September 11 to October 7- Life in Kathmandu- It was nice to be back in the city after the village visit. I was even happier to see all the children again. My life back home continued as usual, teaching myself Nepali, being with the kids, and using internet at home. It’s very rare and almost unheard of for a Nepali home to have a computer and be connected to the internet. Considering that most locals even in the city have never used the internet. It’s a huge convenience for me since I do so much writing, e-mailing, and calling home.
Picture on the Left: In Kathmandu there are slums next to the river where people live in simple bamboo and tarp covered homes. I visited one of the Christian weekly meeting in the slum that reaches out to the children living there. They teach songs, bible stories, and after all is done their reward for participating are a couple biscuits. It was interesting to see how people are serving the extreme poor among the slums. Reaching out to the kids are a good stepping stone to reach out to families as well. Picture on the Right: Indra Jatra Festival- The chariot of Kumari, the Living Goddess is taken through the main streets of Kathmandu. The young goddess is usually locked up in a small home in the City Square but on this day she is let out on a chariot. Everyone was crowding around to get a glimpse and also to snap a picture of the living goddess. It was crazy seeing them tug a large chariot across the streets and people lifting up wishes to the goddess. I almost got a picture of the goddess but failed…
1st pic: The huge face is uncovered only during the Indra Jatra festival. 2nd pic: The golden chariot for the goddess. 3rd pic: Sometimes I visited a disabled compound and school which I periodically visit to talk to the people who are so open to have me over. I spent a night at one of the small disabled student’s hostel. It was fun being with them but I could hardly sleep all night because of bed bugs which were feasting on me till morning. I woke up with over 130 itchy bites all over my body and so swollen it was unbearable but I gradually recovered.
When I was not at home I visited some Japanese language institutes to meet some ambitious students who are so eager to go to Japan for working or studying. Japanese is probably the most commonly learned language after English. I often hear people say that Nepali people love Japanese people. And I sometimes do feel the love talking to them. Virtually, every Nepali person’s dream is to go abroad. And their main purpose is to make money but their hopes are sometimes disappointed when facing the difficulties of living in another country. In addition, I also visited a Tibetan region of the city called Boudha where I would informally teach English at one of the small Tibetan schools. There is no ‘Chinatown’ in Kathmandu but here there is something like a Tibet town with lots of Buddhist flags, prayer wheels and temples. Lots of Tibetan refugees have settled here as well as various other areas around Nepal. I started tutoring a Tibetan friend who speaks very little English but is fluent in Chinese. So we would somehow communicate in Chinese but it was confusing and sometimes funny when I would accidentally mix my Chinese with Nepali.
1st pic: The four youngest sisters at our home. 2nd and 3rd pic: We had a baptism ceremony for eleven new believers at our Nepali Church. The baptism was done in a small river at a park as a testimony of their new life in Christ.
Out of the water at the baptism ceremony... My weekends were pretty booked with church related meetings. On Friday night, a Japanese fellowship to serve the Japanese community in Kathmandu with great food. On the weekends I attend a Nepali church on Saturdays (In Nepal, the only holiday or day off is on Saturday so the church meets on that day also). And on Sundays I go to an international English church. Kathmandu is a very international city with many people working for NGOs, development, and various missions. I have a few Korean friends here and they cooked delicious Korean food. The funny thing is that they don’t speak English so we all communicate in Nepali.
September 4 to September 10- Visit to Ramche village- There was a group of six Japanese students who came as tourists for a couple weeks and wanted to check out the village life. I thought it would be a good time for me to visit the village along with them. It’s the same village I visited for about two weeks in December of last year which you can read about in my blog. It was about a three hour bus ride along the highway to the Tibetan border. And from a roadside town it was another two hour steep hike up the hill to reach the village. We settled down and were followed by numerous children who were eager to get to know the new guests in their village. For me it was great to be able to revisit all the kids at the school, friends, and families that I have come to know in my previous visit. They all remembered my name and the kids were all calling for me when they saw me. My experience and ability to connect with the villagers was enhanced by being able to speak with them in Nepali. Last time I was here I couldn’t speak any Nepali so quite a few people were surprised to see me come back and be able to converse with them in their language.
Going to the ‘big stone’ and taking pictures with the Japanese students and village kids;The poor goat lost his Mother since birth.
A few of the days the Japanese students were with me at the village and we would do everything together in the village. We would eat, walk around the village, stay in the same family home, and sleep on the crowded smoky floor. On one of the days we made a three hour hike even higher up in the hills to another village called Tuluche to donate some clothing. On other days we would visit the village schools and talk to the students who were so eager to interact with us.
After the Japanese guests left the village, I was left alone in the village for a few more days. The other days I would just roam around the village, visit children’s homes and students. It’s just before the harvest so there was hardly any work to be done in the farms so there were plenty of people sitting around just talking. The family I was staying with was extremely hospitable and would always insist that I stay longer and would not let me go. But I promised that I would be back and visit again. I made the hike down the hill village, a few hours on the bus back Kathmandu stopping over one night at my friend’s home in Sanga.
Everyday the little brother of the family home I was staying at went out to cut grass to feed the animals; The frequent sun exposure brings in a little more extra wrinkles.
The village situation is poor in comparison to the villages I stayed in India. The Nepali villages in India have lost their own ethnic languages but people here in Nepal have their own local ethnic village language. People don’t have much crops and milk to sell so they cannot generate much income from their farm work. Families have large families and marry at a young age where the national average for Nepali women getting married is seventeen years old. The home I stayed at was built of the traditional mud style with the kitchen on the ground where there is one hole in the middle for cooking and then the upstairs for sleeping. The houses have poor ventilation where the smoke would force me to go out whenever they were cooking. The smoke would be even worse on the upper floor. And being blinded by the smoke I would often hit my head on the low beamed doors. In the evening, the chickens and goats would be brought in the house downstairs. So we would be sleeping in the same home with the animals. Cleanliness and sanitation is not as good here in comparison to the villages I stayed in India. The water is mostly clean but still there is an occasional build up of dirt and black spots at the bottom of the bottle. But after staying here you come to accept that dirt is from the natural environment so some dirt in food or drink is not going to harm you. The food is the typical Dhal Bhaat. But not always do they have dhal. They would usually have some soupy vegetables usually sak (green vegis) and a little bit of potatoes. They don’t eat rotis like in India but are replaced by diero which are grounded up maze and boiled in water to make a hearty nutritious paste. And on special occasions such as festivals and for guests they would serve meat. When we first came here, we got to slaughter a couple village chickens and skinned them for dinner.
Now is the season for corn maze; Sunchari cooking 'diero' for breakfast. Sunchari was a girl we helped last year in Kathmandu to get an operation (You can read about it in the '12/10/07 to 12/16/07 Hospital Visits' section of this blog). I was glad to see her and see that she is now doing well; Picture of kids inside home.
September 4 to September 10- Additional Pictures...I added an extra entry for some pictures taken during my stay in Ramche. The beautiful faces of those in the village, from young to old... Expressions when we first met and then saying farewell...
September 1 to
September 3- Teej Festival- I visited a Japanese friend in a small
roadside village about a 1.5 hour bus ride out of Kathmandu.
The women’s festival was being celebrated in Nepal where many women were dressed
in red dresses and shining beads. It was a rare site to see so many women in
public. Usually it’s mostly men who are seen walking around the streets while
the women stayed home. The women were seen singing and dancing at the temples
while they also observed a fast and prayer to their Hindu god Shiva. After
staying here in Sanga and visiting the nearby towns we made arrangements to go
to the village of
Ramche.
Hindu temple in Sanga where women gathering to dance and sing; Riding on the top of
the bus while seeing the beautiful countryside of Nepal covered with green farm terraces.
Fruit Market in town; When I travel India and Nepal, the most common question
I get are questions about my family. And they are very much interested
in seeing recent photos of my family. Since I have been away from home
for more than 2 years and 4 months. I don't have any recent pics.
However, this was just sent from my parents. It's my Mom,
Dad, and twin elder brothers. Picture taken at a restaurant
in the bay area California.
August 11 to August 31- Being Sick, Resting, and Studying Nepali- I went out pretty often visiting friends and
being involved in various activities around the city. But a lingering illness
made me really tired by the end of the day. Eventually I realized that I had to
stay home and rest up the body because I was not recovering. Staying home gave
me plenty of time to use internet and study the Nepali language with the
children at the home. Within a couple weeks I was slowly able to read Nepali
words and sentences. Just when I thought I recovered from my cold, I would
start to go out again and then I would get sick again. My cold continued for a
few weeks, and it was so humbling that I began to wonder if this nomadic lifestyle is
taking an impact on my health. I am starting to think that it is better for me
to stay in one place than to always keep changing environments. I took some
anti-biotics to treat my sickness and gradually I got better.
Most of the children
at our home; The youngest child at our home; Dance presented at Church.
Eating pumpkin for
the afternoon snack; Church choir group and I.
