My solo adventures have officially begun!

My solo adventures have officially begun! They began over a week ago when I left KTM and went white water rafting for two days. I woke up early to catch the bus to Fishling, a little town on the road to Chitwan where rafters get dropped off to get wet ‘n wild for a few hours or days. I choose the longest trip being advertised during this time of year, two days. On the three hour bus ride to Fishling I sat next to another lone traveler, a Spaniard. (!!!) Seeing that a Spanish interview is approaching, I quickly jumped from English to Spanish and told her I needed to practice. I think it was too early for her as we only exchanged a few sentences during the first part of the ride. After our pit-stop we started a much better conversation where I learned her boyfriend (who she was visiting in Bangladesh) is from Granada, Nicaragua. So we talked about that for a while and about the project in Nepal and the job in Bolivia…and the normal things strangers talk about.

We had an excellent rafting group: our guide, Laxman, three Aussies, the Spaniard, and myself. There were two Aussie guys and a sheila (as they call them in Australia, right?) The girl and one guy were obviously dating and the other guy was their friend who recently flew to Nepal and met them mid-way in their travels. It was obvious the single guy was a little lonely and was very sociable among the young ladies in other rafts (and with me at first). That was kinda funny to watch. So we ate lunch with two other rafts and met Natalie from London who was super sweet and had been teaching English outside of KTM for six weeks. There were also lots of naked little boys playing unashamedly in the sand and water where we stopped for lunch. It was a great mixture of new people and places.

We continued rafting for two more hours until we reached our final destination for the day. Most people just do one day trips on their way to Pokhara or Chitwan so I said goodbye to them when we got out. My “agent” in KTM told me I would be staying in a “luxury” hotel for the night. The guides had no knowledge of this and actually laughed in my face so they told me I would have to stay in a cheep hotel for the night and pay myself. There was no cell phone service where we were to call the agent. So, I got in a bus and was told to follow Laxman, who was riding on the top of the bus in typical Nepali fashion. Inside the bus sat next to a really nice guy who spoke decent English and owns several private schools. So we exchanged the normal formalities and I told him about my hotel blunders. He started calling my agent whenever we had the slight glimmers of cell service. No luck. I had already been on the bus for over and hour and had no idea where to get off and I also thought at one point I had lost Laxman who was climbing all over the bus inside and out like a monkey while it was moving. I started getting nervous and didn’t know what was really going on. Finally right before we got off (and I found Laxman) we got through to the agent who confirmed with Laxman the hotel and food were supposed to be included. Whew. So Laxman and I went on a journey together to find a hotel just as it was getting dark. We basically took the first thing we came to and didn’t look at the room first, which is basically unheard of in Nepal. I didn’t really care by that point, I was tired, dirty, and in need of a computer…which didn’t work when the lights went out five minutes later. Perfect.

I came back to the hotel to find myself locked out of my room and my luggage locked inside. So via candle light and (thank god for) the little flashlight on my cell phone we eventually broke into my room leaving a hole in the door. The guys at the hotel decided it was best if I switched rooms, I agreed. When I walked into the room it looked much like the other room, meaning it could easily pass for a jail cell or scene for SAW 345. It smelled funny and I made a face. Then I asked for an extra sheet. No go. Toilet paper? Yup! I guess my “I’m an alone white girl” face worked well and I got my TP.

When the guy delivered the toilet paper he sprayed some soap stuff in the toilet that had obviously not been washed for a while. I’m not sure the soap stuff helped but to cover up whatever may have already been in the toilet, which I never dared to look to see. He also tried spraying air freshener but the can was empty, oh well. Shower (out of bathing suit finally!) food- dalbaat of course, I choose to eat it with my hands and no one said a thing. Went back to my room and read this absolutely hilarious and genius book about baboons in eastern Africa. It helped me forget where I was for a while. I also checked out the fan situation and discovered there were only two settings: helicopter landing in my room and dead off and stuffy. I chose the company of the helicopter.

I woke up to my alarm around 7 and met Laxman, who awkwardly shook my hand and gave me a hug (one of the few hugs I’ve received while being in Nepal). I’m thinking he was just glad to see I survived the night with a smile still on? He wanted to feed me so we what were called on the menu banana honey crepes at the hotel. When they came out it was basically crepes rolled up with scatterings of bug pieces that I pushed to the side.

We went back to the river and Laxman forced me to eat breakfast again saying I needed my strength for the river. Okay…. This time I had eggs and toast with no bugs. I was instructed to sit inside the mud house to eat because there were fewer flies. I complied. I sat in the kitchen made bedroom of visa versa. There were two beds that also served as benches for the table found in the middle of them. I sat on the unoccupied bed/bench and enjoyed my company across the table: a middle aged man sleeping while everyone ran about doing their daily chores. Oh you have it good, I thought.

Then my day’s playmates arrived – four Brits and a heavily cologned, chain smoking South African who studied law in England and now lives in Afghanistan building court houses for the UN. Much more about him later. We did the raft “training” before setting off and I was practically introduced as an experienced guide by Laxman. I’m not sure if it was because of the previous day’s rafting experience or sleeping in the hotel, but I enjoyed pretending like I was a river goddess. The Brits were fun, just out of university. There were two guys and two lady Brits, both in couples, all friends but not traveling together the entire time. Well I know one was a couple, but I’m pretty sure the other set were just friends. One girl wore her orange polk-dotted undies the whole day- which is a huge no-no in Nepal. We had a nice time rafting together and did pretty well although the South African was a bit fussy. The rapids were much bigger on this river.

We stopped for lunch and discussed our studies, jobs, and lack there of. We talked about Afghanistan a lot and the great work of the UN. (mainly because he like to talk about himself) He basically thought the UN was the shit and everyone should work for them so he tried to convince us of its benefits although he did agree it takes some luck to get in….hmmm….He’s a lawyer turned architect who is building court houses in Afghanistan because where is justice going to start if you don’t have a building to do it in?....hmmmm…..I got in a few sentences about our project in KTM and he asked why not Afghanistan- they need book and libraries there more….hmmmm….I tried to explain, but he just seemed it necessary for me to come to Afghanistan- which I wouldn’t mind doing, actually. I also tried to tell him about Three Cups of Tea and the work Greg Morrison is doing in that part of the world. He has never heard of the book and didn’t seem too interested….hmmm…. At the end of the day when he left he shook everyone’s hand on our raft except mine. Oh well.

The day ended rather uneventfully except the bus to Chitwan was full so I got to experience “Nepali air conditioning” for the first time. Aka: sitting on the roof of the bus for over an hour! Matt Enriquez would have loved it.

more pictures!

some pictures from when mom and betsey were here. one is in a boat on a river in chitwan national park. another me paraglidng w/babu...crazy fun, and one of mom and betsey in a rickshaw, mom's last wish before leaving Nepal...

We have termites!

It’s been a while since the last update. Sneha and I (mainly her though) have been really busy trying to illustrate and publish two children’s books and get the book from the workshop to press. It’s been very very stressful, to say the least. We have felt the runaround a few times, but we kept on pushing through. My mom and aunt Betsey also arrived a week ago. So, for a week or so I juggled them and work but now (!) we all have decided to take a break. Before we left for our five day vacations, Sneha and I went to the school to attend a celebration for the 10th graders who passed their SLC exams. We paid a visit to the library as well since we haven’t really been there for a few weeks. And guess what? The beautiful wood furniture is being eaten by termites! I’m thinking it’s likely the termites came with the furniture because the other wooden furniture in the school is in tact, but we’ll need to do some investigation and get to the bottom of this. Two of the three books go to press this Sunday and the inauguration for the library is set (and not changing) for Friday, August 21st. I’ve gotten some great job offers, but I’m still waiting to hear from others. So, I think I’m going to try to stick around Nepal/India at least for a few weeks until I hear! Hopefully I can load more pictures soon!

Jackie

No reading necessary...PICTURES

Mom and Betsey have arrived! Here is what we are up to: Mountain Flight to see ye great mountain of the world, Monkey Temple to see monkeys, views, and such, and Bhaktapur Dubar Square to see lots of temples, potters square, etc... (thats in the opposite order it should be)

Keepin' Busy...

Namaste all! Things were crazy hectic the last few weeks. We have officially completed the book writing workshop with the 41 sixth graders! Whew. One weekend we had a workshop on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday back-to-back while library trainings were occurring. The library trainings were multipurpose and taught teachers and a handful of students how to catalogue the books in the library as well as discussed uses of the library and fun activities they can do. The trainings were Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of that same week. In the middle of all of this I got sick again, but this time with the worst sore throat I can remember having in a long time. One night I woke up and thought I couldn’t breath. Because we were so busy I knew it was important to get well quickly so I went to a local clinic, got lots of medicines and within two days I was back to normal! Oh in the midst of all of this we were running around the city taking pictures of different professions for the children’s book about profession in Nepal. Thankfully when I was sick Sneha’s friend, Nistha, accompanied Sneha to take the pictures. I am very grateful that she did that!

Now we are working on getting the three books published. We are mainly concentrating on the kid’s workshop book because we need copies of it for the inauguration of the library. We are also trying to finish taking pictures of all the professions for the professions book because it will be easy to put together. Then Sneha can concentrate on the illustrations for the cow book. I’m working on budget and preface and acknowledgements for the books as well as getting excited about job interviews and filling out lots of job applications. Hopefully I’ll get a bite somewhere! I’m also very very excited to see my mom and aunt who are arriving August 2nd. It’ll be nice to have some downtime after lots of work!

Reading and Reflection Nepal: Libraries, Reading, Writing

Much has happened since our last post! The library is now fully carpeted and painted a beautifully sky blue. The library furniture has also been made and delivered by a local carpenter and a few boxes of books have also arrived. The library is finally starting to take shape and just in time for the book writing workshop!



We selected the sixth grade class (all forty students) to participate in a book writing workshop. Altogether there are six workshops held Fridays and Saturdays for the children to explore different art mediums and writing as means of self expression. The first workshop was just an hour of games to break the ice. The next week we started intensive workshops where the kids got to create five different pieces of artwork using crayons, pastels, colored pencils, paint, and cutting paper. The next day was a mixture of reflection, writing, and drawing. This day, the kids discussed which mediums they enjoyed using the most, the winners were: colored pencils and paint! Then we shared what makes us sad and afterwards the children got the opportunity to write more in depth about this topic. Next, the kids drew what makes them happy. The drawings had a lot of detail and were very diverse in topics. After a lunch break, the kids finished their drawings and wrote about what they drew and what makes them happy. We will use these writing samples next week to help them decide what their final topic and picture will be for the book.



Another aspect of our project is writing, illustrating, and publishing two of our own children’s books so that a percentage of the royalties can go back to the library over a period of five years to help it grow. We have decided on the themes and topics of both books and now are in the process of illustrations. One will be an environmentally based book with animals looking for a new home because of dirt, pollution, deforestation, etc. The other one will be a picture book with different professions. Sneha, the photographer, will be taking real-life pictures to illustrate this book! We have lots of work to do and not that much time, but if Gettysburg has taught us anything it would be how to work under pressure.

Wedding Season Has Begun!

Not only are there billions of weddings happening state side, but it’s also wedding season in Nepal! Weddings are very very different here and take place over a week’s time with a different party, gathering, or task almost everyday. This week there have been two weddings in Sneha’s family. One wedding we were on the groom’s (a distant cousin) side and attended the two main parties, both held in beautiful five star hotels. Events vary depending on family and caste traditions. An interesting part of this cousin’s wedding is that the groom is from the Nawar caste and the bride is Tibetan so there were some differences in traditions which made for a slightly different wedding in terms of traditions. The first party was the engagement and when the groom came to get the bride. The timing of this event is very important and a priest is consulted so that the right date and time of engagement is used. The next party we went to for this wedding was three days later and is a huge celebration for both the bride and groom. The highlight of this party was GREAT food. We turned it into a four course meal that included falafel and hummus…need I say more?

Now onto the more exciting wedding: Shailee Di! Shailee is Sneha’s first cousin on her mom’s side. Her mom’s side is super close so it makes for some exciting (and sometimes dramatic) events. The really great thing about these events is that I’ve really been accepted as part of the family, given little tasks to do to help out, and just be a part of everything. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how well I can explain all the events, but I’ll tell you more or less what I saw and who was there. Where to begin? Before the wedding there are lots of parties and preparation on both the groom’s and bride’s side. So on Shailee’s side we started off with receiving gifts from the groom’s side. These gifts are received but returned to the groom’s house later in the week (except for the perishables) with even more gifts. Next, was a very informal mehndi or henna party with all the ladies on the bride’s side. We all got beautiful designs all over our hands that will last about a week or more. That night we went to one of Shailee’s uncle’s house and had a very small dinner party with some of the closest cousin’s and friends. The food was absolutely delicious especially with fresh sushi! A few days later the engagement took place between 2 and 5AM, which I definitely slept through. The next morning the groom came to get the bride at the Army Club. There were lots of traditions and pujas for the bride, groom, and family to complete so it lasted all morning and afternoon. One of the traditions is for the bride’s family (especially the girls) to hide the groom’s shoes and then bargain a price with the groom to get them back. That happened on this day too while Shailee was accepting gifts from family and friends. The day ended with the bride and groom getting into a horse drawn carriage. The guests are supposed to start crying for the bride as she leaves and follow the carriage out onto the road. It was such a long, warm day, however, that there weren’t too many tears. Then that night we (some of the closest girl cousins and friends) went to visit Shailee at her new home, which is at her in-laws. It was a long and exhausting day. Other events of the wedding week is a party hosted by the groom’s family when all the gifts are returned and the final party where everyone attends, eats great food, drinks great drinks, and dances all night long. That’s this upcoming Saturday and I’m really excited to wear my second saree!