my porch is stained with goat blood

So I'm halfway through the Hindu holiday Dashai. We get tikka and some rupees from all of our older relatives and give clothes to the little kids. There are also bamboo "pings" (giant swings) set up all over the neighborhood. I think I got into a little money trouble... I didn't exchange enough for presents after an expensive trekking trip, but while I was at the bazaar with my bausu I bought her two pairs of shoes. My aamaa found out and wasn't very happy... I don't think my aamaa and bausu are getting along very well right now. Each one thinks I like the others food and tea better than their own, and my aamaa and daai both think my bausu talks too much. Also problems with the goat sacrifice.... I watched. I guess that is the only problem. I really have no desire to eat meat again. I can give gory details later, but basically I still had a taste of goat meat beacuse my daai wanted me to try it. My bausu is upset I won't eat more though. My aamaa understands. She thinks the whole goat sacrifice is really sad; she told me she hates it.
Also the kids don't have school. So I've been exhausted by all the little cousins. I was doing homework in my room one day when I looked up and saw two little boys just starring at me with their mouths gaping wide. Later the youngest pointed to me and asked his mom, "How much skin-lightening lotion did she put on? How did she get her hair that curly?" I think I was the first white person he has ever seen.
All in all Dashai was fun, but a little too much family maybe.
Fall break was way different. I found out about two days before that my group had decided to go all the way to Annapurna Base Camp. As some of you may know... I have little trekking experience and I can barely climb a hill without getting breathless. But... I made it. I'm not sure how exactly. Four days from Pokhara to the camp, and then three days down (I hurt my knee so it took longer than expected) I'm pretty proud of myself, if I may say so. The views were AMAZING. I wished some of you could have been there with me... The basecamp was a lot of fun. There were a lot of Americans there that day and they brought a recent "Newsweek" so I got to get a little news update. We had hiked into fog so we didn't know until the next morning what kind of view we had... I watched the sun rise from behind Machupuchhre and the light glistened on the snow of Annapurna South. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I was suprised how many older people were out trekking! I was very impressed. One German man had some kind of stroke on the road and passed away. We watched them carry the body up to our site.
The Annapurna Sanctuary itself has such a variety of wildlife. We hiked through rainforest jungles, rich farmland, and cold high altitude forests. At the basecamp I felt like I was on the moon. and what's more odd is that you stay in little hotels every night instead of camping out in tents.
Our guide, Angdu, or "Angdu Daai" was great. He carved me bamboo walking sticks and made sure I made it safely all the way down the mountain given my bad knee. He was a really sweet guy.
I turned in an ISP proposal to study HIV/AIDS in Nepal. I'm pretty excited. I originally wanted to research female sex workers but this topic is related and seem a little more feasible for three weeks time. right now we have less than a week till our next village stay and trek. and then i'll have three weeks for ISP. I really started missing home over Dashai. I think its because it's the holiday season here and I know I'll be missing Halloween and Thanksgiving back home. I don't know what to expect when I get home though. Who will be in Cleveland in mid-December? Lately I've really been missing pitzer and my crew there. I miss you pitzer kids very much... I can't wait to come back.
I've been a little sick of my family, but at the same time I realized how much i will miss them. Yesterday in a taxi back from my "mama's" house (My mother's brother) my litle niece fell asleep in my arms and I wished so badly I could take her back to America with me.

Kathmandu in October is beautiful. there are orange and purple and yellow flowers everywhere. all the kids in my neighboorhood are out flying kites and swinging on swings. sometimes I feel like I'm living in a dream.

Maya,
Laura