Saved Drafts

I've been meaning to write this post for ages, but I never have the time.  I still don't really have the time, I should be doing one of the million things I have to do before I leave Nepal.  But I'm writing this blog instead.

Anyway.

I've never had the best memory, so whenever I see/hear sayings/words/jokes/whatnot, I write them down in my phone and save them as a draft.  I've been doing this for the past three months in Nepal, so there's quite a list and I've wanted to go though it and remember what I saved.  So here's the list:

1- If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it
2 - An old lady in a dress was walking home with  her groceries when she slipped and fell on a patch of ice.  Her groceries went everywhere.  As she was trying to find all the items, she asked a man going by, "Did you see my butter fly?" He replied, "No, but I did see a big black moth."
3 - "The none existent Australian Embassy or the dingy Fire Club.  Such  a tough decision."  (We were trying to decide where to go out one evening after eating out and a Nepali guy at the table next to ours said there was a party happening at the Australian Embassy.  Mac, the volunteer coordinator for Umbrella, was quite sure that the Australians don't have an embassy in Kathmandu.  Our other possibility was going out to Fire Club, a super dingy, sketchy, loud, dirty dance club, full of creepy old Nepali men. :P Tough choice eh?
4 - Noon - salt in Nepali.  Thakyo - tired (Very important words to know :)
5 - 'For the first day of trekking, a nine hour bus to Sephru. And I'm going to the Langtang Himalayas' (While I was trekking, I was trying to come up with lyrics for 'The Twelve Days of Trekking.'  I didn't have a pen and paper to write down my ideas while I was hiking, so I saved them in my phone :)
6 - 'Love is a chain of nature' (Seen on a poster in one of the tea houses we stopped while trekking)
7 - 'Fish and Cheeps' (A sign for fish and chips)
8 - 'When you're traversing an unlit road that's barely two lanes wide and isn't straight for more than 100m and is occupied by monster lorries, huge buses, the odd tractor or wayward four legged animal, with motorcycles weaving in and out, sixty clicks is fast!'  (This is what was going through my head on the jeep ride back to Kathmandu)
9 - 'Devighar and Galchhi, Trisuli River' (two towns we drove through and the river we rode along on the way back to Kathmandu, it was STUNNING.  I wanted to remember the names, on the off chance I had time to go back, but it didn't work out)
10 - 'I wish you blue birds in the spring to give your heart a song to sing. And then a kiss, but more than that I wish you love.' (written on the wall in a pub in Thamel)
11 - 'Going on a date with your lover? Now know the dating tips to impress your love.' (One of the many spam texts I get from NCell, the main phone company in Nepal).
12 - 'Politicians are like diapers.  They need to be changed often, and for the same reasons' (Written on the wall of a pub in Thamel).
13 - 'Beer: now cheaper than gasoline, so don't drive, drink' (written on the wall of a pub in Thamel)
14 - "Afghanistan was hard core in the sense that there were bombs" (An expat comparing the dangerousness of Afghanistan and Africa)
15 - 'The Honk and Holler Opening Soon - Billie Letts' (A book I need to read)
16 - 'Dress Classy, Dance Cheesy' (Excellent advice!)
17 - 'Dance Lalla with nothing on but air, Sing Lalla wearing the sky.  Look at this glowing day! What clothes could be so beautiful, or more sacred?' (A saying on the back of a book I found while perusing though the bookshop)

What would we do without cell phones?

:)

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!

Dashain Festivities and More!

So much to write about this week!

(Note: I've written this on Oct. 25Th, and I've just realized that it's two months till Christmas. I'm sure that back home, and in any country where Christmas is a big holiday, the stores have already started selling Christmas decorations, having Christmas sales, playing Christmas music, etc. (Has Starbucks started selling it's Christmas drinks yet?) But here in Nepal, where Christmas isn't a holiday, there's nothing to remind you that the biggest commercial holiday in the Western world is just around the corner. Just a thought.)  

The highlight of this past week was definitely the overnight trip to Nagarkot, but before I write about that, here's a few photos and snippets of some other stuff that's been going on:

In which I learn from a lama:

In my English class, there is a 9-year old monk-in-training, called a lama. But he's no ordinary lama, he's THE (a?) reincarnated lama. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I do know that it makes him special. But to me, he's just a 9-year old boy in my English class. The other day though, I was reminded of his specialness when he taught me a few words in Tibetan? (I'm not sure of the language) and their corresponding hand gestures. After teaching me, he started a chant that included the words and gestures he'd just taught me.

Learning Nepali

While I teach English, my students in turn teach me a few words and phrases in Nepali. I then take these words and try them out with the cook in Kanchanjunga. Her English isn't the best, but it's better than my Nepali. :) Some of my favourite moments have been sitting on a stool in the kitchen, asking her to teach me words in Nepali and having part English part Nepali conversations.     

Some of the youth boys are training to be trekking guides. A group of trekkers came to visit Umbrella, and meet some of the boys who will be acting as their porters. We helped them make trail mix bars :)

On the spice called 'ceseum'

Does anyone know what spice this is?? The cook in Kanchanjunga uses it in am amazing cucumber/potato salad, and it's DELICIOUS!!! The only ingredients are potatoes, cucumbers, salt, lemon juice, this spice ceseum and sauteed green chillies. I would love to be able to make it at home, if only I knew what ceseum was. :)

Late night snacks

Last Thursday, after the weekly quiz, we hung around the pub until it closed and we were kicked out. (It was only 12:30, but Kathmandu closes early, there's almost not night-life). One of the Irish lads who works for Umbrella asked if anyone wanted a ride home on his bike. Surprise, surprise, my hand shot up. I've discovered I LOVE riding on the back of motorbikes. :) It was only after we set off that I realized getting a ride from from someone with a few drinks in him (even if he is Irish), through the treacherous streets of Kathmandu may not be the best idea. Oh well. Too late now. We stopped for late nights snacks on the way back. A few food vendors were set up on the side of the road, selling mo-mos, fried veggies and chow-mein. I shared a bowl of mo-mos with a friend and tried not to think about the hygiene of the food cart, or the food cart vendor. :P They were tasty mo-mos!  

In celebration of Dashain, goats and buffalo are ritually sacrificed in temples. I missed the actual killing, but I saw the aftermath (that's blood) 

Nine month milestone

As of October 17th, I've been gone for nine months. NINE!!!!!!! And it's less that two months till I fly back to N. America. I can't wait. :)

Going to the Cinema, Nepali Style

As one of the Dashain activities, we took all the kids to the cinema. It was fantastic. We took the bus there, and made it just as the opening credits were starting. It was 8:15am. I've never been to the cinema that early! We'd chosen to take them to a Hindi film, “Student of the Year.” Although it was in Hindi, everyone here know Hindi, because a majority of the TV shows they watch are in Hindi. Unfortunately for us volunteers, we don't understand Hindi, and there weren't any subtitles. However, it was a Bollywood film, and a lot can be guessed from their facial expressions, and there were enough shots of hot guys to keep us occupied. ;) And the music and dancing was quite entertaining. :) Us girl volunteers have decided that we need to find a DVD copy, with subtitles.   

One of the most important events for Dashain is the Tikka ceremony, where the elders put a red tikka on the foreheads of their family and often hand out treats and money.  As these kids didn't go home for the holiday, we had a Tikka ceremony for them here. 

Nagarkot

By far the most exciting Dashain activity for the kids was the overnight trip to Nagarkot, a small village on the edge of Kathmandu Valley. We all loaded into a bus for the 1.5hr drive up, up, up. We had a fantastic time!  The rest of the photos are from our trip.    

THE ONLY paved road with lines that I've seen in Nepal AND it's divided, like a proper highway! It was almost like being back home! ;)

This is a fabulous photo of the lads! So much happiness 

The volunteers (and one lad) playing a game of Werewolf 

One of the lads took this photo.  I think it's brilliant! 

DINNER!!! It was a buffet meal.  The kids PILED the food on their plates.  They don't get to eat as much as they want very often.  

It's not the best photo, and doesn't do justice to the amazingness that was the sunrise.  But this is sunrise over the Himalayas.   FINALLY I SAW SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAINS!!!! 

We walked up to a viewing tower and on the way passed though army land.  This is a sign I saw on the side of the road. 

MOUNTAINS!!!! 

:)

This is Rasu, a special needs lad.  He needed a little boost getting up the tower :)  

EVERYONE!!!! 

The bus ride home

The winding road down 

Riding a bus, Nepali style.  Thankfully we had enough seats in our bus :)