My return to Kathmandu after my retreat in the hills has been an easy readjustment. I thought that coming back to the hustle and bustle, noise and smells of the city might be a bit difficult after being cooped up in a monastery for 10 days but I'm very happy to be back. Being back in Kathmandu also gives me many chances to practice some patience and tolerance which were at the core of many of the buddhist teachings.
School is officially over. For the 10 days I was staying in the monastery the children and teachers were practicing for the upcoming parent's day celebration. It's quite a big deal here. The teachers and principal take it way too serious, like their reputation is on the line.
My actual return to the school was a joyful occasion. I was excited to go back and most people were excited to have me back. Oh yeah, I cut my beard before I went to the monastery so everyone was really surprised and delighted to see me with a clean shave. Before, students and teachers would ask me to cut my beard almost on a daily basis. They said I would look so beautiful without it. My reason for cutting definitely wasn't too look beautiful, but to cut down on personal maintenance. I initially thought that having a beard would be easy, but after it started getting longer it started to get much dirtier and messier. Shaving a few times per week is definitely much easier and quicker to do.
Enough about my former beard. Parent's day was a few days ago and a lot of fun. A large stage was set up and lots of colorful streamers strung all over the place. It was an amazing transformation of the usually dismal looking school grounds. I took many pictures and will post them soon.
The program itself was full of traditional dancing and singing, and even a rendition of Old McDonald had a Farm which I tought to some of the younger students. The children dressed up in very elaborate costumes and looked beautiful. A surprisingly large number of people turned out which made a short speech I was asked to give a bit difficult to deliver. About 75% of my speech was in english and the other 25% in Nepali. My speech didn't have much substance, but the people seemed to really enjoy hearing me speak nepali.
The program lasted most of the day. All of the students did such a great job. I really like these kids and it was difficult seeing the day end since it was most likely the last time I would see most of them since the school would be closed for the rest of the week. The little undisciplined trouble makers have really grown on me and I will definitely never forget them.
The rest of this week I will be saying more goodbyes and preparing for the next part of my trip. I plan on leaving the school permanently on Friday and then staying in nearby Patan for a few days before leaving for Pokhara where I'll begin my trekking. Three months have passed... very hard to believe.
Thanks for reading.
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