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Published: July 12th 2011
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The second day of training started out great as the parents and other participants continued to drink in all of the information they are being given so they can try to better the lives of their children. They are so enthusiastic about learning and are so excited to use the strategies and techniques with the kids! Renee and I had some jewelry business to attend to (to raise money to keep Knowledge for People afloat) and we set off with Brayden, our photographer friend, to the heart of Kathmandu to find the people who made us the gorgeous jewelry that many of you now own. ☺ After a crazy taxi ride and then getting lost on foot, we met a man named Ghandi who led the way for us. We entered the bead stall in awe of the beautiful sparkly goodness that surrounded us. After what seemed like hours of calculating, color sorting, and sweating, we finally placed our order. We started heading back to Autism Care Nepal and Brayden began not to feel very well, so he went back to the hotel. Back at ACN, our fabulous trainers continued to work their magic. All of a sudden, poor Renee began
not feeling well either and came very close to passing out. After getting back to the hotel we found that Brayden was very ill and the two of them were out of commission and we still aren’t quite sure what caused it for both of them (they are both feeling much better now). In the meantime, I had broken out in small bumps all over my arms, shoulders and neck. We speculated heat rash and mosquito bites, but I just didn’t know. All I know was that it started on my left shoulder and had been spreading more each day. I was starting to worry because it kept getting worse. Low and behold, I spotted one of the culprits this morning. I took a photo of the creepy bug I saw in my bed, looked it up online, and sure enough, it was a bed bug. I wanted to vomit. I'm now wishing I had listened to my mom's suggestion of bringing meat tenderizer that she said helps with bug bites because my arms and shoulders are now textured with very itchy bumps. I’m just thankful it was me and not one of the others. Needless to say, we switched
hotels and are much happier now.
Renee and I had community autism presentations scheduled today, but she was too ill to go so Christine joined me. Meeakshi, a woman who works at a child development center in Nepal, picked us up for 40 minute taxi ride. After getting out of the taxi we had to hike up a not-quite-finished road for an hour (the only road leading to the village). It was a beautiful walk! Some of the children in the villages do the one hour hike every day back and forth for school. At one point, there were 4 or 5 cows running straight for us and behind them was an itty bitty little boy with his herding stick. Meenakshi asked him why he wasn’t on his way to school and he said he had to finish his work first. American kids need to stop complaining about their chores! We finally made it to the school and we were very impressed. They utilize their resources very efficiently and effectively. Christine saw some occupational therapy stuff they were doing that she was excited about. We attended the monthly parent meeting and the topic was wether or not they should
hit their children. It was in all Nepali, so we didn’t know what they were saying most of the time. After their discussion I was introduced and we had a dialogue about autism. They asked great questions and listened intently. This was the first time any of them had heard the word autism, yet there are many children who have it at least in nearby towns. We then observed some of the classrooms and it was really fun to watch. I’ll post some photos and try to upload some videos.
It began to rain heavily when it was time for us to leave. Meenakshi thought we should have the taxi take us back down instead of walking because the rain was not letting up. Think of a totally mud road getting even muddier from a downpour that had steep with a cliff plummeting down hundreds of feet just next to the road. I have to say that this is one of the most scared I have been while in a moving vehicle in a developing country. We were white-knuckled with hands on the door handle in case we had to jump out. We said we wanted to walk, but
he just kept on driving. We did think afterwards that he did a really great job, though, and maybe we were a little more scared than we needed to be. ☺
We had dinner as a team later on a roof top terrace that had an amazing view and great breeze. We had fun talking about our experiences so far. We have such a wonderful group! (scroll down for more photos)
Hope all is well with everyone!
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Tanya Savko
non-member comment
Stay well!
In spite of everything, I wish I could be with you! Thanks so much for blogging about your trip. It's like I'm reliving being there. One of my clients at work sells prayer flags made in Kathmandu, and I walked out to the warehouse today and took a deep breath - so many memories came flooding back! I hope your new hotel works out better and that no one else gets gets sick : (