April 14 was my birthday, and also the Nepali New Year! So I turned 23 on the first day of 2071 in Nepal (their calendar is really ahead of ours, obviously), yet when I turn 24, it will be 2015… we’re in the future!
It’s hard to be away from your family on your birthday, so I wanted it to be a special day. And it was, because we rode elephants!!! We got up early and took a bus to Chitwan National Park, about a 5-6 hour drive. We started the memory making early on when we all stopped to pee on the side of the road. We ate lunch when we got there and then went straight to our appointment for elephant riding! We rode in the back of a truck to the jungle, where we loaded onto the elephants and set off on our safari. We saw a peacock, rhinos, lots of deer, and even more spiders.
Afterwards, we went to the Elephant Breeding Center, where I was hoping to pet a baby elephant. However, there was a fence between us and the elephants were chained – it was actually a rather sad sight. We did some quick shopping, then got on the bus for the long drive back.
By the time we got home, it was about 1 am, and our hosts had made my birthday dinner (we didn’t eat on the way back) – chicken, rice, and my favorite, french fries. They even had a birthday cake for me! It was so special, and I felt so loved. My team showered me with birthday notes all day long, and I had “Happy Birthday” sung to me every hour, and then every 30 minutes as the day progressed. And I was given coke and chocolate, some of my favorite things! It was such a great day, and I’m so glad I got to spend my 23rd birthday with Team An Geadh-Glas, Team Lion Seekers, and our Nepali host family! It was a birthday I will never forget!
