Cheryl Strayed’s Instagram Takeover!
Monday, November 27, 2017
Last week, we welcomed some very special visitors to Kopila Valley! Author Cheryl Strayed visited with her family. We kept her busy with writing workshops and "Wild" readings. Cheryl and her husband, Brian Linstrom, also took over our Instagram account as guest posters! Follow along with her visit below (and follow us on Instagram!).
Nov. 18: Hello BlinkNow friends! It's Cheryl Strayed and Brian Linstrom. We’re visiting Kopila Valley with our two children, Carver and Bobbi, and we’ll be sharing photos as guest posters here this week. These two lovely girls took us on a tour of their home this morning and we were all delighted to see how much M has grown. We’re so grateful to be here in Surkhet!
Nov. 18: Spaghetti Night at Kopila Valley.
Nov. 19: Happy Monday morning! We’re off to school today. Carver and Bobbi will be attending class and we will be giving a presentation to all of the students. Wish us luck!
Nov. 19: We took this photo at school this morning. There’s love, art, beauty, and joy at every turn!
Nov. 20: I taught a writing workshop today to students in classes 9 and 10 at the Kopila Valley School. It was a blast sharing my love of creative writing with such bright young people. It lifted my heart to see all those pens moving across the page. I hope someday we’ll all read the stories they have to tell.
Nov. 20: There is wonderful art at Kopila Valley School.
Nov. 21: Among the many beautiful things we’ve witnessed in our time visiting Kopila Valley, one of the most beautiful is seeing our children, Carver and Bobbi, become friends with the children here. Here they are with their new friends from our first two days in Surkhet.
Nov. 21: We visited the Kopila Valley Women’s Center today. At the Center, women receive training and support and they run a business, weaving fabric and sewing clothes and other items. We were so inspired by their beautiful work and also by their kind smiles and laughter. We also ordered pajamas. They measured us today. We’ll pick them up tomorrow!
Nov. 22: Every day for almost every meal we eat dal baht, the delicious staple that has many variations. It’s made for us by the wonderful “aunties” who work at the Kopila Valley School and Children’s Home.
Nov. 22: Today Brian taught a filmmaking workshop to students in classes 9 and 10, with some help from N, who served as the DP. Here’s a shot from their lively pre-production planning session.
Nov. 23: This is the roof of the Kopila Valley Big Sister’s Home, and I can’t think of a better visual metaphor for what goes on here than these stairs. Girls from all over Nepal come here to escape abuse, pursue their education and create lives full of love and light. We will always remember the remarkable young women we met here.
Nov. 23: I’m grateful for the amazing staff who make Kopila Valley a place of love and light - Maggie, Ubbji, Rajen, Julia, Franny, Naim, Shriya, Aliza, Cal, Aakriti, Sachyam, Top, Jeremy, Kusum, Sukma, Bishna, and many more.
Nov. 24: Yesterday I did another writing workshop with the students in classes 9 and 10 (which included our son Carver). The students read their work out loud to the class. Many of them were afraid to share their stories, but I encouraged them to be brave by telling them: “What often happens when we are vulnerable is that people respond with love."
Nov. 25: This is Cheryl and Brian with our final guest post. We will always be grateful for the friends we made at Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School. The people we met here are forever in our hearts. Thank you to the children, staff, and the entire BlinkNow team for hosting us so warmly!
We hope you enjoyed Cheryl and Brian's Instagram takeover! Be sure to follow us on Instagram for everyday updates on life at Kopila Valley!