Back to the mountains

Back in Kathmandu for hardly a week and tomorrow I'm headed back up into the Himalayas. And what a week. Hot and sultry in Kathmandu, with summer definitely here. Thunderstorms the last three nights. Saying goodbye to my Hindu family this morning, which made all of us cry even though I will see them in a month. It's been dawning on me, though, that in a few months I will have to say goodbte to them - my family here - and won't know when I will see them again. It feels amazing to have such close relationships here, and I feel so lucky to have such incredible people in my life, even if they're spread all across the world.
As for academics, this week was challenging, too. Four exams and two papers, none of which were helped by my incredibly unhelpful academic director. Three interviews about community forestry, which got me really excited about my independent project. And preparing for a month of independent research up in the village of Monjo, where there is no phone or internet. Tomorrow I fly off and will be there for four week! I am excited and nervous and thrilled...a month. By myself. In the Himalayas. Speaking Nepali all the time. Interviewing people about community forestry!