Adventure

I'm going to be a dad soon. Well, maybe I'm a dad already. (Is it a pizza when you put your hand in the dough? Or is it a pizza only when it comes out the oven?) Right now, it's 4:22 am where I'm at. I'm having a tough time sleeping because the air is really thin (12,000 ft above sea level) and dry. The Rodent Geek and I took a road trip this weekend to see someone who trains people to program computers for his software development business. Here's a subset of experiences in the past 36 hours (in no particular order):

• Got caught in a yak jam. Our taxi had to navigate its way through a current of yak crossing the street.
• Tried to talk to a local who had poorer Mandarin than myself.
• Used an outhouse.
• Was told that if a Tibetan mastiff approaches me, I should pretend to pick up a rock and throw it at the dog. And don't stop making eye contact or it will bite me.
• Was told that boys can pee anywhere in the yard.
• Was told to just spit anywhere in the yard to finish brushing my teeth.
• Saw it snow. (In May!)
• Learned how to use a coal stove to heat a room.
• Saw some of the most beautiful rock formations. Maybe the Rodent Geek will supply me with some pictures.
• Met a new friend who found out we had the same last name and was greeted with praises at the news.

I have a profound admiration for the family that we are living with. Sometimes I'll get comments from people in the States about how they couldn't live where I'm living. This place makes our place look like we live in Orbit City. While it is pretty primitive, there's a lot of technology intertwined: surround speakers, a Wii, a wireless network. It's fascinating to see how this homestead is an amalgamation of technology, do-it-yourselfness, and ... camping, for lack of a better word.

It is amazing, encouraging, and humbling for me to know this family and to be a guest here. It was very difficult for us to get out here and I'm guessing the isolation here can be difficult. And yet, I sense a deep love that this family has for the people that live here. I suppose that this love is the driving motivation behind why someone would move thousands of miles from their home to live in an upgraded campground.

Despite not being able to sleep very well tonight, I am so grateful for this experience. Being grateful for the present is something that I've been learning. Even without a shower (it's not clear to me that I'll get one this weekend), using an outhouse, shoveling yak dung into a coal stove...all those things that a 'civilized' Westerner would look at with horror, I feel that this is an experience to be embraced. I don't know how many more opportunities I'll have like this. I'm sure that each stage of life has it's own treasures to enjoy... I'm definitely looking forward to the life of a father, but I also am enjoying embracing the now.

It's been a while since I've been on an adventure like this. I'm pretty excited.