This post features student writing.

We woke up to a delicious breakfast of toast, potatoes (which were beautifully seasoned), and hard boiled eggs—the perfect balanced breakfast for an all-day trek. John taught me how to properly crack my egg, which I will remember for the rest of my days. Chhymba led the group with joy, perseverance, and patience. At first we listened to Myles’s classic playlist on Pete’s speaker but slowly/abruptly switched to my Mac Demarco/Boy Pablo/and Rex Orange Country playlist, which was cleverly named Boy Mac Country. The lush green scenery was breathtaking. We walked across bridges drenched in prayer flags and dipped our hands in a beautiful stream. We stopped for lunch where our guides made a delicious meal. Walking uphill on very jagged roads was less painful as we rose higher. We saw gorgeous hidden houses in the mountains and all of the adorable animals roaming happily in their natural habitat. Once we reached Junbeshi everyone was relieved and astonished by the beauty of our destination. Although the light rain was refreshing, the 5-6 hour hike was still difficult. This small beautiful hidden gem of a village is now where I aspire to escape to, and be inspired by: the kind people, the gigantic mountains surrounding the village, the delicious food made entirely from vegetables grown within the village, and the beautifully designed, colorful buildings. After eating coconut cookies in the tea room, Tessa, Maya, and I ventured into the town where we explored the monastery, small shops, and the intense game of volleyball played by the youth of the village. During dinner, we met Thomas and Anooshka, a young couple that was involved with helping the village after the earthquake. They shared their rose and thorn of the day [a high/low activity we do each night] and then individually guessed all of our names. It was a wonderful way to end the night. I am still surprised I haven’t gotten any leeches.

— Izzy P.

We woke up and said goodbye to “sausage dog” [a dog friend we met in Junbeshi]. It was very sad. We went hiking to the Everest viewpoint. It was a hard hike but we made it. We were the first Putney group to see Everest out of the nine groups that have been here. Then we started the path to lunch. We saw white monkeys that looked like yetis. We crossed the river bridge and got to lunch. It was a good meal. Then we started off to Taksindu where we would stay the night. We went to bed after a great day of being able to see Everest.

— Caelan C.

We woke up early in the cozy little village of Taksindu high in the hills of Solukhumbu. Some particularly early risers were able to see the sunrise over the distant snow-capped mountains but even those who woke up as late as possible for the 6 AM puja were still able to see the mountains incredibly clearly before the fog rolled in. Once assembled, we all walked up the stone path to the colorfully painted monastery, removed our shoes, and headed into the ceremony after the monks. We sat for about an hour and watched the monks recite their readings, chant, and play various (shockingly loud for so early in the morning) instruments. We were also treated to cups of butter tea…it remains a controversial drink among us, with the majority of the students disliking it but with a few avid fans. After the ceremony, we walked around the village, enjoyed the view, and then headed back to the hostel where we enjoyed some great pancakes and apple jam. Then we were given a few hours to relax in which many people played cards, others went back to sleep, or caught up on some summer reading. At 11, John gave us another lesson on Buddhism and then at 12 we had lunch. At ten to 1, we headed back up to the monastery for a much anticipated surprise. We headed inside the monastery where the lama blessed mala beads and then taught us some meditation techniques, a rose for many people. Then we returned to the hostel where we met with another lama and the parents of Babu Chhiri Sherpa, the man who summitted Everest 11 times and spent 21 hours at the top without oxygen. We asked them questions, shared some songs and were amazed by their sense of humor. Once they left we went outside to play games like Hot Potato and the Screaming Toe game before it started raining and we transitioned indoors to play Mafia. We then had dinner, played some more Mafia, and some students began working on a song before heading to bed to prepare for the last day of the trek.

— Tessa M.

Today, I woke up to a refreshing mountain breeze and the excitement of it being our final trek day! The out-of-this-world Buddhist monastery that we resided next to seemed as if it was straight out of a movie. Combined with the vivid imagery etched into the walls of the ceremonial spaces and the silk woven robes on all of the monks, I never felt more like an outsider. Coming from NYC, I am used to technologically driven lives and the unwelcoming attitudes from the people around me. In this high up Taksindu town and monastery, every single person I encountered excitedly shared their stories and enthusiastically listened as our group told ours. It was amazing to me that despite knowing so little about the outside world and having very strict regulations regarding their behavior, the monks that lived in the monastery were just as fun-loving as I was and perhaps in a happier place and it was kind of sad for me to leave this morning. Unlike the two and a half hour uphill climb to reach the highest elevation point of Taksindu, the last day’s hiking was for the most part on nice flat terrain. After an unexpected surprise of a ramen for lunch, we headed towards a view point where we could all see how far we trekked. In short, we scaled almost three mountains and danced on “the foothills of Everest.” Looking back, this trek may go down as one of the most impressive physical feats I’ve accomplished in my lifetime—and coupled with the fact that this was done with thin air, I hope I can come back to the city in much better physical condition. When we finally arrived back in our host village of Salleri, all of Putney crashed back into the common room and enjoyed a nice dinner with some “American music” playing in the background in honor of the 4th of July. On this day, it also happened to be Krishna’s, one of our Nepali guides, birthday. We surprised him in the evening with a bonfire party and some birthday cake and we danced the night away so we could rest easy when we finally slumped back into our beds, which have begun to feel like home to us.

— Guy M.