Wednesday, December 4, 2013 ~ My Bathroom Brainstorm

I just went to the washroom.

Still reading? Good. Now hear me out.

It got me thinking about how fortunate we are here in Canada. To be able to go to a toilet in the comfort of your own home (I know I'm not the only one who holds out until I'm in a familiar and safe space!) do your business, flush the toilet and never have to deal with the discards again (hopefully). I didn't have to wander out into the forest and crouch over a clump of grass and bury it in a hole, fearing that a wild animal might come up behind me decide I'm going to be his next meal. I get antsy enough when I go camping and have to worry about mosquitoes biting my ass, let alone getting demolished by a tiger or charged by a rhino.

It has been three months since my visit to Nepal and when I left, I promised Ranjan and his family that I would do my best to raise some money to send back to help the community of Gawai to construct a washroom facility for those families who have never known proper sanitation.

At first I didn't think my short stint in Nepal had altered my outlook on life a great deal. After four years in Asia, I think I've seen some pretty dire situations. China, Philippines, and India are three countries with extremely high poverty rates and I've seen some situations that are absolutely gut-wrenching. Even on a meager backpacker budget, I've never actually had to spare more than a passing glance at the dirty bare feet, the sunken eyes and cheeks, the rotted teeth and the filthy streets. After living in closely knit community and having the opportunity to experience first-hand a very different way of life than I have ever been exposed to, I've certainly learned to be even more appreciative of what I have. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that old cliché, "We're so lucky." Now go back to your warm, cozy bed and eat whatever you want, when you want and drive your cars all over the place and never have to think about it again. Many of us are told growing up how fortunate we are to have what we have and it's just like telling one of your girlfriends that she can do better when she's dating some guy who treats her like crap, sometimes you just have to live it and learn it for yourself.

Though I realize that this can be a difficult time of year for people, so much to do, people to see, gifts to buy, I would ask you to stop and think about what you're giving and what you're asking to be given this holiday season.

I have always *hated* asking for money and handouts; door-to-door chocolate bar selling in Elementary school. I would have preferred piled wood for my father for a week than have to go through that hellish experience. I guess that was until I was inspired by the kindness of the people in Nepal as well as inquiries from some generous friends around the globe who were interested in helping out.

I have created a PayPal account (linked to the right) where you can easily donate any amount and I will provide a little certificate if the donation is being given as a gift in someone's name. I have already had a few people offer to give me cash donations which I will forward on to Ranjan's bank account in Nepal.

If you or anyone else would like to donate to this cause and help with my goal of raising $1500 to provide a basic human necessity to these wonderful Nepalese people, they (and I) would be so, so grateful.

This would be the 3rd toilet facility built in this community of 100+ residents. Previous donations from past volunteers have provided the structure pictured above which services approximately 10 families.

Thank you to those of you who have expressed your interest in this cause and for your support, even if it is just through positive comments! :)

Gawai to Pokhara ~ Saturday, September 28, 2013

Today was departure day. I awoke early, and enjoyed one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen and had a nice, long, energizing yoga session. I tried to calm my mind in preparation for my final days in Asia and the solo hiking adventure that was to come.

Sunrise at 5:30 am. I packed up the clothes that had been hanging out to dry after taking advantage of what could be the last opportunity to wash them and be in one place long enough for them to dry for a long time.

Swapna made a small meal of boiled egg, toast and one final, delicious masala tea and then we walked a few minutes up the road and through the corner of a rice field to a small mud hut where Muwa lived with his family. I had purchased some workbooks, pens, pencils, an eraser and a sharpener in town the previous day and was hoping to subtly leave the materials outside the door, but Swapna wanted to march us right into their home so that I could present the materials directly. I told him he was a very good student and that I hoped he would continue to work hard at school. He gave me a sweet, shy little smile and whispered a thank you. He was probably hoping for something a little more exciting than paper and pencils when he opened the small bag…

Upon returning to the home that I have shared with this wonderful family for the past two weeks, I assembled everyone, except for Ranjan’s father who must have been off visiting a neighbor, and got a couple of group shots.

Saying goodbye to the wonderful Bhandari family.

I can’t say that this volunteer experience has been one that has forever changed my outlook on life or that I am a new and better person for it. That makes the whole thing sound like an incredibly selfish venture. I think that my past travel experience and seeing the extreme poverty in places like India, China and the Philippines had prepared me well for.

I give a great deal of credit to the way I was raised and think I developed a better understanding of appreciating what you have and not wanting. It didn’t really matter what clothes I chose to put on each day, whether or not my shirt matched my pants, if my new eyeshadow brought out my eyes, what new food item was on sale at the local market.

These people appreciate everything they have and are comfortable with their lives without having this insatiable appetite for material items. If anything, my return to the western world has been more of an eye opener and has left me more confused and uncomfortable than life in rural Nepal ever did. Since leaving Nepal, I’ve made my way back to the western world through some of the biggest and most expensive cities on earth; Milan, Munich, London, Toronto. As I’ve driven through and walked around these cities, I just want to scream at these people, “Stop running around! Stop worrying about your designer handbag matching your designer shoes, stop buying 15 Starbucks coffees in disposable cups every day, who cares about all this stuff?!” The ready made meals, the rushed business lunches, the mad dash toward…? What? Where are you people in such a rush to get to? Slow down and appreciate the world around you.

I think the aspect of life I appreciated the most in Gawai was the time and effort that was put into the preparation of meals. Each home that welcomed me through it’s doors was full of people who partook in some fashion in the preparation of two large meals each day. Admittedly, I have a voracious appetite and would eat just about anything that is put on my plate, as long as it didn’t walk there. Meals were straight from land to plate and a good part of the day’s activities involved the preparation of food; be it sorting through beans and rice to pick out the stones, or delicately separating the spinach leaves from their stalks, peeling and chopping potatoes for curries or milking the cow and allowing the milk to curdle on the counter for curd.

Despite our cultural differences and communication difficulties, the overall kindness and generosity I have been shown by complete strangers along this journey as has compelled me to follow through on my promise to do my very best to give something back to the community of Gawai and to return someday in the future to visit the adoptive family that became my own for the last two weeks.

Final Day in Gawai ~ Friday, September 27, 2013

Ranjan announced that he had a surprise for my final day in Gawai; we returned to the village to present the elderly couple with a large photo that we had taken on our previous visit. They were so excited to see a photo of themselves as it had been many, many years since they'd seen a photo of themselves. Many of their neighbours gathered around as we presented them with the photo.

All in all there were certainly positive and negatives to the whole stay. The former definitely outweighing the latter. but the experience could have been improved by the placement being more goal oriented and project-based. Do I sound like I’m leading a teacher’s Professional Development seminar? Going into the placement, I had inquired as to ways I could prepare or materials I could read in order to get a better idea of the specific duties I would be performing and what they were looking for in terms of community development. With my experience as a teacher, I was afraid I’d be stuck teaching, which ended up being the case somewhat. I was really not looking forward to going to the school, mostly due to the disorganization of the entire thing (i.e. being told where I was going 2 minutes before and rarely told what to teach) and then when I wasn’t covering for a teacher, I was just placed in a class with another teacher which was incredibly boring and stressful when you can’t just take over and do your own thing. I had some ideas for how to improve the classes in terms of management and behavior, but never did get a chance to voice them. I should write a summary report and send it to them along with the video when it is uploaded.

While the children were, for the most part, very pleasant, the time I had to spend in the teacher’s lounge was really starting to grate on my nerves. I could understand their interest in this foreign girl who is also a teacher from a developed country, but the staring, open conversation about me in Nepalese while they would turn and look at me throughout the conversation, became very irritating. At first I would just pretend to write things in my book or work on the iMovie once I had started that project, in attempt to ignore their stares, but then they would come stand over my shoulder and read what I was writing or sit and watch me work on the computer for like 5-10 minutes. I had turned my screen down and partially closed the top of my laptop one morning when I had to run downstairs for a few minutes. I returned to find one of the teachers with the computer open, going through a folder of pictures I had on my desktop. This same teacher was reading my “journal” over my shoulder one day, even after I stopped typing and said “This is kind of like my journal. Journals are usually kept private.”

“It’s ok!” He said.

Ranjan was so kind and open to my ideas, but I found that he provided little opportunity to really get involved in the community. After the first week, I told him I wasn’t really interested in teaching every day and was hoping to get more involved in the environmental/community development side of things. He’d drive me around and show me bio-gas units and point out the toilets that had been provided in the community, but I was really hoping to get more directly involved and get my hands dirty; like helping to physically install one of these units and learn more about how they work or develop other ways to provide sustainable solutions to the area. Maybe the program is developed to that stage yet and my disappointment most likely arises from having these sorts of expectations.

So, on the days where I chose not to go to the school and worked on the video, I was pretty much left to my own devices. Again, I should have been more self-motivating perhaps but I found some days pretty boring.

I am choosing to look at these negatives as learning experiences that may lead to a potential career path; studying sustainable development and learning how to incorporate these types of projects into communities that need them.

As Friday was another holiday, I decided to bike to Sauraha to a shop to purchase a couple of small gifts and cards for the teachers at the school and the Bhandari family.

I also wanted to get some notebooks, pens, and pencils for the little boy who lives down the road from Ranjan’s family who Swapna was telling me about. I returned to the shop that Ranjan directed me to the first time we went to Sauraha, owned by his friend where he gave me a great deal on the items I wanted to purchase.

Elephant Crossing ~ Thursday, September 26, 2013

The world was my oyster today, or at least the world that existed within a 15km radius as my ass couldn’t handle much further on that torture device they call a bicycle. It still hadn’t recovered from the long trip to and from Thaali the other day, but I had a nice refreshing ride to Sauraha where I wandered the touristy street and into some shops thinking I would find some small trinkets to get for gifts, then decided that wasting money on this stupid stuff that people might pretend to be impressed with for a few minutes and would then gather dust on their shelves was foolish and that I would spend the money on buying some notebooks and pens for the young boy who lives down the road from Bhandari’s.

Muwa was in Class 4 at the school and kind of stuck out in my memory as he was so sweet and shy and I sat beside him one morning when I was helping one of the other teachers. Some of the other boys were a bit more obvious and confident in their gawking and asking of questions, but Muwa just kind of lowered his head and would peek up at me from time to time. When I’d catch him, he’d grin and slowly raise his head and give me a full smile. He had a somewhat defeated look about him that made me just want to give him a great big hug. He walked by the house one day around noon when Swapna and I were outside and he gave me a shy little wave. After he had passed, she told me about his family situation. They are very poor and the father has pretty much abandoned the family including this young boy, his mother and a younger sibling. When the father is around, he is abusive and it sounds like he most likely drinks away what little money they do have. Some days he does not go to school because he does not have books or pens and I gather from what Swapna was saying that the father has been abusive to the mother, and most likely the children. I am going to pick up some materials tomorrow and see about leaving them on the step or something.

I was also hoping to get some photos developed in town, some to give to Ranjan and family with messages on the back as thank-yous and also a larger one for the elderly couple we visited the other day. I should have done it in Thaali when I had the chance as I discovered at the one place that would do it, that it would cost 100Rs for one little picture; it was 10 for next day processing in Thaali. Dammit. I didn't bother because I figured again, that money would be put to better use by actually giving it TO them than giving them some picture with the weird foreign girl that visited them that one time.

I did purchase a pair of cheap sunglasses as my other cheap sunglasses have broken and I’ve been scorching my retinas for the past 2 weeks every time I go outside, as well as a new book; “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. I’ve heard of it before, but never read it. It’s about the story of a disastrous trek to Everest; thought it would make for some nice light reading while I do my own mini-version and maybe help me to realize that things could be much, much worse if I feel the need to start complaining about sore feet or chilly temperatures.

I found a rooftop restaurant with wifi and a seat that would allow me to keep an eye on Ranjan’s unlocked bike down on the street and settled in to work on the iMovies and catch up on some messages.

I took a break, walked around again and then found another spot to sit for a cold drink and a snack and luckily caught Dad on Skype so was able to have a nice chat with he and Sammy while turning the computer screen to the street so they could see the herds of elephants on their way home from a long day of safari’ing.

Elephant Babies, Rhinos & a Beer Buzz ~ Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Ahhhh the elephant babies were precious! The only thing cuter than an elephant is a baby elephant! We saw two frolicking rambunctiously, with one attempting to mount the other, a few ‘juveniles’ as well as their mothers. The males are usually released, and kept separate from the females, to be used for patrolling the park and general labour as they cannot be trusted with tourists due to their aggressiveness. It is interesting to see the young (5-6 year olds) walking through the streets, generally with at least one adult, and their keepers, conducting their training.

We wandered around admiring the 16 or so mothers and babies in the compound and then past the group of guards and workers who were busy gutting a goat carcass. Though interested in the opportunity for a quick review of the digestive system from a Science Teacher’s point of view, I have never felt more assured of my decision to be and stay a vegetarian, from an animal lover’s point of view. As we continued walking past the open buildings that were the staff quarters, I noticed two adult goats that had somehow managed to climb their way up to the second floor of a building, and squirm their way around the narrow outside walkway that wrapped around the second floor on the outside wall. They were huddled together, glancing in what I could only assume to be justifiable uneasiness toward the location of their brother’s? mother’s? friend’s? disembowelment.

“Do you think those goats are hiding, Marou?” I asked my little Bahini who was being piggybacked by me.

“I can’t understand why people eat goats, look at them, they’re so cute!” I said with a pout.

Ranjan informed me that they wouldn’t be safe for long, “They will be sacrificed for the upcoming festival.”

Oh. Oh dear.

We got into one of the long boats that is made in one piece from the massive trunk of the (teak?) tree which can be found in the jungle. The boatman pushed us across the river to the other side and we returned home for breakfast.

Around 2:30, Ranjan and I left again for Sauraha for the Safari. I was apprehensive about it already due to the cost and the fact that I just don’t agree with exploiting animals for monetary profit. Ranjan got me a decent deal on the tickets; the park entrance fee which is usually 2500Rs, was only 1500 for me and the safari itself was 900 (usually 1500). In retrospect, it was still a lot to spend for an hour and a half that I would have enjoyed far more on foot, but most likely wouldn’t have returned from. Apparently one of the guides was trampled and/or charged to death by a mother rhino (possibly the one we saw) a few days before I arrived here when he was on foot with a group.

When we got to the large open field were at least 75 tourists were scrambling up the stairs to the wooden platforms where they mounted the elephants (3-4 people sat wedged into an open square box with legs dangling out).

Seeing the throngs of tourists, the cameras, the elephants being smacked with wooden sticks and pointed-metal jabbers made me want to forfeit my ticket right away and I seriously wondered if it was too late as I stood back and watched this whole production with a sad look on my face. Unenthusiastically, I joined a group of frantic Chinese women who were trying to all stay in the same group of four. After our elephant was forced to walk around in circles after the group was separated so that the three who were with me could be let out to join with the one who was left over on a new elephant and two of their significantly plumper male companions were wedged in with me, our guide whacked young Lakshmi on the cranium and we were off. I cringed, and it would not be the first time. I asked our elephant’s name in Nepali which was how I learned it was Lakshmi (like the goddess of wealth) and wondered if the two holes in her ears were for earrings or from the metal poker that the guide held in his hand. There were at least 15-20 other groups and we all followed a similar path.

Our guide seemed creative enough to take us off the beaten path and away from the crowd a few times, which was nice. I’m not sure if anyone else was able to get as close to the grown deer as we did when we were off on our own. The guide pointed out a young monkey up in a tree and within 15 minutes of our ride, a mother and her baby Rhinoceros slowly making their way towards a watering hole. It wasn’t even a guarantee that we would see a Rhino and just like that, we were following mother and baby about 10 feet away! They went to the stream, had a drink and seemed unfazed by the crowds of elephants surrounding them with little people hats flashing their cameras. Momma even got so comfortable as to plop herself right down in the water and roll around like a pig. They were amazing!

It was nice to be in the quiet jungle and just listen to the noises of the birds and bugs and elephants in the distance. I was glad my companions weren’t talkative, even to each other, until ones’ phone rang, cutting through the serenity. Though distracted from my nature trance I was taken back to the days of Putonghua listening to him “Hao Hao Hao Hao” and grunt his way through the conversation. I chose to not offer any sign that I could speak a bit of their language as I figured this would, as it has in the past, result in them assuming I was a fluent speaker and attempting to gab my ear off for the entire safari.

When we were almost back, our driver gave poor Lakshmi a solid whack on the top right ear that left a small spot where blood began to form. I felt sick to my stomach and tapped our guide and pointed with a disapproving shake of the head. He gestured and said something to inform me that this was ok and she needed this harsh command to keep her in line. I couldn’t wait to get off.

On the way home, Ranjan asked if I drink beer. It has been over two months since I’ve encountered an alcoholic beverage and I was planning to keep it that way until Italy. Like, literally, the minute I step foot of the plane, but I figured, why the hell not join my little buddy Ranjan for a brewski!

So he turned the bike down toward the river where there are a couple of bar/restaurants set up on a fake ‘beach’ to lure tourists to admire the sunset over the river and the jungle in the background after their safari. I forced down a disgusting Nepalese beer as I discussed the costs and logistics of my upcoming hike in Pokhara. Ranjan had introduced his friend Yam who does tours around Nepal and India and could tell me just about anything I wanted to know about hiking to Poon Hill. I had this preposterous idea that I could do the whole hike for about $5000 Rs. After informing me of the hiking permit (2000) and taxi to and from the starting point (1500 each way) I felt like maybe I would just hang out and do yoga for 400Rs a class for the next few days and maybe do a day hike on my own in Pokhara. But by the frig, I’ve wanted to come to Nepal to hike for a long time so if I leave here flat broke, then so be it. I was informed of the following: - A guide is not necessary, the porter is cheaper, can show you the way and inform you of everything you need to know. - Porter cost per day: 700 (not including their meals, but some tea houses feed the porters for free. Note to self → find these tea houses and pretend to be a porter.) - Tea houses are plentiful and staying there is fairly cheap (2-300Rs/night) - Food prices are expensive (by Nepalese standards) and becoming increasingly so as you ascend because everything has to be carried up (i.e. a simple meal like dhal and rice or soup can be upwards of 300Rs…you’d pay less than 100 for that in a local restaurant) - There four legs of the hike are as follows: •Day 1: The first day from Nayapul to Ulleri takes about 5-6 hours and is quite challenging (good!) with an elevation of 1900m •Day 2: Ulleri to Gohripani (4-5 hours) 2800m •Day 3: Start hiking around 4:30 am (puke) to see the sunrise from the summit of Poon Hill (swoon!) and begin descent •Day 4: If willing to hike for 10 hours, can circle around and go through the beautiful village of Ghandruk and then head back to Pokhara for another night before catching the bus to Kathmandu in the morning. There is a local bus that does this drive which can take about 3 hours so I may be able to save some $ this way, depending on how late it is. - Tourist bus leaves for Kathamnadu at 6:30am, takes 7-8 hours and costs 1000Rs, including lunch. - The local bus costs about half that and is about 1/4 as comfortable and I could probably be back in Canada by the time I’d get to Kathmandu.

Elephant Bath ~ Tuesday, September 24, 2013

After our fest, Ranjan was taking the girls to work and school and Gorima was going into the town of Thaali to get her eyes checked and a new pair of glasses so I joined her; we took two bikes and ventured off on our hour long journey into town. It was hot, but nice to feel the breeze and the sunshine as we rode along the dusty, bumpy path. The busy town was a little nicer than Parsa, but similar. We rode a few minutes along the main road after she got her glasses, and went to Marou’s preschool to visit her, as she's requested earlier in the morning.

One of her teachers welcomed us in with extreme enthusiasm, having Marou’s class perform a few songs for us, and showing us around every class and the rest of the center as if we were prospective parents looking to bring our own child there. We were served water, juice and a few crackers and then we pedaled along to visit Gorima’s aunt, Ranjan’s sister. We stopped at a factory where she was working making egg cartons from recycled cardboard.

It was interesting to see, although I could feel the monotony of the job the women were performing. We spent the next couple of hours between the homes of two of Gorima’s older sisters; one that was like a dungeon and smelled of urine, the other was a new, two-story, open concrete structure. I was really tired and getting a little bored sitting around watching TV and after we had left the second house, and had returned to the first, I asked Gorima if I could start biking back. She came with me, and I felt a bit bad making her leave, but I was really getting impatient.

Buffalo Crossing :)

After a rest in the afternoon, Gorima and I biked to the elephant place and I got to climb up on Lucky and join her for a bath in the river! IT was so awesome. As we walked down in the water, two peacocks flew off across the river as the sun was setting behind us. It was pretty amazing. As payment for my fortunate experience, I was hired to make more elephant sushi. Lucky stood above me with her trunk wagging in my face, impatient for the next roll. The first three I made and placed in her trunk were immediately spit out after Lucky had emptied the rice contents into her mouth. Apparently, she wasn't a fan of my cooking :S ! After I got the technique down (and tore the top layer of flesh off my hands with the sharp grass), Lucky started enjoying my technique and happily munching away at each serving, then sticking her trunk back in my face for more.

We stayed until just after dark and then Gorima and I walked home. She asked if I would bring my mother and father with me when I come back to Nepal, and then “your sisters and children”. “I will miss you.” ☺ Such a sweetheart.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to go on a safari; fortunately, Ranjan has arranged for me to go cheaply – I will only have to pay the park entrance fee of 1,500 and another 900-1000 for the elephant ride. I didn’t really want to do the elephant ride, but he says this will be the best way for me to see the Rhinos. In the morning, we are leaving around 7 to see the BABY elephants!!!:)

I hope to drop off my USB to get some pictures developed and possibly have some time to work on the video tomorrow.

Thursday I am going to the school in the morning to get a staff photo as well as some video of the entire school greeting “Namaste” and waving “Goodbye” to add to the iMovie also. After, I may bike to Sauraha and find a café with wifi where I can work on the video, then collect pictures, pick up a couple of things (sweets, balloons, some gift? for the family) and check out the Fair Trade store.

On Friday, I am planning to go to the school to show the iMovie and say goodbye, then I will have my last afternoon/evening with the family. I will have to leave on Saturday morning around 8:30 to go to the bus depot where Ranjan has booked a ticket for me to go to Pokhara. The time seems to have really dragged on, not necessarily in a bad way, but the week since I’ve been here seems so much longer. I will definitely be sad to leave but I am really excited about Pokhara!

Gorima tossing flowers into the air.

Lucky's boss taking her to dinner after her bath.

Making elephant sushi: