Michelle Della Giovanna

@communitydogwelfarekopan is a place that is close to my heart. I’ve been volunteering there since 2020 and these days I go every Saturday to help them with their social media and website and to snuggle and play with the doggies. I filmed the videos below over the last year and have gotten to know each of these dogs individually. These are just a few of 150 dogs! Each with their own story of how they got there. This cause is so important to me. If you can, please donate! Every amount counts! If you can’t donate, please like, comment, and share this post so that more people can see it ❤️🐾 /cdwc-medical-fund

And that’s a wrap on Thailand! What an amazing adventure we had, and somehow I managed to condense 3 weeks of vacation into 3 minutes of video haha. Special thanks to mom for traveling halfway around the world to go on yet another crazy adventure with me. Missing you already ❤️ Some of the things we really loved which are in the video… @intothewild_elephantcamp @mamanoithaicookeryschool.th @ram_bar_show #thailand

TDJ Gallery’s 1-Day Workshop Grab your squad, call the fam it’s time to get artsy! 🖌️💥 Let’s make it a day to remember Come thru and let’s get creative… TOGETHER!

Long Due- Challenge we planned early but accomplished only on return of the trip 🤣 with only laughter The last clip was All Kill 🔫🤣 @the_levitator being the MVP😎 P:S- @shavonas di idea Team 🤍 @shavonas @fulltimeexplorer @the_levitator @oscarshrestha @sherap_77

New post up on the blog about the Dhap Dam hike we did two weeks ago. We did an overnight stay at @prakriti.resort that was so relaxing and beautiful. I highly recommend it as a nice break from the chaos of Kathmandu. This hike is surprisingly only a 4 hour walk from Kathmandu! Dhap Dam is located inside Shivapuri National Park but it feels like you are out on a proper trekking route in the mountains. Not many hikes take me by surprise but this one was so much more than I expected! This hike also inspired a possible new tag line for my blog “I get lost so that you don’t have too” 🤣 and of course I had to include at least one photo of us getting lost by the stream. Thankfully we made some friends along the way which made getting lost a little more fun 🤪 And special shout out to the military guards who guided us when lost 🙏 #dhapdam #shivapuri #shivapurinationalpark #kathmandu #kathmanduvalley #nepal #hiking

Today I visited one of the areas affected by the recent floods in Kathmandu. These photos really don’t do it justice. This is a street that runs along the Bagmati river in Balkhu. The flood hit this area hard. It’s already been a week and people are still digging through mud to find their belongings. I can’t even imagine the difficulty that they have faced in the last week. They’ve lost their homes. Some have lost their loved ones. They’ve had to sift through mud to see if anything they owned can be salvaged. They’ve had to dig massive amounts of mud out of their houses. While most of Kathmandu has gone back to their normal lives, the people who live here are spending days just trying to get access to their houses. A group of volunteers were trying to dig out this alley way, and a week after the flood, there was still over two feet of thick heavy mud that needed to be manually removed with shovels and buckets. Being there for just a couple of hours was exhausting. I thought I would pass out from the heat, but I had the privileged to leave whenever I wanted. Those who live here don’t get to just go home after they feel tired. They have to keep pushing through because they have nowhere else to go. What’s incredible was seeing people still smiling and saying Namaste. I swear, Nepalese are the most resilient people on the earth. Even in disaster, they can smile and appreciate what they have and not what they’ve lost. If anyone would like to help, it’s pretty easy. Show up with a bucket and shovel. Wear boots because normal sneakers get stuck in the mud. Bring drinking water with you. Find a home and start to dig. Or bring some cleaning supplies. People are washing all of their belongings off in the street and will appreciate the help. #kathmandu #flood #nepal #bagmati #balkhu

Nims is off to his new life in Canada! This little old dude was found near death in the river, pulled out, brought to the vet, and fostered for a month before he came into our lives. We got to be his temporary home for 2 months before he flew to his forever family, and I’m so happy we got to foster him. I already miss the way he would nuzzle his little face into my leg when he wanted snuggles and how he would try to lay in my lap but would sort of flop down next to me by mistake. He has spindolitus and might be deaf (or extremely hard of hearing) but that didn’t stop him from playing and chasing balls or wandering around looking for food because somehow he is always hungry haha. Wishing Nims the best life ahead with his new family! Fostering animals isn’t always easy but in the end it’s so rewarding and can mean the world for that animal. If you’re in Kathmandu and want to know more about fostering, send me a message as we are always looking for more fosters. It takes a village to rescue these dogs ❤️ This rescue was coordinated by @lesleymapstone from @templedogrescue with vet care from @amc_nepal and initial rescue from @tfc_nepal . He was also fostered by Jennifer and Tashi before he came to us. Everyone worked together to get this little guy to Suki and without each person it wouldn’t have been possible ❤️❤️❤️

Throwback to October when we got to do the Panchase Trek. It’s a 3 day 2 night trek at a low altitude near Pokhara. We attempted this trek a few years ago in monsoon but had to turn back because of overgrown trails and leeches! This year was way better. We got epic views, met lovely people, and enjoyed a really nice quiet route with few other tourists.

The Himalaya are beautiful but sometimes it’s the tiniest details that make a trek interesting. Wildlife found on the Panchase Trek #nepal #wildlife #creepycrawly #butterfly #insect #insectphotography #closeupphotography #panchasetrek

After Gosaikunda, we continued onto the Helambu Heritage Trail. Unfortunately, the area was hit hard by the 2015 earthquake and many of the old buildings had been destroyed and replaced by cement and tin. Despite that, the small village in between gave us a look into the Yolmo (Hyolmo) people. We got to witness a new monastery being built, have Tibetan tea with locals, and eat freshly picked kiwis growing in the area. #nepal #visitnepal #travelnepal #nepalnow #nepal8thwonder #nepalblogger #nepaltravel #nepaldiaries #nepalisbeautiful

In November, we trekked to Gosaikunda Lake, a holy lake for both Hindus and Buddhists. The waters are visited by pilgrims throughout the year who go for a swim in the healing waters or collect it in a bottle to bring back home for puja (religious ceremonies). It’s believed that Lord Shiva formed the lake after drinking poison as a way to quench his thirst. The trek here was surprisingly difficult and I struggled to make it, even crying at one point because my legs were so tired from 5 hours of walking up stairs. We had incredible weather. Although it was cloudy we always ended up above the cloud line which gave us a unique view of the mountains sticking out from a blanket of white clouds. #gosaikunda #gosaikundatrek #gosaikundalake #nepal #nepaltravel #nepaldiaries #nepalnow #nepal8thwonder #nepalisbeautiful #nepalblogger #visitnepal #nepaltourism

Photo dump from our trip to Dubai in March. It was our first trip together outside of Nepal and our first trip since marriage, making it our kind of honeymoon after two years haha. We did an overnight desert safari which I loved, a trip to Hatta to see the mountains and dam, lots of sightseeing in the city with our wonderful host Auntie Olga, and lots of good food! We both ended up getting a cold and had to cancel the last few days of plans to rest, but hopefully we’ll be back again. #dubai