Yes, it's lame. I haven't updated this blog in so long it's a little embarassing... But, there's a reason why: I got married!! Simon and I tied the knot a few weeks ago and for most of this summer, life has just been nutty, crazy and so fun! More about the summer and marriage soon...
But, thinking back a few months. I left Nepal and...
After Kathmandu, I met up with Simon in Bangkok and we traveled to Laos for a few weeks of relaxing by the Mekong river, enjoying delicious foods (the food shares similar tastes to Vietnamese and Thai cuisine-mint, curry, chili, coconut, but with sticky rice that you form into little balls and dip into dishes..yum. I digress...) and just chillin' in the sun (and some rain, as it's monsoon season). The country has been beaten up over the years from all kinds of forces: wars and governments, however, the people that I encountered were LOVELY. All so kind, humble, full of smiles and generosity.
Additionally, much of the land is uninhabited by people and is full of lush greenery, limestone rocks, water and pure beauty. Apparently, 21% of the land was declared as National Biodiversity Conservation Area to prevent deforestation and wildlife hunting.
In Dhon Det, which is in the south, we spent some time with some excellent friends and met new people too. Our days were very relaxed and full of bike rides, reading, hammock lounging, occassionally going into "town" for a quick e-mail check-in (which was more expensive then most other Asian locations because the entire island's electricity is run on generators) or to buy supplies, like candles for the nights, which created a romantic ambiance as well as attracted the millions of flying termites. Ah, nature.
We ventured north to Vang Vieng, which is a fun town, generally known for it's tubing. Tubing costs $4 to rent an inner tube and a truck takes you up part of the Mekong river. You hop in and along the way there are "rapids", which at the time were little bumpy waves and often rocks involved, but it wasn't a problem for me. The water was pretty shallow to begin with, but it was challenging, as I saw a woman stuck in tall grasses after the "rapids" pushed her out of control, or something.
Then, along the river there are bars with huge swings above the river. The bar men shout "Beer Laos" over and over again ("beerlaobeerlaobeerlao, etc.") you give a smile and a wave and they pull you over with a bamboo pole and in you go. These swings are amazing. Naturally, the first swing was intimidating, but exciting as you climb a fairly sturdy, somewhat rickety ladder to a platform, where another worker pulls the swing over and you fly away. It's really exhilarating and feels as if you are a trapeze performer, flying through the air. Of course, landing without belly flopping is preferred. At the first bar, some foreigners were doing naked swings and it was hillarious! The Laos people were highly entertained by the drunk, tattooed guys who continually swung naked. We had met up with a group of travelers in Dhon Det and we saw them again in Vang Vieng. They were a funny bunch from Australia, England, New Zealand and it was fun to travel with them again.
At one swing, the ladder was really tall and my friend had just given herself a massive black eye by trying to flip off the swing and kneeing her eye on the way down. Ouchie. While I am thinking of my elegant swinging and twirling moves, while carefully navigating myself up this seemingly stable ladder (although I heard the entire swing fell over a few days prior), I am deep in thought. I finally get to the top of the ladder and the Laos man "operating" the swing looks deep into my eyes and asks me "you know how swim?" Yes, it's true that I arrived to that same bar by tube, on the river and in a bathing suit no less, but many Asians don't know how to swim at all, so I guess it's fair that he ask, he's just doing his job. I quickly answered "of course!", then did an extra swingy, twirly swing ride with a magical-no-belly-flop drop into the water. Swim? Boy, just watch me!
While in Vang Vieng, we also spent a day rock climbing on limestone casts. It had been over a year since I had been rock climbing, while Simon had been climbing for most of the last month in Laos, but it all came back to me, thankfully. Our guides were these funny, cheery men, who were talented and helpful. We met other travelers during our climbing day and the physical activity, made me sore for two days. What a wimp, I am!
We spent nearly a week in Vang Vieng and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with all of the activities available, or doing nothing at all, which we became VERY good at... All over the town were little restaurants complete with comfy lounge tables, oodles of pillows, delicious menus and TV constantly running, all day and night. Our favorite was the Simpsons bar, where reruns of the show played non-stop with yummy food and shakes.For many dinners we visited a restaurant that played bootleg versions of new movies, so we saw the latest "Pirates of the Carribean" movie the same week it came out!
Our travels ended with yet another night train trip back to Bangkok. I strategically planned our last week in SE Asia so we could visit the Chatuchak markets, which offers the BEST shopping I have ever encountered! Over 15, 000 stalls in one day... so many fantastically cheap, cute and excellent shopping morsels and so little time. *sigh* Simon actually outshopped me, as my tired weary feet dragged my hungry body around the markets, following him, wondering when he was going to shop, as he bustled by me (with our extra large bag of goodies and gifts) saying "Just one more pair of shoes, then I'll be done... I think...."
22.6.07
2.6.07
Dhanybaad! (Thank you!)
Sadly, my time in Nepal has come to an end. However, the resources that I was able to distribute through loving friends and family from home was phenomenal! Thanks to Debbie, Scott, Kai and my Grandma for their monetary donations, totalling $275 or approximately 18,000 rupees. Here is what that money purchased:
*Numerous new yak-leather school shoes
*New school socks for all of the children
*Lots of botttles of Pepsi, Crush, 7up and bottles of water for our long walks (pushing wheelchairs on unpaved roads and down stairs makes you thirsty)
*School supplies for the children's tutoring and fun: white board and supplies, phonics books, reading books and learning books, like children's encyclopedias, alphabet books, etc.
*New, fancy soccer ball
*Shopping spree for 6 tween age kids at the local market (which was a huge highlight for me, getting to pick out their own hand-picked items, while Surendra bargained his heart out). The kids bought clothes, pocket radios, belts, sandals, hats, scarves, etc.
*New sandals for 7 children
*New backpacks for 6 children
*Donation to one of the DRC employees who was a sherpa leading treks in the mountains and lost part of his leg to frostbite. When he became disabled his wife left him with two small children. I gave him 2000 ruppees for his new prosthetic he is saving for, which is about $30 and is more than half of his monthly income.
*Numerous new yak-leather school shoes
*New school socks for all of the children
*Lots of botttles of Pepsi, Crush, 7up and bottles of water for our long walks (pushing wheelchairs on unpaved roads and down stairs makes you thirsty)
*School supplies for the children's tutoring and fun: white board and supplies, phonics books, reading books and learning books, like children's encyclopedias, alphabet books, etc.
*New, fancy soccer ball
*Shopping spree for 6 tween age kids at the local market (which was a huge highlight for me, getting to pick out their own hand-picked items, while Surendra bargained his heart out). The kids bought clothes, pocket radios, belts, sandals, hats, scarves, etc.
*New sandals for 7 children
*New backpacks for 6 children
*Donation to one of the DRC employees who was a sherpa leading treks in the mountains and lost part of his leg to frostbite. When he became disabled his wife left him with two small children. I gave him 2000 ruppees for his new prosthetic he is saving for, which is about $30 and is more than half of his monthly income.
*Paying for transportation to purchase some of the needed goods.
Additionally, some friends and family from home put together a big care package. Thanks so much Mom, Sarah, Briana and Christine! The kids received:
*Many sets of cool, colorful and educational flashcards.
*Loads of stickers
*Beautiful yarn and knitting needles that the girls and a few boys gobbled up to make cute creations
*Tons if new children's toothbrushes. There were so many, I was able to give some to another orphanage nearby, too.
All in all, this short period of volunteer work was just the beginning for me. I realized that I had the the potential to give so much more, if I had more training. Working with children with disabilities is really amazing and there is much I could learn. Hmmm.... a possible career focus? We'll see!
Saying goodbye took all afternoon and I hadn't expected such a supportive and loving farewell. The children made me cards with poems and pictures. Some of the girls dug into their personal items and gave me earrings, hair barettes, and jewelry. It really made my heart swell up, the thought of these poor children giving me their personal items and sharing so much of themselves with me. I received many hugs and was overwhelmed with their love and appreciation.
I also had prepared over 20 scarves (with the help of my friends in Taiwan-thanks Angela, Reagan and Coby!) On my last day, I gave some children that recently arrived to the DRC and didn't have scarves for the warm weather. Even though it was quite hot, they were really sweet and wore the scarves long enough to be in pictures.
The chairman of the DRC arrived and the goodbye process began. A mixture of tikka-grains of raw rice mixed with a red powder and some water was made into a paste, then many people of the DRC staff, put the tikka on my forhead, then blessed me with a white, Tibetan prayer scarf. I said goodbye and the tears just flowed and flowed down my face until I reached home.
My venture in getting to the airport on the day of my departure was also interesting. It was a Friday and the Maoist party called a "banda" or strike, which basically means the whole city shuts down. The Maoists take to the streets and prevent traffic from going anywhere. It's possible to cross a banda line, but could be dangerous, as violence can erupt. A volunteer, who had visited Nepal many times, suggested that I be prepared to walk part of the way to the airport and also carry my passport in my hand. Generally, foreigners are not bothered by bandas, but since some Nepali people think I look like them, she thought I shouldn't take any chances. My flight was scheduled to leave at 1pm, but I decided to leave VERY early in the morning by taxi, so I wouldn't have to try crossing a banda line. I arose at 4am, had a separate tikka ceremony with my wonderful Nepali family (yes, they all got up to see me off) and by 5am was on my way to the airport. Alls well that ends well! I spent the morning writing in my new journal, reading a fantastic book Shantaram, which I highly, highly recommend and chatting with other people that were also at the airport super early to avoid any banda trouble.
All in all, this experience has changed my life and my volunteerism is just the beginning of some plans I have to continue working with children and possibly children with disabilities. Again, a big thanks to everyone who supported my cause with monetary and material donations, as well as the emotional support and love. I feel so blessed to have experienced this!
Namaste!
My venture in getting to the airport on the day of my departure was also interesting. It was a Friday and the Maoist party called a "banda" or strike, which basically means the whole city shuts down. The Maoists take to the streets and prevent traffic from going anywhere. It's possible to cross a banda line, but could be dangerous, as violence can erupt. A volunteer, who had visited Nepal many times, suggested that I be prepared to walk part of the way to the airport and also carry my passport in my hand. Generally, foreigners are not bothered by bandas, but since some Nepali people think I look like them, she thought I shouldn't take any chances. My flight was scheduled to leave at 1pm, but I decided to leave VERY early in the morning by taxi, so I wouldn't have to try crossing a banda line. I arose at 4am, had a separate tikka ceremony with my wonderful Nepali family (yes, they all got up to see me off) and by 5am was on my way to the airport. Alls well that ends well! I spent the morning writing in my new journal, reading a fantastic book Shantaram, which I highly, highly recommend and chatting with other people that were also at the airport super early to avoid any banda trouble.
All in all, this experience has changed my life and my volunteerism is just the beginning of some plans I have to continue working with children and possibly children with disabilities. Again, a big thanks to everyone who supported my cause with monetary and material donations, as well as the emotional support and love. I feel so blessed to have experienced this!
Namaste!
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