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Published: December 1st 2008
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Another Shot of the Mountains
This is where I'm headed next. Looks kind of cold. Namaste from Pokhara, folks. It's been a while since my last post, I realize. I just finished my volunteer teaching (and farming, as it turned out) assignment in the village of Sarangkot, and am just now getting around to writing. Well, it was a good experience, living up in the village and getting in with the local folks who really welcomed me very warmly. After a couple of rough days in the teaching arena, I settled into a groove with grades 7, 8, & 9 and began to enjoy myself in class. My host family, Yam Thapa (whose name I misspelled as
Am in my last post, his wife Bindu, and their two young kids, were fantastic. They really opened up their home and kitchen to me. I think I ate my own bodyweight in rice & lentils (dahl bhat). You would think I would be sick of the same thing served twice a day for 3-4 weeks, but I really developed a taste for it. I used to wonder how my dogs could get so excited at meal times even though they knew it was the same thing day in and day out. Now I kind of understand.
Most
Morning Exercises
School runs from 10-4 pm, 6-days/week. Each day begins with morning formation and exercises like this. I'd like to see teachers in the US try to pull this off without getting beat up in the parking lot. days began early, and most nights I was tucked up in bed by 8:30 pm. It may seem kind of boring, but I really enjoyed living that way and have vowed that wherever I end up living that I won't get connected to cable or satellite TV, since that's what seems to keep me awake well past my bed time, and prevents me from doing more worthwhile things in the evening. We'll see how long that lasts! Most days were spent in the classroom, but there were a few days where school was out where I worked on a small farm, or which there are plenty. I hate to state the obvious, but farm work is hard! A single piece of hay isn't very heavy, but try hauling and stacking 30 yards of it! We did this one afternoon and I was pretty tired afterwards. When we nearly had all of the hay stacked up around this pole (that's how they do it) I jokingly said to Yam that I had lost a needle somewhere in there and that we had to look for it. I don't think he got the joke. While we were working, some of the women
Buddha Statue
Nepal is mostly Hindu, but there are references to Buddha just about everywhere, and Buddhism is very present in Nepali culture. were looking on. Apparently, some of them felt that I was a good worker, as judged by the industry and mountain of hay that I had stacked up in a relatively short amount of time. A few of the older ones said something to Yam who then turned to me and smiled, saying that they all had though that I was a good, hard worker, and that I could take one of their daughters as my wife. I laughed at this, back towards Yam whose expression told me that he didn't understand what I found so funny. I politely declined the ladies' gracious offer.
I'm not sure what else to say here. I'd just like to share one observation that with you all though. I am really impressed with the kids' imaginations here. I think all of my friends' parents (including my own) have at one time or another told their kids that when they were young, all they had to play with was a stick and ball, or some similar variation of that story. I'm thinking of the old BIll Cosby routine where he says that he had it so tough that he had to walk to school,
Morning Before Class
This is the school where I I did most of my volunteering. Students congregating before morning "formation" and exercises. uphill, in the snow,
both ways . Well in Nepal, that's just about right, except for the "both ways" part, and not every kid has a ball. I saw a kid of about 6 yrs old with a small, cardboard box, about the size of a shoe box, with a 5-ft string attached to it. He was pulling it all around while he ran, making race car sounds... as happy as could be. He was so proud to show his "race car" to me too. Then there's Yam and Bindu's kids. I bought them a couple of badminton rackets and three birdies (or
shuttlecocks for those Oxford English Dictionary toting elitists of you who may be reading this... all one of you, and you know who you are!). You would think that that I had announced that all of their Christmases were to come at once this year, although, that's probably not a very good reference as Christmas isn't observed in Hindu/Buddhist culture. Nothing changes the fact that Nepal is an economically depressed country, and a lot of families have to do without a lot of the things that we in the US or Europe often take for granted.
Goofy Shot of Me
Just out enjoying the day. But still, it was just refreshing seeing kids having fun without all of the avarice and material gluttony. And the kids that I saw everyday seemed just as happy as any kids I've seen anywhere else.
Hmm, not much else to say. Not that my last 2-3 weeks have been boring, far from it. I just am having trouble finding words to fully describe my time spent here. So, I think I'll just put up a bunch of pictures. Maybe that'll compensate.
Tomorrow I'm off into the Himalayas on a 10-11 day trek to the Mount Annapurna Base Camp. At it's highest, I think I'll cross over 17,400-ft (4100m, I think). After that it's back to the village for a few days for some rest and some of BIndu's outstanding dahl bhat, then it's back to Kathmandu where I'll head north to begin the Everest base Camp trek including a side peak, Gokyo Ri, that tops out at about 19,000-ft, I think. For any of those who have expressed concerned for my safety in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, there's no need to worry. Things are good here. As the locals say, "Thik Cha."
Thanks for
Students Walking Home
Many students walk over 45 minutes each way to class. Going down isn't so bad, coming up is a different story. looking in on me.
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