Jan 31

This is my last blog post until I get back from the village. I am really excited for the trek. It will just be a United Planet worker and I going on the trip. We leave in the morning (on Monday) and will reach Sermathang on Friday. I hear we have around 4 hours to trek each day and stop at villages along the way. There is one village that is higher than the rest along the way what I possibly might get altitude sickness at. However, my guide is trained in what to do and they don't suspect it will be a problem.

My new home is supposed to have solar energy so that warm showers are available! I am looking forward to that. And it is a no-kill zone so very little meat is being eaten. Both of those things are going to be good for me I think. I have been getting sick a lot recently just because I am stressed with the new change coming up I think. I am going to be out of pollution and in a very natural area shortly and expect to feel better with the more fresh food and fresh air. The exercise should be great as well!

I am planning on being back on March 17th. However, all plans are fluid in Nepal so it is difficult to say exactly. I am getting back early to do some vacationing before I leave so that is why I am coming back so much earlier than March 22 when my plane leaves.

So, I will miss blogging and am sorry that I am unable to keep it up. I will miss the contact with everyone but am looking forward to the adventure. Thank you all for your comments and I will talk with you all in a month and a half!

Happy Birthday Lisa! I love you and miss you!

Jan 29 part 2

I leave for Sermathang on Monday! That is about three days sooner than I was expecting so I hope I am ready. The kids love "quiz day" which is just the teacher coming up with random questions and giving points to the team who can answer first. Therefore, I got the school a 'trivial pursuit for kids' game (thanks Max!!) so the students can play and learn when they have leisure time (which they do several periods each day). It is cool because it is questions about the Asian culture rather than American culture like ours are. We will play with that on Sunday, my last day in the school :(

I haven't written in a while because I have been so busy having fun! Last Friday I hung out with the female teachers during lunch and they did my eyebrows. They use string that basically rolls the hairs up in the string and then rips them out. I am aparently a huge wimp because my eyes wouldn't stop watering and I bled a little. They got a good laugh and I love the new shape of my eyebrows! They are so sweet and I am sad I am just gettting to know them now that I am leaving.

Saturday I went to a picnic with the family and loved it. I met a lot of people who will be up in Sermathang since my family is originally from there. It was a fun day and I got to walk around the National Botanical Gardens. Most of the plants were common plants that we have in our gardens at home. Lots of christmas cactus and spider plants! It was fun to see what they eat at picnics (sandwiches, potatoes and beaten rice) rather than hamburgers and hotdogs.

Monday I went to Baktapur (sp?) at another Samata school and met some people from California and Australia who were giving scholarships for some of the girls to go to college. That is a huge deal because these kids who are in Samata schools (like the one I am in) are from famillies that can't afford education and pay Rs 100 per month (around $1.50). It was great to see the girls smile when they found out they had been chosen for the scholarships. It was also Uttams birthday so we had rice pudding. Well, that meant that I was sick all the next day and just slept and drank water. I woke up find the following day and have been trying to post since. I will post at least once more before I leave if the internet lets me. I doubt I have internet contact in Sermathang but I return to Kathmandu on March 17. Then I am doing some tourist travel before I leave for home on March 22.

Jan 29

This is the third time I am trying to post. The electricity goes out just when I am about done every time and I lose everything. So I am going to do this in sections so I can at least get something posted. First, to answer some questions:

1) We did make all that Kaphse in the little fryer. It took literally all day and we were all tired by the end of the day. My host mom and Nowang, her daughter, took turns cooking it while the others made the mix and pressed it and cut it.

2) I have been food shopping because it is just along the road. There are meat markets, fruit markets and vegetable markets along the main road that you just have to walk up to and choose your food. The meat markets are hard to get used to becaust the cut meat just sits there with flies on it util someone decides to buy it. I haven't eaten very much meat here....

3) Clothes to bring: most people wear jeans and a zip-up jacket. I am happy with what I brought - two zip-up jackets, a hoodie sweatshirt and a coat to go over a variety of sweaters and T-shirts. Two pairs of jeans have worked out nicely. Don't bring anything with any white on it, especially socks (you have to wash by hand and it isn't worth it). I wear tennis shoes although the girls wear little heels with socks and the guys wear dress shoes. I am happy in tennis shoes. However, March is the rainy season and I hear that means a lot of rain. So I guess be thoughtful about that.

4) I did get my dress and I love it! It is fancy and practical. I haven't worn it to school yet because i wasn't feeling well recently and I just lounged around in my sweats for a day and a half. Anyway, I am excited to show you all!

Finally Some Pictures

Here I am after being blessed for the new year in the family's prayer room. This happens before we eat food and drink beer for the rest of the day. I was sick this day so just I was mostly in charge of taking pictures and enjoying the experience.



Here is the making of Kaphse (I am not sure on the spelling) which is the special treat during the New Year. We are still eating it and I am still very much enjoying it!






Here are the finalists for a talent show that I went to early on. All the children involved are from orphanages, some of them were from the orphanage that United Planet volunteers often work at. They were so cute and amazing at dancing, singing and giving speeches.


This is at the temple of Shiva that is the other location we went to while on the city tour.









This is one of the more well known Buddhist temples that the locals call "monkey temple" because there are a lot of monkeys that hang around it. This was during the city tour that United Planet sent us on during the first full day in Kathmandu.

Jan 20

Today was another festival day but not for the family that I am staying with. So there was no school again and I stayed home to read and wash clothes again and shop for a new dress. I decided that I needed something to wear for festivals even though I don't really stand out with jeans and a sweater. Anyway, the dress that my family wears is a little different...I would compare it to the geisha dress without the huge sash around the waste and a little more free flowing. It has beautiful fabric and wraps around the body and is very conservative. I got one so that I will have something to wear in the village if there is a time to wear it. I am so tall here that I had to have it specially made which was alright because then I got to choose the fabric I wanted for the dress and the blouse that goes underneath. It is beautiful deep blue dress with a cream colored blouse.

I have a quick recipe for you all to try if you want. It isn't anything special and I don't know how well it will turn out from me just watching and guessing. They don'tmeasure anything so I just had to kind of guess what the quantities were. Anyway, it is something to play with. I had it for lunch yesterday along with seasoned spicy potatoes.

1 Tbs cumin
2 cloves sliced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 sliced carrot
2-3 c sliced cabbage (theirs is different so would try either spinach or bok choy...)
3+ c day-old rice

cook the veggies with the seasonings in oil until slightly tender and then add the rice until warm. It is one of my favorites. Cumin (if they told me the right spice) is something we use a lot here!

Have a great day and I will try to post again soon!

Jan 19th

I did get my clothes all washed and dried the other day. It took forever and a half so I think I am going to use a local laundry service before I leave for the village. I had washed all my nice sweaters and jeans and it took two days for it all to dry hanging in the sun. Therefore, I was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt on the new year festival day. Oh well, I stand out enough here that I doubt anyone really noticed. Plus, nobody every says anything about what you wear because people simply wear what they have available to them. The female teachers at school wear the type of clothes you would probably traditionally think of when you think of Nepal or Inida. It is the bright, baggy pants and the shirts that are more like knee-length dresses with slits from the bottom to the hips. The key is all the colors are bright...I am not sure how to explain it so when I post pictures I will try to show one of those. A lot of people do wear jeans, though. I look out of place simply because my clothes are a little cleaner and I am fairly tall here...and I look quit different in general. As I said before, though, people look at me because I stand out not because they have anything against me or are being mean. The children on the streets often run up to me to say "hello" and are very proud that they just spoke English.

Yesterday the Nepali Prime Minister came to the school. It, of coarse, was a big deal including armed guards and snipers on rooftops. I got to play reporter as I happened to have my camera that day. I was taking pictures of the students' engineering projects and so was happy that my camera came in such good use today. The event was in the newspaper. I was dissapointed I was not in the background of the picture they used, but one of the reporters did notice me and wanted to talk to me before I left the school about my experiences. I dont know if that would go anywhere, but it would be cool. The students were very excited that the Prime Minister came to see them! A few of them even got interviewed by reporters and they looked happy beyond words and very proud of their school. There was a little show for the Prime Minister that the young children put on and then he, along with two other imortant people who had come, each gave a small inspirational speech. They had come to this school because it has been in the paper so often over the last week or two. He wanted to come and get good publicity while showing his support for the school.

Anyway, needless to say the project was delayed again today so the students are going to start that today rather than yesterday. I am learning some new Nepali words and also learned to make tea yesterday. I like it a lot and hope I can replicate it when I get back to The States. The tea is almost half milk (which they buy in plastic bags!).

Jan 17th

I called Steven today to wish him HAPPY BIRTHDAY because it is still Jan 16th back home. Yesterday (Nepal's Jan 16th) was the first day of the new year. I think it is year 2157 or something like that. I wrote it down in my journal but can't remember now that I am sitting at a computer in an internet cafe. It is much later than 2010, that is for sure. The celebration traditionally goes 15 days but my family will celebrate for about the first five. Each day they have dinner at a different house. Yesterday they went around and said prayers at each house and drank beer or tea and today the dinner at each family member's house starts. We went to four houses yesterday so by the end of the day there was a lot more celebrating as a lot more beer had been consumed. I took lots of pictures but didn't drink any beer.

Another celebration was on Jan 15th for a different culture. They were celebrating the new year as the year of the tiger. It is difficult to keep track of this new culture because there are so many different cutures here in Nepal that I am not learning about just one, but about many.

I took the day off of school today because I am not feeling well. I have just a normal cold but it has made me more tired than any cold back home. I have been doing a lot of sleeping the last two days. The food is still fantastic. When I am sick I get more noodles rather than more potatoes and rice. The quick noodles that I get are very similar to ramin back home but they put vegetables in it, which is nice.

I realized I haven't said much about how we eat here. There is not a dining room table like there are in most homes back in The States. In my house here there are three couches along each wall in the room. The fourth "wall" to the dining room is a curtain that separates the kitchen area from the dining area. Two of the couches are just a few inches off the floor while the third (the one I sit at most often) is probably just an inch shorter than most chairs back home. The tables are a foot wide and go the length of the couches and are at the level of my knees when sitting on the high couch. You have to really lean over to eat at the table! So the family pretty much sits in a circle at their own spot on the table. The food is dished for everyone so we don't get much of a say in how much we consume. My favorite food so far are the oranges (like tangerines back home) and the cabbage (that is put in almost every meal). The soups are fantastic and do a good job of keeping me warm. It will be colder in the village so I need to get used to being a little cold. I have been told they drink a lot more roksi (rice wine) to "keep the bones warm."

Sorry if I haven't been answering everyones questions. I read the comments and then post again and sometimes forget all that was asked. It takes a long time to go from page to page here so usually don't want to spend the time to look things back up. Feel free to ask the questions again if you want to know!!!!! Well I am going to go home and rest some more. It is not fun being sick! Have a great weekend everyone!

Jan 13

I actually can only see the very tip of one of the mountains in the Himalayas. When I go to the village I will be able to see more (less pollution and more views). Kathmandu is in a valley and you have to see past the smaller mountains around it to see the Himalayas. Everest is not near Kathmandu and even when flying into and out of Kathmandu I will not see it. They have a lot of "everest" things here, though. My first dinner here I had Everest beer and it was good.

Thank you for the great experiment ideas! Those are things that would be easy to buy materials for, which is the challenge. I think we might also try to construct bridges and see how much they can hold. This friday is another holiday. Saturday is new year. It will be a fun weekend. Then I will be half way done with my time in Kathmandu. Then there is a week of trekking to the village where I will spend the rest of my time. Today I shared pictures from home. They all think Anna is "beautiful," David is "handsome," Steven is "very tall" and that my family all look the same. They also thought Mom and Dad looked very young and some students thought Mom was my sister :) They always laugh at the name Don because I guess he is a villain in either their religion or stories they all know. Anyway, they enjoy that. They thought the catfish picture was very cool and were happy to hear that we eat such things.

The electricity is turned off simpy to save electricity. They also discourage the use of plastics, which is a lot because many people drink bottled water. The people who run United Planet here also work for Social Tours which is a Nepal tour agency known for being environmentally sound and socially aware. As an example, they tell me about restaurants that filter their own water rather than sell bottles and they support the local orphanages financially and with volunteers. Since they are a tour agency I might look into doing some other adventures while here through them. Anyway, aside from there being no garbage cans other than the sidewalk, Nepal is working towards being an environmentally friendly country.

I need to go home now and learn how to wash my clothes. I wear pretty much the same thing every day and it has been over a week now. The family I stay with has a lady that comes to clean the clothes but I guess she has been unavailable this past week.

Jan 12

I live on the 3rd floor and spend a lot of my time in the living room there (across from my room) or on the roof (the 6th floor) where I can see the top of some of the mountains on clear days.

The students all ask for science experiments so I am thinking of small things that I can buy for the school that allows them to do science experiements. Even a beaker or graduated cylinder would be great. Any ideas? So far I have measuring water flow, playing with magnets...and some math games with flashcards and dice. I need help :)

So two important things I forgot to mention because I am already getting used to them. The first is electricity. A comic was in the paper the other day that depicted two travelers getting shown to their room. The caption below read "this is your room. don't worry about turning off the lights, the government does that for us." The government turns out the electricity for 8 hours a day (2 - 4-hr segments). It usually is in the morning while I am at school and then when it gets dark from around 6 to 10. Most nights we eat, cook, talk, and read by candlelight. I actually like the simplicity. When the lights turn on there is a quick cheer and then everyone continues with whatever they were doing (or turns on the TV). It is a fun little surprise and makes a person appreciate the little things in life :)

The other is the traffic. I have to cross the road to get to school and every day I feel like I should be so elated that I made it. Nima told me to "just walk, they won't hit you." So far that has worked! There are no traffic lanes and there are no traffic rules. when going around a corner they honk to see if someone is coming on the other side and they honk if they are coming. That way they know to try and stay on their own side. Very very few people drive something other than a motorcycle. They are the best because they can sneak thru stalled traffic. Lots of fun :) I don't almost scream when in a taxi anymore because with this kind of traffic they never really get above 25 mph. It is just a little scary at times.

Well, best get home and take a shower...I mean a "bucket bath." There is no hot water so we heat up water in buckets and use a cup to rinse off. It is difficult to wash long hair in a bucket...but nothing that different from camping. It is better than a cold shower!

Life in Kathmandu

Nameste!
Sorry that I haven't written more lately. I have had easy access to phones and not so easy access to e-mail. Steven posts for me when I get a chance to talk to them without getting to a computer. I know where to go now. I was going to come to the internet cafe yesterday but there was a strike so none of the businesses were open. I guess they happen every once and awhile so there was no school so Pemba took me on a walk to a buddhist monestary. It was a great day for that because on strike days the vehicles are not allowed and so there is MUCH MUCH less pollution in the air. Anyway, I could actually see the mountains which was a big treat. The pollution here is bad and many people wear face masks to breathe better. I think I will get one here shortly as I have already noticed coughing more often.
The school is a short 5 or 7 minute walk from my home. People look at me because I stand out a bit, but they usually smile and say "hello" or "nameste." The children especially get excited about saying hello in english. The school (Samata School) is made of bamboo and has probably almost 15 classrooms. There are only chalkboards in the classroom and the chalkboards are concrete covered in a black material that works only reasonably well. Some classrooms don't have erasers so the students give me a crumpled piece of paper to basically scratch off the chalk. Today I tried to do more lessons with the 8th grade students (there are two 8th grade classes with 30 students each) and they also seriously lack algebra and geometry skills. They have a hard time focusing and I think it will take awhile before they think of time with me as a class rather than free time with the American.
The food is fantastic. Momo (dumplings or potstickers) are great. I think my favorite so far is cheese momo that had cabbage and yak cheese. I also had buffalo momo but that is very tough and strong-flavored meat...I wasn't too sure about it. I will come back looking a little different because the customs require you to finish every meal and they always serve up my plates for me. I eat until I physically can't eat anymore without getting sick almost every meal. This family actually eats 3 times a day, once when I wake up (which is about 7:00) once during my school lunch break (12:15) and then again when the dad gets home (around 8:00 or 9:00). Then I go to sleep around 10:00 and wake up to do it again. Anyway, women are supposed to carry a little "extra" because it shows that you eat well and are healthy. So I am supposed to be waiting for the day when I am called "fat" because it is a wonderful compliment to my lifestyle.
This will sound bad, but I don't really know all the names of the family yet. Pemba is my age and he and his younger brother speak english well. His older sister lives with her family in the lowest level of the house (which is 6 stories high) and also speaks english. The parents do not. I mostly sit and listen to their conversations even though I have no idea what is going on or watch the TV and make up whatever story I want. I like it because it allows me to be an observer without being antisocial. My words to the mom are mostly "shimbudu" which means delicious and "dangsi" which means enough. We mostly just smile at each other as I sit in the sun. Yes, it is winter in Nepal and sometimes I wish I coiuld be in a T-shirt and shorts. People here are wearing coats and pants and it is nearly 70 degrees outside. I have not bought any Nepali clothes yet, but that is on my list for the week.
New years starts this Saturday and is a 15 day celebration. We started this past weekend by spending an entire day (8:00-3:00) making a type of pastry that is special to new years. It is basically a deep fried flour dough. Shimbudu :) Also, there are three different "new years" because there are three different calendars. Traditionally, it is 2066 here I think right now. They do recognize the western calendar, though.
Thank you, everyone, for posting to me! It is a very nice treat to hear from you all. I will try to post more often now. It only costs 25 rupees (not even 50 cents) for an hour on the computer - which is good because the internet is painfully slow.
Have a great day everyone. I miss you all!
Carrie

The Class

The students are very well behaved. They ask to leave the room, ask to come in the room and always stand when a teacher enters or leaves the room. Before class they stand up and say "Good Morning Teacher!" and some classes say "Thank you for teaching us teacher" as I leave.

I did a geometry lesson today to see what their level was. 7th grade struggles with geometry a lot (expected) and 9th grade did just fine. I had them find the volume of a sphere using only a string and ruler. They had to find the perimeter to find the radius to find the volume. 9th grade had no problem but 7th couldnt figure out how to find the radius when given the perimeter in the equation P=2(PI)(radius). Now I know where to start from.

I'm here!

I made it here and have a cell phone the entire time so I can always been in contact (but not often). I tried to text steven but I don't know if it made it. I will try again soon. I am going to my host family today and get to go to the school tomorrow. I am loving Kathmandu - it is very very similar to Mombasa. I will live with one of the coordinators moms which is a 10 minute walk to the school. I get to use the internet here at the main office when I need to so I will try to get back as often as I can. I am doing very well, am eating well and am looking forward to this. I guess they only eat twice a day so i have jet lag and eating patterns to get used to.

I'll be in contact soon. We are getting read to go on a city tour. Oh, and I get to go on a five day treking adventure to get to my village in Feb. We will leave from Kathmandu and hike around 5 days to get there. Binita is doing it for the first time with me. I will be the first United Planet volunteer in this village. Lots more to say, but it will have to wait :)

In Abu Dhabi

I thought I had posted before, but I don`t see it now. So, anyway, I am sitting and waiting in the Abu Dhabi airport. The airport is very American so nothing too exciting or exotic yet. They do have special prayer rooms near almost all of the bathrooms here. I have 9 more hours before my flight. I ate dinner but felt kinda strange after. I think it a combination of nerves and bad timing (I had chicken kabobs, rice and ice cream for dinner when it was breakfast time at home so my body wasn`t ready). Anyway, the people in the airport are amazingly friendly and helpful. I haven't had to exchange money yet but did get my change from dinner in United Arab Emerites currency. I will probably just keep that. I have no idea how much it is worth but it is pretty cool.

I am now going to go find a nice spot (they have really nice lounge chairs here to rest in) and read the first Twilight book. I have 9 hours to finish it!

In Abu Dhabi

So far the trips are going well. There is free internet in the airport so I will blog once more before I leave. I have only been sleeping and eating since I left Seattle. Nothing exciting or exotic yet. This airport is as American as Chicagos was. More soon!

I'm Off!

Thank you for all of your supportive thoughts and words. I am heading out this morning for my trip. I hope the airlines aren't as bad as they are predicting! I will write soon (if I can find a computer)!