It was a sleepless night. I tossed and turned all night with a lump in my throat and tears rolling down my face - I really don't want my time in Nepal to end yet - it is just too soon. I woke extremely early (5:30am) and forced myself to take down the drawings and photos from the wall and pack my suitcase. During the whole process, tears kept rolling down my face. I greeted the kids good morning as I stepped out of my room. I watched them play and thought to myself - I am really going to miss each and every one of them - including Beatrice and Holly. I skipped breakfast this morning as I was just too busy finishing off some drawings for the kids. Min came around after breakfast and sat all the kids down in the living room. The boys sat on one side of the room and the girls sat on the other. Min gave a little speech saying how grateful he and the kids were about having me around. As soon as he said that, the water works started. He came up to me and tied a peach coloured scarf around my neck and wished me a safe journey ahead of me. They held a traditional farewell ceremony for me, each one of them including Min and Kippolo dabbed (with their thumbs) 'tika' on my forehead and cheeks. Tika is meant to be a blessing - an auspicious means of bestowing good fortune, health and long life upon those who get to wear them. Though it may be extremely messy, the tika not only adds colour to the spirit but is also a means of showing who cares and wish for your wellbeing. In fact, the messier and the larger the tika, the better it is. Tika is usually a mixture of vermillion powder, rice and yoghurt. In my case, it was just the vermillion powder. During the whole process, I cried my eyes out. It was such a touching moment and I felt extremely appreciated from everyone in the room. It was finally my turn to give everyone a tika - it was so messy, I got it everywhere on my clothes and body but it was truly a spectacular and special moment in my life.
My sweet, loving and dearest Nepali family at the Pokhara Happy Home. We were like one big family. Aayuus is missing from the photo as he was not well that morning.
After the ceremony, the kids got ready for school. I was still being showered by drawings and letters from the beautiful kids. Phurpu wrote me the most beautiful message on 1 of 5 of his drawings. As I was reading it, the tears rolled down my face and he looked at me with such worried eyes, wiping away my tears. He even said in his sweet angelic voice "Sandi, you said you weren't going to cry anymore, why are you crying now?" I replied "Phurpu, you are such a sweetheart, it's hard not to cry when you write such sweet messages to me". I gave him a big cuddly hug, wiped my tears and swallowed the lump in my throat. It was so hard holding it all in. Just before the take off to school, Dhanmaya and Kritika started crying because it had finally kicked in for them, that I will be leaving today. I went upstairs to comfort them and told them that I will be back - awww my sweet little girls - such darlings. I didn't know that I could ever have such impact on people. I feel so special to know that I will be truly missed by these beautiful kids.
It was my last walk to school with the kids - I popped on my sunglasses to hide the tears that rolled down my face all the way to school. The thought of saying a final goodbye really killed me inside. When we arrived at school, I gave each one a kiss and a hug and said goodbye reluctantly. All the kids walked slowly to the school gates, and looking back several times. I would never forget those sad faces - it really breaks my heart to see them like this.
Swastika had a tummy ache, Dhanmaya had a toothache and poor little Aayuus was suffering from a fever - so the three of them didn't go to school. Beatrice stayed back to look after them while Holly and I walked the kids to school. The three of us didn't have breakfast so we grabbed a few croissants, muffins and pastries to have for breakfast back at the happy home. I played my last few games of go fish with the girls. How adorable is cheeky Swastika? I am really going to miss her witty, charismatic and loving character.
I had washed all the tika from my face before walking the kids to school. It was very hard to remove it from my skin. There were still remnants of colour after a crazy scrub. At 12pm, my taxi arrived - it was time for the final goodbyes. Kippolo gave me another tika on forehead which I will wear to the airport. The tears rolled down my face behind my glasses as I waved goodbye to everyone at Pokhara Happy Home. I asked the driver to drive me to the school because perhaps some of the kids were finishing at 12pm - unfortunately, they were still in class. I sadly told the driver to drive me to the airport.
I was depressed sitting at Pokhara airport. Sitting there reminiscing about my time in Nepal. As I sat there and thought about the kids, the water works began. But I had to face reality - I was really saying goodbye to Pokhara. I know one thing for sure, I am definitely returning. Bye Pokhara. I am flying into Kathmandu today and staying overnight before actually departing Nepal the following day.
Ramesh picked me up at the airport and drove me to the Kathmandu Happy home - Asim and Namrata's home. It's always pleasant being greeted by the two amazing people. I spent my afternoon blogging and resting. Ramesh advised that he was picking up two new volunteers later in the evening and that they will join me shortly. I sat with Namrata for a while and spoke about my time in Pokhara. I told her about how much I adored each and everyone of the kids and told her many amazing stories. I finally learnt about the backgrounds of the kids and how it works with taking in a child. Some are from really poor families that can not fund for education, some are homeless orphans who have lost their parents or discovered in a child labour situation. Namrata and Asim started their first Happy home in Chitwan in 2005. Pokhara happy home was opened in 2010. They have 36 children in their care whom they provide shelter, food, healthcare and education for. I truly admire these amazing people. These kids are all blessed to be in safe hands of Asim and Namrata. Just before dinner, Ramesh arrived with the two new volunteers - Arabella and Alki - both are students from the UK but are originally from Greece. I showed them around the house and as we were upstairs on the balcony, the sun was setting behind the mountains - the girls adored the view. I am really going to miss the mountain view. I shared stories with them and taught them a few useful Nepali words. Just talking about my experience in Nepal gets me very excited.
Jack and Tim came upstairs to hang with us for a little while. Their dog was so cute and had some queer interest with Arabella's pants. He kept chewing on it and at one point, we heard a rip. Jack explains that he is still a puppy and just wants to play. He took a broom and scared his puppy away. It was so random. The last time I was over, the dog was not this active.
We had a gourmet dinner - rice, vegetables, pasta and chapati. Such amazing flavours. Jack even taught us how to eat the chapati. The girls really enjoyed their first Nepali dish, whilst I enjoyed my last. We chilled out talking for a bit before calling it a night - the girls are a little jet lagged which was understandable.
Good night world.
XOXO
No comments:
Post a Comment