She's goin' to Kathmandu!

Ah, how this attempt to retain anonymity chafes and confines! But I have no one to blame but myself.

I have a friend, who for the reasons above I cannot mention by name, who has earned a certain, very prestigious scholarship, which I also cannot name for the same reason. How I would love to praise Her publicly, beyond the mention that She has had in our local paper.

I can say that because of this scholarship, She is going to Nepal and will do a world of good there. She is an intelligent Woman (please pardon the redundancy), as well as friendly, compassionate and curious.

Not an American native, She retains a delightful Eastern European accent but navigates English quite well.

I am so happy for Her and I am excited about what I hope to learn from Her in emails when She arrives in that country about which I and most Americans know so very little.

What I do know about Nepal – home of a sometimes violent Maoist insurgency that has only recently reached a peace agreement with the government – makes me realize that my friend, in addition to the above-noted qualities, is also brave.
Much has changed since Bob Seger sang about “going to Kathmandu” to escape problems in the U.S.