6

Hi again y'all. This weekend we finally finished our month long training period. Tomorrow I’m headed to Bhaisepati, my new town, home, and school, this time for the long haul. This again is with mixed emotions; I am sad to be leaving one home, yet excited for the next and all that lies ahead.

Friday was supposed to be our last day of Nepali classes, but unfortunately class had to be cancelled. There were 2 bandhas in Kathmandu, which made it difficult for everyone to get to the USEF office. Bandhas are essentially strikes that can be localized to a certain part of town or throughout the entire Kathmandu Valley. They are generally called as a form of protest to a particular issue. For example, after a boy drowned in a flash flood that swept him off a bridge, apparently the community called a bandha and demanded a better bridge be built. Strikes are often political in nature as well. Friday was an example of both. Apparently the Maoist Party called one bandha, and another was a local call for justice for a young woman who was killed by her boyfriend the day before. As a result, across the city, stores were closed, and traffic was limited to pedestrians on foot, as buses, taxis, cars, and motorcycles were prohibited from driving in certain areas. I believe it would be fair to say that bandhas are generally non-violent and more of a nuisance for those wishing to travel. Though it’s all a matter of perspective, as in the case of school-age children, bandhas are more of a pleasant unexpected holiday from school, akin to a snow day.

So while we missed language class that morning, we did fortunately still manage to meet up and get outside of the valley in the afternoon, headed for “camp.” Camp was the last event scheduled in our orientation, a short overnight vacation to a riverside “camping” spot. I put that in quotes because this was definitely the plushest camping I’ve ever heard of. While we did sleep in tents, the tents were semi-permanent with beds, and there was also a lounge area complete with a kitchen, bar, fire-pit, and ping pong table. Dad, you may be happy to hear that all those years of destroying me in ping pong on the back porch gave me enough skills to beat every local man who challenged me that night. Just trying to be a good son ;) I think it’s fair to say we all enjoyed this retreat as a little break from our hectic schedules and a chance to allow ourselves to loosen up a little, even wear bathing suits and swim at the edge of the river.

After returning to Kathmandu, we went back to our original homestays. It’s a bit confusing, but after meeting our new families and working a few days, as I spoke about last post, we returned to our original families to finish up our training. I believe the rationale is in part because these homes are much closer to the USEF office. But today was my actual last day with Laxmi and her family. She and her friend surprised Olivia, another ETA, and I with snack food, pepsi, ice cream, and a kind of impromptu farewell party. While eating together, someone had the idea that Olivia and I would look good in saris, a theory which had to be tested. So after we ate, Olivia and I dressed up, or rather were dressed up, in saris, and then posed for photos, which I’ll try to add below. These saris were incredibly beautiful, though for the unpracticed, like myself, a bit difficult to maneuver in. Thankfully, as I am not yet married, I don’t have to wear them daily.

I think that’s all I have for y’all today! I wanted to squeeze a little update in and a photo or two, because after tomorrow I won’t have any internet from home, and have not yet figured out what I may do about that. But I will of course try to keep everyone updated when I can. As always, much love and best regards for all. Please keep in touch! (if you need, refer to my first blog post for contact info)

Xoxo from afar!

p.s. to 5

p.s. please forgive this English teacher's grammar and spelling errors, as she writes most of her blogs stream of consciousness style
p.p.s. please enjoy this photo of my first host family :)

5

Hullo everyone! Sorry for the slightly longer than usual delay in contact. I recently moved outside the city to a nearby village in the Kathmandu Valley. This shift involved the loss of daily internet access from my bedroom, which I suppose was a blessing and a curse. For now, I have access again for a few days, but the future is uncertain, so I appreciate the patience, in advance ;)

So much has happened since the last post that I hardly know where to start, but I’ll give it a shot. Last Friday, after a normal day of language in the morning and teacher training with our co-teachers in the afternoon, we left the city and to meet and stay with our new home-stay families. This departure was with mixed emotions, as after three short weeks with my first family I love them. I could not ask for a kinder family, and I was, and am still, quite attached to everyone.  We spent the last night eating pizza and momos (Nepali dumplings) exchanging gifts ,and taking pictures. But as I’m not going far, I hope to visit often. After arriving in my new town, I quickly realized that I will be living in another astonishingly loving home. The family who is taking me in is close friends with the Headmaster of my new school. Our home is on a hill, and from my bedroom window I have a breathtaking view of the valley and the mountains, behind which I caught a glimpse of the Himalayas the other morning at sunrise. I’ll try to get y’all a picture after another month or so, once the monsoon season is over and the clouds clear, revealing the hidden himaals (Nepali name for the Himalayas). From the balcony outside my room, I can see my school, a three minute walk down our hill and across the field where soccer is constantly being played.  It is a truly lovely place.

Schools are closed Saturdays, but Sunday I went for my first day of work. I was introduced to the students at the morning assembly, where everyone lines up outside by grade, sings the national anthem, and is counted. After this I accompanied my co-teacher to all of her classes. She, and now I, teach 2^nd,4th, 7^th,8^th,  3^rd, and 5^th grade, in that order. The first day I received handful upon handful of the most beautiful flowers from my new students, who brought them from home in honor of my arrival. Needless to say, it was very touching, and the love and e,xcitement on all sides has not lessened. My first day I introduced myself to my classes and had them all write their names and interests on half flashcards, then mostly sat back and watched. The next day I helped more, finding ways here and there to contribute to every lesson. I’m again thankful for the Nepali training I’ve had, as well as my endlessly kind and patient co-teacher, as all the English classes are generally taught with 50-75% Nepali. But I think we’re all finding our groove together. Today, after encountering a “chant” called the “Houkie Coukie” in the book for our lesson, I realized I had an undercover skill set acquired automatically  from a childhood spent in America. I seized the opportunity to but this skill to use and taught my third graders the Hokie Pokie. They may not have understood all the words, but they found this activity hilarious. As I left the room for my next class, they were still singing and dancing and laughing, and it made my day. 

The kids are hilarious. I walked in a nursery level class yesterday to help sub with my co-teacher, and a 4 year old pointed to me and said “umumumum kati thulo Miss,” which basically means “oh my goodness Miss (as all female teachers are called) is HUGE.” He proceeded to say that they should call me “Thulo (big/tall) Miss” and my 5’2” co-teacher Rajani “Saano (small /short) Miss.” My height is something I tend to forget, but no-one else ever does, and we joke about it all the time. That and the fact that I’m going to get so fat eating Nepali food. As being “moti,” roughly translated as “pleasantly plump,” is historically a good thing in Nepal, I often find myself sitting at the dinner table, happily agreeing that, yes, no doubt eating all this rice, I will get fat, thank you. And I don’t bother to disagree with the statement that, yes, my mother in America will be so happy at how fat I’ve gotten.  I just laugh, and then when I’m feeling particularly American try to do crunches in my room to fight the inevitable physiological effects of the shift to this carbohydrate heavy diet.

La aru ke bhanne? What else to say? I’m sure the anecdotes will keep coming in the weeks and months to come. I’ll give you a few things from the list of things I love which I keep in my journal, half pictures, half words.

Fresh, ripe, Mangos

“Good morning /afternoon/evening Miss,” now heard everywhere I go in my new town

The different character of every bus- for example, one always playing Hindi music, one proudly adorned with a winnie the pooh sticker, another with a sign above the mirror which says “maya namara,” literally “don’t kill the love”..

Sharing shoes, resulting in me wearing pink flip flops half the size of my feet, and my little brother flopping around the kitchen in my blue ones, twice the size of his

Etc. etc.

As always, love and miss everyone at home. Seriously, shoot me an email or facebook comment. It’s a real pleasure to have a taste of home and hear from everyone. All the very best!! xoxo