As I entered the lobby of the Annapurna Guesthouse, the owner greeted me warmly. He asked about my travel and how I liked my room.

“Load shedding right now,” he said, pointing at the lights. “No power.”

I nodded, dumbly. That explained the cold shower and nonfunctional TV.

“We have generator though,” he said. “No interruption.”

I could have asked him why the power was down if his generator ensured no interruption, but I really didn’t care. A few months ago, when I was working midnight shifts for my company back in the U.S., reliable power and wifi would have been my paramount priority. Now, I had a different job, one I could work on any schedule I chose. But to be honest, I didn’t much feel like working at all in Nepal.

Why should I care if the power went out, now and then?

Isn’t that why I was here, halfway across the world: to disconnect, to see something new?

Continue reading →