This morning was hard because part of our team was headed home. We have gotten very close as we share the experience of supporting our girls. We left Nima’s headed for Monju. The trek was hard but the company amazing! We had lunch and headed to the school above the lodge. This would be our last school visit. This school appeared to be the smallest and the poorest yet… It was also the one with the most excitement and celebration. There was a ceremony with distributing of scholarships, traditional dances… One by a young woman that walked four hours to be present . … Amazing. We all danced with the girls and then the older girls joined us at the lodge to write letters to send back with us. We sat outside in the sunshine as the girls read and wrote letters and shared information about their lives… Priceless.

Today a few of us woke up early to hike to the peak before the girls arrived at the lodge from Ghat and also from the hilltop School. It was such a beautiful hike… The air is very, very thin and the hike quite strenuous but so worth it! When we returned the girls were arriving . The afternoon was spent mentoring, sharing, painting fingernails, taking Polaroids, singing and … A scholarship ceremony for the hilltop girls, best moment of the day was when I found Mingma! She has grown and is thriving ! Amazing! The Sherpas worked all day to prepare a New Years feast nepali style… Momos bread, pumpkin soup, and curried vegetables and Dahl baht with rice. The Sherpas were so warm and generous. They shared traditional Sherpa songs and chants and dance… Even taught Bryce! Then the party continued until midnight! Happy new year everyone!

When the sun goes down over the mountains it is bitterly cold… No hot water, and no heat… In the tea houses and lodges, there is usually a wood stove or heater in the common room, where everyone huddles around to keep warm. Everyone gathers together for warmth, conversation, music, cards, and did I say warmth? In the morning we all walked about 2 hours to Ghat. The school was nestled at the top of the village, with a breathtaking view of the valley. Even though the winter holidays had started, all the ENG girls were lined up outside for our arrival. The rooms in this school were expertly setup, rivaling some of the best classrooms I’ve seen in the US (a French teacher has spent some time in this school a few years ago). Since multiple grades shared the room, the materials were color coded for the children. Dangling from the roof, attached by string, English vocabulary words and phrases added a festive and playful tone to the atmosphere. Pictures with English subtitles, songs and sentences adorned the walls, and Sangita and her classmate Sundya gleefully belted out “if your happy and you know it clap your hands” to our delight and we sang along! The school ceremony was short and sweet, a welcome by the principal and some teachers, a few dances by the girls and the presentation of backpacks filled with school supplies, down jacket, and uniforms. Sangita gave a short but moving speech about the impact education has for her and her gratitude for having this opportunity. A testament to the power of this program… We were all in tears as she discussed not wanting to disappoint us… Can you imagine? Bryce was asked to speak at the ceremony and Mike consulted with teachers… I held children and we all gave scholarships!group of Korean tourists spotted the ceremony and ascended to the school to watch; by the end of the program, with no solicitation, they had emptied their pockets of all the money they were carrying as a donation, apologizing they didn’t have more and pledging to donate more once they were home! As a side note… There were 2 twin baby girls nestled into a basket together that I just fell in love with ! The ceremony was followed by some home visits, where again I was humbled by the families who have so little but offer so much to their guests. In this case, our group of 4 was offered natural popcorn, and a local traditional meal of small boiled potatoes which you peel by hand and dip in onion chill sauce. The little girl from this home walks from her house, along the animal trail, across the suspension bridge , and up the mountain every morning early. Following the ceremony, we went finally made our way to our lodging, which was a house/lodge by Carol and Nema, cousin of Passang.