Written by Leo & Sophia
We all had a blast visiting the Gurung museum and a monastery in Ghandruk. We then came back to Pokhara to recover all of our stuff and to do some shopping. We got to call our families back home and eat some good Italian food. Now we’re in Kathmandu right before the homestay start. We had a whole day to shop for our friends and family. I got a buzz cut.
We loved Juliet’s birthday because we got to share in a really special moment of her life. Our second highlight was reaching ABC and witnessing the incredible mountains from the top. Calling our families was the best part—even though we love Nepal, all of us wanted to talk to our parents.
The end of the trek, after we reached Annapurna Base Camp, was incredibly challenging. We had a lot of up hill and a few of us felt very sick. We realized how capable our bodies are. Haggling was also pretty tough for one of us (Leo).
We learned so much about Nepal, not just by exploring the religion when we entered the Buddhist monastery, but also by simply speaking with locals. Today when we went shopping 🛒, I (Sofia) found a really interesting painting with a Sanskrit caption. When I asked the shopkeeper, she told me it was about a battle in Ramayan mythology in which a 10-headed demon stole the wife of a beloved god. In turn, he enlisted a monkey army to slay the beast. She explained that the story had such a huge impact in India that they have a holiday to celebrate where they build huge monster puppets and light them on fire. Now I know where I want to travel to next!🇮🇳
Julian free styles and operas for us every night, and apparently sing at night as well. Nia has the best death stare, and she’s always kind enough to share her tums. Briana is always making everyone laugh with her jokes and her ways. Sofia is going on a book tour, she’s been reading everyone’s books. Shelby showed us her family photos and told us about her siblings. Dahlia got three yaks. We think she has a yak obsession. Juliette had an amazing birthday and she got a ton of gifts. She got some braids and flowers. Mya had some of the most “bomb gnocchi” of her life.Taylor won shame of cards. We are very proud of her. Good job Taylor! Charlie bought the best stuff. He got a really cool telescope and knife. He’s very funny too. Leo got a buzz. He got a makeover. He’s wearing Julian’s pants.
