Our Last School Day... Overwhelmed by Gratitude!

From Karen's journal -- We just wrapped up 6 weeks of volunteer teaching, and leading bird walks in and around Kathmandu. We are feeling the bittersweetness of wrapping up our life here; a sweet set of daily rituals involving people who became our family. We poured our hearts into Manasarovar school! Though we were teaching full-time and putting out all that we had to give, we were re-filled each day with much more than we ever dreamed! We learned so much about being truly, simply alive and getting all that we can out of our time each day. We learned that dal-bhat is the perfect daily meal for 325 Tibetan kids and ours daughters too! We learned about having curiosity for everything in the world and how to ask questions of anyone willing to answer! We saw up close every day the humility that allows the two founding women to welcome us into their office every day, take up their desk space, change things, teach them our ways of doing things, and help them with whatever we could... And they soaked it up, laughed and smiled constantly, and always thanked us for being there. We felt grateful to have learned so many things about the methods of teaching and administrating a school here in Nepal! How much more could we all get done in a day if we were more disciplined! Balance is a thing we are constantly learning about too! Anyway, we were so impressed with the heart and soul of this simple school in Kathmandu, working to provide quality education and also keep Tibet alive and beating in the hearts and spirits of 325 children. And it is working!

There was both sweetness & sadness in completing our fulfilling month and a half at Manasarovar Academy… with its smiling students and brilliant teachers and the cement block building where life is played out each school day. We will miss being a part of the pulse here that is these kids’ existence. Our hearts were so warmed by the students ‘Farewell’ to us which was all, love, compassion, and kindness. We are always impressed with these kids’ thoughtfulness and the fact that it all comes from them. I mean, nobody told them that they can’t go out for recess until they write ‘thank you’ notes to ‘those nice American volunteers’! With their own money the kids from all of our classes chose gifts from the local gift shops for us, and spent their own time writing beautiful, heartfelt sentiments to us in long letters with illustrations. They only ask their own hearts what to write. Their hearts say things like this (enjoy the spelling!): “First of all I want to wish you a happy congrasolation thank you for teaching us science and math.” And “Dearest my lovely Sir Paul and Miss Karen. First of all I would like to say thanks for coming in our class and teaching us new things. It was very fun with you both. I hope you have a long life and save journey. Best of luck for every step you take…” And, “I am very sad that today is the last day with us. But I will never forget your kindness and all the things you have taught us. Though Miss and Sir you only taught us for 5 weeks, I enjoyed your class. I am very thankful to you. I wish Miss and Sir will always be happy and can struggle to every obstacles that can come in life. I will never forget and I hope that we will meet again in the future.” And… “today I am upsed because you are leaving.” And, “Wishing you Sir Paul and Miss Kiran to shine sparkling in sky like stars for long life.”

We all felt tender emotions as we soaked up the big love and appreciation so freely gifted to us…what a surprise it was to receive such an overwhelming wave of gratitude! These will definitely be the best souvenirs we will bring home with us, along with all the memories! Paul and I were also swarmed all day with crowds of students, desperate to get out autographs! We felt a bit like rock stars...

The last day of school also featured a brief singing performance, and then presentations from the storytelling class that Karen taught to the 10-13 year old students. This of course included Eliza Amstutz! We had a storytelling festival where the kids all told stories that they had memorized, or created, or heard from their relatives. The oral tradition here is so potentially rich, and with trilingual kids, can take amazing shape! The students brought a great variety of stories to life in front of the whole school. It was a first at Manasarovar and was a beautiful celebration of culture…

Among many "typical" American songs that we shared with our students, I taught them This Land is Your Land along with the sign language "lyrics." Paul and I also taught them the song Eidelweiss. It might seem like an old cheesy tune to some, but here in Nepal, working with Tibetan refugee kids who were begging us to share songs, it took on a whole new meaning. The little white "blossom of snow" is such a revered symbol of the Alps, but it's rarely, if ever, found there. But here in the high Himalaya, both Nepal and Tibet are blessed with abundant carpets of the fuzzy little flower! Therefore we've always associated Eidelweiss more with the Himalaya, than the Alps...

Most of these kids come from families who had to escape from their high mountain homeland, and dream someday of returning. The spirit and sincerity with which the kids sang out "Bless my homeland forever..." brought us to tears in front of the class every time! It became clear to us that Tibet will always be alive and well in these students’ hearts, as long as there are schools and teachers like the ones here at Manasarovar Academy. We are full of gratitude for the entire experience here, and are already scheming on our return in the not so distant future! That's a sure sign of a successful family trip! (...and we still have a sweeeet month to go!)