what did you did?

Warm greetings from Pokhara! Goodness, it's good to be here. I have much to tell you, so I will do my very best to invite you in to what has encompassed the last couple weeks leading up to today's arrival in beautiful Pokhara. Ever since I arrived in Nepal, at Mendies Haven, I have been jotting down my favorite sayings that the kids use. Most of it is just misplaced English words, and if I were a more helpful volunteer, I would politely correct them as to how the sentence structure SHOULD be, but it brings me too much joy to hear some. Lately, my absolute favorite is whenever I go out for the day & return, at least 5 of the children will ask, "Lauren sister, what did you did today?" so if I ask you, "what did you did?" when I get home, you'll understand why. Oh, another thing to be aware of. I'm sure many of you know what I mean when I say "the bobble head." you know, the head nod back & forth that an Indian or Nepali does when you ask a question in search of a simple yes or no. Well, it's incredibly elusive and usually I find myself asking for a verbal yes or no, but as luck would have it I have started as well. You'll see. Sorry in advance. Thus far, I have been incredibly blessed by a huge family at the haven. Today began my solo journey, making independent decisions and deciding which bus looks like it's going where I need to go. In the spirit of solo traveling, since honestly it can make one increasingly flustered & at times crazy, I have shifted my mindset to this: I am on the Amazing Race. Everywhere I need to go, everyone I meet, every obstacle that I maneuver around gets me that much closer to the prize. Oh, and every day is an elimination day so I have to succeed. So, there's that. Last week around Kathmandu was well, eventful. The better half of the week was spent with Johannes at the Indian embassy applying for his visa and meeting nice hippy friends & Tibetan monks. The weekend got real crazy, real quick. Saturday, Daniel Mendies took us around to the "big sites" of Kathmandu. Starting in Bhaktapur, we explored one of the oldest and most beautiful cities still in tact. Daniel insisted we try their famous, Bhaktapur Dhai, a yogurt/curd dish, which was remarkably delicious. I thought surely it was my ticket to sickness because of the flies & hair on the top layer, but it was real nice once you snuck past that little roadblock. We headed out to Bouddha, which is more or less a giant done that is said to hold thousands of Buddhas inside. Go figure. The remainder of the day was spent at Pashupati & Swayembu. Pashupati is a sacred Hindu site that every Hindu must make a pilgrimage to at some point in their life(not all do, but it's a supposed requirement). They actually burn deceased bodies publically on platforms. While we were wandering around, taking pictures of some angry monkeys, 2 bodies were actually burning. More on this via pictures & reenactments upon return.. Sunday, I went canyon swinging. If you don't know what that means, basically it's a glorified version of bungee jumping. So, apparently it's the talked canyon swing in the world, presently. It falls 160m (about 500 ft) into a gigantic gorge. It was really, really fun. I have a video. I will show you. This, more or less leads us to now. This morning I busily got myself ready in the pitch black(no power), and caught a taxi to my 7 am bus. To my surprise(not really), my bus never came. So I was conveniently smuggled onto the next bus, cozily in the cab with the driver and in between a couple Sherpas. Although uncomfortable, I learned about half a dozen successful Everest summits & even some new Nepali words. I am now in the hands of the Chettri sisters at 3 sisters guest house. Pokhara, what I've seen of it thus far, is incredibly beautiful. Most of the town runs along the lake & is bustling with western travelers. I am surprised at the amount of solo travelers, like myself, that roam the streets. I have met a couple fun friends due to my increasing curiosity as to what everyone's story is and where they are all headed. It's fun, even if just for a moment to share stories & enjoy the company. On Monday, I will head off to trek for the next couple weeks. Therefore, this may or may not be the last post until I return once again to pokhara. Until then my sweet friends, namaste. Peace, love & trekking, laur

Happy Holi.

Happy Holi! As luck would have it, I'm here in Nepal on one of the most colorful days of the year. It's a long standing Hindu holiday in which water is sprayed around as a reminder of the cooling monsoon days to come. Also known as the festival of colors, namely colored powered is also thrown everywhere. In the streets, on cars, on your face. It's nice. Seeing as the kids here at the Haven don't have school today, we will play & throw water balloons instead. I am continuing to learn more & more about these kids. Many of them with lots of deeply rooted anger & abandonment issues. Aside from the occasional meltdown or temper tantrum, they are so easy to love. I suppose if I had to give myself a job title here it would be "lover of kids" because really that's what I get to do. We study, we do projects, we play jump roping games & lots of basketball, but I'm actually the lucky one. I can just love them. Turning 24 in Nepal was no small fare. Birthdays are a BIG deal. We went to the movies, which actually was incredibly luxurious. We saw Ghost Rider 2. Pathetic excuse of a movie. Nicolas Cage is past his prime, or did he ever have a prime? So with that said I mostly just enjoyed my comfy seat & escaping the polluted air of Kathmandu. We ate pizza. We watched some more movies. I encountered my first bout of wild monkeys. It was entertaining to say the very least. I felt overwhelmingly loved from all of you at home. It's incredible how love can travel so far, yeah? So here I am, 24, healthy, happy & thriving. I have begun planning some trekking adventures which shall commence at the end of this month. Annapurna Circuit, here i come. Stay tuned. I love you all more than ever, I still miss you & I am incredibly thankful for you. Peace, love & Holi, laur