Just got back from taking Susie to the Kathmandu airport for her flight home. Our group of 10 slowly dwindled down with Bubba, Scott and D'arcy leaving us in Chengdu, and saying goodbye to Tsering and Himay in Lhasa. Dick, Ann and Beth left this morning and now Susie tonight. Wow. Strange. I have felt so emotional the last few days and am moved to tears so easily. I feel like I want to sleep for a week. But in between sleeping, I will visit some friends here in Kathmandu, go and help out at the clinic and do some more sightseeing. I hope to sit with the nuns again too. Yesterday as they were chanting, I sat with them and it was a truly amazing experience. They play a drum, blow on horns, and throw grains of rice as offerings to the spirits. Very foreign and new to me but it felt so good to be in the room with them. It felt like having a little spiritual shower.
Before Susie left, we had fresh tomato soup that Dawa made with Oma-La's help (that's Dolma's mom). She has a great sense of humor and was giving us a bad time for not leaving for the airport sooner. Dolma's sister Detchen arrived yesterday from India and will be here for 3 weeks before going back to her home in Colorado where she runs a Tibetan imports store.
Susie and I had a fun day exploring the Tamal area of Kathmandu and visiting the largest Hindu temple in the world (so we're told). It sits at the beginning of the Ganges river, and they bring their dead to be burned there. It was a whole new experience for us. It was beautiful in its own way. There were monkeys hanging around the temple that freaked me out a little and very persistent women who wanted us to buy necklaces from them.
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