New Friends and Unexpected Enemies

I’m not going to go so far as to say I’m starting to fit in…I am still the American girl running around reeking of bug spray and wearing a permanent smile of confusion, but I am beginning to feel more comfortable. I’ve definitely made an impression on the sisters: the Nutella obsessed, Nepali speaking wanna be who has an unnatural amount of bug bites and is the most likely to be having a Disney dance party when they walk into the house. But I suppose my reputation could be worse!

Today’s transportation to the school went quite smoothly…relatively speaking. No hour long trek or high speed, fruit thief chase. However I think I’ve now encountered the most dangerous situation in the whole city of Kathmandu. Brace yourselves… territorial cows!! But really… I, the amateur that I am, assumed that if I just minded my own business I could sneak between the two seemingly harmless street grazers and the 3 feet they so kindly left between them and the traffic moving 40 mph. Oh I couldn’t have been more wrong! A man 3 feet in front of me attempted the same maneuver I had envisioned and was almost knocked to the ground by the whack of the cow whipping his head at his torso as he passed.

So now I know. Avoid the cows. They own the sidewalks and they will head clobber you.

On a lighter note, Ishwor and I had an incredible lesson today. I created a “Game of Questions” and he got a kick out of asking me questions about my favorite dance moves and all of my boyfriends. I was quite flattered. However when I created questions of my own for him to answer, he somehow managed to generate answers that all incorporated his love for “pissa”…pizza. “Ishwor, what do you like to do?” “I like to eat pissa.” “Ishwor, what is your favorite sport?” “My favorite sport is basketball and eating pissa.” “Ishwor what did you do last night?” “Last night I dreamed of pissa.” Clever kid.

Tonight some friends and I headed into Thamel, the tourist-run village, to a music club. We all sat on the floor on pillows, looking out three stories above the street, and ate “pissa.” There was a Nepali band playing recogizeable Western hits, like “Sweet home Alobama” and “Wilcome to the Jungle.” But dad you would have especially appreciated their rendition of Petty’s “Friy Fowling.” Classic!

And last exciting update of the day, because I know you’ve all been anxiously waiting to hear…I found a “Birds of Nepal” field guide!! So, my friends learned more about the birds of Kathmandu over the noise of our dinner than they ever wanted to in a lifetime. But hey, that’s what they get for hanging out with this clown.

Off to bed for me but thanks again for reading!

-Al

Some cows I dodged:

Matt putting up with my bird lesson over dinner:

A Glimpse of Peace in the Chaos

Wow…what a day?! I came close to taking a 2 hour nap before dinner but then decided a blog entry may be better use of my time but holy smokes this city can sure wear you out!

Today was my first day working at the Koseli School, an elementary school serving the children from the slums, tucked away in a cement-wall enclosed corner under the Bagmati River. While my work there has already been incredibly eye opening, my day started with catching the bus.

Yesterday one of the sisters attempted to teach me the art of catching a bus. This process consists of waiting on the sidewalk, slowly inching your way into the violently moving, traffic infested, 7 lane (but seriously) street, screaming the name of your district destination. The bus boys are simultaneously screaming the final destination of his bus and somehow, eventually, amongst the chaotic melody of honks, screams, whistles and stray dogs barking, your district screaming finds a match. Once eye contact is made with your district screaming bus boy match, the bus slows just enough for your to grab the door and jump on! And that’s just catching the bus folks...

The school is located in Tinkune, a village about 6 miles away from Maranjgunj (where my house is located), but this commute takes about 45 minutes. The bus ride is actually quite relaxing: a great time to people watch, and practice Nepali with your neighbor.  But then you have to dismount the moving vehicle and somehow find your way. Yesterday sister made it look so simple. I swear, like homing pigeons, she could be plopped anywhere in all of Kathmandu and find her way.

Well I must have left my Nepali homing pigeon senses at home today because once I was plopped into Tinkune, the school’s district, I wandered for an hour…yes an hour, in search of the alley way turn off toward the school. After being almost knocked off my feet by a man with a bag of stolen fruit and then two armed police officers chasing after him, I was ready to catch the nearest cab and give up for the day. But thank goodness for my new friend, Aadesh, an English speaking Nepali electrician on his way to a job interview, who spied my aimless wandering amongst this high speed, fruit thief, police chase,  I finally found my way.

Ah...but descending the stairs down into the courtyard of the Koseli school felt like home: the kids in their pristine uniforms running from each schoolroom as their headmaster banged a spoon on a hanging pot, signaling class rotation time.

While I’d originally thought I was going to be helping to run the afterschool activity program, it seems that the greatest need at the school right now is one-on-one English conversation instruction with a 16-year old student, Ishwor. Abandoned by his family at age 12, Ishwor lives on the Koseli school campus with one of the teachers and is 4 grade levels below his fellow 16 year olds. He greeted me with a smirk of a smile, a curious squint in his eyes, and a bow of his head “Namaste, thank you for coming.”

That’s all it took. The headache from my bus adventure, blisters from my hour long lost trek through the whole village of Tinkune, and embarrassment for showing up an hour late to my first day was completely healed by the welcome of this sweet sweet boy.

Ishwor’s words have inspired my outlook on this whole experience. Despite the noise, and sometimes overwhelming chaos of being in a new, strange, place. Find peace and joy, and good job for embracing this new kind of adventure, “Namaste, thank you for coming.”

We had a blast and the 4 hour session flew by, as we exchanged stories of our past, our passions and our families. But I will need to start prepping 4 hour long lesson plans for the future days haha so if any of you have fun, creative English conversation lesson ideas please let me know!

As always, thanks so much for reading! I’ve posted a video of the Koseli school below if you want more info. This is actually a video asking for funds so please please don't donate, I'm just posting it so you can see photos and the location itself.

Much love to you all. I hope your day is full of adventure!

-Al

The Koseli School

Finding My Bearings

Another adventure filled day in the city! Yesterday, Sunday 5/27, a friend and I set out on a journey…with a goal of orienting our selves a bit. Ya…easier said than done. Rather than taking the bus, and saving the equivalent of about 80 cents, we set out from our home in Maharjgunj. One hour, a mile and a half, and 7 blisters later we arrived at our destination of Thamel! Thamel is one of the most tourist-run areas of the city, with various street vendors and Hindi temples. The stray alleyways of street vendors demand some brutal bartering. It really is an art form, and I’m learning to love it! You set a price far too low, and then the fun begins! There’s a balance of engaging in the deal without acting too interested in the product itself. It’s best to not show any emotion…this is where I struggle. This particular seller and I ended in a fit of laughter as I motioned my disapproval of the deal we had reached by slowly walking away. He beckoned me back and the competition continued. We came to a very reasonable deal…He’ll know to not assume an easy sale the next time a smiley American girl shows up to his booth.

The western influence is actually a bit disturbing, especially in Thamel. There was a KFC 3 blocks long…don’t get me wrong, I do love those biscuits, but who eats that much fried chicken! Right next door there was Facebook Restaurant who claims to “Reconnect people in one roof.” Clever.

All day I’d been in search of a bookstore of some kind for my Birds of Nepal field guide. After 4 hours of wandering we finally decided to catch a cab home. Two minutes into the cab ride we passed a book store with a “All Birds of Nepal” book on display….figures. I’ll find one again, and in the meantime I’m taking copious notes and descriptions of all the birds I’m seeing (don’t worry Ross.)

One of the sisters told us about a yoga class offered in the park every morning at 5 am 15 mins away from our house. So this morning a few of us gathered our towels, we didn’t bring our yoga mats, and strolled down the Ring Road, the main street that runs around the whole city, and arrived at the park. Apparently we were late because about 30 Nepali residents, all over the age of 60, were all seated in the middle of the park meditating. We attempted to sneak onto the tarp without anyone noticing. Who were we kidding?! We are three American girls, carrying towels instead of yoga mats, and clearly unaware of the process…of course the whole class was going to stop meditating to stare, laugh and rearrange the circle so that we each had our own private tutor. It was a great class, lots of heavy breathing, stretching, impromptu Nepali dancing, and random animal growling and humming. The class ended with an uproar of laughter…hopefully with us and not at us. Well either wer did a great job or we were an incredible source of entertainment because they all asked us to come back tomorrow!

Also, a whole entry to come regarding the current Constitutional situation of the country. So far no uprisings in our part of town, but we are warned of bandas (stirkes), in which all streets are closed to cars for protests, in the near future. Don’t worry mom, we are quite safe here and will be given fair warning of anything so that we know to stick around our house. This is not meant to worry you, but can’t be overlooked by the massive KFC and yoga experience!

Today I am headed to my first day at the Koseli School, where I will be teaching English and help run the afterschool activity program. I’ll update you all later.

Thanks so much for reading!

-Allison

Photos from Thamel:

The view from my roof where I have been writing these entries

New friends (yes I have been making friends) at the cafe right next to our house:

Let the Adventures Begin!

After a final farewell bagel at the SeaTac starbucks with papa scho, a mile long sprint through the LA airport in search of international departures, 6 hours of sleep in a middle seat of a 14 hour flight from LA-Hong Kong, a 13 hour layover in the Hong Kong airport, and final touch down over the Himalayan range, I arrived in Kathmandu the night of May 25th! Wow, let the adventures begin!


Who ever said anything about jetlagged, after 35+ hours of travel?  I could have slept a full night on the side of the road...no no don't worry Mom, I made it safely to the ProWorld Volunteer House safe and sound!


My first full day in Kathmandu was a whirlwind! Unlike many other big cities, this city does sleep, in fact  the Nepali people are, as Grandpa Pete would always encourage, early to bed and early risers! They're up, in action by 5 am but come 9pm, the city is fairly quiet. But let me tell you, when this city is in action, you better be ready to dodge mopeds and trucks playing chicken coming at eachother at 40mph, and jump onto moving buses, as I learned quickly....they don't eve come to a complete stop! They'll barter the patience out of you and refill your plate as soon as you shovel the last bite into your mouth but they are some of the kindest, most inviting, sympathetic people.


Unlike the pace of the city, the Nepali lifestyle is quite relaxed. I learned from one of the sisters, young women running the house, that if you make a date of some kind at 9 am expect your party to come strolling in at about 10:30 with big smiles on their faces, and stories to tell! It's a very laid back, enjoy every moment kind of attitude...a real shift from the insane demands of college deadlines, with every 15 minutes booked all day!


If the lenient schedule wasn't enough, I woke the first day to my all time favorite breakfast! I sauntered downstairs expecting beef balls and rice, our typical/everyday breakfast in Pailin, Cambodia. I wish I could show you all the expression on my face when the sisters served me a plate of crepes and Nutella!!!! Can you believe that?! Just last week mom and I were on a mad hunt to fulfill my crepe craving in downtown Bellevue and had no success. I had to come all the way to Kathmandu for this feast?! I felt right at home. The sisters weren't sure how to react to my giddy and overly grateful acceptance of my breakfast! They're probably thinking "ok...this new girl is a little different..." Soon enough they will understand my gratitude and appreciation for great food, and frankly excitement over everything!


Well today, Sunday May 27th, I am headed to a Monkey Temple in a nearby village. Well that's the plan anyway but I've learned already, you just never know where a day in Kathmandu will take you! I'll keep you all posted and will try to upload some pics soon. Hope all is well back in home and in my oh so missed land of Tacoma.


Much love from the roof of my house overlooking the bustling city at 8am,
Al