Today we visited a mothers group in a village close to the school we worked on. After a bumpy jeep ride,we were welcomed under a people tree by the mothers. Kelly lit a candle with the president of the group to recognize Monday as the day of the god Shiva. We were then welcomed with purple tika, flower garlands, and loose flowers strewn through our hair and over our shoulders.
We observed their meeting activities and were taken for a tour of neighbouring houses with ongoing projects. We were then welcomed for lunch at one of the women's houses. The food was delicious traditional Tharu food, including tubes of a bread made with rice flour, sesame potatoes, and fried lentil cakes. It was a symphony of traditional flavours and textures ranging from spongy breads to crispy cakes.
After a discussion on their activities and our expression of gratitude at their welcome, we piled back into the jeep to head back to the hotel for some much needed rest and our last dinner in Dang.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 31, 2013
May 26: An Epic Jungle Journey
Today was our epic jungle safari walk through the Bardia reserve!
We left at 7am, after literally the hottest night of our lives, backpacks full of water bottles to last us the day. We had two guides and Dinesh leading the way through the grassy flat land and then into the jungle. For the first few kilometres, we alternated between walking and running in order to get to the first viewing spot fast enough to catch a tiger sighting! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the tiger, but there was a rhino having a casual bath in the river.
Our guides, relentless in their quest for a tiger spotting, brought us even further into the reserve, trekking through grasses over our heads, bathed in sweat as we were. We reached a great little viewing spot with an inviting tree to climb. Eventually we all made our way into its branches and kept an eye peeled for tigers. The sun, the leaves, the inviting sound of the cicadas in the grass...it all made for a prime nap time, except that we were in a tree...
Although we didn't get to see any tigers, we had a wonderful time being out in the jungle, getting in touch with nature. Plus we got a bonus swim in the river at the very end--yay for river swims!
Our lunch back at the resort was delicious (as everything seems to be!), with a tasty dessert of fried banana. Our jeep ride involved seeing wild elephants and crocodiles (so cool!) and some bumpy roads! Our return to Lamahi once again felt like returning home, even if only for a few more days.
Kelly Gerlings
Our guides, relentless in their quest for a tiger spotting, brought us even further into the reserve, trekking through grasses over our heads, bathed in sweat as we were. We reached a great little viewing spot with an inviting tree to climb. Eventually we all made our way into its branches and kept an eye peeled for tigers. The sun, the leaves, the inviting sound of the cicadas in the grass...it all made for a prime nap time, except that we were in a tree...
Although we didn't get to see any tigers, we had a wonderful time being out in the jungle, getting in touch with nature. Plus we got a bonus swim in the river at the very end--yay for river swims!
Our lunch back at the resort was delicious (as everything seems to be!), with a tasty dessert of fried banana. Our jeep ride involved seeing wild elephants and crocodiles (so cool!) and some bumpy roads! Our return to Lamahi once again felt like returning home, even if only for a few more days.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
Nepal, May 2013
May 25: Bardia Wildlife Reserve
Today we left for Bardia Wildlife Resever in western Nepal. It was unbelievably, unbearably, amazingly, stiflingly, swelteringly hot. Our cottages at the Jungle Heaven hotel were so beautiful, and our location was just a kilometre away from the reserve headquarters! We were surrounded by greenery and forest sounds, the insects humming quieter in the heat of the day.
We had a delicious lunch provided by our hosts, Kristna and his wife Bita, and then spent the afternoon literally just lying underneath our fans, unable to do much else with so much heat.
In the less-intense heat of the evening, Vita, Kelly and Chelsea went for an elephant ride through the jungle, (a wild rhino sighting, and super close, too, amongst other creatures, monkeys, deer, many different birds) and Katie, Bailey, Kaleigh and Anna went to visit the elephant breeding centre and have a swim in the river. We all returned to swap stories and pictures and marvel at the heat. We played some cards by candlelight before dinner and then were treated to a mix of Nepali and Western food--hello French fries beside chicken curry and paneer cheese!
We all stocked up on semi-cold water bottles before heading to bed early, because tomorrow is our jungle safari and we need to leave before the heat gets too intense!
Kelly Gerlings
Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
We had a delicious lunch provided by our hosts, Kristna and his wife Bita, and then spent the afternoon literally just lying underneath our fans, unable to do much else with so much heat.
In the less-intense heat of the evening, Vita, Kelly and Chelsea went for an elephant ride through the jungle, (a wild rhino sighting, and super close, too, amongst other creatures, monkeys, deer, many different birds) and Katie, Bailey, Kaleigh and Anna went to visit the elephant breeding centre and have a swim in the river. We all returned to swap stories and pictures and marvel at the heat. We played some cards by candlelight before dinner and then were treated to a mix of Nepali and Western food--hello French fries beside chicken curry and paneer cheese!
We all stocked up on semi-cold water bottles before heading to bed early, because tomorrow is our jungle safari and we need to leave before the heat gets too intense!
Kelly Gerlings
Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 24: Tikka Dust and the Hokey Pokey
Speaking of leaving, it was our last day of teaching in the classroom today. We ended the classes playing different games, just having some fun before having to go.
Katie was attacked lovingly by her grade 6s with flowers, and Vita and Kaleigh were approached by their students with some red tikka dust/powder and had their faces covered in red. This was the beginning of our tikka-powder-battle with the students. First we received a dignified leaving tikka from the girls, as well as handfuls of flowers. Then Dinesh gave us the small bags of colour and we went out and chased the students all around the yard, shrieks of laughter surrounding us.
One last delicious lunch and then we had one last epic round of game playing...teaching the kids the hokey pokey! And this was not just the little kids...we had some of the 15 year old boys playing too. And everyone loved it, and everyone was laughing by the end of it. There could not have been a more heart warming last moment together. We played a huge round of Stella Ella ola as our jeep arrived, the students singing Nepali songs for our new rule of 'if you're out, you gotta dance'. Hands clapping, faces smiling, laughter.
So wonderful, and surprisingly untearful as we left, likely because we will return on Tuesday for a last meeting with teachers....so not technically with the students, but they will be there still. Not time to leave *just* yet.
We had a quiet Friday evening, spending time on the roof and discussing our last three weeks together, and packing for Bardia!
Katie was attacked lovingly by her grade 6s with flowers, and Vita and Kaleigh were approached by their students with some red tikka dust/powder and had their faces covered in red. This was the beginning of our tikka-powder-battle with the students. First we received a dignified leaving tikka from the girls, as well as handfuls of flowers. Then Dinesh gave us the small bags of colour and we went out and chased the students all around the yard, shrieks of laughter surrounding us.
One last delicious lunch and then we had one last epic round of game playing...teaching the kids the hokey pokey! And this was not just the little kids...we had some of the 15 year old boys playing too. And everyone loved it, and everyone was laughing by the end of it. There could not have been a more heart warming last moment together. We played a huge round of Stella Ella ola as our jeep arrived, the students singing Nepali songs for our new rule of 'if you're out, you gotta dance'. Hands clapping, faces smiling, laughter.
So wonderful, and surprisingly untearful as we left, likely because we will return on Tuesday for a last meeting with teachers....so not technically with the students, but they will be there still. Not time to leave *just* yet.
We had a quiet Friday evening, spending time on the roof and discussing our last three weeks together, and packing for Bardia!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 22: Teaching English and the Macarena
This was a challenging day for everyone, but not without its great moments. We
faced some difficulties in the classroom, feeling the strain of having to
actually 'teach' English versus just speaking it. There are so many things that
you are not consciously aware of as a native English speaker, grammatical rules
and structures and exceptions that seem second nature and are difficult to
explain. Phew, mad respect to all the language teachers out there.
Dinesh went to the district headquarters so we had Deepa to help us out, although we have a wonderfully familiar routine here now. After lunch, waiting for the jeep, with our usual crowd of onlookers, we decided it was time for the next childhood game (remember our super successful rounds of Stella Ella ola last week?). So we taught the Macarena dance! It was hilarious and wonderful all at the same time, a great reminder of the power of laughter.
For dinner that night, we had a new addition to our meal! A chicken curry for the nonvegs and a delicious paneer cheese dish for the vegs. So tasty, and the paneer was particularly great, even though it was the first time the hotel owner had made it.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
Dinesh went to the district headquarters so we had Deepa to help us out, although we have a wonderfully familiar routine here now. After lunch, waiting for the jeep, with our usual crowd of onlookers, we decided it was time for the next childhood game (remember our super successful rounds of Stella Ella ola last week?). So we taught the Macarena dance! It was hilarious and wonderful all at the same time, a great reminder of the power of laughter.
For dinner that night, we had a new addition to our meal! A chicken curry for the nonvegs and a delicious paneer cheese dish for the vegs. So tasty, and the paneer was particularly great, even though it was the first time the hotel owner had made it.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 21: Rooftop Graduation Ceremony
Today was our second day teaching and our first day with a soccer!
Class went much better for everyone, having had some time to prepare and go over the textbooks. The head English teacher is very excited to have us there, although it is a really big challenge for us to teach curriculum. We are trying our best, though, and everyone said we did much better today! Practice makes perfect, yes?
Dinesh brought a soccer ball to the school so of course we had to play some football with the kids! We played with four of the teachers on our team, against a handful of CP's students/girls they support on the other team. We lost........terribly. 3-0, but everyone had a blast! The sun was beaming down on us during the game, so it was a relief to sit in the teacher's staff room for lunch, served by some of CP's other girls.
It was Chelsea's UBC convocation (we think), so we celebrated with a rooftop ceremony! Kelly prepared a speech, Bailey and Vita made the gown, cap, and diploma, and we all stood on the rooftop under the stars and clapped, shook hands, took pictures. It ended with a dance party, wearing headlamps to see by, giving our neighbours a good laugh.
Class went much better for everyone, having had some time to prepare and go over the textbooks. The head English teacher is very excited to have us there, although it is a really big challenge for us to teach curriculum. We are trying our best, though, and everyone said we did much better today! Practice makes perfect, yes?
Dinesh brought a soccer ball to the school so of course we had to play some football with the kids! We played with four of the teachers on our team, against a handful of CP's students/girls they support on the other team. We lost........terribly. 3-0, but everyone had a blast! The sun was beaming down on us during the game, so it was a relief to sit in the teacher's staff room for lunch, served by some of CP's other girls.
It was Chelsea's UBC convocation (we think), so we celebrated with a rooftop ceremony! Kelly prepared a speech, Bailey and Vita made the gown, cap, and diploma, and we all stood on the rooftop under the stars and clapped, shook hands, took pictures. It ended with a dance party, wearing headlamps to see by, giving our neighbours a good laugh.
A hilarious end to a fantastic day.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 20, 2013
May 20: Teaching English classes
Holy moly, it is May 20th already!
Today we were thrown into the classrooms for some English
teaching/review with the students. It was quite the surprise for everyone, not
having much preparation, and definitely a challenging first day. The students
here are not quite like students back home, so we all had a reality check of
our (bad grammar) expectations. However, the English teacher is very attentive to
us and wants us to succeed as much as possible, so we left the worksite with
English books in hand and some classroom preparation to do for homework!
It looks like we will be working in the classroom for an
extended time of two periods per day to help the students with their English
and give them the chance to talk to, to put it frankly, us white people. All
the students are very quiet (for now) and are incredibly respectful, staying on
their feet until you tell them to sit down, everyone hesitant to offer answers
at first. And all the girls stay almost silent the whole time. Hopefully
working with everyone for the week will make it easier for everyone to
communicate and get used to each other, so we can learn from them just as
effectively they can learn from us.
We spent part of the afternoon at the scarf-making set up
in the CP office, choosing fabrics for some custom scarves the mothers will
make for us. Dhanyabad as always! We had lunch at a super local place in
Godhawa (I think that's how you spell it), the village that the school is just
outside of. It was delicious, as most food is, listening to Al Jazeera news and
thinking about the lack of world news on our Canadian networks.
We are excited to return to the classroom tomorrow and
see what progress and what changes will happen over this next week!
DWC Student Team
Nepal, May 2013
May 19, 2013
May 19: Weekend in Lumbini
On Saturday, we travelled in style to the Dreamland Gold Resort for a restful night near Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. We say 'in style' because it was the most western kind of vehicle we have driven in so far. And boy was he hotel ever a dream land! Lush green gardens, served cold soda upon arriving, and A POOL!!!!!!!!!! (We were very excited about the pool....you would be too, with the amount of HEAT at this time of year).
We had a delicious lunch and tried some Indian desserts, being super close to the Indian border. The jury is in: gulab jamun and homemade ice cream is....DELICIOUS. Yum.
We spent the afternoon sitting by and then swimming in the pool. Afternoon naps, book reading, casual card games and even some room service snacks made for a fantastic and relaxing day. And a much needed break after all the brick moving, brick laying, brick breaking and general brick...dancing. Because that happened often. We went to bed with dreams of Buddha in our heads, for Sunday is our visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
Today we visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha!
We paired off and rode rickshaws for a tour of the temples and stupas. This took us about two hours in the muggy heat of the day, but the beautiful structures astonished us all. There are many different temples built by different countries, all with a very unique style. The most intricate was definitely the German temple....you could spend all day inside, gazing up at the artwork. We had to take our shoes off to walk around and in most of these structures, which was really hot on the toes but totally worth it
We had a delicious lunch and tried some Indian desserts, being super close to the Indian border. The jury is in: gulab jamun and homemade ice cream is....DELICIOUS. Yum.
We spent the afternoon sitting by and then swimming in the pool. Afternoon naps, book reading, casual card games and even some room service snacks made for a fantastic and relaxing day. And a much needed break after all the brick moving, brick laying, brick breaking and general brick...dancing. Because that happened often. We went to bed with dreams of Buddha in our heads, for Sunday is our visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
Today we visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha!
We paired off and rode rickshaws for a tour of the temples and stupas. This took us about two hours in the muggy heat of the day, but the beautiful structures astonished us all. There are many different temples built by different countries, all with a very unique style. The most intricate was definitely the German temple....you could spend all day inside, gazing up at the artwork. We had to take our shoes off to walk around and in most of these structures, which was really hot on the toes but totally worth it
We visited the main temple complex and got a chance to
see the marker of the actual location of the birthplace of Buddha. Of course we
couldn't take pictures, but it is a sight we will not soon forget. Around the
temple were some very old bases of some very old temples that no longer stand.
We stood underneath the Buddha tree, looking up at the prayer flags, enjoying
the small breeze, everyone wrapped up in their own divine mysteries.
We left the complex and had lunch across the street,
where we really felt the casualties of Nepali time. We amused ourselves
watching some Hindi "So You Think You Can Dance" show and laughed at
reality TV. Oh the joys...
We returned to our wonderful home here in Dang, everyone
breathing that familiar sigh of return, because it really is starting to feel
like home here now. And to our utmost delight, our hotel family had pasta for
dinner for us! What a treat and a great way to finish off our weekend.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 17, 2013
May 17: A Danish encounter and a Tharu experience
Today was our day off!
At breakfast, to all of our great surprise, a tall, blond, white guy walked by the hotel. What! We invited him in, of course, and he joined us for the morning. He is from Denmark and is working on democracy promotion in Nepal with a youth initiative here, in collaboration with his youth party at home in Denmark.
Anna, Kelly and Dinesh had a long conversation with him, touching on all the politicking things around Nepal and international development in general, with very interesting perspectives on both sides. Kaleigh, Katie, Bailey and Vita went for a walk down to the river in the heat of the day, taking a chance to get to know the area even more.
Around 3:30, we all (minus our Danish friend, who left after rounds of the Nepalese game 'goats and tigers') loaded into our rumbly bumpy jeep and headed to Deepa's for a dinner party/gathering. We drove way far out into the dusty countryside and got to experience a little bit of Tharu village life. Tharus are one of the many ethnic groups in Nepal, and one of the most prevalent in the Dang district where we are. We met Deepa's daughter (so cute!) and had some delicious Tharu food--nice and spicy! Sitting on her doorstep in plastic chairs, looking out onto the dusty road....what a start to the summer.
We returned early to the hotel, around 8pm, to prepare for our weekend in Lumbini!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
At breakfast, to all of our great surprise, a tall, blond, white guy walked by the hotel. What! We invited him in, of course, and he joined us for the morning. He is from Denmark and is working on democracy promotion in Nepal with a youth initiative here, in collaboration with his youth party at home in Denmark.
Anna, Kelly and Dinesh had a long conversation with him, touching on all the politicking things around Nepal and international development in general, with very interesting perspectives on both sides. Kaleigh, Katie, Bailey and Vita went for a walk down to the river in the heat of the day, taking a chance to get to know the area even more.
Around 3:30, we all (minus our Danish friend, who left after rounds of the Nepalese game 'goats and tigers') loaded into our rumbly bumpy jeep and headed to Deepa's for a dinner party/gathering. We drove way far out into the dusty countryside and got to experience a little bit of Tharu village life. Tharus are one of the many ethnic groups in Nepal, and one of the most prevalent in the Dang district where we are. We met Deepa's daughter (so cute!) and had some delicious Tharu food--nice and spicy! Sitting on her doorstep in plastic chairs, looking out onto the dusty road....what a start to the summer.
We returned early to the hotel, around 8pm, to prepare for our weekend in Lumbini!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 16, 2013
May 16: Finishing the construction project
This was our last day of work before our long weekend break!
We finished the walls by the windows so now the classroom is just waiting for a roof, which should be finished when IWEN (the Intercultural Women's Network, who supports CP and made a special contribution for our project) sends their group of volunteers down in November.
Our construction dhais (brothers) were particularly funny and great today, the older one dancing for a bit on some of the scaffolding, causing us to laugh and clap, and the younger one mastering the art of the thumbs up and "no problem". It was so satisfying to climb down at the end of the day, looking at our handiwork of the last week and feeling like we have achieved something, helped greatly by our dhais and didis and ammas (sisters and mothers) all along the way.
Watch a video Dinesh made of our first two weeks on the project site:
We played a huuuggggeeeee frisbee game with the kids after lunch but before our jeep arrived. It was hilarious to try and coordinate everybody, and just awesome in general to be connecting with everyone. Kelly, Kaleigh and Vita got a head start on introductions to the classes we will be working in next week.
Taking our bumpy jeep ride back, we waved to the kids who chased behind us, a daily event and a sure fire sign that they are definitely getting more used to us all.
All of us were super tired, so our evening was quite calm and consisted of a four hour nap...and then supper....and then bed, everyone turning off their alarms because Friday we chose to take a day off and recover from the heat and work.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
We finished the walls by the windows so now the classroom is just waiting for a roof, which should be finished when IWEN (the Intercultural Women's Network, who supports CP and made a special contribution for our project) sends their group of volunteers down in November.
Our construction dhais (brothers) were particularly funny and great today, the older one dancing for a bit on some of the scaffolding, causing us to laugh and clap, and the younger one mastering the art of the thumbs up and "no problem". It was so satisfying to climb down at the end of the day, looking at our handiwork of the last week and feeling like we have achieved something, helped greatly by our dhais and didis and ammas (sisters and mothers) all along the way.
Watch a video Dinesh made of our first two weeks on the project site:
We played a huuuggggeeeee frisbee game with the kids after lunch but before our jeep arrived. It was hilarious to try and coordinate everybody, and just awesome in general to be connecting with everyone. Kelly, Kaleigh and Vita got a head start on introductions to the classes we will be working in next week.
Taking our bumpy jeep ride back, we waved to the kids who chased behind us, a daily event and a sure fire sign that they are definitely getting more used to us all.
All of us were super tired, so our evening was quite calm and consisted of a four hour nap...and then supper....and then bed, everyone turning off their alarms because Friday we chose to take a day off and recover from the heat and work.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 15, 2013
May 15: Finishing the walls and dancing to Nepali music
We worked as usual, doing layers of bricks and filling up cement bags. We worked on the three tall walls of the classroom and finished them. We started on the back walls with the window frames in place. Everything is looking great so far, and we have really hit our stride in being able to communicate with the two construction workers we have been working with so far. We played some Nepali music while working today, which always makes for a hilarious time because all of us are inclined to dancing! And then everyone, especially some of the students that work with us, laugh at us, and we start laughing, and it is just a few good rounds of laughter.
When we got back to the hotel, some of the group went for a walk around the neighbourhood again, this time in a different direction. We always seem to gather a crew of Nepalese children whenever we go out in public. We caught the most fantastic sunset in the hazy distant foothills and then returned home with a parade of people following us at a distance.
We stopped for a moment at a house on the corner for Dinesh to chat with one of the girls CP has been supporting the longest. She told him how her exams are giving her a headache to study for...we all laughed and said we have totally felt the same way before! Students are students everywhere, no doubt about that.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
When we got back to the hotel, some of the group went for a walk around the neighbourhood again, this time in a different direction. We always seem to gather a crew of Nepalese children whenever we go out in public. We caught the most fantastic sunset in the hazy distant foothills and then returned home with a parade of people following us at a distance.
We stopped for a moment at a house on the corner for Dinesh to chat with one of the girls CP has been supporting the longest. She told him how her exams are giving her a headache to study for...we all laughed and said we have totally felt the same way before! Students are students everywhere, no doubt about that.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 14, 2013
May 14: Escaping the heat in the river
We returned to our productive state today, motoring through the construction of bamboo-and-twine scaffolding to give us some height on the many layers of wall we have managed so far.
It was also wicked hot, again, which was fine by all of us on account of our afternoon activities....more on that later.
We tried these raw, unripe green mangoes (just a slice each), and also played some excellent games of Frisbee with some more of the school kids. In particular, there is this one group of boys that is slowly getting larger each day as they get more confident speaking with us. It is so much fun to observe their actions and reactions to the crazy things we say and do, mostly because all of us are loud and exuberant people, dancing weirdly and laughing at ourselves. Sometimes there is really nothing better to do than laugh.
Once we pulled ourselves away from our new friends and headed back, we asked Dinesh if we could possible swim in the river. He answered with his characteristic "yes....okay." So by the main bridge, we piled out of the jeep and walked to the river, joining hoards of local boys/men and buffaloes in the water. What a refreshing and wonderful time! We had to sneak our way out on account of our shirts being white...and soaking wet...but it was honestly such a fun swim, and so needed after such a hot day.
More and more we are getting comfortable with this place and especially with the family who runs the hotel. Although only the son speaks a little bit of English, the friendliness is so prevalent in everything that is provided for us.
Dhanyabad, everyone we have met on this journey so far!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
It was also wicked hot, again, which was fine by all of us on account of our afternoon activities....more on that later.
We tried these raw, unripe green mangoes (just a slice each), and also played some excellent games of Frisbee with some more of the school kids. In particular, there is this one group of boys that is slowly getting larger each day as they get more confident speaking with us. It is so much fun to observe their actions and reactions to the crazy things we say and do, mostly because all of us are loud and exuberant people, dancing weirdly and laughing at ourselves. Sometimes there is really nothing better to do than laugh.
Once we pulled ourselves away from our new friends and headed back, we asked Dinesh if we could possible swim in the river. He answered with his characteristic "yes....okay." So by the main bridge, we piled out of the jeep and walked to the river, joining hoards of local boys/men and buffaloes in the water. What a refreshing and wonderful time! We had to sneak our way out on account of our shirts being white...and soaking wet...but it was honestly such a fun swim, and so needed after such a hot day.
More and more we are getting comfortable with this place and especially with the family who runs the hotel. Although only the son speaks a little bit of English, the friendliness is so prevalent in everything that is provided for us.
Dhanyabad, everyone we have met on this journey so far!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 13, 2013
May 13: Making progress on the classrooms and with the kids
Today was our slowest day yet, everyone feeling the heat
and the physical work from the last few days. It was muggier and more humid,
likely on account of the rain from the night before. It also meant that
everything was much clearer to see, less of a heat haze around the foothills.
It is so interesting to see how the landscape changes slightly each day.
We returned earlier from the site and all of us took an afternoon nap. We are making great progress with the kids at work though: they are stopping by the classroom under construction, waiting shyly in doorways and then ducking away, getting braver and braver calling out hellos, which is wonderful!
We got the chance to sit in on a mother's group meeting
as well! And although we could not understand any of the exchange, it was
fascinating to watch it work out, especially because they had to elect a
president, VP, secretary and the like. The women were super modest about it at
first, but one look of their faces when they were elected and even through the
blushing laughter you could tell they were determined to make it work out for
the best!
We returned earlier from the site and all of us took an afternoon nap. We are making great progress with the kids at work though: they are stopping by the classroom under construction, waiting shyly in doorways and then ducking away, getting braver and braver calling out hellos, which is wonderful!
Dinesh took us for a walk through the town of Lamahi,
stopping in at a few shops to say hello, and ran into one of the school
teachers in town. We enjoyed a nice cold Fanta/Pepsi/Mountain Dew on one
shopkeeper's step, and by the time we left, we had acquired a circle of curious
children and bystanders.
At dinner, there were literally so many bugs on the wall.
It was hilarious to watch the geckos go crazy trying to eat them.
It's the little things that count.. ;)
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 12: Playing games and getting caught in hailstorm
We woke up early today to get to the site and get some work in before the heat of the day gets too intense for us. The commute to work already feels like old hat to us, but it will never get old to smile and wave at the people and get smiles and waves in return. We are still getting a lot of curious looks and double takes (especially passersby on bikes), but hopefully we will be here long enough to become just another rumbly jeep driving by.
Work was more of the same: hot hot heat, brick dust under our fingers, the women laughing at our wobbly necks when transporting bricks. Everyone is in just such a good mood that even though we can't communicate on the same language level, it is still a ton of fun.
After lunch, we played a few rounds of Stella Ella Ola with the kids who stayed after school let out. It was so awesome to finally break the ice with them, so to speak, and get involved. :)
Clouds rolled in just as our jeep rolled up, so we climbed on the roof and bumped our way back in to town. Our driver called us to sit inside and boy was it just on time--the rain started POURING down as soon as we did. The road turned to rivers of muddy water, and then we were caught momentarily in a hailstorm, all of us dissolving in laughter.
Back at the hotel, it was cool and rainy...the coolest we have been since arriving, which was a nice change. There was a thunderstorm that crackled around us and brought the temperature down for the evening. We sat outside in the hallway space between all of our rooms for as long as we could before getting too damp from the rain. Everyone is getting along so so well so far, and we are having quite a hilarious time together, which is awesome.
And of course, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to our wonderful mothers that let us be here on this adventure, celebrating at a distance, and to all the mothers we have met so far here.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
Work was more of the same: hot hot heat, brick dust under our fingers, the women laughing at our wobbly necks when transporting bricks. Everyone is in just such a good mood that even though we can't communicate on the same language level, it is still a ton of fun.
After lunch, we played a few rounds of Stella Ella Ola with the kids who stayed after school let out. It was so awesome to finally break the ice with them, so to speak, and get involved. :)
Clouds rolled in just as our jeep rolled up, so we climbed on the roof and bumped our way back in to town. Our driver called us to sit inside and boy was it just on time--the rain started POURING down as soon as we did. The road turned to rivers of muddy water, and then we were caught momentarily in a hailstorm, all of us dissolving in laughter.
Back at the hotel, it was cool and rainy...the coolest we have been since arriving, which was a nice change. There was a thunderstorm that crackled around us and brought the temperature down for the evening. We sat outside in the hallway space between all of our rooms for as long as we could before getting too damp from the rain. Everyone is getting along so so well so far, and we are having quite a hilarious time together, which is awesome.
And of course, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to our wonderful mothers that let us be here on this adventure, celebrating at a distance, and to all the mothers we have met so far here.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 11: First full day on the work site
This was our first full day of work at the site. It was also a day off of school, so the yard was quite quiet. We carried bricks on our heads like the women do (not nearly as much as they do, and not quite as efficiently, but not too bad after all!) and worked on the walls. It was a super hot day, as most of them are shaping up to be, so we tried our best to stay cool....or at least drink enough water. We are working with a few of the girls CP supports, as well as a handful of mothers and two very friendly local construction workers. You can tell that all of them have quite the groove and are used to working together. The women and girls are so strong and just work work work whenever there are tasks to do. It is wonderful and inspiring to watch!
When we got back from the site, there was WATERMELON waiting for us! What a sweet and refreshing treat! This we could certainly get used to.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
When we got back from the site, there was WATERMELON waiting for us! What a sweet and refreshing treat! This we could certainly get used to.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 10, 2013
May 10: A warm welcome and introduction to classroom construction
We woke up and had breakfast in the dining room before heading out in our excellent rusty Jeep that will be our transportation for our work days on the site. We were all wide eyes and exclamations at the goats and bumps in the road, taking in each new turn and bend, waving happily to the curious villagers.
We turned around another corner and stopped by what seemed like a big procession. Dinesh got out of the truck and told us to jump out as well, because this was our welcome to the site. All our faces were varying shades of shock and surprise and emotion, not quite sure what to make of this amount of genuine welcome. Even now we are having trouble trying to describe it because of how very emotional it was for all of us. We received a tikka of purple dust on our foreheads and wreaths of hibiscus and magnolias around our necks from the first (beautifully dressed) women, and then proceeded to get smeared on the face and have more flowers pressed into our hands. Everyone called out namaste and the school children were gathered smilingly around. Somebody beat a drum behind us, a different sounding drum, Nepali-sounding, beautiful.
Pictures were taken, hands were held and laughter exchanged when we introduced ourselves with "mero naam .... ho". We asked Dinesh to thank everyone for us, but it was almost impossible to gather the words necessary to express what was going through us all.
We met the teachers in the school (7 of 28 are female...not too bad a ratio) and then started our brick moving process. It was not just us for long, though, as groups of students made a brick-brigade to help us out. We are going to be working on the second floor of the classroom, building walls, laying bricks and then will help out in the English classes so the students can "get more comfortable talking to white people".
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Our first lunch on the site was this super delicious rice pudding and spicy potato curry mixture prepared by some of the women from one of the mother's groups that CP supports. We stopped in on the Dang office for CPN and met some of the women who are responsible for making scarves, which are then sold via the website/company UNAKO. Dinesh told us all about the details of micro financing and the way CP specifically funcations for these mother's groups. It has been such a learning experience so far to see how they work and what challenges CP faces.
We arrived back at our hotel after another fabulously bumpy ride and all scattered to our rooms to reflect on what we just experienced....and also try to wash our faces because the pink would make for an interesting sunburn had we kept it.
Dinner was roti instead of rice, so the second of our two options for food at this hotel. None of us mind too much so far, because everything is prepared and served so respectfully. Plus the wifi here is strangely enough quite reliable and we have the option of A/C when the power is on. This makes for a very excellent stay!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
We turned around another corner and stopped by what seemed like a big procession. Dinesh got out of the truck and told us to jump out as well, because this was our welcome to the site. All our faces were varying shades of shock and surprise and emotion, not quite sure what to make of this amount of genuine welcome. Even now we are having trouble trying to describe it because of how very emotional it was for all of us. We received a tikka of purple dust on our foreheads and wreaths of hibiscus and magnolias around our necks from the first (beautifully dressed) women, and then proceeded to get smeared on the face and have more flowers pressed into our hands. Everyone called out namaste and the school children were gathered smilingly around. Somebody beat a drum behind us, a different sounding drum, Nepali-sounding, beautiful.
Pictures were taken, hands were held and laughter exchanged when we introduced ourselves with "mero naam .... ho". We asked Dinesh to thank everyone for us, but it was almost impossible to gather the words necessary to express what was going through us all.
We met the teachers in the school (7 of 28 are female...not too bad a ratio) and then started our brick moving process. It was not just us for long, though, as groups of students made a brick-brigade to help us out. We are going to be working on the second floor of the classroom, building walls, laying bricks and then will help out in the English classes so the students can "get more comfortable talking to white people".
.jpg)
Our first lunch on the site was this super delicious rice pudding and spicy potato curry mixture prepared by some of the women from one of the mother's groups that CP supports. We stopped in on the Dang office for CPN and met some of the women who are responsible for making scarves, which are then sold via the website/company UNAKO. Dinesh told us all about the details of micro financing and the way CP specifically funcations for these mother's groups. It has been such a learning experience so far to see how they work and what challenges CP faces.
We arrived back at our hotel after another fabulously bumpy ride and all scattered to our rooms to reflect on what we just experienced....and also try to wash our faces because the pink would make for an interesting sunburn had we kept it.
Dinner was roti instead of rice, so the second of our two options for food at this hotel. None of us mind too much so far, because everything is prepared and served so respectfully. Plus the wifi here is strangely enough quite reliable and we have the option of A/C when the power is on. This makes for a very excellent stay!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 9: Dubsteppin' to the project site
The bus ride: 10 hours of dusty, bumpy roads, some beautiful scenery and A LOT of goats. It was hilarious because we were all a little bit delirious from dehydration and lack of bathroom breaks. Our kind bus driver bought us an English Music Volume 2 CD and a Linkin Park music video DVD. We were listening to dubstep as we travelled through tea hills and forests. We arrived in Lamahi just as the sun was setting, threw down our bags and ran to the roof of our small, family owned hotel. We had tea on the roof which was lovely as there was a nice breeze to cool us off from the really really hot weather (about 38 degrees). We went to bed, ready for our worksite orientation the next day.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 8, 2013
May 8: Monkey Temple and Taxi Rides
Today we went to the "monkey temple", which involved us taking a taxi and being on the driving side of the busy roads. What a hoot and a holler, literally because of the amount of car-honk-speak going on.
Amongst people selling things (as there always seems to be), we climbed a million plus stairs to the top of the temple. What a phenomenal view from the top! With monkeys crawling about and prayer flags flapping, you could see the whole of Kathmandu Valley through the haze (which was less than usual due to the short burst of rainstorm last night).
We spent some time wandering the temple/platform area and then had lunch at a terrace cafe on the edge of the cliff. Kothey momos were the name of the game...part fries, part steamed, and totally delicious.
Pictures just can't capture the colours and view from that temple area, looking out over all the apartments and streets. How insignificant we are, and how we need to be reminded of it sometimes. Surrounded by Buddhist and Hindu worshipers, and large hills on the horizon, looking at the small places we live...wonderful.
We returned to the hotel and have just received word that we will be leaving to Dang tomorrow! There was the chance of a strike for the next three days that would have taken out public transportation options, but Dinesh has told is that we will be leaving anyways! Wahoo! Here is to a 12 hour bus ride and some rural living!
Not sure when we will have wifi enough to submit a blog, but we will keep writing and submit the posts once we have enough service.
Time for the next adventure!
DWC Student Team
Nepal May 2013
Amongst people selling things (as there always seems to be), we climbed a million plus stairs to the top of the temple. What a phenomenal view from the top! With monkeys crawling about and prayer flags flapping, you could see the whole of Kathmandu Valley through the haze (which was less than usual due to the short burst of rainstorm last night).
We spent some time wandering the temple/platform area and then had lunch at a terrace cafe on the edge of the cliff. Kothey momos were the name of the game...part fries, part steamed, and totally delicious.
Pictures just can't capture the colours and view from that temple area, looking out over all the apartments and streets. How insignificant we are, and how we need to be reminded of it sometimes. Surrounded by Buddhist and Hindu worshipers, and large hills on the horizon, looking at the small places we live...wonderful.
We returned to the hotel and have just received word that we will be leaving to Dang tomorrow! There was the chance of a strike for the next three days that would have taken out public transportation options, but Dinesh has told is that we will be leaving anyways! Wahoo! Here is to a 12 hour bus ride and some rural living!
Not sure when we will have wifi enough to submit a blog, but we will keep writing and submit the posts once we have enough service.
Time for the next adventure!
DWC Student Team
Nepal May 2013
May 7, 2013
May 7: A Colourful Day at the Garden Of Dreams
We ventured out on our own today to the Garden of Dreams for a wonderful shady break in the middle of this beautifully chaotic city. Everyone is getting along fantastically so far--we are all very excited for what the next three weeks will bring us!
We had lunch at a great place just around the corner, sitting under a shady canopy and chatting. The amount of time that everything takes to happen in Nepal is actually wonderful: it gives us time to enjoy our tea in the morning and just generally each other's company and conversation.
Our feet took us through narrow, narrow streets and into a busy market square, past colourful bags of spices and rices and other things nice-s. We stumbled upon a beautiful temple, whose sign "followers of all religions welcome" invited us in. There were pigeons...everywhere...(Anna and Chelsea were blessed with 'good luck' from them) and all these intricate details on the shrines that looked like they were moving because of the pigeon-coating. An Indian man took us around and explained parts of the place of worship to us, glad to be able to practice his English with us.
Kelly's strangely good sense of direction brought us home, where we had a hilarious dinner just at the hotel. We sat and talked and laughed for a few hours straight before calling it a successful, colourful day.
DWC Student Team
Nepal May 2013
We had lunch at a great place just around the corner, sitting under a shady canopy and chatting. The amount of time that everything takes to happen in Nepal is actually wonderful: it gives us time to enjoy our tea in the morning and just generally each other's company and conversation.
Our feet took us through narrow, narrow streets and into a busy market square, past colourful bags of spices and rices and other things nice-s. We stumbled upon a beautiful temple, whose sign "followers of all religions welcome" invited us in. There were pigeons...everywhere...(Anna and Chelsea were blessed with 'good luck' from them) and all these intricate details on the shrines that looked like they were moving because of the pigeon-coating. An Indian man took us around and explained parts of the place of worship to us, glad to be able to practice his English with us.
Kelly's strangely good sense of direction brought us home, where we had a hilarious dinner just at the hotel. We sat and talked and laughed for a few hours straight before calling it a successful, colourful day.
DWC Student Team
Nepal May 2013
May 6, 2013
May 6: Meeting CPN - Creating Possibilities Nepal
Look! Casual hangouts talking welfare and development in Nepal. Thanks Creating Possibilities Nepal for a wonderful and delicious day.
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
Kelly Gerlings
DWC Student Team Leader
Nepal, May 2013
May 6: Adventures with Public Transport in Nepal
This was a huge day for the team: our first experience on public transportation! We took two different "buses" to get to the Creating Possibilities office for our official orientation. The first bus was a little bit larger than a mini van, all decked out in colourful tassels and blaring some Nepali music. We had a guide sent from CP to direct us to which bus to take next because otherwise we would have had no idea where to go next.
The office was more like a house because it is also part hostel for some of the students CP supports as they attend school further from home. We got to meet Dinesh's wife, who is lovely and 7 months pregnant (congratulations!), and then Dinesh and Nura gave us a short presentation about Creating Possibilities and the work that they do. Everyone was really impressed with the amount of work and support CP does, especially with such a small team of employees. We got to meet some of the girls that CP has been working with and went on a tour of the house (which is a hostel, a house, an office and a flat for rent all in one). We had a delicious meal of yogurt, fruit and pounded, flattened, dried rice, which made the concoction taste like oatmeal.
Afterwards we went out and visited the Pashupatinath temple complex. It was overwhelming in terms of how much there was to see and take in, overwhelming but beautiful, between the funeral pyres, the elderly orphanage, and the colourful shrines and architecture. We crossed a lot of crazy busy streets and wandered under many prayer flags to get there and to return. We are pretty accomplished at crossing some of those streets!
Back at the offices, we had a wonderful meal of dhal baat and pickles, which Bailey, Katie and Kelly "lived on the edge" and ate with their hands. With some more practice, we will all be accomplished rice-hand eaters!
Our journey home at the end of day was an adventure and a half on public buses (about 15 cents Canadian for a ride) at night. We squished and squeezed in beside the Nepali commuters, them sharing private laughs at our tourist expense. What a thrill! We have decided that our group tagline will be "living on the edge", whether it is in moves we make while playing cards, crossing the streets, or trying new things to eat.
Talk soon!
DWC Student Team
Nepal May 2013
The office was more like a house because it is also part hostel for some of the students CP supports as they attend school further from home. We got to meet Dinesh's wife, who is lovely and 7 months pregnant (congratulations!), and then Dinesh and Nura gave us a short presentation about Creating Possibilities and the work that they do. Everyone was really impressed with the amount of work and support CP does, especially with such a small team of employees. We got to meet some of the girls that CP has been working with and went on a tour of the house (which is a hostel, a house, an office and a flat for rent all in one). We had a delicious meal of yogurt, fruit and pounded, flattened, dried rice, which made the concoction taste like oatmeal.
Afterwards we went out and visited the Pashupatinath temple complex. It was overwhelming in terms of how much there was to see and take in, overwhelming but beautiful, between the funeral pyres, the elderly orphanage, and the colourful shrines and architecture. We crossed a lot of crazy busy streets and wandered under many prayer flags to get there and to return. We are pretty accomplished at crossing some of those streets!
Back at the offices, we had a wonderful meal of dhal baat and pickles, which Bailey, Katie and Kelly "lived on the edge" and ate with their hands. With some more practice, we will all be accomplished rice-hand eaters!
Our journey home at the end of day was an adventure and a half on public buses (about 15 cents Canadian for a ride) at night. We squished and squeezed in beside the Nepali commuters, them sharing private laughs at our tourist expense. What a thrill! We have decided that our group tagline will be "living on the edge", whether it is in moves we make while playing cards, crossing the streets, or trying new things to eat.
Talk soon!
DWC Student Team
Nepal May 2013
May 5, 2013
May 5: The first volunteer student group arrives in Nepal
(This was Katie's 20th birthday today!)
We rolled out of some jet lagged sleep to the prayer
flags in our hotel and a tasty breakfast with some familiar dishes with a
Nepali twist(read: spicy eggs). Dinesh and Nura met us in Nepali time in the
hotel where we introduced ourselves and got started on the day. They took us
out to get a phone (for our team leader Kelly, yay for Nepali digits) and then
out for a delicious Nepali lunch: momos. We sat in a special room for
tourists (or at least that's what it seemed like) and ate lunch by candlelight
due to the power cuts in the city. We had some white forest cake for Katie's
birthday and even had candles to blow out. Momos are steamed dumplings that you
can fill with different fillings, like mutton, chicken or peanut paneer. We
will probably talk about paneer a lot because it is super delicious (it is a
special kind of Indian cheese). Dinesh and Nura shared stories about Nepali and
Hindu culture, which was really neat.
After lunch, we headed back to our neighborhood and had
some tasty masala chiya (tea) and then went out shopping/exploring close by.
There are a lot of really great shops around our hotel selling lots of spices,
tea, cashmere (so soft!!), and lots of great flowy clothes. And the prices are
amazing...so here's an insider tip if you want to travel to Nepal: just buy
your things here, all the trekking equipment is here for very discounted
prices. Really neat!
We had a great dinner at Thamel House restaurant down the
street where we enjoyed some curry and rice and tea. There were some
traditional Nepalese dancers who performed at intervals, all decked out in
bells and beautiful costumes.
For a first day, it was full of narrow streets and lots
to see!
Kelly Gerlings
DWC student team
Nepal May 2013
April 3, 2013
April 4: A beautiful and bittersweet send off
We finished our project at the school this afternoon and had the most beautiful and bittersweet 'Thank You' ceremony on Wednesday. Then we decided to head for a little more adventure, so we are now in Chitwan National Park! Heading back to Kathmandu this afternoon and going to settle in there for the next few days. Such an incredible journey, feeling pretty blessed, humbled, and inspired!!
Megan Campbell (Yoga, action, Adventure)
DWC Team Leader
Nepal, April 2013
Megan Campbell (Yoga, action, Adventure)
DWC Team Leader
Nepal, April 2013
April 3: Funding a scholarship for Deepa
One of the things I love to do when on the Yoga, Action, Adventure trips is find ways to give even more. I am so proud and humbled by our group. Together we have donated enough to fund a scholarship for Deepa (in the pic on the side-bar with her daughter) to attend some courses in Kathmandu to be better trained in counseling the women she works with. While she is there Creating Possibilities, a social organization of Nepal and DWC's Host Partner, is also going to give her more computer and English lessons too! I cannot wait to see what this amazingly beautiful young woman is going to do in Dang!!
Megan Campbell (Yoga, action, Adventure)
DWC Team Leader
Nepal, April 2013
Megan Campbell (Yoga, action, Adventure)
DWC Team Leader
Nepal, April 2013
March 30, 2013
March 29: Week #1 on site done
We got some rebar, cement mixing, heavy lifting and brick laying under the belt this week :)
Now we are off for some much needed relax, rejuvenate, and explore Buddha's birth place, Lumbini time!!
Megan Campbell (Yoga, Action, Adventure)
DWC Team Leader
Nepal, March 2013
Now we are off for some much needed relax, rejuvenate, and explore Buddha's birth place, Lumbini time!!
Megan Campbell (Yoga, Action, Adventure)
DWC Team Leader
Nepal, March 2013
March 29, 2013
March 28: Holi Festival in Nepal!
The Festival of Holi is celebrated in India and Nepal on the full moon in either February or March. We were so lucky to be able to participate in the festival with some local villagers in the plains near Lamahi. As soon as we left the hotel, we were greeted by the owner who gave us our starting war paint marks. Red, of course, which is the traditional colour of Holi. Soon we were transported to a village and the fun ensued. All inhibitions were let loose and colours began to fly. We all grabbed some coloured powders and tossed them at one another, as well as the locals. We were doing pretty well...until we lost control of the water pump! Everywhere you looked, colours were flying, people were smiling, eyes were dancing! There was no holding back as we relinquished control to the spirit of Holi. All the excitement filled the air, it was contagious! The vibrant colours marking our faces and our inner children let loose onto the world. It was truly a bonding experience, especially in a culture so different from our North American customs. We were really able to get closer to the people of the village by sharing in one of their festivals. We saw little children throwing colours, and old men tossing buckets of coloured water on us foreigners, then giggling maniacally. What an opportunity! We played until we were spent, then sat down to a meal made by the villagers. It was delicious! It included a special rice dish only made for special guests and cups filled with their traditional alcohol. We all felt so honoured to participate in their special festival. Holi is such a free celebration compared to many of the celebrations we have in our North American culture. It's all about the goodness and love, celebrating life. There is no oppressive or solemn undertones. Holi is just about being happy, celebration and being with your fellow man. Thank you to all our dais (brothers) and didis (sisters) who made us feel so welcome on this most wonderful day.
Jennifer Walker and Adele Stratton
DWC Participants
Nepal, March 2013
Jennifer Walker and Adele Stratton
DWC Participants
Nepal, March 2013
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