Hello again, everyone! My Christmas break is now a thing of the past, but it’s been an incredible month and I’m so excited to tell you about it!
Christmas
Because most of the people that live at my house were away traveling over the break, I stayed with my friend Stephanie for a couple weeks. We had a great time together baking Christmas cookies, watching movies, and commiserating about the freezing cold weather. She also helped me navigate the crazy streets of Kathmandu on my little bicycle and was with me for my first tempo ride (which was quite an adventure in and of itself… check out my Facebook page for a video she posted).
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| Stephanie and I having a cup of coffee on Christmas day. |
This was my first Christmas away from home, and also my first Christmas without snow, so it definitely felt a little strange. It was also an interesting experience to be in a country where Christmas isn’t celebrated. When you’re not bombarded with Christmas everywhere you turn it’s a lot easier to focus in on the true reason for celebrating.
Also, I learned a really interesting Christmas fun fact! Did you know that the Christmas carol, Joy to the World, was originally written about the SECOND COMING of Christ based on Psalm 98?? – Just something interesting for you to reflect on :).
The Best Part…
By far, the best part about my Christmas break was a visit from my boyfriend, John. For those of you who don’t know, John and I met in California and have been dating for almost a year. When we parted ways in June we expected not to see each other for a year, but God is so good and things worked out perfectly for him to come visit me for about 2 ½ weeks. We had a great time and it was so nice for me to be able to share this chapter of my life with him.
We spent most of our time together in Kathmandu, where I showed him all the historic, religious, and touristy locations in the valley. He visited KISC, attended my International church, and got to meet all my friends and coworkers.
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| John and I in Kathmandu. |
We did, however, get out of the valley for a few days when we visited a city called Pokhara. Pokhara is a must-see location in Nepal; it’s much more peaceful and relaxing than Kathmandu, there are beautiful lakes, and you can see incredible views of the Himalayas. I’ll simply let the photos tell the story…
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| This is the main lake at Pokhara called Phewa Tal. |
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| We had an amazing morning view of the Annapurna mountain range towering over the city. |
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| John and I rented a scooter for the day and drove out to a smaller, less touristy lake called Begnas Tal. I drove a little on the quieter roads, but John was a pro weaving in and out of traffic in true Nepali driving style :). |
Term 3 at KISC… GO!
Now I’m back into the swing of teaching at KISC. There are quite a few changes, though. KISC switched around the classrooms and office spaces, so now I share an office with other faculty members in the Student Support department… it’s much warmer and it’s so nice to have more company throughout the day.
I also picked up another class. I’m now teaching ESL to Year 7 in addition to Years 1, 2, and 3. I only have one student in my Year 7 class, but it’s refreshing to be working with a student who is a little older.
Finally, there are quite a few new staff members! I’m excited to get to know them and build more friendships this term. I’m so excited about all the changes and think it’s going to be a great term! The only change I’m not too excited about is the load-shedding schedule… we’re up to 14 hours/day WITHOUT electricity!
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I just want to say again, THANK YOU for all your prayers, support, and encouragement!! You all mean so much to me. Check out my updated prayer requests and praises in the box to the right... and check out my updated photo album at the following URL:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.572126078282.2064217.69102077&type=3&l=48b560a067
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