Last Placement....Reality is sinking in.

Tomorrow morning I am going on my last placement, which a boys orphanage called Guarishankar in a village (Charikot) east of Kathmandu. I am really excited to go on this particular placement because the last volunteer to be placed there had an absolutely phenomenal time. The boys sound fun and sweet, I have some fun plans and taking treats for them to enjoy as well.
Today while I was writing in my journal it hit me....I am going home in three short weeks. The realization took my breath away. As much as I have missed my family and friends, the thought of leaving a place I have begun to call home is overwhelming. Nepal is such a special place it is really hard to put into words. It is a rarity to find other places in the world (especially the US) where there is such a sense of community everyone calls one another brother (dai) and sister (didi). Or you walk down the street and complete strangers say "Namaste" (Nepali equivalent to hello, direct translation is "go with God" I believe), could you imagine what would happen if I came home and told TOTAL strangers to "go with God." They would commit me to the psych ward! Nepali people are unique to any other nationality, they are unconditionally generous, hospitable, and affectionate (ofcourse there are bad apples, but most are AMAZING). My Santoshi didi (the young lady who lives with us and cooks/cleans) will sit and practice her English with me, but if not we just share a cup of tea and a hug. She is SO sweet....once she actually patted my belly, ha! Here's another example of Nepali people being AWESOME. I was taking a cab...stuck in traffic ofcourse and starting to feel frustrated. I look at the man sitting with his daughter on the street next to me. He looked at me smiling, then he took his daughter's hand put them in the prayer position and had her practice her "Namaste" with me. It was too cute! Nepal is constantly giving back to me in the smallest ways, how will it be when I get home? Will I be open enough to find those special moments in the states as well? One can only hope.
As for now, I am focusing on staying present. I want to be in EVERY moment I have left in Nepal. This place is so PHENOMENAL I want to soak it all up and take it home with me. Three weeks sounds like a lifetime to everyone at home, for me it will be a blink of an eye. With that I am off to Guarishankar, another chance to have a new exciting experience in Nepal.