We can’t believe that summer programs are starting to wind down. In Nepal, there are just 3 days left in the homestay! A team of workers has been coming since Sunday to ramp up support for the group’s service project on the secondary school which is coming along quickly! Students are really excited to learn how to mix cement and gain some new building skills.
All our students spent Saturday shadowing a family member, learning how Nepali agriculture works and seeing the intricacies of Nepali family life. On Sunday the group spent a day sharing international recipes with their homestay families. Although the homestays are quite challenging, they have been an eye-opening, and heart-opening experience for students. They love their Nepali families and will be said to say goodbye in a few days.
BUT, they’ll also be super excited for their final travel in Bodnath, home to the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world and a huge population of Tibetan Buddhist refugees. The group will learn techniques for calming the monkey mind, explore the depths of Hindu culture at one of the most moving temples on earth at Pashupatinath and will have time to shop for gorgeous Nepali souveniers to dazzle their families and friends at home.
Enough from us…lets hear from a couple GR students!!
Blog Post by Global Routes Nepal Students Merak and Wilder:
As the trek came to a close, we prepared to embark on the longest, and arguably hardest, part of the trip. We spent a luxurious two nights in Pokhara, during which glorious warm showers were had, functional beds were slept in, and delicious food was eaten (once again, we hit up Mo 2’s. The steamed momos were unreal).
Leaders Mary and Trish and a GR student — loving the warmest of greetings!
With heavy hearts, and perhaps a little chagrin, we embarked at 5am on a 7 hour bus ride to Ranipauwa. But first, a stop had to be made in Kathmandu for two reasons: one, to retrieve the fabled lost bag of Merak, and two, to meet our long-awaited new leader Trish! While we still miss Matt very much, we were overjoyed by Trish’s willing attitude, undeniably stylish crocs, and two working legs to boot (we love you, Matt!) We also got to meet our wonderful contact Shankar and his performance capris, before quickly setting off to finish our arduous bus ride. Once we got off the bus, it was only a quick back-breaking trek down the mountain with all our bags before we arrived at the school.
At our arrival, we were greeted with some lovely flower necklaces, before being introduced to our host families. And thus the home stay had officially begun. At first, the language barrier was hard to manage, but with perseverance (and copious checking of our phrase books) we began a tentative dialogue. We lived with our mom, dad, grandfather, and our little brother and sister, Sanjib and Sagita.
Our interactions with the siblings were fleeting at first, but before we knew it we were hurling rice at each other and getting consumed in tickle fights. Then came the work. We would be lying if we said moving piles of bricks and dirt from one place to another, then back to the original place was always glamorous, but fulfilling would be a word that comes to mind. And along with the work came exciting events such as the friendship camp, or the group cookout we held with our families.
Altogether, it has been quite the adventure, and we’re only barely halfway through. So assuming we survive the various bouts of indigestion and horrendous amounts of rice, we’ll have a whole to more to tell.
The bustling village streets
In the canoe with our trusty guide, Ratna
    Students learning to cook Nepali food with their families
