I'm definitely in a foreign country...

Hey! Guess what! I'm alive! and I'm in Nepal. I got here around 8.30 am. Going through customs was pretty simple and I managed to find the driver projects abroad sent for me. The ride to the hotel I'm staying in for the first night was totally crazy. I was told Nepali drivers were nuts, and it's definitely true. There are these little tiny, barely paved streets that have people walking and biking and motorcycling all over them. Plus, most of the vehicles are these big van-type things and we nearly crashed into a bunch of people and other stuff. I have never heard so much honking either. Drivers are constantly honking at pedestrians, who completely ignore them, despite the fact that the van is about two inches from said pedestrian's buttocks.
It all adds to the newness of Nepal. The first thing I thought when I left the airport was "I'm definitely in a foreign country." There is so much life here. It's weird because I really didn't know what to expect, but driving through the city, I thought "This is what you would expect." It's kind of like how you, reading this, won't really get a complete picture from my description, but if you were to come here, it would just make sense some how. It's an odd sensation.
That being said, poverty really is everywhere. The sides of the road are filled with tiny shacks advertising different things in Nepali and English. Most of the buildings look like they're about to fall down, and most of them have corrugated tin or plain tarp for rooves. I met an American woman on the plane who had lived in Kathmandu for 2 years and works for a non-profit with a branch here. She kind of scared me a little with her stories of the poverty she's encountered. She said that many of the street children have HIV/AIDS and use the money they beg for to buy glue or paint to huff because it temporarily helps the pain they're in.

I'm somewhere in between really really excited and somewhat apprehensive right now. I'm excited to be here and I think it's going to be an amazing experience. I'm really proud of myself for making the decision to do this, but at the same time, I realize I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. For a while, I was unsure I'd chosen the right group to volunteer with, but now, I'm really really glad I chose a group that holds your hand.

PS. I just ate a plate of fried rice that cost less than 2 dollars and this internet is costing less than two cents a minute. Pretty crazy.

I'll write more when I can.

And for a tally of my trip, here are some figures:

Time on planes: 16 hours
Books finished: 1
(I actually slept!!)

I love you all a lot!!!