BNJMN

I'm at the airport in Ottawa, about to depart on the longest, farthest trip from home I have ever experienced! The exciting part is seeing a couple of small pockets of the Earth that promise to be very, very diffent from what I know. The downside... I won't have Internet at my fingertips the whole time. I may have access while in Japan, but in Nepal, I wouldn't expect anythin mgore than intermittent access, and certainly no access when I get out into the village side. to make quick, easy posts in one easy-to-find locale, I set up http://bnjmnwood.tumblr.com . Here, I'll post pictures and impressions when I can. I'll probably blog here as well, just not nearly as often, and maybe not until I get back. So yes, please keep an eye on Tumblr, which should also send tweets when I post to @bnjmnwood . Also, iPad should stop autocorrecting Tumblr as "tumble"!

I'm traveling to Nepal! After being involved with the Nepalese Canadian Association of Ottawa (NCAO) and Canada Foundation for Nepal (CFFN) throughout the past decade, and getting to know many of the Nepalese families who have moved to Ottawa, I finally have the opportunity to see Nepal for itself. While I'm there, I will get to see some of the capital city, Kathmandu, as well as the countryside where the best way to get from one village to another is to trek. It all started about a month ago when a friend of mine wanted me to go to Japan to visit a mutual friend. This trip was feasable - and how often will I get an invite to Japan? Just as I was about to make that happen, it was brought to my attention that the Non-Resident Nepali Assocation is holding their every-other-year conference around the same time as the Japan trip. At this confence, I would be able to present an update to a project that I'm leading on behalf of CFFN. Also, I could see CFFN's Community ChildCa