October 2

7:15 AM

Yesterday we arrived at the orphanage. We had to drop off two girls first. Each stop getting further from the noise, the smog, the chaos, and to my ever-growing excitement, further up in altitude. In my head, "Yes! Keep going! Keep going up!". Squeezing Chanel's hand tighter and tighter. Such excitement to find ourselves more and more in the image I had of Nepal pre-arrival. The amount of green in the landscape growing. The amount of rice fields growing. The sputtering of that poor van trying to get up that mountain slope with us, our bags, and over 80 pounds of children's clothes for the orphans, growing. And any doubt that this orphanage would be anything but perfect and of our perfect dreams fading, waning, ceasing. And any left stopped the moment the car did in front of this place.

We were brought in. But before I could even walk up the stairs, an orphan boy, Sugam, ran up to me. He put his arms out and as I bent down to his height, he wrapped his arms around my neck, hugged me and kissed me on each cheek (left, right, left, right, etc.) until I had to stop him because I was being left behind. I asked if he wanted to walk with me. He grabbed my hand and in English screamed, "Yes! Yes! I come!".

I put my booksack down and walk back outside to see where the orphans stay (different building) but before I walk up to the stairs, again, I was grabbed. Mousam, another orphan boy, says, "Sister! Sister! You play. You play badminton. Sister! You play." A declaration, not a question. Yes. You bet I play. When Chanel came out she was pulled into a game of cricket. Afterwards, we both came around the corner and decided we were not very good at either game.

A few games later, I needed some moments to myself. I needed to process the massive amounts of in-coming information. I excused myself and went to my room.

Chanel and I shared a few minutes together before an orphan came up the stairs, "Sister! Sister! Introductory program. You come." We walked to the orphan house and are shown around the three-story building. We are shown our schedule. After all that is done, we go back again to our rooms to try to understand that we are finally here.

Chanel and I share some thoughts before being pulled back again. "Sisters! Introductory program!"

When we walk up the the orphan house, they have laid out a large tarp and have all the children sitting around it.  One by one, everyone (including the other 2 volunteers and the host mother and father) tells us Namaste, their name, their favorite color, favorite animal, which grade they are in, and which of the orphanage's three groups they are in.

I was placed in the Sagar Matha group. Sagar Matha (I think I'm spelling that correctly) is their name for Mount Everest. Chanel was placed in the Sunflower group.

Afterwards, we do our introductions. Both holding back many tears as we explain what it means that we are here. Then came time for us to give them the 80+ lbs. of clothes and school supplies we brought for them.

They were so happy. So happy. Giddy even. Running around and posing in their new clothes for us, all diva-like. Then we helped them with their homework. Then, we got alone and we cried. Cried like babies. It may have qualified as sobbing on my part. We finally made it. Over a year of planning and we were finally here.

I couldn't even explain the feeling to myself. And I really tried.

I missed the one I love and went to sleep.