I’ll never forget the day that I found a brother...

After 20 hours we finally arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. At the hotel, my family and I waited around, our jet lagged bodies wrapped around hotel chairs when a small, kind eyed man walked through the door. His smile lit up the whole lobby - “Herro, I Pasang” he said. My Father always one for quick jokes said “Oh, Piesang” – which translates to banana in Afrikaans, but sounds exactly the same. He laughed and said “Ees ok, ah long you remember...” For my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary, we were going trekking in the Himalayas. Our route was ‘quite simple’ – we would walk for 5 days to reach Namche Bazar and from there we would be able to see Everest in all her glory. Suddenly a massive storm broke over the city - spider webbed telephone lines shook and twisted, children danced while parents fled the scene, I stood at the window smiling and knew that this was going to be an adventure I would never forget.
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Pasang showed us all the hidden beauties, the small things that were usually missed by Western eyes. We learned from him. He learned from us. It would have been easier to say that he crept under our skin or that he was just very easy to be around – but it was more than that – we had known him all along, and he had waited for us. And it became clear the morning we went to go see her. Pasang had woken us with a gentle knock. It was cold, the air thin and the sun still sleeping, yet we were eager and willing to get up and see her. The steep hill was proving more difficult than anticipated, but with one step at a time we got up and waited. I walked away from my family, in awe of my surroundings, having my own photo-shoot with the peaks. A silent presence followed me, and as I turned, Pasang was there. “Beautiful... how you think” “Yes, spectacular” I replied. We smiled at each other, our appreciation linking us to a moment in time. The sun rose and revealed her majesty, and oh, how majestic she was. Covered in light pink and orange, she revealed herself. I sat there motionless, my jaw dropping and my heart swelled. I was sitting before the tallest, most dangerous yet most beautiful mountain on earth with my family.
Our trip to Nepal changed me in ways I can’t explain. Sometimes a place happens to you and the people you meet that will always be with you. I never had a blood brother, but now I do, and when people ask me about my family I feel proud to say that my brother is a guide in the Himalayas.