My November Is…

For a large portion of my young adulthood I’ve felt an unease. Like the world around my is moving at a pace i cant mentally or physically match. I’ve felt pressured, whether by society or individuals, to have had accomplished certain things by now, or to move in certain ways. Ways that do not match where i envision myself being at this point in my life. I often feel I must not even be from this planet. An alien plucked from the cosmos left to wander this strange land alone. Well maybe not alone but definitely not in-tune with most of this shit.

That being said, There are the odd moments of magic. Times that i find peace.

Solace.

Happiness even.

Times that are so valuable you just have to try your best to hold on to.

Etched somewhere into your vast files of memory.

So deep that the smaller things get lost amongst the bigger image.

But those smaller things probably being more valuable than the one’s on the forefront of your mind.

I’m going to try and recall some of the moments. The moments I’ve found myself most at peace. The most happy.

The moments we like to call “November’*”

My November is Summer 2016. I think could write a whole book on just how good of a time i had that summer. Just how precious of a space i was in. About how a tiny remote village in the hills of the Darbung region of Gorkha, Nepal would become as close to ‘home’ I’ve ever felt. How at the end of it all my cousin and I truly considered never returning back to Bermuda. But i’ll try to summarize it in this blog post.

So during this summer i got to spend around 45 days in Chapthok. And boy there could have been no way I’d know the development I’d go through in this village. The friends I’d make. And the passion I’d find.

I’d say the biggest blessing of that summer is that i cannot remember a single morning in which i woke up unhappy. Every day, no matter what the time, I was ecstatic To be where i was. Something i rarely can find at home. And having this, just made it all the more easy to just be free.

I met someone who challenged me.

Let’s just say his name was Parle G.

I was fortunate enough to meet this young man who I truly believe is one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever met. Just engaging in dialogue with him was enriching. He also challenged me to switch up my mindset and vocabulary to certain situations. And he really showed me that we(young people) are the innovators and change making forces of the Now. And meeting him helped me realize that you have to go into everything as determined as you can because we do have value and our voices can be heard.

I met family. Shouts out to Devendra, my lil bro, and his family for holding me down.

Shouts out to uncle Huk and his wife for always sharing a smile.

And to everyone who we were building houses for opening their most vulnerable space to us because without them and their stories there wouldn’t have been a summer 2016.

But every thing in Chapthok was amazing. Arrange football games with the locals then having to walk for a 2 hour round trip just to get go the field and back.

Spending time at the school.

Or spending time out with the locals every lunch by the shops.

Getting fed ‘nuff sel roti and curry and teas and corn.

Narsingh Buwa, village elder, pretty much stripping his mango tree fruitless for us.

The viewpoint we had

Were you could just see the world.

And you could be as emotional or goofy as you wanted. And on the clearest days the view we had of the Ginesh Himal range.

The hard work.

Trench mud fights.

Monsoon rain.

DAL BHAT.

Like mountains of dal bhat in your mess tins Dal Bhat.

Never ending dal bhat…

like eating four peoples worth of dal bhat a meal dal bhat.

Self-doubt.

Self-confidence.

Self development.

Spiders and mosquitoes and helicopter beetles.

All the actual legit funny moments made, stories that if you know me you’ve probably heard before, that just never seemed to stop.

Etc.

Shouts out to Caesar And Tara for being like brothers.

And George W, Will, and James for being good friends.

And Prabin who was down the hill somewhere being ugly.

Bless.

The time of my life.

P.S.

I actually went back there the next year

And they put me to work again.

Legendary.

P.S.S

Honourable Mention:

November 2017

Himalayan Escape (which i talked about in one of my earliest blogs.

*november is a Tyler the creator song in which people describe they’re most cherished moments as “november”