sat on a loooong bus ride

drugged myself with Dramamine

got poked at by nepalis checking to see if i was still alive

arrived in delhi at my favorite little "guest home" (i love how they call it that)

walked the streets of delhi and decided if i was ever a food critic i'd want to be one of street food... it's sooo good

got on the plane for my first trip ever to the netherlands

sprawled out across three seats and slept

got picked up at the airport by a very kind man Jeroen (the guy whose idea the summit was.) He woke up at 4 in the morning just to come get me!

learned some new dutch phrases on the drive

got to the hotel and met rebecca aka the action jackson superhero, wonder woman who planned the whole summit!

ate breakfast and decided rebecca should be my new best friend

walked around and explored rotterdam a bit

came back to my hotel room and took my first hot bath/shower/hot real ANYTHING in 5 months

stayed in the bath until i felt like a dizzy wrinkled raisin

got out

got back in

got out

ate swiss chocolate

read my book

took a second bath

*while eating swiss chocolate and reading my book

locked myself IN my room (who does that?) and felt like a  real ditz when i had to call the front desk and of course a cute guy came to get me out

"You have to turn the handle miss," -him (said in a thick dutch accent)

"I'm tryyyyying but I can't get out!!" - me

proud of myself for saying "dahnk yuh vel" when i finally DID get out and made cute dutch boy smile

met up with all the people who have arrived so far for japanese hibachi dinner

ate good tempura and miso soup

good night sleep in white crisp hotel sheets

another hot bath (because even with all the baths yesterday i didn't wash my hair... oops)

decided that if there was a enviro police they would have come and put me in jail for wasting water

up and at em' heading to TEDx in Amsterdam today!

Me in my hotel room this morning... hot water + bathtub = bliss

Maya today in the field across the street

Happy Birthday.  Wish you were here to snuggle in bed with me and Maya.  Instead I'll picture you in your pig tails, hula-hooping, blowing bubbles and eating chocolate.  Yes.  The best big sister everrrr.

Make a wish!

Their fathers are apparently big time politicians and business men in town. We talked about Nepal, it's problems, it's politics, the good and the bad.  I asked them what their next plans were after they graduated.  One girl said she wanted to work for the forestry department to help stop deforestation, the other wanted to become a doctor, and the third wanted to study robotics and technology.  I was impressed.  My girls stared at them in awe marveling at their jeans, the cute scarves around their necks, the way they spoke so easily and comfortably with me in English.  They were kind and charming, confident yet, unassuming.  For as long as we talked, they didn't ask why the girls were living with me, or what happened to their parents, or about how unfortunate their lives must have been.  People almost always ask.  But they hadn't, it was as if they knew.

"Soon these girls here are going to be your age,"  I told them, "and you three are going to be off changing the world.  Good luck on your exams girls."  

As we headed home I kept thinking about them.  I felt like I had gotten a little sneak peak into the future.  For the first time I felt excited for the kids getting older.  I pictured them all a few years from now and wondered how they were going to be, what they're going to want to do, study, be interested in.   

We reached home just as it was getting dark.  The kids were all outside playing, barefoot, in the dirt, with their noses running.  I saw they had made a fort out of old rice and potato sacks, bamboo and sticks and were sitting inside having a pow wow session.  As I got closer I realized they were having an imaginary birthday party, with cake and presents made out of mud.

I sat down, had a piece of cake and took part in the celebration.  My party favor was a shiny green marble. 

Then again, I'd be fine if they never grew up too, I thought.  I really like them just the way they are right now. 

 Small Nisha and Deepak

I have so much more to share and will soon...promise!

All of the registration paperwork for our new school is due in the next few weeks so I have been busy busy busy preparing, writing bylaws, getting approvals, with red tape and paperwork up the wazoo.   Can't wait to be over this hurdle!

Thank you* for all of your kind words and good wishes.  I felt them all the way over here and they meant so much to me.  And to you, year 22– so long, farewell, it's been a good one.  23, here we go!  There is so so much to do. 

Early Birthday morning reading birthday messages in bed (Bhukta, Laxmi, Sagar, Shova)SURPRISE! (Rupa & Shova)

Please take a cupcake—they are fresh!Hello lovelies, would you like to help wish maggie a happy birthday? Here’s the thing...she’s sleeping now and when she wakes up it will be her 23^rd birthday weekend and you, yes YOU, her wonderfully kind faithful friends will already have been busy little elves sending wishes from around the world all the way to Nepal, right here, on this little blog! How sweet is that? I think it will be an absolutely gorgeous way for the birthday girl to start the day (that is after she makes her 27 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and walks the kids to school). Yes, even birthday gals need to make lunch. I know she adores every single message you send, so please let’s have some fun! Will you leave maggie a birthday wish?                 A poem? A special quote? A rad song? A note from your sweet heart to her sweet heart? You are the gift. And you are beautiful! Thank you! xxxo, lil’ birdie  

P.S. Won't you please spread the word and keep the love soaring!

Let's get this party started with some music! *It takes a few secs to load...enjoy!

Maya and her teeth

We don't celebrate Halloween here in Nepal but I thought this picture from a few months back would be fitting.

In one of my many attempts to discipline Maya I decided to try the reward technique.  I came up with a plan and decided that if she could go 5 days without cursing, spitting or biting I'd take her to the shop up the road and let her choose ANYTHING she wanted.

At the end of every day we'd talk about her behavior.  I also checked in with the teacher at school at the end of each day when I went to pick her up.  After a few failed attempts she was able to tally up 5 days.  A very happy Maya and I held hands and walked up our little dirt road to the shop at the end of the street.

Picture this... a little shop filled with an array of any kind of colorful candy you can imagine, bubble gum, chocolate bars, cookies, toy cars, EVEN ice-pops.

Maya walked up to the counter and looked around, carefully skimming all the different treats and toys.  Suddenly she pointed to something in the far left corner of the shop.

"Teeth!" she exclaimed.  

"Teeth?"  I asked, clearly having no idea what she was talking about.  I don't even know how she spotted them.

"I want those teeth over there," she said with her impish smile pointing to a jar filled with vampire teeth.

The shop keeper and other people standing around all laughed.  "She could have anything, anything she wanted, and she's choosing teeth?  You don't want chocolate or candy or an ice-pop?"

"Teeth," was all she answered. 

We all laughed.

Her reward for not biting, and she chose vampire teeth!  Just a little bit ironic. 

She always keeps me on my toes this little one.

Happy Halloween.

*To those of you in the Deerfield neighborhood... be sure to stop by my parent's house to trick-or-treat!  Halloween is one of my dad's favorite holidays... Not sure what he has planned for this year but he always goes all out and has the BEST candy.    

Nisha and Madan Rana- brother and sister (in case you couldn't tell)

A few months back I came to know about Small Nisha's, little brother, 7 year old Madan.  It's common for siblings to be separated after the death of parents. I've known about him for a few months but with Juntara's passing and all of the travel I was doing with the application for Do Something, I decided it was safe to keep him where he was until I could be sure that his transition to come and live here could be as smooth as possible.  He was also undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and I needed to be sure it was clear out of his system so that it would be safe to have him here with the other children.  I checked in on him often, but still, knowing that one of my children's only known relatives was sleeping under another roof was constantly in the back of my mind.  In a way I guess I didn't feel like our family was complete without him. 

On a quiet day, just before the brother sister holiday a few weeks ago, I woke up and knew it was time.  I'll never forget the day that Nisha and I went to go pick him up (he's been staying/working in a hotel near the bus station, paperwork already cleared) and it was like the easiest most simple moment in the existence of siblings and man kind.   

"Are you ready to come and live with us?" I asked.  

He didn't blink or take a breath or hesitate for even a milisecond.  "Yes," he answered almost before I had finished my sentence. 

"When do you want to come?" 

"Can I come today?" he asked.  

And he came, just like that, in his bright blue t-shirt and torn pants hanging off his hips with not a single possession to his name.  

And Nisha held his hand and we walked over to the scooter on the side of the busy bus station and a tear rolled down my cheek.  We took him home.

He fit so perfectly in with the rest of the children so instantly that it was almost as though he'd been here all along and maybe that's why it's taken me so long to write this little entry talking about his arrival... because it felt so right.  Like nothing had ever changed.  Everything is as it should be with him here.  

Welcome Madan.

To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts.  We live outside the touch of time.

          Clara Ortega

the hand/butterfly tree

The children all said their goodbyes and Jordyn left yesterday right after the kids went to school.  She's been teaching them art and there are pieces of her scattered everywhere throughout the house.  In her final project she taught the kids how to make their own picture frames and printed pictures to put in them.  There is a tree made of colorful painted hands in our reading room.  Butterflies, tigers, homemade masks, play dough beads, and papermache bowls adorn our home.

When I went to pick the kids up at school they looked disappointed.  "Where's Jordyn?  She left?  She's really gone?"  I think they were all secretly hoping that her flight had gotten cancelled or she'd magically decided to stay.  On the entire walk home we talked about her.  The older girls were the most upset.  Santosh exclaimed out of the blue, "Jordyn really taught us the best art ever!" Maya asked if she was coming back next year.  I said I wasn't sure. 

"But what if we go to Bardia again?  She'll come to Bardia won't she?

It can be sad when our friends go but we really do remember them forever.  Our thanks to Jordyn for everything she taught us.

Also I haven't mentioned here yet that I'm going to be attending the European Summit for Global Transformation in a few weeks in Rotterdam.  The people who are organizing it are generously flying me out for a few days and it looks like it's going to be a really incredible event– merging of minds, ideas, and inspiration!  I've heard they have a few spaces left, so if you're interested check it out!

Hope your week is going swell.  We're just about to kick off our Wednesday morning here.  I'm off to my cup of chai tea and 27* children. (more later)  Bless!

xo Maggie