Namaste!

Hello from Kathmandu!

Introduction
I've been in Nepal for about 2 weeks now and still getting situated. The agency, Hope and Home, has been outstanding and so helpful from the moment I stepped out of the airport. The program director, Rabyn has created a relatively inexpensive and comprehensive program that not only integrates the volunteers into the Nepalese culture, but also places people in appropriate project sites.

My first full week, after the safari, I started Nepali language lessons with Youzeena, who is a delightful, smart, funny and beautiful Nepalese college student in Kathmandu. For two hours a day, I have learned the basic language, which has come in handy when bargaining at the markets and trying to communicate with the children of the DRC (Disabled Rehabilitation Center), however, I often wonder if I'm saying the language at all today, as I walked into a cafe and said "Tapaille kasto cha?" or "How are you?" and the man looked at me with great fear. He quickly got his co-worker who brought me a cup of black tea, as I requested.

I stayed in Thamel which is the touristy area of Kathmandu. The shopping and restaurants are great, but a bit expensive, even for Nepalese standards, I think. However, there are lots of convenient features in Thamel.

Youzeena also gave me a culture class which has been so fascinating. I've discovered that I'm a complete culture junkie and being able to learn about the culture and continually ask questions about it as I go along is really rewarding and also helpful to how to best conduct myself on a day-to-day basis. For example, the Nepalese people often eat with their right hand only. A very common dish, daal bhaat, consists of rice, daal (cooked lentils) and curried veggies. It's really delicious! They mix it all together into a sticky mixture, then use the right hand (only) to shovel it with the fingers and the thumb to push it into their mouth. I am highly impressed with this kind of coordination, as I have tried and yes, it's possible, but takes me ages and is also quite messy. Many Nepalese people often never touch their hand to their mouth (as this contaminates the hand, or "jhutho"). Additionally, the Nepalese people follow a caste system. There are many other fascinating cultural differences that I've learned here, too many to write.

In the afternoons, I went on various sight seeing expeditions. On Budda Jayanti (Buddha's birthday), I went to the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal. It was really amazing. This huge structure had hundreds of prayer flags draped everywhere and it was packed with people. It's proper to walk clockwise around the structure and also nice to spin the several prayer wheels as you walk. The stupa was packed with people on the ground and the ascending levels of the structure, as well. It was his 2551st birthday! Happy Birthday Buddha!

We also visited Pashupati, which houses the most important Hindu temple in Kathmandu. I couldn't enter because I'm not a Hindu, but it was still beautiful to see. (Over half of the Nepalese population is Hindu and a large number is Buddhist). Pashupati is also famous because it's where deceased Hindu people are cremated. We watched a cremation from a distance, but there is a section of the grounds where males of the deceased person prepare a huge fire, then lay the covered body on it to be cremated. Eventually the ashes run into a river below. It was an interesting part of the Hindu culture to witness.

DRC
After a week of language classes and sight seeing, I moved out of Thamel to Jorpati. I moved in with Rabyn's older brother and his family. I met the kids right away, as my new home is just a 20 walk or 10 min. motorbike ride from the center. The children at the DRC range in ages 4-16. The majority of them go to school, but some do not, due to their disabilities. From the moment that I entered the center, I was met with unconditional joy, love and appreciation. These children, some of whom are orphaned and some who's families still see them, face physical and social obstacles, but the energy that pours out of them brings me to near tears on a regular basis. They are AMAZING.

My mornings are spent working with the children that don't attend school, due to their disabilities. Erik, another volunteer and myself are setting up a basic school program that can be continued with each new volunteer that they encounter further down the road. Their learning can be stopped for huge pockets of time if no volunteers are in Nepal, so I want them to be able to practice reading and writing on their own. We are just in the planning and assessment stages of the children, Pema and Gita, two bright and happy girls who spend their days in wheelchairs. We also take them for walks, which is a bit tricky, as not all road are paved and I've learned how to best "drive" a wheelchair, especially up steep, steep hills, down stairs, on gravel and grass... you get the picture. One boy, Bharat, who often comes with us on walks, can manuever his wheelchair alone and gives me mild heart attacks, especially when he is coasting down the steep hill near the DRC, but he is confident and very capable. I am always impressed with his skill and strength.

Yesterday, we had a particularly active walk. Erik and Charlie (both volunteers) and myself took 6 children for walk. Five of them were in four wheelchairs and one walked with us. Bharat was fine on his own and each of us pushed a wheelchair. We walked up the steep hill to a Hindu temple, which they like to visit and saw the river nearby. From the river, we decided to take a different route back to the road to avoid the stairs. The different route, essentially was a series of small streams, steep dirt hills, walking over huge drain pipes and almost entirely wheelchair inaccessible. Thanks to Erik and Charlie, they carried each child over each obstacle and I followed with the wheelchairs. Phew! The kids loved it all and I was happy that we all make it to the road, a little soggy and dirty, but fine and with no injuries. Once on the road, we ventured to a new part of the town, that I hadn't explored. All along the way, people are drying straw in the streets, so we share this skinny part of the uncovered paved road, with the motorcyles, buses and trucks that went by. Everyone slowed down when they saw us and honked less, which was nice. At the top of the hill, we saw a small cow stuck in this narrow gutter. The gutter was big enough for the cow to walk forwards and backwards in, but the cow couldn't get out. So, we parked the wheelchairs and Erik, Charlie and some other locals worked together to pull the cow out. It was an amazing feat and I cheered from the sidelines. Then, we walked a bit further, now in the dead heat of the day and the kids were looking a bit hot and tired, so we headed back to town. We waved a gravel truck down, folded up the wheelchairs and threw them in the back of the truck, the smaller kids sat in the front with the driver and the adults and a few little ones rode in the back, holding onto the wheelchairs. It was great fun and the kids really enjoyed it.

Homestay family
My homestay family consists of Devindra (father), Asha (mother), Susaan (son), Sumeda (daughter), Swedde (niece/cousin), Sividra (Swedde's sister) and the grandparents. They live in a huge home and Erik also lives there. They feed us and really take great care of us. We play card games together and recently, I started a knitting craze with some of the girls. It's been a lot of fun and a great cultural experience.

3rd World Country
Nepal is one of the world's 50 poorest countries. It's a 3rd world country and the average annual income is 12,500 ruppes or about $250 USD. While some people live above this average, many people live far below it. Nepal is quite polluted-garbage on the streets, well, everywhere. The air quality isn't that great in some places and most people live on two meals a day, however, the meal system may be based on culture, not wealth. The roads aren't all paved and some general hygenic practices are different from western culture. There are cows walking around, grazing on grass, garbage or whatever they can find, as it's illegal to kill or harm a cow. However, the culture is rich, years of tradition are evident and religion is a big part of it. What I have loved about this culture is the genuine happiness that people exude. People are friendly, kind and truly wonderful.

In preparation for my volunteerism, I collected monetary donations. Thanks to Mom, Kai, Grandma, Scott and Debbie. In total, I have $275 to donate and that money is going very far. For $1USD, it's approximately 66 rupees. I have been able to buy school supplies, snacks, sports equipment and brand new yak leather school shoes for about 15+ kids. (The last time the DRC bought new school shoes was 2 years ago.) Today, I went with about 20+ kids to get fitted for the shoes and it was quite an excursion. We all piled into a bus and lined up near this tiny (think large closet) of a shop, where each child was fitted. I'll go pick up the shoes next week. I'm still sorting out what the rest of the donations will go to, but I'm learning more about some of the other needs children have for schooling, medical costs, etc.

My Learning Experience
Thus far, I have learned so much about Nepal, a different asian culture, language, food, etc. This country has opened my mind in ways that I didn't know I needed. However, there are some parts of the culture that I haven't full embraced with an open heart. Like many cultures, there is a stigma attached to children with disabilities. As I mentioned, some of the children at the center, do have families that they see on a somewhat regular basis. Some children, do not. Some have been abandoned because of their disability or because their family just can't afford to take care of them. When we take the children out in public, of course we get a lot of stares, but I also think it's important that Nepali people see foreign people helping the children with disabilities, too. In the caste system, the children with disabilities rank quite low and this means that they already have a disadvantage when they get older, leave the DRC and continue schooling or find work. My heart breaks on a regular basis when I think about how much need there really is and how much more work is needed. But, just ask quickly, one of the kids will nuzzle up into my lap, flash me a smile or ask to sing a song and think about how blessed I am to experience this.

Sorry, but the few pictures that are up on the blog, took hours to load, so more pictures will have to come after I leave Nepal. The Internet connection here is slooooow... Lots of love to everyone! Namaste!