Let the excitement begin

Sorry for the absence of pictures, but the internet has NOT been cooperating

Well, today has also been very boring. I went to renew my visa, and in the tradition of everything I try to do here, it was more difficult than it should of been. The sign said they opened at 10am, but they didn't until 10:30 and then they wouldn't wait on anyone until 11 unless you gave them a lot of extra money. Screw you guys, I got allllllll day.


In other news, I'm going to see Harry Potter today and visit the bookstore, and it's the high point of my month. The excitement never ends. Does anyone else find it ironic that I am in a foreign country but instead of climbing mountains and visiting mystical temples, I am going to the movies and a bookstore?


Next week my parents are headed to Lima, Peru to visit my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kenny. Maybe I inspired them with all my third-worldness. Have fun guys; I love ya.

P.S. I tried to post comments on your blogs but it wouldn't let me. I promise lots of comments in 3 weeks, when the internet is usable.

Junk food strikes again

Hey guys,
Once again I am stuck inside because of a strike. Thursday and Friday it was because a professor at a local university was beaten to death, today it's because the taxi drivers were beaten up by some police. Overall it gets two boos down from me. The strikes never seem to resolve anything, so I'm not sure why they keep happening. I have read every book within reach so I decided to buy an Indian Cosmopolitan. It's the only English magazine they had besides Maxim. I also proceeded to eat junk food to fight off my boredom. Now I have descended into the "get on the internet AGAIN" phase. This phase has already been interrupted by power outages twice, so lets cross our fingers that this is the one. I'm getting antsy and ready to come home. 20 days left. see you soon.

Guniea pig strike

I'm off work today because of....wait for it...another strike. It's okay though, now I can catch up on the work I didn't get around to yesterday. I have also almost finished my final paper for school. I'm trying to see Harry Potter on Sunday. For now, I am trapped inside, so if you are too read my good friend Kim's blog. I guarantee laughs http://kimpurkiss.blogspot.com/

Strike 15, You're out

How many people does it take to fill up a micro?
Everyone walking, check out the smoke from the tire

So I'm on my way to work this morning, but I have to leave early (8:30), because I need to be in some place called Tikhidewal at 10am. The bus is driving along, when all the sudden we just stop. I'm a little annoyed b/c I needed to be in New Baneshwor by 9:15am and It's 9am. After about 10 minutes the bus starts to turn around and I realize, oh no, it's another freakin strike. I try to ask the guy how far it is to New Baneshwor but he just points me in a direction. The main road has several things lit on fire, mostly tires and tree branches. There is absolutely no traffic on this road so I start to walk. There are crowds of young men standing around the fires. This one guy tries to enter the college building and they start throwing large rocks at him. I think I'm about to witness a murder when the guy appears to beg for forgiveness and runs away. I finally reach the New Baneshwor and find Smriti. We try to take another route, but neither of us has ever been to Tikhidewal. Also, due to the strike and the severe gasoline shortage (the lines for gas are at least 100 cars long) all of the vehicles are full to the brim, see the picture above. We end up taking 5 different vehicles: 1 bus, 1 tuk tuk (a 3 wheeled tin can) and 3 microbuses. We finally get to this place called Lalitpur, but then we have to walk to Tikhidewal. It was sweltering today, and I almost turned Britney Spears on some taxi's that were about to hit me, (turning Britney Spears is when you attack a vehicle with your umbrella). Anyway, we finally made it there and it was 1pm. It took me 4 1/2 hours to get there. BOO STRIKES.

On another note, I got an email from the school about my team's practicum project. Apparently Mrs. Bebee (that would be the first lady of Arkansas) was in the Delta when she ran into a man who was trying to start a Boys and Girls club. He told her that the directory we made was really helpful and showed it to her. She liked it so much, she wants to meet with my team to discuss the process so directories like this can be made in all the counties. Hooray, I worked on something and somebody noticed. I feel like I’ve always been a hard worker and an intelligent human being, but until recently, this has gone largely unnoticed, at least in the job department. This totally makes up for walking several miles in the hot sun and spending wasted money on public transportation that doesn't take you anywhere.

In other good news, my 10 hour layover in Chicago next week is going to be intercepted by my amazing boyfriend, David. He's pickin' me up and we're going to get Italian food. Sounds like my kind of welcome home party.

Yummy Nepalese Snacks

Hey, here are some of the snack foods I eat. The chips are like an Indian version of cheetos and have chutney and masala flavoring. The Lapsy is the dried brown fruit with sugar. The noodles we just eat straight from the package. It's actually all pretty good.

Here is a picture of me with some of the kids from Chabhail. Hmm, who do I look like? Right.......







Hallelujah Harry Potter, Chandle Hagrid will see you this weekend.

Case story no. 24, Rita

I interviewed this girl today, and her story is the kind that makes me want to give these employers a piece of my mind. She's a good kid, and they better have some seriously bad karma coming their way.

Rita is a lovely 18 year old girl. She is from the Sarlahi district. A prominent member of Rita’s village liked her and wanted to move to Kathmandu and take Rita on as a worker. Her parents didn’t have very much money so they sent her away. She was seven years old.

Since Rita left, she has only returned home once. When she was 12, both her parents died within months of each other. She had a younger brother and sister, but since she left at such a young age, she isn’t sure what happened to them.

She has been working in Anamnagar for 11 years. She does all of the household chores. At first she was too little to do the cooking and all of the washing, but when she was nine she took on all the duties of the house. When her parents were alive her employers sent them her salary. When they died six years ago, they just stopped paying. They used to say that they would pay her when she got married, but they stopped saying that about a year ago. She has worked for 11 years and never received any payment for herself.

Five months ago a community police officer that works with CWISH came to Rita’s employers and told them that there was free education for domestic workers and they had to send her. When Rita first attended the DIC she was very introverted and wouldn’t share about her problems. She would go home and her employers would give her massive amounts of work. She would wake up hours before her employers to try and get ahead with her chores. When she finally had finished she would try to study but her employers would scold her saying “It’s time to sleep. Turn off the lights and go to bed.”

The facilitator at the Anamnagar DIC kept encouraging Rita to keep a positive attitude. Rita had a boyfriend of a different cast. He was a sweeper, but Rita convinced him to join the army and have a better life. He left to join the army and married another girl because Rita wasn’t a member of his cast. She was devastated. She told the facilitator “I can’t go on, I want to die.” The facilitator helped her to see that there is more to life, and she can’t give up.

The facilitator wanted Rita to continue her studies. In a few short months she had learned to read and write very well. Her writing had no mistakes and she was excelling in her other subjects. Rita told the facilitator “If I go to school, I will have to stay with my employer and I can’t stand the way they treat me.” Rita expressed interest in becoming a police officer and the facilitator and Rita are trying to find her a job in the women’s police force.

Rita gained a lot from attending the DIC. “Being here taught me about child rights. Now I stand up to my employer and tell her she has no right to treat me badly. I also learned about sex abuse and how to protect myself.” She has built up her confidence and found a new strength and new goals.

We ask her what advice she has for other employers. She is confident in her reply “When a child starts working at a young age he or she doesn’t know how important education is. An employer might ask a child once or twice if they would like to go to school, but the children are small and scared and don’t know what to do, so they say no. When I grew up I realized that education is the only chance I have. Employers have to show children how important school is. They don’t treat us like their own children. We can never be equal to them because we are always separated. We can’t sit on the furniture; we sleep in a separate place; we do all of the work; we carry their things and clean up their messes. I can never be equal to her so I must get an education.” Rita’s employer never went to school and has a negative attitude about Rita’s studies. “She scolds me a lot, and doesn’t help me or make it easier for me, but now I’m the one that can read and write.”

She works hard for the money

I'm miss entertainment. The internet is too slow to do anything cool and I read at the speed of light. I have gone through 3 books this week. I am also swiftly becoming broke. English books are expensive, but I can't help myself. I keep trying to download free podcasts from NPR but they eventually time out. I am going to splurge this weekend and go see the Order of the Phoenix. It cost the equivalent of 2 dollars. I really want to buy the next book so I can read it on the way home, but unless the shop will take a credit card, the 30 US dollars it cost is not in my budget. Most Nepalese people live on less than 2 dollars a day and I'm going to spend 30 dollars on Harry potter. I feel guilty now.
In order for me to not have to take out anymore money from the ATM I have to spend less than 3 dollars a day. I think I can do it. I'll eat a lot of noodles for lunch. My visa renewal is 30, my laundry bill is 40 and the exit fee at the airport is 30. If I have to take out anymore money, the ATM charges me 12 dollars and then I'll probably have too much and I'll have to exchange it for a crappy rate. Not to mention my bank account is at a dangerous low. Seriously, I could never thank the Clinton School enough for everything they have done for me , but a pay check will be so freakin' sweet.

On another note, Today I didn't even have to use my A.K., I got to say it was a good day. What I am trying to say in the words of Ice Cube, is that the case stories I took today were good ones. Most of the children are living better lives now that they work for someone else in Kathmandu so I don't want to get medieval on any employers. I've caught up on all my work and have sufficient time to complete what's left. Hallelujah, stress level is zero.

My sister makes the cutest kids. Not only do Ashur and Jed totally pull off the mohawks, but Izzy's looking like a heartbreaker.

Can I keep them?

A group of children at a CWISH Drop in Center crowded around my computer

Kids and me at the Gatthagar Drop in Center
One of a million precious puppies I see all over Kathmandu


So, I honestly think one day I would like to adopt a child (and a dog) from Nepal. Right now, that is a crazy idea, but one day I might actually do it. Since I can't do that right now, the only thing I can do is help.

If you are interested in helping these kids, it doesn't take a lot of money. I am posting the contact information for CWISH if anyone is interested. They have a child sponsorship program where you can pick a kid and provide them enough money to have a place to stay, food to eat and go to school and that child will write you letters and send you a gift every year (it's approximately 250-300 dollars a year or 20 to 25 dollars a month). It is a way to immediately stop one child from working. You could also give 10 or 20 dollars and make a difference.

If you can't give any money, that's fine. Thanks for reading, awareness is important and now you know. Also, thanks for all the uplifting comments, guys. It makes my day and makes me smile.


CWISH (Children- Women In Social Service and Human Rights)
Gangahiti, Chabahil, KMC-7
Kathmandu, Nepal
P.O. Box: 21433
Phone/Fax: +977-1-4474645, 2061213
E-mail: cwish@wlink.com.np
Web : www.cwish.org.np