LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

After almost two months the time has come to head back to my home, my husband, my cats, my family, my friends, my city and my country - all of whom/which I’ve missed and have a renewed appreciation for. With a mixture of sadness and excitement I went to have my last meal in the “dining hall” - the cement-floored, tin roof-covered brick building where I’ve increased my rice and chili tolerance tenfold. After breakfast, Sangye presented me with a khata (a white scarf, following a Tibetan custom where khata is presented to someone, in this case, to me on the occasion of my departure) and some incense as a gift. He said some very kind things to me in English (with a hint of a midwest accent I couldn’t help notice and cringe at just a bit) and I tried not to cry as I said goodbye and went to finish packing my things. Bhupi arrived mid morning and delivered some lovely Nepali gifts for me and Thomas. Next Kenpo stopped by, offering me khata and a poster with beautiful Buddhist imagery. After that, it was non-stop khata from monks big and small. By the time I walked down the hill for the last time, I was swimming in silk scarves. Saying good bye to the monks, to Osel Ling, to the mountains, and to Joules, was more than a little heart-breaking but the thought of what I was returning to pushed me forward.

A monk pack helped me carry my bags down the hill, Bhupi hailed a taxi, we tossed the bags on top (“Is he going to secure them somehow?”, I asked. “No, he says they won’t fall off.” Okay then.) and we were off to the airport with plenty of time to wait in queue for my connection to Delhi. I had to bribe the airline attendant because my bags were over the weight limit (cost me 200 rupees, or the equivalent of about $2.50) but the rest of the boarding and flight went without incident. I sat next to a Spanish man who’d just trekked to Everest base camp and we played video bowling and trivia games together for the whole flight. Upon arrival in Delhi, all of the passengers from our flight lined up single file and an airline official logged our names and baggage tag numbers and then separated us by connecting flight. I found myself with a woman from California (Diane), returning from a tour of Tibet, and a man from Nepal who moved to the states 8 years ago. After an hour or so we were shepherded through the airport to a Spartan holding area crowded with plastic chairs and luggage. Diane was flying business class and she was heading to the AA lounge to wait out the 10 hour layover so we followed and for $20 each, we found ourselves in a lounge with a buffet, water, an internet station, and comfortable chairs! Sweet! We even had a “concierge” to help us with our bags and process us through immigration. (This time around I had to pay $50 for my heavy bags but I still saved money over going the official route.) We spent a very pleasant few hours chatting and sharing stories and then boarded our plane to Chicago. I read and watched movies and listened to music - all in all a long but uneventful flight (thankfully sans perpetually crying babies).

And now I’m home, sipping an ice cold Tab, slowly acclimating to the western world and waiting for the fog of jet lag to lift.

Thanks to everyone whose read and followed this blog and for those who’ve sent me your comments. It was comforting to feel connected to you and a good exercise for me to put down some of my thoughts while in Nepal. It certainly was a life-changing experience and I know I’ll be revisiting and processing it for a while. But I won’t be putting those thoughts here because though I enjoyed it while it lasted, I’m hanging up my blogging shoes. I look forward to talking to and/or seeing many of you soon!! Namaste!:)