Goodbye's are always hard.

Highlights...

We FINISHED our Sports Field! And then we organized a giant Fun Day. Hundreds of people showed up to partake in our day of soccer games, relay races, carnival booths, and performances. Let's just say seeing Nepali kids have a Color War for the first time, or play Pin the Tail on the Goat was really special. Everyone was smiling.

And my child club performed marvelously (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes aka Tauko, Kant, Gorda, Aulla). And, my girls sang a song they composed- in front of everyone. Which was a huge deal for them. In fact, Bijay told me he didn't recognize them, at first he thought they were our city girls group because they stood with such confidence and pride.

Such nachas.

Saying goodbye to the Stone Quarry was really emotional- some of the women got up and gave speeches, in tears. "You showed us that we're worth something, and that we can change our lives," one woman said. Another:"Before, the Rai villagers used to beat our children on the way to school, they used to tease them and push them into the mud.Now, they don't do that anymore."

By the way, both communities- Rai and Stone Quarry participated in the Fun Day together. On mixed teams. They spoke, and laugh, and socialized- together.

The kids were the cutest. I worked with the Stone Quarry child club and they all brought heaps of flowers (aka weeds) to thank me at the closing ceremony. They just kept piling them on and on. The day after was our final child club meeting and they showed up with mischievous smiles,hands clasped behind their backs. Of course, they had brought even more flowers. Those bouquets might have been made up of weeds, leaves, and sticks but they were the most beautiful flowers I've ever gotten.

Our last night we had a goodbye dinner with CIRDS, our partner NGO in MB. Ram, the father of the girl I had worked with in school is on their board and he gave a speech thanking me- this time, I was the one in tears. (Then he told me to friend him on Facebook which made me laugh).

My last meeting with the Young Girls was amazing. Not only did we elect a board (President, Vice President, Secretary and Vice Secretary) but they came up with a song, slogan, and group symbol, all on their own.

We also did our usual Woman of the Week tradition. (On Wednesdays, me and Reut pick a famous woman and show her picture, give a brief bio and connect it to the topic at hand). This time though I didn't show them the picture. I told them the WW was a young girl, who grew up in a village in Nepal, was confident, educated, a role model to all etc, etc. Finally I opened the paper I'd been holding- on it I had taped a mirror. You're the Woman of the Week, I said.

SUPER corny, I know. But they loved it.

Then, we played the string/web game (have a big ball of string, tie it on your hand, say something you learned/enjoyed and throw it across the room- it eventually created a giant, interconnected web). After,we turned our threads into beaded bracelets. It's so funny how girls across the world are the same, the second they saw the beads they got so excited.

By the way, some of the things they said to me:

"I loved the story of Joseph. It showed me that I could make a difference here."

"I realized that it's important to know your husband before marriage."

"I learned what birth control was."

"My favorite part was the games that showed us self confidence and self esteem"

More nachas.

We also had a giant goodbye party with the whole village. More tikka, more flowers, A LOT of dancing. I don't know how these little kids can shake their hips so well, but they just can.

Being back in the city for good is strange. But it's really nice to know that I have running water and an indoor bathroom...

Tomorrow, Yotam and I are brining the Minister of Inclusive Education to AutismCares. I think this has the potential to be one of the most important things I've done- him seeing the place might enable them to get some support from the government. So, wish me luck!