Back to Civilization!!! :)
Hellooooooooooooooooooooo everybody that reads this blog!
so, we are all safely back from our 6 day trek in the beautiful Himalayas. Everything about the trek was amazing, except that Mika had to go back early due to Bronchitis, but we are all sending her millions of positive vibes everyday so that she can get better soon, so if you want to help, send Mika some positive energy!
So, it has been a couple weeks since any of us blogged I think, so alot has happened. One of the most inspirational and motivational places that we have been for me was a school a little ways away from Leh called SECMOL. It is a school for Ladakhi students, but it is run much differently from the majority of schools in Ladakh. The students were so much fun, so open and outgoing and welcoming. We didn't want to leave! I wish them all the best, and hope to meet them again someday, you never know.
After spending three lovely days with the students of SECMOL, working, learning, talking, cooking, reading, living, we all embarked on our trek. Like I have already said, it was amazing! We all got to entertain our inner child by imagining along the way that we were each a different charcter from the Lord of the Rings. I personally was a mix of Boromir and Aragorn.
I loved the pace of life on trek, wake up, eat, pack, walk, eat, unpack, read/sleep, tea, read/sleep, eat, sleep, wake up etc. Our guides along the trek were really great too. I enjoyed watching the cooking and petting the ponies each day. I miss it already!
I also made a lot of headway on my stone collecting! There are so many different colors present in the stones here, they are all so beautiful. I must say that it was nice to get back and take a shower though! :)
As we are coming closer and closer to the end of our three months here in India, I have started to evaluate and look back on the parts of the trip that are now over. each time that I do this, I am amazed at how meaningful each experience and step along the way has been. I have met so many amazing people, seen impressive things and been introduced to so many thought provoking ideas and issues. This semester has been everything that I had hoped for and much, much more. And, it is not quite over! I am looking forward to the next two weeks I get to spend with my global-lab family, and wonder what new experiences we will face together!
I hope that everybody who reads this is doing well in life, and a little shout out to my Albuquerque community, whoever reads this, I will see you soon!
love love love love,
lara