I’ve only got about 36 hours left in Kathmandu before I start the (incredibly long) journey home. Esther left this morning, and I’m pretty much stuck in the city. We visited Chapagaun yesterday, and I was very lucky to get out of there this morning. The fuel shortages are getting out of control, and there are still lots of strikes going on. But let me back up a bit and talk about my trek. Esther, Sarba (our guide), and I set out for Pokhara early last Tuesday, and spent the night there. We had our last decent meal (though it was [View Full Entry]

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Well, my time out in the village has almost come to an end. I’m taking Esther and Sarah to my favorite place (the leprosy hospital) on Sunday, and then Esther and I are heading into Kathmandu on Monday. This leaves me just enough time to do my laundry and have it dry - it sometimes takes days because we’re constantly battling the monsoon. I’ve also only got three days to get my fill of high quality kid shows like ‘Tom and Jerry’ and three different versions of the Power Rangers series. I’ve finally gotten sick of dal bhaat, so luckily I’ve [View Full Entry]

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Okay, so it wasn’t MY birthday, it was my host mom’s grandma’s birthday. And it wasn’t her birthday, it was the day she turned 77 years, 7 months, and 7 hours. Anyway, this very important day full of 7s is the first janko (old age ceremony) celebrated by the Newaris (an ethnic group). The other jankos occur at 84 years and 99 years. It’s a huge deal, actually, because not many people live long enough to reach this milestone. A Newari birthday party doesn’t have a big cake, balloons, or presents. Instead, all the female relatives (and volunteers stay [View Full Entry]

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Hello everybody, and happy Fourth of July! I don't have much to say because life in the village hasn't been all that exciting, but I wanted to update so no one got worried by my silence. I'm spending a few days in Kathmandu helping another volunteer finish up her project before she heads home. We're visiting three orphanages in the city to assess the needs of the orphanage and the needs of the children, as well as take pictures of the kids and make mini profiles of them. We've found out that orphanages don't tell you what they really need and [View Full Entry]

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Greetings from Nepal, land of the monsoon! It started on June 10th, and well, there's been a lot of rain. It's not so bad in Kathmandu and in the Valley, but everywhere else, it rains SO much. My clothes are probably permanently mud-splattered, and it's almost pointless to carry an umbrella because you'll get drenched anyway. In the midst of this lovely weather, we decided to take off for another remote village. Well, we didn't think it was that remote. We were told a four hour bus ride from Kathmandu and then a thirty minute walk. Wrong-o, my friends! Apparently it's [View Full Entry]

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Oh geez, I don't even know where to start with this entry. I just got back from an amazing week in a village called Phalebas. It was quite the fiasco trying to get there: 2 hour bus ride to Kathmandu, 7 hour bus ride to Pokhara, but then there was something up with a bridge being closed, so we had to spend the night in Pokhara. After a three hour bus ride to Kusma, we then had a 3 1/2 hour hike up two small mountains to get to the village. Phalebas looks like a cross between Austria from the 'Sound [View Full Entry]

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Greetings once again from rural Nepal! I had a new partner in crime this week: Sonal, a doctor from Atlanta. We broke out our maps and attempted to hike various trails in our part of the Kathmandu Valley. There aren’t many roads…mostly a bunch of footpaths, so we made do with that. Sonal speaks one of the many languages from India, which is similar to Nepali, so she was able to ask for help when we were lost in random villages. Thank God for that, or I might still be wandering around looking for Bungamati! After finishing up our respective activities [View Full Entry]

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Well, Nepal finally got rid of its monarchy. There’s been a struggle going on for years, and now the Maoists have control of the government. I know what you’re thinking, “Aren’t Maoists like communists? Doesn’t the US government consider them terrorists??” The answer would be yes for both, but it sounds a lot worse than it really is. Democracy didn’t really work out so well for the Nepali people, and the Maoists made a lot of promises. The country elected a Maoist majority to the parliament about a month ago in a free and fair election, and they decide [View Full Entry]

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We had just planned on spending a relaxed afternoon in Patan, but of course, we got more than we had bargained for. It turns out that Patan (a city right smack next to Kathmandu) is in the middle of hosting its biggest festival, the Rato Machhendranath Festival. They make these gigantic chariots out of what looks like sticks and evergreen boughs. Put it on wheels, stick some flags on top, attach a rope, and voilà! Insta-festival. The chariot actually holds an image of a Nepali Hindu god, Machhendranath. They parade it through the streets of Patan for a full month because [View Full Entry]

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Namaste! And greetings from Chapagaun. I’ve been here a week now, and I quite like my new home. I have a great host family - Ram (the director of the health centre), his wife Rupa, his parents, and his two children, Samyak and Swoyam. There’s another volunteer, named Barbara, who’s living here as well. They have a nice, modern house, complete with electricity (and only ten hours of power cuts a week!), hot water (when there’s enough sun for the solar power to work), cable TV (with hilarious Bollywood movies and Hindi music videos), and two bathrooms. Rupa and the gr [View Full Entry]

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