Thinking about writing a book- wanna help?

The thought has crossed my mind to write a book, accurately depicting my experience as a volunteer in Nepal. I have seen many things, so many different things here in this country that I think it would be an amazing thing to get it all down on paper. I am not exactly sure how to really write a book because I have never done anything like it before. All I know is I have almost finished one journal and need to get another. I could write it from the basis of a VSN volunteer, talk about my experiences working with this company, the home, Thamel, my hospital experience and everything else. I would need a professional to get the ball rolling so if you know of anyone or are interested- let me know! I am so intrigued with the people, culture, and scenery, that I think I could really paint a cool picture. But obviously not alone. I would sell the book and donate at least half of proceeds to VSN..... Just a beginning thought. Who knows what will happen!!?/

A pretty peacefull place called Pokhara...

Well, I made it here to Pokhara on Monday afternoon. The bus ride from Kathmandu was lengthy, curvy, hilly, bumpy- but well worth it. I am taller than 80% of the population here and buses are not made for tourists, even if they are labled so. I felt like I needed the exit row or something on this bus!

I was greeted at the tourist bus station in Poh by a man holding the Hotel Grand Holiday sign, so I knew he was the right guy. Just like getting out of the airport in KTM, you have many taxi drivers anxious to take you to your destination. It can be overwhelming, but thank goodness this man, Janauk, knew my name and what I might look like. He took me to the Hotel on a motorbike, my first ride while in Nepal. It was fun, yet a little scary because I wasn't wearing a helmet! (living life on the edge, baby).

As we pulled up to the Hotel, I was immediately greeted by Uzie's older brother who is the owner of this hotel. He was extremely enthusiastic, yelled my name, called me sister, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I love Pokhara!! He quickly took my bags and showed me to my room. Dai made sure I knew that anything, he meant ANYTHING, I needed that he would help me take care of. That is one of the best things I have found in Nepal: genuine, caring, GOOD people. I wanted to waste zero time, so I dropped my bag in the hotel and set off for some city exploring. Pokhara is a much smaller version of Thamel, if it can even be compared. Tourism is big here, made obvious by the numerous shops, restaurants and taxis along the main strip. But the biggest thing I noticed was Pokhara is much cleaner and has less begging or people pushing to sell you things. Ahh, a much needed breath of fresh air.

I stopped at an internet cafe and was shocked at how high the prices were. 60 rupees an hour for internet? That is ludicrous, but I got suckered in. There, I met a German girl also traveling alone named Shenya (prounounced "Jen-ya") and we decided to hang out for the day. We browsed the shops and sat for dinner at the first restaurant sign we saw "Continental food served here". The weather had been beautiful and sunny all day until we decided to leave dinner, and then the clouds opened up hard core. It rained for 24 hours straight accompanied with thunder and lightning. This unexpected weather change definitely put a damper on our bike ride and hiking trek we had planned together for the next couple days.

The next morning I planned a yoga and meditation course. This four hour course was held in a Buddhist man's home. Quite interesting. There was one other older gentleman from Italy that took the course with me. We practiced meditation that I had no idea what I was doing and yoga moves that made me so sore the next day. I told Max that we are definitely doing yoga together when I get back to Atlanta because it did bring a special air about me when I was done.

That afternoon I decided to indulge in a massage that the Dai made a special deal for me. The woman, she was actually the wife of the Buddhist yoga instructor, came to my hotel room. This is a story in and of itself that only a special audience will be lucky enough to hear....

That evening I met up with Shenya and an English boy named Marcus who she had met along the street. You never know who you are going to meet. He has been living in Tokyo for the past 4 years so we had some things to talk about. We had a good time, ate some dinner, met some funny Scottish trekers, and I was home by 10 p.m., still dodging rain bullets.

This morning was our hike up one of the nearby hilltops/mountains. We went with a Chinese couple who were really sweet. Our guide took us first on a canoe to the base of the mountain. That was such a peaceful, smooth ride. We reached the base ready to sweat, and we definitely accomplished our goal. The 4 of us followed our guide, who was traveling at a decent pace. To go up the mountain, we had numerous steps made of rocks, so it wasn't just a hill going upwards. This trek put the Swayambhu temple steps to shame. It took us a good hour to get to the top and by that time our clothes were drenched with sweat, not rain. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and we could not see Mount Annapurna.... That was a dissapointment, but at least we got to see a nice view of the Pokhara valley. We headed back south looking for our next points of attractions: the Cave and the Waterfall. Pictures to come soon.

Its time to leave for 'reality' tomorrow. This has been a very nice few days of relaxation and Jessi time, but there is still much work to do at the Children's Home. I leave tomorrow on a tourist bus that will drive 3 hours, stop along a river and then we white water raft for 3 hours on the way to KTM. I figured I needed one more bout of excitement!!

On Friday, we are taking the 3 disabled children to the specialized hospital for an update on their progress and physical therapy. I am looking forward to this all-day event and making the physio notebook so that is much easier for future volunteers working in this home.

Much love to all,
I can't believe my trip is more than half-way over.
Jessi :)

I found a roller coaster in Nepal: it has 4 wheels and is called a MICROBUS

The children are going on a morning walk every day at 5:45 a.m. Its the cutest thing ever. The first day was a couple days ago. I woke up, put on my shoes and rushed over- I did NOT want to be late for this! They were all lined up, in ascending height of course, waiting patiently for me. I could tell they were all excited that I was going on Morning Walk because they had a little extra pep in their 'Good Morning didi!!'. Seriously, they are all so cute when they make their line because dai makes them put their hands out in front of them and scooch backwards or forwards to have the perfect arms-length distance in between them. I situated myself toward the front so I could keep my eye on the smaller children. Immediately, Nabi grabbed my left hand with both of his as to tell me he really wanted to walk with me this day. I gladly accepted as he is one of the smaller, cuter and needier children!
Our walk consists of going clockwise around the base of the hilltop/mountain that the temple sits on. We pass other native Nepalis, with traditional clothing and then running shoes. There are also a few men actually running or jogging. This is the only place in Kathmandu that I have actually seen people exercise. You also have a few Monks going on their daily walks, a few beggars sitting and waiting for you to drop a rupee coin. How could I forget the monkeys that seem to have tripled in number since I got here, with their little babies attached to the mother's bellies and then learning to jump from tree to tree. Its kind of funny- the monkeys wait until the slightest break in people to cross the road and they totally lave us alone as we alk, skimming their tails.
Its a lovely sight to see- these kids getting their blood to flow so early in the morning. Onlookers see my hands in theirs and look with question and some, respect. Others may dismiss the latter and insert: indifference. One man even asked Anil if I was his Ama. He said 'No, mero Didi' and he smiled genuinely as we passed. I am not sure what others may think when they stare at me (labeled: TOURIST) with the children, who seem so comfortable with me- the foreigner, and quite frankly, I don't care. I am really beginning to get a grasp on that: living life, having confidence in your decision, and not letting others influence your decisions.
There is a little fish pond that we stop at and the kids go crazy. Its pretty cool- there are lots of fish that are all sorts of colors and sizes. This stop is a nice rest before the homestretch. I am looking forward to these daily morning walks with the children! Maybe one day we will pass Ama and Ba!

So, the other day I found a roller coaster in Nepal. ITs got 4 wheels and is called a microbus. Dai and I had some errands to run. Well, actually, I had some errands to run and Dai was nice enough to come with me. I would have had no idea where to go. We hopped in a bus from the base of the Temple and the driver would not leave until it was completely ful. this concept takes the American phrase "packed like Mexicans' to a whole new, unfathomable level. We even had people hanging on from the slideing door. the roller coaster analogy was so true, I tell you. From Swayambhu to the downtown part of KTM, there are so many pot holes, divets, and uneven terrain. I am so impressed we didn't have multiple flat tires and I can still feel my stomach dropping like I just got off the batman ride at Six Flags. :)

So, tomorrow I leave for Pohkra. I can hardly wait to visit another side of Nepal. I am going by myself and now that I really think about it I have never really done that before- taken a trip all by myself. I know no one, but have been put in contact with a couple people that are going to look after me- one being the owner of a Hotel that will pick me up from the bus stop. Stay tuned for more pics and blogs from this beautiful place they call POHKRA.

Love
J

Health Check and More

Every Saturday is the children's 'holy day'. They do not go to school and this day is full of bathing, washing clothes, beating mattresses and other various chores. I got to the Home bright and early, in time to witness their bathing regimen. As part of the health team, we are responsible for keeping tabs on their regular hygeine and I wanted to be able to report my findings. It was such a cute sight to see. All the kids, boys and girls, are in lines. There were about 4 lines of 5 kids, evenly spread like peanut butter and jelly. Dai has them to an exercises routine: jumping jacks, leg kicks, running in place, frog jumps. He says this will help them warm up before they wash with cold water from the tap. They have so much fun with this! And Dai is such a smiley man that laughs all the time, so I can tell he really has fun with this routine as well.
The children one by one come to the water supply and crouch down, like they are using the charpi. They do this so they can utilize all the water poured on their body. I helped scrub their heads and backs, and the children helped each other as well. I was impressed with their method of bathing, and utilizing all of their resources (not many) to make their weekly 'shower' worth it. The water supply is limited, especially around the Swayambhu area, so bathing only happens on Saturdays. Its the same with my host family.
The children are all laughing when the cold water hits their skin and they look intent when they are scrubbing themselves. They take bathing seriously and do a good job.
After that, the children washed their clothes, and did some random chores while we were waiting on the doctors to come for the health check.
We do a health check at every home once a month. We keep variables like height, weight, skin condition, eyes, GI problems, scabies, lice, worms, etc, documented and updated. The two doctors finally showed up, along with the rest of the Health Team. We took 2 kids at a time and the doctors performed their assessment, while P and I were coordinating and writing down. Some of the kids needed de-worming pills, eye checks, antibiotic creme for cuts, wart removal creme, anti-histamines for allergies, and ear drops. P and I documented all of this on a white erase board so that we can keep up with the 19 children for the rest of our time here. We are implementing multi-vitamins daily and vitamin B syrup at least every other day (we have a low supply of this, so we have to ration out until we can get more donations.) So, overall, our chilren were fairly healthy with only a few minor medical conditions. Probably the most significant one, is one of the disabled children and incontinence. This presents a major hygeine problem. But we are doing our best in physio and with the consultation of local physicians on how to make this better for everyone.
I am heading back to placement now after a day off yesterday in thamel. We had our weekly volunteer meeting and then went to dinner to eat 'real' food (pizza) and have some much needed adult beverages and social time. :)
I sort of miss my dal bhaat, though. I never thought I would say that out loud.
Love,
Jessi

I have a story to tell...

It was Sunday, the day I was going to Norvic to have my stint removed. I had been at the Home in the morning, giving medicine, vitamins, making sure they wash their hands, usual stuff. I came back home around 9:15 or so because God forbid I ever miss a meal at home. That is like the ultimate sin at my host family's house! If I don't finish all my food they think I am sick, or worse, hate their food (which also means them!). I ate my dal bhaat and there was even some roti (chapati) mixed in there. yum! I was outside by the well brushing my teeth while my didi was washing clothes. Scan below to see a visual- pics are in a previous post.
I walked faster than normal to the drain and before I knew it my body hit hard on the concrete floor. Toothbrush in hand, I fell down bracing myself with my forearms and skinned myself on each extremity. I fell so hard that Ama's look on her face was sheer fear- like someone had gotten run over by a car or something. My ego was the only thing shattered, and I quickly picked myself up. Immediately, Ba and Ama brought me into the house and checked me for broken bones, it seemed. Ba busted out the trusty tiger balm (go ahead a chuckle), and put it all over my visable wounds. They were so concerned and sad that I had fallen. I reassured them that I was totally okay. I could tell that this event was going to ruin their day and they were more concerned than I have seen an adult in a very long time.

Ama and I left for the bus stop on our trek for norvic.

One thing to note- Ama and I rode in a micro bus together and she would not let me pay for our bus fare. I thought it was only natural for me to pay, since she was just riding with me to make sure I knew how to go. When I reached my hand full of rupees to the driver for payment, Ama sternly yanked my hand away. In nepalese, she firmly stated "Are you my daughter, or are you not my daughter???!!!" and with my tail in between my legs I replied 'I am your daughter'.
We got out of the bus and Ama walked with a purpose to the hospital. Along the way she would make a couple statements in her native tongue and would laugh at my confused look, obviously understanding nothing she was saying. This communication is somehow working for us...haha.
Ama left me at Norvic only when she knew Bigyan was there. The hospital visit went well and Bigyan was patient enough to stay with me and take me to his house afterward (future blog).
The story I want to tell is about my return home the next day. I walked in the door and immediately noticed Ba looking so sweaty and fatigued. Did he just run up the Monkey Temple steps? Keep in mind Ba is 65 years young. He is in good shape because of the intensity of his daily duties. But something was different today. He had dirt stuck on the sweat in the creases of his neck. He was sipping cold water and wiping dust from his shirt. I asked him what had happened and he took my hand and led me outside. Tears came to my eyes from what I saw next....
The outside looked completely changed. Ba had slaved all day and all night on reconstructing the outside because of my scary fall. He took out the old well and filled it with cement and then brick. He (and another family member who traveld 45 minutes by bus) scraped and scraped and scraped all the dangerous grime near the tap. They could not stand the fact that I fell, and they worked so intensly on not letting anyone else have the potential to fall. The sight was amazing. Now, there is a brand new well pump firmly planted near the drain, so water does not have time to sit and get slippery. I could not believe my eyes. I could not believe that Ba thought to do this and in fact came through with it. The positive thing is, that this new well does allow water to come out more easily. I wish I had a picture to show you. I just wanted you to know that my family is the best host family ever.
I am so thankful to have the opportunity to get to know them and they make me want to be a better person. This is only one (well, maybe a big one) example of how they show their goodness. I will have more examples on future blogs! Can you believe this gesture?!
Love,
J

Day Bike Trek

Journal entry 8/15/2008:
I woke up this morning to Ba's chanting at 5:00 a.m. How does he stand to get up that early? (The Monkey Temple Marching Band was only in the background this time)I really want to sneak a peak and see what accompanies his grunting and shunting, but I am too scared! (And tired :) P and I were somewhat groggy, but I was amped for my bike ride with Emma later in the morning. We left for the children's home around 7:45 a.m. and hung out and played hangman with the kids. We are trying to help them as much as possible with their English, while at the same time picking up on more Nepali. When the language barrier takes its toll, I try and interact with them in a universal lanuage: "High fives (although they didn't really know what this was at first), 'Miss Mary Mac-mac-mac', airplane, tickle monster"- you know the usual. This always seems to get them smiling and wanting more interaction and gives us all a break in the challenges of real communication.
I only had time to eat two apples and a mini-banana for breakfast, which I was fearful would not be enough energy for a 4-5 hour bike ride. I was hoping I had a chance to eat some oats (per Max's advice:), but there was zero chance of that if I wanted to make our 10:30 departure time. I live about a 30-35 minute walk to Thamel, and I was already speed walking fearful of my potential tardiness.

We left for our trek in the middle of Thamel. That was a little crazy to say the least. Dodging cars, people, motorcycles and more people for the first 20 minutes definitely challenged our technical ability on two wheels. We then headed North, and out of Kathmandu. The streets began to become less and less busy and we immediately felt it easier to breathe! More greenery appeared that we had only seen from afar- in the hilltop region. That was really nice. We stopped for tea (typical) about one hour into the ride. This little tea shop was really cute and it was literally a shack filled with only bare essentials in the middle of no-where. Apparently, our guide Padam, is some semi-pro cyclist in Nepal and met a few cycling buddies at this stop. One of them rode with us the rest of the way for part of his training. We kept going North, and stopped for lunch in Thoka. Our off-roading was difficult and draining. Emma and I kept compimenting our decision to do this trek. It was such a good way for us to see some beautiful sights and get some hard core exercise in. We were back in Thamel by 3 p.m. and I made it back to placement in time for physio session in the afternoon.
I can't wait to come back here and go for 2 or 3 day trek with Max!

Hope you can see the pics above.

Love,
J

Bhaktupur- Quite the Adventure

The trek started from Hotel Tradition around 10:30 a.m. We were supposed to leave at 10 a.m., but you have to factor in 'nepali time', which always adds an extra 20-30 minutes. We walked to Ratna Park, where the 'bus station' lives, We walked out of Thamel and a little South past where Bigyan works at the Bank. (About 25 minutes).
The buses are all labeled in Nepali script, so of course we do not understand a lick. Um, how the heck are we supposed to find our destination? This is so crazy! There is so much yelling, and traffic, and people going everywhere and jumping in and out of buses- nothing like I have ever seen before. So, we just ask around to the drivers and find the one that nods 'yes' to Bhaktupur.
The 5 of us jump in and our first bus ended up not getting us very far. the roads in Nepal are less than reliable and for the first 100 yards I felt I was on the bumper cars ride at Six Flags. My stomach literally dropped to the floor the pits in the road were so deep. Well, we sort of got the picture when the bus driver turned off the engine and all the pasengers left the vehicle :)
On attempt #2, we found another bus in the midst of all the chaos (people yelling destinations, and trying to get you on their bus, passengers hectically attempting to get to their destinations- lots of honking- its pretty stressful!!). The 20 rupee ride tooke a little over an hour. We were definitely winging it because none of us (Michael, Christine, Latissa, Emma and I ) had ever been here... We finally made it!
We saw the signs and followed the way to the entrance. A man stopped us. What? 750 rupees tourist tax to enter? Are you kidding me? No way we were doing that. 750 rupees = two night stay in our favorite hotel in Thamel... We used the charpi there and said "No thank you" and ventured on our way to a different back entrance (My apologies, Nepalese govt). We walked out the same road, hooked a left and found a smaller path seemingly headed to the right destination. We were right! We totally skeemed our way into Bhaktupur Durbar Square! Not that we were totally proud of that or anything, but we do stand strong to not be ripped off yet another time....
(I have heard people say that there are 3 religions in Nepal :Buddhism, Hinduism and TOURISM) Go figure- it doesn't surprise me at all.

The area was nice and much cleaner and less crowded than typical Kathmandu. The roads were stoned and the buildings looked totaly historic- similar to Kathmandu Durbar Square in that regard. I definitely got some good pics.
We ate on the terrace of a restaurant- some local hotel- and the view was amazing. I ordered veggie chow mein for 60 rupees and a banana laggi (could have done without the later).
In Nepal, it always takes FOREVER to get your food at a restaurant. If you get your food within 30-45 minutes, you are doing good. So by the time our food came, precicesly 53 minutes later, we were satiated.
The whole time we were in Bhaktupur, we were on the look out for men in uniform looking for our tax-paid ticket. If they demanded this, we definitely would have been screwed.
I wonder how long this 'secret entrance' will go unnoticed? It wasn't like it was easy to find- we definitely had some meticulous eyes in our group. They definitely do not take our volunteer card here! ha!
I was sitting on the bus and noticed something worthwhile about Nepali people. They definitely do not have a complex about what Americans would consider rude: staring. People uncontrolably stare at you for minutes upon minutes to the point that they will not look away, even if you stare back. That was an amazing and uncomfortable discovery....
People are also riding on the roof of our bus.... In America, I am pretty much sure that is very illegal, but the Nepalis consider it custom (and its free, so why not!!?)

I will write about my mountain bike trek and more about my host family and children in the home ASAP!

Love,
J