Adventure through the Jungle: Chitwan

So I just made the spontaneous decision to omit a blog post about bungee jumping due to the fact that it was such an inexpressible feeling and would be subsequently hard to write about it. Instead, I will gladly work on trying to upload the video for everyone to enjoy! In the meantime, however, I will definitely talk to you about my adventures in the lush jungles of Chitwan National Forest. Even before coming to Nepal, Chitwan has always been a must-see place of interest for me. While researching about places around Nepal besides Kathmandu the images of vibrant green jungles with elephants and rhinos around had me motivated on trying to get to Chitwan while I spend my time in Nepal. Fortunately, when I first arrived the fellow volunteers were talking emphatically about their eventful time spent in Chitwan national forest. When they showed me their pictures of them riding bareback on an elephant while it splashed them in the face with it's trunk, I was so down  for going! Luckily, new volunteers like me hadn't gone yet and wanted to go as a group. Even better, new volunteers came a week later and as soon as we told them our plans to go to Chitwan they were equally as excited as I was. According to my friends, apparently Chitwan was the assumed setting for the popular Disney movie The Jungle Book- Awesome, right?! Certainly with everything, however, there comes a downside to such awesomeness. I was pre-warned by the other volunteers about the insane heat and humidity that is present in the jungles of Chitwan (One girl even said she almost had a heat stroke) It's hard to imagine that kind of heat until your actually in it but I'll go back to that later.

So anyway, after a long 7 hour bus ride we arrive in Chitwan and are rushed out of the bus and onto a jungle safari type open jeep thing- It was incredible! We all totally felt like we were transported into a scene from Jurassic Park with the obvious giant T-rex chasing after us. Luckily for us, we only saw beautiful jungle scenery as we made it to our living quarters today- The Jungle Lagoon. As we exit our vehicle, we see a sight that we have waited so long for--our first elephant viewing. Passing our jeep was a huge Asian elephant that had it's face intricately painted and was carrying a man guiding it. We all boasted with excitement, especially since we would be riding on of them! The Jungle Lagoon was pretty cool considering the cheap price we spent for it. I don't know why but I really didn't correlate the fact that the jungle is bound to have huge spiders and insects and I forgot that I had an incredible fear of all things bugs. When we first entered our room, we were greeted with many many big spiders all over the wall. My friends being braver than I was, played the part of hero and quickly got rid of them but I knew there were more to come considering the bathroom window was literally exposed- I wouldn't even call it a window but more like a big hole. But I shouldn't be complaining since my other friends situation was much worse than my own. She had entered her room then the bathroom to find a n enormous jumping spider that jumped at her. When she told me, I completely froze and fear ran through my body. The hotel owners reassured us that these were not poisonous spiders but we were cautiously reluctant to take that to the heart. We had the hotel staff go in and try to kill it and, while doing so, a huge huge hissing cockroach stormed out. My jaw dropped; like it wasn't your typical house cockroach...this thing was a monolith. Apparently, they got it out but my friend discovered it again in the same room and decided enough was enough and moved into my room. My room had spiders but not at all the size that she discovered. Fortunately for us, there were mosquito nets above every bed which not only secured us from mosquitos but from other critters as well. 

So enough about the bugs let's move onto the heat and get all the negative aspects of the trip out of the way so I can focus on the more positive uplifting ones. We didn't feel the heat as much the first day because it had been raining off and on and that subsequently suppressed the heat but we definitely felt it the remainder of the trip. Obviously, there was no AC and the only source of cool air was to be found in the fans but because of frequent power outages, that became a luxury. I can just recall this one time when my friends and I were sitting and talking and everyone was sweating so much including myself. There just seemed to be no relief and it made sleeping a pain in the ass. Have you ever tried sleeping in your own sweat ? Make that like 5 times worse and that's what it's like. Not to mention also that due to a lack of bed supply I was with another person and we were squished under a mosquito net--not the most comfortable experience. Showers would sometime seem like a complete waste of time considering the fact that we will be just as sweaty again once we get out of the shower. 

Okay, now let's stray away from all these downsides and move to the positives- Yay! Ok soour first   little excursion outside the hotel premises was this stunning riverside that looked along the river and the surrounding valley. At that time, it was nearing sunset so it made an even more beautiful view. According to one of the staff members, though, a week or so ago a man was recently eaten alive bya crocodile   while he was fishing at night! Granted, he was waist deep in crocodile infested waters and it was dark, I was still a bit afraid to know I would be taking a canoe ride among these waters. But besides the fact, the view was stunning and we observed family's on their fishing boats pass. The boats were very traditional looking, long and wooden with a person steering standing up near the end with a long rod- definitely a site I've never seen before. It's clear with this river, though, that it's a major source of income and worth the risk of being mauled by a croc. I even observed men fishing waist deep despite the fact that a man just died. Then, we moved on and took a walk through the villages around Chitwan. We pass an alley way that was full of marijuana blatantly growing (keep in mind it's technically illegal in Nepal- key word: "technically"). Then I entered a neighborhood that was pretty much something from a book or a time-machine. There were mud huts everywhere with straw roofs and these were actually people's homes. They were extraordinarily small but they were holding very large families. We got the opportunity to enter an unoccupied house and the floor was pounded mud and there were cooking makeshift tools everywhere that you would mistake for something preserved hundreds of years ago but no this was the typical house of an everyday villager. It was so small and so hot- I could not at all fathom how people would live here for their entire lives--It was pretty amazing. While Kathmandu has it's share of foreign visitors, Chitwan seems to not get them as much and pretty much every house we walked by we were stared at, sometimes we were greeted by jovial children waving frantically or saying "Hello!" 

So after a long night's sleep of tossing and turning and constantly waking up, I woke up to one of the most beautiful things! Right from my window beside my bed I could spot elephants literally walking right by the window- Woah! What a fantastic site to be awaken to! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me among many others of course! After all, it's not everyday you wake up to see elephants outside your window in the jungle. This got me so pumped because I knew that day we would be taking an elephant safari and participating in elephant bathing! First step after breakfast was the long-awaited elephant safari in which we were hoisted onto an elephant and taken through the jungle for an hours long journey. It's hard to imagine how large elephants actually are that is until your sitting on one for a long time. It was so much higher than I imagined when I first got on. There was a box like seating thing that three of us sat on and the rest of the group rode an elephant behind us. It was a much smoother ride than I originally anticipate but with a cost, like everything. Because we were riding directly through the jungle, anything in our paths we went right into--Including the dreadful spiders! Ee gads! Being in the front of the elephant, I had the gracious job of clearing way all the spider webs for everyone as I was pelted with spiders and webs--But it wasn't so bad since luckily they were a moderate size for me to handle. But, at one point I got scared of this spider that went on me kind of freaked out and dropped my water bottle. While I was a bit distraught at first, the elephant behind us kindly took his trunk and grabbed the water bottle and handed it back to me- It was definitely worth dropping my water bottle! It was so cool to watch for everyone! Apparently, elephants trunks can do just about anything and are extremely strong. We were entertained through the safari with peacocks, wild boar, deer, sounds of birds of paradise, and colorful vibrant insects that surrounded the confined forest trees. Very cool to be watching from the vantage point of on top of an elephant. It was equally as amusing to watch the elephant behind us inconspicuously eating huge branches off trees, crushing them with their trunk and slowly chewing them as they traversed through the jungle. One sort of fearful parts, however, was a moment where our elephant seemed to have stepped on something uncomfortable and let out a huge wail. We felt so bad for the elephant and wondered what they could have stepped on. After a 5 minute wait for the elephant to calm down, we continued on our path. 

After our phenomenal elephant safari we were heading straight for the elephant bathing part of the trip which definitely made it's way to my list of top moments of this Chitwan trip. You basically go on one of the elephants (who is to be bathed) bareback and they bathe themselves and you. I never thought this would be legal considering falling off the elephant would be particularly painful. In fact, someone volunteering feel off while doing this and sprained their ankle but we weren't going to let that little instance set us off. My friend Hunter and I were the first to go, him going in the front and me being behind him. There was nothing to hold on so I kind of started freaking out and was frantically holding on for dear life onto my friends waist for support. It did seem, however, that I was perfectly safe not holding on since the elephants skin was very rough and was easy to sit on shockingly. Then I saw the elephant collect lake water in his trunk and wait for it wait for it.....Splash right into my face. The water was cold and just because of the whole situation, I let out a huge scream. This happened continuously and I suddenly began to feel the elephant tipping over to it's side. In my mind I'm thinking "Is this supposed to be happening?!" but the elephant kept tipping and gravity eventually gave way and me and my friend fell right into the lake. I was pleased to know, afterward, that this was supposed to happen as we started rubbing the elephant in order to bathe it? I presumed. Anyway, we were asked to get back onto the elephant and it was a bit tricky to get back onto the elephants back. In fact, my friends, who went after me, had a harder time trying to get back on the elephants back that they had to actually climb and shimmy up the elephants trunk (It made for some fantastically hilarious pictures) It was one of the coolest sensations ever to be bareback on an elephant. Compared to the secure elephant safari that we took, this was a totally separate experience and was definitely more natural, bringing us closer with these beautiful creatures. 

Finally after everyone was done with their elephant bathing, we made our way home but our guides said they knew prime rhino viewing areas that they could take us to- We gladly accepted and sort of ran, because the rain was coming, to get to see the rhino. We ran about a mile into the jungle until our guides stopped us and told us to be quiet and look out into the distance. I soon spotted a rhino casually eating grass. It was so surreal seeing a rhino just out there in his own habitat not confined by the bars of a zoo which was the only view of a rhino I've gotten. We had to leave soon though because of the imminent rain ahead of us. After walking a long walk back to our hotel, we waited for the rain to calm down and then made our way to the elephant breeding center. This, I originally, anticipated at being a pleasant experience but the cold reality soon set in and made the experience more contemplative which was, come to think of it, just as enjoyable in an impactful way. I'm saying this because the elephants we viewed were literally chained by the foot to a shackle to one confined little area. We watched, somberly, as they used their trunks to attempt to free themselves from the restricting chains. This sort of opened a debate between my friends concerning the ethicalness of the situation. We never really came to the conclusion since it was a bit of an inevitable situation at the time and there were a lot of factors to consider. Besides the fact, however, it nevertheless opened up that discourse which I was glad to think about and contemplate. 

Finally, we embarked on the last part of our trip- the canoe ride through the crocodile infested waters. This was perhaps the more scarier part of the entire trip for me. From the look of the canoe from the shore it seemed pretty sturdy- that is, until I entered it to find that it shook, swayed back and forth, and was a lot lower towards the water than I originally anticipated. In addition, our guide vehemently told us to be quiet as he needed full concentration while steering. Also, they explained to us if we see an animal in the water do not freak out and start flailing our arms around so as to not flip us over as it was possible to do so if balance was disturbed in the boat. Now, we did spot a lot of medium-sized crocodiles that weren't so intimidating but then I turned my head and saw an enormous crocodile going into the water from the bank of the river- This thing was freakin huge! After ,seeing that I kinda freaked out internally for a bit knowing that should I fall out of this boat that crocodile is right there to eat me. Luckily, our guide seemed very skilled even when we went over these little rapids that also freaked me out since I felt us tipping slightly at that point. The thing that really was creepy was just the stillness and silentness of the river. It was so quiet despite the fact that under those waters were some vicious creatures. Fortunately, we arrived safely after a, in retrospect, peaceful and relaxing ride through the river where we saw a lot of jungle elements that really made it worthwhile. 

Welp, that's about it as far as the trip to Chitwan goes. I had an absolutely wonderful time experiencing the jungle for the first time but it would not have been as great as it was without the company of some awesome beast friends! Thanks guys for making this trip amazing for me! 

Stay tuned for more! 

Venturing Outside of Kathmandu-A Different World

Ok guys so I am sincerely sorry for my lack of punctuality in regards to writing this blog...It's not that I have been procrastinating it off like I ususally do but it's actually because I'm legitimately busy and could not find the time to squeeze in and write a blog post. Because of that, now I am way behind on informing all of you lovely people of what I've been doing here in Nepal. Where to start...Well I guess I'll just go ahead and back track like one and a half weeks ago to tell you all about my first venture outside the confining catacombs of Kathmandu. So my fellow volunteer friends and I decided to go rafting and tubing...well not really "rafting" per se because rafting involves multiple amounts of people but this rafting was a single raft usually for a single person. Being the reckless person that I am, I decided that it would be a GOOD idea to trust myself with manning a single raft through waters which I originally thought would be calm- Way wrong! But, I'll spend time talking about that later. Let me just take things chronologically. Ok so basically the most important thing about this trip was the bus ride because, before this trip, I hadn't gotten a taste of the rurual country-side area that encompasses majority of Nepals geography. Rural life and city life, like in most areas, are two totally different things but I think Nepal shows that in a more distinct way. After a crazy bus ride outside of the city which took an hour but, without the traffic, would have taken well under 20 minutes, we started to ascend various peaks across the Kathmandu Valley- Yes, this is the Nepal I have been waiting to see! But at a price...The peaks were certainly stunning but we were literally on them circling through winding roads with no guard rail. I was juxtaposed between two emotions at that time: being stunned by the beauty and being terribly scared of our bus plummiting thousands of feet into the river. I originally thought that if we were to travel outside Kathmandu, the roads might widen up a little bit. Yes, but not on such mountain passes that I was taking. So you basically take into account the fact that there exists only one lane and that protection from falling off is limited (Although I think even if there were guard rails it wouldn't really matter much). But let's not linger on all the negative qualities of this bus trip because while there were certainly scary things, the beauty was something I've never seen before and not to mention the stark noticeability in the lack of pollution and air-cleanliness outside of Kathmandu.  It seems like the mountains are just covered with terraced rice fields which makes for an stunning view from the window of the bus. Also, when the clouds come in and combine with the mountains it's pretty Lord of the Rings-like. clouds cover a lot of the mountain but the peak seems to well peak out. The people that inhabit these areas literally live within the mountain. There were some houses I noticed that I just sat there and wondered: How the hell do they live? From where I was looking, there existed no roads leading to the various mountain houses scattered around the area. But they still do. And that is, I think, amazing that they manage to live with the mountain. It seems like people either walk or walk with a goat/cow/buffalo so they can carry large loads. But usually, the people, especially the women, seem to have no problem whatsoever with carrying enormously large loads. For example, I saw a woman from the bus with a straw basket carrying piles and piles and piles of rice. She had a headband thing attached to the basket to aid her in carrying it. I just could not get over that she was carrying so much weight up such steep paths. . I think these are also present to prevent landslides. Oh yeah, obviously being a mountain dense country, landslides are extremely common here in Nepal. In fact, because the monsoon is coming in, the incidents of landslides are increasing and becoming responsible for more and more deaths and damage. Landslides are probably the big reason for a lot of traffic one might hit along the mountain roads. We drove over many and that was particuarily frightening because it makes for a bumpy passage which leads to the bus tipping back and forth near those high ledges- Ah! But I assure you, it's okay--the bus drivers really know what they are doing here. Other traces of village rural life, such as water taps providing the only source of water, mud huts, traditional clothing, women bare chested feeding their babies out in the open, etc. can be felt. Ok, so after a 4-hour bus ride we finally make it to the rafting are where we are greeted by a friendly guide with a wide smile. He explains to us some of the rules but, quickly, we enter into our individual rafts. This is where I started to get a little scared- I was beginning to regret trusting myself managing my own raft as the river looked a lot rougher than I originally thought. According to my friends, because the monsoon is beginning to set into Nepal, the river will get more and more difficult to handle. In fact, the river guides actually travel to India during the monsoon time in order to find work for the summer months. So while doubting myself chosing to man this raft, we get to these abnormally large rapids for what I was expecting. I then noticed the guides screaming something to me but, unable to hear them due to their thick accents and  the roar of the rapids, I ignored their instructions and went right into this suction rapid thing which flipped me over. After screaming "help" the guides grabbed me back in. Distraught and wet but deteremined to carry on, we kept going but this time. naturally, I was a lot a lot more afraid of falling off again. Alas, I did again. But this time was much worse as I was under for a much longer time than before and it really scared the living shit out of me. After being finally pulled back in, I made sure I got the point across that I did not want to be by myself anymore. Then, I noticed my friend fell off her tube and had a similar, but much worse, almost drowning experience than I did. After all this chaos, we eventually stopped for lunch at this amazing tropical hut thing where there were hammocks and the guides were playing drums and guitar- It was so chill and an amazing way to cool off from the danger we just experienced. Around us stood lush green mountains with tropical jungle-like terrain around us. One of my friends, who lived in Hawaii for a while, said it reminded him so much of Hawaii and while I have never been to Hawaii I could totally see the correlation. The next part of our trip proved to be a much better experience than the latter. For one, me and my friend were no longer alone on a raft or tube. We had the guides with us which provided us with a lot of personal security. Therefore, we were really able to take in all the scenery. After a bunch of rapids we came out to this amazing valley where we saw bridges with curious faces staring back at us, kids fishing in the river with makeshift long fishing rods, and people just enjoying the scenery kindly waving at us as we passed. It was definitly a great moment to remember. After we finally finished, we got out of our boats and enjoyed the water in a calm serene river. Then, instead of taking the tourist bus back to Kathmandu, we had to take a different means of transportation. For around 30 minutes, our guides constantly were waving down mini buses and other buses that passed by to ask if it was okay to let us in. We finally got into one and it was super uncomfortable with very limited leg room. I was okay with it but my friends, who had longer legs than me, were not and seriously were contemplating sitting on the roof (a popular thing many Nepalis do if the interior of the bus is too full). While it would have been cool to ride on the roof, I think I would have been really scared. There was a little kid on the bus collecting the money as a job I assumed. Obviously too young to be working, I was interested. At a pit stop, the kid started talking to me and I found out he was around 12 years old and we had a quite heartbreaking conversation. He asked where I was going and I responded to Kathmandu and, in a somber face, he said that he was stuck here doing this and can't just go to Kathmandu like I can. I'm finding out the more I'm here that illegal child labor is a huge problem in Nepal. I'm pretty sure it's illegal according to the government but because the government is so damn corrupt virtually nothing is actually enforced completely. If you look closely on a walk through Kathmandu, you can spot children in dirty clothes working at places you know should not be working at. According to the amazing book I'm reading, "Little Princes", after the civil war there were a lot of orphaned children trafficked from rural parts of Nepal living in Kathmandu and were subsequently exploited for their labor. It also dosen't help that there is little accountability and prosecution for violators. I'm beginning to figure out that Nepal cannot solve any of the prevasive issues that haunts it's sancitcy without first addressing the issue of corruption within the government. And after a long bus ride and taxi ride back to Thamel, I arrived home exaushted but equally excited for my bungee jumping trip the next day which I'll talk about in my next blog post. Stay tuned! 

  

Nepali Cultural Discoveries

So I wanted to dedicate one post on some cultural facts I discovered while experiencing my time in Nepal. After almost a week here, I think I'm ready to share with everyone the interesting and sometimes peculiar things that astonished me whilst observing Nepal.

1) Men are very overtly affectionate with one another: It is very common to see men here holding hands (sometimes fingers laced) and putting their arm around another. While I knew this was a cultural phenomenon in many parts of the world (according to Westerners of course), I was nonetheless a bit shocked to see this in person. 

2) There is apparent price discrimination for foreigners. I have been told that what foreigners pay here, Nepalis pay about 50% lower. That being said, there are no real fixed prices on Nepali goods; only ones that are bargained for. I'm beginning to realize this and subsequently am attempting to build up confidence and trickery while trying to find a price I'm satisfied with. 

3) I've lost count of how many times I've been offered weed here: Take a walk into the Thamel district of Kathmandu and your bound to have at least a few sketchy individuals ask if you want to buy weed. Kindly say no and walk away as quickly as possible I found is the best strategy. 

4) Kathmandu is chunk full of pollution. From the skies to the ground itself, pollution is rampant here. I have been told by my friends it would be wise to wear a protective facial mask while walking around Kathmandu since the pollution is that bad. So, following their advice, I went out and bought one today (although I look really creepy with sunglasses and black mask on but I guess it'll be beneficial for my well being) While the mountains from the valley should be plainly visible, there is a haze that clouds over the city that makes viewing the mountains a strenuous activity. 

5) A bus ride outside the city is both spectacular and frightening. A paradox of emotions, the bus rides in the rural parts of Nepal offer some of the most breathtaking mountain views you will ever see in your life. Not only do you see lush green mountains tower around you, but you also get to view the intriguing rural village people that live life on the mountains. While the charm of village life is certainly intoxicating, there is an expense. Because the terrain is so rough, the bus ride can be treacherous and scary. There are little to no guard rails and there is only one lane which means the bus constantly has to be aware for incoming traffic. Seeing a group of people gathered around a fallen vehicle during my first rural bus ride was definitely did not ease my spirits. Despite that, however, these bus drivers are extremely well trained and are incredibly good at what they do. I cannot even begin to imagine the life of a bus driver in Nepal but the bus driver must always be alert. Also, horns are second nature here and for good reason. The bus driver rings a incredibly loud horn to single his passing. Additionally, there are many landslides in the country side areas which offer another obstruction to driving. My bus ride to the bungee jumping place was by far the most bumpiest ride I ever took. 

6) The people here are incredibly warm, friendly and humble: For example, today me and my friends were walking around the Thamel district looking to go to the popular Durbar Square ('Durbar' means Temple in Nepalese) We stopped into a shop to look around and my friend decided to buy an awesome shirt. We had an amazing conversation with the clerk and he randomly asked us if we wanted to attend a Nepali wedding, as his brother was soon to be wed. Startled at this offer, we kind of stood there confused but asked when it was. It turns out that, unfortunately, my friends with me would be gone during the time of the wedding but I would still be there. So, I happily accepted the offer and he added me on Facebook to contact me more about it. Astounded that somebody would ask a complete stranger to attend their brothers wedding, I was even more shocked with what happened after. My friend went back in the store to ask him for directions to Durbar Square. Instead, he had his brother drive us for free to the square (which turned out to be a long walk from the view from the car!) I thought to myself, you would seldom find such acts of kindness and openness back at home (Don't get me wrong I'm sure there are great people in the states too!) 

7) The military presence is very high here in Nepal, especially in the more rural parts of the country. I just recently learned that Nepal is coming out of a relatively recent civil war (1996-2006) which lasted a decade. After 13,000 deaths and thousands more missing children, the country is still in recovery mode and still alert in case of any insurgent reawakening. Basically, the country was split into civil war when the Maoist rebels fiercely advocated for their version of communism to be implemented on the political apparatus in Nepal. The somewhat democratic government resisted and the country was plunged into widespread domestic violence. Even today, the feeling of war can be felt. When I went into the country, the bus had to go through a number of military checkpoints in which soldiers entered the bus and looked around and also looked in the trunk for suspicious material. I feel really intrigued by this and am looking forward to learning more about the civil war considering a high influx of orphans was a detrimental by product of the war. 

8) The prices here are extraordinarily cheap compared to Western standards. A meal at a restaurant should normally cost you less than 5$ while in the States it might cost you around $10. You can find most clothes here for less than $10 and the more you travel away from the touristy destinations, the cheaper you'll find things. 

9) When observing other foreigners around Kathmandu I began to realize you can categorize them into three general groups of people. The majority being, the hippies. Usually rocking the dreadlocks, these people just scream hippie style with their oversized pants, hemp clothing, and laid back persona. I imagine they are here since a lot of the hippie culture in the states seems to be derived from South Asian-Indian influences. There are also the trekkers who are rocking their north face backpacks and trekking gear and you can just guess they are here for a long tumultuous trek through the Himalayas. And then there are us! The volunteers! We usually just look like your regular American with no real unique fashion sense the hippie-like folk seem to posses. But I assure you, we're just as great! 

10) According to my friend Maggie who is working with a Women's rights organization here in Kathmandu, there is rampant discrimination and abuse of women here in Nepal. There seems to be a general sub-ordinance women are "naturally" born with in the eyes of some Nepali. For example, women are under extreme pressure to get married. Being married here is considered one of the most valuable aspects of your life and if your not married you are to be ostracized from society. Even if your husband willingly leaves you or even dies, a widow and/or single mother is seen as extremely taboo in Nepali society. Nepali women also express their marital status through their clothing. There are specific colors that indicate different statuses in society. In addition, considering the Indian/Hindu influence, the caste system is equally as prevalent. Apparently, there exists a lot of discrimination and class-warfare between different caste groups. Considering the level of poverty here, its easy to see how people might become violent with things like this. 

11) The bathroom situation here is quite unique, to say the least. Nepali people normally wipe themselves with their left hands which subsequently makes doing things with ones left hand taboo. It is considered a body part that is dirty which is obvious seeing that they use that bear hand to wipe themselves. Fortunately, they do sell toilet paper here which I bought since I see no way for me to adjust to wiping myself with my hand...The thought of that just makes me cringe but hey it's not my culture so live and let live. 

12) As in Islamic cultures, showing the bottoms of your feet here and pointing are considered unfathomably rude in Nepali culture. From what I remember, I've done my best to avoid the first one but pointing is so common to me that it might be a challenge to suppress the urge to do so. 

13) Tourism plays a huge role in the Nepali economy. Just walking through the Thamel district and you'll see hundreds upon hundreds of signs for trekking, kayaking, canyoning, bungee jumping, elephant riding, trips to Tibet and Bhutan, etc. Nepal flourishes in tourism and probably would be in a much more impoverished state without it. So while at times I may feel like a silly typical tourist with my camera and naivety, at least I know it's going somewhere. 

OK, so I'll stop there since I just realized how much I wrote and don't want to bore you all with too many of my thoughts and retrospections. I know some of this sounds like Nepal is a bad place but PLEASE DO NOT be misconstrued. This place has so much to offer despite some of the things I mentioned. Life here is like nothing I ever experienced and could not be more ecstatic to be living here and digesting it all one by one. 

Till later,

Namaste

First Musings from the Orphanage

Namaste again everyone! So life in Nepal has become a lot more comfortable within the past two days mainly due to the fact that my schedule is progressively becoming more specific and I'm starting to get a routine established. I want to talk a lot about the orphanage that I will be working at for the remainder of my time here. So, yesterday I went to the orphanage for the first time and my wonderful new friend showed me the way to the orphanage from the volunteer house. It's about a 20 minute walk and It's quite nice because you feel more intertwined with everybody else as not just some ordinary tourist. And this part of the city is in a section where not many tourists go to so it makes a better cultural experience. Anyway, the orphanage is a small house that is owned by one woman. According to my friend, this woman grew up in a higher caste (castes are big in this part of the world) meaning that she grew up in a relatively wealthy lifestyle. However, she decided to end that lifestyle, throw it all away to open up an orphanage for underprivileged children without a family. From hearing this, I immediately gained an enormous amount of respect for someone that was so humble to start up this orphanage. It's really sad thinking about the present circumstances regarding the orphans. Okay so the big thing is (that sort of pissed me off) is that public schooling in Nepal is not subsidized by the government. Because schooling can be expensive, the caretaker of the orphanage can only send certain kids to school while others are left to stay in the orphanage while the others go to school. And that is basically where the volunteers come in. Our job is to act as a teacher for them since they are unable to access the education without the necessary funds. My fellow volunteer and I start off the day with basic English lessons. Topics ranging from colors, animals, body parts, days of the week, etc. are covered on an everyday basis. We also teach them some math problems which I thought was really interesting because I only expected to be teaching English while here in Nepal. I'm actually pretty surprised at the English level of some of the students. They seem to know a lot of words in English. For example, we had them write animals on the board and they constantly were coming up to write new animal names on the board. It's a strange concept for them to be so young learning a second language. Sometimes I wish America would adopt a similar early language emphasis since the younger you are the easier it is for you to learn a new language. Anyway, after a few hours of English lessons we move on to my favorite (and definitely the kids favorite part): Play time! They seem to be constantly looking forward to play time so sometimes that makes them overly anxious causing them to not pay much attention to the teaching. But I guess with a firm hand, you can convince them to wait. That's one of the things I feel like I'm having a hard time with: disciplining. But I'm sure, with time, that would get better. A lot of the kids are at that age where they have so much energy that they just always want to release that energy. I can already predict they will be handful at times. But for that they make up in adorableness. The first day we played a number of different games during play time. From paddle ball to coloring to an interesting game one of the kids taught me, we kept ourselves occupied. Ok so I wear sunglasses all the time to the orphanage because it's always hot and sunny out and the kids just love to wear my sunglasses. I'll make a note to try and get a picture of the sunglasses on one of them. They look so hilarious when they have my sunglasses on because it looks abnormally huge on them. They always seem to be motioning to wear my sunglasses and love to run around with them on. Also, I thought it would be a great idea to bring my iPad to the orphanage and download some games I thought the kids would like. It turned out to be a huge success. Their favorite game? Angry Birds of course! One of the kids actually had an Angry Birds shirt on so was excited to see that I brought it. I guess Angry Birds just seems to be that universal game that everybody loves. They also played fruit ninja, temple run, this fun punching game, and others. I'm feeling really inspired to go even further with teaching via iPad sometimes. I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of great learning apps for children that would be a great interactive way for the children to learn without me just lecturing. There were some problems though. We tried to make a time chart for each person to have their allotted time on the iPad but that was quickly forgotten and some tension broke out since it was supposed to be so and so's turn. I'll have to make sure next time to be a bit stricter when letting them play with my iPad. I also let them play around with my camera. My friend brought bubbles today too for the kids to play with and it was an amazing idea. They loved blowing bubbles and equally loved blowing them directly into my face subsequently burning my eyes haha. They also seem to love taking pictures. In fact, the majority of the pictures that were taken today were thanks to the kids themselves. Really being with the kids makes me feel like a kid again and is really therapeutic and rewarding considering the volunteers are the reason they are getting an education. I hate to me cynical now but I just keep thinking of what happens to these kids once they leave the orphanage and I get really emotional while thinking about their possible futures. I talked to my fellow volunteer and she explained to me that at the age of 15 the children are supposed to leave the orphanage. But I wonder, without a family where do they go? Where will they live? I just see so much joy in their eyes that thinking about where they'll be after 15 is a hard thought to swallow. Positively though, I think I'm already establishing a connection with the orphanage that it might prompt me to donate in the future. They certainly need it. The kids have to share beds and contributions to the orphanage play a huge role in the food that they eat. There are also a number of apparent infrastructural problems with the orphanage itself. I just really would love to help in any way I can to the welfare of this place. I can't imagine where kids would be without orphanages like this. I sincerely hope they can find prosperity in their future lives. But anyway, I would love to plan a trip with the children because I was recently told you can do that. I think it would be great for the kids to get outside from the same monotonous place for a change! I'm also looking forward to seeing how creative I can get with teaching styles with them and all. Anyway, here are some pictures from the orphanage (courtesy of my buddy Koran). enjoy!

First day in Nepal: A Rollercoaster of Emotions

           Namaste everyone! I finally arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal last morning and had spent a full day taking in this exotic and vibrant country. Let me just start off with saying the Nepal is like nothing I have ever experienced before; it's like a completely different world from what I was used to. To me, it was like stepping back in time. After I waited in a long line to obtain my Nepali visa at the airport, I exchanged my money to Nepali rupees and headed out the door of the airport to officially start my adventure. Now I was warned before that  there would be tons of people waiting outside the airport to offer various hotel and taxi deals and that they will be screaming them to you. That was certainly true. As I walked outside, I was greeted by a abundance of lively people offering me hotel and cab deals. Fortunately, there was somebody waiting with a car and he rushed me into the car, grabbed my luggage and I was told to pay the person who carried my luggage. Overwhelmed by the unfathomable environment, I quickly paid and made my way into the car. As I rode in the backseat of the car, I was overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds that were racing by me. It was almost impossible to comprehend everything that was going on. Also, the traffic was horrendous and there are virtually little to no driving rules here so everything is basically a free for all. I have never seen so many motorcycles in my life. These were the mini-Honda ones that everyone in Nepal seems to own. There were so many instances while riding in that car that I thought we were going to crash. But we didn't, and nobody else did too. It's strange to say but the Nepalese people are very much accustomed to this sort of anarchic sense of driving. Also, I don't think I've ever heard so many horns in my life. But the thing is, I saw no disgruntled pissed-off road rage faces. Even when we were stuck in a mass mob of cars and bikes going in all different directions, nobody got overtly angry. I'm pretty sure if this was in the states, we would have seen some violent battles between the drivers. The Nepalese people seem to emote a sense of patience and understanding for this. It's pretty amazing I think. I also think it would be appropriate to point out the quality of the roads and the general infrastructure of the surrounding area. It was a huge shock to witness such underdeveloped facilities in person. Constant pot holes flooded the streets, litter scattered everywhere, deteriorating buildings and unpaved roads were just some of the prevelant problems I noticed right away. Nonetheless, I wasn't going to let these misdemeanors shatter my impression of Nepal as a whole. While these factors are certainly heartbreaking, there was an equal sense of beauty despite infrastructiral issues. As we battled the sporadic traffic, I had my eyes focused on the exotic and wonderful things passing the car. From monkeys to cows to Rick shaw drivers to women adorned in beautiful Hindi garments, there was a sense of vivaciousness and uninterrupted beauty. The colors are just fantastic. Pink houses, bright green cars, people squeezed into small psychedelic  buses, etc. all blended harminously with the surrounding area. I don't think I ever experienced such vibrancy in my life before. The poverty in Nepal is an issue, yes, but the people seem to have managed to find ways to live with it. Finally after a long but intriguing drive, we arrived at the volunteer house I'll be spending the next few months in. I met my fellow volunteerees and they seem like really great people already. After locating my room and resting for a few hours, I was invited to have a guided tour of perhaps nepals most significant temple, Swayambhunath. To get there, we took one of the local buses. What we took was considered a large bus but it was smaller than an average size minivan. It was pretty,though, as it had Buddhist trinkets on the dashboard and colorful walls. That's what I love already about Nepal, everything is so colorful.  Anyway, we were lucky enough to find seats for each of us (there were four of us) and took off. Because of the dirt roads and potholes everywhere the drive was really bumpy and all over the place but it was so much fun because it reminded me of an amusement park ride or something and it was something you would just never see in the states. As I was riding along, I noticed this small child looking around the age of 12 or so and he was hanging out the bus screaming things to people on the side of the road. I asked me guide what it is he was doing and, according to her, he was actually working there to advertise the bus and collect money. Somebody asked if he was with his family working but she said no. So apparently he was working at the age of 12. Oh and by the way I also saw him puffing a cigarette too. It made me double take many times since its not everyday you see a little boy smoking. So yeah it's pretty common to see little children working jobs one might not ordinarily see as appropriate for their age. Anyway, we finally arrived to the Swayabhunath which is  informally known as "The Monkey Temple" due to the fact that there are hundreds of monkeys surrounding it. The place was unlike anything I have viewed before. The prayer flags were probably the coolest thing ever. There were just thousands of prayer flags that draped all around the temples. I immediately said to myself I have to buy some of these famous flags and I did. There were also prayer wheels all around the area that we spun as we walked. Apparently this place is like the Mecca of Buddhism. There's also another temple in the city that's one of the most important sites for a hindu person. That's what I love about it here. Two religions coexisting relatively harminously. We had a short lesson about Buddhism in Nepal from someone who does Buddhist paintings and it seems like Buddhism is more of a way of life than a religion. He was saying that, in buddhism, within all of us exists buddha. buddha is more of a symbol than a diety. There is some 
controversy of those who claim it as religion philosophy. Whatever you see it as, there is no denying its influence here is concretely seen everywhere, Ok so I'm going to stop talking for now and get back to you guys sometime soon with a post that isn't so all over the place. There's just so much to take in that I already could write much more than this to describe it in full detail to you all. One of the other volunteerees and I were discussing how surreal being here is and we can't fathom where we at all. I've been talking to the other people here and they've gone on so many amazing trips that I am so excited to go on myself. Ok guys I'm gonna stop now. I literally could go on for hours. Anyway for now enjoy some of the pics I took. 

The main, and most important, part of the stupa.

This picture just screamed optimal photo opportunity. I love the contrasting blue color. 

Prayer wheels. You basically walk down and spin them. 

Arial view of the stupa. You can really get a sense of the plethora of prayer flags from this vantage point. 

View of the surrounding city

With the stupa 

Monkey feeding on some leftovers 

Me and my guide on the crowded return bus

The prayer flags I bought. I'm just in love with them. Not to mention the fact that they were only $2.00 and that was even considered expensive as I soon found out later. I cannot wait to hang these in my room at home! 

Namaste everyone!

So about 2 hours ago I arrived at the Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India. I had a 7 hour flight to Brussels, Belgium followed by an 8 hour flight to India. While reading this it probably sounds like a lot of time to be stuck on a cramped plane but, to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. For one, the airline was really advanced and modern with a huge selection of various movies and shows to watch. I literally had my jaw dropped while I was browsing at the selection list. I winded up watching The Hobbit, Horrible Bosses, and Les Miserables during my flight. There were, of course, a bunch of Bollywood flicks and I thought it appropriate to watch one but I opted out since I just wanted to watch something I was already comfortable with. Also, the food was actually really good. I know right airline food is infamous for it's horrible food but the airline I flew with served us great dishes and ice cream! I had free ice cream made with delicious Belgium chocolate on my flight. That was something I never expected to have while on a plane.  They also had free liquor on the plane but I chose not to drink in fear of being drunk on a long haul flight. Aside from movie watching, I spent a lot of my time just looking out the window and observing the view below me. At one point that I distinctly remember, we were flying over Afghanistan and all these thoughts suddenly flowed into my mind. The fact that below me was a country in a war zone and in turmoil boiled in my head and I thought about what it would have been like to have landed in Afghanistan and to travel around and see with first-hand eyes the situation that our country is so heavily involved with. Anyway, a huge point to mention....I was so fortunate to, during my flight from Belgium to India, have two seats to myself which allowed me to lay down. It was like being on first class! While we were boarding, my heart was literally beating whenever somebody walked by because I thought they might be sitting next to me. However, nobody did and I got the whole thing to myself-Yay! Right now, I am sitting in a airport Lounge in the India airport awaiting my flight that arrives, unfortunately, 6 hours from now. The lounge has unlimited wifi access, all-you-can-eat and drink (alcohol included!) buffets and comfy sofas.I can already get a sense of the warm hospitality of this area--hopefully more to come!

So I also wanted to make a short list of random tips on how to survive long-haul flights that I learned through experience; Here goes

• Do many different things- I found that one the best methods in making a long flight seem like a short period of time is to always keep yourself busy with various different activities. Don't just think that it'll be a breeze if you just watch the entire trilogy of the Lord of the Rings (I thought that and it didn't work). After one movie I just got incredibly bored and irritated with movies and had to switch to another activity. In my view, the more activities you engage yourself in, the more time seems to fly by fast. 
• Check out the magazines in the compartment in the seat in front of you. I just did this today actually and I occupied my time for a good hour and a half. They usually are filled with articles and pictures that pertain to the destination your going to. That being said, you can find lots of travel ideas in those magazines.
• Bring extra snack food! You probably heard of airline food being one of the worst things humanly possible. While it can be manageable at times, it can be hard to swallow. And not to mention your following the food schedule of everybody else so if your hungry and don't have snacks packed with you, your out of luck.
• Put your carry-on in front of you. Although you might sacrifice ample leg space, it sure beats going up into that compartment every time you decide you need something. I used to put it up there and it just became such a huge inconvenience.
• Get up and move- I usually like to go to the bathroom 3 times while I'm on my trip even if I don't have to go to just relax, wash your hands, wash your face, etc. You'd be surprised how good hot water feels on your skin while stuck in a plane. 
• While it might make sense for you to stay up extremely late the night before so you can easily sleep on the plane I wouldn't advise doing it because you just don't know if you can or can not properly sleep on a plane the same way you can do in your bed. I did this when I went to Japan and regretted it because not only did I not get sleep before my flight, I didn't get sleep on my flight and I had to adjust to jet lag. Not a good mixture at all. You should get adequate sleep before your flight so your well rested and feel fresh as opposed  to tired and mopy.

Well guys today is the day I depart for my flight to Nepal. I wanted to make a short blog post conveying my current feelings as I wait.

• Everyone always asks me prior to going somewhere "Are you excited?" or "Are you nervous?" and, quite frankly, I just do not feel any of these things or be it anything! I got this way before I went on my one year journey to Japan. It's strange because you know your excited and you've waited for this moment for so long yet, internally, you feel apathetic to the fact. Granted, occasionally I get little spurts of either excitement or anxiety here and there but it isn't consistent. If I try to think back to when I went Japan there wasn't a set point where I fully acknowledged where I was; it all came in stages. So, it's probably going to be the same way with Nepal. Come to think of it, while I was in Japan there wasn't really a time where I fully acknowledged and appreciated where it was. It was actually after returning home to the United States that it all sort of sunk in sporadically. After you get over the initial hysteria of being home you kind of sit down and just think to yourself of the times you had and how much it changed your life. While I was in Japan, I never thought of it as life-changing until after I came home. So, with all this said I imagine a similar reaction from Nepal but this time it might be even more significant. I guess I should brief you guys on what exactly I'll be doing in Nepal. Basically, I'll be volunteering with this program called ELI Abroad (Experiential Learning International) in which I'll be working in an orphanage helping the children get ready for school in the morning and also playing with them. Also, I'll be working at a Buddhist monastery during the afternoon to teach Buddhist monks English. This kind of freaks me out sometimes because I'll be given two big responsibilities. So yeah, that part makes me a little nervous. While I did teach English in Japan, I'm still a little insecure since I haven't done it in a while and the environment might be different in Nepal. And for a while I've been freaking out on how I am possibly going to establish bonds with the children with the huge language barrier and then I thought to myself: If I can have a great time with my 9-month old niece, Abby, who obviously doesn't speak yet, then I can do the same in the orphanage. This was a recent revelation that left me relieved. Well, my flight leaves at 6:30pm tonight so I guess I'll write back either in the airport or in Nepal! Wahoo!