want to be a security…

Most were to women I had never met. I live in Nepal. I was embarrassed at first, but I took the rose and muttered, “Thank you.” In my mind, I was already anticipating the stares I’d get walking down the street. This made me hesitate before accepting the simple gift. Stares aren’t a new occurrence since I moved to Nepal; I’ve gotten…

If technology is going to be the great equalizer, it needs to be available to all. — I remember summers of chilled beer and air-conditioned bars, the crisp skirts of waitresses rattling off the day’s happy hour specials. …