Every moment since we disembarked the plane and headed off towards immigration,  Nepal was enchanting me (Christian).

When we left the plane initially, I was in awe; after a sixteen-hour flight (our second leg), we were greeted by a sunrise in a dizzying array of purple and pink. 

What seared this initial sunrise into my heart was its anitya, or impermanence. Akin to the beauty of the sunrise, our time in Nepal has faded away into memories and souvenirs, but our friendships and connections halfway around the world persist.

Since our first days in Kathmandu, I was struck by the kindness of everyone in Nepal, from our hosts to strangers. Shortly after landing, we met Tashi Tsering, the manager of the Shechen Monastery Guest House; he gave us a warm welcome and helped turn many of the professors' plans into reality. 

The next day, we would eventually partake in our first community engagement at Shree Mangal Dvip, or SMD, School. 

Our entire class had the joy of meeting the school's director, Shirley Blair. She is a real-life superhero, dedicating over twenty-four years of life to the over five hundred students attending SMD. 

During the handful of days we had the delight of being at SMD, we learned so much more than we could have ever thought possible -- from staff and students alike.

Even the most beautiful moments cannot last forever, and we eventually all clambered into a Yeti Flight heading toward Pokhara. 

With change comes apprehension; we were about to set new roots in Pokhara, for twelve days. 

Thankfully, the apprehension dissipated once we met the manager of the guest house at the Pema Ts'al Sakya Monastic Institute, the man, the myth, the legend: Lama Rigzin. During our twelve-day stay, he truly transformed the guest house into a home. 

He took every opportunity to go out of his way to make people's pipe dreams into reality, regardless if it was hiking to the Australian Camp or chartering a helicopter and flying to Annapurna base camp in handmade suits. 

If anyone could make anything happen, it was Lama Rigzin. During our stay, Lama Rigzin put our professors in touch with the principal of a local primary school, Sonam.

Principal Sonam and a fellow teacher, Santos, truly embodied compassion and kindness. They went out of their way to welcome us and introduce us to the kids. 

When we were given the opportunity to teach a lesson, Santos noticed me struggling with Google Translate and instead translated my English into Nepali for me. 

Despite the children barely understanding me, they still assisted in the lesson plans whenever possible, actively participating. 

They even had the courtesy of asking if they had permission to re-enter the room after leaving. 

Despite not being a Tibetan Children's Village school, everyone at the basic school I've had the joy to meet while in Nepal truly embodied their motto of "Other Before Self" (Lewis 9).

Authenticity 

I really tried to be my authentic self when working with the kids and people in the community. I really didn't feel like I was forcing anything and I also didn’t want to feel like I am being fake to people who don’t deserve that treatment. 

When I was in the classroom, I really learned a lot from the kids. I learned how hard teaching is, first of all. Second of all, I learned that there are times when you may not know if you are teaching the kids anything. Part of my time in the classroom I was teaching English, and that must have been difficult for them given the fact that they are mostly taught in Nepali and Tibetan so that they can comprehend what is going on. 

Reflections

Since I have been back, I have been telling all of my friends and family everything about my trip. 

One main point I try to get across to people is that they need to go to Nepal. I really feel so connected and drawn to Nepal as a country even only being there for such a short time. It was a really incredible experience, and I want people to have the same experience as me. The rich culture and the exciting things to see and learn about were immense. 

Learning about all the events that have shaped Nepal to what it is today was something that I am so happy to have gotten exposure to.