In the Planning Stages

So I've been in the planning stages for this trip for what seem like months now, but I am finally starting to realize what I want to do in Nepal and  where I would love to travel.  I have attended the University of Vermont for the past two years, studying everything from neuroscience to psychology, environmental studies, nutrition, and food systems.  After having struggled to find a major that really suited me I have decided to take a semester off from college and explore the world and places that I have only dreamed of.  Though my time at UVM has really impacted the individual I have become, I think there are bigger and better things out there that I am missing while in a classroom, busy memorizing facts that are irrelevant to what I am actually interested in.  Though my time at school is over for now, there is no guarantee that I will end up degree-less forever.  Once I find what I would love to dedicate my life to and share with others, I will return to school (whether it is UVM or another university) to complete my degree and go on accomplishing what I have set out to do!

So!  Back to my plans for Nepal this upcoming semester...

If you haven't heard of the WWOOF program (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), it is a great way to meet native people in the country you are traveling to and truly live the life of, in my case, a Nepalese organic farmer and his/her family.  My housing is free, as well as my meals, in return for me working 6 out of 7 days a week on the farm.  This is a super great way for me to save some serious money (money that I don't have much of as a junior at the University of Vermont).  Totally worth it, in my opinion.  So, I plan to WWOOF at a Prembasti Yoga and Organic farm in Chitwan, Nepal for the first month of being abroad.  I'm hoping that experience will allow me to get acclimated to the local culture and allow me to explore a more rural side of Nepal before traveling on to greater adventures for the remainder of my trip.

Once my month at the farm comes to an end, I will somehow travel to Pokhara, Nepal for my second leg of the trip.  I am planning on doing a few days of sight-seeing and also doing either a 5-day or an 11-day trek to the Annapurna Base Camp, which sits at about 13,000 feet!!  I've never been at that elevation, let alone maybe 5,000 feet?  So we'll see if this expedition makes it into my journal.  After the trek, I will be volunteering in a local orphanage in Pokhara through the Rural Community Development Program.  It is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious volunteer organization  that benefits orphans and less-fortunate children.  The program originated in Boulder, Colorado in 1998 and proceeded to open its first operation in Kathmandu, Nepal.  I'm very excited to really become involved in the local community and make my mark in this country I have always longed to visit.  

After a month or so at the orphanage, I will do some more sight-seeing in Pokhara to take it all in.  A sunrise hike to Sarangkot, a boat ride out to the Barahi Temple on an island in Lake Phewa, and paragliding from the top of Sarangkot to the banks of Lake Phewa are a few things I've tacked onto my bucket list.  Paragliding really depends on my courage to just "let go," so I'll keep my hopes up!  I've also found an awesome yoga and acupuncture center that I might check out while I search for peace and self-healing.  Then, I'll bus it back to Kathmandu for a final week to two weeks of soul-searching and sight-seeing in the largest city in Nepal.  I'm thinking of taking a meditation class and learning from the real pros but I haven't fully decided if that is what I want to do.  I'll see when I get there! 

That's all for now!  I still have yet to book my flights and get my vaccinations, with roughly a month left until I leave, but I won't worry about that until I have to :)

Peace.  Until next time...