October 9

1:35 PM

There have been so many things I've wanted to write about these past days but have barely had the energy! I'm hoping that today I am done with the sickness.

It has been taking much life out of me and I say to it, no more!! This morning we woke to the sight of the Himalayas! Stunning snow-capped mountains laced the horizon. The clouds have a constant presence but they are supposed to fade during the upcoming festival. There has been much talk about being able to see the snowy mountains. Each person telling you some place different to stand, some different direction to look. But we made no special maneuvers for the mountains this morning and there they were. The words 'the bold and the beautiful' came to mind while looking at them. And then the thought carried me to the soap opera daytime television program. Then to what the intro to that program is like. I started hearing the fast-paced rhythm. My head and hips followed its beat through about 20 seconds of of back and forth sideways bobbing before I realized that I was standing on a balcony in Nepal and not living the surreal luxuriousness of a soap opera. But I looked. No one saw me. Success!

Since I've been here I have been asking myself (many) a question about what this place feels like. And whether I've not spent enough time to tell or there will be no telling answer--I cannot tell. But I have discovered something.

The days past fast. You peer at the schedule and think "My golly, I've got five and a half hours free everyday. Whatever will I do with all that time?" but then you reach 8 PM, you've reached another day's end in the snap of your fingers and you're exhausted like you haven't slept in three weeks.

The days pass quickly but they seem to last longer in memory. As though each day multipies in length tenfold once placed in the past. I think the days will pass quickly. I think Nepal will pass slowly. I think once we leave it will feel as though we've spent months. So comfortabe. So accustomed. So set in routine. It already seems far longer than a week.

The sun isn't out today. A face that has left me cold and shakey. The weather already seems to be changing. The first few days it was warm and sunny. Now there is less sun and more needed layers at night.

Tomorrow we leave mid-afternoon for Thamel. Thursday morning we leave Thamel at 6 AM to make our way to Last Resort, our Nepalese adventure in bungy, high ropes, and canyoning! A change in scenery or place or whatevs will be nice. Just to break up the stay a bit.