Christmas in Charikot

I just escaped from being kidnapped by class 9 at The Rising Star School. They stole my bag and wouldn’t let me out of the door! They begged me not to leave. It took two Christmas songs, one English pop song, and one Arabian dance before I could finally leave. But to be honest, I wouldn’t have minded if they never let me go.
Yes, I’m still in Charikot. I was supposed to return to Kathmandu two days ago, but I refuse to leave until tomorrow. After all, I’d rather be here than anywhere else in the world. The only problem is the longer I stay, the harder it will be to leave.

I really didn’t expect the week to fly by as fast as it has. I actually thought it might go by slowly, since I didn’t have another volunteer to pass time with. But I am dealing with being alone really surprisingly well. I’ve hardly had to deal with it at all because being alone hasn’t made any difference!
Teaching alone has been no problem. It turns out I have more confidence than I thought: I can sing, dance, and act like a goof in front of a class of 15 year olds and it doesn’t phase me one bit.
When I sit alone at a tea shop (an activity I thought would make me feel a little awkward), I don’t even realize that I’m alone.
And I’m so comfortable with Auntie/Uncle/the boys that I don’t need an “escape” from them…they are my escape!

I’ve been busy the past week: Studying with the boys each morning and night. Doing “speed yoga” before breakfast. Walking with them to school. Teaching each day, which I love. Having tea with friends in Charikot and eating tiffin with various school principals. My favorite part of each day is sitting with my brothers around the fire each night as the rice is cooking. But after the rice cooks, we have to stay inside…two tigers have been seen in Charikot! And a few nights ago Dai thought he heard one on the property!

Last night I threw a small Christmas celebration for all the boys. I made gingerbread and (not to toot my own horn) it was really good! I wasn’t sure how it would turn out since I lacked an American supermarket and an oven, but it tasted pretty authentic and the boys (and Uncle!) LOVED it! So I was happy. I also made personalized Christmas cards for everyone, including the Dais. They were so cheesy, with my photo and lots of red and green cut paper, but everyone loved them still.

And in Christmas spirit, I got small presents for the boys. I bought sweaters for the five smallest boys, because it is getting really cold now and they didn’t have sweaters for school. Auntie/Uncle haven’t been able to afford to buy them any, so I was happy I could help. I also got new socks (two pairs each) for all of the boys, because they haven’t been able to afford socks since last year. I thought my gifts were small, but the boys’ and Uncle’s reactions said otherwise. Uncle told me, “Your gifts are big because we have no money to buy these things that you have provided.” And even the older boys, who didn’t receive sweaters, were so thankful that I purchased them for the younger boys. It was so sweet and is a perfect example of how amazing these boys are.
It still hasn’t hit me that I’ll be leaving Charikot tomorrow. It especially hasn’t hit me that I will be leaving Nepal the day after. Yikes! I’m not ready to believe that I’m actually leaving.


[*Edit: This blog is a day late! I am now back in Kathmandu. The electricity cut off as I finished this post in the Charikot cyber café yesterday.]