with nepal. i definitely need to make it back here for some chunk of time at some point in my life. hopefully sooner rather than later. the country is beautiful, and so are the people. for the past 2 weeks, morgan and i have been teaching english in a village near the border to tibet. what an amazing experience. we stayed at a (how to explain this...?). there is a non-profit in the village called the tuki association which supports education and agriculture in the surrounding area. it focuses on locally run cooperatives. many of the staff members of the organization live at the headquarters. we stayed there with them, and taught at a nearby school that is partially funded by tuki. by nearby, i mean a 30-minute walk through a beautiful forest overlooking fields and mountains. not too difficult of a hike, and a great way to get in daily exercise. the staff of tuki is an amazing group of people, who taught us so much about nepali culture and language. we danced, sang songs, played cards, tossed a disc around, ate together and just had a great time. (but did not have access to internet, which was nice in a lot of ways, but makes catching up with all of you great friends a little overwhelming. sorry if it takes me a while to respond to you in a more personal way.)
the people at the school itself welcomed us so warmly, showering us with garlands of flowers upon our arrival and departure. the principal became a great friend of ours and took us to some hotsprings yesterday. the kids were amazing. we taught grades 1-8, and it was a challenge, but a really fun one. i may have mentioned this in my blogs about teaching in korea, but it's equally true now: i have so much respect for all of my grade-school teachers. it is hard work to make classes both fun and worthwhile.
it was hard to leave new friends behind today and return to kathmandu. traffic, noise, lots of people... a contrast to the life we've been enjoying for the past bit of time. but we're not here long--tomorrow we leave for bhutan. i think it will be much more serene. (and also cut off from internet, though i could be wrong about that. another week of little contact.)
so many of you have asked me about my future plans. i still don't know. some things are becoming more clear: it's likely that i'll be returning to the states at the end of march. i'll be spending time in minneapolis, bodega bay, and boulder. (probably in that order.) where i go after that will depend largely on employment opportunities. there are so many compelling reasons to return to boulder and make it home again (primarily the great people who form my community there)... and yet there is a part of me that isn't sure that's where i want to stay long-term, so maybe now is the time to explore a different part of the u.s. i'm seriously considering taking a stab at the pacific northwest.
i do think i'll land back in the states for the forseeable future. unless something happens between now and april to cause me to reconsider that plan. and to some extent nepal has caused me to pause on that point. it's likely that i could get a job at tuki as an english teacher trainer. in the states i wouldn't be qualified for that job, but things are different here. as a native speaker, i'm a great candidate. i'm definitely going to look into the logistics of getting a work visa for this country. on the other hand, there are some big problems with that potential plan. largest among them is the thought of spending any more time away from friends and family... anyway, just something i'm pondering. nobody freak out. yet.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
blisters and goats
morgan and i did exactly what you're not supposed to do: we went trekking without first breaking in our hiking boots. and we have the blisters to prove it.
we started our time in nepal in a city called pokhara. it has a beautiful lake and a great view of the annapurna mountains, which are in the himalayas. we wanted to go paragliding from there, but we ran in to obstacles the two days we tried-- first a strike (political, apparently), which stopped all forms of transportation; then weather. boo!
after our plans were thwarted, we came here to kathmandu. it's a funny city. there is definitely ridiculous traffic and roads in terrible condition and all sorts of brick buildings, but there's also a sense of nature throughout. you can see mountains when the air is clear, and there is greenery everywhere. some planted, intentional gardens, but they meet up with the organic shrubs and bushes to create a story-book effect of buildings melting into the landscape.
the morning after arriving, we began our 6-day trek. we didn't go somewhere crazy, we just stayed in the mountains in the kathmandu valley. but don't let that mislead you; we were not hiking through the city. our great guide, nima (i'll put a link to his website when i get it), created an itinerary that took beautiful portions of 3 different trails and put them together in one cohesive trip. we were in the middle of nowhere for long stretches of time, and then we would spend the night in a remote little village. sometimes we were staying in a guesthouse with 1 room for guests. most of the time we didn't see any other westerners, even very few backpackers. we were not on a well-traveled route. and it was beautiful. we had a couple of great sunrises, and one night of incredibly clear stargazing.
the end of our trip marked the beginning of the vijaya dashami festival celebrations. on our last day, we hiked about an hour from where we were staying to another little village nearby. we were invited by a guy we met the day before to come to his home and view the traditional celebration. on that particular day, everyone sacrifices animals. i can't believe i did it, but i saw a goat killed. it was something i don't ever need to see again.
the last few days have been quiet around here because all of the celebrations take place at home, and not in public. yesterday we walked to the monkey temple. and it was covered in them. i had a monkey land on my back & shoulder to steal the coconut i was eating. (btw, i just discovered i like coconut! that's fun.) it happened so quickly, i couldn't believe it. but i guess i know why those monkeys are all so fat! the rest of the temple experience was really nice. there were peace flags, hundreds of them, tied from one tower to the next. it was beautiful and very serene.
now we're just relaxing, checking email, getting laundry done, trading in books, and doing the usual traveler stuff. next week we head to a village about 90 km outside of kathmandu. we'll teach english there for about 2 weeks. i think we'll be with 4th-7th graders... should be a challenge!
we started our time in nepal in a city called pokhara. it has a beautiful lake and a great view of the annapurna mountains, which are in the himalayas. we wanted to go paragliding from there, but we ran in to obstacles the two days we tried-- first a strike (political, apparently), which stopped all forms of transportation; then weather. boo!
after our plans were thwarted, we came here to kathmandu. it's a funny city. there is definitely ridiculous traffic and roads in terrible condition and all sorts of brick buildings, but there's also a sense of nature throughout. you can see mountains when the air is clear, and there is greenery everywhere. some planted, intentional gardens, but they meet up with the organic shrubs and bushes to create a story-book effect of buildings melting into the landscape.
the morning after arriving, we began our 6-day trek. we didn't go somewhere crazy, we just stayed in the mountains in the kathmandu valley. but don't let that mislead you; we were not hiking through the city. our great guide, nima (i'll put a link to his website when i get it), created an itinerary that took beautiful portions of 3 different trails and put them together in one cohesive trip. we were in the middle of nowhere for long stretches of time, and then we would spend the night in a remote little village. sometimes we were staying in a guesthouse with 1 room for guests. most of the time we didn't see any other westerners, even very few backpackers. we were not on a well-traveled route. and it was beautiful. we had a couple of great sunrises, and one night of incredibly clear stargazing.
the end of our trip marked the beginning of the vijaya dashami festival celebrations. on our last day, we hiked about an hour from where we were staying to another little village nearby. we were invited by a guy we met the day before to come to his home and view the traditional celebration. on that particular day, everyone sacrifices animals. i can't believe i did it, but i saw a goat killed. it was something i don't ever need to see again.
the last few days have been quiet around here because all of the celebrations take place at home, and not in public. yesterday we walked to the monkey temple. and it was covered in them. i had a monkey land on my back & shoulder to steal the coconut i was eating. (btw, i just discovered i like coconut! that's fun.) it happened so quickly, i couldn't believe it. but i guess i know why those monkeys are all so fat! the rest of the temple experience was really nice. there were peace flags, hundreds of them, tied from one tower to the next. it was beautiful and very serene.
now we're just relaxing, checking email, getting laundry done, trading in books, and doing the usual traveler stuff. next week we head to a village about 90 km outside of kathmandu. we'll teach english there for about 2 weeks. i think we'll be with 4th-7th graders... should be a challenge!
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