Jan 9 (sat) 10:45 AM
Part-way through the epic pastry-making process:
“Easy to eat – difficult to make” –Pemba
Jan 11 (mon) 10:15 PM
Yesterday was a strike. The vehicles could not drive although there were some motorcycles that risked the punishment if they got caught. Raj told me that a general strike is supposed to be where people follow the strike if they agree with the topic. However, now the Maoist party tells businesses to shut down or the strike “or else” so it looks like they had a successful strike. School was closed and Pemba and I went to a monastery. The sky yesterday and today were actually a beautiful blue for the first time. I could see the mountains and I wasn’t choking on the polluted air. We walked many miles and it was a beautiful day. I would have liked to be in shorts and tank top while walking, but everyone was in coats and pants. I did have to go down to a T-shirt because I was just too warm. How are they in coats?!
Pemba and I went out for Thomba which is a millet wine and cheese momo with Yak cheese. Yum!!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Jan 8
Jan 8 (Fri) 10:40 PM
I think I am finally getting on a reasonable time schedule. Last night I slept for 12 hours and that is just what I needed. Today I taught actual lessons for the first time. I used a geometry lesson to get a feel for their mathematics abilities. The 7th graders couldn’t find the volume of a sphere with a string and ruler while the 9th graders did just fine. I didn’t go to my 8th grade classes because I was going to the orphanage. However, today was their talent show so it was at a different facility. It was the final cut of talents. Some kids danced, some sang and some gave performances through a speech that influenced their own lives and was a current event. I was more than impressed by all of them. The girls looked so beautiful and the boys had a ton of creativity and charisma. Most talents were traditional Nepali dances performed by young girls. However, one girl danced to a modern Nepali song and one boy actually danced to Michael Jackson. I find he was very influential in this society. When choosing characters [for a debate lesson] one student at Samata wanted to be MJ. This performance at the talent show was 100% MJ and his name has come up one or two more times. Strange…
I took a taxi for the first time today. Pemba put me on one to get to the UP office and it went fine (it was only 200 RS [or like $3]). Binita put me on a taxi home and negotiated for 350 Rs which was reasonable since it was dark and night rides cost more. However, this driver upped the price to 600 Rs when we got there. I only had 500’s and needed change so I lied and told him I only had one 500. Pemba was upset when I told him I had to pay 500 Rs to get home…now I know what to do. I am starting to get used to the traffic and don’t feel like I am going to die every trip…baby steps :)
I think I am finally getting on a reasonable time schedule. Last night I slept for 12 hours and that is just what I needed. Today I taught actual lessons for the first time. I used a geometry lesson to get a feel for their mathematics abilities. The 7th graders couldn’t find the volume of a sphere with a string and ruler while the 9th graders did just fine. I didn’t go to my 8th grade classes because I was going to the orphanage. However, today was their talent show so it was at a different facility. It was the final cut of talents. Some kids danced, some sang and some gave performances through a speech that influenced their own lives and was a current event. I was more than impressed by all of them. The girls looked so beautiful and the boys had a ton of creativity and charisma. Most talents were traditional Nepali dances performed by young girls. However, one girl danced to a modern Nepali song and one boy actually danced to Michael Jackson. I find he was very influential in this society. When choosing characters [for a debate lesson] one student at Samata wanted to be MJ. This performance at the talent show was 100% MJ and his name has come up one or two more times. Strange…
I took a taxi for the first time today. Pemba put me on one to get to the UP office and it went fine (it was only 200 RS [or like $3]). Binita put me on a taxi home and negotiated for 350 Rs which was reasonable since it was dark and night rides cost more. However, this driver upped the price to 600 Rs when we got there. I only had 500’s and needed change so I lied and told him I only had one 500. Pemba was upset when I told him I had to pay 500 Rs to get home…now I know what to do. I am starting to get used to the traffic and don’t feel like I am going to die every trip…baby steps :)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Jan 7
Jan 7 (Thurs) 6:30 PM
Today was another fun day. I was supposed to start teaching today but they always told me ti was there free time so we always were playing games. An example is they would ask how many letters was in my Mom’s name and set up the alphabet in that number of columns. For Connie:
A b c d e f
G h I j k l
M n o p q r ….
And then ask what column each letter was in. So the first letter was in the third column and the second letter was in the third column so they would then make the entire column into a row:
C I o…
C I o…
And then ask again for the column. The first letter is in the first column so it is a c. The second letter is in the second column (and second row) so is an O. Anyway, they had a fun time “magically” knowing names in my family. They are also enjoying teaching me some Nepali. It has some differences to the language spoken in the house. For example, Shimboodoo [spelling is literal] means delicious in their culture but not in Nepali.
Some students from Oxford were at the school today teaching now to debate. The students seemed 100x more interested in that then my math lectures. I need to make them for interesting! I went to a Monastery with the family today. They had some kind of afternoon celebration. The building was beautiful so I will bring my camera next time. The food is still fantastic although they eat far too much and too foten, but you are supposed to finish the plate or it means you didn’t like it. So far every meal I have eaten until I felt like I was going to lose everything. I need to ask for smaller portions but I am already eating less than everyone else is.
I also went to Bouddha again today. I like that place a lot. It is touristy, but fun and cultural as well. Well, the lights just went out again even though they were only on for like 30 minutes and I am tired of writing in the dark.
Today was another fun day. I was supposed to start teaching today but they always told me ti was there free time so we always were playing games. An example is they would ask how many letters was in my Mom’s name and set up the alphabet in that number of columns. For Connie:
A b c d e f
G h I j k l
M n o p q r ….
And then ask what column each letter was in. So the first letter was in the third column and the second letter was in the third column so they would then make the entire column into a row:
C I o…
C I o…
And then ask again for the column. The first letter is in the first column so it is a c. The second letter is in the second column (and second row) so is an O. Anyway, they had a fun time “magically” knowing names in my family. They are also enjoying teaching me some Nepali. It has some differences to the language spoken in the house. For example, Shimboodoo [spelling is literal] means delicious in their culture but not in Nepali.
Some students from Oxford were at the school today teaching now to debate. The students seemed 100x more interested in that then my math lectures. I need to make them for interesting! I went to a Monastery with the family today. They had some kind of afternoon celebration. The building was beautiful so I will bring my camera next time. The food is still fantastic although they eat far too much and too foten, but you are supposed to finish the plate or it means you didn’t like it. So far every meal I have eaten until I felt like I was going to lose everything. I need to ask for smaller portions but I am already eating less than everyone else is.
I also went to Bouddha again today. I like that place a lot. It is touristy, but fun and cultural as well. Well, the lights just went out again even though they were only on for like 30 minutes and I am tired of writing in the dark.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Jan 7
Jan 7 (Thurs) 6:30 PM
Today was another fun day. I was supposed to start teaching today but they always told me ti was there free time so we always were playing games. An example is they would ask how many letters was in my Mom’s name and set up the alphabet in that number of columns. For Connie:
A b c d e f
G h I j k l
M n o p q r ….
And then ask what column each letter was in. So the first letter was in the third column and the second letter was in the third column so they would then make the entire column into a row:
C I o…
C I o…
And then ask again for the column. The first letter is in the first column so it is a c. The second letter is in the second column (and second row) so is an O. Anyway, they had a fun time “magically” knowing names in my family. They are also enjoying teaching me some Nepali. It has some differences to the language spoken in the house. For example, Shimboodoo [spelling is literal] means delicious in their culture but not in Nepali.
Some students from Oxford were at the school today teaching now to debate. The students seemed 100x more interested in that then my math lectures. I need to make them for interesting! I went to a Monastery with the family today. They had some kind of afternoon celebration. The building was beautiful so I will bring my camera next time. The food is still fantastic although they eat far too much and too foten, but you are supposed to finish the plate or it means you didn’t like it. So far every meal I have eaten until I felt like I was going to lose everything. I need to ask for smaller portions but I am already eating less than everyone else is.
I also went to Bouddha again today. I like that place a lot. It is touristy, but fun and cultural as well. Well, the lights just went out again even though they were only on for like 30 minutes and I am tired of writing in the dark.
Today was another fun day. I was supposed to start teaching today but they always told me ti was there free time so we always were playing games. An example is they would ask how many letters was in my Mom’s name and set up the alphabet in that number of columns. For Connie:
A b c d e f
G h I j k l
M n o p q r ….
And then ask what column each letter was in. So the first letter was in the third column and the second letter was in the third column so they would then make the entire column into a row:
C I o…
C I o…
And then ask again for the column. The first letter is in the first column so it is a c. The second letter is in the second column (and second row) so is an O. Anyway, they had a fun time “magically” knowing names in my family. They are also enjoying teaching me some Nepali. It has some differences to the language spoken in the house. For example, Shimboodoo [spelling is literal] means delicious in their culture but not in Nepali.
Some students from Oxford were at the school today teaching now to debate. The students seemed 100x more interested in that then my math lectures. I need to make them for interesting! I went to a Monastery with the family today. They had some kind of afternoon celebration. The building was beautiful so I will bring my camera next time. The food is still fantastic although they eat far too much and too foten, but you are supposed to finish the plate or it means you didn’t like it. So far every meal I have eaten until I felt like I was going to lose everything. I need to ask for smaller portions but I am already eating less than everyone else is.
I also went to Bouddha again today. I like that place a lot. It is touristy, but fun and cultural as well. Well, the lights just went out again even though they were only on for like 30 minutes and I am tired of writing in the dark.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Jan5/6
Jan 5 (Tues) 7:43 PM
We went on a city tour today (Andrew and I). We went to a famous/important Buddhist temple and Hindu temple. They are very different from each other. The Buddhist temple is also known as “the monkey temple” because there are a lot of monkeys there (lots of dogs too). The flags (5 colors) represent the five “parts” of humans or 5 “parts” of the earth. For instance, the blue meant sky and the yellow meant the body…I think. The guide spoke goo English, but not great English. The Hindu temple area you can’t go in so we walked around the area. The river going past is said to be holy water so they burn bodies and put the ashes into the river. It was overwhelming to watch people being burned even though they were pretty much all the way covered. They are dipped in the water until the entire family has gathered around and then placed on five levels of wood (that each represent something) and then burned. And people just sit and watch. And tourists take pictures.
After the tour, Andrew and I were taken to our host families. Mine is only 5 minutes from the school so I can walk there. Only the son knows English so he translates. He showed me around today and we are in a very neat part of town. I will enjoy walking around and exploring. My room is bigger than any other room I have had before with only a bed, bookshelf and closet. Pretty nice. Right now I am writing by candlelight because the city turns off lights for 8 hours a day. It is split into two 4-hour sections. It is fun because when the lights come back on everybody does a quick “yeah” and then continues doing whatever. I really like it here so far…and this home has real toilets!
Jan 6 (Wed) 8:45 PM
Today was the first day of school. It was stressful but fun. They wanted me to teach today but I have no idea what the students do and don’t know. It makes it difficult for me to teach productively. So today I just had a question/answer session in the classrooms about life in USA. Each class had one of two interested students. The rest like to make jokes and laugh in Nepali. I can’t tell if they like having me there or are simply unimpressed. I went to the market (fruit and veggies along the sidewalk) and saw that they measured weights by placing known weights on one place and hold up a balance to estimate. I am still tired but they don’t eat here until 9:00 PM. I think I might try and shower in the morning. Before I give my first actual lesson on the atmosphere.
They always ask my age, my family, and if I am married. When I tell them my sister is they get excited. Then they ask if I “have a partner.” One girl asked for David’s name and what qualities he had.
We went on a city tour today (Andrew and I). We went to a famous/important Buddhist temple and Hindu temple. They are very different from each other. The Buddhist temple is also known as “the monkey temple” because there are a lot of monkeys there (lots of dogs too). The flags (5 colors) represent the five “parts” of humans or 5 “parts” of the earth. For instance, the blue meant sky and the yellow meant the body…I think. The guide spoke goo English, but not great English. The Hindu temple area you can’t go in so we walked around the area. The river going past is said to be holy water so they burn bodies and put the ashes into the river. It was overwhelming to watch people being burned even though they were pretty much all the way covered. They are dipped in the water until the entire family has gathered around and then placed on five levels of wood (that each represent something) and then burned. And people just sit and watch. And tourists take pictures.
After the tour, Andrew and I were taken to our host families. Mine is only 5 minutes from the school so I can walk there. Only the son knows English so he translates. He showed me around today and we are in a very neat part of town. I will enjoy walking around and exploring. My room is bigger than any other room I have had before with only a bed, bookshelf and closet. Pretty nice. Right now I am writing by candlelight because the city turns off lights for 8 hours a day. It is split into two 4-hour sections. It is fun because when the lights come back on everybody does a quick “yeah” and then continues doing whatever. I really like it here so far…and this home has real toilets!
Jan 6 (Wed) 8:45 PM
Today was the first day of school. It was stressful but fun. They wanted me to teach today but I have no idea what the students do and don’t know. It makes it difficult for me to teach productively. So today I just had a question/answer session in the classrooms about life in USA. Each class had one of two interested students. The rest like to make jokes and laugh in Nepali. I can’t tell if they like having me there or are simply unimpressed. I went to the market (fruit and veggies along the sidewalk) and saw that they measured weights by placing known weights on one place and hold up a balance to estimate. I am still tired but they don’t eat here until 9:00 PM. I think I might try and shower in the morning. Before I give my first actual lesson on the atmosphere.
They always ask my age, my family, and if I am married. When I tell them my sister is they get excited. Then they ask if I “have a partner.” One girl asked for David’s name and what qualities he had.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Jan 4th
Jan 4 (Mon) AM
I am going through security to get to Kathmandu. It certainly is a lot more relaxed than the US. I needlessly threw out my water bottle. Oh well…my traveling is almost done. The other unique thing this time was they had men and women go through the lines separately.
Jan 4 (Mon) 9:30 PM
We just got back from dinner and are going to bed. I need rest! I ate as much as I possibly could and still only finished about 2/3 of what was given to me. It was a nice dinner place in an old palace. 5 traditional Nepali dances were performed while we ate. The chairs had no legs so my hips were cramping b the end of dinner. Today was a fun introduction for me and Andrew (the other volunteer here) with a coordinator lady. It is cool because the place that works with UP [United Planet] is also a well known eco-tourist place. Examples -> the restaurant we went to tonight serves mineral water in clean cups rather than giving us each a plastic bottle. I had an “Everest” beer which I really enjoyed. Nepal is fun, but the streets are as bad if not worse than those in Kenya. More late, I’m tired and am excited for a horizontal bed rather than a chair to sleep in!
I am going through security to get to Kathmandu. It certainly is a lot more relaxed than the US. I needlessly threw out my water bottle. Oh well…my traveling is almost done. The other unique thing this time was they had men and women go through the lines separately.
Jan 4 (Mon) 9:30 PM
We just got back from dinner and are going to bed. I need rest! I ate as much as I possibly could and still only finished about 2/3 of what was given to me. It was a nice dinner place in an old palace. 5 traditional Nepali dances were performed while we ate. The chairs had no legs so my hips were cramping b the end of dinner. Today was a fun introduction for me and Andrew (the other volunteer here) with a coordinator lady. It is cool because the place that works with UP [United Planet] is also a well known eco-tourist place. Examples -> the restaurant we went to tonight serves mineral water in clean cups rather than giving us each a plastic bottle. I had an “Everest” beer which I really enjoyed. Nepal is fun, but the streets are as bad if not worse than those in Kenya. More late, I’m tired and am excited for a horizontal bed rather than a chair to sleep in!
Monday, June 14, 2010
And We're Back!
From the beginning, here are all of my actual journal entries. The first few might be a little boring so I will give you two to start with:
Jan 2 (Sat)
I left Seattle for my flight to Chicago. It was difficult t leave but I know it will be worth it. I am doing something I always dreamed of doing. It is finally real. From Chicago I got on my 13+ hour plane ride to Abu Dhabi.
Jan 3 (Sun)
The plan ride wasn’t bad because I slept for most of the time. Right now (in Abu Dhabi) I am 12 hours ahead of time back home. Ever since I left Seattle I have been eating dinner. It just happens that when I get hungry is always dinner in my time zone. This last meal I had at the airport (chicken kabobs, rice and chocolate ice cream) didn’t settle well because I ate it at 10:00 AM back home. I feel good now and am sitting and reading Twilight. It is dark out so I can’t see anything right now. The airport is very American, although it does have separate “prayer rooms” near each of the bathrooms. Back to reading….
Jan 2 (Sat)
I left Seattle for my flight to Chicago. It was difficult t leave but I know it will be worth it. I am doing something I always dreamed of doing. It is finally real. From Chicago I got on my 13+ hour plane ride to Abu Dhabi.
Jan 3 (Sun)
The plan ride wasn’t bad because I slept for most of the time. Right now (in Abu Dhabi) I am 12 hours ahead of time back home. Ever since I left Seattle I have been eating dinner. It just happens that when I get hungry is always dinner in my time zone. This last meal I had at the airport (chicken kabobs, rice and chocolate ice cream) didn’t settle well because I ate it at 10:00 AM back home. I feel good now and am sitting and reading Twilight. It is dark out so I can’t see anything right now. The airport is very American, although it does have separate “prayer rooms” near each of the bathrooms. Back to reading….
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