10 Things I Miss Now, 10 I Will Miss Later (Nepal 2019)

Today I went to the Department of Immigration here in Kathmandu, Nepal to renew my visa for the remaining time I’m here. I’ve only got 45 more days, which is NUTS to me. It has gone by way faster than I thought it would.

In the spirit of looking back on the last 3.5 months of my life as well as looking forward to 45 days time when I move to Carlsbad, California (!!!)….

Here’s 10 Things I Miss About America, followed by 10 Things I Will Miss About Nepal:

1. Driving. I honestly did not expect to miss having my own car and driving this much.
2. Self-regulating ovens. Umm….what?!? (Yeah, I had no clue what that meant either before….it means an oven that remains the same temperature once it’s preheated. So, you don’t have to open and close the oven door 5 times while baking something because otherwise it will overheat…..yeah.)
3. Steak. I mean what’s there to explain….
4. Asparagus. (Fave vegetable.)
5. Raspberries. (Fave fruit. I’m sorry but the one time I saw frozen raspberries here they were $16 USD and I just couldn’t do it….)
6. Friends, family, and people I care about. Couldn’t not dedicate a number to them. Awesome people in my life, you know who you are.
7. The ability to get Paleo/Sugar Free/Dairy Free items with ease.
8. UPS. Oh my goodness, I never knew you could miss shipping and moving companies so badly but you don’t know what ya have until it’s gone/nonexistent! My roommates got boxes for when we moved from the grocery store and carried them back to our flat on the back of the scooter!
9. Addresses. Specifically, house numbers. Those don’t exist in Nepal, so you better know how to get where you are going in Kathmandu in order to direct your taxi driver, because he very well may have zero clue.
10. Fresh, unpolluted air. My lungs and throat will thank me, soon.

1. Nepali bananas. The bananas we get in the States are seriously crap compared to these!!!
2. Mangoes. While we’re on the fruit-being-fresher subject.
3. Riding on the back of a moped. Where there are literally zero traffic rules, and you are zipping through the streets and having the thrilling challenge of staying on while hitting potholes. I just pretend I’m riding a horse and I’m fine. SO fun.
4. The lack of materialism/image perfectionism. In my neighborhood Bouhda especially, there is no pressure at all to wear makeup or to look co-ordinated. People here frequently wear clothes that are mismatched/clashy (to a Western fashion sense) and seldom wear makeup. It’s been really freeing to know people here are never going to give me a once-over like that.
5. How life slows down. Family comes first here, and work somehow gets done in between. There’s way less pressure to be “productive” and the mentality towards working is so different than the States where “time is money”.
6. The looming mountains in the background. (Okay, that is when they are visible and aren’t blocked by pollution or weather haha.)
7. Constantly learning about a new culture, new people groups, and exploring a foreign city with many hidden treasures.
8. The lovely people I’ve met here. Especially the owners of Blessed Hope Nepal, Sonam, Sijok, and Lhakpa! I love getting to spend my Thursdays with them.
9. The ability to get a full meal for half the price of what I’d pay in America and to never pay more than $10 for a taxi ride.
10. Being somewhere that constantly challenges me spiritually. In Nepal, it’s sink or swim when it comes to my faith. I’ve been challenged in ways I never have, and also felt like I’ve grown closer to God because of it.

That my friends is all for now 🙂 Later from KTM.

#KTM #lifeinNepal #postgrad #gapyear