Nepal week without walls

We did it! We survived. 6 teachers, including Ryan and myself, took 55 tenth and eleventh graders on a ten day trip to Nepal for adventure sports, community service and culture. We left early Thursday morning, and the students were excited. We had a layover in Abu Dhabi and then we were off to Kathmandu.  We were due to arrive around 8 pm there, but had a little change of plans. The plane left late, but the real trouble was that we had some extreme turbulence that caused us to have to land on an airstrip in Lucknow, India. The students handled it well, but there were definitely some tears and some people saying they were never getting on a plane again, which they did. We finally got into Kathmandu around 11:30 and to our guesthouse around midnight.  We got settled into our rooms, had a few hours of sleep and then we were off in the morning to explore Bhaktapur. There were a lot of Hindu temples to explore and a little shopping to be done.

That afternoon we headed off to our campsite at Borderlands. The site was beautiful and the staff was incredible the entire time we were there. We spent the next four nights there, just 15 km away from the Tibet border. The first day we were in groups. I had half of the juniors. They started off the day doing team building and then we were off to repel down a waterfall. It was a little chilly and it was sprinkling a little, but we all made it down the five different repel sites. Ryan was with the sophomores on a 16 km hike. From what he said, that was interesting since many of the girls were afraid of heights, dogs, birds, etc., but in the end they made it the whole way. The next day we switched. On the home we were able to play underneath a waterfall which was really fun. 

The next two days our group was split up to go to three different schools for community service. Our students had raised enough money to buy the schools a projector, printer and sound system. The twenty students I had spent the day playing with the local students, reading to them, teaching them English and installing the projector. To get to the school we had to cross a long metal suspension bridge, which gave a few students a scare but everyone made it.  It was a really moving two days. The kids were so open. I even had one girl bring me a note with her number and wrote I love you on it the second day. There was a little boy who I had a contest with taking turns doing cartwheels, head stands and other tricks. All those contests with my cousin Molly paid off!  We also learned how to plow a terrace with two bulls near the school, after a day of picking up garbage. 

The next night we camped on the beach next to a river. It was a beautiful night and a hilarious experience as many people had never camped with just a sleeping bag and using the bathroom outside. We woke up early to head out to do some whitewater rafting the next day. After that, we went to our last location in the busy city of Kathmandu. The students had the next day to shop and most of them took full advantage of the time and cheap prices. They bought a lot of shirts, pants, jewelry, North Face gear, and Buddhist and Hindu trinkets. 

The next morning some of us woke up early to go to a Tibetan Buddhist temple. It was an incredible experience watching the monks chant and the people walking around spinning the prayer wheels. 

We left Kathmandu around 4:50 pm and finally arrived at 5 am at school.  It was incredible to see all the parents lined up to pick up their kids, and how excited they were to see each other. There were some tears and a lot of smiles. 

The trip was a huge success. The students were so well behaved and we made it out without any real injuries. We had a few kids get sick, a few cuts and bruises, a bloody nose on the way back from the airport and one black eye from a student who was playing soccer against local kids, but overall I think everyone learned a lot about Nepal and themselves.