Third World Peace

Allow me to share the random things I saw the other day as I was walking to the landless people community. First, four men dressed only in their underwear carrying a bier with a dead body on top. The body was covered with a light sheet. White is the color of morning, hence the underwear. They were just walking down the street along with the pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles, buses, goat herders and cows. After I walked down the steep hill of trash to get to the community, (I usually cross the river stepping on a makeshift bridge of sandbags, but the river is too high, and I don't want my feet to touch that water) I saw a squealing pig being dragged into its pen. Just as I looked, I saw a man raise a machete and... I've seen a pig slaughter or two in my time, so it wasn't too disturbing. I am instead disturbed by the large number of naked children I see daily. Last sight to complete the image - a 2 or 3 year old boy defecating in the piles of trash while his mother and the cows look on. They have no other toilet facility, so a trash pile seems a more reasonable solution than the river they bathe in... but still.

Yesterday was a bus strike in Kathmandu. Today is a teacher's strike. We left for church early because Rick and I were speaking... it usually takes 25 minutes. An hour later we arrived barely in time. All the roads were blocked, and apparently it is trendy to through rocks at cars and buses during strikes. Our amazing cab driver took us on all these back roads... road is not really the best term. Dirt paths, fields, sidewalks, cobblestone paths in front of temples... A couple times we were going up and down hills that were so steep, I was ready to get out and push the car. Our ride back was even crazier. Today is completely normal again. By normal, I mean no strike.

Today I am start filming for the documentary. The crew should arrive any minute, and then we are off to get footage of all our projects - past, present and planned. I am selecting the shots, and we are hiring someone else to edit it. Tej wants me to narrate it as well... I'll see how it goes. This morning we had no water, so I did not shower. The only day that I will be on film... and I couldn't even wash my face. For the past two weeks there has been a petrol shortage, so I'm totally accustomed to cold showers. These past couple of days, the third world differences have been more present than before.

Just so y'all know that I'm really here

Tumala dressing me in a Saree... I didn't choose the color, but all the Nepalis told me that lime green looked fabulous with my fair skin. Everyday people tell me they want my skin. I never hear that in the US... hmmm

The young adults of the LDS church in Kathmandu (there are a couple visitors too)

A few of my village children in Gothatar

This week was all about mud

Hey everyone!

I've given up on posting pictures, because the connection is so poor! I also haven't been online forever! Life without internet and cell phones is pretty nice. A million things have happened in the past week, so let me fill you in as much as I can...

I am working on four projects:

1. I teach English to the children in the village of Gothatar. I walk 45 min there and back. The class starts at 7am, so I wake up at 5am or earlier. My kids are adorable and fun. The older class is getting more courageous. They have learned English from a book, so the words are there, but they have never attempted to use it. I am teaching this class grammar and pronounciation. Today we learned how to emphasize question words and answer words. Often they miss class because they have to till the soil or do a ritual bathing, but I always have a good group. The kids wear the same clothes everyday... which are falling apart and either too big or too small. They are very humble and grateful, but they are also kids... so they can be brats too! My younger class is adorable. They love to draw pictures, so I save the last 10 minutes of class for drawing pictures of what we learned (eg. today we learned to correctly pronouce the letter B. and talked about yesterday, today and tomorrow. They had to draw B words or what they did yesterday) Compared to where we started, they have made so much progress! They are being creative and bold! I love the class. It has been raining a lot at night, so my outdoor classroom is really muddy, but we just embrace it. I hang out in the mud with the cow looking on, and flies swarming... it's great!

2. Orphanage work. In the evenings, I am going to different orphanages that VSN is working with to mend clothing for the children. I am also teaching some of the older kids how to sew on buttons and mend basic tears. The kids are precious. One orphange has 43 kids and 2 staff members. When I walked in, 20 kids latched on to me and wouldn't let go! I was doing the whole walking with 2 children wrapped around each leg! Loved It! I am going back to that orphanage on Wednesday! A volunteer who works at one, mentioned the atrocious conditions of the clothing, and I said, "I can fix them!" The kids gather round as I sew. The other night, I brought several things home, to do after dinner. Aama (my Nepali mom) came upstairs and helped me. She also came with me to my knitting class! My family (in America and Nepal) are the most charitable people I have ever met!

3. I started a second women's income generation program today! This is a prescedent for VSN, and I am so excited. The women's knitting group in Gothatar have all made hats and booties... VSN is ordering 160 hats to give to the orphans, so the women will definitely make money. Tomorrow, I am traning a committee (selected by the women) in recording keeping and sales. They are stoked.... When I walk home from Gothatar, I am giddy. The second group will be a little more challenging. It is in the landless community, and we found a landless woman to be the instructor. We found 7 women to form the group, but 20 showed up... overwhelming the teacher. I am presently drafting a budget to show the costs of these programs, so they can be perpetuated. If anyone reading this blog is interested in helping... email me at tahoeliz@yahoo.com. $20 can go a long way! I'm just putting it out there, because I spent all my extra cash (and then some) getting here. Otherwise, I would do more more more!

4. I am working to help VSN become an international NGO. This includes my efforts with the landless community water project. If we partner with other NGOs and are set up to receive large donations, so much can be done. I have seen first hand that this organization has pure motives and a sincere desire to help Nepali people. VSN is helping individuals not causes, so I believe it is a worthwhile effort. Tez, the founder, has asked me start an chapter in the US. I am seriously considering it.

Wow... I have so much more to write, but I have to go! On Wednesday and Friday I went to a Hindu wedding (it is a five day affair). Milan and Tumala dressed me in a Saree! I looked hot in my lime green and yellow sequined number! I also got to ride on the back of a motorcycle through the psychotic traffic of Kathmandu, where there are no rules... none!

Lovin it here! I miss you all!
Namaste
~Liz

Church in Nepal is very familiar. I met most of the young adults, who make up a large percentage of the congregation, when Rick took them to ice-cream our first week. We went to a restaurant where all the waitstaff are deaf. They are amazing kids. I have since spent more time with them, and I love to hear about their lives. There is one girl, who is an investigator who really latched on to me. Her name is Yamuna. She is 19 and about half my size. Each time I see her, I get to see first hand the reality of this culture. She has a “boyfriend” (in Nepal that means a guy she talks to a lot... no pda or dates or anything here). He is a lower caste, so she knows that they cannot ever get married. Her parents like him, but... This week she told me that her good friend commit suicide because she was not allowed to marry the guy she loved... she was to have an arranged marriage. Yamuna had just been to her friend's burning. I made her promise me that no matter what she would not consider that path if things do not work out with her boyfriend. We had just heard this amazing lesson from Rick on how we are all Children of God, and I really hope that she internalized the message. She told me that a lot of young people commit suicide for the same reason.

The Service is identical to every other place in the world. It is done in a mixture of Nepali and English. The teachers and speakers usually start in English and then translate. I definitely heard more Nepali then English... which is fine by me. All the girls wear traditional Nepali dress (Kurta Surwals and Saris) the men wear shirts and ties.

This past Friday was Nepali New Years. Rick and I met the two couple missionaries serving here for dinner and then went back to their homes to stay. It was a mansion compared to the other dwelling options in Kathmandu. They were so nice... I painted Sister Taysom's fingernails and we talked about her mission experience thus far. Both couples are humanitarian workers. They are currently working on water purification projects, eduction, etc. Proselyting is not allowed in this country, so if anyone is interested in the church, they must seek it out themselves and be taught by Nepali people only. On Saturday (the only free day in Nepal) we went to institute in the morning, church in the afternoon, and a fireside with the young adults after that. The kids are so dedicated because they spent the entirety of their only free day at church!

I was in a talent show on Sunday. It was totally last minute. They asked me on Saturday at church...I sang Let it Be by the Beatles. My neighbor, Babish, is really good on the guitar, and agreed to accompany me. It was a church activity, and Babish and Nabina and Nabina's twin sister came with me. I was glad they got to see so many Nepalis at church w/ Rick and I. There were at least 150 people there... It was awesome, like a cultural arts presentation with lots of Nepali and Hindi dances, Nepali songs, Nepali comedy acts, etc. Rick did the Cha-Cha with a girl in the branch. They had begged me to perform, so I though they were wanting for acts, but not so! There were so many, and by the time I was on stage it was almost over, and I was super nervous. However, Babish and I totally rocked it! I forgot how much fun it is to perform in front of crowds. Rick videoed it, so I can show y'all. I'm sure out of all the other photo and video footage, you're going to me most excited to hear me singing. :) The Beatles number in the midst of all the native music and dance was pretty random, but we all had a good time.

mercy and justice

Liz guru

This blog, on which I also spent much time, was also lost in cyberspace. I wanted to let y’all know about my classes. I will have to combine a week of experience into one blog.

I was excited to finally get started volunteering. I am working in a village, which is about a 40 minute walk from my Kathmandu suburb home. I initially had 3 classes in this village. Two English classes and an income generation program for women. It has turned now turned into 4 classes. I started with 8 students in my morning class and 14 in my afternoon class. Now I have 17 in at 10am and 25 at 1pm. I split the pm class, and about 8 selected students will come and have conversations with me during the second half of my women’s group. I am excited that they’re excited, but it is really challenging, because they are at all levels and I am in an outdoor class room. On Friday, the neighbors spent the entire day 10am – 2:30pm pounding hay (to break it up, I guess). Also, the entire village gathers round and watches me teach. They have little conversations in Nepali, so I have to ask them to leave. They usually just go to the rooftop of the houses and watch me from above. I’m getting used to it. These kids have no daily schedule, so often the younger class will show up for the other classes, just to watch me and visa versa.

On Friday, a large group of students were absent… which was odd… I was told that the 4 boys were bathing. Bathing is an important part of the Hindu religion, so I am assuming there was some event… Another couple of girls were working in the fields.

My younger class, have learned a little English, but a typical day sounds like this:

Liz – “My name is Liz”

Class – “My name is Liz”

Liz – “No, listen to me only” with my hand by me ears

Class – places their hands by their ears “No listen to me!”

They are getting better. They really like to sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and I taught them “I’m a little teapot” Both my classes love to play Simon Says, but they younger group doesn’t understand the Simon part of they game. It is good for them just to learn commands and to understand my words.

One day, I we talked about colors in my younger class. We also learned about the concept of “I like” and “my favorite”. I brought crayons and paper for everyone to draw a picture using their favorite color. The kids were spread out all over, and each one of them drew exactly the same picture: a house with a road, a bird, a tree, and mountains. After talking to the VSN staff and other volunteers, I found that the only opportunity these kids had to draw was probably once in school where the teacher drew the same picture on the board and had them copy it. These kids spend all day playing in the dirt and fields without any adult supervision… they have to be uber-creative… but they have no opportunity to use that creativity on paper.

My older class is really fun. They have a better grasp of the language, so I can do a lot more. They are begging me for books in English, so they can read and practice. I only brought a couple with me, so I might go to downtown Kathmandu and see if I can find some more.

Everyone is amazing… I took pictures of each child, so I could learn their names. When I told them to smile and point to my teeth, they would point to their teeth too.

I have so much more to tell, but this will have to do for now.

Namaste!

Mean Bunnies

Amaa after we found the last egg she had hidden! She is so cute!

Aama = Mom in Nepali

Bishi, Sujanna, Sophi, Me, Aama

So I wrote a huge blog on Thursday... I spent an hour filling y'all in on details and details, but alas the awesome Internet service here for some reason only posted my titles. I will try to make this composition as brilliant as the original...

The story: We go to church on Saturdays here, so Easter fell on a regular work day... I told you a little about visiting the refugee community... that was my day. That evening we had a meeting with all the volunteers. It was really great to meet everyone and hear their suggestions and experiences. They are from all over... mostly Canada and the US, but we have one from Germany, Singapore, Czech Republic and a handful of Nepalese volunteers as well. In addition to a farewell/introduction party, we had a meeting regarding how to improve VSN for future volunteers. Rick directed the meeting and even followed up later by disseminating meeting minutes. A lot of interesting things were brought up, which gave me a clearer picture of how VSN works. Rick is the self appointed interim director of VSN... he is doing amazing things, but he runs a tight ship. I sometimes worry that his vision may be a little overwhelming for this infant NGO. They are lucky to have him however. What he is doing in Nepal is very large scale compared to my minor contribution.

After the meeting we went home and I told Aama and the girls that we were going to have an easter egg hunt. I explained that in America a rabbit hides eggs for children to find. "I'll be the rabbit tonight." I told them. G and I hid 10 plastic eggs (I brought from home) in the main room downstairs. Since it is a new idea/concept we were really nice. The eggs were peeking out of things... The girls came in, and within 3 minutes had found everything (I also hid little piles of candy). They were so giddy and cute. Then they decided that they wanted to hide them. They locked G, Rick and I in the kitchen (when I say lock, I mean with a key). 10 minutes later we were released and set free to find 10 bright plastic eggs in a 10 x 8 ft room. ... an hour later we were still looking for the last eggs. They would not let us give up. They had hid them inside light fixtures, zipped up in couch cushions, and other ridiculous places. Bishi had joined them and helped find the most impossible places in the room. We were taking apart furniture... it was crazy fun. The last egg turned out to be in Aama's bun. They were all laughing uncontrollably, and wanted to do it again and again. By the time we had finished our search it was really late... I told them they were mean bunnies.