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Published: August 16th 2006
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Pema at Mukti, Panipokhari, Nepal Tuesday was fairly uneventful, except I was so determined to get out for a while that I walked to Cyber in the pouring rain, failing to notice the power was out, so I had wasted my time!
We did have some visitors in the afternoon & the children put on a display of traditional Nepali dancing to entertain them. Pranod is a Nepali Anthropologist who speaks English & fluent French as he lived in Paris for many years. Alexandra works for an Italian adoption agency & has been sent to Kathmandu to open a new office. She will be here for quite some time, visiting orphanages & making contacts to facilitate speedy adoptions of Nepali children by Italian parents. She also speaks a multitude of languages including Italian, English, Chinese, Russian & I think some French also. apparently Alexandra has been doing this type of work for some time & must pick up a new language with each office she opens. the third visitor was Camille, a French lady that Isabelle met at the embassy on one of her many visists there. Like me, she is also doing volunteer work with children in Kathmandu, but it is part of her
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Dawa at Mukti, Panipokhari, Nepal training to become a social worker. She needs to do one month of work experience & thought it would be a good idea to do it abroad & incorporate her vacation into the trip, so she will be here for two months in total.
Wednesday was a fairly standard day, except the afternoon rain prevented Anjali, Shanti & I from visiting the internet. The girls want me to show them how to set up email addresses & teach them about the workings of the internet, but I guess it will have to wait for now. Unfortunately, our intended trip did cause a little problem with Pema. She got mad with me because I wouldn't let her come with us, but I later found out that a miscommunication actually caused the problem. I told Pema she could not go as the shop was too small to have four people sitting at one terminal, however she thought I was telling her she was too small (ie too young) & took great offence. I tried to talk with her & re-explain what I had meant, but I still think she is mad at me - oh well.
Thursday was
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Children dancing at Mukti, Panipokhari, Nepal a good day, which began as normal with my english class. Goma & I spent ages completing an online survey sent to her, pertaining to funding of NGO's. Not only were they asking for alot of detailed information, but I had to explain each question as simply as possible & try to construct an appropriate answer from the information Goma gave me - I really felt like an interpreter.
Anjali, Shanti & I fianlly got to Cyber, which unfortunately was quite slow & so we only managed to get Shanti set up with an email address. It is possibly a blessing in disguise though, as she isn't very confident with the computer & I think it will help to review the logging on process when we return to set up Anjali.
I called home & my friend Sylvia updated me on all the happenings back in Adelaide. Pema invited me to prayer time, after which everybody took dinner, I updated my journal & went to bed.
Friday was a restful day as I was VERY tired. I have been unable to shake the cold I brought from Hong Kong & have never seen so much green
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Children dancing at Mukti, Panipokhari, Nepal snot come from one person in my whole life! (sorry...) I don't think it helps that most of the children also seem to be constantly sniffling, so my original problem may have transformed into something new - who knows. I just have to take extra care not to let it take hold as the last thing everybody needs is a sick foreigner to look after. It was also Isabelle & Manisha's last night in Nepal, as all the adoption paperwork has been completed & they fly out Saturday evening.
Pradip & I visited the British Coucil Library Saturday morning to borrow some books. Apart from being packed, the place was quite small, but I have been told it is the best library in Kathmandu. I think my primary school library was at least twice the size, so I'd hate to see what the regular ones are like. After discovering it costs about AUD$15- for a one year membership, I decided to just borrow a book under Pradip's name. Not only can that money be better used elsewhere at Mukti, it also means Pradip will have to visit the library with me more often, so fingers crossed, his learning
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Nicolle & Goma at Hotel Kathmandu, Panipokhari, Nepal will be increased by this experience.
In the afternoon, Isabelle & Manisha arrived to say goodbye, which was very sad indeed. Everybody gathered in the prayer room & Goma performed a ceremony giving both Isabelle & Manisha flower lays & curd, although whether the latter is a Nepali or Hindu tradition I'm not sure. I posed as photographer, while Manisha put a red tika on everybody's forehead & before I knew it, the ceremony was over & they were in the car headed to the airport. Most of the kids appeared happy to see Manisha going to a better home as I am sure most don't understand they will never see her again, but both Goma & Krishna ended up in tears. Krishna was so upset, she had to leave the room to compose herself, which only made me start crying too. It really is more of a family at Mukti, rather than an orphanage & the departure of a child is very hard, which is why there has only been one other child previously adopted out.
Sunday was a very lazy day & I spent the most part reading my new book. I did manage to
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Children sleeping at Mukti, Panipokhari, Nepal peel myself from the pages long enough to visit Cyber & ran into a few of the children who were returning from the hair dressers, so we walked home together.
Monday was a VERY frustrating day for me as I am still sick & feeling trapped & bored. After finishing my novel & visiting the internet, I wrote a letter to a friend back home. Although I can't remember exactly what I said, it will be interesting to read upon returning home. I just hope I wasn't too negative because although I am frustrated at the moment, it's mainly to do with being unwell for such a prolonged period of time, rather than not enjoying my experince here in Nepal.
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Glenn
non-member comment
Awesome!
They say you'll never meet anyone nice in a pub, but I met this girl and she is awesome! Glenn