Picture sharing link...

After everyone gets all settled you may visit our picture sharing link to view some pictures from our amazing trip!!! https://hwbnepal2014.shutterfly.com/

We have finally arrived home!

I awake from my comfy bed with a slight Benadryl hangover to write our final blog. We have finally arrived home from our long and inspiring journey to Nepal. After an "eventful" beginning to an 8 hour flight from Kathmandu to Turkey we raced through a gauntlet of airport security checks to get to our next flight....that's right amazing race style and thankfully due to the size of our group they held the plane so that we didn't have to spend the night in Turkey!! We then endured a 12 hour flight.....which I do not wish on my worse of enemies to get to Chicago....after several meals, movies, "plane" walking to prevent clots, and head-bobbing naps we landed! To our surprise customs was not too bad and ALL our luggage arrived with us!!! Many of the group members met loved ones at the gate and they others made their way to the bus station for one more mode of transportation till they arrived home. For me just 1 more 3 1/2 hour flight from Chicago to Phoenix. I must say that after a crazy and inspiring trip I am just now able to reflect on how much this short but packed journey has accomplished. I must first say that for an assessment trip we did much more than I could imagine.....from seeing and treating over a 100 people at our medical camp, to providing school supplies, backpacks and warm greeting letters from children in Wisconsin to the 87 school aged children at Chunidevi School, to seeing all the sights, sounds, smells, and flavors or Nepal whether from the back of an elephant, by foot, by gondola, or by bus. I must say this trip would not be possible without such an amazing group of staff and students that made this trip what it was as well as the many support people we met along the way that helped plan this trip and make our dreams possible. We want to thank not only Hope Without Borders for the platform and inspiration to do what we did but also Concordia University for sharing in our dreams along with the Medical college for lending us an amazing medical director! I want to also thank each and every student for choosing Nepal over the other trips it would not have been the same without you all!! Also, Rabi Bista for making sure we got to do what we dreamt of doing while in Nepal. And last but not least Dr. Bista from Grande Hospital, Dr. MacKinney from Patan Hospital, Anil our ever talented tour guide, Sandeep and Amun for watching out for us on our trip, S. Nature resort in Chitwan, and lastly Hotel Ganesh Himal for surviving our group :)And last but not least our amazing family and friends who loyally visited our blog, donated time, money, and supplies and supported us along the way! We will be posting a link shortly so that you can all see the pictures we captured along the journey. We hope that his is just the beginning to a long and fruitful relationship with the people of Nepal!! Once again Namaste and dhanybhad (thanks) from the Nepal group!!!

Two days in the jungle...

Good Evening and Nameste to all. Team Nepal has had a very adventurous (to say the least) few days. First of all we should apologize for our absence-- we spent the last two days in the jungle of Chitwan, 5 hours outside of Kathmandu where the internet connection is shakier than a bus ride in Nepalese road construction. After braving the 5 hour ride on a road with 133 of the worlds closest turns, we arrived to a village much quieter than the inner city Kathmandu. The citizens of the local villages put on a cultural show where we were able to see many traditional Nepalese dances and one of our own, Molly, even had the chance to partake! In the morning we had the opportunity of a life time -- a safari though the jungle on the back of an elephant!!!! AMAZING, and quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. We also were able to go on a jungle safari via canoes and see much of Nepal's wildlife, including crocodiles, yes real live crocodiles. After a "leisurely" jungle trek, we made it to our final destination, the elephant breeding center. Not only we were able to see the elephants up close, some of our group fed the elephants and taught them how to drink water out of a water bottle (much harder than you might think ... ) In the middle of our 5 hour drive back, we stopped at the Manakamana temple where we took a cable car up 1302 (yes the 2 is important) meters. I know I keep using the word amazing but this really, really was. We were able to see the Himalayan mountains and some of our group had the opportunity to be blessed at the temple. Again, amazing. The rest of our bus ride was relatively uneventful (mainly because we have gotten used to the thrashing that is involved in Nepalese driving) and have now arrived at our home base back in Kathmandu for our last dinner together. It is hard to believe many things tonight. For those of you who are not aware, this is Hope Without Borders first trip to Nepal, and has been in a dream for Jenny and I, and everyone who worked tirelessly to make this trip possible for the past two years. We could not be more ecstatic with the results. We have seen, felt, smelled (sometimes unfortunately) and experienced every aspect Nepal has to offer. We have made a difference, we have helped people but most of all, we have spread hope. As we pack our bags tonight, we leave knowing that this is not the end for us in Nepal -- Oh no, definitely not. We have reached out, made contacts and shown people the power of hope, and what Hope Without Borders can do, and what we are all about. Nameste Nepal, until we meet again.

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