From our rooftop on the outskirts of the valley, the view holds several millennia at once – a 17th century pagoda, a 2,000 year old stupa on a distant hilltop, a freshly installed LCD billboard burning at a highway intersection, and everywhere between them the concrete and rebar of new construction spreading across the valley … More Kathmandu, a Love Story
This school year I completed a unit called “Monsoons and Mountains”. One of the lessons was to read and listen to Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet who wrote a collection of poems about the monsoon. My assignment was to compose a free verse poem about the monsoon. This is what I wrote. —————————————————————————————— As I … More Writing the Monsoon
This semester I continued to learn about researching and writing. One assignment was to pick a topic of my choice, write a thesis statement, and use credible sources to write a research essay. I chose Kathak because it meant so much to me as a dancer, and I wanted to learn more about it. I … More Kathak-The Art of Storytelling
“Now boarding Biratnagar”. Our eyes locked from across the terminal. Here it was, the moment we were waiting for: a departing flight. When the wheels went up on the Shree Airlines plane, we collectively let out our breath. Two days spent in the Domestic Terminal in Kathmandu- having booked five different flights to five different … More A Trek is Never Just a Trek
We all waited with baited breath as the jeep pulled up next to a small lake hidden in the trees. As we emerged from the forest it came into view—an elephant, basking in the golden, buttery sunlight. We were in Sri Lanka, the place fabled to be the golden city of Lanka, where Ravana took … More Stupas, Seashells and Sambal
Our taxi stopped near Kathmandu Durbar Square, and after about two minutes we experienced our first “Happy Holi,” and got our faces covered in colored powder. I finally got my first taste of Holi- I’ve been wanting to celebrate it for a long time. Holi is the festival of colors. It symbolizes triumph of good … More Holi Festivities
What a year of homeschool it’s been. One of our favorite discoveries has been that learning happens everywhere, all the time — and nothing has made that clearer than our digital storytelling unit. Both Ada and Willem created short films centered on life in Nepal. They each chose their own focus, developed a research question, … More Digital Storytelling
A year before leaving Alaska, Kate and I knew we would need to travel to India at least twice to renew our Nepal visa. We also knew that India is not always an easy place to move through, and we found ourselves wondering how the kids would take it all in. India tends to inspire … More Forts, Trains, and the Spaces Between – India by rail
October 5, 2025 Mardi Himal, Nepal— As the bright rays of sunlight fill the robin’s egg sky, we watch in wonder as the world’s largest peaks are cast in robes of pink and gold. I think back on our trip so far. We have hiked through the forest, draped with vibrant green moss, and across … More Standing Among Giants
This is not the post that I thought I would be writing. In fact, there were so many other things I speculated would be my first note from Nepal: seeing Kathmandu through my children’s eyes, visiting favorite old places and discovering new ones, experiencing the merriment of the Indra Jatra festival. All of those, to … More A Note from Nepal
