Back in civilazation!

Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I have been near a computer; where to begin...
First off, I got very ill the day before my trek was to start. I nursed myself back to health with doses of Cipro for 5 days, although that didn't stop me from going on my trek. Raju also came to visit me before my trek to see me off. (I had taken his family to the doctor the day before- his wife is very sick, and his beautiful daughter, Simmrind, was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Healthcare is such a wonderful thing in our country that we offen take for granted.) He will be sending his family back to India to family so they can take care of them, while he stays a bit longer to work.
I was thouroughly informed about bio gas, and on Tues. March 17th, I left. I started out in Besisar, and made my way up teh Annapurna circuit. It is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. You walk through these villages with beautiful people spinning prayer wheels, washing laundry, cooking Dal Bhat, which became my staple food, and it is just stunning. Words can not describe. For those who don't know what dal bhat is, it is rice with a lentil stew you pour over the rice, which usually comes with a heap of curried potatos and spinich.
I made it up to Braka, which is where my guide from the Responsible Travellers is from, and began collecting data about people with Bio gas, while educating those who had never heard of it. I learned a lot- more than i have time to write. Bio gas seems like such a wonderful alternative fuel- produced from cow dung, and any other waste. I spent days in Braka, just outside of Manang, when it began to blizzard. we were supposed to leave the next mornign to head down the trail, but the next day there was snow up to my knee. We trudged on though- for hours we walked through the snow to Pisang, where we stayed teh night. It kept snowing, and I sat by the fire in a little lodge, listening to about different languages in that one room. Nights were always very fun- you sit with the family that own the lodge while watching the children play, eat Dal bhat, and play cards with amazing people you just met that are trekking as well. I played poker one night with a bunch of guys from the bristish army, some were Austrailian. Always interesting people. Then you go to bed, sleeping on a wooden frame with maybe a thin layer of foam, snuggled up in your sleeping bag, wake up, pee over a hole , and do it all over again- often the same people will end up at the next lodge- especailly if you tell them where you are going. Some Koreans followed us all the way up to Manang from the beginning of the trek. They always packed their own food, and if you have ever eaten Korean food, you know that it has a certain odor.... :) They were fun to play cards with. It is also interesting all the different types of people you see on the trail- you see old people, young people, LOTS of germans, couples trekkiing with thier 6 month old baby, all kinds of people on the trail. And it isn't exactly all that easy- you walk between 5-8 hours a day, sometimes all up hill, and it is exhausting. Then there is cup of rice beer waiting for you at your next tea house, and plate of dal bhat, and a fire to sit by. Good times. Eitther way, we made it out fo the snow, which made for horrible trekking, and I began my family homestay. I trekked to small villages in the tropical hills somewhere outisde Pokhara ad Besishar. The people here NEVER see tourists, so I felt either like a celebrity, or an alien. Sometimes, people would stare and yell "white person! white person! " (in nepali of course) or they would smile, and with hands clasped, say "nameste". I got lots of interesting looks. It was so fun staying with the families- you sit on a mud floor, and the most warm people cook and make tea for you, happy to have a foreign guest in their home. I would educate them about bio gas- although many were not interested. But, information is never a bad thing. then, in the morning we would leave and walk down stone seps that feel like your knees are getting pounded by a hammer, and go to the next village. On the way, there is no villages in between, so we would stop and eat our packed lunch of usually some chipati (which is like a tortilla, only not....) and a hard boiled egg. You will hear children singing at the top of their lungs somewheere off in th distance... and there were teh most amazing trees- so big and covered in these spider- plant looking things, with beautiful white blossums. Lots of moss covering everyting- this was truly off the beaten path, and an experience I will always be grateful for. We'd arrive in teh next village, and a family would take us in, and i would sleep on a frame with grass mats for a mattress- chickens everywhere, and wake up at the crack of dawn to every rooster in the village announcing the new day's arrival. You walk out side, and a HUGE ox would be staring at you while munching hay, and goats running around (although they are usually tied up on a short rope) and the mother yelling at her kids, "NANI!! OH, NANI!!" (nani means, like, big sister- older daughter. younger sister is kashi) it was fun. I did that for days.... days of no shower, no computers, no telephones, no cars, all you hear are the animals. I ended my family homestay in a gorgeous place on a lake, in Rupa Tal, however it iwas very isolated, and I was stuck there a few extra days with nothing to do, so I went a bit nuts. I am now currently in Pokhara, and will begin something new- I will be staying with family again, and be talking to them about their child/children who are sponsored by Chance for Children (also run by the Responsible Travellers) and see what they need, how it's going, etc.
I am having such a wonderful time, but I miss home. I am looking forward to coming home in a few weeks. I hope all this makes sense to read- I have been stuck inside my head for a long time now, and it's hard to summarize so much frm weeks into this one blog.
My love to you all- I miss everyone so much. I can't wait to give you all hugs.

-athena