Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Pus 15 (Gurung New Year)!  Why did we put all the major holidays together?  It makes for a crazy busy month or two.

This year for Thanksgiving, us volunteers met up in Pokhara, took over the kitchen of one of the hotels, and prepared a potluck dinner.

The pies (pumpkin and lemon meringue) were my favorite.

Amanda agrees.

 

For Christmas, five of us went on an adventure up to a small trekking village called Tato Pani (Hot Water) to celebrate.

The beginning of our long, cramped, bumpy bus ride.  That's why we're still smiling.

How can you have Christmas without a Christmas tree?  Isn't ours the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

Hand-knit stockings next to a fake fire...  Too bad it didn't make the room any warmer.

Being away from home for Christmas is never fun, but we made up for it by decorating lavishly.

For some reason, the vegetarians in the group didn't seem to appreciate the cans of meat that came in their stockings.  Go figure.

Gingersnaps frosted with Nutella and decorated with M&M's.  Delicious, but maybe not the best thing to gorge on right before bed.

As you might guess from the name of the village, Tato Pani is home to some very hot water springs.  So hot you can't stay in more than a minute or two at a time.  It's the closest thing I've had to a hot bath in over a year.

Nothing beats spending Christmas at home with family, but spending it in a beautiful mountain village with friends (and hot water) was pretty nice.

I've never been a big New Years celebrator (I generally sleep through it actually), so I was happy to substitute it with Pus 15, the Gurung new years, which generally takes place a day or two before ours and doesn't involve staying up till midnight.  In fact, I think it's my favorite Nepali holiday. 

The day or two beforehand, villagers gather to clean up the cemetery and make offerings to their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

My favorite part is always the end when we make a feast out of the leftover offerings.

On Pus 15, all the Gurungs in the area met up for a program.  In addition to plenty of long speeches (after all, you can't have a proper program without those), there were games.

Nepali pinata for the men-- smashing a clay jar with a stick after walking blindfolded across a field is a bit more satisfying than hitting a cardboard figure, but it's just not the same without the candy.

Musical chairs for the women.

A pleasant day to sit in the sunshine with friends for everyone else.