Jonah left Kathmandu on Sunday, and Anju, Laurie and Norm left on Tuesday. With each departure I felt both sadness and gratitude – sadness at losing their companionship, gratitude for the time that we were able to spend together. I also felt a space opening up inside of me – a space that I hope can be a channel for deepened connection with the people of Nepal.

Being able to work and play with this team was often a beautiful and deeply meaningful experience. We came from such wonderfully different backgrounds, and were able to come together in work and play with such fierce honesty, compassion and commitment to humanness.

Over the last few days, I've been attempting to learn how to do the job that Anju pulled off so seamlessly while she was here: organizing logistics such as accommodation and communications, coordinating with our local partners, and so on. Clumsily traipsing around Kathmandu as I learn how to get these things done is proving to be a good way to get to know the city and its inhabitants. I'm getting to learn about the details of local life that the remarkable efficiency of our team kept me sheltered from… subtle aspects of local culture that I find it hard to put into words, other than to say that they form part of the rhythm, ebb and flow of peoples’ lives in Kathmandu.

I am finding myself deeply grateful for the opportunity to stay on in Nepal and to continue the work and play that was set in motion during our team’s time together.

Namaste.