Gratitude for Birthday Bliss

This is going a bit backwards, but I thought I should share one of my favorite days here in Nepal. Saturday March 13th was my birthday and I must admit I was feeling pretty homesick because I was missing my family and friends. However, my GSE team members, Joshi host family and the Rotary Club of Damauli made my birthday very special.

It started with a special surprise from my host family. Krishna and Subi Joshi covered my wrists in bright colored red and orange bangles then they took me downstairs where Ramesh, Anush, Isu, and Aarju were waiting for me even though it was so early in the morning (6:00am because our team had to be at the bus stop by 6:45am to head towards our new adventure). But this did not stop the Joshi's from having a delicious chocolate cake for me as they all sang happy birthday. Then they gave me several special gifts. Ramesh and Krishna gave me a beautiful red pashmina shawl, Anush and Subi gave me pretty glass red earrings that Subi got from the Taj Mahal and Isu and Aarju gave me a black fish sculpture made from bone. It was so sweet and special. The Joshi's really warmed my heart. They put so much effort into making my birthday special. I feel fortunate to have been able to meet such kind people and thankful that they made my birthday special because it helped me feel less homesick.

I said farewell to the Joshi's and Ramesh took me to the bus stop where I met the rest of my GSE team members. It was great to see them and I was excited about our next stop to Bandipur. We stopped at a resort for lunch on the way and arrived in Bandipur in the late afternoon. It was such a sweet surprise because we got to stay in a resort that had a beautiful view of the mountains.

Although I was homesick, my birthday turned out to be special. The Joshi's treated me like family, and our GSE team got to enjoy a beautiful view of the mountains. This was a nice break from the sounds of Kathmandu (beep beep beep beep beep).

Internet access has been limited due to road shedding (scheduled power outages) and time conflicts. We have been busy with vocational visits, team presentations, Rotary project visits and getting to know our new host families. I will post more when I get access again. I'm excited to share some of my vocational visits. I have went to a pre-school, a public health post for women, art studio, theatre school and recreation center for dance.

Best wishes to you all.

Namaste
Michelle

P.S. More to come pending internet access and time.