Good Morning Yogis By: Hannah Kehl

 

Today was a fun day free of teaching. We got to sleep in a little and then went up to a Hindu temple and took a yoga class from a real yogi. Nothing like the yoga class I took at school. It was so cool because we were outside of the temple which was so pretty and you could hear the river and it was so relaxing. The yogi did the “ohm” thing with the hands on his knees, and it was cool to see that that’s actually a real thing in yoga. We did yoga for about forty-five minutes and then we said our final namaste and got to go into the temple. The temple was gorgeous. It had strings of flowers and leaves draped around the roof and the inside was so cool. We also went on a hike up to another Hindu temple yesterday that was also gorgeous. When we go into the temple they give you a dot and then a handful of puffed rice. At the temple we went to today we did a bracelet ceremony where the guy in the temple wrapped red string on our wrists and said a prayer that we would have safe travels. They said that the bracelet is supposed to organically fall off and if you cut it off it’s bad luck. When we hiked up to the Hindu temple yesterday we took a long drive up to the mountains. We were so high up and I felt like the oxygen was getting thinner (I doubt it was but we were really high up). We could see everything from up there and it was so pretty. The mountains are ginormous, and it was fun to get to see them from above. Also, because the pollution is so bad here from the cars and the burning trash, it is hard to see the mountains super clear from the ground. The drive was about an hour and forty minutes and we kept getting higher up and higher up and I felt like there shouldn’t be roads up that high. The hike itself took about an hour and it was all rocks. It was fun to have a couple days away from the school even though I love the kids and already miss them.

Last night we did a little truth circle and everyone went around and said what they are grateful for and it made the whole group closer because we were all vulnerable with each other. After that we got our cards from our friends and family and I can’t tell you how much they meant to me. I didn’t realize how much I missed everyone until I was reading them and balling my eyes out. I love all my cards and will keep them forever, they were so fun to read.

On Saturday, I gave all the kids the beanies I made and I was so excited. When I saw all their faces I felt like al my hard work had paid off and they were so happy. I thought there would be an equal amount of girls and boys at our school, but we only have like eight boys and the rest are girls so I needed more pink. But, the kids were grateful with whatever color they got. It made me so happy to see the smiles on their faces and how excited they all were just to get a simple hat. It made me so happy that I got to do something for them other than teaching. Tomorrow is our cultural exchange and we finally get to perform our dance which is going to look so funny in our tie dye shirts. We just came back from zip lining and it was so fun. It was the longest zip line I’ve ever been on and it was over the river which was so cool. I was a little scared at first but it was so fun and it’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m having so much fun here and I can’t wait for these next couple of days. I miss you all so much!

Xoxo-Hannah