Last Week to Make Donations!!!!!!

My sincere apologies for not updating my blog in ages! I was trekking for two weeks, and since I've been back I've had so many things I need to do before I leave Nepal that I've hardly had time to sit and remember what the date is. :P It's been a busy few weeks!

I only have 9 more days left in Nepal, and only 5 more days to raise €524.00 for the Umbrella Foundation.  'Tis the season to give after all right? Give a little, give a lot, tell your friends, spread the word! :)

The Umbrella Foundation is doing some amazing work for the children of Nepal and I have LOVED the past three months that I have spent volunteering with them.  The 28 boys in my house are like brothers to me and my wish for this Christmas is that the Umbrella Foundation will be able to continue supporting them, which is only possible through donations from wonderful people like yourselves. :)

It only takes 5 minutes and it's completely safe and legit, I promise! And you'll get that happy feeling for having done something good. :)

Donate here:
http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jewelinnepal/

Read more about the Umbrella Foundation here:
http://www.umbrellanepal.org/

See some photos of the beautiful boys I get to work with here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152055838660442.899716.636050441&type=1&l=a5281612c0

and here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152182390905442.920345.636050441&type=1&l=64e09f4b00

Please. Please. Please. Please. Please!  With a cherry on top! :D

Wholesale Chaos at Kalamati Bazaar

I did not write the following. But it's a fantastic description of the market I visit every Monday and Friday with my house father to buy vegetables for Umbrella. 

'Wives haggle with shopkeepers as bored husbands carry their purchases, checking into their mobile phones out of habit. Cauliflowers are sniffed, fruits bit into, and tomatoes squeezed. Fish wither their last in buckets of dark water, oblivious to their imminent death at the hands of the dark heavy man hovering about. The place buzzes with activity, with an organized chaos that is ubiquitous to city life.

The mood of the place injects a caffeine-like rush in us as we take photos, get out of peoples' ways and counter curious gazes with half smiles. The largest vegetable market in the capital, it sees people from as afar as Panauti [approx. 32Km away] bring in their fresh produce, fruits, vegetables, fish. And people from as far or even further away flock here to buy it from them at wholesale rates.'

The photos that accompanied the article are much better than mine.  But at least you can get a feel for what it's like. :) 

Motorcycle parking

Green leaf produce area

Carrots and turnips

Sourcing out good green beans

Inside Kalimati Market, wholesale area

Those are bags of potatoes. 

The loaded delivery van

This weeks purchases on the porch of the office, waiting for representatives from each house to come collect their share 

A Day in the Park and a trip to Gatlang

One of the final Dashain activities was a day out to Balaju Park.  One of the volunteers brought his ropes and harnesses and hooked up a line up a tree for the kids.  They had a great time competing to see who could scale the tree the fastest.  The best time was 11 secs. :) 

And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo.  Everyday you see quite a few. 

It took team effort to get Raju up.  He loved every minute of it!

Volunteers, hard at work :)

Even in Nepal, we celebrated Halloween! 

I made a butterfly costume out of my sari :) 

Us volunteers took a few days off to visit a village up in the Langtang area of Nepal where a few of Umbrella's kids have been re-integrated.  It was an amazing trip!

Women carry these HUGE bundles of greenery. We'd see them walking on the side of the road, apparently in the middle of nowhere. From behind they look like big green blobs with legs. ;)

Small villages built on the hillside

Riding the bus, Nepali style!

Drying corn

We visited the house of a previous Umbrella child who has since been re-integrated with their family.  This is the view from their doorstep 

I always read this as 'toilet' :P 

Such amazing views!

I'm not entirely sure what these are.  They covered the base of the stupa in the above photo

The inside of our homestay.  This room served as kitchen/living room and dining area

The school yard

The local school 

We hiked up to a small pond/marsh area that is the site of a monastery.  More amazing views :)  

A yak cheese 'factory' at 2,700m.  We tried some, it was delicious! 

I'm not sure what this sign means....

That's the road we travelled, it was as bad as it looks.  There were many 'oh shit we're gonna die' moments.  We survived :) 

Looking over the edge of the bus, and straight down.  There was no edge of the road, only down

Picture Postcard Perfect!