December 14 2018
Yesterday we were told that we would be going to a leper’s colony today. And that sounded insane. My firsts thoughts were — my heart is going to break, i’m not going to be able to hold it together, it’s going to be awful and scary and way out of my comfort zone, im not going to know how to react or what to do. We were told that they were outcasts and put where no one could really interact with them. I thought of darkness and poor in spirit and heart.
After a 2 hour local bus ride and 30 minutes of hiking down a mini mountain, we came upon the leper’s colony we would be hanging out at. When I first entered, it was beautiful. There were plants and a tree in the middle of their courtyard and smiles appeared to those who were outside when we walked in. The people there weren’t at all scary but instead full of life waving at us and welcoming us in.
Our teams dispersed, each going to someone around the courtyard. I found my way to a lady who was no doubt Hindu — full of bright colors, stacked bracelets, a septum piercing, a bindi (the red dot on the forehead to ward off any bad luck). She was a little standoffish so I talked with her friend next to her for a little bit until other people started singing across the courtyard. I started goofy dancing and my Hindi friend LOVED IT! We clapped and did the macarena about a millions times for her. I asked her to sing some songs or dance with me but she kept shaking her head no. You guys, my goal in the colony was to get this woman to dance. After doing the macarena a few more times (because she asked us to do it again and again) and singing goofy songs I sat down next to her. I couldn’t understand her because of the language barrier but all the sudden she started singing. It was her language but it was beautiful. She clapped and sang her song in a low tone. I tried to repeat what she was saying and she would laugh and get a real kick of me attempting to sing her language. AND THEN — SHE DANCED! She was sitting down singing her beautiful song and then she put her hand on her head and on her hip and started shaking it! IT HAPPENED! MY LITTLE NEPALI DANCING QUEEN!
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we arrived in Nepal and started our first week!!! we’ll be traveling all over while we are here the next couple weeks!! so keep a watch for updates!!!
