Previous
My first week in Nepal with INFO
Added: (Sat Aug 28 2004)
Nora's first week with INFO Nepal : Jujy 2004
I arrived in Asia five days before my flight to Kathmandu and since I spent the first days experiencing the extreme humidity that many Asian countries possess, I felt a sigh of relief at the feel of a cool wind and drier humidity when my feet touched the ground of Tribhuvan International Airport. A shuttle bus of sorts took all of us from the plane to the airport. I realized then that I had to pay 35 US dollars to receive my visa and pay a small sum to get some instant passport photos. By the time I had gotten my visa, filled out the proper paper work and been cleared by the customs (which was basically the same two people who took care of my visa) it had started to rain outside. I walked towards the opening to exit the airport and saw a man holding a paper with large blank letters that said my name. He instantly recognized me and we (I think it was me and two other men) rushed towards the taxi with my luggage. It turned out that the guy was Bicky, and we started to chat about what my next couple days would be like in Nepal. My first night in Kathmandu was spent at the Kathmandu Peace Guest Hostel (KPGH) getting myself situated in my room and preparing for the long eventful day that would follow. I met Leah and Adam from Australia and learned that there was another Leah, who like me was from USA. It was very comforting to know that I was not the only one who would be getting trained in the mid-July session. The three of us talked about what had sprouted our interest in doing volunteer work in Nepal, and they told me that Asim, the head coordinator would be over soon to introduce himself to me as well. To say the least, Asim is probably one of the most passionate, driven people I have ever met, and it is not because he tells you that, but one can just feel the emotional ties he has to changing his country. I think it was when I was at my first Nepali language lesson and the conversation turned to talking about AIDS in Nepal that I realized how much volunteer work he has done in his community and around Nepal. Knowing I was not just volunteering through some American organization, but local Nepali who were part of the communities that we would be teaching at, definitely made my impression of the Info Nepal organization more positive. Kathmandu is a bustling city, yet Thamel, the part where the Info Nepal office is located, is very much like a little community . Shops luring tourists are set up, while the main streets are full of locals that drive, bike and walk doing chores throughout the day. From the office I can hear the sounds of the children reciting their lessons in Nepali in amazing unison, as the honks of cars, the ringing of bells, and smell of corn from the shop below are inter-mixed and attempt to lure me outdoors. The sites around Kathmandu are mesmerizing. The first day that we started our classes we were taken to the Monkey Temple which is located on one of the many hills that surround Kathmandu. Bicky took us to the temple along with Rabyn and the ride there was all of our first major experience at the driving style in Nepal. The street dynamics in Nepal is that which looks chaotic, yet is somehow harmonious. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists swerve each other going about 30 mph through the crowded streets and usually driving at any side of the road that is free at the time. Road rules here are about not being hit by swerving, and basically realizing that if you follow the same road rules as those enforced in the US, you'd probably get hit! The Monkey temple was full of people as there was some religious celebration on the day that we went, so we spent sometime watching women doing Nepali dancing and then Leah Kate and I took photos of the baby monkeys with the mama, while Leah Marie spent sometime turning the prayer/chanting wheels. The four of us clicked very well from the start and maybe that was made us able to bond and learn the language in a comfortable and fun manner. We spent about an hour roaming the temple, amazed at how many prayer flags streamed from giant trees all over the temples, and when we were going down the ever-long stairs to descend the temple, the rain started to fall and so we all took refuge under a tiny shack-like structure until the rain subsided a bit. Little children smiled at us, and as I look Nepali to some, a woman tried to talk to me in Nepali. When we returned home, we all took nice hot showers, and were taken to eat traditional food from the Newari people for dinner. My first week in Nepal has been something that is hard to put into words, it has been unique, intriguing, disturbing, stimulating and extremely inspiring. For a place that lives according to what Hawaiians would consider "island time", it offers you the ability to balance a busy schedule in a manner where chiya time (tea time), lunch and dhal/bhat (what they usually eat for dinner) are able to divide your day and make it relaxing even if at some point you felt utterly stressed. The people are super sweet, and the hospitality that I have received by the staff has made me feel as if I am already very close to each one of them. Coming from a Bengali/Pakistani background, I understood a lot of the Nepali spoken to me as it is almost like a slang version of Hindi. Yet, like Leah-Marie (USA), Leah-Kate, and Adam (both from AUS), I felt lost in the beginning days learning the Nepali grammar and trying to remember the different terms for everyday items. Now, it has been seven days since we began our lessons, and we have picked up a lot more Nepali than we had expected. It was a tad harder for Leah-Marie as she has never really taken a formal learning to a second language, but now she is in the same level as most of us where we are able to understand many sentences and able to (somewhat) reply in broken Nepali. On our fourth day of training we were taken to Godawari (where I was placed) for a chance to interact with the locals and practice our Nepali. A golden Budha sat in the middle of a green, lush hill and children in brightly colored clothes were seen on the streets as we neared the village that is located about one hour north east of Kathmandu. As we entered Godawari, hills were now in the background and rice paddies, corn fields and casually wandering cows could be seen. I felt a total culture shock as I stepped out of our taxi and could not help but feel as if it had finally hit me that I was at a place that was not at all similar to where I live in the coastal region of California, yet this shock was not negative as much as exciting. It was hard the first couple minutes to accept the living conditions of these people and to let my mind accept the environmental standards of this region, but the people greet and welcome you very kindly into their houses. I felt scared, off course, as I had no idea what the next couple weeks (and still don't know) hold for me, but the adventures just seem like they would (and have) change me in a positive manner. I met my host family and the first thing I noticed was the red color to my host mother's sari. The people here are just amazingly beautiful, the children of Godawari are given this liberation to run around and play all day that is very foreign to me as in the USA I think we instill in our children a fear to explore beyond our picket fence front yards. These kids play in the mud, they run towards the babbling creek below the two bridges of Godawari, get holes in their clothes, but most importantly possess a desire to learn and receive answers to entertain the ideas that wander their little minds. You will feel this ability to forget everything that bothers you in a day when you enter the classrooms of this village, as children wearing sky blue shirts and navy blue bottoms sit in a tiny room of wooden seats your mind tends to think of how much they are changing you at that very instant. They are eager to learn, and you become just as excited as they are to be in their presence. To say the least, it is not just English that you shall teach, and it is not just Nepali that you learn, but how to make bonds, know what it is like to have little children call you guru and hold your hand. Privacy is not really something you receive in the village, but you shouldn't want it either as this culture is about bonding, about opening yourself to affection and camaraderie between you and your little students. Lessons don't just start at the school, or end there, there are lessons taught at the library (for me the library is located at my house) and just the other day a girl fell as we were running around near my house, and I felt what it is like to be unintentionally babysitting 7 children. Oh, that's another thing, the families totally trust you with their kids, and you start to put down your trust shield too. To say the least for it being just my first week in Nepal, it has been very eventful. Last night the two Leahs, Adam and the newly arrived Irish volunteers (Leam and Ray from VEEP) went out to get a drink and have one last night together in Thamel before they left for their posts in Chitwan earlier today. I think it was during my walk home with Leah-Marie that I realized how close we had become, the two of us wore our newly tailored kurta-salwar and held hands as if we were sisters. We went for a last minute run to get some junk food before we were back to our posts in the villages where you mainly eat dhal/bhat diets. When I got back to our hotel rooms (might I add I loved our shower heads) I spent sometime talking to the Aussie couple and we have all decided that before I leave for America I shall meet up with them in Chitwan for a last time bond in Nepal. So, it is now Friday, and I can't say anything more than I can't wait to go back to the children in Godawari..
-Naureen (nora) Nayyar USA