Written by India & Nepal Overseas Educator, Soumya
Namaste! It’s your favorite Sagittarius OE, Soumya. This morning, I said goodbye to the Qaasid cohort and our own British prince, Andrew. As I zoomed away from the airport feeling the smoggy Kathmandu air on my face, I could not believe the moment had arrived. This week closed out a brief and beautiful rollercoaster of a semester with eight unique, special souls who each brought lots of flavor and flair to an already spicy region of the world!
Favorite Moments Shared:
Usually, I take the opportunity in the final blog post to take us on a journey through the whole semester. This time, I want to go deeper into one of my favorite parts of our journey together – our last week in Nepal.
But before I do, last night, at closing dinner, I asked each person in the group what their favorite moment from the semester was. And the answers were as varied as the person – for some it was finally seeing the Taj Mahal, a dream come true. For others, it was visiting the Monkey Temple (Swoyambhu Mahachaitya) in Kathmandu and seeing a monkey snatch the chilly fries out of my hand! Or dancing the night away at the Sivananda Ashram for Maha Shivratri. Or singing Disney songs at the top of our lungs on the drive back from Hulchul Cafe in the Vikram in Udaipur. For others, it was connecting and playing with the kids wherever we went. For someone else, it was every trek we did, each minute of it. Or celebrating Holi with raucous dancing and vivid colors and lots of devious mud-slinging and playing in the pool.
Some of my own favorite moments were when we decided to express gratitude for the Aurobindo Ashram by baking a massive amount of carrot cake and banana-chocolate chip muffin-cake for all the kids and then had an impromptu dance party to Nepali songs in the bakery (shout-out to Jasmine for that chocolate!). When we baked bread together and learned how to braid dough from Koni. Watching our students connect with the ashram kids and build relationships and friendships. And then, finally, depart for our trek in the lower Himalayas with our stellar guides, Suvash and Zeevan.
Moments that come to mind…
🔸 On our very long and bumpy ride to Pokhara, the moment Kai decided to sprint full-speed down the road in the rain.
🔸 The moment we saw Phewa Lake twinkle for the first time, especially at night.
🔸 The moment Jasmin, Jasmine, and Kai joined the dance party on the street for the celebration of Nepali New Year.
🔸 The moment we took our first break on the trail and ravenously ate bananas and apples looking out at the view.
🔸 The moment Bitsy took a pause for the cause and lay down on the trail (I promise she’s fine).
🔸 The moment Xilonen carried two bags like a bad*ss (plus Milk Box, of course).
🔸 The moment we reached Angel’s Rest, our first guesthouse on the trek.
🔸 The moment of playing Spot It in three different languages (Spanish, Nepali, and English) with Jasmin, Jasmin, Suvash, and Zeevan.
🔸 The moment when we ended up playing Frisbee for almost three hours and the local kids joined in.
🔸 The moment the Himalayas finally came out from behind the clouds and we could see the outline of Annapurna South in a dusky pink sky.
🔸 The moment Lucas taught us how to do a firefighter’s carry and I lifted Andrew (at least one inch).
🔸 The moment Kai got bested by Suvash in an epic game of BS.
🔸 The moment we walked down a leafy trail on our side adventure to the pagoda and decided to keep going and get chai in the village.
🔸 The moment it started to rain and we all got soaked coming back and it was magnificent.
🔸 The moment we played Mafia and Elijah was truly innocent and just looked suspicious and Xilonen had all the answers.
🔸 The moment we woke up to the outline of the Himalayas and a deep orange sunrise.
🔸 The moment we put our calves to the test climbing up yet another hill to the World Peace Pagoda and it was so worth it.
🔸 The moment we went on stage to celebrate our final night returning back from the trek dancing to traditional Nepali songs.
Some things I love and will not forget:
💙 Jasmine & her dance moves
💙 Koni & her love for Rocky Horror Picture Show
💙 Bitsy & her bug/animal/creature facts
💙 Xilonen & her passionate rants and outfits
💙 Elijah & his darkly hilarious sense of humor
💙 Lucas & his grappling exercises… & exercises in general
💙 Jasmin & her appreciation of nature & cats wherever we went
💙 Kai & his desire to befriend literally everyone
💙 Andrew & his club dance moves that come out of nowhere
A Grateful Farewell:
Thanks to each one of you for bringing your passions, your interests, your senses of humor, kindness, care, and desire to connect throughout this semester. I hope that as you all transition back to Portland and that #basementlife you are able to hold each other with the same kind of care and community that we created here, farts and all.
I am changed for having met each one of you and I hope you all carry this experience with you wherever you go. It’s been an honor being your OE and I want to leave you all with a poem that I hope resonates with you – a reminder that we are constantly becoming, and we can welcome each version of ourselves we meet, whether in India and Nepal, or at home.
“i hope
when you come home to yourself
there are flowers lining the front porch
that were left from all the [people]
you were before”
~ @maiapoetry
When the Waves Come
Dhanyavad & I.D.L.I.D.O.S.A. forever,
Soumya
