It's the last night of Tihar, the Hindu festival of lights, and it feels a little bit like Christmas here. Every shop is draped with marigold garlands and at night the streets are all lit up with candles and little colored bulbs. Yesterday there was a motorcycle rally outside the guesthouse, and everyone was in the street dancing to a mix of Nepali techno and the Rolling Stones, drinking clay saucers of Roxy (Nepali alcohal that tastes like kerosene) and eating from big bowls of spiced goat meat. So we called the monastary and told them that "the road was blocked" and joined in. Turns out Roxy + goat meat (so much for this month of vegetarianism) + dancing was not a good combo, especially after two of the guys from the guesthouse decided to take us out on a motorcycle ride and we swerved through backstreets til I felt like I was going to puke. But until then, wow, it was fun!
Even weirder/more incredible than Tihar was this past weekend, when Steph, Gina (who's gone now...we all miss her) and I went to the cook Deepak's village with a couple of boys who also work at the guesthouse. The first bus was easy but there was no room on the second. So we rode for almost two hours on the top of the bus with about 20 other people and a goat. It was both the best and worst ride I've ever had - the bars on the roof made welts where I sat, but the complete panoramic view going over the ridge to the next valley was worth the bruises. By the time we got off we were sore and starving, and the boys said it was just 15 minutes to the village. I don't know if Americans are just really, really, really slow, but it took an hour and a half to walk down this monsoon flood stream to the house. We were pretty pissed by the end.
Deepak has seven brothers, and their houses - just kind of scattered on the steep, jungley slope - are basically the village. We sat for a while on the porch while his whole extended family stared at us, then had some dinner. I tried to eat with my hand like everyone else but spilled curry all over myself. Then after dinner we were all just huddled around the stove (a fire pit in the floor of the main room) and Deepak's niece started cleaning the eating area with what looked like a piece of clay. The three of us sort of looked at each other and finally Gina asked one of the boys what it was. He went:
"It's, how do you say, from animal? Oh yes, dung."
Turns out the whole house was made from dung. But it was cozy - we all sat cross-legged on the floor of the cavernlike living room and the candlelight against the rusty orange walls made it glow. Someone brought out some Roxy in a big plastic canister, and the whole family stayed late drinking and talking and playing cards. We slept in a line on the (clay? dung?) floor, a five-inch grasshopper jumped on Gina, I woke up paranoid about bugs about 50 times during the night, and in the morning had a few bites and even more throbbing limbs...which the bus back didn't help. But it was so great to go. Even though Kathmandu is a lot different than Seattle, the village was on a whole other level.
Teaching has been going okay. I'm doing environments (forest, desert, etc.) in the older class and yesterday brought in some markers for them to draw the concepts, which they seemed to enjoy. The younger class has been a struggle...the last couple days I've been trying vowels and consonents and just not really getting through. The only one who's getting it is, ironically, the Tibetan teacher.
So that's pretty much it for now. I miss you all...please send me an email or something and tell me how you're doing! And I'll update again soon. Love!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
I love lice
It's Saturday, and I'm done with my first week of volunteering. I'm starting to feel sort of at home here: I have my room (with newly fixed shower head!), my internet cafe, my friends, and my routine. In the morning I wake up, eat jam and toast, try to write the day's lesson plan/spend all my money on the internet, and then catch the "bus" to Bouda with Steph and Sylvia. Then it's two hours of teaching, two hours of orphanage, and back to the Student Guest House for dal-bat and usually (because I am still on some wonky sleep schedule) bed.
Teaching is both easy and hard, mostly because I make up a lot as I go (oops) and it only sometimes works out! The little monks - who are about three feet tall and always tripping over their big red robes - knew pretty much nothing, so I'm starting with the alphabet and going from there. I taught them the alphabet song, which they loved even though they couldn't help laughing when they heard my singing voice. But the funniest is the Tibetan teacher, who comes to every class and sits cross-legged on the floor in the middle of all the tiny little kids. He tries really hard and always gets so embarrassed when he has to ask the others for help (which is most of the time).
The older class is learning about food, which was probably a bad idea; I just get hungry. I brought them in some mini Twix bars one day for them to "describe" as they ate, but ran out with about 8 kids left. I felt really bad and starting apologizing all over the place when one boy said "It's ok, don't worry, we share." They all started handing back their Twix or breaking them apart for the others. In what classroom in the US would kids ever voluntarily hand back Twix? I guess they really are monks!
It's such a weird contrast going straight to the orphanage from the monastery. It's not really an orphanage - most of the kids are there because their parents are in jail - but they are so starved for affection (or any attention at all) that they might as well be. The kids each wear one outfit, wash maybe once a week, and always have some combination of snot, lice, and rash. Mostly we just sit while they hug/kiss us (gross, as comes with snot). I've also been playing soccer with the older boys, even though the goal is a single brick and they puppy-guard like crazy, which I think has really earned me their respect. But Sylvia says they just like me because I'm blonde. So who knows.
Even though I'm settled in, I still can't quite believe I'm here. I miss you all so much, and wish you were with me instead of an entire day away! More soon...love.
Teaching is both easy and hard, mostly because I make up a lot as I go (oops) and it only sometimes works out! The little monks - who are about three feet tall and always tripping over their big red robes - knew pretty much nothing, so I'm starting with the alphabet and going from there. I taught them the alphabet song, which they loved even though they couldn't help laughing when they heard my singing voice. But the funniest is the Tibetan teacher, who comes to every class and sits cross-legged on the floor in the middle of all the tiny little kids. He tries really hard and always gets so embarrassed when he has to ask the others for help (which is most of the time).
The older class is learning about food, which was probably a bad idea; I just get hungry. I brought them in some mini Twix bars one day for them to "describe" as they ate, but ran out with about 8 kids left. I felt really bad and starting apologizing all over the place when one boy said "It's ok, don't worry, we share." They all started handing back their Twix or breaking them apart for the others. In what classroom in the US would kids ever voluntarily hand back Twix? I guess they really are monks!
It's such a weird contrast going straight to the orphanage from the monastery. It's not really an orphanage - most of the kids are there because their parents are in jail - but they are so starved for affection (or any attention at all) that they might as well be. The kids each wear one outfit, wash maybe once a week, and always have some combination of snot, lice, and rash. Mostly we just sit while they hug/kiss us (gross, as comes with snot). I've also been playing soccer with the older boys, even though the goal is a single brick and they puppy-guard like crazy, which I think has really earned me their respect. But Sylvia says they just like me because I'm blonde. So who knows.
Even though I'm settled in, I still can't quite believe I'm here. I miss you all so much, and wish you were with me instead of an entire day away! More soon...love.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monks are cute
I'm in Bodhanath and just finished with my first day of teaching. After all of my worrying and tearing up and freaking out, it was mostly just fun. I've got two classes (beginning and intermediate) and by the end of the beginning class one boy left repeating "I am not sad, I am happy!" which made me feel great. I didn't really have any idea what I was doing with the older class and all i could think of was to have them describe my backpack, but it actually turned into a pretty-ok lesson about adjectives. Also they all called me "miss" which was funny. So overall, a semi-success!
I think I'm finally starting to like it here. The other people from the program are all weird in their own way:
Sylvia is an older Australian woman whom I was afraid of at first because she went on and on about how young I was and how impossible teaching was going to be. I'm pretty sure, though, that she's just a motherly type who's worried for me. So now she calls me "dear" and all is well.
Steph is a 20-something Canadian who seems to be the most normal of them all so far. She's going to be here longer than the rest (until I leave) , so it seems like a promising friendship.
Gina is a 20-something from upstate New York. She's one of those loud, dramatic, over-the-top type people who normally I wouldn't be friends with, but since that's impossible, she's really starting to grow on me. She's also an army wife who hasn't seen her husband in 15 months. So that might make anyone crazy.
Kyle is an American who's been living in Bulgaria for 10 years. He's in a wheelchair and, according to Sylvia, "needs to get out more." She gave him a big lecture at dinner last night and he just looked like he wanted to die.
Last is Chris, the in-country director, who at first I thought was just a nice, bumbling British guy and now irritates me like no other. This seems to be a pretty common opinion among the group. He also has a Nepali wife who looks to be in her early twenties (he's over sixty), and a two-year-old son. Sylvia thinks that the wife has "someone else" who "helped" her with the kid. Hmm.
SO things are really starting to work out. I switched my teaching time so I can take the bus (aka van stuffed with 50 people) with Sylvia and Steph, and since my teaching is only an hour and a half, I think I'm going to help them out at the orphanage in the afternoon. I'm going there today, so that'll be interesting. Sylvia says that "they're lovely, but with loads of snots."
Anyway. That's it for now. Hopefully the upward turn will continue! How is everybody? Love, I'll write more soon!
I think I'm finally starting to like it here. The other people from the program are all weird in their own way:
Sylvia is an older Australian woman whom I was afraid of at first because she went on and on about how young I was and how impossible teaching was going to be. I'm pretty sure, though, that she's just a motherly type who's worried for me. So now she calls me "dear" and all is well.
Steph is a 20-something Canadian who seems to be the most normal of them all so far. She's going to be here longer than the rest (until I leave) , so it seems like a promising friendship.
Gina is a 20-something from upstate New York. She's one of those loud, dramatic, over-the-top type people who normally I wouldn't be friends with, but since that's impossible, she's really starting to grow on me. She's also an army wife who hasn't seen her husband in 15 months. So that might make anyone crazy.
Kyle is an American who's been living in Bulgaria for 10 years. He's in a wheelchair and, according to Sylvia, "needs to get out more." She gave him a big lecture at dinner last night and he just looked like he wanted to die.
Last is Chris, the in-country director, who at first I thought was just a nice, bumbling British guy and now irritates me like no other. This seems to be a pretty common opinion among the group. He also has a Nepali wife who looks to be in her early twenties (he's over sixty), and a two-year-old son. Sylvia thinks that the wife has "someone else" who "helped" her with the kid. Hmm.
SO things are really starting to work out. I switched my teaching time so I can take the bus (aka van stuffed with 50 people) with Sylvia and Steph, and since my teaching is only an hour and a half, I think I'm going to help them out at the orphanage in the afternoon. I'm going there today, so that'll be interesting. Sylvia says that "they're lovely, but with loads of snots."
Anyway. That's it for now. Hopefully the upward turn will continue! How is everybody? Love, I'll write more soon!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Things are looking up (a little)
Today's my last day at the Kathmandu Guest House, and officially the start of my English-teaching program. Today I get in a rickshaw (scary?) and try to find the Student Guest House...hopefully I won't end up paying 50 dollars and getting completely lost. Who knows what this place will be like, but I think I might have my own bathroom (hurrah!) so that's something. The in-country coordinator is supposed to meet me there and tonight we are supposedly having dinner with all the volunteers. So crossing my fingers that we all get along...and that maybe I make a friend!
The last couple days have been a lot of the usual (feeling really lonely and wanting to go home, etc.) but also some fun. On my second day here I was lurking in the garden as usual and saw a young-ish woman sitting alone so I finally got up my courage and went over to talk. She was British and had been traveling by train for two months, stopping here on her way to a job as a massage therapist (hmm...) in India. Anyway we decided to venture out and walked from the guesthouse to Durbar Square. It was great to get out and be smack in the middle of it all, and also really nice to just have someone to talk to! Thamel is such a weird mix of modern (knock-off North Face stalls, internet cafes) and old (fabrics, pots, and random shrines and temples all randomly thrown together).
Then yesterday I called Raj's (my dad's just-moved-to-the-US Nepali friend) sister, who came and picked me up with her 16-year-old daughter and younger son. They took me to the Buddhist monastary of Swayambunath where there were tons of MONKEYS everywhere (they laughed at me becasue I got so excited), then to the big Hindu temple - I forgot the name - where really loud Nepali music was blaring and about 50 bodies were being cremated along the river, then finally to Bodhnath, the Tibetan community/mondastary where I'll be teaching. They were all really friendly and it was especially fun to talk to the daughter...she spoke good-ish English and on the way back whipped out her cell phone/music player and started playing me Rihanna and singing along in semi-English (her cell phone was also all in English...much be weird to live in a place where so much is not in your language). She also asked for my email and said she would write me. Which was cute...Raj's sister also said she wanted to take me out again so I am supposed to call her later this week. Yay!
Anyway my time's running out on the internet but that's the gist of things so far, I'll definitely update soon about the new hostel/program/weird people I'll hopefully meet. As always though I can't explain how much I miss you all and please write me things!
Much love.
The last couple days have been a lot of the usual (feeling really lonely and wanting to go home, etc.) but also some fun. On my second day here I was lurking in the garden as usual and saw a young-ish woman sitting alone so I finally got up my courage and went over to talk. She was British and had been traveling by train for two months, stopping here on her way to a job as a massage therapist (hmm...) in India. Anyway we decided to venture out and walked from the guesthouse to Durbar Square. It was great to get out and be smack in the middle of it all, and also really nice to just have someone to talk to! Thamel is such a weird mix of modern (knock-off North Face stalls, internet cafes) and old (fabrics, pots, and random shrines and temples all randomly thrown together).
Then yesterday I called Raj's (my dad's just-moved-to-the-US Nepali friend) sister, who came and picked me up with her 16-year-old daughter and younger son. They took me to the Buddhist monastary of Swayambunath where there were tons of MONKEYS everywhere (they laughed at me becasue I got so excited), then to the big Hindu temple - I forgot the name - where really loud Nepali music was blaring and about 50 bodies were being cremated along the river, then finally to Bodhnath, the Tibetan community/mondastary where I'll be teaching. They were all really friendly and it was especially fun to talk to the daughter...she spoke good-ish English and on the way back whipped out her cell phone/music player and started playing me Rihanna and singing along in semi-English (her cell phone was also all in English...much be weird to live in a place where so much is not in your language). She also asked for my email and said she would write me. Which was cute...Raj's sister also said she wanted to take me out again so I am supposed to call her later this week. Yay!
Anyway my time's running out on the internet but that's the gist of things so far, I'll definitely update soon about the new hostel/program/weird people I'll hopefully meet. As always though I can't explain how much I miss you all and please write me things!
Much love.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I want to go home
I'm sitting in the 'business center' of the Kathmandu Guest House. I think I may have made a huge mistake. So far, everyone seems to have come with someone and even though I've sat out in the courtyard a few times looking desperate and alone, the only person who's talked to me was an old lady from New Zealand on tour. Anyway, I got here without a problem. I love Korean Air and watched about 5 trashy movies, had an easy night in a semi-fancy Korean hotel (turns out that Korea basically looks like the US, including English signs). The flight to Kathmandu was pretty boring except for when the Japanese businessman next to me spilled his entire bowl of seaweed soup on himself. Landing in Kathmandu was pretty surreal. The difference between it and Seoul was immediately obvious: in Seoul, when the guy from the hotel picked me up and carried my baggage to my room i started reaching in my wallet for a tip and he backed out of room blushing and repeating "No, no, it's ok, no." In Kathmandu, when a wheezing old man carried my bags three feet from the airport to the beat-up Kathmandu Guest House van, I accidentally pulled a twenty out of my bag instead of a one. The five "pick-up drivers" immediately started shouting and gesturing "Yes, good tip, give it to him, yes!" and finally i got so flustered that I just gave in (after all, the guy was about 80 and about the same weight).
The drive from the airport to the guesthouse was pretty overwhelming. Everything was just more: the noises and the sounds and the colors and the smells. Everyone was honking and kids were banging on my window begging money and we almost hit about 50 people. I've been a little to scared to go back out into it, and trying to make a few friends here first. Mostly so far I'm just really, really lonely and wish someone was here with me. But I've decided to walk to Durbar Square this afternoon no matter what! So here's to independence and hopefully a friend very soon.
I miss you all like crazy. Write me an email or something, I'll be ecstatic to hear anything from anybody! Love.
The drive from the airport to the guesthouse was pretty overwhelming. Everything was just more: the noises and the sounds and the colors and the smells. Everyone was honking and kids were banging on my window begging money and we almost hit about 50 people. I've been a little to scared to go back out into it, and trying to make a few friends here first. Mostly so far I'm just really, really lonely and wish someone was here with me. But I've decided to walk to Durbar Square this afternoon no matter what! So here's to independence and hopefully a friend very soon.
I miss you all like crazy. Write me an email or something, I'll be ecstatic to hear anything from anybody! Love.
Monday, October 13, 2008
I leave tomorrow!
So. I've made a blog! Right now I don't really have much to say except for that tomorrow I catch a plane for Kathmandu and I am terrified. Little back-up: I'm going to Nepal for 5 weeks to teach English in a Buddhist monastery and then trek/bum around, etc. I'm all packed (taking possibly the ugliest set of clothes ever) and ready to go (ish). Anyway I'll try to update this when I can and hopefully post pictures so check back when you'd like! And I'd love to hear from everyone so write me back and tell me how your lives are going/send me an email (srforman@gmail.com)...
I'll miss you all!!!
I'll miss you all!!!
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