Welcome to my blog!

Welcome, and thanks for reading! If you don't already know, I am a recent college graduate who, rather than, you know, getting a job and earning some income after graduation, decided instead to spend a month in Nepal traveling and volunteering. Why Nepal? I became interested in traveling there because my academic advisor, Jennifer, does her research on gender and education in Nepal. Jennifer and her husband, Chris, opened a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Pokhara, Nepal in 2007. The home is called Sam's House, and it will be my home as well for approximately the next 30 days. I'm traveling with Chris and Hannah, another student--unfortunately, Jennifer will be back in Morris teaching a summer class so I won't get to travel with her. While I'm there I'll be doing lots of sightseeing, hopefully some (light) trekking, maybe paragliding--if I work up the courage, reading, relaxing, playing with a bunch of Nepali kids, and volunteering to help teach English.

My flight leaves tomorrow from Minneapolis. From there I go to Amsterdam for a brief layover, and then Dubai for 10 HOURS. Ick. I'm not looking forward to that at all. Thursday morning I fly from Dubai to Kathmandu, where I'll meet up with Chris and Hannah. Even though I leave tomorrow, I still feel like it's just another day. I'm getting a little nervous, but mostly that I get all the little things done before I leave, like closing my Morris bank account and leaving my house keys on the kitchen counter.

For more information about Sam's House, check out the links on the right. The homepage includes pictures of all 20 ridiculously adorable children. Chris will be updating his blog throughout the summer as well, so it will be interesting to read our different perspectives on the same events.

I'm not really sure how busy I'll be and what my schedule will be like when I get to Nepal, but I hope to update often. There are a lot of internet cafes in Pokhara, but I'm not sure how often I'll get to them. The next time you hear from me, I'll be in another country, far, far away...