I'm sitting on my bed right now, under my mosquito net...full from dinner and kinda sorta exhausted!
Today was a cultural day.
This morning started out with a fellow volunteer, Kim and I going to breakfast by the guesthouse and office.
We then went to the office and met up with our tour guide who was to take us a little bit through the city and to a hindu temple as well as a buddhist temple.
First stop was Pashaputi. Its a beautiful place with a sweet smell in the air. From afar, you can see billows of smoke. Kim and I thought nothing of it, she rather loved the smell in the air. Our guide then told us what the smell was, and what the fires were on the opposite side of the river.
Its cremations.
Families gather for the ceremony and the mourn. The body is placed on the platform made out of wood and lit on fire (usually by the sons - i think) - it generally takes about 3 hours for the bodies to burn - the family & mourners stay there usually until it is complete. Then the ash is swept into the river.
The next destination we went to.. I made a special friend. I called him.. one eye... he was blind in one eye and followed me around the temple the few times i went around it.
The temple we went to was Boudhanath. There are prayer wheels all around the temple and its said that if you spin them with your right palm that you have better chances of goin to heaven. You best believe I went around that temple a few times!
We at lunch on the rooftop terrace and had some fantastic momo. By this time of the afternoon - it was incredibly hot! So hydration was key!
After this, we went to drop me off at my homestay.
The family is super nice. Theres a mother and father, their two sons, their sons wives and each has a baby. Then there is aboy named Kumar who helps and lives with the family, as well as another volunteer from Austria. Her nickname is CiCi. She's 17, and turning 18 on Friday- so we will have a little birthday party for her.
She will be working at the orphanage as well, so tomorrow she and I will walk together. She showed me the ropes a little bit today. I told her about my obsession of monkeys and we went on a mission.
We eventually found a bunch of them by a wooded area off the main road. And stood there and talked for about an hour or maybe 2. All the while, looking at the monkeys and seeing guys jump over the fence.
After awhile, we were wondering what the guys were doing and came up with some elaborate stories.. unfortunetly - we learned one of our stories was true.
We chatted with one of the sons, on the rooftop until it got dark and then it was time for dinner.
And thats pretty much the day. Exhausting yet good!!!
Hope everyone is well at home or where-ever you are.
Im sure most of my peeps are decompressing after Elysium!! Glad I saw some of you there while I was there!!! :)
cheers and huggles
p.s. more photos will actually be posted when I get home! :)
oh and... it says I posted this blog - Tuesday morning at 9-something AM... when actually I'm in the future.. and its Tuesday night, before bed... around 11pm! :)
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