We must be dreaming...

We have arrived! Buh buh bum BUM, the trumpet sounds and the choir sings, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! They are aliiiiiiiiiiiiive! (Or maybe that's just our mothers). We seek forgiveness from those of you who wait patiently on the edge of your soft, padded computer chairs for updates from our 3rd world. Three weeks have passed and we have failed to share the adventures that have befallen us as of late. However, our time for recompense is now!

The moment we left the airport we knew we were very, very far from home (to say the least); monkeys on top of buildings, sickly cows roaming the busy, bustling streets, people peeing in the trash piled near the river and on the side of the roads, many dogs, ducks, chickens galore! There are roaches the size of my hand and holes in the ground they call toilets. (We'll never take a western bathroom for granted ever again). Oh! Kathmandu, how we love you!
Nothing is familiar. Nothing reminds us of where we came from....except the three months supply of Doves Dark Chocolate we packed with us. We never enjoyed it more than we did that first week.
We work in an orphanage about 45 minutes out of Kathmandu in a small village. The first day we got there, they struggled pronouncing our names, so we were given Nepali names. Adrienne is now known as Anundi meaning calm or relaxed. And they call me Khusi which translates into happy. We haven't spent much time in the orphanage yet, but we love those kids so much. We wish our suitcases were big enough to stuff them all inside and bring them home! The orphanage is very poor. Some days they struggle having enough food to feed the clan. Their clothes are limited, and those they do have are dirty, torn, and without buttons or zippers. However, amidst the poverty they are so happy, and the mother and father of the orphanage, Indrakala and Buddhiman, offer so much love to each child.

During our second week we took a language course to improve the game of charades we play in attempt to communicate with the locals. It has proven quite helpful, however, I often tell someone how well I'm doing when they have asked me my name. Oops. Adrienne is there to quickly correct my mistake, unless we're both caught in locking stares with the people we're trying to talk to.
Our third week-Holy cow!--No pun intended. Disclaimer: If you are prone to the pangs of jealousy I'd advise you to stop reading.
The first three days of the week we spent in a very small village, Lamatar. There we got a taste of common Nepali village living. While I was braving a leach infested mountain in the rain, Adrienne pleaded deficient clothing and stayed behind, under the mosquito net reading a book. She doesn't regret it one bit! Luckily, with my pants tucked into my ankle socks I was among the few who returned from the never-ending trek without any blood thirsty insects latched onto my skin. The view was incredible. The majesty of the green mountains shined through the low cloud breaks. At each clearing, along with huffing and puffing, I wanted to stretch out my arms and sing, "the hills are alive with the sound of music...." Adrienne and I enjoyed the cultural dancing, dahl baaht (rice and lentils), and the cute, healthy farm animals (in the city the cows, goats and dogs look quite gaunt, malnourished and ready to retire from this stage of existence...they're counting down the days to reincarnation).
The next few days were a shock to the system. Hold onto your seats!!
On our way to Chitwan (a 5 hour bus ride) we stopped at what looked like a broken down shack on the side of the road for some white water rafting. This was not a lalala, pretty little ride down stream. We were riding class 4 rapids, swimming and cliff jumping. Talk about high adventure! Adrienne and I both walked away from that burnt and completely satisfied. The rest of the way to Chitwan we rode on top of the bus, with all of the natives laughing and pointing at the shock of such a white site. Sitting on top the bus, driving around the canyons, looking out on the beautiful mountains, it was all very breathtaking. Adrienne and I constantly asked each other, are we dreaming? The dream did not end there. It had only just begun...
The rest of the week included a jungle safari on foot, where we saw rhino's, literally yards away from us. There was nothing standing between us, just a few trees and a local with a stick. Wow!
There is no waking us from this dream. Later, we enjoyed canoeing to an elephant breeding ground. It was like a giant elephant petting zoo! Some smaller elephants were wandering free, while new mothers and their young were behind small fences. Fond memories of Dumbo and Snuffleupagus came racing into my mind. Adrienne and I were in constant amazement. The child in us both broke free!
The next morning we were riding Elephants through the jungle! We were able to get really close to some of the wildlife. After we came out of the jungle we rode the ten thousand pound mammal underneath us, bare back, into the river. Swimming with elephants, who does that?! OH, this was incredible! It was a roller coaster ride at times just trying to stay on the elephants back. That evening we joined in on some cultural dancing then returned to our rooms to pack. It was back to Kathmadu in the morning!