Farewells and Hellos

Hello from Cambridge UK. I made it through my last few days in Kathmandu. There were some good dinners and fun times - Roz and I (left) got together and reminisced about arriving and living together 16 months ago. It sure seems a long time has passed, and certainly a lot has happened since then. It was neat to think of how we had both changed and adapted to things, and the challenges we faced together during that adjusting.

My hardest goodbye was with Sita, who managed to organize things so she was in Kathmandu during my last week running her own errands. We spent Wed afternoon to Thurs morning together, staying with another Carol from Canada who works for INF. We had a great time together, and then had to say farewell for an unknown amount of time. Here we are just before parting, trying to look happier than we feel for the picture.

I stayed with Ali for the rest of my time in Kathmandu, and conveniently, she was flying off to western Nepal the morning I was flying out, so she came to the airport with me. It was so nice to have someone there as I was leaving. Another good thing was that Qatar airlines let me get away with 26kg of luggage (instead of the max of 20kg), with another 15kg or so in my hand luggage. Made for a bit of silly amount to have to carry around with me, but was not too bad, especially with the impressively efficient 45 min layover in Doha.

I arrived in Heathrow at 6pm local time, after 13 hours of travelling. I had a tearful reunion with my sister, who came to meet me at the airport. I was delighted to see her again after 16 months, and we took the train together to Cambridge, which gave us a chance to catch up at bit. I didn't get to see Cayley until the next morning, and then she wasn't quite sure what to make of me - though she quickly decided I was ok after all. It's great to get to finally spend time with her - she was a month old when I saw her last and now she's nearly 18 months. She is so cute, and quite a going concern - toddling around everywhere and very able to communicate exactly what she wants with her rapidly expanding repertoire of words.

I didn't suffer too badly from jetlag, but I still feel tired from the transition - from both the journey and the leaving before it. Getting used to 24 hr power and fast internet has not been too hard, though I still think twice before drinking or brushing my teeth straight from the tap. Mostly being here has felt pretty normal, not too much of an adjustment, though there is a part of me that feels not quite sure where I am and where I belong right now. That will come, I'm sure.

It's helped my adjustment to the UK that we've had unusually sunny warm weather. It's been delightful for walking to nearby Grantchester for tea and scones in the Orchard, or to a pub in a nearby village. My cousin and his wife arrived on Monday, so we've been touring around together, which has been fun. We've explored the colleges of Cambridge, attended Choral Evensong at King's College Chapel, and went punting on the Cam (much harder than it looks). A highlight for me was going to my first church service in English after so long - in the lovely old church that Sharon and Jerome attend. There are a lot of families there, so there were tons of kids tearing around outside in the sun after the service, including in the historic cemetary around the church!

I've posted a few pictues of my time in Cambrige, with lots of cute pics of Cayley. I hope to post some more soon, so check back to this link again in the next while. Tomorrow I head off for a week travelling around southern England visiting friends. Should be great, and maybe if we're lucky, the sunny weather will hold.