Bye Bye Pokhara, Bye Bye AAN :-(

Now in my last post I mentioned a lot of 'we' but never told ya about the volunteers I worked with in Pokhara! There is David and Jenna, who are from England. Pokhara is just a small part of all their travels which should last at least until July next year. I'm very excited because there is a huge possibility that they will be in Australia and New Zealand so will def be catching up!! Then there is Mim (also from England), who has returned to AAN after being here 2 months last year. She was my Perky Beans buddy... best mango smoothie in Perky Beans!!

The rest of my week at AAN flew by pretty quickly. Every morning and evening I spent with the kids, during the day I chilled out. My hang out became the Bullet Base Camp Bar. I can not recommend this place more! When you first walk in you think its just a bikers bar (there is a motorbike hanging from the roof and the whole bar is decked out with bike parts). But this place is a home away from home. You can not sit here an hour without being invited to play a game of pool with a friendly stranger. Those strangers soon become friends, and those that work there felt like family pretty quickly! Oh... and the food is soo very yummy and a total bargain. On my last day in Pokhara I was chilling out there with Mim when Ed (barman from Netherlands) had us taste some of the pesto he had just made for a pasta dish he was going to try that night. OMG, it was delish! I was sooooo gutted that I wouldn't get to try that pasta and told him so. It was the night we would have a wee party at AAN. I'll just add here that I did get to have some but more on that later...

During my week at Pokhara I had been staying at the Garden House as I mentioned in my previous post. Now I had endured my week there because Tikka had been lovely, and I didn't want to cause a fuss. But all week I had not gotten any sleep from the heat in the room, the noise of the tin roof, and Tikka being not so quiet with her radio, and waking of Yogash (5 year old boy who is supported by AAN). On the Friday morning I washed a Toy Story single duvet cover I had used on my travels. My plan was to give it to the Childrens Home. I hung it out and Tikka came up to me and using hand gestures was asking that I give the cover to her. Now, Yogash does live with Tikka in her room, so I could understand that he may use it, but I wanted to give it to Milan who would make sure it went where it was needed. So I said to Tikka, 'Milan, AAN Childrens Home' and said no to giving it to her. I was shocked when she kept saying 'gift' and pointing to herself. I was more shocked when, after saying no many times, she stormed off! More on this later...

On Friday morning, instead of sending the kids off on the school bus, Mim and I joined them! The bus ride was fun with Anu sat on my knee the whole way in the packed in bus. When we arrived at the school the kids were all so excited to have us there. They all wanted to show us their classrooms and introduce us to their friends. They were so proud to have us there, which was so very sweet. But when the bell went they went running! Five minutes later the whole school was all gathered in the middle of the school in perfect lines. They did different actions all in sync and sung the National Anthem together. Was incredible to see!!

Now that particular week two of the girls had had their birthdays and the following week another two of the girls would have their birthdays. So our party became a wee birthday party too for the four girls. And the ice cream became a big chocolate cake!! Milan picked me up from Bullet Bar on the Friday to go to order the chocolate cake and momos for that night. Gotta say again, I love travelling on the motorbikes here in Nepal! Love it! Especially since I don't wear a helmet... free as a bird haha. While ordering the momos and chocolate cake Milan and I had an incredible piece of cake. Don't know what is was, was red and white but OMG so yummy! Momos and cake ordered, David and Jenna sorted the Pass the Parcel, and decorations sorted. Ready.

I returned to the Garden House to pack my bags ready for the next day, and returned to a very quiet Tikka. I went to my room and had everything spread out to start packing. Tikka and Yogash stood in my room while I packed and started looking through my things. I tried to ignore this a little and kept on packing. Then Tikka starting putting on my cardigan and said 'gift'. Don't get me wrong, I did have a gift I planned to give to Tikka, but the way she was asking really had me not wanting to give her anything! I took the cardigan off her and said no. In his best English Yogash explained that Tikka liked the maxi dress I wore at nights and would like it as a gift. I said again no. I started to lose it at this point, how rude that someone would come into my room and try to pick out their own gift? Tikka then stormed out. I no longer felt comfortable at the Garden House.

Milan arrived shortly after to have a cuppa with me and I told him I was struggling to sleep in the Garden House and could I go stay with David and Jenna (who had been lovely and offered a spare bed at their place). He insisted I sleep in the childrens home that night and happily I agreed. Before leaving to go find the others (to have a much needed rant!) I gave Yogash some coloured pencils, but left Tikka to it. I should note here that Tikka has only been very lovely to me, and very sweet. I was very upset that things turned a little sour in the end, but at the party that night Tikka was again lovely to me. Cultural differences I suppose.

Anywho, enough of the negativity eh!! Now I get to the fun part... the party! When we arrived at the Home the girls were all practicing dancing and we weren't allowed in the downstairs part. The momos and cake arrived and it was time to tuck in. Although the momos were slightly spicy they were delish. The kids loved them, and I don't think I have ever been thanked so much in my life! Was lovely, and loved seeing the kids tucking in. After the momos Milan had made very yummy lassis! A lassi is like a milkshake, but Milan's lassi was like a fruit salad lassi, nom nom. A lot of the girls had lassi moustaches too hehe. 

David and Jenna started the Pass the Parcel with everyone. They had been dead smart about it too, knowing which layers had no sweets in it so when Milan got the parcel twice, both times he did not get a sweet, the kids thought it was hilarious! When the last layer came it was sweet and quiet Puja who won the little purse and sweets :-)

Now was time for a big chocolate cake (which looked gorgeous btw and written on it 'Happy Birthday Girls'... oh and had a rabbit on it - fab because rabbit is what the kids call David. We had all the kids sitting in the library room and after a lot of explaining (they don't do birthday cakes here so this was all new to them) had the four birthday girls sat together, ready for the cake. I walked in with the cake (and everyone singing happy birthday) and loved seeing the girls' happy faces when they saw it! They all blew out the candles and had cake smashed into their faces hehe... Then we all tucked in!

Now we all wanted to spoil the kids and this was our chance, but in the end it was the kids that spoilt us with a dance show. We all sat watching the different girls in their best dresses dancing to Nepali music including my favourite song 'Simple, Simple'. Even one of the older boys got up and sang a song which was incredible to see! Little Sima got up many times to show off her dance moves. We had so much fun and after the dancing show was done we put the music on and danced like crazy! No idea how the kids kept going, we were shattered by the time we left! 

Oh and I forgot to mention that my name here in Pokhara is Anju. Back when I was trekking Bibek (assistant guide) had called me Anju as it was my Nepali name. At the school many of the teachers and children called me Anju. At AAN I was simply Anju, not Angela :-)

After the party David, Jenna, Mim and I went to Bullet Bar for a few drinks. On arriving I asked Ed if there was any leftover pasta and he got me some 'on the house'. It was frikken yummy! The bar was lit by candles which was sweet, and the bar was pretty busy. When the bar was meant to close by law I asked Ed about the police coming, he simply said 'I haven't been arrested in Nepal'. Haha... The bar was all shut up so nobody would've really known anywho. David, Jenna and I left Mim with friends and went home - I had an 8 hour bus trip to Kathmandu early the next morning, groooooaaaaan....

Now I was staying at the orphanage on this evening so was slightly worried when I was heading back late, and a little tipsy... David and Jenna did say if I couldn't get in to go to theirs to crash. I arrived at the home to silence. I walked to the second floor, around the corner, and to Milan's window. I knocked on his window a few times... no answer. I knocked again and whispered 'Milan, wake up'. Never been so happy to hear 'Anju?' Hehe... he let me in and made sure I was safe and sound - such a sweetheart. I fell asleep with the windows open and woke in the night to fireflies flying about. Lay there wondering if it would burn if a firefly touched me before being quickly asleep again. Lovely :-) 

Woke the next morning and said good morning to the kids who quickly got me a cuppa tea. Then it was quick goodbyes. It broke my heart saying goodbye. How it is possible to care so much about children who were strangers only a week before? They really had made me feel a part of their family, and I had had so much fun with them. But they truly blew me away and inspired me. After such troubled pasts these children were working hard at school and living in harmony together while welcoming in complete strangers to their home. And they had such gorgeous big smiles!! Miss them :-(

AAN Childrens Home

Well, well, well... where to start about my week so far with my new family at AAN Childrens Home?

I arrived in Pokhara and was taken to my new home for the week - the Garden House. Just a few minutes walk from the orphanage, the Garden House is a two bedroom home (a building of only the 2 rooms & an outside toilet & small kitchen) on the land with the garden that supplies all the veges and sometimes fruit to the children. I am living with Tikka who sleeps in the other room. She doesn't speak English but we manage with my small amount of Nepali! Because there is no shower, I walk to the orphanage to shower. Oh, and my room has a tin roof which, as I will mention later, can be very loud during storms!!

When I arrived a few of the girls from AAN were cooking corn on a tiny fire for the childrens' afternoon snack. With the snack we had a very yummy drink. It was milk mixed with a little yoghurt and sugar - very yummy!

Saturday is their one day off during the week. And it is also the one day a week that they shower or change their clothes. So after a week of so much hard work at school and SO much homework at night I think they really enjoy their day off! That night I introduced myself to them all and told them all about myself and New Zealand. They informed me that their textbook said Sir Edmund Hillary was from England - I made sure they knew he was from NZ!

They then all took turns to introduce themselves. I learnt that a lot of the children want to be doctors, nurses, teachers, or tailors. And at the end they all welcomed me into their family. There is a real family vibe in the home which is lovely. All the children help each other and look after their home together - all sharing the duties. There are 17 children in the home ranging from 4 years old to 15. The children are not from the streets. Milan (guardian) rescues the children with the help of the child welfare. Milan believes it best not to mix the children with street kids who can be more difficult - therefore impacting the welfare children.

One example of how the children have come to AAN is wee Tulsa. Her father has passed away and her mother is mentally disabled. She was rescued just in time, as her two sisters had been sold into slavery and her brother (10 years old) was sent to India to make money for the family, but he went missing.

Our duties in the home is as a big sister or brother. In the evenings we help with their homework first. And they have a lot! Last night I was sat with Preeti and Sabina helping them and we were in the study room for 2 hours and they still hadn't finished! After homework we do a news class which is where the older children will read through a news article with us. We will go over words they don't understand and discuss the article. The younger children will be read to, and learn 5 new English words. We then play games with the children before having dinner. After dinner we leave the home.

In the morning we arrive to help the children with any unfinished homework and help them get dressed and ready for school. Getting them to the bus on time can be a mission. With them sometimes running to catch it, so far no one has missed it! After they have gone we do some cleaning before Dal Bhat for breakfast. We try to arrange different activities, and this Friday we are going to have a wee party. I'm going to get the momos and ice cream for the kids as a treat and a change from Dal Bhat! We are going to have dancing (which they all love) and lots of other games and fun... can't wait!!!

During the day is our free time and yesterday we went to the International Mountaineering Museum which I loved! Having been up to Everest Base Camp it was amazing seeing some of the gear they used back in the day to summit! Today I am going to catch up with some volunteers from another orphanage down the road. I met them back in early May when we had our orientation so will be good to catch up!

Other Highlights:

• Waking up one night at 2am from a HUGE storm. Now I usually love the storms here but this really was something else! I think my tin roof may have contributed to the noise but I had my iPod on, a pillow on both ears, and I was under the blankets and still freaking out! The thunder was crazy! It lasted about an hour and a half - terrifying! Most the kids said it kept them awake so I feel a little better about freaking out haha.
• Poor wee Sima has had a chest and throat infection. Although the only way we knew was by her cough - she didn't complain! After visiting the doctor she had to stay off school for two days. Poor thing would cry in the morning because she wanted to go to school. Definitely would not have been the case when I was a child!
• Harimaya (13 years old) slept with me in my room on the first night. While I was shattered from helping the kids with homework, she was up til 10pm sat on the floor studying for a maths test the next day. I managed to help her with some of the questions but did have to wake up a dormant part of my brain!!! She is first in her class and wants to be a doctor when she is older. She works so hard too. The only way she would have the opportunity to train as a doctor is with top marks. The government funds just 20 children in Nepal and those with very good marks.
• After reading in the paper that only 40% of the older children had past their SLC (School Leavers Certificate) exams we heard that 3 of the 15 year olds in AAN had all passed in the 1st division!! And one of the girls had got 79.9% while 80% would've given her distinction. So all the hard work that these children do really shows!! So proud!!

Settled & Happy. New challenge & Adventure necessary...

Another week has passed and again, so many new experiences and memories. Nepal is a place where every day there are surprises and mostly from the people who are like a giant family... especially in our lovely village of Padampokhari.

My week began with a quick visit to the doctor for some antibiotics and drugs. They soon did the trick but on the Sunday I was very upset as so fed up with being ill. On my way home from school on Sunday I phoned my sis in tears. I made sure I got it out of me before I reached my village! Had I known I would go to the doctors on the back of a motorbike I would've gone a week earlier! Loved it! And slightly less bumpy then bus or bike.

But my days at school were now a lot of fun, and I felt so at home and part of the staff. With the Grade 9 and 10s we had a classroom discussion about why they are proud of Nepal followed by the students writing an essay. Through the discussion they spoke of all the things i love about Nepal. From the incredible landscapes and animals, to the friendly people and rich culture. 

I was surprised when they also said they were proud of their caste system. Without going into too much detail, a Nepali person is born into a caste and will remain this caste their entire life. The Brahmin caste is the highest caste and they, for example, would not touch or eat food prepared by a lower caste. Outsiders such as myself are considered to be not pure so I suppose a low caste. There is so much to it, but it is not followed so much these days. But in more remote villages it is still be much apart of life. 

On Tuesday we had four new volunteers arrive (Terese left on Sunday). I had Jorae from Canada join me teaching at my school. On her first day she struggled like I did. She didn't want to do the biggest class again after they were crazy so I took them, and they were very good for me. It shows that with everyone it does take time for them to respect you. I made them promise to be good next time for Jorae but we will see if that happens! The only problem with having another volunteer at the school was that I didn't have as many classes. So I would teach 2 or 3 classes (rather than 5+) but be there for the whole day. And so brings me to how I am now working at an orphanage...

Jorae had come to Chitwan from Pokhara working in an orphanage. We chatted a lot about it. She told me at her orphanage volunteers are needed, and even if I just went for a week, it would be good. Now that I was settled and happy in my village and at my school I thought about it a lot. Should I stay and enjoy a lovely time here or should I uproot myself for a week and have a new challenge and experience? 

Of course, I went for the latter. After raising money from my marathon for part of the costs of volunteering and to go towards an orphanage, this would be my opportunity to find the best place for this money. I had half a week left in Chitwan so decided I would extend my program slightly and leave a few days early to do a week at Jorae's orphanage in Pokhara. Everything was arranged. I would leave on the Saturday morning.

On the Thursday in my last time with Grade 9B I told them it would be my last day tomorrow. They asked if I would join them in their Grammar class the next day so they could have me once more and I agreed. Friday is a shorter day and their class would be my last. 

On my last day at the school it was very overwhelming and sad. I really struggled with their kindness and generosity. The school had made me feel at home. One of my students came to the staff room and gave me a flower and all the children were wanting to say goodbye. I arrived in my Grade 9B to find that we were not doing their Grammar that day. First they gave me a gift that they had sorted themselves. They knew my favourite animal was the rhino so they gave me a wooden rhino ornament ad had written about the rhino too. They gave me some roses and pages of writing which included one of the childrens' essays about why they are proud of Nepal. The remainder of the class was spent with different students standing and singing to me, or reading me poems about friendship.

My favourite was:

Fanta is Fanta, it is not Coke.
Friendship is friendship, it is no joke.

Cute eh?

After that class and after lunch with the teachers, all the teachers gathered in the staff room and I was invited to sit in the middle with the Headmaster (Mani Lal) and the Vice-Principal (Batuk). A presentation was done with Batuk speaking. I was handed a letter thanking me for my time there. They spoke of my 'teaching perfection' (hehe) and talked of my contribution to the school. So very sweet.

Then with the Headmaster first, all the teachers put a tikka to my forehead and handed me a flower. I was covered in the red powder in the end! Hilarious! One of the woman got a cloth and cleaned me up a little haha. We then had a group picture and I had to say goodbye.

As I biked from the school there were tears. The whole day had been incredible and such a crazy experience! 

I was to be spoilt even more when I got home. That night Aama made me my fried chicken (we have chicken once a week) and my favourite Dal Bhaat of curried cauliflower, rice, and lentil soup. 

That was followed by sitting at the back of Uncle's house with everyone and Nepali music having a few drinks. I created the 'Angela's Mango Surprise'. It had vodka, mango juice, sprite, and a straw with a Jolly Rancher lollipop sticking out of it... oh and some bugs, SURPRISE! Haha... 

Could not believe I would be leaving this quiet wee village and my new large family. 

The next morning I woke early and found, because I didn't have time for Dal Bhaat, Aama had prepared some mango for me (my absolute favourite!!!). Again spoilt rotten!

The trip to Pokhara was.... crazy! The bus to the city never came, and I was going to miss my bus from the city to Pokhara. We quickly ordered a cab but managed to jump on the roof of a bus that doesn't usually stop for us. Twenty minutes later we met up with our taxi and sped away to the city. Could not believe we made it! 

So I am now in Pohkara and so much already happening here so I will write about that another time, maybe tomorrow. Being on the internet is a bit of a chore at the moment.

All I will say about Pokhara right now, is that I am struggling with the traffic and how busy it is with tourists! The girls were saying how peaceful it is here compared to Kathmandu but I am finding it insanely busy! Can't relax! Maybe in a day or two I will adjust... village life sure was peaceful and chilled!!

Weeks Highlights:

• Sitting outside watching a massive storm while hoping it would make a mango fall off the mango tree. After around an hour I moved to watch it over the rice fields. Then a lightning striked a tree (or the metal from the bridge?) 400 metres in front of me, with sparks flying!! I screamed and ran but at the same time the loudest thunder of my life BANGED! The only way I could describe it would be like getting an electric shock from a fence or something. The sound went right through my body. Took awhile to calm down after that!
• Thunder and lightning starting during our last period at school so having to pedal like mad on the bikes to get home before the rain started pouring. Got home to still have time to play football on the temple grounds. But soon it bucketed down and had to race for our jandals and get home.
•  Going for a walk out of the village in the morning and after 20 minutes walking being invited into a home for some milk tea. Fresh from the family's buffalo it was delicious!! More hospitality from the friendly locals!

Fun on Top of a Bus

Wow, how time is flying!! Another week has passed and despite a miserable start to the week I was flying high by the end on top of a bus.. literally :-)

Unwell & Feeling Sorry for Myself
So my week began with me being horribly ill and unable to work for 3 days. I hadn't been sleeping for the week prior and had a slight tummy bug too so suppose everything just got to me in the end. I was in bed feeling very sorry for myself with a painful throat and nausea. 

But I was very looked after. Although Aama wouldn't let me drink cold water because she said it isn't good for my throat! She made sure I had boiled water. Sanjiv was lovely, asking if I wanted Aama to make me mushroom or vegetable soup. Instead I ate plain rice (brekky), 3 chocolate bars a day, some Dal Bhat, and fruit. 

Actually that brings me to another point. I am seriously addicted to chocolate here! I don't know if maybe it is because most Western food has sugar in it and over here it doesn't. Or whether the amount of sweating I am doing is getting me craving chocolate? But it is a problem. And it is contagious. Both Terese and John have started the mass chocolate eating. Perhaps not to my extent (when reading a magazine I literally stared at an advertisement for Peanut butter M&Ms for a good ten minutes drooling!). 

Whenever Sanjiv was going to the city I would have him bring me a supply of chocolate. But then I would constantly worry that I would run out before I could top up my supply. Thankfully, this week we discovered that Uncle sells little Dairy Milk chocolate bars at his house down the road!!!! They are bliss :-) They are wee 8.5 gram bars - I know this because after eating seven of them within an hour I had to know how I was doing in comparison to my big chocolate bars!

Okay, enough about chocolate hehe... will be soooo funny weighing myself when I get home. Everyone thought I would get home skinny from this trip. Errrr.... think the opposite is going to happen! :D

So back to being ill. Basically in a nutshell I spent 3 days in bed. BORING! I made a trip to this Internet cafe (or Rupa's house) on day 2 to Skype family but was freaked out by how weak I was. Quickly, was back home in bed!

Fun at School
Come Thursday I woke feeling good! Was so excited when I got up and went and had a heap of Dal Bhat for brekky. Enjoyed my bike ride to school although they had put more rocks down - a sports bra is a necessity when biking here!!

I had brought a big world map poster over the weekend so took this with me to use to teach the students about the world. And somehow I seem to have the classes mostly under control. I have their respect. Will never forget on Thursday going to the biggest class of 62 Grade 8 students. After letting them sit and starting my class I realised, shockingly, I had 62 children sitting quietly listening to me! Wow, what an achievement!! I really wanted to sit there and just enjoy it, but with 124 eyes peering at me I got underway with my lesson. 

The rest of the day continued like this with the other classes. At our break I walked into the staff room very happy. The Vice Principal then turned to me and said, "You are very energetic today, what is your secret?' 

So I have settled into my school. I've got chatting with the teachers too. One of the teachers was talking to me about books. She then asked if I had read The Secret by Rhonda Bryne or Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Interesting books for her to be reading! In her free time she writes about equality and woman's rights. Although she said that most people don't read her articles. We discussed the issues and was very interesting hearing her views... women in Western societies (me!) are so lucky to have the freedoms that we do.

On Friday morning I woke to pouring rain. Was raining cats and dogs for sure! I was in no way going to turn up at school drenched again or risk getting ill again. So I txt the Vice Principal letting him know that I would be late as I was waiting for the rain to stop. Okay, seriously, who can get away with that sort of excuse right?! Only in Nepal!

I arrived at school a couple of hours late but very dry :-) It was another lovely day of teaching rather than disciplining. In my free period before Khaja (day snacks break) I helped to cook our snacks. The snack was like a pancake but with curried veges in it - actually pretty tasty. During the week I will put a few more pictures on here including my delish cooking hehe. When we were all sat down to eat all the teachers were saying how I must cook them a dish from New Zealand. I'm very much more of a baker than anything and without an oven anywhere in this village I'm not sure what I could cook them! If anyone has ideas let me know. The facilities I have are pots (so boiling) and a frying pan. Also the food supplies are limited so think basic flour, rice, sugar, vegetables.... let me know if you think of anything!

One thing I'm loving about school is the tea. Kalo chiya (black tea) is lovely here during the day - likely because of the mass amount of sugar they put in it. And there I was back in NZ always drinking tea without sugar! Wonder if I will still be so thirsty for mass sugar teas when I get back!

Day at the Cinema
Today is our day off and Terese (volunteer from Canada) and I decided we would go to the cinema and see a Bollywood movie - which they love over here.

We were to catch a local bus. This involved sitting out the front of the house chilling out for about an hour until the local bus approached (no set time!). Now on the bus it became like a can of sardines. We were sat up in the area with the bus driver in front of the actual door, and I counted 9 of us up there! So Terese and I, having seen the rusty old ladder on the back of the bus, decided we'd go on the roof. OMG, riding on the roof of the bus was awesome! We had the whole top of the bus to ourselves and the best view of the gorgeous villages. The breeze was lovely and we could wave and say hello to everyone along the way. I will admit though that I am a bit of daydreamer. Well, a BIG daydreamer. So I had to REALLY concentrate on watching out for low power lines and trees. Easy enough to duck, but easy enough to daydream too! 

After our lovely bus ride we got to the cinema to find it was a Nepali film that was screening that day called 'Romance'. We got our ticket (NZ$1/70rs) and on reaching the inside were told the popcorn and cake weren't available until the interval. After a mad dash to a local store to get chocolate, we were then sat in the big, very old and rustic cinema. Along the sides of the cinema were big fans which were lovely. But that was as lovely as it got. It started with the man in front of us just casually spitting on the ground in front of him. The man sat to me had serious BO. And well, the movie sucked. Plain and simple. From what we could gather from the melodramatic acting, the movie was about a whore and the boys she was involved with. Really? In Nepal? When the interval came, and we'd had cake (of course!) we left the cinema. In fact, a Nepali man left with us and said, and I quote, 'That movie was crap, no romance in that movie.'  

Other Bits and Bobs

• In the village the children roam. All the people of the village look after the children as if they were their own if they are around. Is very sweet. Simon is a 2 and a half little Nepali boy who we also call Trouble. He is adorable but always in trouble. We were sat down the road on mats with the locals and the women were singing and clapping while Simon would dance Nepali style. So cute! And another time when we were sat at the neighbours Simon runs over, pulls down his pants and nearly pees on Terese!! Sooo funny! He was made to come over and say 'Sorry Sister'. Ohhh.. and when he was in the backyard with me I showed him a big frog so he picks it up and won't let the poor thing go. He just ran about squeezing it while I chased him! 
• Sitting in the dark, in the middle of an intersection in the village, on handmade mats just chilling with the people of the village. Lying back on the mats and staring at the stars, bliss! At the home next door a man is  making a net he will use for fishing. A buffalo sits munching on the hay. Villagers will come and join us all at different points.Simon is running about causing havoc hehe. Lovely.
• Deciding not to ride on the top of the bus on the ride home from the city then having the roughest journey home. Did at one point have the brakes slammed on to stop us colliding with a wee bus. Good decision me thinks! 
• On walking an hour home in the dark after dinner at a restaurant we hear singing and clapping at a home. We walk into the home to find around 50 people sat with a few dancing in front of them to the singing. They quickly get us on the dance floor! So, SO much fun. We learn they are celebrating the birth of a boy. They give us sweets and make us feel so welcome. When I have danced a lot and am dripping in sweat I stand at the back clapping and cheering. An old lady who can barely walk with her stick, stands from her seat and insists I take it. I try to refuse but she won't have it! So I sit down and there she stands, despite being so fragile. They don't know when to stop being so kind and welcoming!!

So that, my friends, is another week is done. I can not stress enough how much I am loving this little village and its people. They live such a simple life but a good life - in their eyes. They are very happy and welcoming people who always have so much to give to others despite having so little themselves. 

Now I must go... Terese leaves tomorrow after being here two weeks. Nina left on Wednesday. Christine and Lea left on Monday. And Kyle left on Tuesday - he left due to the heat and bugs, so hopefully he is now in Pokhara where it is cooler!!

Tomorrow it will just be myself and John here before a new batch of volunteers arrive on Monday. 

Bye for now :-)




 

Heat, Heat, GORGEOUS Heat!

Okay, so at the beginning of every blog entry I think I will make it a tradition that I talk about the weather haha... I mean really, 40 degrees with no air conditioning, no beach, and now no stream to swim in.

In my last blog I showed a picture of the stream we swim in which is two minutes from our home. After writing my last blog I went right home and said to Sanjiv, "Right, lets go swimming, I'm frikken melting!'  I had been thinking all day about that damn stream. Well, Sanjiv tells me that we no longer can swim there, and not even the locals are swimming there now. Apparently, the day we were swimming there, a crocodile showed up and now it is a no go zone! :-( How unlucky am I? And Sanjiv is adament that we will not be swimming there, no budging.

But wait, there's more. Also on this day the two wells that we have for water were BOTH broken! So no water either. Sanjiv's grandfather took the parts of the wells by bike to a local town and that evening we had water again but was torture. Now the wells are fixed when I got home from school today I was straight there pumping it then ducking under the cooool water, bliss!

My day at school was good today. I taught Grade 1 so children aged 6 years old. When I was asked if I would teach them the teachers were laughing and said they hoped I knew sign language. I wasn't so bad though. I had them for four lessons and did English, Maths, and Science with them. Teaching them subtraction was interesting. I had say 4 children stood at the front of the class, then would push one away and say '4 boys - 1 boy equals?' They loved it. But am shattered now. Trying to think of ways to communicate for 4 lessons used a lot of brain cells!

Eekk best get home before dinner is ready. Ohhhh guess what!? We have mango tree in our backyard! How awesome eh? They aren't ready yet but hope they are soon!! And a short bike ride away there is a lychee tree. Had one of the little boys with a stick hitting them down so I could eat them Nom nom...

Dal bhat time! xo

Teaching at Annapurna Higher Secondary School

Well....

It has now been a week in Padampokhari, and a month in Nepal. 

Where to start for the past week? Have I already mentioned how hot it is? Yes? It is now hotter. In fact, today it is 40 degrees. It is incredible how much one can sweat. Even while teaching I literally have sweat dripping down my neck! 

Teaching at Annapurna Higher Secondary School
The first few days of teaching has been a mix of highs and lows. I did not spend days with a teacher learning what to do, or learning about how things work. I was shown to the classes and introduced before being left to it.

The first class? A class of 62 12-13 year old students from Grade 8 jammed into a small class with me there to teach. Luckily, on the first day I had Nina (volunteer from Chicago, USA) join me as my assistant teacher as she could not teach at her school yet. The entire day was us shown to large classes ranging from 30 - 60 students, and then chaos.

See I am teaching at a government school and the discipline of the students is an issue. And I had heard from other volunteers that in government schools violence is used to discipline the children. Something that I am not comfortable enforcing myself. I have not yet witnessed this at Annapurna HSS. 

But at the end of the day I am a substitute teacher to them. Why listen to me?

So the goal of the day (for me anyway) was simply to shut the kids up and let them know who I was and what I expected of them. I know it sounds bad 'shut the kids up' but have you tried to teach 60 kids in a tiny classroom? 

And they really did try everything. Half the class was doing work from other classes like Nepali or Mathematics, a lot of these books were collected and kept up front - around 15 books from most classes. 

They all tried to be excused to use the bathroom or refill their drink bottles. I was having none of that, they were told they could do that after my class. 

Students who were blatantly not listening or misbehaving would be asked to stand in front of the class and read a passage from their English textbooks. Usually the naughtiest of the children really struggled to read basic English so after being humiliated they would soon behave.

My name and 'Miss' or 'Madam' were being yelled all over the place. I am teaching them to put their hands up if they want my attention but they are still learning this. 

Having to be so tough on the children was something I knew I had to do to be able to teach them anything and not be walked all over. It is bloody hard work but after only 3 days teaching I am getting somewhere with many of the classes.

I have two favourite classes. The first is Grade 5 (9-10 year olds) who I have taught many times. When I want them to be quiet I fold my arms and they copy. If they do this quickly and quietly I then touch my head, clap my hands, etc and make a game out of it. Was hilarious when I was doing this and did 'spirit fingers' next to my ears and all the children copied then immediately started singing Baa Baa Black Sheep! 

They also love playing Pictionary on the whiteboard. They are super competitive! But again, we only play this if they have worked well during the lesson.

My other favourite class is one of the Grade 10 classes (16-17 year olds). They are very smart and I have not had any discipline issues with them at all. When I told them about myself and that I had a 16 year old sister Mikaela they wanted to know all about her. With just a few classes with me they are understanding me better, and we are able to have good class discussions. 

There is A LOT of help needing here in the Chitwan area. The students do a lot of copying of answers rather than creating their own answers. I will ask a student a question about a passage we have read and they will stand up and read the relevant paragraph word for word. They don't know how to think in English. My goal while I am here is to have an improvement in this. I only have a month but one can dream right? Haha

I am so SO happy that I ended up here teaching. We had a new volunteer arrive this week from an orphanage in Kathmandu. She came because she wasn't needed a whole lot in the orphanage. Also another girl will come next week from as orphanage in Pohkara because she feels she is not needed. 

Now it is just a matter of how much can I squeeze into their brains before I leave! 

Other school highlights:

• Every school day at 1:30pm I join the teachers for day snacks. Not really sure how to describe the food as I have no idea what it is! One day was like flattened, dried rice with a curried fruit which is called Jack Fruit? 
• When I teach in the first period the students stand and sing the Nepali anthem. Not all classes do this but when I am teaching I have them all do so.
• On entering a classroom I have the children stand and say good morning before letting them sit. Love the POWER! Haha... But actually this helps with the control of the classroom from the start. 
• On my second day teaching it was bucketing down rain. All the other volunteers didn't go to school as it was too wet. Silly me, I decided I would go. I spent the first two periods drying off under a fan. On the bright side I made a lot of students and teachers laugh that day when I rocked in!

 So that is a summary of my first three days at school. The rest of the week the school was off for teachers exams so I went to Chitwan National Park. More about that in another blog post (this blogging takes a lot of work!!!).

Oh and do excuse how this is written. I have got very little sleep in the past week due to the heat. So am exhausted!!

A few pictures from family life in this quiet wee village...

 

Boys will be boys. The boys playing with the dead snake that caused havoc one morning. Most of the village were in a backyard while Pinto tried to catch him!

Aama sat (she is rarely sitting still) in the kitchen and dining area. No idea how she cooks for all of us with such little bench space!

The street we live on. Behind the house on the left is where we go for samosas, momos, and other snacks. Suppose it is like a cafe, except it is just a table outside a neighbour's house. Love it as they cook on a fire next to us.

The stream we swim in! Water snakes def don't stop you jumping in with this heat. Although I did a bomb in and hit my butt on a big rock, ouch! My butt is already sore enough from the bike ride to and from school :(

Pinto! Pinto was the one who discovered the snake. Even got bitten by the snake (but okay now)

Getting some water from the well to do some hand washing. I'm looking happy in this pic but I HATE washing my clothes with a passion. Takes SOOOOO loooonng!

Arrived in a wee village surrouned by rice fields...

So I have arrived in my village and first I must say... it is HOT!! Trying to get used to constantly dripping in sweat. And this village really is away from everything. It is over two hours to get to the Chitwan National Park and about an hour to get to a town. Although a ten minute walk from our home is this wee internet cafe which sells cold drinks. Cold Fanta Mmmmmmm...

So anywho, I am living with 3 other volunteers with Sanjiv and his mother Rada. The home is gorgeous and surrounded by rice fields. Down the road is a river you can swim in. The Canadian volunteers who leave tomorrow have told us they haven't swum because of water snakes in there, but I will say now that is def not going to stop me! Too hot to care I think! Oh and snakes are also about. Today when I was heading to my room one was wrapped round my shoes so John (Volunteer from UK) and I swept him out with brushes (made of wheat I think?). Okay I keep losing track... back to yesterday...

So after arriving, playing some cards and relaxing, Sanjiv grabbed a motorbike from the neighbours (his Aunty) and I jumped on the back so we could head to my school.
My school is Annapurna Higher Secondary School (I think, will have to check that hehe). There are 500 children at the school from the age of 3 years old to 18. I met the English teacher there, and also A LOT of the other teachers too. They all have varying levels of English - hopefully something I can help to improve in the very short time of a month.

Oh and cannot believe it when one of the mathematics teachers tells me that his son is studying in Tauranga!! Will have to find out where but did tell him I live near there so I think when I get back I will definitely have to catch up with him.

So I am at the school just as it has finished and I am shown the classes which are like what I imagine my grandparents to have had. Except the one exception which is the white board rather than blackboard. All that is in the class are the chairs and seats (which are wooden and connected) and then the white board with a platform for the teacher. there is also on of those stands that a conductor uses in an orchestra.

Then English teacher explained to me that the children don't move classes for their subjects, the teachers move to the students (damn!). And he also discussed how much the children are struggling with English, Maths, and Science. And in particular, English because the town is so remote and there are not a lot of opportunities to practice it. He did detail ways they are trying to improve results but I will go into detail another time when I know more.

After school I was chatting with the head teacher who has been teaching there for over 30 years and he said something to me in Nepali but I heard the word chiya which means tea and said 'Yes, please!' So I had tea with some of the teachers before heading back home. Oh and this tea is yuuuummmy! Is a milk tea but here they put lot of sugar in it hehe... Oh and the teachers paid for my tea too, they are lovely and welcoming.

They also asked a lot of questions about New Zealand. They don't know a lot and I had to show them on a map but they do know Sir Edmund Hillary is from NZ!! The head teacher said he is very well respected here.

My day is going to sort of be like this:

6-6:30am Go to village school. Bike to a local village to a slab of concrete where village children will come to have any extra help with their English or other school work. Usually an hour long.

8:30-9am Breakfast time which is Dal Baat (Curried veges, rice, lentil soup, spinach, and if we are lucky egg) Oh and eaten with our right hand - there is a technique and I have got it sussed! Although by the time I leave here my right hand will be yellow in colour!

10am School starts. So bike there for 25 minutes and the next I am not sure of...

4:10pm School ends. Possibly tea (chiya) with the teachers or home to chill out with the other volunteers.

8pm Dinner which is Dal Bhat.

Then bedtime and repeat! This is 6 days a week with Saturday being the day off. So I will be shattered but I'm lucky to have a lovely family I am living with. Rada is soooo sweet and we call her Aama (mother in Nepali). On Mothers Day here the volunteers brought her a vacuum cleaner and today was the first time she used it. You should have seen her grin! Was also very cute watching her understand how it works and John showing her how to use it. She cooks for us and only speaks Nepali but I know enough now to get bye. Especially when it comes to dinner and breakfast. Ali ali means 'a little' and I make sure I say it before she serves mine up! Last night though we all ate lots and had seconds and I don't think she could have been happier. She was whipping around us all topping up whatever we needed.

And the village is small but friendly. I am getting to know the local children and a few of the Aunties and Uncles about the place. Including the Uncle who owns the local liquor/convenient store, which is where we visited last night while the power was out.

Oh and am a little gutted because  I asked Sanjiv if rhinos came to the village and he said in the winter you would have the odd one walking through the village!! Obviously, not in the summer so may have to come back one day in the winter til one waltzes past! Hehe...

Today I have also been trying to prepare for my classes but there really isn't much you can do. I have been told to expect the first week to be bloody hard. And the kids treat you like a substitute teacher so I am got to make sure I control the room from the get go. Of course, I am nervous but am sure I can contribute in some way over the next month.

Anywho, gotta go! Damn hot and have drunk all my fanta... looking forward to a cold shower when I get home!

Wish me luck for tomorrow! Maybe having my own classes and getting thrown into it is the best way to become awesome! Haha ;-)

There were tears... but everything happens for a reason!

I have no idea where to start with this as I have not been able to write about my orientation or the past weeks so far but I will try. As I have mentioned before, I never knew where I would be working in the orphanage as it would depend on where we are needed. But we did get to put our preference and mine was Pokhara. 

Well in my group here at orientation there are 20 of us from all over the world and the majority working at orphanages, although one doctor and one teacher. Now the majority of volunteers put their preference as Pokhara. Mix this with the Nepalese people's love of pleasing people and you will start to understand my dilemma today.

Over the past days during orientation (which I will have to talk about in another blog when I have time!) they have been talking to us about the orphanages and trying to match us up with the right place. 

Today we found out our placements (although we were told a few details yesterday) and officially given the slip with all the details. So mine was in Pokhara at an orphanage with 9 children and 3 volunteers in total. Compare this to another orphanage there with 60 children and 4 volunteers. Yes, you are probably thinking like me errr.... too many volunteers? So I turned to the coordinator and asked why there would be three volunteers for 9 children, surely one would do? His face gave me my answer, and he explained that everyone in the group wanted to go to Pohkara. I politely declined to working in this orphanage and explained that I wanted to work where I was needed. 

And so he asked,"Would you teach?" 

Now this is the reason for the tears... for the past 6 months I have known I would go to Nepal and work at an orphanage. But I have since realised it really doesn't matter whether I am teaching or working in an orphanage. I will still be working with children and getting to know the Nepali culture.

As it turns out in Chitwan they are very much in need of teachers at the moment. They were very upset when they heard that from our group there were only 2 teachers going to Chitwan. Chitwan is very, very hot at this time of year as it is in the lowlands. And the village that requires the teachers is an hour by bus from the city of Chitwan. The name of the village is Padhampokhar When it comes to facilities in the village, they are very limited (I have been to the shop and stocked up on chocolate!). Just now one of the coordinators has just come to tell me I will be on a bus at 6:30am tomorrow rather than leave on Saturday. I start teaching on Sunday. He also asked me to teach the teachers as much as possible too as it will make a world of difference to the school.

Oh, and he also said to me that because it is so hot at this time of year, the rhinos, snakes, etc shouldn't come into the village. He said it is usually just in the winter that the animals wander from the jungle...... haha

And it has been lovely because I have had different people from Hope and Home come to me and thank me for going to Chitwan. They have also said to please tell them if the heat gets too much, that even a week there will be incredible help so only do what I can handle. Errr.... challenge accepted!

So now I am getting excited....

 Oh and apparently the children in the school range from 3 years old to 16 years old. The age I teach we are not sure yet. And I will need to bike for half an hour to get to the school initially, but this could change during my placement. And I think that is everything I know so far. 

I have been at an incredible low today, feeling like I was letting everyone down by not working at an orphanage but now I see how silly that was. Everything happens for a reason, and today has definitely shown me that I can be flexible...

Oh and one other thing... a lot of people probably know this by now, but I have been planning that next year I will do a Diploma in Teaching and start a career as a primary school teacher. I brought a book with me to read on my down time at the orphanage with the title: The Primary School Teacher's Guide to Teaching Grammar & Punctuation. 

Funny eh?

Well I have just finished a chunky white chocolate Kit Kat and another storm has begun (the path outside this guesthouse has become a river hehe) so maybe it is time I go pack my bag and start to prepare for the 8 hour bus ride tomorrow. 

I really want to write about the last few days which have been incredible including the scariest bus ride of my life (think cliffs and slippery mud), the most beautiful remote village and its welcoming people, & the food mmmm....

But this keyboard is horrible and I have no time. I am keeping a diary so I will do highlights on this past week and also the incredible Everest Base Camp trek another time.

Now for my next adventure.....

Oh, and if anyone has tips or anything that you would like to contribute to my month of teaching please comment below or message me... any ideas etc are appreciated!!!!

 

XOXX 

Everest Base Camp, DONE.

Yahhhh! I have done BC!! And OMG, it was incredibly hard but so worth it. Still hasn't really sunk in that I have actually done it. I haven't had time to write about the two week trek and don't have the time right now but will do a blog entry about it asap :-) Now for another adventure...

Wowza, What a Day!

Well, my first full day in Nepal was eventful to say the least... or at least it felt like it! Am really going to miss being able to simply write this blog to keep the memories, when I'm without Internet and having to actually write with a pen and diary it will take forever!

Anywho...

So jet lag is definitely about. I woke at 5am to absolute silence. After falling asleep to horns and all sorts of noises it was very peaceful. It wasn't until about 6:30 that the noises began and the first ones? Hoicking - not sure how to spell it but basically men in the area getting rid of flem, ick! So this is when I got up and headed downstairs.

In the restaurant/tv area three of the Nepalese men who worked at the hotel were sat watching a Nepalese action film so I joined them. Watched the rest of the film with them and a lovely cup of tea :-) One of the guys informed me it was a government holiday today so not all places/shops would be open, handy.

I then decided to try to get to the CIWEC clinic to get my final vaccine. The easy option is to grab a rickshaw there. I decided since I was in no particular hurry I would try get there just with a map. Well, I did manage to get there. But only by using the places of interest on the map as a guide, so embassies, restaurants, shops, etc all guided me there. Don't know why they bother to use normal maps because with the crazy roads here they are impossible to follow the normal way!

Oh and once at the clinic I chatted with the nurse and we both agreed I would wait til I got back from my trek to get the last jab. There are a lot of people that get bad headaches etc after the injection. Since I fly to altitude tomorrow, not a good idea. 

After leaving there I started to wander back to Thamel but got very, very lost. I will blame the pig on a roadside table, cut in half and painted bright orange, for getting me lost. Ewwww... was so ick! Am glad I've decided to stay away from meat while in Nepal!!

About an hour after wandering the streets of Kathmandu I stumbled upon a massive park (& I mean MASSIVE) with hundreds of locals playing cricket (& some playing football). I went through the park gate (sidestepping the barbed wire surrounding the entry) and went and sat under a tree and watched them. At one point I thought I had perhaps come to the end of action as some players packed up and left, but minutes later others would arrive and start playing. Sat there and ate some fruit cake (given to me by a lady on the mail run, and surprisingly the best snack to have handy!). To one side of the field there were gorgeous purple trees in the distance. The whole field was a complete contrast to the main road and craziness that was outside the park fences.

After relaxing at the park I then left to try get myself back to Thamel for some lunch. It took me an hour to stumble back in the right place. And the craziest hour where I didn't see any other tourists for some time. One wee street was full of meat on display including chicken and fish just sat in the heat. Again another reason not to eat meat here! I passed on wee girl who couldn't have been a day over 3 years old and she had full blown eye make up and all on! Quite a contrast to the surroundings.

I had lunch at the back of a book store. My lunch was vegetarian momos and OMG they were spicy. Mike made me momos as an entree the night I left NZ and gotta say they are winning over Nepal momos right now. My entree was followed by venison stragonoff made by Tash (mmmm... meat). And the dessert was Guiness and Maple Bacon cupcakes... mmmm............... Not too shabby send off eh?

Anywho, this book store was awesome (Called Pilgrims and in the centre of Thamel). While browsing in one of the wee corners of the store the power went off for about 30 seconds.. pitch black in the book shop but business as usual.  Shoplifters paradise maybe?? Haha

For dinner I went to Helena's Restaurant which had thee best rooftop terrace! Although it took 8+ levels of stairs to get there... I asked the waiter where the kitchen was - at the bottom of all those stairs. He definitely earned his tip! I had 360 views up there and the sun was slowly setting so was gorgeous! It seems Kathmandu is surrounded by mountains which I didn't realise. And I was surprised by the number of solar panels on top of all the buildings that surrounded me. Although I probably shouldn't have been considering the constant power cuts (load shedding).

After a little retail therapy I went to the rooftop terrace of the hotel and sat reading. Another guest of the hotel was there playing a guitar so that was lovely. I got chatting to him and although I could've sworn he had an American accent, he was from South India and called Praym. Or as he says, a delicious prayer (Pray mmmmmmm...). He had lived in Nepal for three years so knew the place well. Although I had already had dinner I went with him to a proper authentic local restaurant. And when I say restaurant I mean a place to eat the size of a single bedroom and the naan bread is cooked next to you. The most expensive meal there was $2.50. I was so annoyed I'd already eaten, the naan bread looked and smelled amazing! I ordered a milk tea. My very first one and OMG it was delish! Although may have been the sugar in it since I don't usually have sugar in my teas.

The place was always very packed and we had a German couple join us for dinner. They were trekking too but dong a 12 day trek to the Gokyo Lakes. Just after I had ordered my second milk tea the power went off (as per usual). So we were all sat there in pitch black! The wife of the owner quickly brought candles to all the tables and business continued as usual. During the pitch blackness my second milk tea had actually arrived. I hadn't even seen them bring it so they must be used to working in the dark. When walking back to the hotel it was a different place altogether.. apart from the odd motorcycle driving past and a couple of windows lit up by battery/solar, it was pitch black. Gotta say the power cut did add to my first authentic Nepal experience.

One thing Praym did mention to me was the coming monsoon season. He said the thunder storms that I will experience will be like nothing I have ever known. Apparently, in Kathmandu it can feel like the thunderstorms are shaking the entire city. And you can go out on a gorgeous day to only find an hour later the sky becomes totally dark & a massive storm has arrived! Ooooooo... cannot wait for these storms! Although I do hope I am indoors when they occur!! Any chance??

The power was out for around 4 hours before coming back on. And this morning as I began to write this blog, the power went out again and so the computer died on me. The power came back on but the computer didn't unfortunately. Thankfully, Blogger saves what I write as I go! One of the hotel guys gave me his iPad (can you believe) to use. But now at a wee dodge internet cafe down the road.

Oh, and random little thing about my hotel. At night from about 5pm an army type man is sat at the front gates of the guest house for the whole night. While the power was out last night I was on the balcony watching him too and at about 10pm he shut the front gates and then sat by them. Quite secure then! 

Ohhh maaannn... Power just gone off here as well yet again. Just for about 30 seconds... adds to the character of Kathmandu I suppose!

Oh and one wee thing I want to add that upset me yesterday. On my first day here I had seen how crazy the traffic was. They even toot like made at poor old ladies trying to cross the road! No manners (on the road anyway). But as walking I saw the traffic come to a standstill for something. On reaching the standstill point I see the cutest wee black kitten in the middle of the road. So myself and a Nepalese man shoo the wee kitten off the road and traffic commences to craziness again. Thought that was so lovely that they did stop for the kitten! So what upset me? Yesterday, I was walking not far from where that had happened and saw the wee kitten on the side of the road after having been hit by the traffic. I know it happens everywhere but was so damn little the poor wee thing, very, very sad :'-(

Oh and using nylon string and a swiss army knife I made my own clothes line in my room! Hand washed my clothes in the shower with sunlight soap and hung on my awesome line. The next Bear Grylls, so I am. 

Well today I am changing hotels and tonight will be having dinner with the CEO of my trek and my trekking buddies (15 of us + CEO + Porters). Then on Monday we fly to Lukla to begin our trek.

EXCITED!!!!!!!