Holly and I woke up at 4am and hired a taxi (1000 rupees) to drive us to see the 'World Peace Pagoda' and to catch the sunrise. The peace pagoda is a Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. It was under guidance of a Buddhist monk from Japan - Nichidatsu Fujii after world war II, with inspiration and devotion to promote non-violence. It was a very bumpy 25 minute ride up to the top of the mountain - a road that has been mugged with dirt and rocks. Panoramic views of Pokhara unfolded as we drove up the mountain. Once we reached to the top where cars were accessible, we walked for 5 minutes up a few flights of steep stairs until we were confronted with the beautiful white and gold trimmed stupa. Balanced on a narrow ridge high above Phewa Tai, the brilliant-white World Peace Pagoda has four Buddha statues which aims to inform about the four incidents of Buddha's life. Besides the charm and beauty of the World Peace Pagoda, the shrine is a great vantage point which offers the spectacular view of the mountains of the Annupurna range, Phewa Lak and the Pokhara city. Watching the breathtaking sunrise from here was astounding. It was a little hazy but the shades of yellow and orange had no troubles divulge from behind the clouds. The 4am wake up was absolutely worth it.
We were dharae bhok lagyo (very hungry) after the visit to the World Peace Pagoda so we asked the taxi driver to recommend a breakfast place for us to dine at - especially one that was opened at 7am. He took us to Moonlight Hotel and Restaurant down by the lakeside where Holly and I had a westernised breakfast each. I ordered bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast - I love the potatoes they make in Nepal. There are some interesting spices they use - it's extremely tasty for plain old potatoes. We devoured into our meals without hesitation. Holly ordered oats and banana - she commented that it was very nice. I got an orange juice and coffee with my meal - the coffee was perfect to keep myself awake.
The kids were so happy to see us when we got back. They questioned where we had been and some of the kids even told us that they've been there with other volunteers. After the kids had breakfast, we walked them to school as usual. The girls and I decided to take the boat out for the day, something nice for me to do on my final day in Pokhara. Johanna met with us by the lakeside and we hired a boat (750 rupees) for the day and paddled out in the lake. We planned to have a little picnic of the boat, so we bought mayonnaise, fresh bread, tuna, fruit and some cheese and crackers to enjoy. It was absolutely a beautiful day and it was perfect to take the boat out. We parked the boat in a shady area under some trees somewhere on the lake and indulged into our little snack. The most amazing thing happened to me - a butterfly was circling us for some time. So eventually I put out the palm of my hand in the air - to my surprise, the butterfly sat on my palm for about 30 seconds. Unfortunately, our cameras were not handy so I couldn't capture a shot of it. But it's definitely something nice to remember. We were out on the lake for about 2 hours - as we had to go back to shore to make it in time to pick up the kids from school.
We went to 'Once upon a time' and had fruit shakes to cool us down from all the sun exposure. The watermelon shake was perfect and definitely quenched my thirst.
It's always nice waiting outside of school and seeing the kids run up to us with huge smiles on the faces. They really appreciate our presence which is something I really adore of them for it. Being the start of monsoon season, the 4pm kids came home drenched - poor little buggers - nonetheless, they still come home with massive smiles on their faces as though walking in the heavy rain was something fun for them. It's my last night with the kids, so I decided to take them out for a feast - they love chicken burgers and does not get to eat it as often (if anything, rarely) - so it will be my treat to them. All of them finished the homework and we waited till the rain to stop before heading out.
At about 6pm it finally stopped raining, but we were all prepared with umbrellas and raincoats if it happened to pour while walking to the restaurant. My favourite restaurant is 'Hungry Eye', so I am taking the kids there tonight - including Kippolo the house mother. While we were rounding everyone up and doing head counts in the courtyard of the house, I could see on their faces that they were super excited about tonight's dinner. They have been talking about it all week.
I ordered for the kids chicken burgers served with chips and salads each, some had chicken pizzas and I had to have my favourite dish one last time - paneer masala and of course teamed up with Gorkha beer. It was my last supper in Nepal. The kids were also treated with a bottle of cokes each - I made sure they didn't drink the cokes before the food was served, otherwise they will be too bloated to finish their food. Phurpu always want me to sit next to him - anywhere we are. So I plotted myself next to him. The kids had such an enjoyable time over dinner. They were such adorable munchkins. The way they ate their burgers was the first I've ever seen - they ate their chips first, then the bread itself and the patty following. Not everyone finished their meals as the chips were already to filling for them - so we took it away. They wrapped their burgers in tissues and asked the waiters for plastic bags - it was so cute. After dinner, all of them came up to me several times to say thank you. Kiran was so stuffed from dinner, his tummy looked like it was going to explode. He sat at the dinner table rubbing his belly and making all these suffering noises - I have never seen such big and round tummy on a little boy. Seeing the happy faces sitting at the dinner table was pure pleasure and satisfaction for me. I really enjoyed the company of my fellow peers - Holly and Beatrice and the beautiful kids that I will miss so much when I leave.
We played the apple bopping game again but this time with a second step of getting marshmallows. Normally you would hide the marshmallows in flour but we were unable to get our hands on the flour, so we improvised - we bought baby formula instead. We explained the rules to the game - the kids already knew all the techniques about biting onto the apple but they had no clue what the bowl of formula was about - nor do they know what marshmallows were - so Holly, Beatrice and I decided to join in the fun. We demonstrated first. Damn, it was so hard for me to bite onto the apple - I had to dunk my face in several times before deciding to suck on the apple instead of biting it. It was extremely hard to bite it, I don't know how the kids do it. It was a little fun game to treat the kids - we all got it eventually besides Aayuus - who attempted it, gave up and picked up his apple with his hand. His face was super cute being all covered with baby formula. The kids all enjoyed their marshmallows - some of them accidentally picked up 2 or 3 at once. It was hilarious but very fun for everyone.
The kids requested to watch a movie before bed, so I put on Cinderella for them. They sat themselves on the balcony and waited patiently while I set up my 'theatre'. During the movie, Santosh came up to me and gave me two drawings and a letter. As I was reading the letter, the waterworks blinded my vision to continue reading. I tried to hide it but it was so hard. I had Bina and Phurpu sitting beside me at the time, Phurpu looked at me with sad eyes and said "Don't cry Sandi", Bina wiped the tears away from my face, Jeeban came up to me and told me not to cry and the other girls sat and rubbed my back while the tears uncontrollably rolled down my face. All the kids turned and looked at me with very puppy eyes wondering why I was crying - but the lump in my throat was so big, I couldn't speak any words. I was telling myself the whole day that I would be strong and not cry, but it was just so hard to hold back the tears. I sobbed and sobbed and said thank you to Santosh for giving me such great drawings and more importantly a beautiful thank you and appreciation letter. Some of the kids didn't join in for the movie - they were all in their rooms busy doing something. It was until they walked out and handed a piece of paper each that I realised what they were up to. They girls had teamed up to draw about 10 pictures for me and wrote me more touching letters. As I read each of them, the tears kept coming - Phurpu continued to wipe my tears away. I am amazed by how caring, loving and comforting these kids were. At that age, they knew exactly how to comfort me in the most sweetest way with their tiny hands. It was impossible for me hold back any tears. I have developed a great bond with these kids, I know it will be extremely hard for me to leave tomorrow. After the movie, we said good night and I went back to my room reviewing all the letters and drawings that kids had given me over the last month. I gazed at my wall thinking "omg, I can't believe it has been a month since I've been here and now I have to take down the photos and beautiful drawings". It feels so surreal. I cried myself to sleep. I just can't believe how much I grew attached to the kids - they have really touched my hearts and they are special to me. I am going to be an emotional wreck tomorrow - I just know it.
Good night world.
XOXO
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