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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