My “someday” wish to return to Nepal ended up happening much sooner than I could have dreamed. My regrets of not extending my original trip prompted me to call ELI to see if I could go back and resume my volunteer work, preferably now while I still had some friends there to help me, as Devon, Liz and Andrew are all still there. All involved parties immediately gave a resounding “YES” to my request to return, and I quickly had a flight booked back to KTM exactly 4 weeks after I had left.
As excited as I have been the past 2 weeks, my nerves have once again started to get the better of me on the day of my flight. This time, I would be flying completely solo on the way there, meaning when I get to KTM I will not have the assistance of Anna and Farrah as I go through customs, procure my visa, and locate my luggage, obviously making me nervous. No panic attacks or freezing up this time though, just some normal anxiety and knots in my stomach, which is progress!
I am flying Turkish Airlines this time, leaving from Chicago and going over the Atlantic rather than the Pacific. A 10 hour flight from O’Hare to Istanbul, a 4 hour layover and a 7 hour flight to KTM. I easily survived the first flight and am now in a random office at the Istanbul airport where I have been instructed to sit and wait for a few hours before someone takes me to my gate. After all these years, I still have not learned the virtue of patience, and am already annoyed by the layover, and have to keep reminding myself how short it is after those 14 and 16 hour layovers in China!
While I am beyond excited to get back to KTM, this does not discount some of the doubts and worries I am having. It will definitely be a different experience this time, as I won’t be with Anna and Farrah, and the house will be fairly empty. I also missed 2 of the biggest festivals of Nepal, just in these last 4 weeks, so it will probably be a lot quieter around town in general. But lingering questions still remain at the forefront of my mind. What if it’s not as wonderful as I remember it being? What if the reason it was so good last time was because of the people at the house, many of whom will not even be there this time around? What if, like some people have suggested, I really am just using it as an escape from life, and while it worked well the first time, might not work again?
As usual, I can’t (and won’t) let these “what if’s” hold me back, and they will definitely be answered in the coming weeks. When I voiced these doubts to Devon a few days ago, her immediate response was that, while it won’t be the same, there’s also the chance that it might be better this time. So instead of me focusing on the “what if” questions and resorting to my pessimistic, cynical self, I am trying to take on her optimism, and believe that it will be just as good, if not better. So as I sit here, in this random office, with random workers coming in and out wondering what the hell I’m doing in here, I am thinking about how fortunate I really am to be going back to the land of dust and daal. And then I remember I still have 2 hours before boarding and get impatient again because I just want to be there NOW!
Update: My 4 hour layover ended up being 7 hours, so you can only imagine my level of annoyance and impatience. I finally arrived in KTM at 11 am on Saturday, instead of my scheduled 7:15 am arrival time. Poor Anish and Santos had been waiting for me at the airport for those 4 hours, so they were probably just as annoyed as I was! But I am finally back at the volunteer house, and have already satisfied my craving for buff momos at lunch yesterday, had daal bhat for my first dinner back, and back to my Faux-tella for breakfast this morning! And Devon and I were happily reunited and spent hours catching up, although I’m not sure on what considering we have spoken almost every day since I left last time!
curbtrippin 