So this blog is basically separated into 2 separate ones, the first part is
from my week in Kathmandu, and the second is from when I got to my permanent
site! The power was out our entire last day in KTM, so I didnt have time to
post a blog or put up pictures. its long as hell, sorry.
Week 12: Kathmandu has been a whirlwind of activity since we arrived here
last Friday. Leaving Chhap for KTM on Friday was one of the most emotional
experiences I have ever had. Our community put on a program for me, Marvin,
Andrea, and Brandon to say goodbye. Everyone in the whole community came out
and they gave some speeches and proceeded to give each of us 5 shawls and about
10 flower necklaces. We also had red tikka smeared all over our cheeks and face
for good luck. I had red dust all over my clothes and rice in my hair, and on
top of it all, the 4 of us were crying heavily. I did not expect to get that
sad but it was hard not to...these people had become our families over the past
3 months. The saddest thing to see I think were my little cousins
crying...Sunil was sobbing in a corner and wouldnt let anyone console him.
Marvin's mom was clinging to him and would barely let us go, and even the lady
who made us our milk tea every morning was crying. I think it was very
emotional for us volunteers because we were not only leaving our families but we
were also leaving everything we had ever known in Nepal behind. Everything I
knew about Nepal I had learned in Chhap and it was scary to think about
starting over again.
Right now we're in a
hotel in Kathmandu completing our last week of training. The hotel is fairly
nice...hot water is sometimes available and we have our own private bathrooms.
I have woken up with 4 extremely large spider bites however. Saturday we had
our final Language Proficiency Exams in the morning and had the afternoon free
to explore. By some miracle of god I managed to pass my langugae exam at the
Advanced Low level which was quite shocking to me. All 20 of us managed to get
Intermediate High or over, which is required of us to become volunteers, so we
went out that night to celebrate. We went to a few bars in Thamel that night,
which is the tourist area of Kathmandu. The second bar Peace Corps completely
took over. THe 15 of us who went out took over the dance floor while all of the
Nepalis just stared at us. Thamel was a crazy experience in general; they have
legitimate North Face and Mountain Hard Ware stores and it was so weird to be
in those stores and feeling like I was back in America. My friend and I also
discovered Wal-Mart in KTM! Not really but it was basically a Wal-Mart. It was
called Bhaat Bhateni and you could literally get anything you wanted there,
including more toiletries than I have ever seen in my life. I stocked up on
some snacks (they had Nature Valley granola bars!) and bought a veggie burger
for 45 cents, which was awesome. Ktm
also has a Pizza Hut and KFC which is so strange to see. The air pollution here
is absolutely terrible and just walking along the street you see people left
and right wearing face masks. Its so dusty and smoggy and even walking across
the street results in all these tiny particles in my eyes. Not exactly a city I
will miss that much at permanent site.
We've been receiving
lots of training the past week on how we report our work with in the peace
corps and other information that is necessary for us once we get to our
permanent site. We've also been doing these sessions with our Nepali
counterparts! Its weird to meet these people and realize you'll be working with
them for the next 2 years. My counterpart only calls me by my Nepali name and
already told me I'm his daughter, because he has a daughter my age as well.
He's a funny dude and his English is decent so we generally get by speaking a
mix of Nepali and English. The sessions have actually been really challenging
because we are doing lots of one on one talks with our counterparts about our
work plans and other projects our villages are working on, and some people's
counterparts dont speak any English at all. We're getting by though!
also: I AM NOW A REAL PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER! We had our swearing in today
at the US Ambassador's house. Over 200 people were there to come watch us take
our oath, including around 12 Volunteers from some of the earliest groups in
Nepal (we're Nepal 199!) Stacy Rhodes, Chief of Staff for Peace Corps, also flew
all the way out from Washington DC to watch our swearing in as well as the
Country Desk officer for peace corps asia. Not only were we the first group to
re-enter Nepal since 2004, but it was also the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps
being in Nepal, so it was a very special day.
We watched about an hour of speeches and then the US Ambassador to Nepal
had us repeat our oath, and then we ate a giant cake afterwards. Myself and 2
other volunteers were chosen to do interviews with the US Embassy's Public Relations
staff, so when the video goes up on youtube I will post the link! afterwards we
were all taken to a play called Nepali Aamaa which was written by a
former Peace Corps volunteer.
The next morning we departed for our districts on separate buses. my
district, Syangja, was on 1 bus, while Parbat and Baglung were on another. I
can't even describe to you how weird it was to get on these buses without any
Peace corps staff. It was just us and our Nepali counterparts. A lot of us were
crying as well while saying goodbye to each other. Although we knew we would
see each other in a couple weeks for christmas, it was more a sadness that we
were done with training and setting off on our own. The bus ride to our
district centers took about 8 hours, which the other 7 volunteers and I
basically slept through as we had gotten zero amounts of sleep the night before
due to it being our last night in KTM. We overnighted in our district centers
at a guesthouse. I might as well have slept on the floor as my bed felt like a
concrete block. We attended meetings at the district ag and health centers the
next morning and then set off for our individual sites after purchasing various
last minute items. Kerry (the volunteer nearest me) and i were shoved into a
clown car (aka taxi) with our counterparts. Somehow 5 people and the probably
200 lbs of luggage we had fit into the car, except that Kerry and I rode with
our water filters and backpacks on top of our laps. Not fun. Again, I cant even
describe the feelings I had when I left Kerry, who is my nearest volunteer. We
had eaten lunch with our counterparts but had to set off in different
directions after lunch. It was terrifying to leave, knowing I was going to be
by myself. All day I've been on an emotional rollercoaster.
And now, I am eklai. Alone. My site is beautiful though and I cant
wait to explore it. it's called Dimik. I think my entire village greeted me and
I was once again smeared with red tikka and given about 10 flower necklaces to
wear. All the men helped carry my stuff to my house, which was not an easy feat
considering I think my one purple suitcase weighs around 70 lbs right now due
to the small library Peace Corps has given us. My homestay family is great so
far. I have 2 younger sisters who are 11 and 9, and 1 mom, who is 29, so we
call each other 'sister.' My "dad" lives in Qatar and sends back
remittances, but I get to meet him in 3 months when he comes back to visit. My
house is definitely a step down from my last one, but its very cozy. I do have
a TV this time though! I spent a large part of my evening with my sisters
watching terrible Nepali music videos. My room is about half the size of my
last one, but I have 2 beds now, which is actually a problem because there is
no room for anything else. I need to go on a search for a dresser and desk. my
whole room is made of clay and is covered in newspapers with a tarp roof. As I
type this I hear the little musa (mice) run around upstairs. I will be
bucket showering for the next 2 years, and we ate our food sitting cross-legged
on the floor this evening. So many changes from my last family. I have a great
little courtyard between my bathroom/house though, which looks like a great
place to sit in the sun and read or talk with people. I'm a bit screwed on the
bathroom situation however...if I am ever sick I have to go down a precarious
ladder to get downstairs, then cross the courtyard and go to the bathroom. I
shall be purchasing another bucket soon....All in all, what I've seen of my
site looks great, it is just weird to be starting over again in such different
circumstances!
Update after being at site for 3 days: I've been so busy that I havent had
time to have an emotional breakdown yet!!! THe first day my sister took me
around to probably 50 different houses where I met a bunch of people and ate
tons of food. My sister also took me to the local school where I almost started
a riot, due to all the children running out of their classrooms straight towards
me. The second day I was here I kind of did the same thing but I had more time
alone, which was nice. My sister took me to the local health clinic, which was
inconveniently located on top of a small mountain. The doctor wasnt there
though so i couldn ask questions about what kind of services they had. I've
already had to explain numerous times that even though I studied Biology at
college, I am not a veterinarian. I had some man come up to me yesterday and
tell me that his water buffalo had diarrhea and if I could come look at it and
see. helllll no I am not going to go look at your water buffalo's diarrhea.
Then i got asked how far apart to plant potato seeds and again I could not help
them. I think that most of the villagers don't know that my Nepali is still
pretty limited and that I need to learn a lot more before I am really able to
start projects here. My town also has a fish hatchery! Dimik is apparently
quite advanced, and also quite large. Even though the town has about 3 little
shops, there are over 150 houses here, and its kind of broken up into small
neighborhoods. Physically my site is also very different from Chhap as well.
Its very jungley and i'm not on top of a mountain this time. Theres a massive
river at the bottom of the valley that I want to explore soon, and its been
about 70 degrees out each day!!! The nights get cold but during the day the
weather is beautiful.
Yesterday Nepal 199 also started our
marathon training! Kidding, kind of. theres a marathon in Pokhara next fall
that some of us want to run so we decided to get our butts in shape. Ma moto
bhae, kinabhane Nepalmaa dherai bhaat khaainchaa. I have become fat,
because a lot of rice is eaten in Nepal. But its actually true. After very
limited physical activity the past couple months, I could barely make myself
run for a half hour straight. Which is depressing considering the summer before
my senior year and all through my senior
year at Bucknell I was running every single day for over an hour. Ke garne?
Alright, well thanks for reading the small novel I wrote.
Love from Dimik,
Alex
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