hi friends,
so first of all, thanks for reading and please do send your comments, questions, koolaid recipes. i write with the hope of generating more interest in these children and hopefully finding a way to get more people over there, or at least find a way to help out from afar.
(plus, i'm a yammerer - given the chance i'll talk about these kids for years :-)
so, my friend lauren reminded me of something incredible this past weekend. something that i swore to myself walking the dust-paved roads to thamel that i would never forget - and then promptly did. and that is
the peace.
the calm.
the way days in kathmandu begin with recordings of om hari om and a single flame under a pot of tea. the way children are served their food and eat it sitting on the floor and passing a bottle of water with warm, soupy smiles. the way there is sweeping and dishes, then cutting the vegetables to soak for dinner. the schoolyards, the temples, the coconut stands each echoing a new lesson or prayer. after school tea and biscuits, tag, seesaw, and jigsaw puzzles. the way finding that straight edge for the top left corner of the puzzle feels like my entire purpose for living right now. homework. the sun sifting into pink, orange, milky blue then black. after supper, maybe clapping games, maybe tv. and i am in bed by 8:30, exhausted.
my schedule changed regularly while i was there, but these were my guideposts. and while it feels so far from life in new york, it doesn't need to be. yes, i have to pay rent and buy ingredients for supper. the mta just raised prices and somehow i'm back on coffee once or twice a day. but as lauren said, the sun is still rising and setting, just like it does over kathmandu. i have work to do, but i also have choices. turning on the computer, the tv and the phone at the same time is bound to make me queasy. finding a patch of dust, or on a day like today, a rain puddle, could be much more productive.
so, thank you lauren.
thank you nepal for your sunrise.
and thank you, whomever is reading this, for giving me a chance to remember this gentler life, and hopefully, bring it back home to share.
be well,
abby
devi, sima, shakti, bami
(names changed for safety)
suki
loves his new socks!
sima and lalli
on the doorstep of the orphanage
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2 comments:
Abby, I stumbled upon your blog today while trying to find a link to Boudhanath Stupa. Your description of the children of Nepal and the pace and rhythm and unpredictability of life there soon had me in tears! I've been back in St. Louis for only a week, having spent ten days in Nepal in an "immersion experience" sponsored by International Partners in Mission:
http://www.ipmconnect.org/immersion/
While there, a highlight was the time I got to spend with a girl (now 11) whom my family has sponsored for the past four years at the Mitrata Home for Children:
http://www.mitrata.org/
My husband has posted his favorite 25 of my 900+ photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobcrowe/sets/72157604052277708/
I am grateful for your eloquent summary of what you found most memorable about your time in Nepal! Thanks for sharing.
Namaste!
Carolyn
Carolyn,
thank you SO MUCH for your message. it truly made my day. i am really excited to see your pictures and look at IPM and MITRATA. it's hard not to feel preachy when i write about the children - they're just so amazing. i think it's incredible that you sponsor a child! i hope you'll keep in touch and i can't thank you enough....
namaste,
abby
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