"Mum, I'm home"

Heathrow Airport, 16th April 2009, sometime in the morning...

Telephone rings

"Hello"

"Hello Mum, it's me. I'm back."

Saying goodbye to it all

How do you say goodbye? I absolutely hate it. To me, it means that I have to leave. For Nepal, it meant I would have to leave my friends, colleagues and worst of all my adopted family who I loved as if they were my own.

I was also quite scared. Saying goodbye would mean that I had to go back to my job, a prospect that I wasn't sure I was ready for. After a year spent doing work that I really enjoyed, I was going back to the grindstone.

There were some things I was looking forward to; catching up with my friends, I would be able to go to Dan and Rachel's wedding, being able to have a proper Marmite sandwich, and being able to see my family. A year is a long time to be away sometimes.

The last couple of weeks went in a little bit of a blur, I went with Bibek and Rachhu to Nagarkot to look at the view of the Himalaya. Unfortunately, it was thundery and cloudy, but still it gave good views across the valley and we were able to watch the thunderstorm move around the rim of the valley.

Bibek and me at Nagarkot

And then it was time to say goodbye. Brian, Carole from PEEDA and their family came to see me in the house which was great, although I think Saru and Racchu enjoyed it even more - Brian and Carole's kids enraptured the girls.

Somehow I was at the airport. Giving Achut a final hug, I couldn't believe I was going home. My eyes did moisten slightly, but I knew one thing - I'd be back.

SAM