Hi Ho

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I got sick a week ago, and I spent 3 days in the hospital this week. I am well now, but still suffering a little brain damage and a left side twitch (j/k). I had a 103 fever, lung and intestine viral infections (the coincidence or explanation for that bogs me), pain everywhere, could hardly sleep, and worst of all, no appettite. There were many times I wished they would send me to New Zealand for treatment (I think just being there heals everything). I would like to say that my host dad and his brother Gunaraj were with me every second of the day. Krishna even slept on the table in my room just to stay the nights. Thank you very much to both of them, and all the others who came to visit me or sent me their wishes. Support goes a long way for sick people.


So that left jab kept me out of school for a week, which is very disappointing since I had a great line up for them. I will try to bring the Camp Ozark morning show to each of my classes... will be very crazy. I have been doing the Haka - educationally, of course, if they understand New Zealand, Rugby, War Dance, and YouTube. They get me to sing "In the Jungle" emphasizing the high notes as much as possible. I try to get them to sing "a weema wep," but their english isn't that advanced or retreated enough. The youngsters have me doing the Hokey Pokey with them, and "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" is gaining popularity. I almost tore my ACL playing duck duck goose last week. Thank goodness for Enligh Vocabulary cards. I just sit back, and they eat those things up. It's been a great learning tool even though none of them will probably ever eat a hamburger or taco, or see a flamingo or grizzly bear, or hear anybody use the term greengrocer. Whatever, it's still english.


I saw a big fat/musclely ox jump off a 5 ft ledge onto the road.


The village is having its own little American Idol singing contest. They weeded the contests down to five last week and then unexpectedly asked me to sing a song. Well, the song I know best is "Around the World" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I did not do the song justice as it is my favourite in the world, but they all (30ish villagers) liked it and clapped to the beat. The singing talent here is very cool. When you don't have any games or toys, you can get pretty passionate about your singing. Many little girls write their own songs and dances, and it gives you a happy feeling.


Krishna talked me into cooking the best American food for his family, so I made Mexican food (ya, i know, but it is true, at least for texans). Most importantly, I made it safely, thus preserving US-Nepal relations, unlike some international commotion I caused in my New Zealand apartment. I made quesadillas (with chicken, cheese, sauteed onions, tomatoes, and cucumber), hard chicken tacos, beans, and churrascos (or whatever those desserty breadsticks are called). They all said they loved it, but I know real Mexican food is way better. The quesadilla bread was too Nepali. It took like 4 hours though because of village equipment, so if what village Mexicans make is close to what we eat in the restaurants, they have some dang amazing talent, in addition to a boatload of patience.





Sorry there weren't any pics in my last post. I broke my camera on my first hike to school. It was in my pocket, and I slipped on the edge of the trail with the bulk of my mulk somehow pinpointing the motherboard behind the front panel. I hav now bought a new one, and got some pics for you, inlcuding upside down Silina, the Mexican Fiesta, me and the girls after getting
them some new clothes, and the view from my school.

The Village Life

I am very excited about this post since it is my first since beginning life in my little village. It began with an eventful journey to where it is on top of a big hill. The amount of rain the area has been receiving has caused many landslides. In fact, about 20 people in the area have died because of it. The roads were severely damaged, but my bus driver was determined to make a profit off of it by being the only one to drive all the way to the top. After pretty much driving over a missing part of the road where there was just mud, rocks, and a newly formed stream, we unimaginably made our way to near the top at a rocking 5 mph. Since we couldn't make it all the way, I stayed the night at a local guest house, whose management kicked an old man (I think their grandfather) out of a room to give me and Krishna, my host dad, a place to sleep. Well, the grandfather left his big black dog chained up under Krishna's bed, and in the middle of the night, the thing let loose in the most terrifying rampage of beyond-belief barking, sending me into the most bone-chilled state I think any earthly human has ever experienced. I was completely frozen, and with my back turned towards the barking, it seemed to resonate the most with my tailbone for some reason, making it feeling like it was turning to ice, and specifically, that kind of ice that they serve at Sonic drive-ins that crumbles upon the slightest pressure of a bicuspid.

We hiked to the village the next morning, and it has been blissful since. I have witnessed a goat sacrifice, which seemed more like a event for the owner to make some money by selling off the body parts than a religious ritual. The going about of it was captivating really. A big pot of water was heated to boiling to help with the plucking of hair (I guess so that the skin could be preserved, since they waste not a single body part). The head was taken off with one slash of a big ugly scythe-ish sword. The blood was collecting, I think for frying later. The gutting was jaw-dropping (which isn't uncommon for me evidenced by pictures from Tonga), but still, the intestines (which I later ate some of) were cleaned out with water and mouth-to-intestine blowing. Enough. but here's interesting article my good friend Kenny sent me (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC47086020070905).

My typical meals have been Dhal Baat, which I am developing quite the appetite for. I usually use silverware, but I have also used the "Nepali Spoon" - my hand, like most of the villagers and Nepalese for that matter. My host family's (water) buffalo gave birth this week, so the dad is very happy. He is a fascinating person. He adheres to Nepali customs, but he shares his own opinion of matters quite often. There is another volunteer next door to us from Holland. It is very fortunate that she so close in a village where the homes are so far apart. Her name is Heidi, and Krishna (my host dad), Heidi, and I share wonderful discussions on our take on life and our universes.

Krishna speaks good English, and he makes many jokes. Because of his accent, many of the things he says remind me of Borat, and for those of you familiar with him, know that I can be quite amused by that correlation. Krishna is a teacher, and I teach at his school. The staff wanted the goods I brought to be presented as a gift in front of the whole school (about 500 students) during morning formation. They call it morning prayer, but it is quite militaristic, so I call it a formation. I told them that these were supplies that my friends, family, and church in America wanted to give them because we believe that with good materials, they can become wonderful students and successful individuals, and because we love them. The name "Chinni Raja" has carried over to the school, and that is quite popularly my name now, making Chinni Land even more famous world-wide. Teaching is difficult, but I am feeling that their learning of English is extremely important to their success after school. Their is much work to be done in their English learning, and I hope that I can help with that as much as possible.

I would like to end with talking about my host family, for they are the main reason life here has been blissful. Krishna supports his parents, who live with us. The Grandpa is a grumpy old man who refuses to speak English or learn any part of it. I'm amused by it though. The Grandmother is very funny little lady with a rough around the edges attitude. She tried on my Oakleys and had fun with that. (My Oakleys were trampled on two days ago when they fell off as Heidi and I were being dragged through a crowd to dance in front of hundreds of villagers at a women's festival because they think our Nepali dancing is good. It was a blast though.) Krishna is wonderful as I've told you. His wife works very hard, as do all the women in Nepal - the patriarchal side of things can be very distasteful at times. Most of all, the three young daughters have been the best part of my experience here. They are 5, 8, and 10. Silina, Praamila, and Prativa, respectively. Silina and Praamila love to sing and dance. They push my watch, and when it lights up, I launch them into the air or tickle them if I've tired. We all four walk to school together everyday (which really is a 40 min hike), and those moments make me wish the hike could last forever. All in all, I must say that if this is not a beautiful life I am living, it certainly is a wonderful dream.

So long, Bob!

Tonight is my last in Kathmandu for a while. The sightseeing has been wonderful, and my new friends will be missed. But, the 5'9" doorways and being 6" taller than everyone else is sure to follow me wherever I go in this country. We have visited more of both Hindu and Buddhist temples since those are the main attractions in this city. It is certainly different being in a country where 90% of the people have the same religion. It's very peaceful, but at the same time, leaves very little room for skepticism. The rest of the country is pretty much Buddhist, and the two groups live very harmoniously, visiting each other's temples. I've talked to Hindus about their religion, and the beliefs they have can either serve the some of the same functions as ours in the West or be seen as being entirely different. Reincarnation, for example, can make you want to live a good life and serve your god(s) in order to receive a good next life, and it can make you feel like life on earth is the only life there is (and eternity for you will thus be spent on this earth), which may or may not be a peaceful thought depending on the life you live. I'm not an expert enough to go much deeper into such discussion, so I will stick to what I know.


Today, Rabyn, my volunteer coordinator, took me around the city on his motorbike to visit one of the local orphanages that some of the goods and donated money will go towards. There were 11 beautiful children sharing four rooms and a stairwell. The volunteer there has painted some of the walls with children's art to make it pretty. The plumbing is poor and the floors need carpet, so Rayn thinks we can put some of the $540 towards that. He will be able to let us know how all that money will be used after he talks to all the orphanages. We've divided up the donated goods about half and half for the orphanages and schools, and it will be distributed next week. Again, I can't thank you guys enough for all the donations. The good it is doing here is beyond words.

My time here thusfar has been unforgettable. Taxi rides are an adventure. They are all miniature Suzukis, and taxi drivers really only need about half an inch to between themselves and the car or motorcycle that they are passing or is coming from the other direction. You use your horn instead of a blinker so you don't run over anyone around the corner. They're aren't any traffic rules. Just every man for himself, and if a byway doesn't look too muddy, go ahead and take it. I would love to try my hand at it myself if I could drive stick better. I've gotta wear a bandana over my nose and mouth whether I'm on a motorcycle or in a taxi because the air pollution is so rough on my allergies.

I leave for my placement tomorrow, so I will be only able my blog every so often since Sarangkot is somewhat isolated, and I only get one day off a week. I've not adopted the "water wipe" technique (yet), so I'm packing toilet paper. On a cleaner subject, I've been labeled with the name "Chinni Raja" (meaning Sugar King), and supposedly I have 500 wives in Chinni Land. Lord Krishna's birthday was celebrated over the past 2 days, and he has 1600 wives, so they think we would be good buds. The festivities included a lot of dancing and singing. It was a very joyous time for the city. I also saw some incineration cremations at a Hindu temple. It occurs right on the river banks, so they just knock the ashes into the river. I attached pictures for y'all to see.

Namaste! (Nah mess stay)

I have 2 more days of language training and cultural sightseeing in Kathmandu before I head off to my placement, which is Sarangkot (Sar ong coat). Sarangkot is a village about a 2 hour hike or 3 hour bus ride N/NW of Pokhara. It has a beautiful view of the Himayalas behind either a threaded riverbed or a glassy lake... take your pick. School is 5 1/2 days a week, so I get 1 1/2 days off a week. I don't know much else about the situation other than I will be living a pretty rustic life except for that day and a half I can use to go mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, trekking, paragliding, sailboating, etc. I buzzed my head so I don't have to deal with hair hygiene. I wish I had left a little tuft of hair in some random spot so I could blend in with the hippies more here. Oh well.

Meanwhile, learning the language and learning about the culture has been very intriguing. Scott and I have been able to cover some very interesting issues with our teacher, Yuzeena, who has lived her whole life in Kathmandu and takes a great interest in not only her culture but others. We've talked about everything from love to politics. Arranged marriages still occur over here though most are love marriages, and unfortunately, I think arranged marriages still happen in the States but in a different way. We all know about US Politics, but over here, there is a temporary parliament in place that rules in conjunction with the king. In November, the country will vote to determine if Nepal will be ruled by democracy or monarchy. Most everyone wants a democracy, so I guess it's just a matter of whether or not the king will try to pull some stunt like arresting all the members of parliament, which he did a few years ago, to give himself ultimate rule.

I've finally got a picture for y'all of all the donations I received from family and friends to bring with me to Nepal to give to the orphanages and schools that Hope & Home sponsors. I got everything from Dr. Seuss to Charles Dickens and Crayolas to Crest. Thank you so much. Hope & Home is very appreciative of all of it.

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

I arrived yesterday in Kathmandu and stayed with my friend Kaushal's family the first night. They were very generous, and I really appreciate their help. Other than that, I just started training today. I got here the same time as another volunteer - Scott from Canada. It's just us two, and we learned some phrases today and visited the local Monkey Temple. I'll get some pics up as soon as I figure out how. This is a very different culture from what we have in the US. Males sometimes walk around holding hands, and that carries no sexual overtones. (It's supposedly the same throughout most of southeast Asia.) In fact homosexuality is very rare over here, so I can't take it the wrong way when a guy gets touchy feely with me. Cows are common in the streets. Can't drink the water. Gotta try not to get run over by a taxi or motorbike being that there is no real distinction between the sidewalk and the road. All in all, it's a culture shock at the present, but I am lookign forward to immersing myself in this beautiful land.