Spare Me My Space

Ok, so I will be posting some before and after pictures, but first let me tell you this bizarre yet funny story.

So I lost my passport. Yikes. I noticed after coming back from painting this morning when I was trying to pack. I tried to play it cool. Keyword there is try. After telling my family I would be packing and coming to school later I frantically ripped/tore apart my room. Now my family has this girl, I havent figured out the relation, hangs by the house all the time.

While I am searching she comes in my room and keeps trying to play with everything. Her English is terrible and she just kept saying Q or Ipad or come come you you. I have not yet figured out what that means but it is on the top of my list. Seriously driving me insane. The anxiety of my passport missing just made it even worse. I tried to tell her nicely, I tried to shoo her away, I literally tried everything. Finally, I decided I was going to attempt the cold shower over the squat toilet (ewwww) to get away and calm down.

BAD MISTAKE.

A few minutes into my freezing cold and smelly shower she pops her head in and says Q, Ipad, You, Come. Ahhhh GET OUT. But instead of getting mad, or crying, I started hysterically laughing. Like what in the world is going on. Im in a shower leave me alone!!!

Finally I gave up my search and headed to school. Everyone there felt so bad. I gave up feeling bad about my stamps, I mean really these people live like this and I am worried about stamps. It was just when I let go of feeling bad that I found it under the books in the library room. AHHHH relief!!


The painting is going wonderfully. The donations are coming in and we are getting ready to order construction materials so that we can build when the painting is done. Than you to everyone for helping!!!!!

future buildnig site

New classroom painting almost finished!

A Nepali Minute

A Nepali Minute

Legs get something clear, if a Nepali tells you a given amount of time it takes then double than number and add ten. Never ever assume that they mean the time they say. This has not happened once, twice, or even three times but as been consistent in happening every time. A word to the wise, relax. The first few days this really got me worked up and anxious. Slowly but surely I'm expecting it so I don't get so nervous when it happens.

Today was wonderful seeing the kindergarten class look at the paintings for the first time. Although they are not nearly finished their eyes lit up like Christmas morning. While being in one of their class periods I saw two things. First, the student themselves seemed happier. Sure the novelty will wear off a little but it made for a cleaner happier environment. Second, the room was brighter! Having a nice coat of colorful paint really drew in the light and brighten the classroom. It no long looked like a dungeons caging in midget trolls but a happier place to learn.

Although it did look nice their was still so much work to be done.

Let me just add before continuing that I am typing this from my bed. So far tonight I have encountered a ginormous spider. I ran out of the room and got my host brother to try to kill it. He pathetically missed and it ran behind the bed. At this point I was creaking out and the neighbor girl who speaks zero English except for come come and q (not sure what that means yet) and the family laughed at me. Aatma did kill it, or so he says, but I have that itchy feeling in bed. On top of that there is still something that runs around in my room (a moth just landed on me!!!!)  at night and a million flies and mosquitoes  Despite the net that I out around my bed at night these things still manage to get in. Oh and now I'm thinking the spider will do just that!!!! No sleep tonight!

We had to go get more paint, a lot more paint. So at 1:30 Aatma and I took his bike down to the paint store. Now originally we were supposed to get paint, put it on the 3 oclock bus, head back up to meet my friends at 4 to start painting.

Well here is the Nepali time again for you. First, the paint took ages, then we went to the local market, then we had tea, then we went to get medicine, then we took a snack, then we met the school agency, and then finally got gas and headed back up around 5:30! I kept telling myself the entire time to just take a breath and relax because this is the time system that they all operate on.

On top of the time issues the biking is still a little scary. I can not wait until I am able to insert a video because it is downright ridiculous! The roads are really just a bunch of bumpy rocks.

Once we made it back up to the school we had to take tea again before climbing through the fields to get the paint. Around 6 oclock we arrived at the school in the rain and began to paint. Two of my friends were just arriving so it is fortunate that they are also running on Nepali time. We got a little bit done and started to make the room even better. I get more and more excited.

First day of paint!

School painting begins

It is amazing how quickly and easily I fell back into the village life after being  with my friends for the weekend. Something that seemed so scary and overwhelming last week now feels a lot more natural. Yeah I still hate the feeling of being dirty, and having flies all over me and our house, I hate the toilet, but it is familiar.

Santos picked me up and drove me up the winding road to the village. I had such mixed feelings. I was excited to go back and see the kids but dreaded the different conditions than home. For the are I actually have a nice life with my family. They try so hard to make me comfortable. 

When arriving at the school I was surprised to see some of the town people had already started to paint the base coat if the one room! It looked to bright. I was completely exhausted from the past day waiting for my sis to have her baby. They had me take a rest so that we could begin the painting.

At four o'clock we were ready to go when four people I had met while traveling over the weekend arrived to volunteer their time to my project. What a beautiful thing, four travellers were willing to just come after meeting me for a small period of time and help out for a good cause.

We had some great fun! A boy from the US and one from Europe joined me in the mural painting while an Englishman and boy from the US started the base costs of the other rooms. I could not get over how the while and Green paint lit up the rooms.

In the Nursery room we drew out some flowers that will have numbers on the, and the alphabet in clouds. Ill be honest, the mural paint is the worst paint I've ever used. It's hard to use and just a weird consistency. It will do the job and seems to be sticking really well!!! The downside was that it was harder to work with, but if it lasts longer then I am fine with that!!!

We worked until we could not see a thing more. We wanted to keep going but with the rain and dark clouds outside and no electricity it was practically impossible to continue. Also the fumes were getting g quite bad. Luckily, everyone will be joining me again tomorrow! 

Evening was the usually, we hung out, did homework, laughed, ate, and discussed family and religion. It is so different than when I first came. I've started to understand them a lot more and the same holds true for the opposite.

In the morning I took a walk with the kids to see the work in the daylight. It looks amazing. The kids were so excited and could not stop smiling. I was so proud that I had made this difference. We took a look at the other rooms that would be painted soon. What a difference! I can't believe what the difference in feeling is from walking from one I painted room to the new ones! It is such a happy feeling and it rubs off on the mood of the place :)

With the success I am starting to get more and more ambitious. The one room is practically unbearable. It is located in the end next to the squat toilets. There is a lingering smell and the walls are slowly decaying. I just can not stand looking at the kids in there. It's the worst of them all. I asked what it would take to build a new room! It is 1000 dollars and they could build a new room in nice condition. That is my new goal. My money I have donated covers the cost of paint. Now I would like to fundraise to get this class a decent room that they can breath and move in. We would build the new classroom here!

If you would like to help please donate here:

http://www.gofundme.com/3cyug0

We are already on our way!!!!

I will keep you updated!!!

Lake and then some!

 

One afternoon some of the volunteers and I thought it would be fun to rent a giant paddle boat. It was a blast but hard work as well. Ivan, Claudia, Shanee, Daniel, albane, mim and I went out on Phewa lake. Ivan and I took a shot at paddling first. It was surprisingly hard but I guess I didn't realize how big of a boat it was. Ivan just made fun of me the entire way.

 

When we got towards the middle we relaxed for a little before jumping in. Daniel, Shanee, Mim, and I all took the leap of faith. We were a little nervous of what could be swimming below. Fortunately we were all safe and enjoyed it a lot. 

 
 

It is amazing how much fun a group of people can ave who have recently met. I believe it is because we all have similar spirits. We all have drastically different personalities but we all have something in us that drove us to do a crazy trip like this. I think that is why we all get along so much.

 

 

Wen we got back, Aatma met me on the motor bike to go and buy some paint. We drove out of Lakeside and into the residential part. Oh crap, I forgot what some of these people lived like. The crazy buzzing of people in the streets is enough to make your head swarm with crazy thoughts. It's a constant motion of motor bikes, trucks, people walking, construction, rocks being jack hammered apart, tires burning in the evening, and just a whole lot of mess. It is the hardest thing for me to describe. Even being here for awhile my senses are overwhelmed every time I experience the city life outside of tourist areas or ,y small village.

We got homemade momos (chicken stuffed dumplings that are delicious) next to the paint shops. After we snacked we went into the paint shop to get colors. Aatma did all of the talking. One hour later we had 70 dollars worth of paint that would be enough to cover about 2-3 rooms. I picked a very bright green that really stood out.

Aatma dropped me back off with my friends. In the evening we attended a family reunion of one of the hope and home coordinators. I had gotten a traditional Sari to wear. It turns out that we were late and had missed a lot of the people. For the reunion they sacrificed a goat. What?!?! Yes they sacrificed a goat and cooked it up for dinner. 

 

One of the girls put on music later in the night and since I was in traditional clothing she wanted ,e to dance. Hahaha what an experience. I truly feel like I'm getting such an authentic experience versus the touring I usually get. The girl was very talented and moved her arms beautifully while moving in fast circles. I tried very hard to duplicate her moves, although they all complimented me in how well I did, I think they were just being nice and I felt very silly. However I loved the experience. We even forced Daniel and Ivan to give it a go!

That evening we had the single weirdest and bizarre experience of the trip. We were looking for a place to relax and get food and went into what looked like a nice place. It showed pretty girls dressed up in traditional outfits on a board outside and we old hear music p,suing inside. When we got in we were shocked beyond belief.

The place was a dump. Once walking up the stairs we were greeted by a small room with a stage.  There were a few couches with small tables. We felt bad turning around since there were only one other group of patrons there. All 7 us took the front to couches and started to talk and laugh. The waitress came and brought us coca colas and then the strange things started. First, the pop just plain creeped me out. We nervously looked at each other asking if we really should trust to drink this stuff.

Let me try to describe this place. Picture that terribly shot movie that took place in a Dingy back room where the wrong people wonder in and get killed or possibly receive some infection or disease. Or may e it was the documentary I once saw about people getting drugged then wake up in an alley without a kidney. Now that you have a better picture let me continue:

We watched Mim drink her coca cola and decided it was safe to continue, at least that was Ivan's thoughts. I was a bit more leery of the drink. Then the real fun began, dance music started playing and a girl steps out on stage. Oh boy, what did we really get ourselves into? Luckily it was no some in appropriate show but really just fully clothes girls putting on a very bad,y rehearsed dance show. The second girl tripped while coming onto the stage.   The while setting was just sketchy. We decided to pay and bolt as soon as possible! I didn't really feel in danger since we were a group and had guys with us, but it was just creepy and uncomfortable. 

Just as we paid four guys took the stage and performed the most ridiculous b boy dance performance. They clearly did not know what they were doing but tried so hard. One guy kept trying to flip up from his back, while another guy continued to try to slide on his head and fail. We cheered them on.

As we took our leave two strange things happened. They guys left as well which gave us the  impression that they brought them in just for us. Next, a small, sloppy, hand written sign read "you should check your belonging." What?!?!  So glad to leave there.

We found a clean nice place to hang out and could not stop laughing at our experience.  We decided it was one of those moments that you remember every time you look back at your travels. The night continued with us staying at Busy Bee cafe and eating the thinnest pizza alive. It was good but not like home. Across the place our friend started talking to these two boys from England, Ronan and JC. JC had these little side curls that were hysterical and my friend had the nerve to walk up and ask if I could cut them up. He just laughed. 

After there we went to one of Mim's friends restaurant to celebrate his birthday. It was a great time. The place was shut down and just for friends so it was a group of half locals and half volunteers. We danced and sang and finally cut of JCs hair! What a relief.

The next day was spent waiting and waiting and waiting some more for Emily to have her baby. So exciting. When he finally came I'm pretty sure I showed every single person find. Nepali people are amazed at white babies!!! Haha while I was waiting we went to eat at the Beach Club. I will hopefully be able to write an entire post about that place. Tomorrow morning I was to head back up to my village :)

Baby Boy!

I can not believe the day finally came and my sister had her baby! I am so proud to be an aunt!

I will be going up to the village again to start painting so I wont post for a few days. Hopefully during that time I will be able to write a lot and get everyone updated!!!! I have many things to write about and so many pictures to upload!

Yeti Time

View from the Beach Club 

Paragliding

I got up the nerve and went paragliding. I was terrified. First you drive up the road that goes towards my house. There is a spot where you pull off and prepare to launch. The pilots lay out the paraglides on the ground and give you some training.

First they teach you about the take off. You are on a slanted hill that drops off. When the wind is strong you have to walk forward and the paraglide catches the wind, next you walk back, then you run full speed ahead off the hill. Oh boy, was I really prepared to do this.

I was so nervous. The waiting game was the worst because the wind just didn't feel like coming. Finally it picked up and off we went. It was such a cool feeling. One second I was running and the next I was in the air running.

Once we were in the air I started to enjoy the flight. It was such a cool feeling. The pilot got the airstream and rode us up much, much higher into the sky.

 

It was a liberating feeling to stick out my feet and hands and fly like a bird.

Does not get any better than this!

Over top of Lakeside!

 

Namaste

Im a bird!

We ended by doing a spiral fall for a big drop. It was very exciting and I was not expecting it. My guide laughed hysterically. We made out landing approach to a cute little field on the side of town. It was smooth as could be. I talked with the guides a little and played with a cute baby goat. I was very happy that I decided to go for it!

Pokhara!

Pokhara

6:30 am I'm siting on the rooftop gazing at the mountains drinking milk tea. What a wonderful way to start off the day! Since being in the city the skies have been a buy cloudy and this is the first time I'm able to see them. It's unreal. They are so large! These are some of the tallest mountains in the world.

Visiting my friends in the city is a complete different experience. Their volunteer lives are nothing like mine. Although they are hanging out all day and having fun with each other it made me appreciate what I was experiencing even more.

When I first got down here Santos took me to meet his fiancé Allie who was a past volunteer. It was so exciting to talk to someone who went through the same thing and laugh about little things that the family does. 

Next he took me to Lakeside to meet my friends. I'm felt pretty cool riding on the motor bike. I met Ivan at the hotel peace plaza and we went to meet up with Daniel. Upon arriving I got to meet all of the other volunteers. It was cool heading everyone else's experience and telling my own. They all agreed it was cool that I was actually living right in the Nepali lifestyle because some of the, have bad home stays or just stay in a hostel.

I mentioned my painting project to them, and got a bunch of he others to agree to come up and paint.

I desperately needed a shower so while they were getting some food I walked down the street and paid 50 rupees to grab a shower! That is only 52 cents. It was such a great feeling to have a shower and a normal toilet! I met back up with everyone and we all hung out all night at various places. While walking to a blues cafe the rain started pouring. I'm not just talking rain, I'm talking about a monsoon. We trudged our way through the water that was flooding the streets and escaped into a cute little place with live music and spent the rest of the evening there.

(Drying off from the rain. We were all soaked!)

The next morning I headed out to start to explore the streets. Lakeside is the tourist district of the city and probably the most chill place I've been to. All along the street are shops and cute cafes. My first stop was moon dance cafe where I finally got to get online and post my previous posts. I ate a lasagne for a change. The whole dal baht thing is getting pretty old quickly. 

I met up with Ivan and Daniel and talked about our previous night and about Nepal at tea time. After some time we went to the very end if the strip to a place called cafe. Hands down my favorite cafe so far! The place is build with little hits around the edge wi three big ones suspended over water with a few bamboo branches. Everywhere you look the ceiling and air is strewn with prayer flags and the whole thing overlooks the lake.

When you enter your hut all shoes must be taken off. There are a bunch of mats and pillows to sit down on and just relax. We stayed there for hours. 

Afterwards we walked down the street and got up close and personal with one of the city's camels. I've seen them a few times but this time the little boy practically ran him right I to me. It's so weird and quite comical to be by the water in a shopping area and watch a 10 year old boy  walk a camel around. I thought that stuff only happened in Morocco!

The rest if the evening was spent traveling from cafe to cafe until ten at night. At one point we saw a dog try to take on one of the cows wandering the street. No one touches the cows or kills them because they are considered to be god. At any given point walking down the road you will see about five cows, a couple dogs, cars and motorbikes going in whichever direction they feel, and tons of people buildings things. It's a very overwhelming experience for your senses every place I've gone so far in Nepal, and it's off season. It was a lovely and relaxing day. It was very enjoyable and such a beautiful place but I really am happy I am getting the experience of both lives!

Today I am off to explore some more shops to get a Sari made for a family party as well as a traditional outfit to wear to school. If I get the courage I even might go para gliding.