Nepal

Here it is as promised- a post about my three-week trip to Nepal!!!

this was my first time in Asia, so there's another continent added to my list.

we flew into kathmandu on qatar airways- very nice airplanes. good airplane food (who knew that existed?) and little tvs on the back of every chair with lots of movies.

when we landed we were all a little tired and discombobulated (due to the 5 hour layover in Doha at 3 in the morning) but excited to finally be there!

we were greeted by the two students, Dechen and Robin, from the school we would be working at who would be coming with us on the trek, and Pemba, our trek leader.

we did some souvenir shopping around kathmandu and then went to bed early.

in the morning, we took a short and sketchy plane ride to pokhara, then an hour long bus ride THEN we finally began our trek.

personally, i found the first day the hardest, not only because of the change in altitude, but because all of us were a little unsure of what to expect exactly in terms of difficulty. i have experience with hiking and trekking, but it was still a little daunting.

i won't summarize every day of trekking for you, but there were 10 days worth and every second (almost every second) was simply spectacular. the views were amazing, the people we met on the way were really interesting, and the food was delicious!!

when we reached Annapurna Base Camp, our highest point, we got up at 5 in the morning to watch the sun rise over the mountains and although it was FREEZING (but no snow) it was beautiful. our descent was a little easier on the lungs, a little harder on the knees, but took a lot less time than going up.

when we finished the trek, we headed back to kathmandu, SHOWERED for the first time in 10 days, and headed to the school we would be working at.

we were assigned 'buddies' who would show us around and answer questions and be our new friends. every single person i met at that school was amazing, they all have such tear jerking stories of how they came to kathmandu, and seriously- buddhists are tHE NICEST people. i bought a book on buddhism while i was there so i could learn a little more about the religion.

leaving nepal was really sad. i cried. it was hard to say goodbye to some amazing people who i might never see again, but it was one of the best experiences of my life!

can't wait to go back someday!

urrggghhhh

left alone this weekend to work on the three essays that are hanging over my head.

spending the weekend with camus, sartre and socrates.

hi!!!

it's cold and miserable in neuchatel (some have been saying this weird, cold may weather could be a result of the volcano in Iceland, but Dina, my madame says that this happens every year in Neuchatel)

the following are distracting me:

www.mybreakfastblog.blogspot.com

www.nourishingmornings.blogspot.com

www.thesnailandthecyclops.blogspot.com

www.liebemarlenevintage.blogspot.com

doris day.

all worth checking out!

on the first two...

i miss good breakfasts... they don't seem to exist here.

Nepal

there will be a post about Nepal coming soon!

i have no room on my computer to load pictures, so until i find a way, SIT TIGHT!!!!!

uk

hello folks.

alright, so before we headed off on our big easter trips (nepal, for me), we got a week off for independent travel! when i was considering where to go, i was thinking about how i didn't just want to go somewhere and stay in a hostel and do touristy things, but i wanted to feel comfortable. i have family living in Great Coxwell just 30 minutes outside of Oxford, and i had never had the opportunity to get to know them, so i thought, why not now? i flew into London Heathrow, took the bus to Oxford and was picked up by Lindsay (my second cousin... i think). it was really wonderful, they were so welcoming and friendly, it really felt like i was with Bennetts. i went for a dismal day trip into London, which didn't turn out to be exactly what i was picturing, but that just gives me another excuse to go back i suppose!! it was Easter, so on Sunday we had a big lunch and I got to meet some more family members and then we went for a delightful little walk around Great Coxwell. a really great place. the kind of place i picture myself living in someday. green pastures and gardens galore!

so the original plan after my solo trip there was to go meet a few friends in Dublin. the cheapest option for me was to take the train and then the ferry from Holyhead, so i did just that. i took 5 hours worth of trains to Holyhead and was running into the train station to catch my ferry at the last minute, when i notice that the train station is empty. my ferry had been cancelled and the next one was at 2:40 am. so i had eight hours to kill. i didn't really do anything besides read Dubliners by James Joyce to get myself in the mood and a hell of a lot of people watching. when i finally did get on the ferry, i slept, waking up feeling seasick. i got into Dublin at 6 in the morning, found the hostel and got about 2 hours of sleep before going on a bus tour with my friends and trying to take advantage of the day. everything was perfect, i saw what i needed to see (though i didn't get to go to the guinness factory), did some shopping and then went on a pub crawl that night.

though things didn't go exactly as planned it was a great week with (some) relaxing moments!

st. petersburg

so! (sorry i'm a little behind, lots has been going on)

i went to st. petersburg in march on the premise of attending a model un conference (none of us took it seriously, this was just an opportunity for us to go to russia, drink vodka and buy a furry hat.) and it was a grand old time. we got there and the first night (of course) we drank some vodka, had a good time. then the next day we toured russia, saw the sights. hermitage. it was really snowy and still winter which was weird because winter was coming to a close in neuchatel. the model un portion of the trip was kind of fun too, all of the other schools that were there were taking it really seriously, and we were just there to explore russia. we only had one day where it was really serious and it was really intimidating when they called me (iraq) up to the front of the classroom and demanded that i speak on something i hadn't been listening too, but it's all in good fun, right??

florence

i just realized it's been two weeks and i've forgotten to do a post about florence!

well, it was wonderful.

we got there on friday and had a bit of free time to walk around and explore before going to a restaurant (delicious) where they proceeded to serve us 8 meat courses. (not really, but the point is we ate a lot of meat and that made me VERY happy). they also put two-liter bottles of wine on each table. oy.

the next day we visited the Uffizi gallery (where DAVID is) it was very cool. i never knew he was so big

after that, we had the rest of the day free and i went to the leather market and bought a nice leather belt, some gifts and more things for myself hehe.

that night we were on our own for dinner so most of the students went to a restaurant together (my pizza had anchovies on it and i wasn't aware until i took my first bite... wasn't impressed)

the next day we took a walking tour of the city and went to a lot of cool churches (ie. the Duomo)

we returned to the leather market (it was that good)

and then that night for dinner we went to an amazing (and inexpensive) restaurant with lots of fresh pasta mmmmm...

it was definitely a delicious trip!

berlin

so happy that independent travel has started again!

two weekends ago i went to berlin with five of my friends and it was a great time to say the least.

berlin was the only place coming here that i knew i just HAD to go to, and i was a little skeptical about going so last minute but it ended up being the perfect weekend!

we stayed at a great hostel (st. christopher's- everyone who is going to berlin should stay in this hostel. it's especially great for young people because it has a bar downstairs and the drink prices during happy hour are dangerously cheap.)

so we got there and sat in the bar for a bit, had some dinner, and then went in search of somewhere else to party. we ended up going to a hookah bar which was nice because we got to sit down and stuff.

the next day we went on a fabulous free tour offered through the hostel and saw everything we needed to see - the brandonburg gate, where Hitler killed himself, the Jewish memorial and everything else notable in berlin

we went on a pub crawl that night which was kind of mediocre, nothing too special.

the next day we went to an AMAZING flea market where i purchased a dusty polaroid camera, some shoes that pinch my feet (but it's worth it, they are really cute). i spent the rest of the day wandering alone through the tiergarten and picking up some extra souvenirs, and it was very relaxing and nice to absorb the city by myself.

it was weird, berlin made me feel very comfortable, like i had already been there before.

definitely a successful trip!