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Monica’s Diary – September 11, 2016
Monica’s Diary – September 11, 2016
Finally we have landed in Kathmandu after a good and long flight. As we were landing in Kathmandu we had the best view of the mountains around Kathmandu. It was sunny outside as we landed, but once we came out of the airport and got in the car it started to downpour. Karma Lama met us outside the airport and greeted us with “Namaste” and an orange ceremonial scarf. My senses feel overloaded here. You smell so many different smells such as diesel, rain, smoke and dew. Then you have so many sounds like the traffic, alarms, honking, people and motor cycles. It’s actually quite nice to hear. I had so many things to look at that it makes you feel alive.
As we headed to the Porong Monastery where we will stay, the streets were filled with mud and water from the rain. We passed some buildings that still haven’t been rebuilt after the earthquake in 2015. We also passed a tent camp in Kathmandu. Karma told us that there are still 260 families that live there. He also said that in total there are 100 000 families living in tent camps. I wondered how the people were doing in the tents with all this rain as I got soaked the minute I stepped outside.
When we got to our room at the Monastery we started to prepare our first freeze dried meal which was quite tasty. Morgan and I are really glad that we made it here safe and sound. It still doesn’t feel real yet that we are here. It was 20 years ago that I was last in Nepal, so it feels like I am coming home in a way. Kathmandu looks like how I expected it to look. It feels natural being here since I am good at adapting to new places quickly.
Now we are sitting on our room winding down for the night. We can hear the monks next door chanting, praying and playing the drums. It sounds very soothing. Soon we will be off to bed as we have a big shopping day for the Home of Hope children ahead of us tomorrow!!
Monica Hellström
Lööf Foundation volunteer
