After Nakote, I headed back to the CI camp. On the way back down, I saw the devastation the rainy season brings with it to the buildings near the rivers. Erosion and landslides are common yearly occurrences.

It had been about 6 weeks since I was last at the CI camp. It was delightful to see the transitions spring had brought with it. The showers were complete and the new earthbag dormitory was underway.

Soon after I arrived, CI received their 3rd Greek group of the season. CI receives groups of Greek volunteers each year. This group was about 30 in size. It was a family camp, so there were people of all ages. They brought a lot of their own food, which was lovely, two things in particular, the Turkish delight and the smoked olives. The Greeks remind me of Italians: loud, vibrant, and loving to cook. They also like to dance.
It was good to be and work around family energy. It is grounding and nurturing. My plan was to go back to CI to collect my things and head back to Kathmandu to do some other projects I’d in mind. I stayed a few more days in CI than anticipated because I was intrigued by the Greek group. The night before I left CI, I was feeling a little under the weather, with low energy and a hurting stomach. While the Greek food was amazing, it was sparing my body no moderation, as every meal had gluten, dairy, and deep fried things. Just before the Greeks arrived, I had a spicy tomato based curry, so my digestion was slowly going down hill after that, however, the endurance and stamina my body was able to withstand after panchakarma treatment in India made a huge difference. I was able to survive about 3 days of eating just cheat foods at every meal, while before, I could do one cheat food maybe once a week. It was good to test my new limits.
So I was walking around before dinner on the last night feeling kind of sick and a bit sad. The CI experience these past months have been just incredible. I came to Nepal to learn a specific skill, and what I got was just way more than I could have imagined. I was just utterly filled with gratitude and at the same time a bit of sadness, stomach sickness, and a headache. I also felt ready to leave, and that my time there had come to an end. It was a swirl of emotions.
I took an evening walk alone and past a corner I’d past many times before. There were tall bamboos hanging in all directions. Up to this point it was a casual site I took for granted but at this vulnerable time, it kind of struck me. It was like the whole of my experience at CI was captured in that view of the bamboos. Hot tears dropped down, mostly my right eye. After about 2 minutes they stopped.
I enjoyed my last meal with my CI clan and the Greek group. The next morning I headed out on the earliest bus to Kathmandu.

I’ve been in Kathmandu since, planning for events to come. I joined a rock climbing gym. That’s been fun. I continue to meet new and old friends in and around my hostel.
Holi was celebrated a few days ago. It is a Hindi festival that’s celebrated on the Feb/Mar full moon. It celebrates the victory of good over evil and the transition of winter to spring. People throw colored powder and water on each other on the streets.
Life is rich here.