Starting to think to Hetauda

I am working these days to find a fine balance between mentally preparing myself to go where I'm headed (what I might experience, how I might be successful, and what I might need to bring with me), being present where I'm at and really enjoying being in Portland these days, and not developing expectations for myself that won't help me out in the long run.

Let me just say that managing all of these internal workings is a bit exhausting. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about things that I know are not based in any kind of reality of what I might experience when I move to Nepal and then I have to pull myself back to whatever is happening in the moment. But at other times I find myself so immersed in whatever is right in front of me that I forget absolutely that I'll be in another country in less than 3 months. And I remember that I want to speak at least a few Nepali phrases when I arrive, and I definitely want to have a handle on what history and cultural information I'm able. Brian taught me this: the importance of research. All of this is a lot to think about, however, and sometimes I've been waking up in the middle of the night recently with my newest thoughts about what I should be doing.

In reality, I have no road map, because I've never done anything like this before. And not having the road map is what makes it all simultaneously exciting and unnerving.

When I don't know how else to prepare, I've been going online and seeing what kind of information I can find about Hetauda - the town that I'll be living in. There are so many things that I can't know yet - like what my work will be like, how I'll be received in Nepal, what I'll be eating everyday, and - most important to me in the moment - whether I'll be making trips to Kathmandu for my toilet paper or whether I'll be "going native." But I *do* know that I'll be living in Hetauda and can research what I'm able about the town. Thank goodness for the internet. Above are two pictures that I found. This is what I imagine it will be like where I'll live. I bet I will enjoy comparing this post/pictures with pictures and thoughts when I actually arrive.