Nepal- Week Three

Nepal- Week Three

Kathmandu, Nepal

November 13, 2017 to January 9, 2018

I am in Nepal for 8 weeks, teaching for the World Academy for the Future of Women.  I will be teaching college women how to be global leaders with the focus on the UN Sustainable Goals.  I am going to travel a little bit during this time.  This should be an enjoyable 8 weeks.

Monday, Nov 27- it’s my first day of teaching and I am excited to start.  That emotion is followed by self-doubt and a panic in thinking I am underprepared. When class starts I find that the students are just as excited to know me as I am to know them. I tell them a little bit about me and then ask them to write something about themselves. They are reluctant to respond but one girl does and she begins to cry.  She talked about the death of her father and brother and now it is just her mom and her and she wants to dedicate her life to this woman who has suffered too much.

Tuesday, Nov 28  I asked my students to respond to the questions, “Who am I?”

“I am blessed woman who have loving mother, caring father, understanding brother and helpful sisters. So I think I am the most fortunate all over the world coz I have all possibility to change all over the world.”

Wednesday, Nov 29- For class today, I have them make vision boards.  I think they are not quite understanding what I want them to do and I don’t really have any supplies so I anticipate some pretty dull boards.  But I am surprised.  They sat down on the floor and got to work and created some very good representations of themselves.  I asked them to envision themselves as 30 years old.  Where will they be?  Who will they serve?  What will they do to make the world a better place. Most want to help orphanages and poor women.  One students, obviously not understanding the assignment, said she wanted to travel around the world with her husband.

Thursday, Nov30-  I asked my students, “What is the most important lesson you have ever learned?”

“The greatest lesson I have learned by myself taking stand for yourself and other.  Because I had taken stand for many times.  Like I still remember that day when I was in class and my best friend and guy my classmate was kidding with each other and my girlfriend said him a thing that made him angry and he hited her on her breast. She was feeling really pain even couldn’t speak her face was too red.  She was feeling really I couldn’t see that her situation. I beat him to in that way and my class teacher came and asked what happened? I told he hited her on her chest. You can see still she isn’t able to stand and again my class teacher slapped him taken to principal room. I told him all the situation.  He says that well done because mostly we didn’t take action what others will do us.  So from that he speaks with girls very politely.”

Friday, Dec 1- I have a lab class which will focus on the student’s service projects.  Rita, an escaped child bride, is the project leader.  She is young and lacks confidence and leadership but her classmates are committed to her project.  So, others step up and take charge as needed.  Together, they brainstorm, question, pose and answer all sorts of thoughts and a coordinated project emerges.

Saturday, Dec 2- I have a 9AM leadership team meeting.  Only 4 of the 9 leaders show up and I am a bit discouraged.  Regardless, the meeting was productive and I got to see Jasmine take on her role of student leader with a confidence for a young person that is admirable. After the meeting, I am off to Thamel.  I am spending two nights there as an opportunity to explore more of Katmandu.  Where I am living now, it’s about 30 minutes away and isolated from the mainstream.  I plan on going to Thamel every weekend as a retreat.

Sunday, Dec 3- A rickshaw hauled my sorry ass to Dunbar Square.  I was here 20 years ago but it is so different now.  The earthquake of 2014 did substantial damage to this historical site.  And the crowds seem ten-fold.

My goal for today is to see the Living Goddess, a three-year-old who serves as a spiritual link to the Hindu gods.  She will retain this tile until she begins to menstruate and then someone else will be appointed to this position.  She lives in Dunbar Square and twice a day, she pops her head out the window for all of us to see and receive her blessing.  Watching the Nepalese fill with delight in seeing her reminded me of my encounter with the Pope just two years ago.  We all clapped and cheered when we saw her.

Nepal- Week Two

Nepal- Week Two
Kathmandu, Nepal
November 13, 2017 to January 9, 2018


I am in Nepal for 8 weeks, teaching for the World Academy for the Future of Women.  I will be teaching college women how to be global leaders with the focus on the UN Sustainable Goals.  I am going to travel a little bit during this time.  This should be an enjoyable 8 weeks.

Monday, Nov 20- I take a long, long bus ride to Pokhara.  What should have taken 5 hours takes 9 hours due to a truck that slide off the side of the mountain.  This town is filled with trekkers from all over the world. There is a strong western-world influence on this town.  All businesses cater to us.

Tuesday, Nov 21- At breakfast, I meet a couple from Scotland. They are my age and both are overweight but they are going on a two-day hike in the mountains and looking forward to the challenge.  I am looking forward to the arrival of my taxi driver and guide.

I take a city tour today.  The first stop is a 300-year-old Hindu temple.  We go to Debbie Falls and the glacier waters where we wash away our unknown sins.  But the highlights for me today were the visits to the Tibetan Refugee Camp and the Everest Mountain Museum.

Wednesday, Nov 22- I was picked up at 530 AM for a ride up to the top of a mountain to watch the sun rise over the Himalayan Mountains.  The view was spectacular.  I spent the rest of the day in search of a cup of Himalayan coffee and a good massage.  I was successful on both accounts.

Thursday, Nov 23 -I return to Thamel and wait for Laura, Nirmala and Jubin to join me for Thanksgiving dinner.  We are resigned to the fact that we will not have a traditional meal but we are committed to overeating.  However, we do find a restaurant that is offering a Thanksgiving buffet which immediately sparks a nostalgia in me.  I eat turkey and something that resembles stuffing and yellow pumpkin pie.  My two Nepali guests convince the waiter to let them split a Thanksgiving dinner and he does and they eat way too much and are satisfied that they had a Thanksgiving moment.

Friday, Nov 24- I sit in on my first session of classes and am impressed with the students.  Their English is so much better than many of my Chinese students. They seem to be bigger dreamers and more exposed to world issues.  They are commitment to improving the lives of women.

Saturday, Nov 25- there is a farewell ceremony for Laura, as she is finished her teaching assignment and a welcome ceremony for me as I will start on Monday. We all participate in a public awareness project to highlight the damaging effect of violence against women

Jubin comes to get Laura and me and she takes us to a local private school.  We sit for an hour as I question the school administrator on every aspect of his school. Students pay $25/month to attend and all classes are taught in English. Students go to school six days a week. The conditions are substandard and bleak. But the students don’t seem to mind.

She then takes us to a weaving factory.  It is now dark and the women are working under a dim light.  It is cold and the day surely has been long but it doesn’t appear as if anyone is going home soon.  There is still work to be done.  One woman is 76 and she has occupied her bench for 40 years.  She talks to Jebin and her old, arthritic fingers weave silk through the warp of her loom.  I am overwhelmed with sadness for this woman.

We finish the day at a fast food dumpling restaurant. There’s lots of food, lots of dumplings and nan and good company.

Sunday, November 26- We spend the mornig at TEWA, a conference center funded by NGOs that focus on women’s issues. It was so hopeful to see how many organizations there are in Nepal to address all of the abuses women face in this country.

Laurel and I head to Thamel from the night. Laurel is headed back to the USA tomorrow. So, we take a last-minute jaunt to the infamous Monkey Temple.  As we roam around, we wander in to a small shop that sells nothing but singing bowls.  An old, toothless man, with limited English, shows us the magic of these ancient bowls. He presses a large bowl on my back and ever so slightly, taps the side of the bowl.  Sound waves vibrate through my body and I can hear that vibration for several minutes later.

Nepal- Week One

Nepal- Week One
Kathmandu, Nepal
November 13, 2017 to January 9, 2018

I am in Nepal for 8 weeks, teaching for the World Academy for the Future of Women.  I will be teaching college women how to be global leaders with the focus on the UN Sustainable Goals.  I am going to travel a little bit during this time.  This should be an enjoyable 8 weeks.

Monday, November 13- I leave today and I am filled with anxiety.  I have too much stuff.  My luggage has to weigh over 50 pounds and I am going to have to pay a penalty and that will throw me off, piss me off, set my trip off on the wrong note.  I am going to stay at a hotel near the airport tonight so that I don't have to fight rush hour traffic tomorrow for my morning flight.

Tuesday, November 14- Not only do I get a seat by the window and I get all three seats in my aisle.  I guess not a lot of people want to go to Qatar today. The food is good.  I didn't get much sleep but I did get to level 11 on Bejeweled.  I crossed the International Date Line.

Wednesday, November 15- I arrived in Kathmandu around 4 in the afternoon.  I am met by Nirmala and Jebin, each in different cars.  So one woman takes one suitcase each and off we go.  I don't know either of these women so I hope my instincts are right and these two won't steal my things.

I meet Laura, the woman I am replacing.  Nirmala, Jebin, Laura and I go out to dinner and on the way home, we have a slight fender-bender.  Jebin's car is scratched and an hour discussion at the police station pursues.  Jebin won the debate and she leaves with the equivalent of $20 as restitution for damages done.

By this time, I have been up for over 30 hours and I am done.  I am shaking with fatigue. I crash in to bed and wake up 10 hours later.

Thursday, November 16- the day is spent trying to catch on to where we are in this program.  Laura gives me a tour of the kitchen, the bathroom, the WIFI and electrical system.  We walk up to town to the local grocery store and she gives me the low down on foods that she has tried.

In the afternoon, Nirmala helps me make arrangements to go to Chitwan National Park.  I had wanted to go here 20 years ago but I couldn't make it happen.  So I was determined to go on this trip.  Nirmala also suggests that I go to Polhara.  I agree to the idea even though I am not sure where I am going but Nirmala, Laura, and the travel agent all think it's a good idea so now I will be gone for a week rather than just 4 days.

Friday, November 17- A taxi comes to get me and take me in to Thamel in Kathmandu.  I have been here before but I don't remember much of it.  I check in to the Ambassador Garden Hotel and then quickly hit the streets.  I am on a mission to find a massage. Within five minutes I find a place that gives me a facial and a lower back massage.  The woman asks, "Are you comfortable with a man?"  I tell that is fine with me.  A handsome, young  man comes in and proceeds to give me an hour butt massage.  The receptionist must have thought I was an old cougar.

Saturday, November 18- I catch a 6:30 AM bus to Chitwan.  The ride is 7 hours and most of it is bumper to bumper through winding mountain roads.  We stop every two hours for a break at roadside restaurants.  The restrooms are dirty.  The food is mostly junk food and the roads are dusty.  So I mostly stay in the bus on these breaks.

As I am five hours in to the trip, it dawns on me that I have not secured all the information I may need soon.  Specifically, when do I get off the bus?  Which stop is mine?  I try at get answers from the bus attendant but to no avail.  I decide to stay on the bus until the other white people get off.  While we may not have spoken the same language, I am sure we are all tourists going to Chitwan.

I take the bus to the end of the line and there is a man with a jeep waiting for me.  He takes me to the Chitwan Camp and Lodge where i find lunch and a beer and i am one happy bitch.

In the evening, we head off to a sunset on the river and a tribal dance performance.  My guide walked me to the event and told me how to get back to the lodge, "I have seen this so many times, is that OK madame?"

Sunday, November 19-  We start the day with an early morning cruise down the river.  The moment is lovely but I am focused on the fact that this wooden canoe is paper thin and we are all ramped in together and I am never going to be able to get up without causing some sort of awkward scene.  My knees are going to be locked in place and in agony.

We see alligators and kingfishers and swallows and herons and so many other birds I have never seen before.  They are all beautiful.

I survive the ride and we go off to the elephant training camp.  It's hard to watch the elephants chained up as part of their training.  But it's easy to pass judgment when you don't have to use elephants to enhance your livelihood.

We head back to the river and watch how the elephants are bathed in the river.  Rocks are used as an exfoliatent and every inch of these massive bodies are scrubbed.

The highlight of the day was in the afternoon.  We took a jeep ride in to the bush and only traveled a few minutes when a Bengali tiger strolled right out in front of us. I couldn't believe!!! Everyone told us we wouldn't see a tiger and there was one right in front of us.  He walked ahead of us but stopped and turned his massive head and looked at us. He moved on  a few more feet and we followed him ever so slowly.  He stopped again and so did we and he looked at us again and we held our breath.  He moved on again and we followed him again.  He stopped again and looked one last time and charged  off in to the deep brush.  It was thrilling.

May 2017

May 2017

Carpenter's Point, MD

May 1- 31, 2017

1 (M)- Finally, finally, finally made a dent in my garden.  It is overgrown with weeds.  But my new weed wacker really seemed to do the trick today. I wacked the shit out of my yard today.

2- (T) Packing all of my junk and getting ready to move in to my new apartment.  I’ve packed enough that it finally looks as if I am making progress.

3-(W) Took a quick trip to Independent Brewery in Bel Air. I love to sit at a bar and drink beer.

4- (TH) My Women’s investment club made $10,000 this month.  We are doing pretty good considering we don’t know what we are doing.  Went to a movie in the PM- Their Finest.

5 (F)- It rained all damn day so no gardening was done.  I did a little bit of packing and then headed over to Oliver Brewery in Baltimore, MD.

6 (S)- Went to DC with Mariam Davis.  She wanted to participate in an Immigration Protest.  We got there only to find out that the protest had been canceled.

7(S)- I finally got to the Baltimore Cemetery and it was creepy.  I don’t think anyone has been buried here in years and no one has maintained the place.  Many of the graves are sunken and the headstones are cracked. One the way home I stopped at the Waverly Brewery.

8 (M)- I drove up to Oxford to get tags for my new car and other errands but everything was closed today. Damn. This was a wasted effort.

9 (T)- Dinner with Kevin Williams.  Nineteen years ago, Mom died and today is Jim’s bday.

10 (W)- Took a road trip to DC with Robert Ford to see our friend, Suzanna Ma, from China.

11 (TH)- Jim Frantz called me and suggested I come up right away if I wanted to see Darcy again.  She moved in to a hospice center today. I hate cancer.

12 (F)- Spent the day with Darcy in hospice.  She doesn’t want to die and she is fighting it.  I cried all day.

13 (S)- Darcy died this morning.  I was too sad to go to Heather’s baby shower in the afternoon. I am heartbroken.

14 (S)- Went to the Hakes’ house to see Heather and all the things she got for the new baby.

15 (M)- Sharon had a Great Dames event in Wilmington, DE.

16 (T)- I cut the lawn with my damn weed wacker.  My lawn mower died and I refuse to buy a new one since I am moving in to an apartment in a month.

17 (W)- Spent the day in bed, listening to podcasts.  I had no energy.

18 (TH)- Sharon got an award at the annual Girls’ Inc. ceremony. I raced off to a Library Foundation meeting.  My irises are in bloom. I wait all year to see my irises.

19 (F)- Bird Watching at DuPont Nature Center in DE.  It was hot.

20 (S)- Lunch in West Chester with Lauren.  She showed me around as this is going to be my new home in less than a month.

21 (S)- Hung around in my hot tub until midafternoon and then headed to DC for a CARE conference.

22 (M)- CARE Conference- Barbara Bush and Chelsea Clinton were our guest speakers.

23 (T)- CARE Conference- spent the day in workshops.

24 (W)- CARE Conference- spend the day on Capitol Hill, meeting with legislators.  I saw Senator Tim Kaines,  Senator Chris Coons, and Rep. Maxine Waters.

25 (TH)- Met Andre Pugh for coffee to catch her up on our recent library meeting.

26 (F)- Today was a day of errands, laundry, packing, gardening and soaking in the hot tub.  I am going to miss my hot tub.

27 (S)- Went up to Stroudsburg for Darcy’s Memorial Service.  It will probably be the last time I see most of these people.  Darcy was the person who kept me connected to all of these people.

28 (S)- Went on a 12-mile kayak paddle down the Delaware River with the Frantzs. Then we came home for Elias’ bday dinner. I needed this peaceful day after yesterday.

29 (M)- Spent the afternoon with Tricia in Berwyn.

30(T) - Lots of rain today.  But on a positive note, I found a neighbor who wants lots of my junk.  He can have it.

31 (W) - My crazy neighbor came today with a beat-up station wagon and took all of my scrap metal.  I went to dinner with the Descanos and Kevin Williams.

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