Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tragedy
People here always comment and joke about how ridiculously unruly the road can be. There are no laws or rules, it is every person for themselves. I often make jokes about the craziness of the driving. Today, while I was waiting for the bus, I witnessed two student pedestrians get hit by a bus. It was tragic, and it happens here everyday. The worst part is that the bus kept driving. Immediately there were fifty people gathered around to help the two students and people were on their mobile phones calling for help. I am extremely upset by what I saw today. After living and traveling in Asia for over eight months I do not blink an eye when the taxi I am taking is swerving into oncoming traffic, or a bus I am riding is driving straight towards another bus coming my direction. I do think I should more concerned. I do trust the method of maneuvering throughout the city, but today I witnessed what happens when people are careless and reckless in their driving.
The children, the house, ect
For those who do not personally know me or what I am doing in Nepal, I am volunteering/working for a non-profit in Orange County, California that founded and funds a NGO here in Nepal. The name of the Non-Profit is Rescue Humanity and the name of the NGO is Rainbow House. I live in a house with 13 children who either do not have parents or have parents who could not care for their children. Rainbow House houses a total of 21 people, 6 adults plus two children, and the 13 children who are taken care of by the organization. I live in Lalitpur or Patan, and it is about 20 minutes from the center of Katmandu. Specifically, I live in Dholahity which is a small area of Lalitpur. I do not live far from Katmandu, yet I can think, breath, and move here. It is a much more peaceful alternative to Kathmandu. I live on a dirt road that is lined by houses and rice fields. I am in heaven on a day after it rains, as many women are in the fields planting rice in their colorful sari’s. There is a river that is a ten minute walk from where I live and on Saturday’s I take the older children down to the river and they run wild catching fish and trampling through the water. One day after school the girls and I went for a walk to pick flowers and just meandered down the dirt path. Traveling and being a tourist can be wonderful, and I have been the traveler and the tourist, but moments such as our walk through a Nepali “neighborhood” was divine. The rice fields are painted an intense green sprinkled with bright neon colors that are the sari’s of the women planting the rice. The dirt path is lined with small temples, cows having their dinner, and dogs that are watching the world go by. Speaking of dogs, a couple days ago I was walking home and saw a gang of about 15 dogs. They began barking and fighting with one another. I was thinking that a gangster rap song would have been very appropriate for the moment. The dogs do not scare me as they did in India, but there are still hundreds of dogs scattered throughout the streets.
I am attempting to learn Nepali and it is coming along slowly. I learned how to say, nice or beautiful, which is ram ro cha. I think I have overly used this phrase. When in doubt, ram ro cha. The thing is that when I try to speak Nepali one of three things happen, either the person stares at me in a what the hell did you just say kind of way, they just laugh in my face, or they begin to rapidly speak in Nepali back to me and I have to admit that I only know about 5 phrases.
The children are amazing. They always are! They are all so different and they each bring a different color to the house. It is a guarantee that there will be at least one crying child at all times. Sussila and Gita work in the house and they are my Nepali sisters. Sussila will break into song and dance at any moment notice and Gita sits down with the children and always will try and help them with their homework. Yesterday, I was talking with Gita and we were talking about sur names and she asked about caste in the United States. The caste system is such an integral part of their society that it was hard for her to believe that caste do not exist in the United States. A couple days ago, I was tired of the two youngest fighting over books so I handed them each a book and ever since those two children have been attached to those two books.
Himal, the youngest child of the Rainbow House crew calls me Gita Auntie, because Stephanie Auntie is too difficult to say and I think it would exert way more energy than what Himal is willing to put into addressing me. Plus, he is only three. Gita is a common Nepali name, as well as the name of one of the women who works in the house. Himal means mountain in Nepali which makes perfect sense. Himal, is a confused child and thinks that I am a mountain, and often tries to climb up me. He doesn't get very far as I am only 5'6 on a good day. He also has a personality as big as a mountain. He goes crazy over kites, this kid will jump up and down and yell at the top of his lungs over is excitement of kites. He also cries at the drop of a hat. Have you ever heard the saying, "fake it until you make it." This kid has mastered the art of using crying and screaming to get exactly what he wants. I still love the kid though, he is maybe the cutest kid on the planet.
Kripa has an incredible eye for detail. She is the only child in the house who notices my wardrobe and will always make it known when she thinks something is "so nice." I think she should be an interior decorator or a fashion designer, but she wants to be a nun. She is only six so maybe she will change her mind. She also loves to dance and has a personality larger than life.
Kanchi and Pasang have the gentle souls and speak very quietly but they are the sweetest girls on the planet. Suraj is the naughty boy, but not really, he has so much energy and likes to pretend he is spider man and fling himself throughout the house.
Ram use to cry every time I left the house but now he accepts the fact that I am leaving, but knows that I am most likely coming back. He arrived at the Rainbow House in July and use to sit by himself and never interacted with the other kids. I sometimes wondered where he would go when he would sit by himself and stare into space for hours. His smile lights up the room, and he laughs now just as much as the other kids. He has only been in the house for a month and he has already picked up words of English. He no longer sits and stares into space.
I am attempting to learn Nepali and it is coming along slowly. I learned how to say, nice or beautiful, which is ram ro cha. I think I have overly used this phrase. When in doubt, ram ro cha. The thing is that when I try to speak Nepali one of three things happen, either the person stares at me in a what the hell did you just say kind of way, they just laugh in my face, or they begin to rapidly speak in Nepali back to me and I have to admit that I only know about 5 phrases.
The children are amazing. They always are! They are all so different and they each bring a different color to the house. It is a guarantee that there will be at least one crying child at all times. Sussila and Gita work in the house and they are my Nepali sisters. Sussila will break into song and dance at any moment notice and Gita sits down with the children and always will try and help them with their homework. Yesterday, I was talking with Gita and we were talking about sur names and she asked about caste in the United States. The caste system is such an integral part of their society that it was hard for her to believe that caste do not exist in the United States. A couple days ago, I was tired of the two youngest fighting over books so I handed them each a book and ever since those two children have been attached to those two books.
Himal, the youngest child of the Rainbow House crew calls me Gita Auntie, because Stephanie Auntie is too difficult to say and I think it would exert way more energy than what Himal is willing to put into addressing me. Plus, he is only three. Gita is a common Nepali name, as well as the name of one of the women who works in the house. Himal means mountain in Nepali which makes perfect sense. Himal, is a confused child and thinks that I am a mountain, and often tries to climb up me. He doesn't get very far as I am only 5'6 on a good day. He also has a personality as big as a mountain. He goes crazy over kites, this kid will jump up and down and yell at the top of his lungs over is excitement of kites. He also cries at the drop of a hat. Have you ever heard the saying, "fake it until you make it." This kid has mastered the art of using crying and screaming to get exactly what he wants. I still love the kid though, he is maybe the cutest kid on the planet.
Kripa has an incredible eye for detail. She is the only child in the house who notices my wardrobe and will always make it known when she thinks something is "so nice." I think she should be an interior decorator or a fashion designer, but she wants to be a nun. She is only six so maybe she will change her mind. She also loves to dance and has a personality larger than life.
Kanchi and Pasang have the gentle souls and speak very quietly but they are the sweetest girls on the planet. Suraj is the naughty boy, but not really, he has so much energy and likes to pretend he is spider man and fling himself throughout the house.
Ram use to cry every time I left the house but now he accepts the fact that I am leaving, but knows that I am most likely coming back. He arrived at the Rainbow House in July and use to sit by himself and never interacted with the other kids. I sometimes wondered where he would go when he would sit by himself and stare into space for hours. His smile lights up the room, and he laughs now just as much as the other kids. He has only been in the house for a month and he has already picked up words of English. He no longer sits and stares into space.
Random thoughts
The buses and trucks are very colorful, they remind me of India. Actually most of the trucks probably come from India, as does the fuel that they are hauling across the country. I am intrigued by the messages that are written on the back of the trucks and buses. My favorite message is "Road Star" and the creepiest is "See You." I do wonder about the message "Good Luck," and what is meant by it. Are "they" wishing one good luck in life, or on someones next exam, or are they wishing a person good luck on staying alive on the road. These are all possible.
Thamel is the tourist center of Kathmandu and I think about how much of Nepal I would never know if I spent most of my time in there. In Thamel, there are hundreds of stores selling the same thing, and restaurants more or less serving the same food, and a gazillion men trying to sell you hash, treks, miniature violin's, etc. Children who talk to you are trying to get money from you, women who talk to you are trying to get money from you, and men who talk to you are trying to sell you something. Thamel can be charming, If you want any kind of night life that goes beyond 8:00pm you will want to be in Thamel, and there are all sorts of characters crammed into the small space that is Thamel.
Nepal outside of Thamel, can be peaceful. I live amongst rice fields, foothills, and crying babies. People stop to talk to me and do not expect anything from me. Just a conversation. Women and children bath in the public water well and men stop to observe a knew sign going up on their street, and debate its purpose. Yesterday I took a micro bus to my friends organization and observed a group of people playing all sorts of instruments and singing on the side of the road. On the way back a group of kids were dressed in weird costumes and were wearing mask and were running up to cars. Nepal is random, quirky, and hard to figure out. I believe this is why I enjoy it here. Nepal is never boring, is always frustrating, and always makes me laugh.
Kathmandu is surrounded my mountains, which I have not yet seen because of the cloud coverage that exist during the monsoon season. I have experienced my first real monsoonal rains. I was eating at a restaurant about two weeks ago when it began to rain and then it began to pour. We had to wait about an hour for the rain to lighten up enough for us to walk back to where we were going, and then we had to traverse through gigantic puddles of water. This is one way so many people get gross feet fungus and feet infections. Food for thought.
Thamel is the tourist center of Kathmandu and I think about how much of Nepal I would never know if I spent most of my time in there. In Thamel, there are hundreds of stores selling the same thing, and restaurants more or less serving the same food, and a gazillion men trying to sell you hash, treks, miniature violin's, etc. Children who talk to you are trying to get money from you, women who talk to you are trying to get money from you, and men who talk to you are trying to sell you something. Thamel can be charming, If you want any kind of night life that goes beyond 8:00pm you will want to be in Thamel, and there are all sorts of characters crammed into the small space that is Thamel.
Nepal outside of Thamel, can be peaceful. I live amongst rice fields, foothills, and crying babies. People stop to talk to me and do not expect anything from me. Just a conversation. Women and children bath in the public water well and men stop to observe a knew sign going up on their street, and debate its purpose. Yesterday I took a micro bus to my friends organization and observed a group of people playing all sorts of instruments and singing on the side of the road. On the way back a group of kids were dressed in weird costumes and were wearing mask and were running up to cars. Nepal is random, quirky, and hard to figure out. I believe this is why I enjoy it here. Nepal is never boring, is always frustrating, and always makes me laugh.
Kathmandu is surrounded my mountains, which I have not yet seen because of the cloud coverage that exist during the monsoon season. I have experienced my first real monsoonal rains. I was eating at a restaurant about two weeks ago when it began to rain and then it began to pour. We had to wait about an hour for the rain to lighten up enough for us to walk back to where we were going, and then we had to traverse through gigantic puddles of water. This is one way so many people get gross feet fungus and feet infections. Food for thought.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
An excellent day
I have a theory about meat in Nepal. My theory is that it would be in a person’s best interest not to eat the meat. The beef is almost always buffalo, and the pork are the dead pigs sprawled out on the tables outside of the butcher shops all over town, and the chickens are the birds chirping and flapping their wings up and down the street. Yesterday, I had more meat, than I have had my entire stay in Nepal. I have a friend who runs an organization for women who are infected HIV and who have previously worked in Brothels. She runs a home for 12 women and a home for 15 children in Godaveri, which is outside of Kathmandu and is surrounded by hills and rice fields. At this home, women learn to grow their own food, learn trades such as candle making and jewelry making, and begin to build a new life for themselves. It is the most beautiful organization with beautiful spirit. I went for visit yesterday and to meet their new English teacher. The organization has just received funding to start an education component, which will begin in September. Yesterday I went over to Bimala’s home and spent time with the women and children and had lunch. I was served a beautiful lunch but I was not sure what kind of meat I was being served. Meat is a luxury and a delicacy in Nepal and I was incredibly grateful for the wonderful meal. I later learned that I was eating goat intestines and liver. It was chewy and parts were slimy. I have had goat meat before, but never these parts of the goat. Nepali’s love the intestines and liver of animals, they find it delicious, I am sure I would too, if I grew up eating these parts of the animal. Later when I returned to the Rainbow House, Susilla and Gita were cooking Chicken, I have only had meat twice at the Rainbow House in my six week stay here, and I immediately asked about the intestines and liver. I was told that Nepali’s find it so tasty and that there was liver and intestines in the batch of meat being prepared. I actually liked it much better than the goat intestines, plus in was fried and smothered in masala sauce and satisfied my taste buds. Last night the ladies of the house, Susilla and Gita who work at the house, and two family members of Neema (the director) and I watched a Hindi Bollywood love film and drew mihindi on each other’s hands. It was a perfect way to end the day. Mihindi is similar to Heena, and the women in Nepal draw beautiful art on each other’s hands. Right now women are wearing green bangles on their wrist and drawing mihindi on their hands in order to find a nice husband. I originally told the women that I was not currently looking for a husband but then they explained that it the point was not to find a husband, but to inspire the gods to send a nice husband your way in the future. I thought that I had to join this party, which is what I did.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Kathmandu and beyond
I became ill the first week of being in Nepal. I tried several times to get out of bed and it pretty much did not happen. However a British man came to my rescue and gave me Cipro (a pill to get rid of what ever bug may have entered your stomach), even though I already had Cipro, he was kind enough to give me the 101 on how to overcome my illness. I was okay the next day but the bug still lingered. My bodily functions have not been right ever since. I know, too much information probably, but then I would not be giving you a truthful description of my experience here. Today I feel okay, tomorrow, who knows.
We have visited many other organizations, which has been the most enriching experience for a variety of reasons. It is the goal of the organization I volunteer for to begin to connect with other organization's, this is important, I learned this lesson as a case manager a couple of years ago. Standing alone is limiting and working together is where change can begin. From visiting these organization's I have already begun to learn more about the organizational process that exist in non government organizations. Plus I have met more amazing kids.
Last week I went to a village that took about four hours from Kathmandu to get to. Nepal is not very large in square mileage, however travel can be long and tedious. We took a van to a town called dading and then took a jeep up a mountain (I will post a video that highlights the fun of that journey) and then we hiked 45 more minutes to get to the village. The scenery was Divine. The purpose of this journey was to bring two boys to Kathmandu. One boy is staying at the Rainbow house and another boy is staying at a boys home also in Kathmandu. It was not an easy day for me, it was actually one of the hardest days that I have had. There was much sadness associated with the day.
I have continually processed through many emotions and feelings since I have been here. It has been a roller coaster of emotions and questions of my motives for being here. The result has been more clarity and a feeling of a heavy load being lifted.
I went to the immigration office today and extended my visa to the maximum five months that is allowed per calendar year for tourist. Kim and I made friends with the immigration office manager. I wonder if I could get an extra month? I thought about asking him! I think I figured out the secret to Nepal, a smile and a little laughter with a lot of kindness. I was worried today about not getting my extension approved and I flashed a huge smile and talked a lot and of course I got my extension!!
Move over Hollywood and Bollywood, here comes Collywood. I learned today that collywood is Nepals version of Bollywood. Not much to say about it, expect I hear that the industry is extremely low budget, which makes perfect sense.
We have visited many other organizations, which has been the most enriching experience for a variety of reasons. It is the goal of the organization I volunteer for to begin to connect with other organization's, this is important, I learned this lesson as a case manager a couple of years ago. Standing alone is limiting and working together is where change can begin. From visiting these organization's I have already begun to learn more about the organizational process that exist in non government organizations. Plus I have met more amazing kids.
Last week I went to a village that took about four hours from Kathmandu to get to. Nepal is not very large in square mileage, however travel can be long and tedious. We took a van to a town called dading and then took a jeep up a mountain (I will post a video that highlights the fun of that journey) and then we hiked 45 more minutes to get to the village. The scenery was Divine. The purpose of this journey was to bring two boys to Kathmandu. One boy is staying at the Rainbow house and another boy is staying at a boys home also in Kathmandu. It was not an easy day for me, it was actually one of the hardest days that I have had. There was much sadness associated with the day.
I have continually processed through many emotions and feelings since I have been here. It has been a roller coaster of emotions and questions of my motives for being here. The result has been more clarity and a feeling of a heavy load being lifted.
I went to the immigration office today and extended my visa to the maximum five months that is allowed per calendar year for tourist. Kim and I made friends with the immigration office manager. I wonder if I could get an extra month? I thought about asking him! I think I figured out the secret to Nepal, a smile and a little laughter with a lot of kindness. I was worried today about not getting my extension approved and I flashed a huge smile and talked a lot and of course I got my extension!!
Move over Hollywood and Bollywood, here comes Collywood. I learned today that collywood is Nepals version of Bollywood. Not much to say about it, expect I hear that the industry is extremely low budget, which makes perfect sense.
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