I want to introduce Nalma, a community of majestic rural small villages located high-up on a ridge way overlooking the huge Annapurna Mountain range.  Nalma welcomed me with huge smiles,  learning about authentic traditional Nepalese mountain living will have an everlasting impact on my life. . My experiences were pure magic  I learnt about organic farming, watched baby goats prance, picked delicious mulberries off the trees with the children, ate healthy yummy dal batt vegetable dishes with families and woke up to incredible backdrop of snow mountains on one side of the ridge and distant views of rice fields on the other and lots and lots of creative projects with the kids It warmed my heart as when it came time for me to leave they expressed that I always have a home in their village

Nalma offered me a wonderful opportunity to become a Volunteer Art & English  teacher in their small school high up in these stunning elevated mountain ranges. I gained such a remarkable and memorable experience during my stay, witnessing the impact creativity had on my enthusiastic students was simply priceless. The School had no art materials at the time of my visit, however, it was very affordable in Nepal for me to purchase plenty of supplies for the whole school.

Every morning at 7am a few of the kids would wait for me to awake,  just so they could ask me if they could make art today, my answer was always ‘Yes’ with that response they would run, jump and cheer, it was so adorable!. Getting the freedom to explore their imaginations through art was so magic to observe, so much joy radiated. I could easy write an long essay on all my experiences in this TinyVillage, the characters, the community, the traditions but for now I post a slide show to give you a visual 

Colorful surprise Transformation of the Classrooms

The final week of my stay the teachers and I decided to revamp the interior of the school, freshen up the Grubby white walls with a lick of colorful paint. A lovely friend of mine back in California was aware of my volunteering and offered to contribute some finances which paid for the entire decor project .

It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do, now these kids no longer have to sit next to grubby classroom walls everyday. Their learning environment is bright and cheerful and now matches the radiant personalities of the students. All Nalma's Teachers worked in secret throughout the weekend to revamped the interior of the whole school so that we could  surprise the kids - I had tears in my eyes when I saw the children's faces light up and jump around in excitement  

Before and after Photographs. Our Nalma Classroom color facelift

Nepal holds a special place in my heart, always has since my first visit in 1998. An intense amplitude of emotions was experience on my recent journeys, a life changing exploration. Grief, Love, Fear, Inspiration, Determination, Captivation.  My experience prior to being in Katmandu during the 2015 earthquakes April, I described as magical, from the open-hearted locals I met to the breath taking  mountains I climbed.  I believe the depth and combination of these intense moments must be catalysts for creative motivation’s that could take many directions.

“I was immersed amidst children who’s laughter is huge and who's bright playful energy’s contagious. I feel so fortunate to have had such an incredible experience here, humbled by the generosity, delighted by the eagerness and engaged students who love to learn. I learnt about Organic farming, watched baby goats prance, picked delicious mulberries off the trees with the children, ate healthy yummy dal batt vegetable dishes with families and woke up to incredible backdrop of snow mountains on one side of the ridge and distant views of rice fields on the other”

Great Grandma and myself peeling Garlic  for the village

For Fun, Below is the little video of my keen art students showing off their marshal arts skills (too cute not to share)