COS Conference and Camp GLOW

I have been a bad blogger lately, and I apologize for that! I think my last blog left off when my sister was still here. Having her here was so great and she even got to experience village life for herself, since she was staying with her Nepali friend’s family in a rural village while building her library. I went to help out with the library a couple of days and it was amazing. Through their grant, they were able to purchase 10 brand new computers and hundreds of books both in Nepali and English. It looked so nice after it was done. I helped do some translations for them when they were giving their computer training, but I hope to do some more follow-up work for them next month by visiting and seeing the library’s progress. For a little more on their story and pictures, you can read their blog at peacethrougheducation.wordpress.com.

Tia and I at COS Conference

I was fortunate enough to travel with Taylor to Kathmandu to see her off, as I had my Close-of-Service (COS) Conference! In true Peace Corps fashion, myself and other volunteers took her and her friends out all night and ensured that they got approximately 2 hours of sleep before their plane took off. After Taylor left, I headed over to the most swanky resort for my COS conference! It was surreal. The place was a 5 star hotel with every imaginable thing you could want. I’m telling you, when the hotel room comes stocked with little shampoos and conditioners, you know its nice. Voranan and I were roommates yet again, coming full circle since we were also roomies at our pre-service orientation in Washington DC so long ago. The beds were luxurious, we had air conditioning, a flat screen TV, and even a mini bar! Weirdly, the entire hotel was actually full of Americans…there was another 250 person conference going on (all missionaries from northern India…that’s another story), and it was weird to be surrounded by so many American kids and their families. Our conference lasted 3 days and was packed full of information on how to wrap up our service here in Nepal. My favorite part of the conference was the RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) panel. All the panelists were young and had been PCVs a couple years back, but were now either working/studying in Kathmandu. They gave some fantastic advice about re-entry into the US and making plans for graduate school. We also had lots of time during the conference to work on our resumes, but I had been working on mine for the entire month leading up to the conference, so I spent most of my free time swimming in their INDOOR POOL, working out in their GYM, drinking wine, playing UNO, and riding horsies. So many things I hadn’t done in such a long time.

Following COS conference was Fourth of July! Peace Corps got us special permission to spend the day at the American Club, an expat hangout that is basically a country club. I got to drink cold beer and eat a hot dog, and I even played mini golf! Unfortunately I sunburned the shit out of myself but I would like to say it was worth it. After the 4^th it was a whirlwind trip back to site for 24 hours to pick up my GLOW Camp girls! We headed to Pokhara the day after I returned from Kathmandu…it was exhausting.

I’ve posted a fair amount on my Facebook, but Camp GLOW was fantastic; I’m not sure we could have asked for it to go better, especially since it was Nepal’s first Camp GLOW. The 5 days were packed full of informative sessions for the girls, and each day was led by 2 PC Volunteers. Myself and Ethan were in charge of the 4^th day, which covered topics such as “how to make a savings plan” and other money making topics. The girls loved the activities we had planned for them: they got to decorate their own piggy banks and create their own headbands. We literally had to yell at them to stop decorating their headbands when it was time for the next session. Camp was thoroughly exhausting for the volunteers. It was basically 6am until 11pm every night. I survived mostly on coffee and pie from a shop next door that made delicious lemon and jam pies. All of the volunteer stayed in Pokhara after camp ended to finish up paperwork and do other work, so after dropping my girls and chaperone at the bus station at 7am, I proceeded  to take my first of 2 naps that day. It was a good exhausting though…I think the girls learned a lot (their faces when learning about sexual health were priceless) and had a lot of fun! They danced the Macarena, played lots of games, made friendship bracelets, watched movies, explored Pokhara, boated on the lake, and just enjoyed being young teenage girls without responsibility of cooking or cleaning for a week. So thank you THANK YOU to everyone who donated to this project and helped make it a success. We truly couldn’t have done it without you all. I had my Camp GLOW girls over to my house today and made them juice and popcorn and we watched a slideshow of camp pictures. I played their photos to some Nepali music and they loved it. We watched it 6 times. I was happy to hear that all my girls had been keeping in contact with friends they had made at camp as well, and they all had on their friendship bracelets they had exchanged with other girls. Camp GLOW was definitely an experience to remember and probably one of my most prized moments from service. I really hope it can become a tradition for Peace Corps Nepal.

my GLOW girls and chaperone

Collection center as of last month

I’ve been at site now for about 2 weeks and am basically just wrapping up projects here. I finished my Nepal map in the 5^th grade classroom at the school yesterday and having water-based paint made such a huge difference. I’m really proud of how it turned out. While I was gone, the school also got computers!! The principal asked me to help teach some basic computer skills to the staff, so when school starts back up in a week Ill start that. Otherwise I’m closing out my grant for the collection center and making sure everything is progressing on time with that. Peace Corps and USAID representatives are coming out to do some monitoring and evaluation in 2 weeks so I have to make everything is in order when they come! I had mentioned this in earlier blogs, but Bishnu and I are trying to plan a mushroom training for 9 villages, which I am hoping is still going to happen, but once again,  funding is a problem. We have the budget planned out (its about $200) and I know where to buy supplies, but its obtaining the funding that is the problem. So this week Bishnu and I will travel to the Village Development Committee Office and ask if they can help out, and next month we will ask the District Office for help. Fingers crossed they pull through!

Other than that, I have been working like a mad person on graduate school applications and applying for jobs back in the States. I don’t think my family understands why I have been on my computer so much, even though I have tried explaining it to them. They keep telling me to get my masters in Nepal. I have 3 months left of service here and I’ll be back in the states in 4! Its all coming up so fast. Graduate school applications aren’t due until January, but because of my travel after PC and the craziness that will be my life upon return to the homeland, I figured I should submit them as early as possible. I have my list narrowed down to 5 schools and will hopefully start submitting applications next month! I’m applying for programs in Conservation Biology, something I’ve been highly interested in since I studied abroad in Tanzania. Its been very stressful with limited internet so I’m really looking forward to the end of the process. But then the waiting game begins, which I realize will probably be just as stressful. Theres about 8 volunteers all applying to school, so its nice to have others to edit my essays and get advice from.

Not much else new in my life here, between school apps and community projects I’ve been reading a lot. I’ve been reading the Game of Thrones series for the past 2 months now…I’m on Book 4, but they have been taking me forever since most of the books are over 1000 pages! Rice planting season was ending upon my return from Camp, but I did spend one afternoon knee deep in muddy water planting rice seedlings with my neighbors. I’m slowly starting to close out my life here…most of my village knows I am leaving soon, so it’s a constant barrage of questions everytime I leave my house: “Can you take me to America?” “Can you take my baby to America” “Are you going to forget about us?” Its all in jest, but its also hard because some people don’t joke, and then it gets awkward because they don’t believe me when I say I can’t just take a Nepali on the plane with me. I’m just trying to do all my favorite things in village and see my favorite people/places over the next couple months. I also have a mountain of Peace Corps paperwork to finish up before I leave as well.

I’ll have one more trip into Kathmandu next month, but it will be my last time there until I actually leave country. We got a new Country Director and the committee I am President of, VAC (Volunteer Advisory Committee), has a meeting with him to catch him up to speed on issues within Peace Corps Nepal. I’ll also start my close-out medical process during this time. Have to leave the 3 stool samples for my last week in Nepal however J

That’s about it. My heart has been aching for my tiny Methow community the past couple weeks with all the fires. For those that don’t know, my hometown was in the heart of the Washington wildfires that have been ravaging the state for the past month. A lot of friends lost their homes and land, and its been devastating to see the aftermath. My parents even made the news, though I’m not entirely sure it was for great reasons. Whats been amazing to witness though is how the community has pulled together in times of hardship. I’m not even there but I could tell just from peoples Facebook postings, whether it was offering land for displaced horses/cows, a hot shower, or even coffee and pastries for firefighters. When I was unable to reach my parents because cell towers were down, I had numerous people email me to tell me that my house and parents were ok and that they would continue to update me. The Methow really is a special place and the more time I spend away from it, the more I realize how great a place it was to grow up.

Love from Nepal,

Alex

Sleepy little Biraalo

On my 24th birthday...pretty sure I've taught the entire village about thumbs up

School kids at a program they held in my honor for the library we created and for the maps. I got a 5lb gold genie lamp with a rooster on top!

This monkey is the size of  a doberman. Right outside my room.

Eating jackfruit!