"Please leave your expectations at home"...

These are the final words my Nepali program coordinator said as he wrapped up the international call yesterday.  It had to be 4 am his time, so I was touched that he made the effort to touch base with me again right before I left.  

I'm sure he's used to airport visits in Kathmandu to pick up shell-shocked westerners who've never traveled in Asia before. Some are devastated as the reality of third world living conditions surpass their preconceptions of what has often become, in America at least, a somewhat romanticized view of developing countries. 

So I took Hom's request to heart and - though I genuinely have no expectations for anywhere I travel - have prepared myself for the worst.  Which is pretty bad, considering some of the conditions I've endured in the past.  I think that having spent time in Asia in the past will prove to be helpful in adapting to my new lifestyle. I'm sitting in the airport in Guangzhou, China right now. It's funny how everything about the Chinese way of doing things, which once seemed so strange and foreign, feels familiar and even a little comforting on my second visit - as this is just a stop on my way to somewhere even more unknown.  

A rule of traveling in Asia is that you will encounter some unforeseen circumstance.  This time, it's my flight itinerary. It didn't specify the date I would arrive in Kathmandu, only the time. I must have miscalculated, because I'm arriving an entire day earlier than expected. Crossing the date line always makes things complicated.  Fortunately, Guangzhou has free airport wifi, but unfortunately you need a valid Chinese cell phone number to retrieve the password. I employed the help of a sweet Chinese girl to get me online and was very lucky to be able to call Hom and let him know I'm arriving early.  "No problem, Shirah, no problem! I call my driver now and send him to airport."  Fantastic.  I won't be homeless in Nepal tonight!

Nepal in T-32 Hours

Tomorrow is the big day!  It's hard to believe how much my life has changed in only a few weeks.

In late April I finally finished the thesis I'd been working on for at least two years -- the one that took me to Russia to collect primary data on perceptions of entrepreneurship among Russian college students.  The project was a lot of hard work and certainly more of a challenge than I had originally (and naively) anticipated, but the learning in life and research gained from this experience has made it more than worth it.
On May 5th, I graduated from Belmont University with a BBA in International Entrepreneurship.

Dalai Lama Awarded World's Largest Annual Monetary Prize

I've always taken an interest in world religions, but given that I'll soon be living and teaching in a monastery following the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, I've started paying especially close attention to happenings in this part of the world. Today, I read this article from the John Templeton Foundation, a really neat foundation supporting the intersection of science and life's "big questions," and the sponsor of the prestigious Templeton Prize. This year, the prize has been awarded to the Dalai Lama -- "the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader whose long-standing engagement with multiple dimensions of science and with people far beyond his own religious traditions has made him an incomparable global voice for universal ethics, nonviolence, and harmony among world religions."

Nepal: Summer 2012

My summer plans have finally been confirmed... In just six weeks I'm moving to Nepal to live in a Buddhist monastery and teach English to the monks for three months!

Pema Chuling Monastery is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the Khumbu region. The monastery is situated on a hill, about 20-30 minutes from Jorsale, which lies on the main trekking route to Namche Bazaar and Everest Base Camp. The monastery is situated at an altitude of 2900 meters (10,000 feet). From the monastery, you can see spectacular views of Thamserku and Kusum Khangare Himalayas. If you hike 2 hours straight uphill from the monastery, you can enjoy spectacular views of all the Himalayas, including Mount Everest. The monastery belongs to Nyimgpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism and considers Guru Rinpoche as its patron saint. The young monks mostly come from Sherpa communities, while there are few from Tibetan families also. There are at present 25 monks from 20 to 25 years of age, and 20 young ones from 7 to 12 years of age. A resident Lopon (teacher) is called Lopon la Ngawayng Ladup. Volunteers must address him as Lopon la; la is paying respect to a teacher who has deep knowledge of philosophy and practice of Buddhism. Lopon la also conducts classes and will help volunteers during the class as he can speak English, Nepali and Sherpa languages.

Hatching Student Businesses Across the Globe

I've just come across a really neat program providing mentoring and business incubation for researchers and budding entrepreneurs in Russia (called StartUp Life).  Then, I found out that the program was started by Aalto University Center for Entrepreneurship....the very same university to which I've applied for a Masters Programme (hopefully starting Fall 2012!). 

THEN, I realized what an INCREDIBLE place their Center has for student entrepreneurs.  It's called Aalto Venture Garage and has to be one of the coolest student centers I've seen!  How come I didn't see this when I toured the campus last spring?

Am I MTV material?

I never thought I would hear myself respond to a typical "What have you been up to?" with...
"Oh, you know, I just auditioned for an MTV reality show."

And yet, today was that day. The show is "Made" - where(with the help of a personal coach and film crew entourage) average people get made into something they've always wanted to be...skateboarders, musicians, dancers, etc.  And apparently some segment of the American population is interested. Take a look...

My goal is to compete in a ballroom competition at the bronze (lowest) level. The interview was actually a lot of fun!  Maybe one day I just might get a call...who knows?

What will you be when you "grow up"?

The plain fact is that the planet does not need more “successful people”. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and human, and these qualities have little to do with success as our culture has defined it. DAVID ORR