Highlights of the Himalaya: Highlights from a Month in Kathmandu

It's hard to imagine that I have been in Nepal for about a month now. I've been so busy taking everything in, that I would have 100 blog posts to document every exciting experience, but there are only so many hours in a day. Now that I have completed my 60-hour Nepali language learning program, teacher training with the brilliant Christine Stone, and selected the school where I will teach, I am ready for the real adventure to begin. As I pack my bags to move in with a Nepali family and finally begin teaching, I fondly reflect on the highlights of an exciting month in Kathmandu.

My highlights include..

being chased in the streets by children saying "Namaste"
discovering mint lemonade
realizing that Nikita, a Nepali friend from college lives less than 3 minutes from my apartment and joining her for a delicious dinner.
drinking mint lemonade
the moment "Rumahl/Napkin" the giant moth was released into nature and I could actually go to bed (see previous post for the full story)
drinking mint lemonade
the delicious dal bhat lunches at Fulbright (I still crave it...)
buying a cheap guitar that sounds great!
teaching Lisa and Caitlin how to play the guitar, going with them to buy guitars, and listening them play "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift (100+ times).
having a motorcyclist stop about 1/2 an inch away from my leg and having him stop traffic to say "Oh, sorry 'bout that" in a busy intersection.
not losing my leg.
walking through Thamel (a touristy retail area) with my friend Alanna and having a man trying to sell a high pitched instrument that sounded like nails on a blackboard ask us "You like?" and my friend Alanna stating "no" so forcefully that the poor man looked like he was going to cry.
drinking mint lemonade
having an overlong conversation in Nepali class about how to use the hose on the side of squat toilets in Nepal without drenching your clothes. (I still don't know how to do this...)
visiting the Boudha Stupa at 6:30 in the morning--probably the most beautiful place I have ever been. (learn more about the Boudha Stupa here).
being given a tour of Patan and learning about Newari culture from a former Fulbright scholar from Nepal. (learn more about Patan here).
visiting the Swayambhunath Stupa (aka Monkey Temple) at dusk and watching the sun set over Kathmandu. (learn more about Swayambhunath here).
seeing baby monkeys at Swayambhunath Stupa.
practice teaching with Ellen at a Tibetan refugee school and ripping the name crowns we had made for each student in half when we realized we had over 40 students and had been told there would be under 20.
visiting the home stay families and schools in Gorkha and Lalitpur and having Christine Stone, our teacher trainer, bring her dog Nim, a large sheep dog, along for the 5 hour car ride.
having lunch with the Nepali Teach for Nepal grantees and talking with them about education
talking with my friend Santosh about children's homes in Nepal, and getting a grown man to help me finish coloring my school supplies.
spending a month living with five amazingly creative and inspirational people.