Saturday, December 1, 2007

Welcome Back!

The journey from Vancouver to Kathmandu was via a one hour stopover in Seoul, Korea, and a 6 hour stop in Singapore. The total travel time was 30 hours, that saw me get about 4 hours of sleep. Still, as I stepped out into the craziness that is Kathmandu, Nepal, I remembered why I loved it here so much. Driving back into the center of the city, Thamel, I enjoyed getting to catch up with Mahindra and share stories of the past 2 years.

After I found a hotel, it didn't take us long to begin discussing business. I am happy to say that we seem to be on the same page right now, and we spent the afternoon discussing our plans for the next couple of days. We will be researching the most effective type of school for us (boarding vs trust), and we also have a meeting tomorrow morning with a local teacher who will be of significant benefit to us when it comes to both curriculum and government communications. From what I understand, we have several plots of land to choose from. This will be the first order of business once we are in the Okhaldhunga region. After we choose the land that is most suitable for the building, a field, and possible future expansion, we will continue to move forward. It is my expectation that by the end of next week we could have the land chosen and the materials being gathered in order to begin the project. Incidently, the gathering of materials appears to be the job of myself and Mahindra. This will be a matter of trekking every day carrying significant weight for hours at a time. I haven't completely wrapped my head around the extent of it, but it will definately be a challenge.

As for my blog, I will be heading to the mountains very soon and it is my understanding that the internet availability will be limited. I will be doing my best to make the 3 hour trek (each way) a couple times per week when time permits, to help keep all of you up to date with our progress. Be patient ... I'm old, and a bit slower at 10,000 feet above sea level.

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