Nepal (sigh)

Well I’m here. I have to say that my arrival was a bit different than I expected. I thought I’d be exhilarated, excited and childlike. Instead, I just felt normal. Everything is the same and it honestly feels like I haven’t left. It also feels like the best day that I could ever imagine in Kathmandu. The skies are clear and the temperature was about 26 at midday. I just wandered around for a few hours this afternoon, checking things out and taking things in. I smiled non-stop all afternoon – everything just felt so good, and nothing annoyed me. I can’t really explain all this: normally you can’t just amble around Kathmandu, nor can you retain your composure doing so for an entire afternoon. There are lots of tourists in town at the moment as it is peak trekking season, and there are relatively few Nepalis in town as they are visiting their home villages for a festival. I’m guessing that there are so many tourists to go around that it takes the pressure off each individual. (Last time I was here it was the off-season and I was one of very few targets for the very hungry vendors.) I also have to wonder if my obvious joy was rubbing off on the locals, who all greeted me with big smiles and what appeared to be genuine affection rather than the standard sales tactics. Whatever the reason, it felt great and I’m thrilled to be back. If only this feeling could be bottled.

Of course it wouldn’t be life if it was perfect and there is flip side to the coin. I am painfully aware of the fact that I came here for a reason, and now that I’m here I have to put my nose to the grindstone. Of course this is something I want, but after two years of drifting rather aimlessly (and loving it) I’m somewhat nervous about being a responsible adult again. I’m anxious about both looking for work which I know will be a challenge, and even more so, finding it.

I will start the process first thing next week; I have a dinner tentatively scheduled with a woman that I met through a series of other people (both known and unknown to me) and we have been corresponding over the last few weeks. I am hoping that she may help me get my foot in the door of the expat community here, which I figure is where I need to be both professionally and socially. I also have a list of other expats to get in touch with. In the meantime, I’m going to spend the weekend reacquainting myself with the city and my Nepali friends.