A list of the extraordinary

Part I: Mountaineering

-conveniently inconvenienced by a flight delay that left me stuck in Paris for a day
-waking up my first morning in India early enough (jet lag) to see the sun come up on my first view of the Kumaon Region of the Himalayas
-learning to say hello (namaste) thank you (danyabar) what is your name (apka naam ka hai) and other vital and civil Hindi phrases
-observing (not participating, I swear) in hash production during harvest season in the village of Khati
-learned to wipe my ass with my hand (extraordinary experience, but not pleasant)
-each and every cup of masala chai I drank
-trying to sit in a tent for five days patiently waiting for the rain to stop
-Attending a puja: Hindu prayer ceremony. Baba Ji blessed us and marked our foreheads with a Tikka for a safe expedition leaving Zero Point.
-Waking up every morning to a sunrise view of Nanda Devi
-Counting ten shooting stars in one night.
-Standing at 18,500 ft
-sleeping in straw hut chai shops as we hiked out the Milam Valley
-First shower in thirty days, a pillow, a bed, and a phone call when we reached Mansyiuri
-Jeep ride of death down and out of the foothills
-looking in the mirror and realizing I lost about 15 pounds and two cup sizes
-getting stuck in rickshaw in a traffic jam with an elephant in downtown Delhi
-The Taj Mahal
-drinking cocktails at a five-star hotel with a view of the Taj under the full moon to celebrate my 22nd birthday