Happy Dasain!

This week at the orphanage all of the children have been super excited about celebrating the festival of Dasain! It is the biggest Hindu festival of the year, pretty much the equivalent of Christmas. This time of year is crazy at the orphanage because the children are home ALL of the time! It's great because I get to spend more time with them, but also super exhausting! Next week they will be headed back to school during the day.

My orphanage is in the area of Budhanilkantha, which is not far from the main part of Kathmandu. It's beautiful here! The air is much cleaner than in the city and there are mountain views all around. There are a few other orphanages in the area with other volunteers around, which is great.

On Wednesday, a few of the other volunteers and I went to Shivapuri National Park nearby. It took us about 7 hours to trek the mountain and it was ALL steep stairs! My legs still hurt, but it was definitely a good warm-up for Everest! On Thursday, it was the main day of the festival, so we had a traditional Tikka ceremony at the orphanage. "Grandfather" gave me Tikka on my forehead (sort of like red sticky rice) and rice leaves in my hair. It was an unreal experience!

I am definitely starting to get attached to the kids. Leaving is going to be tough!