Orientation Day-June 17

---

This program has a mixture of 14 American and 6 Nepali students. We all met for the first time over breakfast. At first it was a little awkward. We weren’t sure how much English they knew and at this point, the American’s really only knew” Namaste.” They are all very sweet. The two girls I spoke with assured me all the traditional rules on only eating with my right hand and not sharing food etc only really applied with elders and to be yourself among friends. After breakfast we took a tour of the SIT center. There is a garden, an outdoor tree swing, and plenty of sweet puppies to pretend to pet (rabies, yikes). The center itself is a beautiful and very old school house. We take our shoes off in the entrance and duck through door holes to enter rooms. The center consists of a “chill” room with Wifi, geologic field equipment room, a library, a classroom and a room for prayer or quiet studies. Pictures of the center are attached.

We did the traditional first day routine: participated in an icebreaker with a person from Nepal, program overview, safety and emergency procedures, our roles, Nepal living/culture shock (I think I’m in the honeymoon phase-I haven’t cried yet, but was told unexplained crying usually happens after a few weeks hahah), customs/etiquette and went over the course syllabi.

Going over the syllabi made me SO excited to be here. The courses and expectation of a geologist at the UW have prepared me for the types of work and projects I will do here. I am so grateful that UW has staffed active and enthusiastic field geologist. I have seen a big difference between some of the school expectations between me and the other American students in relation to getting a science degree. The course is divided into three sections: Earth Science Field Methods, Geohazards in the Himalaya, and Geology Field Study Project.

The program assignments in more detail:

The Earth Science Field Methods

Completing a Himalayan traverse cross section, map and report of the Kali Gandaki valley (hiking south to north through two of the highest Himalayan peaks). And a detailed analysis project in the Kagbeni or Jomsom area.

The Geohazards in the Himalaya

A team research project and presentation on earth and human systems of our choice-basically identifying hazards, beneftis and solutions strategies for different areas, such as landslides, river control, buildings-road and houses, and agriculture placement. The second part is a geohazards and engineering project. It is a larger, personal, study related to landslides and risk along roads from Kali Gandaki and Kathmandu.

Geology Field Study Project

This project is being completed in teams. It involves a written paper (10-20 pages) and a 20 minute oral presentation (that will be carried out the last day of the program). We will come up with our own research questions, methods and logistics. We have 10 days to carry this out and finish analysis to present.



We were also distributed cell phones, but calling is expensive...

While we are having class at the SIT center we enjoy two tea breaks a day. Thank goodness!! The tea is heavenly! And is a great break in between a 8am-6pm classroom day.

We finished off our first day with an hour of Nepali language, taught by a Nepali Language coach. We will continue to have an hour of language until we leave Kathmandu on Saturday.

Thanks for reading!

-C

---