We have only been here in Nepal for about a week and I have already made so many memories that I will cherish forever. While in Kathmandu we toured the Monkey temple and several stupas. We were all blown away by the amount of prayer flags that lined the temples. It has been amazing seeing all of the effort and devotion the Nepali people are putting into the restoration of their homes, communities, and religious sights. If I take one thing away from this past week it is that the Nepali people are some of the most loving, hardworking I have had the pleasure of meeting. Everyday they inspire me as they cherish every small moment and work as a country to rebuild their homes. Today is the fourth day here at the Hope Home and I have already begun seeing all the girls as my sisters. On the first day here we have the same stacks and stacks of clothes, shoes, games, and lunch boxes. They were so overjoyed by every gift from Mickey Mouse crocs to sparkly pencils. The most heartwarming part though is that instead of running and grabbing stuff for themselves first, they would give them to the youngest and were thrilled that they all got to share the items as opposed to keeping them for themselves. Since that day they have shown all of us their loves for one another and their infectious personalities that can light up any room. While we work on building the foundation for the new earthquake resistant building, the girls are right by us lifting, carrying, and digging.
It is definitely motivating to work harder when 10 year old girls are carrying their body weight of bricks on their backs. After our work at the end of the day (around 4 or so) we get to play and hangout with the girls when they get home from school.
To say the least, I have never played such intense duck duck goose. They also taught us a team game which I don’t fully understand yet because whenever I try to do anything I get out. At the end of each day when the girls go to sleep, we play cards which should be relaxing except that everyone is super competitive about winning and team up with the best people. It also doesn’t help when we make our Uno and BS games high stakes for snacks. Everyone thinks it’s a great idea to compete for our cliff bars and candy except when they lose. Luckily the boys have a little more time to try and win back some of their bards all the the girls won at uno. It’s crazy how fast the time is going but I think I can speak for everyone when I say we are excited for two more awesome weeks.