Fierce Invalids in Hot Climates

Quick Update

theunit — Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:11:00 GMT

As per Big Bro Randy's request, here is a quick update on where we are. I am sorry this is a short blog, my computer time is about to run out:(.

After Italy, we truly enjoyed visiting Jerad's French family in the South of France. Then we were off to Paris, which was just fabulous. Then we trained to Amsterdam, which was low key due to being ill (no worries, all are beyond well now:)). Then we flew into Dublin, Ireland and got into our rental car. We have since been touring Ireland and loving it! We already have quite a few unique and fantastic, truly Irish stories and have met some real characters. (Details and pics on all these adventures still to come.)

We will be enjoying Ireland (we are in the county of Kerry right now) until we fly to Boston on the 12th of August, but we hope to update pics and stories before then. Love to you all.

Happily,

Amber Allison

Gallery: Italy

theunit — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:34:00 GMT

Bells Will Ring Ding-a-ling-a-ling in La Morra

theunit — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:58:00 GMT

Amber and I are finally settling nicely into Italy. We are spending five days relaxing in a tiny mountain village of La Morra soaking up the local culture, eating too much, and just enjoying each other. Our 2 year anniversary is tomorrow and we are having dinner at a beautiful restaurant on a lake near our B and B. The people hear speak almost no english but are extremely friendly and it is making for a humerous and enjoyable experience. Tonight we are going to a local music festival and are very excited along with the rest of the town. After our anniversary we are going to head to the south of France too spend some quality time with my mom's French family. Life is good and our final travel plans are falling into place as we approach the end of our trip. We miss you all and will get some new pics up soon. JN

A Couple Continents and Many Happenings

theunit — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 03:55:00 GMT

Sorry this has taken so long to get out to everyone who likes to keep an eye on their traveling duo, but it is amazing that once you get out of asia and africa and into Europe, it becomes amazingly difficult to upload photos, use the internet, and get a hold of anyone by phone. Since we last blogged we have been in S. Africa trekking in Drakensburg which is an amazing area full of rock formations and great hiking trails. Unfortunately we were only able to get one solid day of hiking in. We had planned to spend about 3 days trekking around the region but the first day we both felt a little under the weather so we just laid low and tried to rest up for the next 2 days. The following day we did get out and had a wonderful half day of hiking before getting a little lost. It was a true adventure in map reading and a true test of Ambers patients as I tried to navigate our way back to our hotel. We did make it back safe and sound and it makes for a pretty great story, but we both recognized in the process that we were not at 100% and didn't want to hike on the last day. Instead we returned to Petermaritzburg and the hostel we had stayed at on the way into the area. It is by far one of the nicest hostels I could imagine. It really felt like we were just staying in this mans home. We even set up an evening were he cooked us a gourmet meal and we ate with him and some other travelers by candle light. It was a great experience that we both really cherished. From there we took the long haul back to Johannesburg and our flight into Athens. This took a couple days and a night spent sleeping on the floor of an airport but we arrived into Athens in pretty good spirits and started trying to plan what we going to do. After a little stress Amber found this darling studio apartment and called the night before hoping we might be lucky enough to get a last minute reservation. She was greeted on the other end of the phone by the owner himself and after some interesting bargaining that took the price for each night we would stay there from 55 Euro to 60 Euro before settling on a final price of 50 Euro. Amber sure has some serious bargaining skills. We spent the next week cooking for ourselves and soaking up Greek island culture on Poros which is a beautiful island about 2-3 hours ferry from Athens. Next up we spent another couple days of hard traveling to get to our current location of Turin Italy. We have been lucky enough to find a really nice hotel and have been trying to enjoy the city despite Amber getting a short stint with a stomach bug. We head off to our final destination in Italy which is a small town called La Morra where we hope to relax and spend the next week. Our 2 year anniversary is during this period so we plan to just lay low and really enjoy the country and each other. We love you all and hope you haven't stopped checking the blog. Amber is trying to upload pictures of all of this as we speak so hopefully you will be able to get a better idea of the places and experiences we have had than I can put into words. We hope everyone is doing well and are looking forward to seeing you all next soon as the next 2 months will fly by and we will be home before you know it. See you all soon. JN

Gallery: Greece

theunit — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:35:00 GMT

Gallery: South Africa

theunit — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:20:00 GMT

Where in the World are Jerad and Amber?

theunit — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:42:00 GMT

Hello Loved and Missed Ones,

This is going to be a very short blog (due to the fact we are heading off to the airport soon). I did feel that some of you may want atleast a quick update and know where we are. I will blog about our positive and enjoyable South Africa adventures later, and hopefullly get all Africa pictures up.

So, we are flying out of the Johanesburg Airport (S. Africa) this afternoon to the Doha airport (where we will spend the night, again sleeping bags and all), then on the morning of June 24th we will be flying from the Doha airport to Athens, Greece @ 9:30 am. Just thought some of you would want to know that we are now heading to Europe and will be enjoying that part of the journey for the rest of the time until we fly home. (We fly from Ireland to Boston, Mass for about 4 days on the 30th of Aug, and then on the 4th of Sept off to Portland, Oregon for the beautiful and darling Jerlyn's wedding.)

Again, I will try and blog soon, but one never knows whwne they will actually get their hands on a computer.

Again Congratulations to the Slegers bunch for the birth of little Travis Kent. Monica, I heard you rocked it and I truly think about the whole fam all the time. I am happy everything went well and he is so healthy.

Happy Early B-Day Sheena Hobbs. I hope you get a chance to spend a day centered around your needs since I know your life is wild sometimes with two kids and a husband:).

We are very excited about Europe and have truly enjoyed this whole trip, the ups and the bumps...it is a good thing I am with my love! Hope eveyone is enjoying summer and time will fly and then we will be home.

Happily,

Amber Allison

P.S. Rock on Obama. (Just spreading some support, I plan on doing more when I get home.)

All is well

theunit — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:38:00 GMT

Hello All, The computers have been fighting me on putting any of the pictures up, so sorry this blog won't come with pictures. But that just means you get

Hello All,

The computers have been fighting me on putting any of the pictures up, so sorry this blog won't come with pictures. But that just means you get picture over-load hopefully next time. Jerad and I are finishing up our 6 weeks in Tanzania, and then we are flying to South Africa tomorrow, so I will try to blog fast and efficient about the last 6 weeks or so.

Fist let me write about the safari, which was just awesome! We camped under the wide open star filled African sky. You could hear animals all around you and when I got up to use the restroom at night I thought for sure I was going to come face to face with something. During the safari, other than enjoying the beautiful African wilderness, we did see many great animals. We even say what is known as the big 5: lion, elephant, Buffalo, rhino and leopard (which is the hardest to find) as well as giraffe, elephants, hennas, etc. Jerad and I had tons of fun camping, though we did splurge one night and stay at a lodge because of how cold the weather was. This was a fantastic decision. The lodge was gorgeous, the room was luxurious, and Jerad got the best night sleep he had since...he can remember.

Our guide and cook (for the camping Safari) lacked a little, but when you are doing anything with your love, you don't seem to mind that much. In fact, since Jerad had done the safari before, he became my guide and he did a pretty good job.

From Safari land we were on another bus we had had contact with for months now to the "Orphanage" where we thought we would spend the next three weeks helping out and enjoying the kids. As you know, it turned out here was no kids and the man I had contact with had lied to me the whole time. I had always emphasized that it was important to me to spend time with the kids, and he said that this would happen. And so I turned down other Orphanages that needed our help, and planned our whole trip around helping out at this one. To keep it short, he lied to me, we traveled out there in the middle of no where and were told to "help the builders"...which ended up meaning I would struggle over mixing the cement, carrying the bucket's, laying the bricks and foundation and the builders would just sit back and laugh at me. This was not was I have been dreaming of. Jerad and I planned as many weeks in Africa because a dream of mine my whole life has been to work at an Orphanage in Africa. I was had a hard time accepting the reality of the scam and that my dream was squashed. But hey, there is no reason why I can't do this same sort of helping out back at home:).

Jerad and I were left with three weeks wide open...hopefully doing something that cost very little money. (This budget traveling stuff is tough.) We decided to find some remote beach on Zanzibar, and talk a budget place into giving us a really good deal for paying for weeks in advance. Then we planned on self-catering and saving a buck or two here and there. The rest can be filled in my Jerad's blog, but man, it was like hit #2. We were happy to be taking a ferry back to Dar Es Salaam, but I truly felt for all the people who live in Zanzibar and have to wait till who knows when the power will come back on. I keep seeing in the new they are struggling for water, food, etc. My prayers and thoughts go out to the, as well as the people in Myanmar.

So after taking a few days break in the city of Dar Es Salaam, we decided to go to a beach south of Dar and try to salvage some sort of "vacation". On the day traveling there, we ended up having 400,000 shillings stolen from us (that is about $340 USD) from a hotel staff person. OK, I would refer to this as hit #3.

And so after about three weeks of challenges and three big hits, we were bumming out. But with the strength of our connection and love and the sheer beauty of being alive, we did better than surviving. We finally got to that beach south of Dar, stayed at a home-like-place, met a very nice man (who ended up giving us a ride back to Dar), and still salvaged a beach/mellow "vacation".

We are now about to back to out hotel and pack for our flight tomorrow. But all in all, I believe that Tanzania has been the hardest country to travel in for me. The growth part of this trip really hit hard here, but all for the better! It is all a part of the adventure.

Congratulations and Happy Birthing to Monica and Travis! I hope the induction and birth goes wonderfully and I look forward to meeting a new part of my family when I get home:).

And thank you Julie for all of the updates and stories of sweet SGS.

Happy Birthday Sheena Hobbs and Kristin Deni, I know it is early we just may be trekking the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa at the time. I will try to send out personal b-day emails closer to the dates if I can and I WILL try and get some new pics up soon.

Much love to you all. Enjoy all the sunny days you are having.

picture over-load hopefully next time. Jerad and I are finishing up our 6 weeks in Tanzania, and then we are flying to South Africa tomorrow, so I will try to blog fast and efficient about the last 6 weeks or so. Fist let me write about the safari, which was just awesome! We camped under the wide open star filled African sky. You could hear animals all around you and when I got up to use the restroom at night I thought for sure I was going to come face to face with something. During the safari, other than enjoying the beautiful African wilderness, we did see many great animals. We even say what is known as the big 5: lion, elephant, Buffalo, rhino and leopard (which is the hardest to find) as well as giraffe, elephants, hennas, etc. Jerad and I had tons of fun camping, though we did splurge one night and stay at a lodge because of how cold the weather was. This was a fantastic decision. The lodge was gorgeous, the room was luxurious, and Jerad got the best night sleep he had since...he can remember. Our guide and cook (for the camping Safari) lacked a little, but when you are doing anything with your love, you don't seem to mind that much. In fact, since Jerad had done the safari before, he became my guide and he did a pretty good job. From Safari land we were on another bus we had had contact with for months now to the "Orphanage" where we thought we would spend the next three weeks helping out and enjoying the kids. As you know, it turned out here was no kids and the man I had contact with had lied to me the whole time. I had always emphasized that it was important to me to spend time with the kids, and he said that this would happen. And so I turned down other Orphanages that needed our help, and planned our whole trip around helping out at this one. To keep it short, he lied to me, we traveled out there in the middle of no where and were told to "help the builders"...which ended up meaning I would struggle over mixing the cement, carrying the bucket's, laying the bricks and foundation and the builders would just sit back and laugh at me. This was not was I have been dreaming of. Jerad and I planned as many weeks in Africa because a dream of mine my whole life has been to work at an Orphanage in Africa. I was had a hard time accepting the reality of the scam and that my dream was squashed. But hey, there is no reason why I can't do this same sort of helping out back at home:). Jerad and I were left with three weeks wide open...hopefully doing something that cost very little money. (This budget traveling stuff is tough.) We decided to find some remote beach on Zanzibar, and talk a budget place into giving us a really good deal for paying for weeks in advance. Then we planned on self-catering and saving a buck or two here and there. The rest can be filled in my Jerad's blog, but man, it was like hit #2. We were happy to be taking a ferry back to Dar Es Salaam, but I truly felt for all the people who live in Zanzibar and have to wait till who knows when the power will come back on. I keep seeing in the new they are struggling for water, food, etc. My prayers and thoughts go out to the, as well as the people in Myanmar. So after taking a few days break in the city of Dar Es Salaam, we decided to go to a beach south of Dar and try to salvage some sort of "vacation". On the day traveling there, we ended up having 400,000 shillings stolen from us (that is about $340 USD) from a hotel staff person. OK, I would refer to this as hit #3. And so after about three weeks of challenges and three big hits, we were bumming out. But with the strength of our connection and love and the sheer beauty of being alive, we did better than surviving. We finally got to that beach south of Dar, stayed at a home-like-place, met a very nice man (who ended up giving us a ride back to Dar), and still salvaged a beach/mellow "vacation". We are now about to back to out hotel and pack for our flight tomorrow. But all in all, I believe that Tanzania has been the hardest country to travel in for me. The growth part of this trip really hit hard here, but all for the better! It is all a part of the adventure. Congratulations and Happy Birthing to Monica and Travis! I hope the induction and birth goes wonderfully and I look forward to meeting a new part of my family when I get home:). And thank you Julie for all of the updates and stories of sweet SGS. Happy Birthday Sheena Hobbs and Kristin Deni, I know it is early we just may be trekking the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa at the time. I will try to send out personal b-day emails closer to the dates if I can and I WILL try and get some new pics up soon. Much love to you all. Enjoy all the sunny days you are having. Missing you tons.

Happily,

Amber Allison

Gallery: Tanzania

theunit — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:27:00 GMT

An Inevidible Bump In the Road

theunit — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:38:00 GMT

It has been crazy since leaving our safari and heading for the orphanage. I will try and just give you the short facts and leave the emotional narrative to Amber. We arrived at an orphanage with no kids which was Amber's sole reason for doing to program. After a lot of talking we decided to just scrap that plan and head out to Zanzibar. This has been really hard on Amber so send her your love and support. When we arrived on Zanzibar, this beautiful exotic island, we decided to head out to a emote beach to get away from it all and relax for awhile. On the second day of the trip out there all of Zanzibar lost power and slowly our hotel ran out of water, food, you name it and since we prepaid for a week to get a cheaper rate they wouldn't refund any of our money. So our relaxing vacation turnined into eating canned beans and scrounging for bottled water. We have finally gotten back to Dar Es Salaam and are trying to regain composure and figure out what we will do until th 12th When we fly to S. Africa. So what started as a wonderful safari and opportunity turned into definitely the most challenging part of our trip so far. The skys ahead look brighter and we hope to go to a beach on the mainland where there is power. We miss you all and plan to post pics and Amber will blog tomorrow, so you will get some more substance from her shortly but I just wanted to touch base. JN

Jambo

theunit — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:21:00 GMT

Well Amber and I survived the long and exhausting trip from Nepal to Nairobi and are now back from our wildlife safari. We are currently in Arusha Tanzania and head for the Camp La No Che orphanage tomorrow. I know they have email somewhere so hopefully we will be able to put up our safari pictures and blog while we are there but if you don't hear from us for awhile that is the reason. We have been told that we will be working with some volunteers from Scotland and Australia to help build an extra orphanage building. Just wait for the pictures of Amber doing construction work, they might be worth the cost of the entire trip in themselves. We are very excited. The safari went well, despite a less than stellar guide. We did get to see the big five which was exciting due to the fact that the first time I came to Africa I missed out on seeing a leopard and they are truly beautiful. It was nice to come back and do a by the shoe string safari as an adult compared to the living the high life safari I did with Granny when I was younger. I can say this the one animal there are too many of in the northern national parks of Tanzania are humans. I never remembered there being so many safari vehicles the last time I was here. It almost felt like a glorified zoo with its own traffic jams at times. I am so happy that my first trip to this dream destination was done when I was younger and I either my memory has edited out the negatives or there were just fewer people. That being said, I am still extremely happy that I was able to share this part of the world with Amber and to give here a glimpse of one of the greatest trips of my life. We even splurged and stayed at a lodge on the rim of Ngorongoro so that she could see the way I lived it up in my youth (thanks again Granny). It was truly amazing and when we get the pictures up it should give you an idea of what I am talking about. I do have to say that if I return to this continent and do any more safariing in my life, I think I will head further south to the more remote game reserves where there are fewer tourists and more animals. I hope all is well and to all the mothers out there; Happy Mother's Day. Much love. JN

A Blog and Then Some

theunit — Tue, 6 May 2008 00:53:00 GMT

Jambo All,

I am going to try to do this without confusing you all. The following was a blog I tried to post a few days ago, and before I was finally able to get the pictures up...so enjoy: (Oh, and after I will give a true up-to-date blog.)

Namaste (and I say this holding my hand together (almost like praying) in front of my face),

OK, so I finally found and Internet cafe that just might work with the pictures, so I am waiting patiently as it may take 2 hours. I need to do a blog. One because, it has been awhile since I have done a true blog and two because I have a "little bit" of time right now. (Though after I blog, I will let the computer focus only on the pictures as I believe that will help it go by faster). Oh, and just to warn you, I am a little sleepy so it might not be "the best blog ever", but know that I will try and the stories I will tell are genuinely worth reading.

As I mentioned in my last lengthy blog, we were invited to our new Nepali friends home for a true authentic Nepali dinner. Jerad and I had such a toughing and enjoyable experience with our friends Kasotopi and Brinda. Not to mention the food was awesome and all totally homemade from multiple course dinner from scratch, which she slaved over all day on her one day off. I offered to come over and help multiple times and she wouldn't let me:(. Apparently she had an inclination into my cooking skills. So in case you were wondering, we ate what is called Dhal Bhaat: which is rice, lentil soup, curried vegetables, pickled something or other and curd (yogurt) with banana and sugar. Dhal Bhaat is the meal of Nepal, which I enjoy a lot while Jerad searches for places that will sell any attempt at pizza:).

Jerad and I did a 4 day, 3 night live in meditation/yoga/and Buddhist teaching retreat at a beautiful Tibetan Buddhist center overlooking the lake. We followed a schedule each day, which I though was actually set up pretty well (even though sometimes I would nod off in the morning mediation session, or my stomach would growl loudly in the morning yoga session, let's just say I was really happy to get my hands on a cup of tea and breakfast after the morning mediation and yoga. We had a main teacher (a Tibetan Buddhist monk), who some might refer to as their Guru. He wasn't quite what I expected going into the retreat; I was imagining a very mellow, soft spoken, peaceful smiley kind of guy, well our teacher had some spunk to him for sure. Which after the first initial shock of surprise I enjoyed. When we would have discussion sessions, it would often be a "student" or two challenging what he was saying and him coming right back with something that sometimes made you feel like you need to give your brain a break. I enjoyed learning about Tibetan Buddhism some more, I enjoyed enriching my brain and expanding the way I think of things, I was happy to learn how to meditate (though I am not very good at it), and I absolutely loved the yoga. So now I try and run about every other day and do some quality yoga after, it has felt wonderful. We also made friends with the other "students" in the retreat and had a fun night out on the town the night the retreat ended.

Then we were off again, jumped on an early morning bus on our way to Chitwan National park (Jerad hoping to see tiger and me just wanted to bath an elephant). We were said to leave Pokhara because not only is it now one of my top 4 favorite towns/cities ever, it was also really hard to say goodbye to the staff from the guest house whom we became such close friends with. We actually all exchanged gifts and there were some tears. But I plan on writing letters to them fairly often and next time I go to Nepal (which mark my words, I will be back) I will try and get a hold of all of them.

Chitwan was a mixed bag of feelings. It was the first time we encountered some truly rude Nepali's, the weather was hot as heck, and I got a little bit of heat exhaustion. We still managed to bath an elephant, go on a walking safari, and then an elephant safari (which my goodness, was uncomfortable). My absolutely favorite part was the elephant bathing. I have this new child-like love for Elephants and want one for my own. (Remember Mom, when I was little and loved otters and tried to convince you that we could keep it happily in the bath tub? Well that logic, asking for an elephant which we could keep in the tub and backyard of course, didn't work on Jerad either.) You must check out the elephant bathing pictures, it truly was so much giggling fun.

In case you are wondering, we are now in Bodhnath, which is a Tibetan community in Kathmandu Valley. We out of Nepal 3rd and then making our exhausting and kind-of round about way to Kenya. We miss you all, and do think about you often. I hope that Spring is shinning and you are all able to take some peaceful time for yourself here and there in this busy world. Please enjoy all the pictures! Until next time...

Happily,

Amber Allison

OK...so back to the now. After days and days of flights, and airports and layovers and just pure exhaustion, we are in Kenya...and well, still exhausted. (oh and by the way, we were only asked to move once while we were snuggled in our sleeping bags in the Delhi airport, we only were asked to move once.) So here we are, a whole new Continent, a whole new world...and let me tell you I am missing Nepal already. We are on a very early bus to Tanzania tomorrow to check in to our safari options or whether it would be better to go to the orphanage first (which I am thrilled about).

So I believe it is a combination of exhaustion, the extreme difference from our heaven we found in Nepal to the wild world of Africa (really Kenya, we have a lot more to see), that has lead Jerad and I to a bit of our second bout of home-sickness. But no worries, it is mild and hey Hukuna Matata. We do miss you all though, and know that with each challenge we are growing as individuals and as a couple. (I think Jerad is missing his package tour to Africa with Granny:).

By the way, if you could all send your prayers and warm loving thoughts to the wonderful people of Myanmar after the devastating Cyclone. It breaks my heart to have heard this news after knowing these people first hand and the day-to-day struggle they already have.

Happily and Sending Some Thoughts and Prayers to Myanmar,

Amber Allison

They Say the Gem in the Lotus is Buddha, but Maybe its Just Nepal

theunit — Fri, 2 May 2008 18:02:00 GMT

So since it has been so long and so much has happened I think I will let Amber do the majorty of the blogging on this subject. What I will say is this Nepal and Pohkara in particular are places everyone should see in their life time. Hiking the Himilaya was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. Papa you should take some of your new found leisure time and get out there and do a real hike, I'm kidding of course but it is amazing and the pictures are an insult to the true beauty of the Annapurna Range. The people we met there are some of the nicest I have or will ever meet. We also did a Buddist meditation and yoga retreat and while I don't plan on growing the top-knot yet it has opened my eyes to a truly enightened philosophy and the meditaton techniques I was taught I believe will help me throughout the rest of my life. We were truly sad when we had to move on to Chitwan even though we were invited to a wedding there and were excited to be a part of it. Unfortunately the phones weren't working and we could never figure out the details and missed it. In Chitwan we bathed the elephants (definitely the highlight), went on a waking safari which resulted in litte wildlife spotting and Amber getting mild heat exhaustion. We also went on an elephant safari which sounds like a lot more fun than it actually is, though we did see more wildife incuding a herd of Rhinos. It was miserably hot there and we are happy to now be in Kathmandu even if we are staying in Bodnath which is actuay an area settled by tibetan refugees outsie the main city. Amber and I ove it though we now have another box of goods to send home $$$. My hope is that Amber and to a lesser degree myself get the shopping bug out now before Europe. The agreement is that all Amber gets to by is one pair of shoes. We have spent the last few days getting ready and excited for Africa. Love and miss you all. JN

Tapping Into my Buddha Nature

theunit — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Namaste All (which other than also meaning hello and good bye here in Nepal, it more often translates to "I honor the devine within you", which I enjoy.)

OK, so here is a quick run down:

This is not going to be a blog, just a "quick" explanation. I have been trying for weeks at multiple Internet locations to get pictures up and for one reason or another it has not been working. Today, I have been on a mission to get these great pictures up and do a heartfelt blog that I thought about on the whole bus ride yesterday from Chitwan-Kathmandu. Well, unfortunately after 6 or attempts today alone at Internet "cafes", and lots of walking in the heat, having had only 3 1/2 sleep last night (and yes, being a little bit crappy), Jerad and I must "try again later". We have quite the list of errands to run today and hopefully tomorrow the Internet and computer gods will be on our side! But be prepared for some truly great pictures (as soon as it will all work) and a lengthy blog straight from my soul.

By the way, Jerad and I are only in Nepal for 4 ish more days :(, but we are staying in this neat Tibetan Buddhist community of the Kathmandu Valley, slightly outside the hustle and bustle of the city (thank goodness). We will be flying from Kathmandu to Delhi in the morning of May 3rd, then from Delhi to DOA in the evening of May 3rd, then we will be sleeping in the DOA airport on the eve of May 3rd (yes, sleeping bags, mats and all), and then flying into Kenya on May4th and starting our 8 weeks in Africa, 3 of which we will spend working and living at an orphanage which I am bursting with excitement about!

It's so like me, even when I try to make things short, they always come out wordy..."Ke Garne?". Alright, so know that we are well albeit a little sad to be ending our 5 week stay in Nepal. Please check the blog again soon and hopefully all will have worked, if not I will blog a real blog and have to wait to Kenya to try for the pictures. Again, "Ke Garne?".

Hoping all is far better than well in your neck of the woods and know that during my each of my mediation sessions, when I was enlarging this great ball of light, love, and compassion in my mind; I either had it hover over your heads and shine brightly onto you or stretched it out like a pancake and wrapped it around all of you like a giant, warm hug.

Happily,

Amber Allison

Gallery: Can't Get Enough of Nepal

theunit — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:36:00 GMT

Paradise of Country and Conciousness

theunit — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:10:00 GMT

So we have been in Nepal for about 3 weeks now and I can truly say it is amazing. We have gone from rafting amazing rivers to climbing Himilayan peaks. This is a definite must for anyone wanting to experience a complete change from the norm in travel. The people are friendly, the prices are cheap, and the experiences life-changing. I really am at a loss for words and don't know what more to say. Later this week Amber and I are spending 3 dys at a meditation retreat so maybe after that I'll have some time to reflect and give more insight. Until then just know we are having the time of our lives and I don't think I have ever been happier. JN

I Think I Can, I Think I can, I Think I Can...

theunit — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:48:00 GMT

Oh Nepal, glorious Nepal. I am in heaven here and truly enjoying all that Nepal has to offer. The people are so sweet, mellow and know how to have a good laugh. After learning that how you say "how are you" in Nepal (Khanu-boyo), its literal translation is "have you eaten yet", I knew I was among my kind of people. I have been learning some Nepali and speaking it with the locals, which they find quite entertaining. The locals at the guest house we are staying at here in Pokara have nicknamed me "Ke Garne", which means peacefully "What are you gonna do?". This happened because one of the lessens Jerad and I have really soaked in on this trip is to just relax sometimes if things aren't going "how they should" (ie a flight emergency landing). We have been saying with a smile "what are ya gonna do?" to each other from the start of this trip when things go differently than we had planned or something of that sort. So when I learned that Nepali's have this saying I started saying it in Nepali right away. And when we checked in to our guest house and told them about having things stolen from our bags (even though mine was locked) I said to them with a peaceful shoulder shrug "Ke Garne", of which sent them into a great round of laughter. So now I have a nickname:), and everytime I walk by they yell "Ke Garne".

Let me see here...what should I write about next. Nepal has given us so many gifts and I don't want to strain your eyes, but please read on. Our first stop in Nepal was Lumbini, which is the exact birth place of the Buddha. (Dad, I thought of you a lot there.) It was really beautiful to see the hundreds of prayer flags blow in the wind and feel the peaceful energy of all the people who tied those flags. I really enjoyed the original stone piece that represents when Maya Diva have birth to the Buddha, because she was holding onto a tree and was said to have soaked in the water near the tree right before pushing. As a birth junkie it was neat to see such a natural birth represented. The bus ride from Lumbini to Pokara was 10 hours and less than pleasant, I feel no need to go into that, other than that when we starting climbing a mountain the Nepali man next to me started praying, told me to pray and the only english word he said to me was "dangerous". So I guess being robbed during the bus ride really wasn't the worst that could have happened. Plus, it is a lessen on attachment to material things.

After we got to Pokara (which we LOVE by the way) we felt some comforts of home, rich green nature everywhere you look, a lake, again really nice people, etc...and of course any kind of food you can think of (pizza, steak, milkshakes), which makes Jerad very happy. After a few days of relaxing here we went on a three day over night white water rafting trip. Which was pretty cool. I was a little bummed because of the time of the year there weren't very many rapids and they weren't that wild, but "Ke Garne?". The food boat did pop the first night which changed our plans a little but the second night was good fun. I was happy to be in the boat I was in. It was just me and 6 guys (1 South African man, 2 French men, 1 Irish man, Jerad and our Nepali guide), and our guide was by far the best. I held my own though with the paddling and never fell out of the boat. I was also proud of myself during the "water fights/wars" with the other boats when the river was mellow. At one point when this man stole one of our buckets I dove of the boat grabbed it and held it to my chest like my life depended on it and wouldn't let go, he even started dunking me. In the end I swam back to my boat with the bucket and was greeted with my very impressed boat mates. Who says girls can't get in on the rough fun sometimes?

And now my friends, for the icing on the cake...trekking (hiking) in the Himalaya. We did what is known as the Ghoroponi (including Poon Hill) to Gandruck loop. Jerad and I chose to do it alone without a guide or a porter (someone to carry your bags), which is rare for people to do. So we did it with our bags full of everything we needed, (and yes I carried my own bag) and one very detailed trekking book. Talk about the most physically challenging experience I have ever concurred, and most of the time with a smile on my face. Jerad and I trekked in the mountains of the Himalaya for 6 full days and nights, averaging 6 hours of trekking/hiking a day always starting early to avaoid the pre-monsoon like weather. Now let me tell you, the first two days I thought "what the heck am I doing?". On the first day, when we stopped for a snack, I feel fast asleep with my head on the table will Jerad had a snickers bar. I was so exuasted. Then it got a tad bit easier, and I think we figured out how and when to break (and eat!). I thoroughly enjoyed the little "tea-houses" that we stayed at. This are mostly just family run homes and guest houses in villages on the edge of mountains (days walks from anything). The village people were just pure souls, who worked so hard each and every day. It was quite the experience to live among these Nepali tribes in the middle of one of the worlds largest mountain ranges. They work so hard for their simple and beautiful lifestyle. Rooms were always the bear minimum, but Jerad and I were always just appreciative to have a bed. We bought some pretty good gear in Pokara before we left for the trek so we were prepared. We were totally bundled at night; hat, gloves, long-johns, pants, fleece jacket, booties in supposedly -5 degree slepping bags. When we were at our highest point (Ghoroponi) we were still freezing, but again "Ke Garne?". I think it wasn't until our last night which was on our climb down and the weather thus was warmer were we comfortable sleeping (although of course still totally bundled). We even purified our own water the whole time, as to spare the world some unnecessary plastic trash, which the locals (especially the kids) were very amused by. The raw beauty of the Himalaya is just touching and breath taking. Jerad and enjoyed the journey together with our love strong as always and some laughter pushing us up and up and up. We even had a moment together and said a prayer for our connection and partnership and then placed our own prayer flags high in the Himalaya, which will blow in the wind hopefully forever. Man, I am lucky to have Jerad Kent Nicholson. As my Dad aslways says, we are the yin and the yang:).

Please enjoy the pictures, though I strongly encourage you all to come to Nepal and trek someday. One of my favorite days was when we woke up at 4:15 am, had some tea, and then made our way up Poon Hill to watch the sunrise and see the panoramic views of the Annapurna mountains. It was so neat to start hiking under the stars. It is like the Lonely Planet Nepal book says "The Himalaya is there to change you, not you the Himalaya", and oh how I have been changed! I know I keep going on and on, but our 6 days in the Himalayas is something that will light my soul and encourage my mouth to share forever.

We are know back in Pokara, feeling a little bit "at home" and relaxing just a tad. Though the trek has re-ignited my love for exercise so I have started running again in the mornings. It's great because Jerad stays in bed, I go run around this beautiful area and pick him up a fresh backed chocolate pastry on the way back to our room, which he eats in bed while we both have tea. And yes, Mom, I did say tea. It has been at least a month since I have had coffee and I am feeling really good about it (albeit missing it sometimes and being somewhat forced to switch due to lack of availability).

We have become close with the locals from our guest house and last night we had a little Nepali New Year celebration (which by the way it is 2065 here). Jerad bought some beers, we chatted and even did a little dancing, and somehow I ended up singing Santa Baby. Good times. They invited us to their home for a family feast on Wednesday, which we are looking forward to and it is a big honor.

And so my loved ones, I will stop typing and give you a chance to go back to your day, but thank you for reading, it does mean a lot to me. Know that Jerad and I are elated and I am already planning my trip back to Nepal someday, maybe 3 years or so. Sending you all big hugs and Happy Birthday Randy! Thank you for reading and keeping up with us, or in Nepali dhanyabad:).

(By the way, my hair is still pink from Holi in India. Apparently it doesn't wash out of blonde hair so well. But hey, Ke Garne?)

Happily,

Amber Allison

P.S. On Friday we start an overnight four day, three night meditation and yoga retreat, which we are looking forward to. Don't worry butterflies, I haven't gone completely hippy-dippy:).

Gallery: Nepal

theunit — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:46:00 GMT

Glorious Nepal

theunit — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:40:00 GMT

We are now in Nepal and are loving it. We crossed the border without incedent and travelled to Lumbini. This is the birthplace of the Buddha and there is a beautiful garden surrounded by prayer flags where pilgrims come to meditate. It was a wonderful place to spend the day. Next we took a 100 mile, 10 hour bus ride to Pokhara. This is possibly the most idealic town for an adventerous soul that could ever be conceived. The town surrounds a lake high in the Himalaya and is surrounded by mountains. Amber and I are so happy to be back in an area of green and hills after most of our time in India being in the desert. We will probably spend most of our time in Nepal in and around this town as we plan to go on a 3 day rafting trip, a 3 day meditation/yoga retreat, and a 10 day trek to Annapurna Base Camp. It is a wonderful place and almost makes us overlook the fact that we were robbed on the bus ride here. Nothing so dramatic as a mugging but our bags were opened while ontop of the bus and a small number of things were stolen. In all honesty I was relieved to see the things that were actually taken as nothing of great importance was missing and it could have been much worse. Fortunately we are in a place were anything can be replaced and after a big shopping day today we are replenished and ready to start the rest of our trip. Sorry no pictures this time but they are worth waiting for. With much love, JN

India; A Land of Collision

theunit — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:29:00 GMT

So I thought I would take a second and share some final thoughts on my trip to India now that we are in Nepal. To me India is a country confounded by collisions. It sits at the colliding point of the ancient and the modern, three major religions, wilderness and metropolis, extreme wealth and extreme poverty. You can't go anywhere without being cofronted by these things. To borrow a phrase from a fellow traveller, "For me to speak about India beautifully would require a lot of editing.'' I am pleased that I visited and do believe that there is no place like India on this planet, but it is a place I found difficult and often unpleasant. Interestingly enough, the things I firsat thought would pose the greatest difficulties for me; poverty, crime, noise did not turn out to be the things that were the greatest challenge. While those things are present, it was the general treatment toward women that made me the most uncomfortable. Just watching how men were with Amber as well as females from their own country was alarming and difficult and I can only imagine what it feels like to be the subject of such treatment. I don't want to come from a place of judgement because I would be the first to admit I know very little about Indian culture, but from a personal standpoint it was something I have no interest in experiencing again. I don't want these observations to take away from the great things that I was able to experience in India. Holi will be an experience I will always cherish and Amber and I had a marvelous time, but unfortunately I think the previous blog will be equally as memorable in my thoughts of the country.