from Jane, July 4th evening here

A breeze! The internet shop I have chosen is open to the lake, and now that it is dark outside, the air is sweet. It carries frangipani tree-perfume and Nepali filmi music and albino gecko chirps and NO pitchfork heat.

At dinner tonight, under a thatch upstairs restaurant roof, Ella, having split a pineapple pizza with Mary (please put "pizza" in quotation marks), was looking out at the street life, and swaying to Nepali music, more and more vigorously--in her own world--in the literal rhythm of this place. Reba leaned over and said, nodding toward Ella, "Too bad Nepal has shut Ella down."

Mary and Ella get to alternate at lunch and dinner who gets to choose which dish to order for them to share, and they are being good cooperative sisters, only occasionally jealous of who has the camera.

Mary said to me today, as we were walking, "I am so glad I came on this trip, Jane. i feel so privileged. But not in the way of that Kathmandu guy, Aslan."

"Were you suprised at how rough I was with him, Mary?" I asked. She paused. "No. I wasn't surprised. It doesn't surprise me that you would protect me. You thought he wasn't safe. So you became rough." "I did. And it made me shake to speak to someone that way. My hands were shaking. It doesn't feel good to be rough, but I knew it would have felt worse to tolerate him near us. So I don't regret being rough. But it didn't feel good. Do you understand?" "I think so," Mary said. "You aren't naturally rough. Just when you need to keep us safe. But I'm not sure I will ever be able to be rough like you. I hope so, though. It was awesome."

So our friends in Kathmandu have alerted me that I have an early birthday present: they have found my missing backpack, and our guide, Narayan, will be bringing it to Mustang before we meet to head into the Restricted Territory. So I will have a sleeping bag liner and cold-weather gear after all. Amazing! Thanks to Jenna for realizing what I didn't have (MY BACKPACK!) before I did, and kicking into gear to send the alert out in time.

Ashleigh and Emerson, and our already-trekking teammate Mika, young people in their twenties, like all my Creative Process students at Virginia Tech, or like my Blacksburg High School friend Jessica, who is taking care of my gazillion cats when she is not impressing the Coach of the Metropolitan Opera House (GO JESSICA!): Jenna and Reba and I (the elders) are SO proud of you, as we are of Mary and Ella.

What a team. Happy 4th to our friends and family back home--our extended team! Jane, The Rough Elder