Gotthatar... more pics later

A little Nepali folk dancing

Me and the girls... they always tell me that they want my skin, but I tell them that they Seriously

Katie won the Dal Bhat eating contest... Radhika served us 2 pounds of Rice, then potatoes, lentils, etc. She ate everything but the pickle...
Dancing

Me and the girls

Doing the Hokey Pokey with the kids. We were running out of party ideas and Sarah started this... the kids loved it!

Catching up on two weeks past

Me and Rupa and Tiya (Rupa's baby girl) going to pick up fabric for mattress covers for the OCRC orphans. We had to burn their mattresses and bedding b/c of lice and scabies! Fun! So... no car seat requirements in Nepal.


A "junior doctor" removing stitches from one of our orphans. He's using a razor blade, and the boy is sitting on the playground slide.

First of all I apologize for not blogging for a week or more. Access to the internet has been tough, and I’m busy anyway. Right now there is no petrol in the country. Apparently Nepal has a poor credit history with India, so gas and oil are not being offered or sold. The petrol lines are miles and miles long. Few buses are running (if any), and therefore life changes. Teachers and students can’t get to their schools. We have difficulty getting to the orphanages, etc. Fortunately all the women in my class can walk, but my instructor takes the bus. There is also a political issue or two that is playing into the transportation drama. We are here at a very historic time: the country elected its first president last week. Prior to this, Nepal has been a monarchy – a dysfunctional monarchy. Well this past week, elections were held and despite the fact that the Maoists have the largest political representation, a moderate (non-Maoist) was elected. It was a pleasant surprise to everyone. They had put his name on the ballot as sort of a filler, with no expectation for him to win… and he did. The vice president and prime minister were also elected. It took a few days for the election because no one was winning the majority, but now we have a leadership. I am excited for the future changes. It will be crazy still, but different still and not communist. The following pics are of the landless community

We went to the landless community to find more women for my class. Not much has changed, but there are more buildings. Our clinic is still going strong. Because of the rain, the conditions are even grosser than before. I trudged through cow dung and manure filled puddles to my knees to get access to some to the huts. Alberto and Katie went with me, and stood back in some of the areas I traversed. There has been a lot of contention in the community because of the volunteer influence. Everyone needs help and everyone wants help, so they question our methods of choosing projects and people to assist. Because of this we couldn’t go to the community leaders. Instead I was asking random people… “Do you know any widows?” I met with a few of the women that I taught last year. Dilmaya is in the picture. She has one of the nicer huts in the community (notice the wallpaper). She wanted to come to my class, but unfortunately she was ineligible because she has a husband. Husband = duel income. We were surprisingly unsuccessful. I was quite frustrated with my helpers/interpreters. I felt like they were not making an effort. So I went back and found my interviews from last year. I found the picture and interview notes from Chandra Kumari Giri. She was the women who had 5 children. Her story is basically as follows:

She fled to Kathmandu seven years ago during the onset of the Maoist insurrection. Carrying bamboo sticks and guns, Maoist rebels raided Udipur, her small village in southeastern Nepal. Her young children watched as Maoists murdered the neighbors and pillaged their home. Two months earlier, her husband married a second wife abandoning his young family. She was then a single mom with five children ages 2 to 10. She is now 42 years old and does heavy labor.

The class is progressing quickly. The women have now taken over the whole orphan pajama project. Initially our instructor told us it would take a couple months for them to learn, but they are rocking out. Katie and I also help with the class. We use a lot of sign language.

Because these women are illiterate, we are now spending an hour each morning teaching basic literacy and math to them Shrijanna is a little frustrated, but I told her that I am here for uneducated women exclusively.

So here are a few more bios… I got cut off last time I started. In addition to Chandra (the landless widow) there are two more.

Muna Khadka. She is 21 and was married and 17. Her husband left her after a few months of marriage. She has no children and has never worked. She’s been living with her sister. Her sister was in my knitting group last year. We found Muna because of that connection. I told Sugandha to ask Radhika Didi who the women who the widows were. It’s all about self initiative here.

Sapana – Her husband went abroad when she was pregnant with their first child. Her daughter is now 6 years old. She never heard from him since he left. She was also married at 16. She is now 24. She heard about our class and begged to be a part of it. In the past, she has worked for a tailor doing menial labor like sweeping, etc.

The women are so great and so excited. Their lives are changing drastically…it’s so great!

Last night I went up to Gottathar to see all my children and women from last year. They were so excited to see me. Some were shy, but most were just cute and stoked. Ramilla’s mom came running from the field. Her hands were covered in what looked like mud. I said – “what’s on you hands?” She said, “cow dung!” and started laughing hysterically. Tonight we are having a dancing and singing party. I’m bringing the group…

Below, Katie and I are doing Yoga with the neighbor girls. The other is of all the volunteers I live with.

Meet the class

My class is going well. We found women in difficult situations, and are basically giving them a scholarship to take our tailoring class. The class will be for 2 - 3 months. We pay the women a small salary to attend. This is so they don't have to work other jobs to support their families. Prior to coming to our class these women worked as laborers or as paid servants. Most of them still have 2nd and 3rd jobs, but they are ours from 10 - 4 every day.

At the end of the course, we are opening a tailoring shop on the VSN school property. This is so great because the women have garunteed empolyment. They will be comissioned to make the school uniforms and we will send all the volunteers who want surwal kurtas made.


Mandira - married when she was twelve. Is now 19. Has a 7 year old and a 2 year old. Her husband beat her and left her. She is completely illiterate. In addition to my class, she cleans houses .

Vishnu - husband beat her and she ran away. She has one child who comes to the class.

Saraswoti - Was raped and has a two year old from the rape. The man who raped her also left his son with her and disappeared. So now she is raising two of his children. Her 11 year old son (who she calls her son) has just been sponsored to go to the VSN school.

It's raining monkeys

I will write about the monkey temple later... enjoy the pics.

Let me clarify something about my appearance. 1. It was raining - hence the amazing hair. 2. I was wearing my rain coat over my back pack - hence the illusion of a gut (I have abs of steel). 3. I'm with a group that encourages, perhaps requires, that crazy faces be made during photo shoots.

Future husband love...

This is part of a tent from the party the other day. I think the fabric is beautiful and it really represents the vibe here. For those of you that are new to the Hindu culture, the swastika is a holy symbol... no association with anything anti-semitic.

I've been doing a lot of shopping for our class and for the orphanage. Going to the fabric district of Kathmandu is so amazing. It is just filled with super bright colors and prints. Nothing that you would see in the US... we're so blahze.


So.... this month is husband month. It is celebrated by all women - married or single. The major tradition involves wearing green and yellow bangles (notice my sparkly bracelets ). Girls and women also get their hands "henna -ed". They do crazy cool designs on the palms of your hands with henna - then you wait several hours for it to dry and set. I was instructed to sleep with my palms up, which I did. Sujanna was my artist. I was her first client. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning doing our hands - me and the dutch girls.

So, the darkness of the henna will predict how much your husband (or future husband) loves you. The darker the henna is on your hands, the better fortune you'll have in marriage. Interesting - eh? Every girl and women in Nepal has these bangles and henna hands. It's kind of cool because they don't even look twice when my palms are exposed. The henna on my hands looks different than Sujanna's because it is the drying paste

Linkin Park - Nepali style

Today was teacher's day, so the kids at the VSN school had this huge program. It was also the grand opening of the VSN school... Big day. One of the new members of parliament came to oversee the commencement. Yesterday was the major election. Their wasn't a majority for president or prime minister, so today they are having a new election. This is a temporary position until they finalize the constitution. I talk about the political situation with everyone I see. A lot of people want communism - sadly. I'm praying that their hopes don't come to fruition.

For the holiday, there was lots of dancing and singing. The littlest kids were the cutest. I helped one boy translate a Linkin Park song - I Tried so Hard, and he performed it for the teachers! How cute is that! I love that boys up to age 14 have no problem dancing and singing and wearing sparkley costumes.

New calf work out!

Our instructors taught Katie and I how to use the pedal machines. It is a work out! It's kind of like driving a motorcycle. You have to use both hands and both feet. And if the wheel starts going the wrong direction, then you are out of luck. I had to use my screwdriver to take apart the machine because of an operator error (my novice experience). Upside- I can now put on my resume - antique sewing machine mechanic.

The rate at which everything is going is a little frustrating. The orphanage has become a little more of a priority than my class. I totally understand that... oh well. Currently there are 7 volunteers staying at my house. 3 from Holland, 2 from the UK, 1 from Spain and me... the sole representative of the US. The other day we all woke up super early and went to the orphanage to help clean and paint. The walk is about and hour and a half, but as we were walking an empty bus offered us a ride, and we had a personal bus ride part of the way. Because of the petrol shortage, the buses are usually super packed - sardine packed, so this was a treat. The walk is still cool. We have to walk through fields - with corn as high as the elephant's eye, etc.

P.S. I really want to take one of these orphans home. It's legal now - do you think it would be too scandalous?

I gave my family their gifts - they loved them. Sugandha didn't think the Tobasco sauce was hot. I gave Babish a guitar slide, which he loved (thanks Sal for the suggestion!). So, Babish was just diagnosed with Hepatitis A. Fortunately I am vaccinated, and fortunatelly Babish doesn't live with us, but it is still crazy. We looked up the Hep A causes... contaminated water and food. So even the Nepalis shouldn't drink the water apparently. My health is fine though. I think I mentioned that there was a doctor's strike for a couple days - he had to wait to get diagnosed.

I'm sleeping with a mosquito net around my bed. I love it - it's like a little cave. I also don't get bitten, but I didn't before either.

In our class room there is a yoga pose poster. Katie and I went through each pose - we're pretty good! One of the volunteers is a yoga master, and he's been training in India. Starting from today, we're having yoga class with him! Namaste