I have to be honest with everyone - this trip has not been easy. I wanted to come here meet Antara, adopt her and enjoy learning about her culture. I discovered when I arrived that the US Embassy has put in place a new process that is problematic and will make obtaining a visa for Antara even more difficult than it already is. I could adopt her and not bring her home. I won’t get into detail here. It is extraordinarily complex and involves the embassy, Nepli govt., among others. Please keep us in your prayers.

This is a different world. I joke and say we are in a 5 star hotel with a driver -which is true - the reality is our hotel’s running water is sometimes dark brown and the power goes out continually throughout the day. Our driver has a beat up old van (see photo) without air conditioning. The pollution is horrid and you can actually see the smog.

We haven’t had time to see the amazing sights of KTM. It is difficult to get around. We are not yet “allowed” to cross the streets on our own yet  I thought this was a joke at first and then realized there are cars going every which way with no traffic lights, motor bikes speeding through the cars and people walking in the middle of the road.

We have had some wonderful Nepali food including momos or these wonderful dumplings. I had them at Cumin, a restaurant in Chicago, before I left.

We came home from the orphanage last night only to discover that my friend, Dee Dee’s daughter, was very sick. My mom had a suitcase packed with medical supplies so we took out the thermometer and sure enough it was 104. I contacted by Skype a friend in Chicago whose brother is a physician here. He wasn’t at the clinic, so we made an appt. to see the physician on call. It isn’t easy getting around. We waited an hour for a car to pick us up. Her temp was so high that we stuck her in the bathwater that was brown. Finally we got in a cab . of course I am so used to just saying “ take us here…” that I forgot the address. Eventually he found it. The physician is from Michigan. He was amazing. He’s been in Nepal with his family for two years. He was in the Peace Corps in Nepal years ago and decided to go back for a while.

B is okay. She has an upper respiratory infection that he treated. He said Nepali kids are tough. He doesn’t get it but they cry a lot less than our American whiners.

I have some life changing decisions to make that either way will not be easy for me. No matter what happens I won’t come back the same person as I was when I left.