Holi Festival of colour

Holi Festival of colour

Saturday 31 December 2011

New Years Resolutions


Well what a year it’s been, it probably couldn’t have been more different than any years that have passed before. This year, I think will be even more different to the last as I hurtle towards the end of my placement and chose what direction I want to got to next.

So here is what I want to do in 2012:

Find my true love
No one will be more surprised than I am to find out that I am ready to settle down and meet the man of my dreams. I have already lived a thousand lives and had more than my fair share of adventures, but now I feel like I am ready in my heart to share these adventures with someone. So this year I will have a look and see who I can find, there must be some out there who will make the perfect partner in crime and I am sure I will find him.

Switch to Nepali
One year in, it is time for me to switch from English to Nepali language and really push myself to feel comfortable with the lingo.

Start a new radio show
One thing I have really enjoyed over the last year is having my own radio show, it’s finished now but in the new year I will start something new!

Write short stories in devanagari माँ देवनागरी लेखन सिक्नुपर्छा
Devanagari is the funny looking shapes that people write in, in Nepal and India. I have learnt the very basics but now I want to step it up start using is regularly and what better way than writing short stories.

Ride by motorbike to another district
There really is only one way to travel around Nepal and that is by motorbike, so this year I want to learn how to ride a motorbike and then I will go on a road trip!


And that’s it really.

Happy New Year to everyone and don’t forget to set yourself some interesting resolutions for the new year, life is short and there are many adventures to be had, don’t sit too comfortably and watch it pass by.

Big love and peace
XXXX

Thursday 1 December 2011

Manners over board




Over the last two months, ever since my holiday I have not been feeling very well. I had a cold which turned into one of those coughs it’s really hard to get rid of and two months later it was joined with a terrible bout of tonsillitis.

In between illnesses I had a trip to Dailekh for my host organisations board meeting. Now I always have a love/hate relationship with field trips, because they are really uncomfortable and full on but at the same time I always learn a lot and get to see a new place. So I wasn’t exactly full of beans to start with and being crammed in jeep with over excited young people shouting didn’t really fit my mood, luckily I was able turn to Enya on my MP3 player for some respite, but it wasn’t really off to a good start. When we arrived we were paraded through the streets wearing flower garlands and we joked that this dilapidate looking building would be our hotel. As it turned out, it was our hotel.

The meeting went well and I was able to contribute to the meeting and learn about what some of the important issues are that the organisation are facing, though I did spend some of my time sitting under a blanket thinking about the next tea break. Still on the bright side one of my friends had moved from Nepalgunj to Dailekh for work and he invited me out for dinner with him and his boss one night. I was given a curfew of 8:30 pm for my night out from a very stern young board member, he had also asked me (and five other people) not to sit under the blanket during the meeting, but I refused to and after five minutes the other five people returned to the blanket, much to my delight. I never like to be told what to do and these days my polite English nature has been modified into a more direct approach, really you can’t afford to blunder around here doing things you don’t want to do just because your too polite to say no.

Following my delightful evening out I was cursed with post lunch diarrhoea the following day and missed out on a bit of sight seeing to one of the local wonders, fire coming out of the rocks! Luckily I had already seen this wonder in turkey, and once you have seen fire coming out of one rock you have seen them all, right??

Luckily every thing dried up in time for the journey home and I couldn’t wait to get home and have a hot shower and not talk Nepali for a few days.

Following a one hour facial some days later, which cost £3.50 I developed very swollen glands and a very sore throat, the dreaded curse of tonsillitis had arrived, complimenting my 6 week old chesty cough, after a few days of near death experience (massively exaggerated) I went to the local ENT doctor who gave me a shed load of pills and sent me home to rest for five days. Five days passed and back to doctors for check up and another batch of pills adding to a total of 12 days antibiotics.

Good news is that now I feel amazing in my post illness energy surge and even my chesty cough has nearly gone after I discovered the miracle of inhaling steam over a saucepan with a towel over my head.

During my time of illness I had time to revaluate every part of life from top to bottom and had no major epiphanies.

Monday 24 October 2011

Trip to Lord Bhuddha’s birth place, canyon swing and cycle of torture
























Well its been a very long time since I wrote a blog, which I suppose is a good sign because it means that I have been really busy and engrossed in my adventures to write. So what’s been going on?

Firstly I went to Lumbini which is apparently Bhuddha’s birth place and I stayed in this amazing nunnery. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, I had visions of sound of music with nuns in habits prancing around. Well I was completely wrong about that one, it was basically a Buddhist monastery with female monks with shaved heads gliding around with a very cute yet noisy dog.


The monastery itself was stunning it really took my breath away and was a great setting for our two day VSO meeting, on the upside aswell alcohol was banned so energy and participation was high, so I managed to redeem myself from the volunteer conference some months back when I had sat with a piece of bling material over my head after the Bollywood party. After the two day meeting I was rescued by my Nepali friends brother and taken to his nearby house where I quickly recovered with vast quantities of beer. The next day we went of to visit my Neplagunj friends’ birth place and no my friend is not Bhuddha.

After our borrowed motorbike broke down I had the opportunity to have a nosy round this beautiful house that took my fancy and had a chat with the owner a stunning woman. Motorbike resurrected we visited what remained of lord Bhuddha’s house (or something like that) not much to look at but there was a really beautiful pond.

The next day we visited lunbini development centre where monasteries from all over the world are situated, there must be about 20 different monasteries there all beautifully constructed with minute detail.

I returned to Nepalgunj for one day to rest and tidy myself up (basically I was fu***** after sleeping in a shared room with up to four Nepali friends and I had no clean clothes) before meeting my friend from Manchester in Kathmandu. I had planned a full two weeks detailed itinerary for my friends visit to Nepal and I had been very organised in doing so. Our first destination was ‘the last resort, this fancy smancy resort is nestled in the hills north of Kathmandu 15k from the Tibet border. It cost a bomb, but fortunately my dearest mother had kindly given me some holiday spending money, so I was able to over look the fact that two nights accommodation, transport travel, food and activities was the same amount as my monthly budget. And it was totally worth it, we did an amazing canyon swing with the most beautifully stunning back drop. The canyon swing basically consisted of being harnessed to 160ft rope and then jumping off a bridge into the canyon, free falling and then swinging, it was really really scary honestly but what a rush as I plunged through the air my red hair in tow! (the canyon is the top picture followed by the bridge)

After the canyon swing we scarpered to the top and set off mountain biking, when I had booked the mountain biking I hadn’t really enquired what exactly this entailed and was slightly perturbed to find out it was a 30 km round trip to the Tibet border, 15km up hill – shit!


After we reached half way with our Nepali guide it became obvious just what we had got our selves into, it was obvious from the start that my friends fitness levels were lacking somewhat and with that and a dodgy knee he had to turn back after half way, I on the other hand being the pig headed individual I am, continued the torture up the hill till I reached the Tibet border and then enjoyed the cruise all the way back, I have to say though it was as hard as running the half marathon I once embarked on!

Wednesday 14 September 2011

What came first the policy or the funding proposal?

Article for local newspaper:


Whilst we all talk about good governance, how many of us are actually practising what we preach.
Does every person in your organisation know what your gender policy is and what it means to your everyday work or does it just sit on a shelf waiting to be pulled out for the next funding proposal?

Volunteers, who volunteer for Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), are often faced with difficult decisions when it comes to supporting their assigned organisations. The role of the (VSO) volunteer is to act as an organisational development advisor, building the capacity of the organisation through skill sharing and support.

Many volunteers have experienced their organisation jumping through the obligatory hoops to obtain funding, for example to satisfy the funder you must have a gender policy, administration policy etc. Whilst both are valuable, they are not worth the paper they are written on if they have been copied and pasted from another organisation, they are meaningless.

I am hopeful though that the completion of policies to satisfy funders would be the starting point of the policy to come, that later the policy would be implemented in a meaningful way. The process of completing a funding proposal is definitely an effective way for organisations to highlight weaker areas for improvement.
Whilst the UK is full to the brim of policies on every small detail, at least in Nepal you have the opportunity to decide what is and isn’t relevant to support your organisation to grow and improve. What is written in your policies should give enough leeway to support creative thinking and provide people working in your organisation with a framework for action that helps them get on with the job they need to do.
So instead of your policies sitting on the shelf collecting dust, pull them out implement them and see if you can practise what you preach.

Friday 12 August 2011

An extra extraordinary day



My extra extraordinary day started with a run at the stadium to a recording of Buddhist chants, I thought what a lovely way to start my day. At my office a friend of mine was celebrating his birthday, I asked him how he wanted to celebrate his birthday and he told me that he wanted to do two things; 1) to have a gathering in the office after work and 2) he wanted to give some clothing to a disabled boy. I questioned him further about the latter and he told me a really heart wrenching story. There is a severely disabled boy who is mentally and physically disabled, he had polio when he was young and consequently he could not use his legs. His parents chain him to the wall when they both go to work and he is left all alone chained all day like an animal. Many organisations have tried to help with the situation, by giving the parents money, but the situation has not improved. Organisations have also offered to give seed money for the parent to help start a small shop from home so they can look after their son, but the parents have turned the offer down.

I try to remain objective because there are always two sides to the story and I try to see if from the parent’s point of view, they have to earn money and there are no facilities for this boy to go to and no carers are provided here, this is not the UK where every social need is pampered to and some that are not needed are also provided. But when I join my friend on his visit to give two new sets of clothing really I am very shocked, he is conscious and lively and understands that we are bringing him gifts. He is wearing only a pair of dirty boxer shorts and a equally dirty t-shirts and he is filthy, we cloth him and give him some fruit and exchange words with the parents, I feel uncomfortable, upset and very foreign but I bite my lip and keep composed for now. The parents are willing to talk about setting up a shop.

We stopped off for some drinks on the way back to the office and my work friends asked me how I feel, I reply that I feel sad and start to cry, I am really so sad that I have no reservations about crying in front of my work friends.

We return to the office and to my surprise a group of girls from my office have already started cooking a delicious birthday feast and the music is set up in the meeting room, which co-incidentally used to be my dancing room as this is the first house I lived in, random. When all work friends are gathered a cake is brought out and candles blown. He cuts the cake and then proceeds to feed a small piece to each of his sisters and friends who in return feed him, what a nice idea. Of course there is dancing and then towards the end of the night it is time to open his presents.

And this is what he received; an ornament of a pink hand with a ring being placed on the wedding finger, several picture frames, a bunch of plastic flowers, several Hindu god figures relating to love and marriage and several other things which all related to marriage and love. It was like a pound shop super sweep (with all due respect, very kind and thoughtful). It seems his friends all had one thing on their mind they want him to get married.

I returned home feeling pretty hyperactive and thoughtful from the day, I logged onto facebook and got chatting to a friend who is a Radio Jockey, he was presenting a local Nepali radio song request show at the time and I requested one on line, but that was not possible so I told him I would call but with 10 minutes until the show ended he called me and before I knew it I was live on the radio talking Nepali – eek. Yes I made mistakes, plenty, but what a fun experience it was.

That night I only slept for four hours because a million different things were spinning through my head, but one thing that has not left me and never will is that poor boy chained in his house.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Content


For the first time in my adult life I feel content. I don’t want to change anything or anyone including myself. I am not thinking about the next thing I need to achieve, what others think of me or what I think of them. I accept myself as am, not perfect, not striving to be perfect but as a human being like every one else who laughs, crys, sleeps, eats and feels compassion and joy. I am not special or different, I am just as I am, content.

Sunday 3 July 2011

Moving house and cultural adjustments



I have been reading this book lately called ‘Culture shock nepal’, which was written about 20 years ago by someone who was a Peace Corp Volunteer in Nepal. Peace Corp for those of you that don’t know is an American Government run organisation for young people to volunteer overseas. Peace Corp often get compared to VSO as they have a similar approach in terms of trying to integrate their volunteers into the community, but I always like to point out that we VSO volunteers are professionals and our organisation in an INGO not government led, slight rant.

So in this book I got right to the end of it and written in the last few pages, it talked about the different stages that foreigners go though in adjusting to the culture here and in the second stage it said, “During the next period those rose-coloured glasses you’ve been wearing slip off and shatter. From the highs of living in Shangri-La, you suddenly find yourself in purgatory. The country is the pits, your stomach hasn’t been right for a week, you can’t get a pizza, a newspaper, a letter. You can’t bear to look at another plate of rice. There’s dirt everywhere, no one understands a word you say and people can’t do anything anyway.” And I realised I had reached the second stage and thankfully was now entering the third stage, “you start to regain your even keel. You see the good and bad in Nepal, in your job, in yourself. Things about Nepali Culture interest you again, but you look at them with clearer eyes, taking in both the beauty and the ugliness. You even start to think you understand a little about what’s going on around you. You start to make judgements, not just react to things as terrific and terrible.” Whilst over the past few months I had riding the waves of euphoria, it kind of wore off and I was left feeling almost exactly as the book described. Moving house into this peaceful enclave has given me the mental and physical space to think about where I am at in terms of adjusting to the culture here. The culture here is incredibly complex because there are some many different ethnic groups and tribes which make up the population of Nepal each with its own language and cultural beliefs, some of which over lap some of which don’t and the caste system, which was abolished over 50 years ago is still very much practiced. Every thing is about status, if two new people meet in this culture one of the first questions will be about surname, as this will signify a persons caste and they will be able to work out who has the higher caste and thus the higher status, less so in the younger generation living in urban settlements, but very much practiced still in villages here.

To understand the difference in culture here I have to understand my own, the other day I was commenting on how loud the temple was blasting out its music (in my old house) at 12:00 at night and again at 4:00am and my friend said well that’s our culture and I thought, well our culture is binge drinking but it doesn’t make it right! Although I am respectful of Nepali culture there are some nonsense parts I don’t agree with. Like women who are menstruating having to sleep outside or in barn outside the house and not being able to cook for four days. And Brahmin’s only being able to eat rice which has been prepared by a fellow Brahmin (highest caste). The whole marriage thing I just can’t rationalise, either marrying who your parents want you to marry, usually of equal status, or deciding an age to get married and then start looking. The other day my friend (22) asked me if I thought he was too young to get married, I told him to wait until he was in love and then get married, he hadn’t thought about doing it this was round and was quite pleased with this idea.

I have an inquiring mind, maybe that’s part of British culture and I don’t accept things the way they are just because that’s the way they have always been done, but the majority of people do here. The western mind is trained to operate in a completely different way to that of Nepali people, so it takes a while to adjust to their way of thinking and to understand their rationale for decision making, for example its perfectly acceptable to not go to work if its raining, you can wait until it stops and then come. There are still some things I find difficult to do in this culture, communication is one of them, can you imaging working in a foreign country where simple communication is a challenge, like going to the shop to buy something, trying to be understood at work, because Nepali language is difficult for me to learn, I study nearly every day both language and the devanagari script and although I have made a lot of progress, I still have moments when I really get frustrated and can’t understand and feel myself breaking out in a sweat. And this is every day life.

“The only way to really overcome culture shock is to jump into the new culture and experience it. We can read and study about the new culture all we want, but the only way to really understand human relations is to take part in them, to become active members of our new community and culture. We can only truly learn and understand a new culture by experiencing it”. So over the next month I am going to set myself a few cultural challenges of doing things I feel uncomfortable doing, e.g. walking to work-yes I normally cycle to work because its faster and it reduces staring time but I am going to start walking once a week and see how that feels. So lets see where the next stage takes me, being the eternal optimist, probably some where fantastic and amazing, though even my optimism has recently been put to the test!

(Top photo is in Kathmandu in the 'Garden of dreams' and the bottom photo is taken in Tikapur park at a picnic I was invited to)

Monday 30 May 2011

Radio and other matters



It all started with a random conversation which went, ‘wouldn’t it be a good idea to have an English speaking show’ and I now have one. I wrote a concept paper and visited the local radio station which broadcasts to the Mid Western Region of Nepal and they liked the idea. The show is called Next Generation and is a thought provoking show for the Next Generation of Nepal to discuss what matters to them and improve their English. I am presenting it with my friend Hast every week and so far we have recorded one show, in which I sound kind of robotic as I have to speak sooo slllowwwwly so people can understand what I am saying.



I have to say finding a new interest to channel my energies into is like someone pressing the on button to my virtual batteries and I feel really excited and enthusiastic. And they have offered to teach me the technical editing bit, which I am really interested to learn, why not seize the opportunity when it’s presented. Oh and by the way in the photo is my friend Hast on the left and the previous gorgeous boy I met at the station the first time who had to stand in for our technical guy after he had a motorbike accident, eye candy!

Thank you to my lovely mother who is sponsoring the show!

In other matters work is going well, I have started volunteering for another organisation who are a youth led good governance and anti corruption organisation. Coincidently the organisation is situated in my first house and the main office is my old bedroom and today I found out that its perfectly acceptable to have a nap on the office floor. Last week I developed a proposal for them which was about using public speaking programmes as methods for holding the government public service providers accountable, it was a really difficult proposal for me to write actually and reminded me of writing my dissertation for my MSC, e.g. it was stressful. Competition is pretty tough, so keep your fingers crossed and send good vibes across the way and hopefully we might get it. It was a record achievement last week as I also submitted two other funding proposals for my other organisation and these felt really easy after the ordeal of the previous proposal. It was all facilitated using an empowering, enabling and capacity building approach of course and any other bullshit bingo development terms I can throw on the table...

And finally, the signing of the constitution has been extend for three months, it was a bit touch and go for a while and the country held its breath whilst we found out if the government would be dissolved and the country would go back in to conflict. In the lead up to the deadline for the signing of the constitution, there were loads of bhaandas (strikes) called by different political parties through out the country. When a bhaanda is called by a political party they state their reason and their terms, one reason I heard was something to do with beef being sold and eaten, as beef is sacred to the Hindu religion and the terms of the bhaanda were all shops being closed and all transport use being banned apart from bicycles.

One of the sticking points for the none signing of the constitution, as I understand it (which might not be entirely right), is what to do with the left over Maoist army who are currently in various camps around the country, there is a problem on how to integrate them into the current Nepali army and I guess back into main stream society.

Oh and one last thing, last night I was lying in bed and a bomb went off, apparently no one was hurt and no one seems really that interested or worried about it, it has become a normal part of life it seems.

Saturday 14 May 2011

A bit of a mission






As I sat on one of the four hard single beds for our morning meeting, a small dirty baby crawled around the floor tossing what looked like Bombay mix about the floor. Today I was beginning the delivery of the first project I had contributed to the design of in a developing country and I was very excited to find out if it would work. The adventure had begun the previous day with a 13 hour journey on a local bus from Nepalgunj to Khallanga in the district of Salyan. Our mission to audit government service provision, accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.

We sat in this bedroom as if it was the most normal place to hold a meeting, there were us three ladies from Nepalgunj and about five other people from local organisations, who had come to help us to deliver our mission. At one point a man joined us with his arm tucked into his pocket, I came to the conclusion he was hiding his disability. The baby crawling around joined his mother and she popped out her breast and started feeding her baby, I tried not to look, but just couldn’t help it.

As I sat in that room I could smell various odours, I was holding my sulphurous explosions in. After an ongoing stomach problem I had self diagnosed that I had giarsis, a nasty intestinal parasite, I will spare you the details, so I prescribed myself some antibiotics and had since experienced frequent vile odour emitted from my behind.

After a dose of dhall baat for lunch at 11:00, even though I wasn’t hungry, we set off to visit the government thullo manches (bosses), armed with audit forms to ask without even an appointment and proceeded with our unannounced enquiries, which were surprisingly well received. I noticed that all the offices are still working on a hand written basis, computers do not dominate the work place, everything is handwritten and placed in cardboard files. The reason for my noticing such detail is based purely on the need to entertain my mind from boredom as I couldn’t understand anything that was said, as my nepali is ok but by no means can I understand a conversation between a group of nepalis, not yet anyway.

With our five visits completed and samosas in our bellies, the three of us headed off to have a look round khallanga. The tiny town is nestled in the hillside and benefits from far cooler temperatures than Nepalgunj, I was even able sleep with a duvet, what a treat. The houses are traditional homes built with straw, mud and wood, with slate roofs neatly packed. The contrast of the houses against the darkened sky as a storm approached was immense. That night I went to bed without a shower or brushing my teeth as I could not face another dip in the smelly bathroom which housed a simple nepali style toilet, a tap, bucket and jug for showering and bum washing.

The next morning we had all just woken up about 6:00am, when a male colleague from a local organisation came into our room pulled up a plastic chair and started talking to us about the days programme, is this guy for real. I asked my colleague to tell him to go whilst we got showered and changed. Apparently it’s perfectly acceptable for a man to come into a bedroom with three women in at 6:00 am, but in his defence he had brought me a nokia phone charger. The day was fresh and bright after the storm, I showered and was just about to change from my cotton mexi when I noticed a boy peering through the window, I shut the window deciding not to embarrass the boy for his misdeed.

About 5.5 hours later I found myself sitting in a meeting room waiting for enough people to turn up to start . These situations are difficult for me, as I understand very little when the conversation gets going and really my contribution to the programme was more in the design that the delivery, though apparently just appearing as a foreigner gives status to the programme, but really it was my co-workers who did all the work at this stage. This feels very strange to me as I am using to taking the lead in these situations and enjoy being an extrovert, buts in some ways it’s kind of nice to have less responsibility. At just gone 12:00, one hour later than scheduled, we started and the room was full to bursting, we had to bring in extra chairs and benches just to accommodate everyone.

Four hours of absolute boredom later and the programme ended and I can happily say it was huge success, I found out later. Although I have to say I was about to keel over with boredom and general uncomfortable feelings, the success of the programme and happiness of the Co-ordinator was enough to pull my spirits back up. And from that point forward I vowed to myself to start actively learning nepali again and have since been studying 1-2 hours per day and can already feel an improvement. Only another seven more districts to go and I hope to be fluent!





Thursday 28 April 2011

Funny things that have happened recently

Every day my life is full of funny little things that happen and they really make me laugh. Many a time I have been sited laughing to myself as I cycle down New Road like a mad foreign English women and this is simply because people really make me laugh.
A are couple of incidents recently have really tickled me.

My hair was going a dirty blond sort of colour with roots and grey coming through, so I went to the shop to get some more die, the closest the shop assistant could find was ‘copper light brown’ which is basically red, yeah really close! So I thought bugger it I may aswell dye my hair this colour and much to my surprise it actually looks nice. As I was dying my hair and the house boy Deepak, who is 13, also wanted his hair dying so I dyed his hair too. And then I’ll be jiggered, my land lady asked me to buy her the exact same colour, so I did and then I dyed her hair too and put the remaining dye on the Deepak’s hair, who slept with the dye on overnight and it had a really cool effect.

On the very same day with my shiny new hair in tact and sporting my new dress, which I like to think was from Warehouse but was in fact from New Road priced 1200 npr (£10), I set off to the local radio station with an idea in mind. To broadcast a thought provoking talk back show in English for young people with my Nepali friend. I had previously met someone from the radio station who liked the idea and said I should meet the station manager at 10:00 on the following day. Of course with the, ‘no plan, plan’ which is followed by the majority of Nepali people, when I arrived the station manger was in Kathmandu and they didn’t know who the hell this red headed mad English woman was, welcome to my world. Then this amazinglingly handsome guy sat me down and started chatting to me and my eyeballs nearly fell out my head as he was just so unbelievably gorgeous it was almost embarrassing and I hazard a guess he was at least 10 years younger than me. Some time later after I had met my friend at the station who had turned up fashionably late as usual, we left, but it was not until I had had a really good look at the boy.

That evening I went with the same friend to an evening called ‘Idol 2’ at the local hotel and guess who was presenting, yes the amazingly attractive guy, though I have to admit I think he looked better the first time round, luckily I was looking better the second time round sporting another new dress from Warehouse of course. So to cut a long story short and this is nothing to do with the aforementioned boy, I as per usual, ended up being escorted on to the stage along with about six Nepali boys for a spot of Nepali dancing which involves an arm extended flapping kind of a jiggle.
Five days later I was returning from the local shops and there was a small teenage girl with pigtails waiting at my gate whose mother runs a little beauty shed I think is the best term, she said she had seen me dancing on the TV the other night and brought me a caramel lolly which she informed me was her favourite so she thought I would also like it, how sweet. I invited her to come to my hula hooping class on Saturday morning, I wonder if she will come.

And so the laughter continues....

Monday 25 April 2011

Article for Big News,

Nepali adventures

As I cycle across the field to my house, I can see a big whirl wind of dust heading towards me, so I brake, cover my eyes and brace myself for the encapsulation, just another magical moment in Nepal. I arrived in Nepal in November, having said farewell to the Energise and Willow Tree Centres in Salford and set out in search of new adventures and experiences, with the support of Voluntary Services Overseas. My assignment: to work as Organisational Development Advisor for an organisation which advocates for the rights of people with disabilities on a national level, for 26 months.

After 3 weeks language and cultural training in the pollution filled, yet strangely charming city of Kathmandu, I flew out to Nepalgunj in the south of the Midwestern region of Nepal. I am living 15 minutes from the Indian border and fully intend to cycle there to do my shopping (when I have my Indian visa) as apparently ‘its so much cheaper across the border’, bit like Asda maybe?

After another 3 weeks language training, I was deemed fit to be let loose on the good people of Nepalgunj and armed with 10 sentences about myself and about 30 verb flash cards, I started working in my office. My office is in a stark contrast to the luxury of the Energise and Willow Tree Centres, whilst in the UK we fight for disabled toilets, in my office there is no toiled at all, I have to scamper round to the neighbours to pee. Although we are fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, they would have to crawl up the steep steps first to enter out office as there is no wheel chair access. Things have changed around here though, now we even have a computer, phone and we are getting the internet! But despite the small difficulties, I love it here. Waking in the morning to the cool breeze coming through my window at 6:00 am, I can hear the gentle hiss of pressure cookers as people prepare their dhall baat. Dhall baat is basically rice, dhall, and curry and Nepali people eat this same dish every day twice a day and they love it, so do I actually but not every day twice a day.

My biggest challenge to overcome so far was to adjust to being one of the very few (eight) white people living in Nepalgunj, this at first was very hard as wherever I went people would stare at me, so to overcome this I bought a bike, which reduces the amount of staring time per person and potential conversation. Now I feel so comfortable cycling around the place, I don’t mind people staring and usually share a joke or greeting with them. The Nepali people are so kind and welcoming it’s beautiful to experience and its real privilege to be here working and living with them. It’s hard to believe that they are capable of the previous years of conflict encountered here, but there are small reminders such as bhandas (strikes on the streets) which take place frequently and regular small bombs. The political situation is very fragile and we currently await the signing of the constitutional agreement by the two main parties.

One of my highlights has been running a hula hoop workshop at the volunteer conference in April, my group were so keen we created a hoop dance which we performed at the bollywood party and they all did really well. Nepali people love hula hooping and I have found a shop which will make hula hoops out of water pipe by melting two pieces of pipe together. I now have a small group of avid hula hoopers, so at the very least when I leave I will have left my mark by way of a hula hoop.
My next personal project is to get approval from a local radio station to present a light hearted English speaking talk show, ‘Next Generation’, for the younger generation of Nepal to talk openly and honestly about a range of thought provoking topics, whilst exploring the English language. I hope I can pull this off as I feel young people here have a lot to say but don’t have the platform to say it and are really keen to learn English.

As time rapidly marches on I wonder will 26 months be enough to bring about some small changes I hope to make during my placement, I try to cling to every moment and to live in the now.

Friday 15 April 2011

Diarrhoea

Today I woke up only to discover that I really shouldn't have drank that tap water at the new years party last night, yes I have diarrhoea. What has really made me laugh though is the following text message:

"Lula i hear that u r suffering from diarrohea may i right or wrong? if it's true i pray with god for your better health.lokenndra".

Yes the word has got round about my loose bowel movements much to my entertainment.

Sunday 10 April 2011

Dreaming

As I sat at Kathmandu airport waiting for my flight back to Nepalgunj, I felt a mixture of emotions; happy and sad. Happy because I had enjoyed spending time with beautiful people in Kathmandu and Nargakot and sad that I didn’t know when I would see any of them again.

I can definitely feel a change upon me, which is both a change within myself through personal thoughts and feelings and a change brought about by external factors and the boundaries between these changes are blurred. One of the external factors is the changes within VSO. As a knock on effect of the recession VSO has experienced a reduction in funding and consequently ten members of VSO Nepal staff have been made redundant. To add to this VSO on a global level is currently redefining its direction which means that VSO programmes in Nepal are coming to an end and new programmes have not yet been defined. What this means for me is that my governance programme doesn’t exist anymore and consequently there is no funding available from VSO for me to deliver activities within my placement. So I am glad I seized every opportunity there was to get involved with; the volunteer conference, governance review, leadership programme and the general assembly because now I will not even be reimbursed to travel by local bus to a meeting.

However as the eternal optimist I do not feel negative about this, as I like change and who knows what new programmes may follow. And as the programme has finished things are not as strict, so now I have the opportunity to investigate another volunteering opportunity with a youth led organisation which I am really excited about, so there are always positives to come from change.I will really be able to focus on my work now that my previous VSO commitments have ended. Over the next three months I will be travelling with my volunteering organisation to eight districts to audit services and entitlements provided for people with disabilities, which I am looking forward to.

I have decided to invest some time and money to create really nice space to relax in, in my dancing room as I will be spending more time at home from now on. At the moment I don’t really have a good space to chill in the evenings and I want to create a relaxing room which is a mass of cushions and comfyness with kind lighting, divine smells and rich materials, with a bit of a Turkish feel.

I have been thinking about the retreat centre I thought about starting whilst I was in the UK and I have decided to carry out a feasibility study to see if I can make it happen in Nepal, which of course I can. I think my life flashed before my eyes slightly when I had my cist removed and awaited the results of the biopsy, I thought it could have all been over, but it wasn’t and now I have an amazing opportunity to follow my dreams and make something really amazing happen.


Highlights of the first quater Nepal 2011:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=625466&id=605555023&l=9b8ca18d0e

Wednesday 30 March 2011

Call the fashion police

As I sit at the airport
in Kathmandu
I gaze at the foreigners
and wonder what to do

I almost feel embarrassed
for the foreign race
as they sport all manner
of trekking wear
like their trekking off to space

Oversized lenses
draping round their neck
new polished trekking boots
ready for the trek

Socks and rubber sandals
call the fashion police
because no-one should walk around
in that monotone fleece.

Tuesday 29 March 2011

What is good behaviour?





As I walked up the long dusty driveway towards Tribuwan University Kathmandu, I was delighted by the sight of around 500 Nepali people with disabilities making their way using all manner of methods. It was impressive to see people not letting their disabilities get in their way of attending the NFDN General Assembly, though the disability friendly access left something to be desired. The two day assembly itself was absolute chaos to say the least and in many ways not very engaging, but I did meet loads of interesting people, practised my Nepali and met a very interesting Nepali photographer who kept me amused for a good few hours and has since become a new friend (in fact I have already convinced him that dressing up in bollywood clothing and cycling to India singing and dancing is a good idea).

It has felt like I have spent a ridiculous amount of time in Kathmandu or there abouts over the last month or so I have only spent one week in Nepalgunj. My visit to Kathmandu this time was lengthened because of an unexpected minor operation. I know, I can’t believe it either, I went to the clinic complaining of a small lump on the back of my head and half an hour later I was lying face down on the operating table with a needle and scalpel in my head having a cyst removed. The doctor showed me the cyst afterwards, there were two small grizzly balls which he popped into a testube for biopsy. So I had to stay a few extra days to get it checked out and then I will return in a week for the stitches to be removed and the results of the biopsy, which fits conveniently with my next jaunt to Nargakot for the volunteer conference-will I ever get any real work done?

I celebrated my 34th Birthday in Kathmandu early and missed all my good old friends back home, its great making new friends but they might not get the....on behalf ut committee, I’d just like to say....thing! When I returned to Nepalgunj I had a lovely birthday wearing a sari, eating dhall baat and momos and I bought a new bike which was better that the last one but the same price as I got my Nepali friend to negotiate the price for me.

It was on my birthday whilst I was perusing the local hardware store waiting for my new bike to be fixed that I bumped into Peggy-another foreigner! In turned out that Peggy is an Australian nurse in her 60’s volunteering in the ‘gunj. I took her number and she later invited me to a birthday party the following Saturday. Saturday came around and I cycled down to meet Peggy, she led me on her scooter to her friends house. It turns out there are seven foreigners living in the ‘gunj and me of course; three Australian, two American, one English and another yet to be identified. It was a joint celebration for five of those foreigners whose birthdays it had been recently, how convenient that it had been my birthday less than a week ago and I was welcomed into the celebration and even had my name iced onto the cake. I had a great evening and was happy to join a new network of friends who were so nice.

The following day I set off with a Nepali friend to visit Chiisopaani Kalali a bridge set in a stunning landscape about 2-3 hours away by motorbike. It was Holi which is a festival celebrated by putting bright chalky colour on peoples face and anywhere else accessible. So I set off thinking, I will definitely get got. We stopped off at my friend’s house to pick up his jumper, but I think it was just an excuse to show off to his family that he had a foreign female friend. We had a great trip and stopped off for dhall baat when we reached the bridge. It was during this time that we got chatting about age and marriage. He asked me why aren’t I married, I thought shit why aren’t I married, I quickly recovered and told him that it’s normal in my culture not to get married in the UK. He told me that he would like to marry a foreigner with ‘good behaviour’. Ok so now this was getting interesting-I am foreign and not married, what a coincidence. But what prey tell is good behaviour? And do I have it?

When I think of good behaviour there are several associations that spring to mind; prisoners being let out early and dogs. I am pretty sure that doing a naked bike ride round Manchester City Centre wouldn’t fit into his idea of a wife with good behaviour.Later whilst at the NFDN General Assembly I met a relative of his from Nepalgunj (it’s a small world) and showed her the photos of our trip and she asked why there weren’t any photos of his wife!

Saturday 5 March 2011

Are you feeling difficult?...no!

The last month has been a bit of a whirl wind really.

Ke bhayo? (what happened)

Dave and I broke up. We journeyed a long way together and decided that it was time for us to take our own individual paths. Most important to me is that I am not losing a very good friend who means a lot to me and I hope that our friendship will last a life time.

I had my bike stolen. That’s not good, but not unexpected. I will buy a new one.

I went to Kathmandu and carried out our governance programme analysis. Which basically involved looking at the work that volunteers have carried out over the last four years and analysing the results. Then I helped plan a one day review for volunteers and partners (the organisations we work with). I really enjoyed this as it gave me the opportunity to realise what can be achieved during a placement and gave me some really good ideas and motivations. For the review we went to Chitwan National Park, I didn’t really get much chance to see the park, but I really enjoyed the evening when the event finished and we all had an impromptu dance to Nepali music and I brought my hula hoop out, which is always a big curiosity.

Now I am just preparing to go to Nargakot, which is about an hour out of Kathmandu to assist with the delivery of a four day leadership course. I am really looking forward to working with the team of volunteer and the partners, I will learn a lot and hopefully contribute my experience and knowledge to the course.
Also quite unexpectedly my article which was my last blog, got published in the Kathmandu Post, I am really very pleased about this.

I have also had my first experience of load shedding. Basically there is not enough electricity in Nepal to go round at this time of year, so there is a schedule when electricity is and isn’t available. In Kathmandu there is no electricity for 14 hours a day, interesting. But when it is the rainy season there will be more power generated by the hydro power plants. Luckily though in Nepalgunj we get our power from India, so we don’t have load shedding, ekdham raamro.
It has been really nice catching up with other volunteers in Kathmandu and in particular I have enjoyed the hash, which is the running round the countryside outside out Kathmandu for about 15 km. Its great!

The other thing I have been thinking about, is staying in Nepal after my placement finishes as there is so much I love about this country, its early days yet though so lets see how I feel in a years time.

Sunday 20 February 2011

To Kathmandu Post, re: The Expat Factor

I am writing in response to Sumit Sharma Sameers’ article, ‘The Expat Discourse’, published in the Kathmandu Post on Thursday 16th February 11. This article raised some interesting questions about the role of expats in the management of NGO’s in Nepal. I welcome this debate as I think it is much needed. Whilst expat workers in NGO’s usually get paid at an international rate, rather than local salary it could be assumed that their motivations for working for a Nepali NGO is partly financially motivated, I would agree that this is an area that needs to be scrutinised. However if you are going to question the expat motivation for working for NGO, it would only be fair to question that of Nepali’s aswell. Could all NGO job vacancies be paid at a local rate? If there are Nepali’s that have the expertise in NGO management, then they should be employed and if they don’t have the expertise, then this issue also needs to be addressed. In terms of sustainability of NGO projects, if local people are employed to develop and deliver projects then the knowledge and skills gained will stay local and the local economy will benefit from the employment. But if expat workers are employed for a specific period of time, they will take the skills and potentially some of their income will not be spent locally. However the expertise that they bring could be invaluable to the development of Nepal and have multiple benefits including economic.

There is in fact another aspect to add to this debate, which is the role of expat volunteers in the management of NGO’s and other development aspects, such as education. There are many expat volunteers from developed and developing countries volunteering throughout Nepal with organisations like Voluntary Services Overseas. The motivation of volunteers is quite different from expat NGO workers, as volunteers want to share their skills whilst volunteering with NGO’s in a shared process of learning and respect. Volunteers are not motivated by financial benefits, otherwise they would not be here and receive only a small living allowance. Volunteers also undergo Nepali cultural orientation and language training, which means they are more able integrate into the community and cannot afford a luxurious lifestyle . Volunteers also bring impartiality and a different way of thinking which can be effective in improving the development and management of NGO’s and their ability to deliver effective development within the country.

Expats workers and volunteers both offer objectivity when dealing with the administration of funds to other NGO’s, I have heard from many Nepali NGO workers that Nepali led NGO’s often favour their friends and families when it comes to funding applications, which of course is not the best way of administering funds. And then there is matter of Nepali time, as time moves slowly in Nepal and a meeting arranged at 10:00 may not happen to till 13:00, if at all. The presence of expats can surely only encourage a more efficient work ethic. I am not suggesting that Nepali’s adopt the rat race lifestyle of western countries, which needs to change, just a more efficient method of working, then surely all Nepali’s could have Sunday off too!
Lula Belinfante
VSO Volunteer, UK

Saturday 12 February 2011

Stars in my eyes

As I set off across the field in the dark with my friend Tika, I hoped that I would not step into one of the many types of faeces available as I was wearing my evening best. Tonight I was going to a ‘Cultural Programme’ fundraiser aka a show. We safely reached the dusty road, dress and shoes intact and jumped on a rickshaw and headed to the hotel where the programme was being held. Tonight was the VIP night and I had somehow managed to gain free entry as I was on the NGO committee, I have to confess that I done very little work to deserve this luxury, because of language barriers.
As we took our seats with the other organisers who also got in for free and the VIP’s who didn’t, I listened to the usual waffle getting a general sense of what was being said, the performances began. The singing was excellent, I have to say Nepali music is beautiful. After sitting restlessly thinking about whether they had bar, I decided that I would join the random man in the aisle for a dance to liven things up. What I had failed to forget is that Nepali’s go ape shit when I dance, particularly in a red sequin sari and everyone cheered. Before I knew it I was being dragged on to the stage, literally and forced to dance I could of died, but I didn’t, I managed to hold it together and a random man from the audience joined me. One song later I exited the stage and bagged myself front row comfy seat for a few songs, whilst I tried to steady myself and straighten my sari.

After a few more acts I made a sharp exit and headed for the buffet, with a drink also in mind. In the UK most people would be drunk by now, but here very few people drink at all, particularly the people I know. This is because of the culture, religion and cost. I necked my food as quickly as possible and headed to the bar for a whisky, this is a safe option because; 1) it can be drunk quickly 2) limits the amount of toilet trips 3) usually cheaper than beer or wine 4) its usually double or tipple the size of shots in the UK.

I went back and seated myself with my friends and had no sooner sat than one of the presenters I had met outside ushered me onto the stage to dance...here we go again. This time I was a lot more at ease though. The singer on stage starting singing about me and the whole audience cheered, god knows what he said, but I think it was good. After what felt an eternity I left the stage and this time I went back stage, which was actually just a curtain to the side of the stage and I met all of the heroes. In Nepal anyone famous is called a hero, it was funny because actually I didn’t know any of them so their fame status was lost on me, but it was fun anyway.

Stars in my eyues

As I set off across the field in the dark with my friend Tika, I hoped that I would not step into one of the many types of faeces available as I was wearing my evening best. Tonight I was going to a ‘Cultural Programme’ fundraiser aka a show. We safely reached the dusty road, dress and shoes intact and jumped on a rickshaw and headed to the hotel where the programme was being held. Tonight was the VIP night and I had somehow managed to gain free entry as I was on the NGO committee, I have to confess that I done very little work to deserve this luxury, because of language barriers.
As we took our seats with the other organisers who also got in for free and the VIP’s who didn’t, I listened to the usual waffle getting a general sense of what was being said, the performances began. The singing was excellent, I have to say Nepali music is beautiful. After sitting restlessly thinking about whether they had bar, I decided that I would join the random man in the aisle for a dance to liven things up. What I had failed to forget is that Nepali’s go ape shit when I dance, particularly in a red sequin sari and everyone cheered. Before I knew it I was being dragged on to the stage, literally and forced to dance I could of died, but I didn’t, I managed to hold it together and a random man from the audience joined me. One song later I exited the stage and bagged myself front row comfy seat for a few songs, whilst I tried to steady myself and straighten my sari.

After a few more acts I made a sharp exit and headed for the buffet, with a drink also in mind. In the UK most people would be drunk by now, but here very few people drink at all, particularly the people I know. This is because of the culture, religion and cost. I necked my food as quickly as possible and headed to the bar for a whisky, this is a safe option because; 1) it can be drunk quickly 2) limits the amount of toilet trips 3) usually cheaper than beer or wine 4) its usually double or tipple the size of shots in the UK.

I went back and seated myself with my friends and had no sooner sat than one of the presenters I had met outside ushered me onto the stage to dance...here we go again. This time I was a lot more at ease though. The singer on stage starting singing about me and the whole audience cheered, god knows what he said, but I think it was good. After what felt an eternity I left the stage and this time I went back stage, which was actually just a curtain to the side of the stage and I met all of the heroes. In Nepal anyone famous is called a hero, it was funny because actually I didn’t know any of them so their fame status was lost on me, but it was fun anyway.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Scene 1

As I walked round the corner towards my house with my friend Deepa, I was met with a worried looking Sita. In the background outside my gate I could see a crowd of armed police men and several random onlookers, my neighbours perhaps. Today I am moving house.

I had handed my notice in to my landlord or at least tried to over the last two weeks. My landlord lives in Kathmandu and speaks little English so a female Nepali VSO colleague had called him on numerous occasions to give him the required 1 months notice. The landlord he had dismissed this notice stating that I had to stay for another 6 months, it became obvious at this point I was dealing with a right dickwad.
Arriving on the scene I realised that the my landlord who will further be referred to as ‘dickwad’, had indeed turned up at the very moment I was due to flee my house and he had found a crowd of armed police and a police vehicle outside his tenants house. What he didn’t know at this point is that I am very good friends with the district chief of police and he had very kindly offered the help of his police and vehicle to help me move, oh the joys of being a female foreigner!

The battle commences

My heart starting pumping as I approached dickwad, who had clearly been hit by a bottle of just for men and the fugly stick. He told me that I couldn’t move as he couldn’t leave his house empty and that I had to stay there. What he didn’t realise is that there was no way I was staying another night in that house, I had mentally already unpacked in my new apartment and was enjoying some more of my landladies delicious daal baat tarkarri (curry, daal and rice). So I told him that I was moving today, it was my choice and my right. He said we will wait for Yam, my old teacher to arrive and then make a decision would be made. Obviously this was not the right thing to say to me as I had clearly already made decision for myself and did not need the assistance of a man to decide on my behalf, this dickwad was clearly not that keen on female decision makers.

Round 2

Meanwhile back at the ranch I call my friend the police chief and ask him to speak to dickwad via the phone telling him he is a prick, yes I had totally lost my cool. Turns out that they know each other. At this point dickwad is rubbing his hands, thinking that his friend the police chief will take his side for sure. The police disappear and there is a lull of activity in which neighbours discuss what is going on. I sit, meditate and shed a tear and my friends tell me they feel sad because I am sad. Then I feel ready for the next round.

The final show down

Some time later my friend the police chief arrives and the three of us are seated outside my house, with him in the middle. My friend asks me what the problem is and I explain, he utters some Nepali to dickwad and then says to me ‘ok you can move now’. I can hardly believe my ears. I find out later that his utterance to dickwad included ‘you cannot make her stay she made her decision to leave.’ He also offers to look after the house until the dickwad is able to come back to re-let it. The dickwad also says, ‘ok you can go’. At which point I want to say, ‘well I was going anyway you dickwad,’ but I keep my cool and say thanks. My friend then requests his police colleagues to transport my good and orders ‘total setup’ of my stuff.

Retreat

I retreat to my house and am greeted with sweet coffee, daal baat tarkaari and decline the offer of ‘total setup’, as I totally want to set up my own things.
The kindness of many over shadow the unkindness of the few.

Thursday 27 January 2011

Its all about me...actually its not

Before I set off to Nepal I had two motivations for volunteering for VSO 1) To make a positive difference to the lives of people in a less developed country 2) To challenge myself. When I was preparing to leave, I met many volunteers who shared the same motivations. During our training weekends the emphasis was very much on techniques to facilitate this change.
However somehow since I had arrived and was sent to my placement area the reality of the situation rapidly went from its all about them, to all about me and what do I need to do to feel comfortable. At one point I was thinking I am here to live in Nepal and experience the culture first and foremost and make a difference second. I think this was a knee jerk survival reaction to adapting the new surroundings, because that is not why I am here. Having experienced some of the real issues that Nepali people with disabilities face, I think it’s good time to refocus and think ambitiously about the positive differences I can make.
My placement is working for a national organisation that advocates for the rights of people with disabilities, this means lobbying for their rights and making people aware of what their rights and entitlement are. People with disabilities really suffer from discrimination in this country, some people believe that if they see someone with a disability in the morning they will be cursed for the day. They also believe that disabled new born baby brings a curse or means the family is cursed and consequently disabled children may be hidden indoors. So part of the organisations role is challenge this discrimination and raise awareness of the issues that people with disabilities face. Unlike the UK transport and public buildings are not built with disabled access. Physically disabled people who have access to a tricycle frequently go Indian and smuggle goods back into Nepal to be sold at a very low price to shop keepers just to make a living. Unemployment levels are 48% in Nepal and even higher for people with disabilities. I have even heard of deaf women being trafficked to other countries to work in poor conditions for no money. So there is much work for me to do in supporting the organisation to be more effective in its management and development and even small changes can make a big difference. One project that I really want to help develop is a mobile camp project which targets people with disabilities in rural villages and remote areas to promote disability entitlements to; free education, free health care, disability aids, operations, disability transport discounts and tricycles , ID cards (in which you can get discounts), social security allowance and employment opportunities. This tied in with a drama based initiative which challenges discrimination against people with disabilities.

So I think now I have settled in its time to think of others before myself and get on with the job in hand as there is much to do.

Saturday 22 January 2011

Bargain or not?







As I cut my hair over the sink with newly purchased kitchen scissors costing £1.45, it occurred to me that last time I paid £39 for a hair cut in the trendy hairdressers on Beech Road in Chorlton. Now without a moments hesitation I was hacking off the dry ends of my hair with no apprehension. What’s changed? Just about everything! £39 is actually more than I have from VSO as my living expenses per week and although I think a hair cut would be pretty cheap here (50p) I don’t trust that my Nepali language would translate into, ‘just a trim please’.
Although Nepal and Nepalgunj in particular is in stark contrast to good old blightly there are actually some aspects of life here that suit me very well indeed. For a start there are few; cars, buses and lorries on the road, bycles scooter and motorbikes dominate the roads. So I cycle here there and every where on my Indian style bike which has no gears and I love it, even when I am weaving precariously in out of rickshaws and horse and carts. And I am really looking forward to cycling to India to go shopping, where apparently its really cheap and I can buy bargain items like cashew nuts! I will have to wait till I go to Kathmandu and get my visa though which won’t be for a few months.
Secondly the majority of the people in the country are Hindu and do not eat meat or eat very little meat, so being a vegetarian is the norm rather than the exception which makes eating out or at friends houses very easy. Thirdly I don’t start work until 10:00, which means I can lie in till 8:00 go for a run or a hoop, have a relaxed breakfast and do some chores before I go to work.
There is one thing that I really miss though(aside from all my wonderful friends and family of course) which is a hot shower and bath oh and heating I can’t understand where there isn’t a purpose built fire place and chimney inside the houses as its freezing in January.
I also want to mention the price of toothbrushes, they are exactly the same here as in blighty but they cost 40p, we are being seriously ripped off! The national minimum way here is £40 per month, so that is why it appears so cheap, but relatively speaking I think it is expensive for Nepali’s.
Internet is 25p for an hour and milk is 20p a litre, which again my sound cheap but not if you are unemployed or living on the minimum wage here. I shall shortly be splashing the cash on internet access at my home, I was going to do this earlier but I have decided to move out of my community centre style house into something a bit less isolated. I am moving into a smaller apartment which has a landlady living below and an office so the security will be a lot better. I feel a bit like a sitting target living here alone, white lady, big house, living alone hmm...time to make a sharp exit. So this week my landlord has had the unfortunate news of my tenancy termination, which is all above board, obviously he is not happy but I have to overlook this fact and think of my own safety sorry.
So week 3 tick, only another only another 101 weeks to go, not that I am counting believe me I want make the most out of my time here and make the biggest difference I can whilst I am lucky enough to have the opportunity!

The photos were taken when I visited my colleagues village and stayed the night, check out her granny, she is so cool. She is 70 and still works in the fields farming (by choice), whilst we were sitting round the fire when she was warming the inside of her woolly hat it melted and although we couldn't communicate in Nepali (village Nepali is very hard to understand)we shared a laugh at the melted hat.

Peace and love from across the world

Sunday 16 January 2011

A visit to the bank

Gwyneth and I were invited to visit the people who worked in the bank to practice our Nepali. I thought this photo was really funny, check out the guy second from the right he is so cute like a cuddly teddy bear.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Things I would like to achieve in 2011 (2067 Nepali calendar

I almost forgot to write a list of things I want to achieve this year because I have been working towards achieving the goal of doing VSO for about seven years, now this goal has been realised and with the coming year I have set a new list of things I would like to achieve this year.
Thanks Rob for reminding me (yes we are both goal setting freaks but it’s worked so far)!

1. Learn to speak Nepali fluently
2. Learn to make gallup jamums (and learn how to spell them)
3. Learn to read and write the devanagari script
4. Make a complete hoop routine to music
5. Teach colleagues to speak English (that want to obviously)
6. Learn to bollywood dance
7. Be kind to strangers
8. Invest time in worthwhile friendships in Nepal
9. Plan trips, visits and treks around Nepal
10. Cycle to India and go food shopping
11. Plan visits to other countries like; Bhutan and Tibet
12. Learn to sing 10 songs really well
13. Make an effort to stay in touch with friends and family at home
14. Take time to reflect on all aspects of like
15. Think about what I would like to do next

Work starts

It has been freezing here over the last couple of weeks, every morning I don vest, and complete set of thermals before layering jumpers and jeans, it’s not that it is colder than the UK, it probably about 10.C it’s just that there is no heating!
I have started work now (which is also cold) and much to my relief it’s enjoyable and not scary. In my office there are two ladies my age and younger who are very keen to learn English and to improve their work skills. The office is small but tidy, with no working telephone, computer, internet or heater, so the set up is very different from home where we have all the resources we need at our finger tips. Not a lot really seems to happen at work apart from visits from family, colleagues and board members-this is the Nepali way, there are no boundaries between work and personal life. Thankfully in my first week we agreed to a meeting to plan the year’s activities and improvement areas, so I am planning my first workshop. This will be very interesting as I will be delivering a workshop to 15 people who are deaf, blind and physically disabled oh and do not understand English. I am looking forward to it though and will have the aid of an interpreter and my office colleagues, I do not expect it to go to plan.
My work days are very short the office is open 10:00 – 4:00 in the winter and 10:00 – 5:00 from April till November, I have yet to work out the rationality behind this. I start work at 10:30 because I do not have the keys to the office and the staff are usually late and do not want me to be subjected to passers by pestering me, which would be the case. There is much sitting around and practising English and Nepali and generally dossing and some work does get done , we finish around 3:30 or 4:00. Nepali’s eat a meal before the office and then a snack in the afternoon before a meal in the evening, any food brought into the office is shared, so if I brought lunch in I would have to bring everyone lunch, so I have had to alter my eating habits to eat break fast late and my evening meal early and hope that a snack will appear. Yesterday I took raw peas and radish in to share and much to my surprise this proved very popular. And everyone is late here, an hour or two late is normal, which is hard for me as I am really punctual and impatient but I am adapting to the slower haphazard pace of life. People can be relied upon though, last week a water piper burst in my bathroom and the entire water tank (tanky in Nepali) emptied itself much to my horror, into the bathroom, I called my language teacher and he came and brought a plumber with the right part and the matter was resolved in one morning, very kind.
And so I can happily say I have survived my first week at work!

Saturday 8 January 2011

All Creatures, Great and Small

Moving into my new house was a tumultuous experience. Having finally signed the contract with the landlady after much confusion on their and my part, I set out with my language teacher to buy the essential items; bed, mattress, stove, gas bottle, pots and pans. Having selected said bed from one place and mattress and duvet from another, an old man on rickshaw (tricycle with a place to sit/carry) was commandeered to cycle the bed and paraphernalia to my house. He was first directed to follow us to the gas stove and bottle shop, where to my surprise my teacher attempted to further load these items onto the already over loaded rickshaw. I suggested another rickshaw might be a good idea and we set off guiding two rickshaws through the traffic to my house.

Having settled into my house for two days, I have to admit I was at first a little daunted living on my own and had for two nights not slept that well, by the second day I was checking my contract to find out how much notice I had to give to move out just incase! I was missing the luxury of my temporary apartment and the family there. My new house was certainly different to the last, since moving in I had encountered all sorts of creatures including; very big and very small ants, jumping spiders, a very cute looking mouse which scurried along the roof whilst I was hula hooping, a big cockroach found on its back wiggling its legs in the bathroom (later removed) and my most recent discovery a lizard at the top of the stairs (not removed). There were certainly more mosquitoes too, probably because I am on the ground floor instead of the second, I spent the first two nights with my head under my bed sheets sheltering from the mosquitoes as I didn’t have a net and found bites on my nose in the morning.

Having bought a mosquito net and fashioned a four poster effect, made out of sticks from the garden, I put up my new mosquito net and watched the misquotes dive bombing then ricocheting from the net, ha ha you can’t get me now and contemplated all the creatures in, my new house-which were far more what I had expected from the VSO experience, this was more like it! Suddenly I heard a loud clatter of pots pans coming from the kitchen, my heart shot to my feet in 0.1 seconds and I lay still rationalising the sounds, I decided that the pans must of have fallen off their hooks and I slid from under my mosquito net to investigate. I peeked through my door and saw and heard nothing and crept to the kitchen gingerly. A rat scarpered across the kitchen surface and cruised into the store cupboard, to be honest I was quite relived that it was a rat and not burglar. I have lived with rats before and it’s not that bad, all food now lives in the fridge even the bananas which is what had drawn the rat in the first place. I had very good night’s sleep and decided it’s not too bad here after all. It even rained over night which is the first time in two months and its smells like home.