Attack of the 50 ft woman

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So I know that I'm tall, but I haven't been this self concious about it since I was 10. I am a giant here. The average Nepali woman is 5'3" and probably weighs 100 pounds, the average Nepali man is 5'6". I can hardly fit into door frames, I have to buy the biggest size male flip flops they have, they make my cortas and have to let them out and everyone groans when I get on the microbus. My head touches the ceiling. Most of the buses are really crowded with people standing. They point me to a "seat" that is maybe 2 inches wide and I have to try and not fall out the door. Putting bangles on my huge hands is an ordeal and the cook and my house mother both have to help.
On another note, after work I went to the famous Boudanath Stupa. It's a huge Buddhist temple with several monastaries around. It was beautiful. I took some pictures and here they are. The air was clean and people weren't trying to sell me things. It was really nice. My work right now isn't exciting. I am just typing up the numbers from a survey into written form. I have almost 40 pages now and have a lot more to go.

There is supposed to be another strike tomorrow with no driving. This time the indigenous people are mad about thier representation in the government. I might be stuck at home, but I can type numbers there. I bought some toilet paper. You just don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. I had to go to a fancy store :).
I tried to register with the embassy today. I took a taxi there and then they said to go to this hotel. I took a taxi to the hotel and they said to come back later even though they are open. I guess things just work differently here, but I'm out 6 bucks and I have to go back later. Boo. I'll update in a few days. I"m going to Bakthapur on Saturday. It is a very old place where cars aren't allowed inside. It'll be nice to leave the pollution.

There is also a picture of my workspace. Yep, in Nepal you sit in the floor and the Didi (big sister) is always giving us tea. We don't drink coffee; we drink tea. I'm not gonna lie, I miss my coffee.

Just so everyone knows, Shanti, Prakash, Krisna, Milan, Ritu and Smriti are taking excellent care of me. They help me with everything, give me food to eat and water to drink and send people with me everywhere. They also know my cell phone and will call if I am late. I feel very safe, so DON'T WORRY about me, okay. Besides, I'm a huge person, I'm like the Chuck Norris of volunteers. I miss you , I love you, and I'll be home soon.

P.S. I am the worst self-portrait taker ever, but I don't trust anyone with my camera :) here's to countless pictures of half my face, which makes it about the size of a Nepalese face.

New assignment

Hey guys,

Everything is really good here, despite missing everyone desperately. I have started working and have already typed up 20 pages of the school health report. It's nice to be able to do work during work hours. It's scheduled, I'm not used to that. I walk everywhere and everywhere is uphill or downhill so I'm getting plenty of exercise. The clothes I had made are not saris, but cortas (I didn't know). They are still pretty, but kinda tight in the chest area. I'm going to have to get them let out a bit. I am also my own photographer, so excuse the pictures. I'll have to get a sari made before I leave. In addition to the work I already told you about, June 12th is world day against child labor. I get to travel to all of the CWISH drop in centers and child clubs (yes ladies and gentlemen, youth organizing... my practicum team will get it). I'm going to be collecting interviews and photographs to create a CWISH newsletter about the event.

Every time I walk down the street, everyone stares at me, all the little children shout "HI!" and I shout back, "Namaste", and i almost am killed by A. a bus B. a taxi C. a motorbike or D. a micro bus. Send me an email w/ your address and I'll write you a postcard.

The gallant Ozzie, the best watchdog in Kathmandu

Flat stanley and I stuck in my room b/c of the strike.

"Oh Flat Stanley, what would I do without you to keep me company? David can never know; do you understand? It's only for the summer. Our love is a secret love."

No cars go

I'm back at the cafe b/c of this, story courteosy of nepalnews.com

Agitating teachers call valley bandh

Protesting the police intervention in their sit-in on Friday, the agitating teachers led by Nepal Educational Republican Forum have announced valley bandh on Sunday.

Guna Raj Lohani, president of Forum, said that the bandh has been announced to protest the 'tyrannical oppression' against peaceful agitation by a democratic government. He said five dozen teachers were injured in the incident.
The meeting of the Forum, Saturday, had announced the bandh. The meeting also decided that if the eight parties show their willingness to resolve educational problems, they would be flexible enough to withdraw school strike.
The Forum has accused the Education Minister of making provocative remarks. It has asked Minister Pradeep Nepal to apologise for calling Forum as terrorist outfit.
Furthermore, Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students Union (ANNISU-Revolutionary) has warned to intensify its agitation and lock up accounts and administration sections of private schools if the government does not fulfill their demands. It has also warned to lock up government education offices and department.
At the strike call of Forum, 7.8 million students of over 35,000 schools across the country have been affected. The schools have remained shut down since last ten days.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has arranged shuttle bus service for national and international air passengers from airport to various hotels and vice versa today from 10.00 am 4:00 pm.

www.nepalnew.com

Here are pictures from my trip yesterday, and the view from my room.

Me with my tiki blessing

Here are some kids at the temple.
This is the view from my bedroom.
this monkey tried to scratch me and this is the picture where I narrowly escaped.

Enjoy these, they were a pain to upload. Love you guys.

Buddhas and temples and monkeys, oh my

Hey guys,

Upon revisiting my project, CWISH and I have decided to revamp. For 2 days a week I will be working on a school health report that is completed and compiling the results into a final report. 3 days a week I will be interviewing child domestic laborers with interesting stories of hardship and success to create a booklet of case studies. I'm really excited.

I'm getting much more used to everything, but my stomach isn't. Also the heat and the altitude, not to mention how hilly everything is, is very tiring.

Today I went to the Monkey temple. Unfortunately, it was almost too hot for the monkeys. You climb 365 steps to the top of a natural hill, said to be a gift from the gods. Once you reach the top you see a large buddhist temple, 2 monistaries, and a hindu temple, not to mention a monkey swimming pool. As I was climbing, i must have looked tired b/c a holy man came over and blessed me with a tiki, those red dots on the forehead. He said it brought good luck, and then later I got really sick, so maybe not. In fact, I still do not feel great.

I have a cell phone now, but its crazy expensive to call the states. If you have something like skype on your computer, you can buy a little credit and call for .2 cents a minute. My number is 009779803441959.

today in the market and older hindu woman told me, (in mostly nonverbal language) that my chest was very big and was I going to have a baby.

The road to Kathmandu IS very long

this is my hair after a bucket.
p.s. no other pics would upload, sorry.

Namaste!
Okay, I am finally here and over the jet lag and over the altitude sickness. My flight over was insane. I ended up staying the night in Bahrain which at first was scary and confusing and then later nice. My flight to Kathmandu was 9 hours later than I had expected. I could see Mt. Everest over the clouds when we flew in though, and that was amazing. I haven’t started work yet since I needed a day to get acclimated, but I start today. People here are very laid back, schedules are loose, things change constantly, and no one is in a hurry. I think their stress level must be zero, I wish it would wear off on me. It’s a hard adjustment, but I think it will be a good one.
I am staying with Shanti and her son and husband. She has a huge house and I am renting a room on the 4th floor. The pictures are of the house and my room. It is very hot right now and no one has air conditioning. The internet is VERY VERY SLOW and not wireless. Skype is virtually useless so you won’t be able to call me. I have tried to post on my blog twice and it hasn’t worked. I really hope it works this time. I need to talk to Shanti’s son about the best place for internet. He is sixteen and out of school due to the teacher strike. Yesterday we watched Nepali VH1 and he could play virtually every song that came on with his guitar. Her Daughter is in Utah
I’m finally getting over the culture shock. I was flying for so long and I was so tired I kinda had a little bit of a crying fit at the end of the day. I was so confused and no one told me what was happening. Everyone is so nice to me, but I just felt so lost and out of place. I’m doing much better now.
The pollution is very bad in the main parts of town. Most people speak English but there are also long bouts of Hindi and Nepali spoken in between. The power goes out for 2 hours in the evening. Not using toilet paper is not cool, but it will stop me from biting my nails I guess J. The shower is a bucket you fill up with cold water and dump on your head; I’m not kidding. It is taking me a little bit to get used to the food. I think I’ve already lost 5 pounds. When I told Shanti I was going to lose weight she said "your mother will think I haven’t been feeding you." There is a white Pomeranian type dog in one of the down stairs levels. He’s cute and makes me miss Rocky (p.s. spell check tried to capitalize miss, so it would be Miss Rocky). I am getting a cell phone in a few days and have decided that since internet sucks here, and is great in the states, so David and my parents need to buy a Nepalese number for their computers and I can call them. ( just to be sure guys, it will look like +977). It is very expensive to talk to the states on a cell phone here. To call from a phone in Thamel (a 3 dollar cab ride away) It is 30 rupees per minute (50 cents) and you have to talk in front of a crowd of people. Some time before the rains, in the next week or two, I want to fly up to Mt. Everest. On the weekends I want to see the temples and gardens in Kathmandu. Towards the end of my trip I am planning on taking a tour (with a group) up to Poukara and Chitiwan national park to ride the elephants and see the sunrise. It will be hot and rainy but I don’t want to miss out. I bought a fan yesterday for 20 dollars, very pricey for Nepal. It was the cheapest one they had but it is the best purchase I have ever made. I’m also getting some Saris made. The material and tailoring for each one was 17 dollars. I am getting 2 to wear to work, one is green and the other is turquoise, surprise surprise.
On another note, I really do miss all of you. I never have been so solitary. I know I’ll fit in soon, but you’re my crew, and I miss you….and shower heads…and toilet paper.

Bye

I get on a plane in 3 hours and I don't get off for days. I love you, I miss you, take care of David and Rocky for me. I'll talk to you soon.

culture shock

I bought a brand spankin new camera for my trip and here are some pictures from it. Tonight is Elizabeth and Leah's very sweet "Namaste Chandle" party. It will be great to see everyone. I'm getting nervous and excited about leaving. I've never traveled abroad alone. It's going to be amazing. I'm certain I've forgotten something because my bags are so underweight. I guess AmeriCorps taught me how to pack light "I can only wear the same pair of pants 5 days a week, right, guys?" I've been bad about posting, and I'm anxious for the party so I decided to post, but there's not much to say and this way you get to see sweet Isabella.

P.S. They don't use toilet paper;
I accidentially bought waterproof boots made of a cow god, so Scotch guard and tennis shoes is the next best thing;
It's rude to point your feet at other people;
there is no silverware.

Leaving on a jet plane

I'm officially done with school and I survived a whole year of Graduate school. I now have completed 25 hours of graduate level credit. I can hardly believe it. So I leave for Nepal a week from Monday. A travel warning was issued last week but I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm going to Siloam tomorrow to wish my mom and sister a happy mother's day. Here's a link to check out the news from the Kathmandu Post.

A Happy Birthday was had

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, it was a great one. My parents came down last weekend and my mom made me an amazing German Chocolate cake. Joy also got me this great carrot cake. I'm headed home on the 13th but I'll be back for the fabulous going away party Elizabeth and Leah are throwing me. If you want to come, it's at 8pm at Leah's house. If you want to come send me an email and I'll forward the invite.