Upcoming Shows




We've been named as a official selection in the Southern Circuit of Filmmakers Tour, March 17-24.

Shows are in Hapeville, GA 3/17, Madison, GA 3/20, Orangeburg, SC 3/22, Gainsville, GA 3/23, and Manteo, NC 3/24.
Learn more by going to the SouthArts blog.

View the theatrical trailer for A Gift for the Village

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Hi everyone. As Tom reported, we are back in Kathmandu and are enjoying the cushy life of real mattresses with sheets, hot showers and TOILET PAPER! Woohoo! My last night at the Dancing Yak in Jomsom, Jane and Jenna demanded that I only use 3 (single-ply) sheets of our shared toilet paper (You have to supply your own). Don't tell, but I used 5! (haha)
I am closer to getting back home where I want to be, but I desperately miss the rest of our crew and feel just a little twinge of jealousy that they are going into upper Mustang. Only a few permits per year are given to those who want to go into that region where it is even more untouched by change than the places we have visited.
I came here fully expecting to land into this totally foreign world, where nobody looks like me, talks like me, dresses or thinks like me, and everthing around me looks nothing like I have ever seen before. Part of that has proved to be true. I have never seen the likes of chaos like here in Kathmandu. I have never seen this much poverty. I have never seen landscapes like this, from the terraced crop fields to the gigantic mountains that are so huge, grey and snow-covered, that they cannot be real even though you are right there staring at them.
And it is true that the people here don't look or talk like me. But somehow I have found many familiar things here. I've watched Karma (Tsampa's wife) churn butter just like my Granny Surratt used to do. I watched twelve Tibetan women sit in a circle on the floor and string a basket of green beans, which reminded me of sitting under the tree between my parents house and Aunt Mavis' house, doing the same thing. I've watched men ride and work their horses. (Grandpa Webb) These people work hard every day with almost nothing to show for it materialistically. And they all seem happy. It reminds me of what life must have been like for my parents and grandparents growing up.
The women here offer you tea several times a day. They ask if you are hungry. As we walked these very long, dusty and rocky trails between villages, every person we would meet, whether they were in a group or carrying some obscenely large basket full of who-knows-what strapped to their heads, EVERY single person would meet your eye and say, "Namaste". Greeted warmly by every stranger you meet, that's Nepal.
Tonight we are again invited to our friend Sunil's house for dinner. I hope his wife Sarita doesn't cook as much as she did the last time....
Mary and Ella, I will see you soon. Save hugs and kisses for me.
Love to everyone,
Reba

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Reba, Kevin here. I cannot wait to hear all about everything! Safe travels home. I know that Carl and the girls can't wait to get you home. Peace!

Anonymous said...

Reba dear,
The old hike up Sharp Top will never be the same, will it? And speaking of the girls, can you just imagine Ella on the Thorung La? Ha, me neither. We're eagerly counting down the days until July 12th...until then, savor every moment.
Carl

Anonymous said...

Reba, I can't wait to see you family SEE you!!!!
safe travels home. . . xoxo love, beth

Anonymous said...

Reba,
I don't know if you will see this before you get back home but just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful commentary on your experiences! You are a great writer and don't tell me you aren't! I hope to talk to you before I leave for my own adventure abroad although mine will be much less exotic and much more predictable than yours! All of you must come together when you are safely back and spend an evening or afternoon sharing your journey with the rest of us who stayed behind! I'll offer my house anytime to host such an event! To use your new found greeting-Namaste! Your friend,Suzan

Joe and Carol said...

Hey Reba,
We just wanted to tell you what a delight your girls are! Today we practiced grand parenting...toast with powdered sugar after several Hershey kisses, strawberries with sugar, a treasure hunt down to the creek, pitas n' hummus, Mary forming words with cut pieces of coat hanger and coins, slip n' sliding in the backyard, peanut butter n' jelly, reading time for Mary, a nap for Ella, chocolate milkshakes...simply delightful! We hope our grandchildren are as fine as your kids! And, Mom Hoffman, just know that they are doing wonderfully...a testimony to your mothering...and, of course Carl's fathering in your absence!

Looking forward to seeing you and hearing more about your amazing journey. Thanks so much for all the time you spent writing so we could journey with you!

Love ya bunches!
Joe and Carol