I'm a Fighter

Nepal, Dahapsi
Volunteer House & Training

I'm going to type this as fast as I can. Yesterday I spent 20 minutes writing a detailed description of my first day in Nepal to have the power go out as I was about to click "post."

Yesterday I spent most of my day trying to figure out what time it is. The jet lag was considerably bad since the difference is 12:45 hours. I woke up at 5 am after a night of fairly good sleep. I met my housemates in the volunteer house and everyone is very nice. There were 10 of us her when I arrived and in the past 24 hours it's been narrowed down to three and the other two are leaving tomorrow. The other volunteers are from Alabama, London, Korea, Italy, San Francisco, and Australia. Sushmita is the volunteer coordinator and is the one who provides me with language training and tours of Kathmandu.

Yesterday and today I went to Papa's House, the girls home, in the morning to help platt (braid) all 47 girls' hair before they go to school. The first day they were curious about me and very polite. Today they were more brave, asking me if I was a "fighter" (Sushmita thought it was because I wasn't wearing jewelry and wearing shorts, which are usually reserved for men) and giving me the nickname LoLu, even though they could say my name just fine. One of the girls told me I need to get a skirt, so I promised her I would get on today and wear it tomorrow when I came to get them ready for school. She also suggested dangly earings, but I wasn't able to find an inexpensive pair in the city today. The girls are very sweet and literally fight to hold my hand on the walk to school. The crave every little bit of attention they can get.

Once the girls are at school I walk back to the volunteer house to meet Sushmita for sight seeing and lessons. I've been butchering the language for two days now and don't understand a word except for Namaste. Yesterday we went to Bodhnath, a Tibetan temple or stupa. It was overwhelmingly big and everything was colorful with prayer flags flying everywhere. We paid our respects at the large prayer wheels and witnessed burnings in honor of boudha.

Getting there was its own challenge, we hoped on three different minis (Toyota van taxis that can mash 24 people inside- no joke) on the way there and then again on the way home. On the way there a family of 5 got on and there wasn't enough room for the two year old little girl to have a seat. Her mom (holding an infant) wedged her between my leg and hers. I wasn't sure what to do so I just picked her up and put her on my lap. She was so light, like a little doll, and didn't mind sitting on my lap at all. It was 85 degrees out and she was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, causing sweat to run down her face. I kept brushing it away, trying to keep it out of her eyes. Even though she was very dirty and sweaty she was one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen. I have never witnessed traffic like that in Kathmandu in my entire life. There are no lanes, lights or rules. Honking is continuous and its like the biggest rat race I've ever seen. I could never drive here. I'd be dead in about 3 minutes. The side roads are small and narrow and can barely fit a van, let alone two. People, motorbikes, vans, cars (taxis), and cows share the road and I've almost been hit by a bike a few times. Apparently, if a driver hits cow it is 2 years in jail, but if they hit a person they just have to pay a fine. Let's just say I try to stay out of the way and keep my head up!

Today I went with Sushmita into downtown Nepal to see some sights and visit the national museum. About two years ago the monarchy was over thrown and the king's palace was turned into a museum by the government. Unfortunately it was closed. Once in the old part of the city the road was very narrow (vans can't fit) and most people walked or rode on motorbikes. It was very crowded and smelled of insence everywhere. There were hundreds of shops and restraunts. Everywhere we went there was some homage to Boudah, either a temple, prayer wheel, monument or statue. They are all very old and well used. While I was there I had lunch, took some pictures, and bought a skirt (Shagita will be so happy tomorrow morning and maybe they won't think I'm a fighter!).

Later today I'm going to walk down to a little restaurant with my new friend Sarah (Australian volunteer) to celebrate her last night in Nepal. She has been here for just over two weeks and volunteered in Narti, one of my possible placements. The restaurant only has two tables and is owned by Sushmita's uncle. The food looks amazing, although I couldn't eat it yesterday when I was there, I was feeling too sick due to the jet lag. Every restaurant here offers a large amount of vegetarian food and all of it looks and smells good. Today I had naan (flat bread) with yellow curry vegetables. I don't like curry from home, but the curry here is very good and a more balanced flavor. Every meal at the volunteer house (breakfast and dinner) is steamed rice, beans, and curry vegetables. Lucky for me I like it. When I got to my placement it will be more of the same. Most Nepali's only eat two meals a day due to a lack of money.

Pollution here is a big problem. People often wear masks to shield them from the dirty air. It is difficult to see the hills that are just beyond the volunteer house. There are no real public garbage cans here and people just throw their garbage on the ground. As Sarah and Pam say, "There is rubbish everywhere!" It is very dirty and sad. Many homes don't have running water and virtually none have washers for their clothes. All showers are cold because it is too expensive to heat the water. I can't wait until I ge into the country and they air is a little bit lighter. The poverty slaps me in the face everywhere I go, but the people seem happy and don't seem to notice the conditions they live in because it is normal to them. Nobody owns a car unless they use it to make money as a Taxi. At most a family might own a motorbike, but most people walk and take taxis or minis.

The most surprising thing about Nepal so far is that they are dogs everywhere. They are all medium sized dogs who are lethargic and look like they could use an extra meal or two and clean bowl of water. I want to take them all home with me. At night they come alive and all I can hear is dogs barking over music and people talking in the alley.

The exchange rate here is 77/1 and my $100 got me 7,700 rupees. Most things here are very inexpensive. For example, a plate of momo at the little restraurant down the street cost 25 rupees and a coke is 15 rupees. A nice meal might cost me a $1US at most. In the city things a more, but still relatively inexpensive. My skirt today cost 400 rupees, $5.20 US.

I talked to Michael about how to spend the money that was donated and we are going to meet about it tomorrow. I want him to tell me the best way the money can be spent and go from their. He thought it would be better to spend in on something special for the girls that would be out of reach otherwise and I thought that was a great idea. I'll keep you posted on what is decided after we talk.

I tried calling home over the past two days but the phones have been down or the person on the other end can't hear me even though I can hear them. I talked with Mom today briefly and had a broken conversation with Justin. It is on 2 rupees per minute to call home but the connection is unreliable at best so I'm relying on email to communicate.

I'll probably leave for my teaching placement on Thursday or Friday, so I'll try to post again before I leave, assuming their is power.

I'm missing everyone terribly, but am starting to feel a little more normal now that I'm adjusting to the time and feeling more confident in my surroundings. I hope everyone is well and that Stoli and Maddie are keeping Justin company at night! Love, L