home, eh?!

why hello friends, family, and other internet stopper-bys;
after a few weeks of prayer, and some very good conversations with (my wise and dear friend) shaminder, i have decided to come home two weeks early. although i miss out on the wedding and hanging out in rajasthan with the kangs, i feel as if my decision is responsive to god's promptings in my heart and i anticipate what comes next!

indeed, i write this message from the comfy computer chair of la maison de ma mere in kingston, ontario. i arrived late last night after a ridiculously long and complicated journey home; punjab, delhi. delhi, frankfurt. frankfurt, new jersey; new jersey, toronto. toronto, kingston. including lay overs and the fact i missed a connecting flight, the trip totaled 51.5 hours! nevertheless, i enjoyed myself thoroughly and was comforted by the superfluous amounts of free food and drink provided by the airlines. i must say, lufthansa is the way to go.

while my time in india has come to a close -for now-, i still have many reflections i wish to share. if you feel so obliged check back in the coming weeks for my thoughts on following god's spirit, my interactions with hindu and sikh celebrations/festivals, and a more colourful account of my final days and trip home. for now i will suffice it to say that the past two months have been a wonderful blessing and i am deeply grateful for my experiences. i look forward to sharing with you in more detail.

by grace alone, daily i am reminded,
robb :)

where the streets (really) have no name

preface: this computer does not have spell check; you will now enter into (the sometimes scary world) of my true grammatical abilities.

hey all;
i can't believe it has almost been a month since my last entry. this post will be short, but know that in 22 days i have traversed himilayas, spent another week in kathmandu (the inspiration for the title of this post); visited nepal's beautiful chitwan national park: complete with elephant rides, morning canoeing through ornithological heaven, and rhino spottings; flew to delhi; and have been in india for a week.

a note on the himilayas: i trekked through jiri, pathikot, and other remote nepalese towns. i travelled with my friends nicole, smita, and sushil. we made it to 3700m (over 11000feet, for my american friends) and were blessed with stunning evening views of mount everest and its environs. i must admit, for the tallest mountian in the world, i was somewhat disappointed with everest. i imagined a fortuitious fountainhead outshadowing all of its neighbours - in both girth (if you will) and height. in reality however, from our vantage point (about 5 kilometers away) it was hard to tell which peak was the highest, and by no means was one more "girthy" than the rest. nevertheless, the range was beautiful; the snow covered peaks pierced the dark night sky, as the moon glistened above, and the sun set in the west.

it's nice to be back in india. my friend shaminder has arrived and we are about to leave to his ancesteral village for a day or two; from there the plan is to see rajasthan. we have a wedding to attend on the 28th. and my flight is scheduled for the 30th of november. i stop in frankfurt on the way home. i hope to have a few more posts before then.
may god continue to make know his love your lives.
all the best