So yesterday afternoon those of us who were healthy enough went to Chobaar. It was a really pretty with a river and some caves but the caves were all blocked off so we couldn't go in. There were some nice views of Kathmandu though. Then we walked up to the Chobaar Buddhist Monastery. They were doing some sort of a ritual/chanting so we got to hear that. We couldn't go in, we got to see the outside which was intricately painted. And it was a nice walk getting there. It was good to get out of Kathmandu and away from all [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday we started language classes! We have them from 8:45-12 for the next 3 days. Just like any other language, you can't learn much in just a couple days, but we're mainly learning phrases that we might need to use so I think it will definitely be helpful. Today we were able to have a short conversation with a shopkeeper with hardly any English! After 2 days of classes! Nepali is nice because it sounds pretty much how it's written, not like French where it's crazy! And there aren't and crazy intonation rules like in Chinese so it's actually not too [View Full Entry]

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Today we moved to the RCDP hostel in Kalanki. RCDP is the Rural Community Development Program and they are the organization that we are doing our volunteer work through. Their hostel is basic, but not bad at all. It's still in Kathmandu, just more on the outskirts out of the main city area. We'll be here for the rest of the week taking language classes before leaving on Saturday to go to a village for the weekend. During our orientation this morning we learned all about Nepal's history, politics, religion, caste system, and safety and went over our itinerary. I could [View Full Entry]

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Today we had a tour of Kathmandu, mainly focusing on temples. We went to a Hindu temple and 2 Buddhist temples, one of which is the oldest temple in Nepal. I don't have the names with me so I will have to add them in later. The Hindu temple was first. We didn't get to actually go in, but we got to wander around the outside. The temple had a river flowing from it, eventually connecting with the Ganges, that they cremated people by and dumped the ashes into. We sat on one side of the river for a while to [View Full Entry]

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Well after 2 days of travel I finally made it to Nepal! The flights actually weren't too bad because once you leave the US they have movies in the back of every seat and they actually feed you. We even got icecream sandwiches! Too long though... but now I'm in Kathmandu. I've met 3 people from my group and the group leader and some more people are supposedly coming tonight. We walked around a little and went to a little rooftop cafe for a fruit lassi (similar to milkshakes). Now we're all using the internet (which is only 50 cents per [View Full Entry]

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And I'm off! I leave early tomorrow morning to start my world adventures! First stop Nepal. We will supposedly have internet access the first couple days in Kathmandu but after that it could be sketchy for the next 6 weeks. So we'll see what happens... Have a good summer and see you at Christmas! [View Full Entry]

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My first entry! I started my gap year in the United States doing a month-long internship in Washington D.C. There was a group of 9 of us who started out as complete strangers and ended as good friends. We learned about our government and experienced life in a big city. 6 Flags in a thunderstorm, national monuments and memorials, museums, folk-arts festival, movies, group dinners, intense soccer games, beach, gullible group-members, crepes, broken air-conditioning, ice-cream brownie strawberry sundaes, experiencing the metro, Ethiopian food, laughter, oven waffles, randomness, getting lost in [View Full Entry]

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