Sniffles & Gorgeous Weather

Note: There are lots of new posts (six to be exact), so make sure you read them all!

Day Four at Kopan Monastery

The minute I woke up I groaned: my nose was running, my throat was scratchy and my skin felt too hot. Breakfast didn’t refresh me much, so before showering and going back to sleep, I took a fizzy Airborne tablet, given to me by Audrey, a middle-school teacher and teacher trainer from Portland, Oregon. We met last night, when she arrived in time for dinner and sat with me. We get along quite well, chatting about everything from travel to teaching to everything inbetween. She’s volunteering for two weeks with an NGO to help train Nepali teachers. Before that, she’s taken the time to relax at the monastery, excited because she is Buddhist and her teacher knows Kopan well. Anyway, she offered, and I accepted, one of the cold-prevention tablets. I slept for a couple more hours, almost missing lunch.

After lunch I bummed around, feeling better but not great. My usual routine continued: reading, walking, napping, using the internet café, looking out at the view. The morning was cloudy, but the day really cleared up and soon the crisp air and sunshine were cheering me up considerably. I sunned for a bit, figuring a bit of Vitamin D couldn’t hurt, and ended up watching the sunset with Audrey from the grassy hill that is the highest point at the monastery. The sky was wonderful, with a ceiling of clouds making my depth perception go wonky over the mountains, and the rest of the sky blue and clear with birds wheeling around. As the sun got lower and went behind a band of clouds, it was as if we were in a theater and the lights had dimmed slightly. The entire landscape seemed to have changed with the lighting. Beautiful!

At tea, before dinner, I met a girl from Marseilles, France. She gave me some great recommendations on places to stay in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. Tomorrow my plan is to check out and head to Thamel with Audrey, who already has a place to stay through the NGO. We plan to go shopping where Anisha took me, which should be fun because we’re looking for the same kind of things. I will either stay at the same place as Audrey, if it seems nice and the price is right, or I’ll go check out the French-woman’s recommendation. I figure I’ll leave for Pokhara on Sunday and spend some time there and at the coffee farm the Swedish couple recommended.

Now, at the end of the day, my cold seems to be gone and I’m feeling pretty good. I’m excited to continue my exploration of Nepal and see the beautiful areas I’ve heard so much about!

--Z