Montage dance performance to Dirty Dancing Part 3 of The Funny Five Weeks

The third of my funny five weeks began as I landed in Gerona Spain. We dragged our suitcases and hooping paraphernalia off the bus to our hostel for the night. Although on the outside the hostel look really nice and quite funky, the inside our room resembled that of a prison cell, god I hate these uniform rooms in hostels they make me loose the will to live. The room clinically clean, dark and dingy. The mattresses decked in thick black rubber and windows displayed bars, it felt like prison. After a day of snoozing we met with fellow hoopers for dinner in a quaint street square which housed a display of alfresco restaurants beginning to team with glamorous looking Spaniards. Now I used to speak Spanish, but since learning to speak Nepali just about everything was lost, but slowly a tiny bit came back and I mean un poquito. Who cares though because the next day we set off to our luxury Spanish villa where there wasn’t a single Carlos or Pedro in sight. The villa was set on a hill over looking the beautiful countryside, large gardens, a swimming pool and two houses made up our villa. A whole a range of activities were scheduled for the week ahead including; pole dancing, bollywood dancing, yoga, acro yoga, 80’s dance, plus all manner of hula hooping delights. We were in for a good week. And it was, the weather was brilliant, the food fresh and the people rocked big style. Highlight of the week included doing a montage dance performance to Dirty Dancings’, Now I’ve Had the Time of my Life with my new Irish friend at the Renegade Show, plus watching everyone else’s performance was totally awesome. Low light of the week was being kept awake whilst a handful of people partied on the dance floor above my ceiling! (and yes I am getting old)

Before I knew it the week came to an end and it was time to head back to the UK for Jess’s hen party, with a few new hoop tricks up my sleeves and a host of new memories to boot.

Text message recieved 10.07.12

"a warm hello to my most respectable madam...apparently, only 2day in the spambox i came across the sms usent me in recent past... n d credit goes to my hitler wife b4 going 2 her parents home...a womans' mind is horrifyingly unpredictable almost kind of cryptic for us to read, leave alone understand it...by d way how r u doing... must b having heavy workload... mayb i cud b some help free of cost...now i m free 24/7 since my wife gone 4 a long stay..take care c'ya."

Part 2...Whistle Stop Tour of Manchester

The second of my funny five weeks was my first week in the UK. I don’t think people realise just quite what it is like living in Nepal in contrast to the UK and I had difficultly trying to explain the differences. Although people might perceive that my role here is quite easy, because of the slower pace of life and less demanding job role there are a major everyday challenges that I have to overcome like soaring high temperatures of up to 45C, no electricity, no water, no waste management, poor transport, speaking Nepali, being in a patriarchal country, positive and negative discrimination towards me, the list is endless. That is not to say that I am not grateful and happy to be here, it’s just to point out that it is not easy and very few people could hack this experience. So that is why I appreciated returning to my own country so much as all of those difficulties were removed. I couldn’t believe how pleasant the weather was for my first week in the UK, it was beautiful, I watched as my family got sunburnt at our family barbecue and my brothers adorable children bounced carefree on the trampoline in the afternoon sun, as I sat sipping rosé from a proper flute glass, what a treat. My mother and I did our usual trawling around the various shops that we love to shop in, buying must have and must not have but have to have items to take back to Nepal and everyone seemed so nice, it was almost like my mother had pre-programmed everyone to be overly nice and friendly. My two most ridiculously overpriced and inappropriate items being a play suite and sort gold crocheted waistcoat that I will rarely have the chance to wear in Nepal, but when I do it will feel amazing!

Having rested and rejuvenated at my mothers beautiful country home it was time to travel north west to Manchester my previous stomping ground, where I was met by my wacky friend Andrew in my favourite racing green Mazda MX5. As I was only staying for one day and two nights, time was short and I had booked a tight schedule. First stop a visit to my previous employers the Big Life Group, who I totally love. Visiting that office was like putting on a pair of comfortable slippers, it was great to see all the old faces. We talked about possibilities for my future with the organisation all of which sounded very exciting. Highlight of this visit though had to be their 10 year celebratory video which was montage of office tomfoolery to a badly sung ‘working 9:00 – 5:00’ by Dolly Parton, I loved it! I sped off to Salford for a quick catch up with the old work gang and a sandwich in the community cafe, it was great to see everyone, but all too brief! Then I dropped in to see my friend who is six months pregna

nt and the size of a house, seriously I have never see anything like her bump it was huge, water retention apparently! Mean while back at Julie-Andrews gaff we sipped gin and tonics in garden and readied ourselves for dinner. Dinner was excellent and I met up with some very special friends who had life changing stories (like divorce) and all looked fabulous. The next morning I arose early at 3:00 am and headed to the airport with my new hooping friend Rachel who had overslept and was therefore discombobulated. Manchester airport check in for Ryanair hosted a spectacular visual of pre- Brits abroad all wearing shiny new this season holiday wear from Primark. Sometime later we boarded the cheap and not cheerful plane to Gerona, where they tried to in sell every know item possible including; smoke free cigarettes, scratch cards and £2:00 bottles of water, I refused to buy anything on principle and sat back in relaxed anticipation of my one week hula hooping holiday in Spain.

Five Funny Week’s

Week 1 I recently had what I like to refer to as ‘five funny week’, funny peculiar, though there was many funny moments. It all started with the soaring heats in the Terai, rocketing up to mid 45C’s at the time I remember thinking how nice it would be to make a sharp exit to the cooler weather enjoyed in Kathmandu, which I hadn’t visited for a while. Perhaps I could conveniently fit in a trip before I left for my three week holiday in the UK. Things were getting a little shaky throughout the country as the deadline to one of the many attempts at signing the Nepali constitution loomed. In Nepalgunj shops and roads were closed due to bandh’s (strikes), people took to the streets to protest or just to have fun and further west of the county a group of volunteers had to be evacuated by the UN to Kathmandu after violence broke out. This news I selfishly became interested in, would I also be evacuated to Kathmandu? I held my breath and didn’t book any flight to Kathmandu to catch my onward flight to London, in the hope that I might score a free flight and a pre – holiday holiday in Kathmandu.

The call came late afternoon a week before I was due to leave for London, I was to be evacuated. In a rather non-glamorous and uneventful fashion my friend drove me through a field on his motor bike to get to the airport and I flew safely in the small and scary plan to Kathmandu. Much to my over excitement I found 15 other volunteers in our favourite hotel, which is like a volunteer second home. We shared stories of heat, transport, food shortage and boys with sticks and set about to have a really good week. That week was my best week so far in Kathmandu, the weather was perfect and every day we did yoga or running and other random activities like basket weaving, participatory skills and hula hooping with the local children and hotel staff. We danced, we drank, we laughed and most of all we had a really good time. Like most good things though as the end of week drew on I felt that the novelty was wearing thin and I was happy to bid farewell to the sunny smog of Kathmandu and head north west to London.

I had a short transit in Bahrain in which I indulged in a mixed berry smoothie and cheesecake, my first in a year and half – when It came to paying I used this thing called a credit card which I popped in this magic machine and paid in currency unknown. During the flight I met another volunteer who was also returning to the UK for a short holiday, when we had worked out how to buy a ticket for the tube we fled to the very fancy new kings cross train station for lattes before joining our connecting trains to our respective homes. My first impression of home was just how clean everything was, ridiculously clean, very welcome after the grimy streets of Nepal strewn with litter and open defecation. After a teary exchange with my dear mother we headed off home. I couldn’t help looking round all the cupboards and gazing at their contents, especially my newly constructed built in wardrobe, which hosted all manner of exciting clothing options for the future weeks, all of which I had forgotten about. ...to be continued

Life in the Terai

Life in the Terai begins at 5:30 am during the hot weather, when temperatures soar to 45C a vast difference to my own countries climate when daily conversation is based on the terrible UK weather, here we would welcome a rainy day. My dog Ziggy waits happily on my door step waving its tail excitedly as I open the front door onto my balcony, the air is fresh in comparison, a welcome relief to the whirring fan in my bedroom. In the back ground I can hear the call to prayer from the local Muslim temple, this indicates that its time to dress and head to the stadium to go for my early morning run. I put on my tight lycra running shorts and t-shirt, securing a long sleeve top around my waist to try to cover up some of my forbidden areas. As I cycle along the dirty streets I can feel the curious stares and when I arrive I am greeted by a dozen ‘Namaste’s’ and ‘Mornings Mornings’, in Nepal you receive not one but two ‘Mornings’ a unique and endearing greeting. I meet up with my two Nepali friends and we run gently at first as we warm up before speeding up our run. We talk in English and Nepali though neither of us is perfect in our linguistics, it’s the effort and companionship that counts. After our rounds have finished the sweat pours and I head red faced towards the market. I see my American friend heading my way, she is off to teach at one of the local schools, then shortly after a foreigner heads towards us running who I don’t know, this is a rarity indeed as there are only, seven foreigners living in Nepalgunj where I am based. We stare just as the Nepali’s do and fail to muster up any kind greetings other than smiling. I head over to the vegetable market and grow greedy at the lush selection of vegetables which are a far more resplendent arrangement than I would find in the UK. I buy my weeks vegetables for 260 Nepali rupees which is about £2.25. Then I head to the next shop to buy eggs, I don’t have any change so they suggest that I pay the following day, this is repeated at the next shop where I buy yogurt and milk without any money. As I arrive back at my house I am happy to find that there is both electricity and water, these things should not be taken for granted in Nepal where I have learnt the real value of these precious resources. With still hours to burn before work I do my house work, cook my lunch and check my e-mails then it’s off to the office on my bicycle, dressed in a Nepali kurta sawel. When I arrive the office is closed, I am not surprised, I wait patiently and think about why I am here in the first place. My main motivation was to share the skills I have with Nepali people, whilst also having an adventure myself. One thing I have realized here is that unlike in the UK my work is less about personal achievement and more about a slow steady pace where it feels like small steps are made towards small changes, this I have accepted. Uma, the office Co-ordinator arrives from her village and we talk about today’s work, she has lots, I have a little which I begin. First I write an article for my organizations Good Governance newspaper, titled, ‘Why is it ok for male prostitutes and not female prostitutes?’ Then I plan a presentation for a new volunteering program called ‘Good Governance Defenders’. I volunteer for two organizations, one is a disabled rights organization advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and the other is a youth based anti corruption organisation, quite a contrast though there are many overlaps when it comes to organizational development, with which I am tasked. As I sit in the office the fan fails to turn we sweat, its edging 43C. Tea comes and go’s it’s delicious and sweet far better than English tea which I never liked. Then at 5:00 pm its time to head home, I pop my laptop in my bicycle basket and cycle the dusty busy road towards home. I have begun to think of the cycle home as a game, in which I have to dodge cows, dogs, buffalo, horse drawn carts, cars, buses, rickshaws, lorry’s, tempo’s motorbikes, pedestrians, cyclists and holes in the road, its enjoyable if you look at it that way, but not for the faint hearted. I stop off in the bazaar to buy lentils and various simple food supplies which my allowance finances, then drop into see friends on the way home for a cup of coffee. Reaching my home I give my neighbour 1000 rupees for her children’s school uniform and school books and feel content in my days activities.

What's Going On!

It’s been a very long time since I have written a BLOG, which believe me is a positive rather than negative indication of how my life is going in Nepal. I started my placement in November 2010 and it’s already April 2012, so I have been living here now for 17 months with 9 months to go until my placement finishes in January 2013. With that in mind I am thinking about what my options are for the future and this is what its looking like; 1) Have a small break and start a new placement with VSO in Nepal, my current placements cannot be continued as the Governance Program I am part of has finished. 2) Return to Manchester and do a short term job with my previous organization, if they have anything. 3) Cruise round Asia on a motorbike for an unlimited period of time. 4) Something else! Either way I am pretty excited about all possibilities.

My decision to come to Nepal to volunteer is without doubt one of the best decisions I have made, I have learnt so much from this country and culture that will remain with me for the rest of my life, my life will never be he same again and I am a much better person for it. Also I have learnt new skills and a new language and I am about to embark on a 6 month long distance course on, ‘Understanding Gender in Society,’ which I think will be incredibly interesting considering the context of my setting.

The last couple of months have been good, I inherited a puppy dog called Ziggy (Stardust) from another volunteer who got Ziggy from the dog rescue centre in Kathmandu after there was some kind of viral outbreak. The volunteer has since returned to England, so now he is mine! He is totally cute and adorable and loved by all, when I leave I have already had offers of homes for him to go to which is reassuring. It was during my return trip from Kathmandu with Ziggy that I participated in my first triathlon. The triathlon was took place in beautiful surrounding of Lake Begnas near Pokhara, with a view of the mountains and trees. The first part of the triathlon was the 750 metre swim through Lake Begnas, it was really hard as I was only wearing my Marks and Spencer’s swimsuit my mum had sent, which was not sufficient to keep away the chills, I stepped out of the lake thinking how on earth can I continue with the rest of this triathlon, but I did, after all there was no way in hell I was giving up! So I continued my merry journey cycling on my friends oversized mountain bike for 20 km then just as the mid day sun hit its top temperature I started my 5 km run. The run was by far the easiest part as this is the part I had trained for and built up my stamina in, but the heat was intense. As I sprinted through the finish line my friends and Ziggy were there to greet me. My time was 2:42 which I thought was good and I came second out of the ladies and was presented with an engraved ghurka knife and a one way flight of my choice in Nepal, very nice.

My work is going well, but there have been no major achievements which is fine. It’s hard to describe what the working conditions are like here, but I can tell you that in one office we only just got a computer and printer which doesn’t always work if the voltage is low, it might give you an idea. In comparison to work load in the UK, it’s been around 50% of the work load there. This is due to many reasons; language difficulties, my program with VSO coming to and end and there fore no funding being available and also because my role is as an advisor in which I am supposed to be building the capacity of my work colleagues, which is like an add on to their role and work load. Accepting this is hard, but I have accepted it now and slowly work improves and gets more interesting as we work out how best to work with each other. On reflection I think work load expectations in the UK are too high and my friends often complain saying; ‘works been really stressful’.
Only 6 weeks to go and I will return to Europe for three weeks, I will spend a week in the UK then jet off to Spain for a Hula Hoop Gathering for the week then I will return to the UK for another week. I am really looking forward to seeing all my friends and family and having a bath at my mums house and glass of Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc.

See you all soon
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SPONSOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Support us for a charity Triathlon to make the annual VSO volunteer meeting happen in Nepal

Dear Friends and family

Each year VSO Nepal organizes a volunteer conference, during these three days we gather in a low cost accommodation to update share and plan with each other as well to check in with the ones that are posted in remote areas and look together with VSO how we can make sure we get to reach our goals of enabling people in Nepal to break the cycle of poverty. As a result of the international economic crisis, funding for VSO has been reduced and this event can no longer be funded from the budget.

Because we, the volunteers, believe it is crucial to support each other and get time to discuss our opportunities and challenges in working in improving education, health and governance in Nepal, we are determined to raise funds to make this event happen. For this reason, a few of our brave colleagues are going to participate in a triathlon on the 25th of February where they will have to swim 1,5 kilometers through a mountain lake (in February!), cycle for 20 kilometers through the Annapurna mountain range, and finish with a 10 kilometer uphill run (for more information, see: http://himalayanrush.com/).

We want to know if you are able to help us by sponsoring us to complete the triathlon and support your VSO Volunteer to attend this years volunteer conference. Please pledge the amount you would like to sponsor directly to louise.belinfante@gmail.com

Your donations will be tax deductible as they will be going to a registered charity.
Every little bit helps, we are hoping that among all of our VSO volunteer colleagues we will be able to raise about 3500-4000 Euro in total which will enable us to support our VSO colleagues and the partners they work with. Please let me know if you have any questions or want more details on the triathlon,

Thank you so much for your support