Good news -- three months after getting stuck in the United States, Chandra is on his way to Nepal! He got his visa squared away and boarded a plane Monday. I sent a couple of small gifts for my host family and a few copies of the Times-News articles I wrote to show to my sources there. I al… Read more
The coolest part of this project (besides, you know, going to Nepal) has been getting to know the refugees and learning what kind of people they are. Read more
A couple of weeks ago, photographer Ashley Smith tagged along while I checked in with the Pokhrel family. We talked about driving classes and potential jobs for Nar, and the boys made faces at the camera. As we got ready to leave, we saw Loveson, Loyalson and Nishal playing on scooters in th… Read more
I've had a lot of people ask me about food on my April trip -- what people eat in Nepal, whether I had any problems finding gluten-free food, how my meals tasted, that sort of thing. Read more
I've been back for a little more than a week. In between writing and recovering from jet lag (and that lingering, pesky stomach bug), I've had a chance to meet up with some of my Bhutanese friends and show off photos from the assignment. So much has changed in the Beldangi II refugee camp si… Read more
I walked through the front door of my home at 11 p.m. last night, almost exactly 48 hours after I left my hotel for the airport in Kathmandu. The best parts of coming home: Read more
I'm back in the Seoul airport, five hours into a nine-hour layover. I'm sitting in a reclining lounge chair in a clean, comfortable rest area near a Korean culture exhibit. The Bangkok airport was nice as well. Both offer recliners, free Internet and plenty of shops to browse. Read more
My journey comes to an end today. Counting the time change, layovers and flights, it will take about 44 hours for me to reach Twin Falls on Wednesday evening. I'm not looking forward to traveling, but it will give me plenty of time to reflect on what I've learned about Bhutanese refugees who… Read more
On Sunday, I packed my bags and left Damak, a bit teary-eyed as I said goodbye to my Nepali friends. I caught a ride to the airport on a bus run by the International Office for Migration, which handles resettlement for the refugees. Sitting behind me on the bus was a family from Beldangi I, … Read more
I've been feeling sick to my stomach for the last few days, but it was nothing I couldn't work through, and the medicine I had brought from the U.S. was helping. On Friday, though, I couldn't keep any food down. I still wasn't worried -- upset tummies are pretty normal for international trav… Read more
When the Times-News published the March 27 article announcing this project, I received many emails from readers criticizing the project. Frankly, some were racist, but the majority had valid questions. Most were money-related -- if the American economy is struggling so much, they asked, why … Read more
On Wednesday, I had a really good conversation with the International Office for Migration director in Damak. I learned a lot about what makes this resettlement project unique compared with other refugee populations. The biggest challenge that they face is sorting through the long queue; of … Read more
Short blog post today. The power just came on for the first time in 15 hours, so my laptop battery is charging for interviews at the International Office for Migration tomorrow. I went to Khudunabari camps today where I met two families destined for Twin Falls. Read more
It's 8:45 on Monday night, and the power has been off one hour. And though my laptop battery is charged, it's hard to write because the light from the screen attracts mosquitoes. So I try to avoid writing in the dark as much as possible. It's not exactly a problem I anticipated. But it's not… Read more
I got my luggage back! It took a fight, though. After being promised yesterday that the bag would be waiting for me in baggage claim, the staff today said it wasn't. The men kept telling me to check back again later, but I wouldn't leave the desk until they let me see inside the baggage clai… Read more