Mero Pyaro Okhaldhunga

I have just returned from a lovely place called Okhaldhunga, Nepal. For two weeks I was surrounded by mountains, the sights and sounds of rural life, poverty, deep culture, and so many smiling faces. Every day I woke up early in the morning to the sounds of people getting ready for a day of work; the thumping sound of rice being pounded, a distant radio from the neighbors house, sometimes the grinding sound of lentils being ground under a rock, and water running from the tap to be used for morning chores. After being in and out of sleep for a couple more hours I would wake up again around 7:30, this time for good. The rooster has already been crowing for an hour now, the birds are chirping, leaves are rustling and the sun is starting to make its way through the cracks in my bedroom walls, made of bamboo and cardboard. I lay there for as long as I can under my bug net, inside my cozy sleeping bag, before I feel like my stomach will burst and I have to climb out of bed to walk to the bathroom. This takes more concentration than the groggy early morning bathroom trips at home since I have to climb down a steep "staircase" (ladder), walk 10 yards to the outhouse, and use the squat toilet inside, which I don't think I will ever be able to perfect. Sitting on the upstairs porch waiting for breakfast I have a beautiful view of the surrounding hills and the Dudh Kosi River below. It is a amazing view, and I feel so lucky to be able to experience it every day. At night the stars are so clear and the surrounding hills are spotted with little tiny lights from the few houses with solar power; the best view I will ever get while brushing my teeth before bed. It is crazy to think, and very sobering to realize, that so many people in the world live like this and seeing those lights makes me realize that there are people living in every corner of the earth, and their lives revolve around working to eat and eating to work.
My host parents, Bimala and Uttar, live with their 3 kids and Uttar's parents and they own some buffalo, goats, chickens, and lots of land for growing rice, millet, dal (lentils), and other vegetables. The people here are so fantastic and so kind, especially our host family. Bimala is a beautiful woman who works so hard everyday and always has a big smile on her face. And she has amazing talent for being able to cook such delicious dal bhat over a wood stove in a kitchen with no smoke ventilation.
Whether I was following Diann and Dan around during their work or conducting my own awareness programs about human trafficking, I always enjoyed interacting with the locals, as they are so fun to be around and there is so much to learn from them. Diann is the Founder and Director of PiSL (Partners in Sustainable Learning) and she travels to Nepal to do teacher trainings and build classrooms for Early Childhood Development (ECD). She has been here 5 times and has made such a big difference in each community she works in.
Living in a place with no running water, no wifi, and very little electricity was liberating and it felt good to not think about email or Facebook for a while. But there is no doubt that life in Okhaldhunga is hard and the people do not have it easy. I learned a lot of lessons while I was there and experienced a reality and a way of life that makes me consider and appreciate the life I have at home.

I cannot begin to describe all of the details of my time, so here are some photos to help you get a glimpse of what it was like:



Our journey to get here took us 1.5 days and a total of 12 hours of driving. And two thirds of the roads were unpaved and very very bumpy and windy. I felt like I was on a never ending safari in the mountains, but with no animals, just endless winding roads.









Just before arriving to Taluwa, Uttar and Bimala's village, we stopped at the top of the hill in a town called Nishanke, to check out a beautiful, clear view of the Himalayas (can you on find them in this photo?).







Then we arrived at Uttar and Bimala's house! Our new home for the next 2 weeks.






The kitchen.



My room.


Dried chilis with the beautiful view from the house in the background.




The tea shop that we frequented.



The view from the house again.


The women in Diann's trainings always thanked us with beautiful malas and Tika.



The women from Taluwa who I did a training with.





A group of beautiful women who showed up to the health post in stunning red saris and large smiles, although they are not showing off their smiles in this picture they sure did laugh a lot at me attempting to speak Nepali to them and compliment their outfits.




We learned how to make Roxy (homemade Nepali alcohol) over a fire.



More Tika and Malas!



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"Home is where you are"

This week our host family has been preparing for Diwali/ Tihar, the Festival of Lights. According to our host father, Dashain (the last festival we celebrated) is for eating (hence all the goat that took us 2 weeks to finish), and Diwali/Tihar is for dancing. We were slightly relieved when we discovered that we could not eat meat on Thursday because after the last festival we were nervous to be served more goat. Each day of Diwali celebrates a different thing; the crow, the dog (each dog on the streets is adorned with red Tika and a necklace of flowers), the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, the the New Year, and Bhai Tika, when sisters put Tika on their brothers.
Thursday morning we took a trip to a beautiful monastery where our friends Toby and Gillian are teaching English. It took us a while and a lot of backtracking, walking up steep hills, and asking directions from locals who had never heard of this monastery before, but we eventually found our way. It was a beautiful monastery, with sparkling gold coloring on the Gompa, the main building, and an amazing view of the surrounding towns and hills. It was so peaceful and quiet up there, so different from our life in the city, and a great way to start off our holiday. Getting lost adds color to the day and makes the end destination way more satisfying.







We retuned home after a long day of walking and noticed a significant increase in the amount of street vendors and people milling about, buying and selling Tika, strings of marigolds, bundles of sweets and candles. People were in the streets dancing and singing, and the houses were all decorated with lights and candles. Each doorstep welcomed us with a beautiful design made with different colored Tika (called Rangoli) and a trail of candles and footsteps leading inside the house, welcoming the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. We arrived at our house to find it decorated in sparking lights (the word "jilly-milly" in Nepalese means the sparkle/twinkling of lights -so far it's my favorite word that I've learned). Shikha, our oldest host sister made a Rangoli with colorful Tika and flour and then spread cow dung along the floor in a path up the stairs to the main floor of the house. Along the trail of cow dung we made yellow circles and then added little red footprints in each circle. Finally, placed on each footprint was a small candle with marigold petals around it, all to lead Lakshmi into the house. The family spent the night chatting and sharing many laughs. These are the moments I realize why I'm addicted to travel and being part of a home away from home.




Preparing the candles.






Visitors peeking in!



Tika!



Maybe I'm not the best at making footprints...I hope that didn't prevent
the goddess of wealth from paying a visit.

Saturday our friend Yasoda invited us to her house to celebrate with her family. She lives in a small room with her brother on the bottom floor of her landlords house equipped with 2 beds, a small stove for cooking, and a shrine for prayer (puja). I realized how different it was from what I'm used to, always a looking for more space, and especially how much we value privacy. Yasoda is always so happy and she has this loving spirit about her that just makes you smile. We celebrated with her brother, sister, and her sisters husband and their baby. We each received Tika, a necklace made of marigolds, and a plate of food. It was so nice to celebrate with a new friend and to meet her family. She is probably the best cook I have met in Nepal, next to the lovely Sirita, so of course our meal was fantastic.







7 colors of Tika.



Our dear friend, Yasoda.

This festival was just another reminder of the kind hearts that Nepali people have and their willingness to share their traditions and culture with others. Pico Iyer said in his TED talk, "home is where you are", what a great way to live, making a home wherever you go. Happy Tihar everyone!

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Food, Glorious Food! (Plus some random photos)

It has been a long time since I last posted. I apologize for the delay. I was feeling uninspired to blog lately, until today. Tonight Beth, Crystal, Shikha, Priscalla (my host sisters), and I decided to make dinner together. We begged Shikha to let us cook with her and she decided to teach us how to make Alu Paratha, stuffed roti (Indian tortilla) with potatoes, tomatoes, chili, and onions. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I had learned how to make Roti yesterday night and tonight we decided to add some more flavor! Most of the time we don't eat this because it takes a long time and it's slightly fattening so it was a nice change from our usual meal of dal bhat.
Despite the fact that we eat basically the same thing every night for dinner I still have not grown tired of it. A typical meal includes dal bhat (rice with lentil soup), a curried vegetable or meat, and pickle (a spicy and bitter mixture with veggies and lapsi- a plant that can only be found in Nepal). And of course, the best way to eat it is to mix it all up and eat with your hands. We have recently started eating like this (like real Nepalis) and it makes the food much more enjoyable. Some people say the food tastes better when you eat with your hands but I think it's just more fun :) ). It was so fun to have all the girls cooking together in the kitchen and experimenting with new recipes. We all laughed at the fact that if Sirita was here she would have been appalled at our cooking skills. Unfortunately for us, Sirita went home (a 12 hour bus ride away) this morning to be with her family for the upcoming festival, Dewali/Tihar. We miss her already!
In other news, a band showed up in front of our house this afternoon and started playing music. They wouldn't leave until we have them money. It was sort of like a Nepali Christmas Carol, except without the snow.
And in other, other news, the weather forecast this weekend projects...Internet! Apparently because of the festival we will have electricity all weekend :)
Please enjoy some photos of our recent cooking adventures and other things.



Priscalla always has a sassy pose for photos.



Priscalla and Beth making balls of dough.











Garlic, garlic, garlic!




Part of our walk into town.



Some Saris hanging out to dry.



Evidence of our 2 hour can ride after the driver took is to the wrong
place. Not a comfortable ride.

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Elephants and Momos

This week we took a trip to Chitwan. It is a national park and one of the only places in the world with a elephant breeding center. There, although I hesitate to admit this, we rode elephants. It was such a fun experience and I got to explore the jungle on top of an elephants back. Above the tall grass and most importantly the swampy ground with creepy crawlers. Although I hesitated because of the consequences for the elephant (it takes a lot of abuse and breaking down to make an elephant easily rideable...) it was still very fun and a once in a lifetime experience. Rather than chat too much about my week this post will mostly be a visual experience. Enjoy!









A 21-day-old elephant.





My French friend, Anaelle :)


Before Chitwan, Crystal and I spent a day sightseeing. We went to Boudhnath and Swayambunath- two famous Buddhist stupas.




















And today we took a cooking class! We made Dal Bhat (lentil soup and rice) and momos.






Lentils!








Spinach and cheese and veggie.






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