This post features student writing.

Today was our final morning in Salleri. We all got up early and we had to finish packing and take a small hike to where the jeeps would pick us up. Leaving was bittersweet. Everyone was excited about arriving in Kathmandu but sad because Salleri had become home; not to mention that our departure meant our program was coming to an end. After our bags got packed onto the jeeps, we managed to squeeze four girls into one row. My jeep, the “girls jeep,” fueled up an eight-hour playlist and somehow managed to stay occupied with our music selection for the entire drive to KTM. On the way we stopped at the same restaurant that we had eaten at on the way to Salleri and Mingmar pulled over to buy mangoes for his daughter. Other than that, the ride mostly consisted of singing, sleeping, and eating lots of energy bars. Once we arrived at the guest house in KTM, everyone settled in and we went out to eat. Dinner consisted of momos and lots of garlic naan. Over dinner, we all reminisced on the long drive, and specifically Mala Band’s rendition of “Sausage Dog,” a tribute to our four-legged friend in Junbeshi [pictured below]. After returning to the guest house a few kids mingled with another student group that was staying at our guest house. Others hung out on the roof or settled into their rooms. Everyone was happy to be back at the guest house after a long day of driving.

— Olivia

Note from the leaders:

As our program winds down, we have been doing a lot of work with our students around transference; we have been preparing them for the transition back to the USA and providing them tools to process their experience in Nepal. They have also been engaged in an “Art is Life” workshop, where they have had the opportunity to reflect on the art that is present in every aspect of Nepal and the human experience. Further, they have had the opportunity to make a few pieces of art in between exploring Kathmandu, singing about the aforementioned Sausage Dog, reflecting about the trip, and participating in final lessons.

We have enjoyed the community that has formed over the past few weeks and know there are great things to come from all of the incredible students on our program. And while the song below might seem silly to anyone outside this group of ours, we wanted to share it because it shows just how deep (and goofy) are the friendships we’ve all formed over these last several weeks.

— John & Jada