What an anubab...(experience)

So I'm home now and I figure I should do one last update to get this up to speed before I stop writing.  I don't even know what to say.  I have changed and grown so much... 

I had a wonderful time in Simigaau.  I taught at the school, which was not like any school I have ever been to before.  It was grades 1-5 and there were 3 teachers.  In the morning the kids would pick up the trash around the school and burn it.  Two of the teachers had little babies and brought them to school with them.  The kids would sit in circles, outside in the sun because it was a bit chilly inside and just copy out of their text books into their notebooks.  ALL DAY LONG! It was weird.  I taught them a lot using the game Simon Says.  I also taught them the Moo Moo Cow song which they LOVED.  They also were really into the macarena.  The teachers were really interesting people and I interviewed them about their religious views a bit.  One lady was especially interesting- Nga Doma. She had been orphaned at a young age but managed to get herself through highschool which is very impressive.  She is married to a Hindu who is also a teacher but lives in a village a long ways away.  I miss her. 

I learned a lot about how people do pujaa (worship) and I met a lama who was always drunk.  I talked to a Tibetan man about the problems facing Nepal's youth and heard a story about how a silly drunk lama wrote his name on stone and thereby lost a bet to a smart brahmin.  I met some French climbers and saw one of my fifth graders go off smiling at the prospect of making a bunch of money carrying a British lady's bag.  There's so much more!  I don't even know what to say.  

Finally, I hope you enjoyed my blog and I have many more stories.  Please ask me about them because I would love to tell you.  I need to work on my paper now though!  

Signing off!

Love, Hailey

Independence-haami sakchhau!

For the first time in my life I am proud to be an American. As I was in our kitchen listening to Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago I couldn't stop the tears pouring down my face. I am so happy for myself, for what this means for my country, for my children's lives and for the world. Yes we can, what a great slogan. In Nepali, it's haami sakchhau.

Anyways, in addition to that, things have been going well here. Today, I had a cooking class. It was awesome. Now I have recipes for all the things that I'm sure I will crave when I get home. I will be making a lot of Nepali rice pudding (khir) for Christmas dessert. I ate so much of it today I could hardly move. It was awesome.

In other news, I have 2 days left of language classes before my test! I can't believe how fast it has gone. I also can't believe that next week I will be out on my own doing research in Simigaau! My plan is this: Buddhism Lived and Learned - A Comparison of the practices and beliefs of lay people and lamas in Simigaau and Rowaling. Simigaau is a small Sherpa and Tamang village just north of Kathmandu. It takes a day on a bus and then a day walking to get there. I will be staying there for 2 weeks working in the school teaching English and surveying and interviewing people about their religious beliefs and practices. Then I'll go up to Rowaling, another day's walk above Simigaau. That village is situated at 14,000 ft and is all Sherpa. They cultivate potatoes and herd yaks for a living. They also have a big gompa (Buddhist monastary) there. I will spend my time in Rowaling getting to know some monks and experiencing high altitude himalayan life. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

So yeah that's where I'm going from here. Obviously, there will be no internet there but I may update again before I go.

Also, if you want anything awesome from Nepal let me know. I can buy stuff for you if you want to pay me back! There are awesome hippy clothes, cool rugs and wall hangings, thanka paintings, and much more available for cheap!

And lastly, call me! My number is 011-977-1-558-0067 . Call from skype for cheap and then we can talk at your leisure instead of when I can get to a cyber cafe. It's my family's phone so ask for Hailey or Uma. DO it!

I miss you!

hailey

An Excerpt From My Journal in Tangting

Oct 23, 2008 7:57 am

Dear Journal,

Yesterday I got up early and went to bed late. I woke up around 5 am to pee and the stars were gorgeous. I got my sleeping pad and jacket and sat out and watched them fade away over the himals. I saw the big dipper and a feeling that my beloved was looking at it too came over me. My heart talked to his heart in that moment. Once the stars had disappeared, I went about my morning business. I wrote up my village religion interview presentation after talking to my aamaa a little. Then I ate my bhaat (rice) and went to school. I was with Soorja -ji for the first time in a long time and it was pretty fun. He is so funny! I learned how to say that an action caused something "Because I danced a lot, my legs hurt" for example. Then we had chiyaa (tea) and syaau (apples) and Sila made his same old joke again. " chiyaa chhaina! raksi matra chha." (there's no tea, only alcohol.) - such a funny old man. Then we played a little game called tito/mito (bitter/tasty) and recounted life experiences to practice speaking. Hearing everyone else talk made me feel good about myself. :) Then we had tuna momos (not my fave) and tibetan bread for lunch. I got my test back - 96% whoot! My roll number = 1! heh heh. In the afternoon we presented our interviews. It was really interesting, but I got uncomfortable sitting so long.

Then I went to see the UK folks's welcome. It was fun even though it rained a bit. I got out my mom's sari wrap to keep dry and fit in with the Gurung ladies. The local band then led in a parade of British donors with crazy elephant toots and cymbal crashes and a rhythmic beat on the drum. I was chatting with 2 young guys. It was nice because everyone speaks Gurung here to have someone talk to me in Nepali. I gave a garland to a British lady whoe was rather weighted down by them already. Afterwards I went home with Kusum and Himaal (my little brother and sister) and had my daal bhaat with saag (spinach) that had just been picked a few minutes before.

It was dark, but I wanted to see what was going on with the foreigners so I went down to the school grounds where they were staying. It was very dark (they dont have electricity in Tangting) and my little sister's words "Dar laagena? tara schoolmaa bhutharu baschha!" were ringing in my ears (you aren't scared? but there are ghosts by the school!). In this village, most people believe in there are ghosts in the river and if you run into one they will give you trouble. As I walked, everything was quiet-no electricity, no electric buzz, and most people go to be early. I would hear water (the resting place of ghosts) long before I saw it and it was creepy. I could only see where my weak headlight beam shone (the moon wasnt up yet) so I was suprised by other people nearby that I heard before I saw. More than once "mero man chiso bhayo" as they say here (my heart became cold).

Finally, I got down to the school. There was a generator noisily providing light to the Brits dinner. There were 2 campfires burning and men everywhere. I found my didi (big sister) upstairs feeding the bideshis (foriegners). I met several Nepalis who had also come from the UK and talked with them a bit. I ended up sitting by the fire talking to 2 little boys, a man from Pokhara, and a teenage guy most of the night. It was fun. I learned how to ask if you've eaten in Gurung "kai sai ba?" and the answer is "sai". My didi appeared to be helping with EVERYTHING and therefore we were among the last of the villagers to leave for home. It was around 9:30 and I assumed we were going to bed. In fact, we went to another lady's house, close to the school, and she fed my didi.

As with any gathering of 11 women, there was a lot of fun and chatter going on. Unfortunately for me it was all in Gurung. A bit later however, it switched to Nepali. 3 men needed a place to sleep and this woman generously offered her kitchen floor. They came in and talked with us. The one guy had worked in London as a security gaurd and was telling ghost stories. I understood most of what he said and yet again thanked my lucky stars for my wonderful teachers here. I am amazed at how fluently I can understand and if not perfectly, speak Nepali after only 2 month of study. I even threw in my own ghost story about dad's old house in Denver where the cleaning lady wouldn't go in the basement becayse of the ghost of a drowned baby. "There are ghosts everywhere, in every country" that man kept saying.

Around 11 it was "yelli-o" belaa (time to go). The women made 2 torches and by their light we slowly went our way home. When we got there, Kumari didi needed my light so we went inside to check on aamaa and the kids. All four kids were in one bed adorably cuddling in their sleep. Kumari didi needed her daughter in her bed though so she pulled Kusum out of the tangle of children and lugged her upstairs. They both slept in my room with me.

I had all kinds of crazy dreams and in the morning I got up to go to the bathroom. This made Kumari didi all worried that I was sick. So far, I think I'm okay though. (knock on wood). Then I slept in a bit since I went to bed so late (11:30!) and when I got up I washed up and did my usual morning stuff. When I went to brush my teeth however there was some king of worm nestled in the bristles!!! Eww! I'm very glad that I saw it before I put it in my mouth. Then I had my tea, Magic Munch biscuits, and an egg. My family told me again about the old student who ate the whole egg, shell and all! Then I came up here to write. Just now, some of the UK people came into the yard to see the view. I went out to say hi to them but the Nepali came easier than English! I'll probably see more of them later. For now, my hand is getting a bit sore so I'll wrap this up. Later!

Hailey

Pokhara and Bandipur

This past week we visited the Annapurna region. I finally got to really see the Himals from closer up. Bandipur was awesome. It is a small Newari town on the old Tibetan trade route. There are no cars in the town and it's beautiful. I stayed with a family who owned a hotel. I had 2 sisters and a brother there. I mostly talked to my brother who was 16 but had an old soul. When he was 11 he was in a terrible bike accident and almost lost his arm. He has a gnarly scar on it. He taught me some songs in Nepali and told me that concentrating on one thing and letting everything else fade can always make your headache go away. He also said that to improve my eyesight I should plant a plant in my room and stare at it without blinking. :) I saw an amazing sunrise from the Tudikhel in Bandipur. The himals lit up pink and orange. It was gorgeous. In the evenings there was this one tree silhouetted on a ridge. It called to me so I decided to hike to it on my afternoon off while everyone else went to the cave. I went over a huge hill to get to it and saw some girls worshiping at the temple on top of the hill. Then I saw a woman herding goat on the side of a nearly vertical slope. I also saw some grasshoppers the size of sparrows (not an exaggeration). When I got to the tree a feeling of deep peace came over me and I realized the holiness of the moment. I did the same kind of worshiping as I saw the girls do at the temple. I walked clockwise around it touching my forehead to the base of it once each time. Then I sat under it meditating on the way the himals looked like they were floating and understood how the Buddha could have just decided to sit under a tree one day and wait for Truth. It was amazing. Then I climbed up in the tree and prayed. I came back the next morning and did it again. Just as the words "let your love rain down on me" went through my head a drop of condensed moisture from the thick mist that was rushing up the hill fell from a leaf onto my forehead. It was such a blessing. I still carry the sense of peace I felt from that experience with me. I decided that I have to go back there. My plan is to go with mom December 10-13. It is a very special place for me.
After Bandipur, we went to Pokhara. I visited a town of the Musician caste and interview a young man about his life there. It was fascinating and all the music was beautiful. He asked me to sing him a song and I sang Blackbird. As I tried to explain what it meant in Nepali I was struck by the significance it held for Soorjay's life. The Ghandarbha are very low caste. They used to spread news from one village to the next in song 50 years ago, but now they have been reduced to frantically selling their instruments to foreigners in Thamel. Take these broken wings and learn to fly... it was really interesting. The people seemed very happy though, despite their poverty and I really enjoyed seeing it. Oh, and Dad, I went to the little temple on the island in the lake and they were shooting a fight scene for a Nepali movie on it! We talked to some actors! It was cool.
Tomorrow, I am going trekking in Langtang National Park. It is going to be AWESOME! I can hardly wait. There is a monastary, yaks, and a cheese factory in the area!!!!!!!!! I'll write again afterwards! Love Hailey

Chitwan! Elephants and more

Hello! I spent the past week in the Chitwan sweating and it was sooo worth it.

The bus ride down there last Sunday was long and windy. It was beautiful though outside and I saw a lot of country side. The hills here are so dramatic. They stick up out of the ground so suddenly that you can really tell that they are still growing unlike our hills which have weathered so much. It's gorgeous although it makes for terrifying cliffs and hairpin turns on a washed out road in a ramshackle bus.

In the Chitwan, we did tons of things, but 3 stick out especially. Bathing the elephants, eating with the Tharus, and the canoe rides.

When I found out we would be bathing the elephants, I thought that meant watching them play in the water. WRONG. We rode the elephant (haatti, pronounced hottie)s down to the river and then proceeded to enter it. Our haatti sprayed us with it's trunk sat down in the croc infested river and dumped us in and flipped us over it's head with the use of her trunk! It was soooo fun.

The Tharu dinner was also amazing. The Tharus, for those who don't know are the natives of the Jungle. They are the only people in the world who are born immune to malaria. The night started with a wild pony drawn cart ride. Our driver whipped the pony into a frenzy and our 2 wheeled cart flew down the road. The driver joked that he had fed the pony "rakshi" which is Nepali for alcohol, I'm not completely sure he was joking though. Our cart started in last place and finished first. After that exhilarating experience, we got off and sat down in the midst of a beautiful village. We ceremonially washed our feet and brushed our teeth with pieces of bamboo (which had been iodized, thanks Pitzer!). Then our hosts passed out flowers which we decorated our heads with and then started passing around the rakshi. They also had special food for us which was sculpted into all kinds of animal shapes but we didnt eat that. Then we watched the women dance and ended up joining them. The dance was not terribly complicated but it was syncopated with the claps and steps. I finally figured it out though and had a great time. After about an hour we went inside to eat dinner. We had tradtional tharu foods including snails and sticky rice. Everything was spicy. I ate a bunch of little snails they were delish. I had one big one too, but that one was not so good. It was strange to have so much spicy food and nothing to wash it down with but hard alcohol. After dinner we danced with the villagers. A couple of our teachers danced too and I met a bunch of the villagers. Apparently rhinos come into the village from time to time, especially in the winter to eat their aloo (potatoes)! That was an awesome night. To top it all off I went swimming in the hotel pool in my petticoat that night and rinsed off all the sweat! It was amazing.

After that story, a canoe ride doesn't seem nearly as cool. It was fun though! I saw a bunch of gohi (crocs) and on the jungle elephant ride I saw a mama and a baby gaidaa (rhino). It was really gorgeous. I will try to put pictures up soon.

Well that covers the highlights of the Chitwan. Next week I am going to Bandipur and Pokhara and then trekking for a week. I will update there!

Love, Hailey

Tij!

Yesterday, dear reader, was the women's festival, Tij. During this festival women fast in order to ensure a long and successfull life for their husbands, and therefore themselves. During the fast, pious women will not even drink water, saying that "A drop of water is like drinking your husband's blood." The night before they stuff themselves with sweets and other "nutritious foods" such as khir, a delicious Nepali rice pudding. Sometimes they eat all night! My family ate alot, but not all night :) . In the morning they do puja to Shiva. First they dress up to the nines. Nepali women get an excuse to wear their wedding dress every year! How fun is that! Most women wear red, the color of joy. I like blue though so I bought a blue sari for the occasion. My older sisters (which I didn't know I had!) came home to their mother's house for Tij and did my makeup. They had makeup kits like little American girls, but treated them very seriously. They wore sunscreen as foundation! Cultural differences... When we were all dressed, we went to the temple. There was a tent set up and many women in red gathered under it. There was a band singing devotional songs and women dancing. I was gently forced into the middle, the stage if you will, and asked to dance. I copied what other people were doing to the audience's immense pleasure. They made me dance for a long time. I was afraid my sari would fall off! It was a blast. That night we broke the fast eating bhaat (rice) and vegetables.

It was fun. I put pictures on facebook if you want to see them! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30660639&id=48102325

Hailey

Rughaa

Hello! I am feeling a little rughaa (cold) coming on. This isn't surprising as just about everyone is sniffling, but I hope to feel better soon. Tomorrow I am going to visit a Home for the Destitute and Dying that Mother Teresa started. There is also a children's shelter there. It will be interesting to see it, but I hope not too depressing. The flood in Eastern Nepal has made the power shortage even worse. Now we go 16 hours a week without electricity.
I am starting to feel the culture shock this week. Now that I have a defined schedule it is becoming trying. My language skills still prevent any in depth conversation with people and I finished my book so I don't really have anything else to do. I don't like the smoke from the kitchen or the mosquitos so while dinner is cooking I get a little antsy. My niece cries a lot which gets irritating. She is 6 and with low blood sugar she turns monster.
Yesterday was fathers day. Since my dad is dead we honored my brother instead. My sisters came to visit and they were nice. I played with the kids and it was fun, but I had a bit of a sinus headache for some of the time and I wanted to take a nap. The kids kept busting in and waking me up. I slept really well last night though.
Overall things are going well though. Sunday we leave for the Chitwan which will be awesome. I hope I see a tiger! I will write more then.

Love, Hailey

periods suck

I hope this isn't too graphic to be telling ALL my friends and family, but oh well. I am untouchable at the moment and it is a very enlightening experience.

As an untouchable, I eat in off to the side of the kitchen by myself. I am not allowed to turn on the water or touch the tap at all. It's a little awkward when I have to call my little brother to turn it on for me after going to the bathroom. Especially when he doesn't hear/understand, or maybe just ignored me this morning. I decided to use Purell instead of feeling any more embarassed. Tomorrow is the 4th day and I have to clean. I will wake up extra early (chito) and wash in the cold morning (bihana), then I will wash all the clothes (lugaa) I have been wearing as well as put my sleeping bag out to air. That's a lot of work! It is so different and I feel lucky to be able to get so much cultural knowledge so personally. At the same time though, I feel like I have super intense cooties and I feel isolated and lonely.

It is interesting, but I am glad it will be over tomorrow. My neighbor is going to teach me to cook! I am excited. She has a really nice more western kitchen. I can try out the gas stove.

Hailey

wheeeee

The past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster.

First, I got lost. It was soo scary. After class I went with some girls to visit Megan's family. It was fine and they were nice, but then I had to try to get home. That morning I was very groggy I hadn't slept much the night before and my tummy hurt. I hadn't paid very good attention to the path. I went one way and then another, asking for instructions only to go the wrong way again. It was getting dark and I became convinced that somehting terrible was going to happen. I was looking for a woman to ask directions from and fighting tears. I asked a lady where Changatalli was and upon finding out I was still in the wrong place started really crying. Her whole family came and tried to help me. A young man offered to walk me to the village, called the program house who called my family and in the end I made it. My family has since been teasing me and telling me not to forget the path. I wont!

My Nepali has been rapidly improving however and I feel like I can kind of communicate now. It is really exciting and empowering.

My family feeds me like crazy and the food is ekdam mitho (very tasty), if rather fattening. It is also fresh though which is cool. I picked some of the corn, peppers, and soybeans that I eat. I haven't gotten to milk the cow yet though.

I learned to shower in a petticoat last night and I also washed my clothes. Its nice to be clean.
On the other hand, I got my period today so we'll see what kinds of restrictions and pollution rituals I will follow.

It's getting dark and I have to go. I will try to write more soon.

Love Hailey

Mero Pariwaar

I moved in with my family yesterday! My family has 7 people. My aamaa, Sarada, my older brother, Rajindra, and his wife, Anita and another older brother who is studying in Australia. Then there are the brother's son and daughter, Rajib(8) and Rejina(7) and me. They are all really nice and welcoming. The house is very traditional with mud floors and a woodfire oven. It is beautiful. There are marigolds on the porch outside my window and behind that are rice fields and trees and brick houses. I just love it. I was listening to "We Both Go Down Together" last night and I thought wow, this is just like my relationship with Nepal in so many ways. It stuck me when I paused it to say something to aamaa and then turned it back on to hear "Now while your head is spinning, hold tight, it's just beginning." Then there's "You come from parents wanton, a childhood rough and rotten. I come from wealth and beauty, untouched by work or duty." It was just super pertinent when i heard it.
Unfortunately I am not feeling well today and last night a tummy ache kept me up most of the night. I think it might just be cramps but I don't know.
I have to go to a lecture now but I will write more later.

Pictures?

I am trying to put up some pictures. Let's see if it works...

FAIL.

I will try again later. Also check facebook.

Wow Part 2

The People:

There are 12 students. They are all from Pitzer and Colorado College except me, Claire (Swarthmore), and Luke (Pomona). Everyone is really nice and I am having fun getting to know them. The staff are totally awesome. So far I have had 3 teachers, they all have slightly different accents and stuff, but they are all wonderful at what they do. I just had a lecture on the geographical politics of Nepal. It was REALLY interesting. I learned that they don't have a government right now. The changes here are monumental. It is as if American citizens decided to completely rearrange our states and everything to accomodate all ethnic groups and such. In Nepal they are trying for a complete democracy in which every group has a voice. There would be a state for the different language groups and everything. It is really amazing. I hope it all works out though because foreign meddling is making it hard. For 4 months they haven't had a government. The president is a ceremonial figure and right now they are trying to elect a Prime minister. The normal way to do this would be to give it to the party with the most votes. There is no majority but the Maoists have the most votes. Other people (the old elites) are trying to make it so the Maoists don't get to choose the PM. It is all very complicated. I can't believe this is all happening right now! Anyways, it's almost dinner time so I better go. If you have any questions please comment! I can't seem to get my whitman email, so aol or facebook is the way to go for that.

Love, Hailey

PS Bekah, I am counting on you :).

Wow.

I made it! The trip over already seems like a long time ago. I have learned so much already it seems impossible that it has only been 4 days. I already know how to have a basic conversation with people! I know how to wipe with my hand, eat with my other hand and how to wear a sari. We move in with our host families on Tuesday. It is very exciting. I have been having crazy dreams while I try to process all that I have learned. The other night I dreamt that I got my host family and it was just a widower. I was upset because I wanted there to be women and children so they got me a new family. I guess that shows my anxiety as far as the family goes. I am nervous and excited.

I live on the ground floor of a family's home (ghar) right now. 6 girls are in there in 3 rooms. Our landlady is very tidy, which is really nice especially when it comes to the charpi (toilet). My bed is on the floor on a small mattress of sorts. The room is pale green like Phoebe's old room in the gorge. It is so hot that I sleep outside my sleeping bag at night. We have mosquito nets, but they aren't completely necessary because the bugs are mostly outside. I am making friends with the landlady. We watched the opening of the Olympic games inside and her son speaks English.

I woke up at 5 this morning and went for a run/walk with some other girls. I only got sorta lost. :) Then at 8 we had breakfast of little flat breads and bean soup. Language class went from 9-11 and 11:30-1:30 with a break for tea (chiaa) and mango (aap). Then I had lunch daalbhaat as usual and then I came over here. Language class is really intense with only 3 students in a class speaking only Nepali as far as possible. Luckily, Nepali isn't a terribly hard language to learn and it's fun! Using it is the best part. In 10 minutes, I have a lecture on Geo Politics, so I ought to go. After that we have a few hours off and I will write more then. At 6 is language review and then dinner at 7. I usually go right to sleep afterwards.

I love you all! Hugs and Kisses!
Hailey

Mom- Everyone loves my hat! The Nepalis say "raamro topi" and waggle their finger as a compliment on it.

Ty- I promise I will call you soon, probably tonight for you.

Sarah- I keep thinking of you because in class the teachers ask "what is your friends name?" "does she like X" etc. Hope NZ is treating you well!

Halfway!

Hi all,

I am in the airport in South Korea killing time before I go to Bangkok and then on to Kathmandu. This airport is awesome. I am in a museum with free internet! I had a smackrel of Haagen-Das (spelling?) and I am ready to move out. The plane boards in 20 minutes and I still haven't done my essays so I better go work on them.

Love, Hailey

Get Ready, Get Set...

How did August sneak up on me so fast?!  I can't believe I will be in Nepal 2 weeks from now!  I am excited, thrilled, terrified, nervous, and just about everything else.  I am working on packing.  I got a MASSIVE bag and I have done most of my reading.  I my end up writing my essays on the plane though if things continue as they seem to be doing now... Well, the main purpose of this post is to check if it works and to make it look a bit less bleak before I invite people to look at it.  That accomplished, I end this post.  

Love, Hailey