Chris Mallon

The platform has dissapears and the bridge above you ceases to exist - it's just you and the air. The first thing you feel is accelleration. More than you have ever felt before - all you can tell is that your body is hurtling somewhere, but being so very high up, the landscape below and around you doesn't seem to move. Your senses are on overdrive, and your mind has remarkably few thoughts - simply trying to process everything that is happening, all the apprehention and fear that were with you just seconds ago never existed, and you are in a remarkably pure space. Then the unbelieveable happens, and the air catches you - cradling your body and outstretched arms. As you fall, your entire self is supported, and it is as if you are floating, ... read more

So as I'm deeply immersed in my first week of teaching, I'm starting to understand just what it is like to be a teacher. Firstly, you are given a subject which you know little to nothing about and asked to teach it to a bunch of kids. You may or may not know how old these kids are, where they are from, what they already know, how long you have to teach them, how many of them there are, or even where they will be at what time. After finding all this out and doing enough research to realize that this topic is WAY bigger than you originally thought, you have too little time to put together your lesson plan (this is when the stress starts to kick in). Then you actually get to start teaching ... read more

Today I was witness to something that is unbelieveably difficult to describe. I say that only because, being there, all I could think was that "this could only ever happen in Nepal!" Imagine the narrow semi-paved streets of many central Asian countries. Their tiny packed-in storefronts below colourful residential buildings, interspersed with greenspaces, behind lately-added and akward looking elecrical poles with their long rubbery wires. Then take those strees and pack them full - FULL - of people. At least 5000 per city block. This was the scene that myself and my seven companions were greeted with on our journey to see Machindranat. We couldn't see it yet, but after about ten minutes of crowd-navigating, we rounded a corner to see a sight which caused us all to do somewhat of a doubletake. In our present ... read more

Today I had the pleasure of getting to know my supervisor, Sidhi, a little better. We were taken to a few of the schools that we are to teach at, and we saw some of the projects which had been undertaken by ECCA (our organization - Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness). What really impressed me about today, however, was when Sidhi took us to Patan Durbar Square. Somewhat similar to Kathmandu Durbar Square, the central square of Patan (the former seat of the king of the area) is smaller and quieter, and alltogether more pleasant than its Kathmandu cousin. While it lacks the size, the grandure of the temples and palace to which it is home is not lacking. Sidhi took us around for a bit, and then invited us to "take rest" while we enjoyed ... read more

According to WikiTravel, Pokhara, Nepal is considered by many to be the most beautiful places on earth. After spending the weekend here, I was able to understand a small piece of their meaning. Pokhara is about 183km west of Kathmandu, and nestled in amongst lakes, mountains, and agricultural terraces. It has an almost cottage-like feeling to it, with a European flavour which makes you feel as if you have been whisked away to some hidden mountain paradise (well, maybe you have…). Leaving Kathmandu, the first think that struck me was how almost every hillside was terraced. When I say hillside, I refer to hundreds upon hundreds of meters of slopes, close to 45 degrees in their natural angle, which have been transformed into steps to grow corn and other crops. When you look at one of ... read more

After the relative leisure of my first week in Kathmandu, Orientation Week was a non-stop week of activities, classes, and general adventuring. It began with a trip to Durbar Square, which is the center of Kathmandu, and separates the “Lower City” from the “Upper City.” Generations ago, the King of Nepal had arranged Kathmandu such that the lower and upper classes didn’t frequently interact, in order to minimize conflicts (apparently). Durbar Square is the millennia-old centerpoint around which the city was built, and after which the city was named. The oldest building, of which I can’t recall the exact age, is built out of the wood of a single tree, and is well over 1000 years old. Despite this, it is still heavily used, and the wood itself doesn’t seem to have suffered much weathering. Around ... read more

In my second day in this wonderful country, I am deeply in the midst of culture shock - the phenomenon where you lose all familiar cues that you're used to and need to adapt to new surroundings. Kathmandu is very different from any city I have ever been in, and the people here - how they live their lives and carry themselves - is so different from Canada. My initial reactions to this place - with its semi-paved streets, few or no sidewalks, hundreds of random stray dogs, motorbikes that constantly sound their musical honks, "flexible" prices, and many other things which struck me as odd - were, I'm sorry to say, of shock. It is difficult to accept that there are ways of living which are so different from the Canadian standard! However, continuing to ... read more

So last night the plane touched down safely in Honk Kong international airport, and I was greeted by what seemed to be a place very similar to my home, except that there were fewer Cantonese signs (kidding - but seriously Hong Kong definitely has a bit of a Vancouver feel, or perhaps visa versa). Although I had originally planned to check into a hostel, I figured that I was exhausted from a few days of frantic packing, and should really check into a nice hotel. This turned out to be the best decision ever, because today I've been able to spend the day exploring Hong Kong Island with the hotel (and my 200-pound bag) only steps away. The architecture here is amazing - a mix of old-world Asia and ultra-modern North America. The night skyline is ... read more