Christmas in Kathmandu

Merry Christmas everyone! It has been a fabulous six weeks in Nakote village, Helambu, Nepal. I was teaching dance and English at a school there and arrived back in the city yesterday after a bumpy, nine hour bus ride. The bus left directly from Nakote at 7:30 am, and as the morning sun was hitting the mountains around us and I looked out the window at the many miles of rolling peaks, I had to remind myself that I was on a BUS, not an airplane. I had to smile as the bus driver cranked up the Bollywood tunes in Nepali and Hindi.

I am happy to report a slight change in plans which has flowed in a wonderfully serendipitous way. Instead of returning to Nakote to continue teaching, I will accompany th e guest house owner of where I stayed in the village on a trip to Lumbini, Nepal and Bodhgaya, India. This woman is truly wonderful. She goes by the name, "Jimmy's Mom," as her son Jimmy operates a nonprofit NGO from her guest house and is well respected. In the community for helping to improve the quality of education in the village. Jimmy's mom cooked me threemeals a day. For much of my time I Nakote, I was the only guest at her house. Everymorning I awoke to the sound of her starting a fire in the next room, blowing on the small sparks through a steel pipe. the smell of shukpa incense and her Buuddhist prayers at about 6:00 am let me know that the day was about to begin. I would roll out of bed around 7:00 and step into the kitchen for a cup of butter and salt tea by the fire.

Anyway, when I heard that Jimmy's mom was going to meet the dalai lama, I immediately wanted to go with her, and was happy that she invited me to come along. The kalachakra is a special series of teachings/initiations with his holiness the dalai lama. There will be many people there, foreigners, Tibetans, Indians, Nepalis. I feel confident that my time there will be enjoyable, especially since I am traveling with a "local." check out kalachakra2012.org for more info. As my 6 month India visa will start upon entry into the country, I will stay there and continue traveling after she goes home.

Christmas in Kathmandu has been great so far. I am staying with Eva, another helambu project volunteer, at her apartment. Today we made no bake cookies and pasta with tomato sauce paneer. As we listened to Christmas songs on her iPad, and I grooved around the modern kitchen, I could almost imagine that I was back in the U.S. we lit some candles and drank some cheap white wine with dinner. Now we are headed to Thamel, the tourist district, to check out the nightlife and see if there are any other Merry foreigners to hang out with. It should be a good time.

Merry chiristmas and namaste!
Melissa