June 19, 2009
Last night we went to Patan (an area that is about 15-25 minutes or so by cab). Like going from Murray to Draper. I ate brains, sheep liver, buff liver, sheep cheek, sheep esophagus, and buff stomach. I took pictures of everything. It was really fun. The restaurant that we ate at was kind of crazy though. It was off all the main roads in the house and we sat in a room that looked similar to a small living room. Kate and me went and looked at the kitchen which is suppose to be a huge compliment to the chef to look at their kitchens. All the different meats were sitting on the table and there were some fish and other dishes that we did not try out on the table as well. When we first got there Om ordered a ton of different dishes and the one boy who was cooking serving and taking orders helped us the whole time. Om told us that they were very excited that foreigners where eating at the restaurant because they normally only get local Newari people.
Today Josh and me joined Kate(the new volunteer that is here from Canada) on her culture week outing to the monkey temple. It was so much better this time. Last time we went it was so hot and it was a Saturday so there were so many local people there worshiping and we only saw 2 monkeys. Today there were tons of monkeys playing the in monkey swimming pool. There were also tons of baby monkeys there which I had not seen any of the other places that we have seen monkeys and I wonder if they were born in between when we were there last time and this time. It has been almost 6 weeks since we were there. It is crazy how quickly time is going by and at the same time so slowly. I feel like we have to much and so little going on all at the same time. There is no night life here really so where I am used to staying up late and getting up late. I go to bed early and get up fairly early.
Anyway all is safe and well here. There have been some political problems here that you may have seen on the news but they do not effect me at all. The most that it would ever affect me is the option to get cabs. When there are political problems here they have days called “Bantha” on these days all school and work is canceled for the whole city. Shops are not suppose to open. It is really strange on those days. There are no cars and motorcycles on the streets and almost all of the shops are closed. We were still able to walk to our work assignment which took about 1 hour and we also got lunch at a restaurant that had a police officer outside. I think that she was suppose to be keeping shops from being open but she informed us that we could still go in. Basically we have nothing to worry about when there are problems. The police officers are there to keep us safe. I hope all is well at home.
Amanda
Saturday, June 20, 2009
June 16 2009
Our time at orphanage #2
For the last 10 days the school that we have been working at has been on a break. Because of this I asked Uma (our coordinator ) to set us up in a different orphanage for a week so that we would have work to do and get a small taste of different orphanages in the area. The orphanage that we have been working at has 24 children and 10 of them are 10 months to around 2 years old.
The first day that we were there we just played with the babies and helped to feed them. They eat what looks kind of like oatmeal and kind of like lentils it could be both I don’t know it smelled pretty good though. The workers there gave me a bowl that was completely full of the mush and a spoon and I fed which ever mouth was nearby that was not eating. It was kind of crazy because you have no ideas which kids have eaten enough and which have not because it was not monitored. All of them looked like they were well fed and cared for though. The diapers that they use here are just a cloth that is folded into a triangle and tied to the babies when they pee it soaks right though. I leave at the end of the day covered in snot, pee, and slobber. A lot of the time the children run around without anything on their bottom half at all. Most of the children are potty trained though and they each have a small training potty that they set up in the hallway outside the recreation room that they spend all day in. They would set up the children on the potties and leave them all sitting there for a long time just chilling in the hall sitting on the potty. It was kind of cute actually. One little boy who was one of the oldest of the children there is named Surje. He is a serious handful he is defiantly the biggest trouble maker but very fun and playful and super smart. He would sit on his potty and play with all the shoes that sit outside of the rec room and then he would throw them down the stairs. At the end of every day I was always looking for my shoes because they were never where I left them. I started taking them off right when I walked in the building so that I would have a better chance of them not escaping from me.
The 2nd 3rd and 4th days that we were there we helped a girl named Amy who is here from Canada with the organization volunteer abroad paint the rec room. The first day we just painted the ceiling white. The second day we did a second coat of paint on the ceiling then did a first coat of cookie monster blue paint on the wall. The room was originally a light minty green it was really gross looking. When we were done painting the walls blue we had to clean the paintbrushes the cleaner that the paint store gave Amy was some kind of petroleum that was put into old motor oil bottles. I did the cleaning and when I went to clean the paint and oil off of my hands I found that there was no soap anywhere to use so I walked home with bright blue hands. The area that the orphanage is not in a great place of town it is very poor and so there are not a lot of tourists in the area very often so when I walk the streets I get looked at a lot anyway because I look out of place but with blue hands I got even more looks than normal. A lot of people on motorcycles would drive past and look at me and then take a second look because my hands were so blue and have to quickly turn and swerve to avoid hitting one of the potholes that are everywhere on the road. It was so funny. When I got home Uma and Nabina were laughing so hard and we had to go the little store down the street to buy motor oil so that we could get the paint off. To buy it you have to bring your own bottle and they fill it up for you from a big tank of the stuff. We brought along an empty 1L water bottle. Nabina scrubbed my arms and hands until the stuff came most of the way off. (Almost a week later now my finger nails are still blue around the edges). On the 3rd day of painting we arrived a while before Amy so we got to play with the babies before we began to paint. They were so excited to see us when we arrived. The room looks so good now. It just needs some touch ups and someone else is going to be working on them. The room is so much brighter and happier looking. The 3 staff members really loved it they kept coming in and dancing around they were so happy with it.
The last 3 days we have been just going any playing with the children. On Sunday and Monday the older children that live there were also home because they had no school because it was a “holy day” (I don’t know why because their holy day is normally on Saturday and they go to school the other 6 days of the week. It was really fun to be able to experience another orphanage situation here in the Kathmandu valley. I really appreciate where we are and the opportunities that our children have. The children where we are, are so well behaved and smart. They know when to stop what they are doing and they understand what we are saying most of the time.
I think that there was probably more that I was going to write but I started writing this almost a week ago and never finished so if it seems incomplete and like it ends abruptly that is why. Let me know if you have any questions about anything. Miss you all.
Amanda
For the last 10 days the school that we have been working at has been on a break. Because of this I asked Uma (our coordinator ) to set us up in a different orphanage for a week so that we would have work to do and get a small taste of different orphanages in the area. The orphanage that we have been working at has 24 children and 10 of them are 10 months to around 2 years old.
The first day that we were there we just played with the babies and helped to feed them. They eat what looks kind of like oatmeal and kind of like lentils it could be both I don’t know it smelled pretty good though. The workers there gave me a bowl that was completely full of the mush and a spoon and I fed which ever mouth was nearby that was not eating. It was kind of crazy because you have no ideas which kids have eaten enough and which have not because it was not monitored. All of them looked like they were well fed and cared for though. The diapers that they use here are just a cloth that is folded into a triangle and tied to the babies when they pee it soaks right though. I leave at the end of the day covered in snot, pee, and slobber. A lot of the time the children run around without anything on their bottom half at all. Most of the children are potty trained though and they each have a small training potty that they set up in the hallway outside the recreation room that they spend all day in. They would set up the children on the potties and leave them all sitting there for a long time just chilling in the hall sitting on the potty. It was kind of cute actually. One little boy who was one of the oldest of the children there is named Surje. He is a serious handful he is defiantly the biggest trouble maker but very fun and playful and super smart. He would sit on his potty and play with all the shoes that sit outside of the rec room and then he would throw them down the stairs. At the end of every day I was always looking for my shoes because they were never where I left them. I started taking them off right when I walked in the building so that I would have a better chance of them not escaping from me.
The 2nd 3rd and 4th days that we were there we helped a girl named Amy who is here from Canada with the organization volunteer abroad paint the rec room. The first day we just painted the ceiling white. The second day we did a second coat of paint on the ceiling then did a first coat of cookie monster blue paint on the wall. The room was originally a light minty green it was really gross looking. When we were done painting the walls blue we had to clean the paintbrushes the cleaner that the paint store gave Amy was some kind of petroleum that was put into old motor oil bottles. I did the cleaning and when I went to clean the paint and oil off of my hands I found that there was no soap anywhere to use so I walked home with bright blue hands. The area that the orphanage is not in a great place of town it is very poor and so there are not a lot of tourists in the area very often so when I walk the streets I get looked at a lot anyway because I look out of place but with blue hands I got even more looks than normal. A lot of people on motorcycles would drive past and look at me and then take a second look because my hands were so blue and have to quickly turn and swerve to avoid hitting one of the potholes that are everywhere on the road. It was so funny. When I got home Uma and Nabina were laughing so hard and we had to go the little store down the street to buy motor oil so that we could get the paint off. To buy it you have to bring your own bottle and they fill it up for you from a big tank of the stuff. We brought along an empty 1L water bottle. Nabina scrubbed my arms and hands until the stuff came most of the way off. (Almost a week later now my finger nails are still blue around the edges). On the 3rd day of painting we arrived a while before Amy so we got to play with the babies before we began to paint. They were so excited to see us when we arrived. The room looks so good now. It just needs some touch ups and someone else is going to be working on them. The room is so much brighter and happier looking. The 3 staff members really loved it they kept coming in and dancing around they were so happy with it.
The last 3 days we have been just going any playing with the children. On Sunday and Monday the older children that live there were also home because they had no school because it was a “holy day” (I don’t know why because their holy day is normally on Saturday and they go to school the other 6 days of the week. It was really fun to be able to experience another orphanage situation here in the Kathmandu valley. I really appreciate where we are and the opportunities that our children have. The children where we are, are so well behaved and smart. They know when to stop what they are doing and they understand what we are saying most of the time.
I think that there was probably more that I was going to write but I started writing this almost a week ago and never finished so if it seems incomplete and like it ends abruptly that is why. Let me know if you have any questions about anything. Miss you all.
Amanda
Friday, June 12, 2009
Crazy Weeks!!!
June 12, 2009
It has been a crazy past two weeks. I feel like we have not stopped at all. After going to Chitwan two more volunteers came and so we were busy traveling with them when we were not working. Last weekend Josh, Justin (volunteer from New Jersey) and I traveled to the last resort which is a small adventure resort about 15 km from the Tibet border and went bungy jumping. The location of the jump is off of a suspension bridge that is 160 meters over a raging river. I was the last person in my group to jump because of my weight so I was on the bridge for 2 hours watching people go and by the time it was my turn I was so ready to get off the bridge that I hopped right up and got ready. I was just fine until I stood on the platform and was really going to jump and I froze. I kept telling the guy that I didn’t think that I could do it and he kept encouraging me to just take one step further and one more. It took me a few minutes but I finally jumped. Josh took a video from the side I look totally freaked out. I am going to try and put it on Facebook I don’t know if I will be able to before I get home but if you want to see it just let me know it is pretty funny. After finally being released from hanging upside down you have to hike about 20-25 minutes back up the mountain. It was one of the hardest hikes that I have ever done. Partially because I had just jumped off a bridge but it was hard all by itself. The views were amazing though. Along the trail you had to walk though waterfalls and up steps made of rocks casually placed to assist climbing. They were not stable at all. At one point on the trail there were several children bathing in one of the waterfalls and women doing their wash. Right before returning to the resort there was a small village that I walked though and saw people cleaning and preparing fresh cut rice, and there were goats and chickens everywhere it was really neat to be able to see it. I kept wishing that I had my camera to take pictures but you are not allowed to jump with anything like that on you.
The school that we have been teaching at has a 10 day break, so we took Sunday to travel to Baktupur and Nagarkot with Vanessa (the other volunteer here from Singapore) . The Kathmandu valley was originally 3 different countries Kathmandu, Patan, and Baktupur. Each one is now just a different area of the valley but they each still have their individual Durbar Square. We had traveled to both Kathmandu and Patan several times because they are very close to where we are but Baktupur is about 45 minutes to 1 hour away from us depending on traffic so we had to make a special trip to go and visit it. Baktupur is famous for their “king of curds” which is yogurt curd it is kind of bitter and very lumpy. We tried it at two different place while we were there. The first place was at a restaurant where we paid 86 Rupees for a bowl and it was ok. The second place was a small hole in the wall locally owned place. We paid 15 rupees and it came in a small clay pot that we got to keep and it was way better tasting. It had ginger and cardamom spices in it. Baktapur had many pretty temples including the tallest in Nepal. Baktapur is also famous for its potters square where all kinds of pots and other clay goods are made. It is off season here right now so there was not too much going on but I did see one man sitting at the potters wheel.
As we were leaving a little girl started following us. She latched on to Josh and followed him saying. “Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi one rupee hi hi hi hi hi hi hi one rupee hi hi hi hi hi one rupee hi one rupee hi one rupee hi hi hi hi.” It was so funny because Josh kept saying hi to here and then getting frustrated that she was still there. She followed us for a good 20 minutes until we got into the taxi and drove off. She even started to chase after the taxi but stopped shortly. (We are encouraged not to give money or food to the street children because it makes their lives on the streets easier and discourages them from finding the programs that are set up to help them).
After leaving Baktapur we traveled another 45 minutes to 1 hour to Nagarkot which is a small mountain village that has amazing views and cooler weather. There is nothing to do there except to relax and take in the amazing views. We ate lunch at one of the 2 nice hotels in the village and relaxed in the cool weather and enjoyed the fresh air. From where we were on a clear day you can see the peaks of Mount Everest. It was not very clear the day we were there unfortunately. It was nice to go to the mountains though. So much of them remind me of the mountains of home.
This week we have been working at a different orphanage during the day while the children here are at school. This orphanage has babies and toddlers that we played with the first day. They are so cute and want to be held and played with all the time. The last three days that we have been there we have been helping a volunteer from a different organization paint the playroom. That has been really fun I got very blue doing so though.
I have also been helping cook meals for the kids everyday as well as for the adults here. It has been really fun. I should be able to cook very well when I get home. It is not hard at all. It is just remembering all the spices and having the right equipment. Tomorrow is Saturday and the one day that the kids are home. We are planning on making momos (kind of like a Chinese dumpling) I bought a momo pan yesterday and all of the children are so excited and keep reminding me that it is tomorrow hopefully everything turns out great.
I will post a separate post on Chitwan later I am not done writing it yet. Hope all is well with everyone.
Namaste
Amanda
It has been a crazy past two weeks. I feel like we have not stopped at all. After going to Chitwan two more volunteers came and so we were busy traveling with them when we were not working. Last weekend Josh, Justin (volunteer from New Jersey) and I traveled to the last resort which is a small adventure resort about 15 km from the Tibet border and went bungy jumping. The location of the jump is off of a suspension bridge that is 160 meters over a raging river. I was the last person in my group to jump because of my weight so I was on the bridge for 2 hours watching people go and by the time it was my turn I was so ready to get off the bridge that I hopped right up and got ready. I was just fine until I stood on the platform and was really going to jump and I froze. I kept telling the guy that I didn’t think that I could do it and he kept encouraging me to just take one step further and one more. It took me a few minutes but I finally jumped. Josh took a video from the side I look totally freaked out. I am going to try and put it on Facebook I don’t know if I will be able to before I get home but if you want to see it just let me know it is pretty funny. After finally being released from hanging upside down you have to hike about 20-25 minutes back up the mountain. It was one of the hardest hikes that I have ever done. Partially because I had just jumped off a bridge but it was hard all by itself. The views were amazing though. Along the trail you had to walk though waterfalls and up steps made of rocks casually placed to assist climbing. They were not stable at all. At one point on the trail there were several children bathing in one of the waterfalls and women doing their wash. Right before returning to the resort there was a small village that I walked though and saw people cleaning and preparing fresh cut rice, and there were goats and chickens everywhere it was really neat to be able to see it. I kept wishing that I had my camera to take pictures but you are not allowed to jump with anything like that on you.
The school that we have been teaching at has a 10 day break, so we took Sunday to travel to Baktupur and Nagarkot with Vanessa (the other volunteer here from Singapore) . The Kathmandu valley was originally 3 different countries Kathmandu, Patan, and Baktupur. Each one is now just a different area of the valley but they each still have their individual Durbar Square. We had traveled to both Kathmandu and Patan several times because they are very close to where we are but Baktupur is about 45 minutes to 1 hour away from us depending on traffic so we had to make a special trip to go and visit it. Baktupur is famous for their “king of curds” which is yogurt curd it is kind of bitter and very lumpy. We tried it at two different place while we were there. The first place was at a restaurant where we paid 86 Rupees for a bowl and it was ok. The second place was a small hole in the wall locally owned place. We paid 15 rupees and it came in a small clay pot that we got to keep and it was way better tasting. It had ginger and cardamom spices in it. Baktapur had many pretty temples including the tallest in Nepal. Baktapur is also famous for its potters square where all kinds of pots and other clay goods are made. It is off season here right now so there was not too much going on but I did see one man sitting at the potters wheel.
As we were leaving a little girl started following us. She latched on to Josh and followed him saying. “Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi one rupee hi hi hi hi hi hi hi one rupee hi hi hi hi hi one rupee hi one rupee hi one rupee hi hi hi hi.” It was so funny because Josh kept saying hi to here and then getting frustrated that she was still there. She followed us for a good 20 minutes until we got into the taxi and drove off. She even started to chase after the taxi but stopped shortly. (We are encouraged not to give money or food to the street children because it makes their lives on the streets easier and discourages them from finding the programs that are set up to help them).
After leaving Baktapur we traveled another 45 minutes to 1 hour to Nagarkot which is a small mountain village that has amazing views and cooler weather. There is nothing to do there except to relax and take in the amazing views. We ate lunch at one of the 2 nice hotels in the village and relaxed in the cool weather and enjoyed the fresh air. From where we were on a clear day you can see the peaks of Mount Everest. It was not very clear the day we were there unfortunately. It was nice to go to the mountains though. So much of them remind me of the mountains of home.
This week we have been working at a different orphanage during the day while the children here are at school. This orphanage has babies and toddlers that we played with the first day. They are so cute and want to be held and played with all the time. The last three days that we have been there we have been helping a volunteer from a different organization paint the playroom. That has been really fun I got very blue doing so though.
I have also been helping cook meals for the kids everyday as well as for the adults here. It has been really fun. I should be able to cook very well when I get home. It is not hard at all. It is just remembering all the spices and having the right equipment. Tomorrow is Saturday and the one day that the kids are home. We are planning on making momos (kind of like a Chinese dumpling) I bought a momo pan yesterday and all of the children are so excited and keep reminding me that it is tomorrow hopefully everything turns out great.
I will post a separate post on Chitwan later I am not done writing it yet. Hope all is well with everyone.
Namaste
Amanda
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)