Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone.
The celebrations began this morning with our paper Christmas Tree and gifts underneath for all the kids. It's fun to see the kids all running around smiling. (not that they are usually sad). It's just nice to be able to share in the celebrations with them.
Yesterday we prepared "chicken stuffing MOMOs (which are like dumplings). Bringing Nepal and the Western Christmas together. We are also making mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert, cakes were made in the oven at a local bakery. Quite an event!

So, shall I write about my trek...I guess so.
I headed off with two other volunteers I met here on a 5 day trek. The trek, we believe would consist of going to Ghorepani and Poon Hill and then to Ghandruk and back out of the mountains.
We were planning to leave at 8:30am on the 16th, though we were told there would be a strike so we left just after 6am. VERY early. We had a guide and a porter that would help us along the trek and carry our stuff.
Day 1. We started out in Nayapul around 830am walking. We stopped about an hour later for breakfast. I believe it took about 2 hours, no joke. The lady had to run down to the next shop to get 2 eggs. She came back hiding them behind her back like she was embarrassed. It was quite cute. After lunch we continued walking until about 2 when we had lunch and finished our day just after. It was a nice relaxing evening playing cards.
Day 2. We started around 7 or 730 and began with about a 300 metre climb of stairs up from Thikedunga to Ulleri. It was hot out and a little challenging, but once we got to the top we had our Coke/Fanta reward. From there we made our way to Ghorepani arriving around 430pm. Got our guesthouse, Nice View, which had a great view over the mountains. We were at about 2900 metres and it was COLD.
Day 3. We started out at 5:45 to hike up to Poon Hill, 3200 metres, for the sunrise. It turned out to be not the most exciting sunrise, but the view was still stunning. We headed back to the guesthouse for breakfast before another LONG day. We thought we were going to Chuile, a little past Tadapani, but our guide decided to push us to the max and we walked till 5 pm. It was a LONG, HARD day for all of us. I don't know what our "guide" was thinking, but we did it. The guesthouse wasn't the best and we were given a bucket of boiling water to shower with. This is quite a Nepali experience. The other two girls were really unimpressed. For the money we were paying our guide (who told us we would have great accomodation) it was not up there, but I thought it was kind of fun. You haven't experienced Nepal until you had a "saucepan" shower. That meaning, along with the bucket we had a saucepan and a large bowl to mix cold water and pour it over ourselves.
The next day, Day 4. Up at the crack of day again and off by 730. We made it to the Hot Spings in Jhainu which was a nice break. The shower part of the hot springs was amazing. Probably the best shower since I have been in Nepal and that is saying a lot considering I was wearing shorts, and a tank top. Not to mention the 10 Nepali people/kids watching us wash. Again it was a long day as we had to push on as far as possible to shorten our walk for the 5th and final day. A National 3 day Strike was planned beginning on the Sunday, our last day. A national strike means there are NO cars on the road and most shops are closed. We ended in a Tolka, 3 hours from the road.
Day 5. The Final day. We started walking at 730am with a big set of steps to start. Not fun. We walked for hours. And when I say hours, I mean we had to walk all the way to Pokhara, the city we started in. We arrived at 7pm that night. We physically walked for about 9 hours that day. It is quite amazing what we accomplished. It was probably an 8 day trek crammed into 5 days. More walking than we really wanted, but I am proud of what I did and happy I did it. And even happier that I was able to keep positive the entire time and finish with a smile. The other girls seemed a little more bitter about the long days, but there was nothing we could do. Just be happy we did it. I even think that I would like to come back and do a longer trek in a couple years.
Trekking in the Himalayas....check!

Missing everyone at home but enjoying my time. I will try and put some photos up in the next few days.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!