This post features student writing.

Day 13

Namaskar,

After the long trek, we finally made it back to the school today. We spent the whole morning doing construction in the classrooms that already have walls. Some of us picked up pebbles and others hobbled rocks. Overall, a busy morning.

After an exhausting morning, the group visited the Salleri monastery which had just received a high-ranking lama. The monastery was filled with people wearing traditional clothing (colorful fabrics and fur hats) and music. Though we didn’t get to interact with monks, we did tour the monastery, which we hadn’t been able to do before.

After a long hike back to our home, we were ready for lunch. After lunch and a very interesting lesson on Nepali geography, our plans were slightly altered. Instead of returning to the school we would have the afternoon to hang out with the local girls. After talking and playing volleyball with the girls, we continued learning our dance. Following the dance lesson, we divided into two groups: cooking and Nepali class. After dinner and our meeting, complete with flickering lights, most of the group remained in the dining area to talk while others chatted in their rooms. It was a great day!

– Fran

P.S. Congratulations to our parents (Nate and Anne) for finally setting a wedding date!

Day 14

Namaste,

Today was a very good day. We awoke to pancakes and oatmeal. Then, we prepared to go to work. It wasn’t as sunny, which was very nice considering the 50 kg bags of cement that we had to carry and the rocks that we had to break.

Then we went to teach. Many of us did Mad Libs and games. We then left White Hills and returned to the girls’ hostel for lunch. After lunch, we had our dance lesson. I am very proud to say that we have now finished the routine, and the only thing left to do is to perfect it and perform it in front of the school and 700 people. Hopefully, we all pull off the dance without any mistakes

After our dance, we had our second Nepali lesson, where we learned about History. Reese became a teacher for about 45 mins. We then had our cooking and language lessons. Dinner was the best thing ever! We had all our favorite foods: pasta, momo’s, chicken mushroom soup, and fried potatoes. Yumm!

We then had our group meeting.

Good Night.

-Maria