tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62842068577501367582024-03-13T11:11:46.584-07:00Kerry's Adventures in Peace Corps-NepalKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-46016447502243334512015-04-08T01:01:00.000-07:002015-04-08T01:01:13.696-07:00Welcome to the Far West<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Far Westen region of Nepal is most often described as being "less developed." I thought that description was super vague and unhelpful until I moved there. Less developed is exactly what it is. There are fewer roads, lower population density, more homes and villages with no access to electricity, fewer cement buildings, fewer private schools and colleges, you see less western style clothing, have access to fewer luxury goods, and the people hold stronger to traditional beliefs. Aside from that, the Far West is very much like every other part of Nepal I have ever experienced. I suppose when you get down to it, Nepal is Nepal no matter where you go.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The biggest town in my area, Gaira.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I get to enjoy the most amazing sunrises every morning right outside my bedroom door.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know what it is about nurseries that make me so happy, but after stumbling upon this one one day, I fell in love with my community all over again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning how to build improved cook stoves</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting to meetings isn't always so easy. Many villages are not connected to a road and footpaths aren't always as clearly marked as you would expect. It makes for some fun adventures, as long as you don't mind getting lost in the wilderness too much. </td></tr>
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Holi: festival of colors</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creative fundraising - this woman's group danced around in the middle of the highway until vehicles trying to get through made a donation. </td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-52704653729458705982014-11-22T06:43:00.002-08:002014-11-22T06:43:50.434-08:00Farewells<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The last few weeks have been a bit of an emotional casserole as I prepared to leave one home and move on to another. There was the stress of finishing projects, the boredom of having everything done and it still not being time to go, the sadness of leaving a family and community I love, excitement for a new adventure, anxiety of travelling across the country on public transportation with all my stuff all alone, jealousy of my friends going home... Rather than try to make any sense of it all, I think I'll just throw it all at you in a jumble kind of like it is in my head.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-63995152836898056762014-11-21T01:37:00.000-08:002014-11-21T01:37:49.169-08:00Visit Aarupata<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nepal is a land of incredible natural beauty and rich cultural diversity. Whether you come for trekking or to visit the numerous world heritage sites, it will be well worth your while to set a few days aside to visit one of the rural villages.</div>
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Aarupata is a small village located in Syangja district in the mid-hills of western Nepal. Until a few years ago, Aarupata was just another a typical rural village dominated by subsistence agriculture. Women would often spend as much as 5 hours each day just carrying enough water to meet household needs. Following the instillation of a solar-powered water lifting system, everything changed. Come see the innovations that have transformed this area. Enjoy the magnificent views and experience the vibrant local culture. Check out this video to learn a little more about the area and why you should come visit.</div>
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Aarupata's tourism industry is still very young and developing. For the time being, feel free to contact me with any questions or to make reservations.</div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-19296710535751151782014-10-09T03:54:00.001-07:002014-10-09T03:54:16.309-07:00Dasain '71<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dasain is the celebration of the goddess Durga's victory over evil and is Nepal's biggest holiday. My family began our celebrations with a massive spring cleaning and repainting the house.<br />
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In typical Nepali fashion, while the women were busy at home working, the boys were off playing in a volleyball tournament.<br />
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Un castrated goats (and clocks and male buffalo), representing vices such as lust and anger, were sacrificed at home and at the temple.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That puddle is still there by the way and gets walked through barefoot all the time with no one caring</td></tr>
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Sacrifices mean lots of meat for days and days after, which is fed to all the family that stops by.<br />
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The climax of the 10 day celebration is the receiving of tika (rice on the forehead representing a blessing) from the matriarch and patriarch of the family, along with a small bundle of barely shoots and a bit of cash.<br />
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Everyone being so busy left me with very little to do. My sister in law finally took pity on me and took me with her to visit her home village.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-43879116330407909192014-10-09T02:47:00.001-07:002014-10-09T02:47:35.053-07:00School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For a Peace Corps volunteer, coming up with productive and appropriate ways to use your time and benefit your community can sometimes be a challenge. You can never go wrong working at a school though. Everyone loves you and you have an audience that has no choice but to listen to you. It also makes you appreciate weekends and holidays so much more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Practicing teeth brushing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing games</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UNO is very educational, right? </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My kindergarten-2nd graders thought it would be great fun to lock me in the classroom with them. It was cute and funny for the first 5 seconds or so, but got old fast. It was much less appreciated the second time it happened. For all you parents who taught your children discipline and obedience from a young age, thank you. </td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-32203578439863749752014-10-09T01:51:00.000-07:002014-10-09T01:55:50.757-07:00Monsoon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Monsoon is hanging laundry out to dry in the rain </div>
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in the hope that the sun will come out soon</div>
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Monsoon is cucumbers and roasted corn and gorging on the sweet red figs ripening amongst shaded roots on terrace walls</div>
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Monsoon is the persistent serenading of mosquitoes and leaches grown fat on the blood of unwary travelers</div>
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Monsoon is roads turned to rivers and mud pits and ruts deep enough to drown tail lights</div>
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Monsoon is fields vibrant with young rice nourished by the sweat of women</div>
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Monsoon is heat and mold and endless labour</div>
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Monsoon is the lifeblood of Nepal</div>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-84875177103980578802014-08-23T04:52:00.000-07:002014-08-23T04:52:01.564-07:00Weekend getaway in Butwal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My mom and I have been talking about going down to Butwal to visit my oldest sister and her family for over a year now. A few weeks ago during breakfast I casually asked where everyone was going that day. It took me a bit by surprise when it was announced that my mom was headed to Butwal and I was invited to come along. After a few minutes of panic at having to make a sudden decision, I figured why not? And off we went.<br />
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Butwal is one of the larger cities of Nepal, located in the flat lands, or Teri, just past where the mid hill region ends. The drive to Butwal is beautiful, but a little hard on the stomach. I lost my breakfast within the first half hour and never really had a chance to recover.<br />
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The Teri is a bit warm for comfort during summer, but is great for riding bikes. I hadn't realised how much I missed that.<br />
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I only had one full day to stay, so my nieces took me in hand and showed me the town. We started out at the zoo. It wasn't much by American or European standards and I could see someone who is passionate about animal rights not being a fan, but overall I thought it was one of the nicer places I've been to in Nepal that hasn't been built up just for tourists. In fact, it reminded me a bit of the zoo and botanical gardens in Stuttart, Germany, just a little. .. different.<br />
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Butwal vs Stuttgart</div>
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We didn't feel like going home after the zoo, so wandered through a big outdoor market and then around the city a bit.<br />
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It would have been a perfect day if it had ended there. Instead the local Gurung community decided to be very generous and throw a party in my honor. I am neither particularly social nor a night person, so I may not have reacted so well to a party that didn't start until after my bedtime and ended past midnight and that consisted of lots of speeches and dancing.<br />
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I'm ashamed to admit how shallow I am, but I cheered up considerably once they began showering me with gifts.<br />
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And so the weekend ended on a positive note after all. The next morning I climbed back on a bus and headed home. Butwal doesn't have the best reputation among volunteers (mainly due to a lack of good foreign food), but I will always remember it fondly. </div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-36214652497863020912014-07-03T18:21:00.003-07:002014-07-03T18:21:43.999-07:00Just Another Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You may have noticed that I'm not particularly good at maintaining my blog. Consequently, when I do get around to it, I only cover major events. This post is dedicated to the little things I wouldn't otherwise share.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7-day "home stay" training, where we learned how to make "foreign" food, some of which even tasted good.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digging a huge pit for rain water harvesting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As long as the tractor was here, we might as well dig a new road. It provided amusement for all.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aama churning milk to make ghee.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planting more coffee seedlings in our plantation.<span id="goog_555327313"></span><span id="goog_555327314"></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new bell was donated for the temple and so people from all around came bringing animals (chickens, goats, buffaloes) to sacrifice. It was a bloodbath.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I built a solar oven and now bake bread all the time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My niece and I are pretty much best friends right no</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pqNg56shwK8/U7YAXXDx5YI/AAAAAAAAAzo/qy2FNtQOzkk/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pqNg56shwK8/U7YAXXDx5YI/AAAAAAAAAzo/qy2FNtQOzkk/s1600/034.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sending my brother off to Korea to work.</td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-75694977241429124902014-07-03T05:14:00.001-07:002014-07-03T05:14:07.006-07:00Family Visits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In March my sister arrived for a week or two of adventure. A week or two goes by really fast in Nepal, but we did have the awesome opportunity to go on a trek up Poon Hill. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, I definitely recommend reserving a few days for a trek.<br />
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The trail took us from bustling roadside towns, through small rural villages, and then into lush forests.<br />
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Somehow I thought living in Nepal for the past year and a half and walking everywhere would leave me if relatively good shape. I was wrong. Turns out I've gotten really old and don't enjoy pain like I used to.<br />
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All the same, we made it to the top without dying and enjoyed spectacular views and the knowledge that (theoretically) things should be downhill from then on.<br />
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We also experimented with See's chocolates as a trekking food. I can't say my stomach always appreciated it, but it was great motivation to to wake up every morning.<br />
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Following our trek, we spent a few days in my village, took a whirlwind tour of Kathmandu, and then we parted, giving me just enough time to pick the parents up in Pokhara and head off with them to my village, where they got to enjoy a true Nepali experience.<br />
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And then we were off to see the world, or at least a very small part of it. We started off in Chitwan National Park, visiting the crocodiles in the river and riding around on elephants. </div>
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And then I dragged us all around Kathmandu. I may have a slight tendency to insist on walking everywhere and taking the roundabout path. Some people might call it getting lost, but I call it going on an adventure. Either way, my parents were troopers.<br />
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If you're going to be in this part of the world, you have to visit the Taj Mahal, right? So we went off to India for two whole days. We saw beautiful things, but if you really want to experience India, you should probably take a little more time. </div>
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By the end of the trip, Mom and Dad were practically Nepali (which is why they're trying really hard not to smile).<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-38252830887468337062014-02-07T07:26:00.006-08:002014-02-07T07:26:54.931-08:00A week in Kathmandu with not so much to do...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Did you know getting a visa to visit India from Nepal requires three in-person appearances at the visa office over the course of a week? And then you might not even get a visa, but I won't go into that. So, I've been in Kathmandu all week with a lot of free time. Even after living in Nepal for nearly a year and a half, I've hardly seen any of the tourist sights, so I figured this would be a good time to start. Kathmandu valley is home to seven World Heritage sites and I made it to four of them.<br />
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Durbar Square</div>
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There are three different Durbar Square World Heritage sites in Kathmandu. This one is located in one of the busiest pedestrian areas (that taxis and rickshaws also regularly force their way through) of Kathmandu. In addition to lots of really old temples and palaces, it is an area groups come to perform. I sat on the steps of a temple for a while watching a school group act out some ridiculous drama. It was a nice thing to see after spending so much time in a community that has never really had the time or opportunity to engage in any activity not related to survival or culture.<br />
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Swayambhu</div>
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Also known as Monkey Temple, this was probably my favorite visit. Located at the top of some impressive stairs amidst a lovely piece of wilderness in the center of Kathmandu, Swayambhu is a Buddhist stupa/temple complex overrun with tourists and monkeys. After wandering around a bit, I settled down on a bench at the base of the hill below the stupa to do a bit of crocheting (because isn't that what everyone does while visiting some of the world's most impressive sites?) and a monkey came and sat next to me, eying my bag. When it became obvious I wasn't going to share any food with him, he grabbed my bag and tried to run away with it. I won that tog-of-war, but he didn't give up. I sat down on a different bench and pulled my bag full of yarn balls out, thinking I was safe because I didn't have any food and he had already failed to get my bag from me. Suddenly my yarn bag was ripped away from me and the monkey ran off with one of the balls. Sitting on a nearby temple, he kept biting and unraveling it, trying to find the food that must be inside. We almost got in a serious fight before I could get my yarn back and that would have been a bad thing because, as we were taught in one of our first weeks of training, monkeys bite and they don't brush their teeth. Moral of the story-- definitely visit Swayambhu, but don't bring food and don't hold still too long if you're carrying a bag. And if you get in a fight with a monkey, kick it rather than getting in its face.</div>
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Pashupati</div>
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Thanks to a very informative tour I was tricked into taking, I know more about this site than the others. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long ago, a king got married, but had no children. So he got married again. And again. And again. After the tenth wife also failed to produce a child, a priest told the king that he would conceive a child with his 11th wife if he built one temple for each wife dedicated to Lord Shiva (the god of creation and, if the engravings on his temples are any indication, the god of reproduction). Miraculously, all 11 of his wives bore children afterwards.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pashupati, or Golden Temple, one of the most sacred Hindu sites in Nepal and one of the few temples only Hindus are allowed to enter.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sacred Bagmati River (meaning roughly "from the mouth of the tiger") runs through the center of Pashupati. It is here that the local dead people are purified then cremated. There are separate platforms for members of different casts. Once cremation is complete, the ashes are scattered in the river. They say you can see the smoke from people being cremated 24 hours a day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just outside of Pashupati is an ancient palace that has been converted into a state run old folks home for those individuals who's families can't (or wont) support them in their old age. I suppose there are worse places to hang out all day, but I saw the same loneliness on their faces as you can see in any similar institution.</td></tr>
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Bauddhanath </div>
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One of the world's largest stupas, surrounded by dozens of monetarists, and I still almost walked right past it. Despite being located in a relatively small courtyard just off a busy city street, Buddhanath is a pleasantly peaceful spot. Although the souvenir shops and beggars that surround any heavily visited spot in Nepal were present, there was an overall feel that this was a place people came to pay their devotion, rather than to just gawk at the pretty buildings.</div>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-24307164686788651872014-02-05T01:43:00.000-08:002014-02-05T01:43:21.616-08:00Honey Harvest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Within the last year or two, my villagers have transitioned from honey hunting and other traditional bee keeping techniques into professional bee keepers. Recently our local bee expert came up to help harvest the honey and let me be his personal assistant. It was a lot of fun, except we were expected to eat some of the honey from each of the hives we harvested from. I'm not a huge honey fan on the best of days and this experience didn't change that, but I did discover that I prefer honey still mixed with the comb. Try it sometime if you get the chance.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bee master (also boss of the local branch of Agriculture Development Bank and yoga instructor) smoking out the bees.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_z-kPNP9dPA/UvIDR7AT6JI/AAAAAAAAAmw/AVB_WgGBHWA/s1600/111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_z-kPNP9dPA/UvIDR7AT6JI/AAAAAAAAAmw/AVB_WgGBHWA/s1600/111.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't think the smoker worked so great, considering all the bees I had to brush off the combs as I prepared them for harvest and all the bodies I had to fish out of the honey, but apparently it worked OK after all.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching a local woman how to harvest honey</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typically, you want the combs to hang straight in the frames. Our
species of bees, however, seems to like building on the diagonal.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having to cut each frame out was a sticky messy process that left the ground scattered with drops of honey and dead bees.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's about 5kg of honey there.</td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-79346688077522352512014-02-01T06:04:00.000-08:002014-02-01T06:04:46.984-08:00Happy Holidays!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Pus 15 (Gurung New Year)! Why did we put all the major holidays together? It makes for a crazy busy month or two.</div>
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This year for Thanksgiving, us volunteers met up in Pokhara, took over the kitchen of one of the hotels, and prepared a potluck dinner.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pies (pumpkin and lemon meringue) were my favorite.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda agrees.</td></tr>
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For Christmas, five of us went on an adventure up to a small trekking village called Tato Pani (Hot Water) to celebrate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning of our long, cramped, bumpy bus ride. That's why we're still smiling.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How can you have Christmas without a Christmas tree? Isn't ours the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand-knit stockings next to a fake fire... Too bad it didn't make the room any warmer.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcD2ktEG2Nw/Uuz2oIw8bOI/AAAAAAAAAlk/c0oNMIwMOTQ/s1600/178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fcD2ktEG2Nw/Uuz2oIw8bOI/AAAAAAAAAlk/c0oNMIwMOTQ/s1600/178.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being away from home for Christmas is never fun, but we made up for it by decorating lavishly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For some reason, the vegetarians in the group didn't seem to appreciate the cans of meat that came in their stockings. Go figure.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gingersnaps frosted with Nutella and decorated with M&M's. Delicious, but maybe not the best thing to gorge on right before bed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZffkmiVlVbQ/UuztvgYGBKI/AAAAAAAAAkY/5PYVZjSc0NA/s1600/148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZffkmiVlVbQ/UuztvgYGBKI/AAAAAAAAAkY/5PYVZjSc0NA/s1600/148.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you might guess from the name of the village, Tato Pani is home to some very hot water springs. So hot you can't stay in more than a minute or two at a time. It's the closest thing I've had to a hot bath in over a year.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing beats spending Christmas at home with family, but spending it in a beautiful mountain village with friends (and hot water) was pretty nice.</td></tr>
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I've never been a big New Years celebrator (I generally sleep through it actually), so I was happy to substitute it with Pus 15, the Gurung new years, which generally takes place a day or two before ours and doesn't involve staying up till midnight. In fact, I think it's my favorite Nepali holiday. <br />
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The day or two beforehand, villagers gather to clean up the cemetery and make offerings to their ancestors and deceased loved ones.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite part is always the end when we make a feast out of the leftover offerings.</td></tr>
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On Pus 15, all the Gurungs in the area met up for a program. In addition to plenty of long speeches (after all, you can't have a proper program without those), there were games.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nepali pinata for the men-- smashing a clay jar with a stick after walking blindfolded across a field is a bit more satisfying than hitting a cardboard figure, but it's just not the same without the candy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e3h-WRgp0V8/UuzzEd1yIJI/AAAAAAAAAlg/mI_w1kAHBq0/s1600/323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e3h-WRgp0V8/UuzzEd1yIJI/AAAAAAAAAlg/mI_w1kAHBq0/s1600/323.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Musical chairs for the women.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BH_ocyZLgW4/Uuzyy_1rveI/AAAAAAAAAlY/c5iKGeaN_6I/s1600/324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BH_ocyZLgW4/Uuzyy_1rveI/AAAAAAAAAlY/c5iKGeaN_6I/s1600/324.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pleasant day to sit in the sunshine with friends for everyone else.</td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-37805378505842349132014-01-31T03:50:00.000-08:002014-01-31T03:50:25.111-08:00Thankyou Mountain View<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This December my village had a visit from several representatives from Mountain View Church, Denver, members of which helped raise funds for a water project in the village just below mine. This post is dedicated to them.<br />
<br />
A little background on water projects in Nepal-- although water is an
abundant resource here, it isn't always where it is needed.
Traditionally, women would often (and in many places still do) spend 5
hours or so each day carrying just enough water to meet household needs. With the acquisition of water being so labor intensive, rural communities have very little chance of developing beyond subsistence levels.
Through these water projects, water is pumped from the source into a
tank that distributes water to taps located throughout the village.
It's not indoor plumbing by any means (taps are typically shared and
water only runs for a few hours each day), but it's enough to
significantly reduce the work load of women, allow for commercial
agriculture and other income generation activities, and improve overall
health. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ceremonial opening of the water taps. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As far as Nepali programs go, this one was rather short and interesting... for those who had a clue what was going on. For the rest of us, listening to speeches for hour after hour in a foreign language, roasting in the sun, can be less fun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zV2fE9sZHkY/Uut_L1Ys4vI/AAAAAAAAAi4/QlWFPyI7qKY/s1600/081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zV2fE9sZHkY/Uut_L1Ys4vI/AAAAAAAAAi4/QlWFPyI7qKY/s1600/081.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't really tell, but that's the water tank.</td></tr>
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In addition to long hours of digging trenches in the hard dry soil, our guests also helped out a lot at the local primary school.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singing songs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorating and playing with cars</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting shirts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing sports.</td></tr>
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In addition to all that generosity, I was also left with a huge pile of supplies to help me as I continue to work in the community.<br />
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I play sports with the kids every day before school now and, believe it or not, we haven't lost a single ball.<br />
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On behalf of myself and my community, thank you for your great generosity.</div>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-29115111149906685032013-10-09T03:12:00.002-07:002013-10-09T03:12:27.185-07:00Year in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A year has passed since my great adventure in Nepal
began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My group of volunteers was
recently asked to summarize our experience so far in six words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Climb up, slip down, move forward"
was one statement I particularly identified with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, like many other individuals who have
served in Peace Corps, tend to share with others only the high points, but, as
another friend put it, "Peace Corps ain't fairytales and sprinkles."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been a bad
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As another friend shared,
"frustration, failure, fulfillment are all inevitable." <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been long periods of empty time as
I try to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been agonizing days of frustration
as I try to overcome my own weaknesses that stand in the way of me
accomplishing my goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too many of my
days have been shadowed with the discouragement of failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there are the days I just want to scream
at the people around me and run away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But then again, there are the breathtaking mountain views, the
friendships I have developed with my Nepali family and community, the fact that
I can actually have a conversation with them in Nepali, the confidence I've
gained in my own abilities, technical skills learned, and a handful of homes
that have been transformed by my helping them build improved cook stoves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here's a brief look at what the past year has
brought me.</div>
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I have been warmly welcomed into two families and two communities </div>
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I've celebrated dozens of holidays</div>
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I've helped entertain hundreds of visitors</div>
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I've attended a few too many weddings and funerals</div>
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I've been on TV several times</div>
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I got to spend a weekend with my brother</div>
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I've been able to watch my new niece grow from a tiny newborn to a thriving infant</div>
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I've picked thousands of tomatoes. I've probably eaten thousands of tomatoes too.</div>
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I've helped build and repair a few roads</div>
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I've helped construct 21 improved cook stoves in my community and trained 26 new volunteers in ICS construction</div>
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I've walked to and attended dozens of meetings </div>
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I created my own permagarden and was actually successful</div>
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I've helped clear the underbrush in our forest to make room for a coffee plantation. In the process I also got really good at pulling leaches off my ankles and learned that sandals really are the best type of foot gear in certain working conditions.</div>
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And I've seen my first host families new home transform from a nice pile of bricks into a bright pink mansion. </div>
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No, it hasn't all been fairytails and sprinkles, but it has been good and I have high hopes and expectations for the coming year.</div>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-74634719701697686812013-08-24T05:18:00.001-07:002013-08-24T05:22:24.990-07:00Roads Revisited<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When people heard I was going to Nepal, their first response was generally something along the lines of "it's going to be so cold!" After all, Nepal is home to 8 of the world's 10 tallest mountains. It's also at a similar latitude as Florida and varies in elevation from 70 to 8,850 meters. I'm in the middle part that has relatively moderate temperatures year round. What they really should have warned me about was monsoon season. Although it typically doesn't rain all day, it generally rains every day. For three months. It's been a little rough on the fields and roads.<br />
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If you're lucky and have enough money, a tractor will clear a landslide within a few hours and life will go on as normal.<br />
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The rest of the time... you walk more. And life still goes on like normal. Now that monsoon is starting to wind down, my villagers decided it was time to have a community work day to make the length of road between my village and the next village up drivable. Landslides and erosion had kept it impassable since the beginning of monsoon. I may have mentioned it before, but one of the things I love most about my community is their unity. Representatives from nearly every household showed up with digging tools and a cheerful attitude and spent the entire day working in the hot sun to fix up the road.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One, two, three... Push!</td></tr>
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While we were working on the road, I overheard a conversation that reminded me how fast conditions in Nepal are changing. It went something like this:<br />
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"You know, if we were to have work days like this once or twice each year the road would never get this bad."<br />
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"True. And even women can do this work. It used to be a few of the old men would just get together and say lets go dig the road..."<br />
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I heard another conversation awhile back in a tea shop. A group of people of mixed cast and ethnic groups were eating a snack and pleasantly chatting together after a meeting. The shop women commented:<br />
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"Just a few years ago something like this would never happen. You simply didn't talk to someone outside your cast. Maybe you could get away with it with an older man, but no one else."<br />
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I recently attended a Gurung meeting, in which it was decided that intermarriage between Gurungs and Magars (two of the ethnic groups of Nepal) is acceptable (not encouraged, but acceptable).<br />
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The signs are subtle, but things are changing here. From improving road conditions, to changing gender roles, to decreasing social class discrimination. I am very curious to see the Nepal of 10 or 20 years from now. I think it will in many ways be a very different place.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-47845549473929976242013-08-19T18:14:00.001-07:002013-08-19T18:14:23.141-07:00Rice Feeding Ceremony<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the Gurung culture, babies have a special ceremony the first time they eat rice. For girls it's at 4 months old, for boys it's 5 months. My niece just turned four months old. The ceremony involves placing a tika on the infant and then feeding her a little rice. There was some chicken there too, but no one actually tried to feed her that.<br />
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My niece was remarkably well behaved, for the most part. I guess an infant can only handle people stikking rice on their foreheads and shoving food in their mouths for so long.<br />
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This is also the time when a little girl starts wearing bracelets. They were so small! Good thing baby hands are flexible-- my experience with putting on similar bracelets (adult sized) was excruciatingly painful.<br />
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Honestly, I was really not excited about this ceremony. Babies should be exclusively breastfeed for six full months. My sister-in-law knew this, but it's hard to abandon deeply rooted traditions just because you know better. I am very happy to say though that my sister-in-law kept the ceremony simply symbolic-- she is still breastfeeding exclusively.</div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-44143964407810261472013-07-12T09:55:00.002-07:002013-07-12T09:55:39.551-07:00Another Funeral<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Weddings and funerals really do go together somehow. A few days before my brother's wedding a near neighbor (an old man who had been ill for many years) died. If it weren't for the fact that someone was dead and lots of people were sad, I'd have to say I prefer funerals over weddings.<br />
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In Gurung culture there is lots of weeping and wailing by family members and close friends to show their grief at a loved ones passing during the first day following death. The body is wrapped in cloth and decorated with garlands of money, flowers, cigarets, cookies and other assorted junk foods.<br />
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There is an hour or two of religious ceremony as holy men walk around the body and house chanting and playing drums. I'm always morbidly fascinated by the guy carrying the freshly severed goat's head in his mouth. It's not a job I'd want.<br />
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Crowds of people hang out at the deceased person's house all day long. Most are family and friends offering support. Others, particularly members of different ethnic groups, I think come more for the entertainment value.<br />
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Once the appropriate ceremonies have been performed, the body is carried up to the cemetery and buried.<br />
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The next day the funeral continues with a big feast. It's like a potluck where everyone knows exactly what to bring (there isn't a lot of variety is the typical Nepali diet). There's fruit and cookies and cell roti (ring shaped deep fried sweetened rice bread) and potato salad and prawn chips and other fried crispy snacks. These offerings are divided up and served to everyone as a snack before the real meal of rice and lentils. It's delicious.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-67141851257445065232013-07-12T09:22:00.000-07:002013-07-12T09:22:18.305-07:00Another wedding<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm usually the last to know about things. Either that or I just don't understand people when they tell me what's happening. So I was really excited when my Nepali mom told me my little brother was getting married shortly after she found out, which turned out to be a full week before the wedding. Of course, I thought the event she was telling me about was just my brother bringing his fiancee to meet the family and didn't find out it was the actual wedding until the day before.<br />
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The wedding was a fairly small event. The ceremony took place in the early afternoon, which I am now convinced is the perfect time for a wedding-- you have all morning to get ready and then by the time you're exhausted and just want to have the house to yourself again people are going home.<br />
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I don't understand everything that went on, but I'll do the best I can to describe a typical Gurung wedding. First, dung is smeared in front of the door. There are two sacred water pots and a fire. Then a chicken is sacrificed and the blood sprinkled on the stoop.<br />
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The bride and groom then approach the house, are greeted at the door and invited in.<br />
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Family and friends then take turns giving the bride and groom a white tika, pronouncing a blessing on them.<br />
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You don't typically see a lot of smiles during the ceremony, but I promise that they really are happy together. </div>
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And then we eat. A wedding just wouldn't be a wedding if there wasn't food involved. </div>
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As soon as the ceremony was finished, the bride put on her working clothes and helped the other women with the feast and clean-up.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-26628798853664195172013-07-12T08:13:00.000-07:002013-07-12T08:13:03.929-07:00People and Parties<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
People often want to know what I'm doing every day. It's a hard question to answer because mostly I'm just hanging out with my villagers and attending community gatherings. Here's a quick glimpse of some of our happenings.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was at a meeting celebrating the donation of some chairs by the Magar group to the community. Dancing is a very common fundraiser-- that's why there's money in her hair.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are three of my little pals just being silly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One day a bunch of us went to a big Gurung meeting of some kind. We all got dressed up in traditional dress, marched around in the street a bit, then listened to speeches. I have no idea what it was all about really. I often don't.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My village is an hours drive from the nearest sizable town, so it was a pretty big deal when the ice cream man showed up on his bike one day. A large group of us were gathered at the community building to build that fence you can see in the background and thoroughly enjoyed the snack break.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Groups often come to my village to check out all the agriculture development projects that have been done here. In preparation for their arrival, long hours are spent in the kitchen preparing a feast for them. They even let me help work sometimes now instead of just watch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pHbuVMQvJfQ/Ud-MpmflhJI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/_IrldfnKzxk/s1600/152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pHbuVMQvJfQ/Ud-MpmflhJI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/_IrldfnKzxk/s400/152.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of my favorite old women. She's got a lot of spunk-- she's giving someone a piece of her mind in this photo while a group is hanging around waiting for some meeting or another. She's also a cat lady, which is not normal for this culture. Maybe it's a universal trait that comes with age.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lEBtQNsOnCc/Ud-M1Cr6k8I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/pcXZM9UxY3Y/s1600/Self+control.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lEBtQNsOnCc/Ud-M1Cr6k8I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/pcXZM9UxY3Y/s400/Self+control.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I call this photo "Self Control." That's fresh meat being divied up right infront of that dog and he didn't even try to steal any of it.<span id="goog_1889333091"></span><span id="goog_1889333092"></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7HCwG1bCko0/UeAafva6zUI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/bKRzO-7oSDA/s1600/005+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7HCwG1bCko0/UeAafva6zUI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/bKRzO-7oSDA/s320/005+%25283%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These kids were pretending to plow a field, taking turns being the cows and the herder. The cows had a lot of fun being stubborn and having to be pushed forward, while the herder had a lot of fun hitting the cows with a stick and pushing them around.</td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-90806105970825411142013-07-11T21:38:00.001-07:002013-07-11T21:38:23.897-07:00Roads<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I live at the top of a long windy dirt road. </div>
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The roads are often in less than amazing condition.</div>
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Recently we got the funding to bring in a tractor to improve the road. Several men and boys would spend all day just sitting at the side of the road watching.</div>
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It was really exciting for a while, but then monsoon started and all that nice, freshly dug dirt turned into nice sticky mud. Our local jeep still makes it up and down most days, only making people get out and walk or push occasionally, but I still try to travel as little as possible.</div>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-18790318551760655402013-07-11T21:20:00.000-07:002013-07-11T21:20:24.326-07:00Hanging with my bro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
By crazy coincidence, my brother got to spend a month or so in Nepal on business. We got together for a weekend in Pokhara. Although I love my host family and community members and fellow volunteers, it was wonderfully refreshing to spend time with someone that I really know and who really knows me.<br />
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We really wanted to go sailing. I've never been sailing before, but he
did get the sailing merit badge 15 years ago, so it sounded like a great
plan. Maybe it was a good thing no one would rent us a sail boat. We decided to go out in a row boat instead, hoping our boat was in better condition than some of the ones we saw...<br />
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Good news-- we didn't sink.</div>
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You didn't know Walmart had a trekking store in Pokhara, did you. They probably don't know either.</div>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-26904415608744102532013-07-11T20:57:00.002-07:002013-07-11T20:57:49.224-07:00My new neice!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I can't claim to be the most observant person in the world. In a matter of fact, sometimes I'm down right clueless. For example, I didn't realize my Nepali sister-in-law (who lives with me) was pregnant until a month or two before her due date. In my defence, she really didn't show that much and how often do you really go around telling people "by the way, I'm pregnant"?<br />
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Considering my cluelessness, it was a bit of a surprise when my host dad told me early on morning that my new niece had been borne the night before. She was borne within 20 feet of me and I slept peacefully through it.<br />
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It's been a mixture of a fun, frustrating, and very informative experience having an infant living with us. Who doesn't love occasionally snuggling with a little baby? Who doesn't hate having an 11 year old treat you like an imbecile because she's pretty sure she knows how to take care of a baby better than you do?<br />
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Here she is!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a nap in the sun</td></tr>
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-86704454320678699932013-04-13T21:29:00.000-07:002013-04-13T21:29:05.146-07:00IST<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Intermediate Service Training? Intensive Seated Tedium? Interesting Scholastic Teaching? Peace Corps, like any good governmental organization, really likes its acronyms. I admit it was a little confusing at first to be a PCT sitting in PST discussing the COAT with our LCFs, trying to figure out when we were going to meet with the PCMO... You get used to it after a while, even if you never do figure out what all the acronyms actually mean. Whatever IST really means, it's the first big training meeting all the volunteers have together after moving to their permanent sites. It was a long, exhausting, informative week.<br />
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We built improved cook stoves (aka played in the mud). <br />
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Learned about nursery seed planting.<br />
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Built a plastic house (actually, I just watched-- It was really hot that day and I like to encourage men to work as much as possible).<br />
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Met a buffalo with really long toe nails.<br />
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Planted a field of tomatoes while learning about drip irrigation.<br />
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Built a solar food dryer.<br />
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It was an exhausting week.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-79553963695942729702013-04-08T06:20:00.002-07:002013-04-08T06:20:20.559-07:00Weddings and Funerals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't know what it is, but those two seem to go together somehow.<br />
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The day after arriving in Aarupata I attended a wedding. I was able to identify the bride and groom because she was crying hysterically and he looked enormously uncomfortable. "Love matches" are becoming more and more common, but many marriages are still arranged here. I'm not sure which type this particular marriage was, but I'm happy to report that I've seen the couple since and they look wonderfully happy together. It seems it is traditional for the bride to cry because it is hard for her to leave her family (after marriage the bride typically leaves her home town and moves in with her in-laws and becomes part of their family).<br />
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I've been to several weddings since then, some huge and fancy, most small and cozy.<br />
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They're nothing like American weddings. Friends and family members give a white tika to the bride and groom and their attendants as a way to give their blessing on the union. There's often feasting and dancing and they always end far too late at night. I get really grouchy when I'm tired, so I'm afraid that has rather tainted my opinion of weddings. <br />
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Funerals are a little more interesting. Each cast and ethnic group has different death rituals. Gurungs, with whom I live, bury their dead while most other groups use cremation. Not long ago my host dad's elderly aunt died of cancer. The experience was something you would expect to see in a National Geographic and I can't possibly describe it adequately, but I'll try. Throughout the day people gathered at the diseased home to very loudly mourn her passing. As evening started to approach, garlands of money were sewn together and other colorful decorations were procured. The body was wrapped in cloth then festooned with these decorations. Religious ceremonies and dancing were preformed, then around midnight the men carried the body up to the cemetery for burial. For several days afterwards all the gathered family spent most of our time hanging out together and planning the big death party that was to take place 15 days later. <br />
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"Death party" probably isn't the appropriate term for what happened, but It's the best way I know of to describe it. Far more happened than I am aware of or understood or that I can describe. This is a brief summary only. The four day gathering celebrated six different diseased ancestors. Family from far and near gathered to join in. The school was turned into a temporary camp ground where people would hangout throughout the day just chatting or creating money and flower garlands that were used later.<br />
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Then manikins representing the diseased were carried into the village and placed on a platform in a tent constructed for the event.<br />
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The manikins were then dressed up and decorated.<br />
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A group of young men played drums and danced around the figures for hours and hours. Their endurance was impressive.<br />
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Other religious ceremonies were also performed.<br />
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One night there was a special dance depicting the fight between good and evil. A group of priests (representing good) and a group of "son-in-laws" (any male relative really, representing evil) chased each other back and forth across a field, but in the end good always won.<br />
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Unfortunately, that same night a man in the next village down who had had a bit too much to drink fell to his death.<br />
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The party was a huge event. Whether you were related or not, everyone in the area came to watch.<br />
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The main thing I learned was that death is expensive everywhere, even if you don't have to buy a fancy box or cemetery plot.<br />
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6284206857750136758.post-44301312686325235042013-04-06T04:14:00.005-07:002013-04-06T04:15:25.207-07:00Christmas '12<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For our first Christmas away from home, all of us volunteers
gathered together in the city of Pokhara for a few days to celebrate.</div>
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We visited the World Peace Pagoda</div>
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Went on walks around the lake</div>
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And I even bought myself a new computer.</div>
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It was a pleasant escape from trying to learn Nepali and
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Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04452148322756757568noreply@blogger.com1