Im HERE!

After three days of travel I have made it to Pokhara. Whew...its good to finally be here. My 12 hour wait in the Delhi airport was one of the most painful waits of my entire life. Flying from Kathmandu International to the small airport in Pokhara gave me an unbelievable view of the Himalayas. I cannot believe how high up some of those remote villages are. They seem to just be built on the very edge of cliffs.

I was met in Pokhara by Khim, Tara's husband. I jumped on the back of his Kawasaki with my big pack and we were off, weaving through crowded streets of cattle, food sellers and school children. The home where I am staying is nice and secure. I have a private room and bathroom with electricity and running water.

After passing out for a few hours I woke up and organized my things. Dinner was so wonderful... Dal Bhaat. From what I understand, this is what I will be eating everyday for 2 meals a day. Rice, lentils and curried veggies. We ate dinner on the second floor deck, there was a breeze and the company was wonderful. A young Japanese couple joined us. Apparently Yuki and Maehway were traveling through Pokhara, stopped by Tara's shop and were very impressed by the project and her products. They posted a few picture on their travel blog and soon they had an order of over 100 items from friends viewing the blog. So the shop has been working overtime to fill the order. The couple is great, very kind and wants to help the CWSDP in any way possible. Despite the language barrier, we were all able to communicate quite well and enjoyed learning and teaching phrases and expressions in English, Japanese and Nepali.

I woke up this morning to delicious mint tea picked fresh from Khim's tea garden. I also had time to sit and sketch some of the plants on the veranda. It felt so good to wake up slowly, sketch, drink tea and enjoy the sun.



I just visited the weaving studio. What an exciting space: Freshly dyed skeins hang from the ceiling, six women weave in the back and four sew in the middle room, the storefront is full of light and beautiful products. It sits right on the lakeside...a great location for tourist traffic.I have many ideas for the project, my head is buzzing... that will have to be my next post.