LIT By: Mattheo Telonidis

Hello, blog it’s your friend Mattheo. Last time we talked we had finished up a hike and said our temporary good-byes to the kids. Today marks the last day we are in this hotel, and it is sad to say good-bye. Since we’ve gotten here it’s been full of laughs, cries, and constant snoring. I never knew that this random hotel would be the place where I would make a plethora of memories; from hearing random stories to playing Curran, a Indian board game, us not having our phones has made us create our own entertainment. It will be a place that I’ll never forget.

After my last blog we had an eventful Monday. It started off with a drive up this tiny dirt road, which was definitely not designed for cars, after we survived the drive, we came up on a temple that was made out of a beautiful dark wood and had a constant stream of smoke coming out of every hole. This temple was the location of one of my favorite activities from this trip: YOGA. The view from all the way up this mountain was the perfect location for meditation and yoga, while doing some strenuous back-bending you looked out on the valley and mountains. It was the best yoga session ever I felt reborn and according to the instructor I was the best. After we got a blessing and a bracelet that we can’t remove until it falls off. Later that day we traveled up this mountain for what felt like 45 minutes till we reached this random dirt road where we got out. It was here, Zip Lining. As you look across the canyon you see this thin wire stretching 500 feet across. Utterly terrified we were all excited to get on. It was so much fun. You get on and they say in broken English “Here we go” as they push you into the canyon. As you travel at probably 40 MPH the cold wind freezes your ears and your screams echo off the mountains. After you finish you feel adrenaline pumping through your veins. It was time to head off to dinner where we ate the most delicious pizza ever and concluded our night.

The next day was a sad day, the last day at the school. We went in the morning like every other day but when we got their every kid had tears rolling down their face. To try and change their mood we gave them an immense amount of gifts, swings, and other items which only sparked temporary smiles. For the next hour we had big group hugs and said good-bye a million times. This then meant that it was time for our dancing portion of the day. We all headed to each other’s schools where we put all our hard work to the test in our performance. It was amazing. Although the kids look mildly terrified it overall was a huge success especially the part where Noah picks up Jared. After our amazing dance it meant our final(real) good-bye, I think the kids had cried all the tears in their body an hour before because it was a farewell full of smiles and laughs. Although I’ll never see these kids again and it was only a week, they have made on of the biggest impacts in my life to this date, Ill never forget them, and I hope they don’t forget me.

 

Until I get home,

The GOAT Mattheo