Namaste
I'm freshly back from Chitwan park - exhausted and dirty, but I had a blast! We got to see a show of Tharu dances (the native tribe of the Chitwan area) which was amazing and I actually got invited up to join one of the dances, so of course I had to. Then we went a long and beautiful walk through some of the park and saw some crocodiles and gurhials (Nepal's other version of a crocodile who are extremely endangered). The next morning we went for a a canoe ride where we saw lots more crocodiles, tons of beautiful birds, peacocks way up in the tops of trees (I had no idea they could fly that far), monkeys, and some wild boar. Then we walked for awhile again and it was just beautiful and so mystical looking (quite different then the amazon) and then it was my favorite part - Elephant bathing. They actually let you sit on the elephants back while he's going about bathing himself in the river (yes the same one with all of the crocodiles, but it was too fun to worry about that) The elephant was spraying us with water and dipping down under the water and roaming around the river. It was an amazing experience. After that We went on our elephant back safari which was also undescribably awesome. We got less than 10 feet away from a pair of Rhinos, they were so cool looking! we also saw some deer and lots of birds and other things. It was a blast!
Tomorrow is going to be a really great day as we have planned a special treat for the children! We are taking all 140 some kids to the cinema to see a Bollywood comedy and then going to Kathmandu's "amusement park" (it's in quotes because it has been described to me as comparable to the worst county fair you can imagine minus the safety regulations - so it should be interesting). I know the children will have a blast and it will be a great way to spend a lot of time with them and get to know them better. I'm so excited for them to have this opportunity of a day out on the town as almost all of them have never been to the cinema or amusement park.
There is lots more to tell but I'm still filthy from the 6 and a half hour bus ride (the dirtiest bus you could possibly imagine on top of the fact that there is no air conditioning - of course there's not any where- which means windows had to be open the whole, covering us with dust and soot and dirt) all on top of the mud we have all over us from birdwatching in the park this morning. What I'm trying to say is I desperately need a shower, so further details and stories will have to be saved for later!
Miss and love you all!
Kaela
Friday, July 23, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Love
Hello again,
So much has happened in the last couple days I'm not even sure where to begin. Since the last post, I have learned some Nepali, Helped many children with their studies, played many more games, was shown a traditional Nepali dance by one of the girls - which was extremely beautiful, Gone to a Buddhist Monastery that was unspeakably beautiful and serene and it was fascinating to see all the young monks (between about 5 - 12) running around and playing just like any other children, went out to eat with the other Volunteers, bettered my spelling by helping some of the girls prepare for their english spelling exam, took an hour bus ride and hour and a half jeep ride through extreme terrain up the mountains to go visit a school and hang out with the children for awhile, and then all the way back in the first bad rainstorm I've witnessed so far and it definitely lives up to it's name of the monsoon season, had a pigeon refuse to leave me alone while trying to use a restaurants squat toilet, went out with a bunch of volunteers because it was Jordan's last night (one of my favorites) - he just left a few minutes ago, played jump rope with the children which they loved, helped to make new benches to be put in the the orphanages, and some other things that I know I'm forgetting.
To answer some of my moms questions:
There are about 10 other volunteers in the volunteer house and a couple out on placements. The volunteer house is a 3 story building with a 4 girls rooms and 3 boys rooms - each room has 3 or 4 beds in it. There is a place to wash your clothes on the roof. I share a room with Hilary (a teacher from Connecticut) and Xinwa (a sixteen year old from Beijing) Almost everyone here has come alone - the only ones together are a brother and sister from Toronto
The orphanages here are nothing like the one in Peru,there is much more people, they have more privacy in that there are any where between 3 to 6 children in a room, and they have decorated their rooms to personalize them and they are beautiful, There is also a lot more love in all of these orphanages, not only between the Dai's and Didi's (daddy and mamas) and the children, but among the children as well. I've also noticed that these children are academically much more accomplished then the children were in Peru, they are extremely diligent and hard working.
I think I may have picked a placement - a Boys home about 2 hours out of the city up in the mountains. It's not completely for sure yet, but I would be leaving Monday if I do go.
Me and Hilary - the teacher from Connecticut that i'm sharing a room with - are going to Chitwan National Park together tomorrow and will be getting back Friday night. It's a perfect time to go because the Children will be finishing exams and there won't be all that much work for us to do.
I cannot wait to go and help and play with all of the children again today as well as learn some more Nepali and whatever other adventures Nepal has in store for me today.
Namaste
Kaela
So much has happened in the last couple days I'm not even sure where to begin. Since the last post, I have learned some Nepali, Helped many children with their studies, played many more games, was shown a traditional Nepali dance by one of the girls - which was extremely beautiful, Gone to a Buddhist Monastery that was unspeakably beautiful and serene and it was fascinating to see all the young monks (between about 5 - 12) running around and playing just like any other children, went out to eat with the other Volunteers, bettered my spelling by helping some of the girls prepare for their english spelling exam, took an hour bus ride and hour and a half jeep ride through extreme terrain up the mountains to go visit a school and hang out with the children for awhile, and then all the way back in the first bad rainstorm I've witnessed so far and it definitely lives up to it's name of the monsoon season, had a pigeon refuse to leave me alone while trying to use a restaurants squat toilet, went out with a bunch of volunteers because it was Jordan's last night (one of my favorites) - he just left a few minutes ago, played jump rope with the children which they loved, helped to make new benches to be put in the the orphanages, and some other things that I know I'm forgetting.
To answer some of my moms questions:
There are about 10 other volunteers in the volunteer house and a couple out on placements. The volunteer house is a 3 story building with a 4 girls rooms and 3 boys rooms - each room has 3 or 4 beds in it. There is a place to wash your clothes on the roof. I share a room with Hilary (a teacher from Connecticut) and Xinwa (a sixteen year old from Beijing) Almost everyone here has come alone - the only ones together are a brother and sister from Toronto
The orphanages here are nothing like the one in Peru,there is much more people, they have more privacy in that there are any where between 3 to 6 children in a room, and they have decorated their rooms to personalize them and they are beautiful, There is also a lot more love in all of these orphanages, not only between the Dai's and Didi's (daddy and mamas) and the children, but among the children as well. I've also noticed that these children are academically much more accomplished then the children were in Peru, they are extremely diligent and hard working.
I think I may have picked a placement - a Boys home about 2 hours out of the city up in the mountains. It's not completely for sure yet, but I would be leaving Monday if I do go.
Me and Hilary - the teacher from Connecticut that i'm sharing a room with - are going to Chitwan National Park together tomorrow and will be getting back Friday night. It's a perfect time to go because the Children will be finishing exams and there won't be all that much work for us to do.
I cannot wait to go and help and play with all of the children again today as well as learn some more Nepali and whatever other adventures Nepal has in store for me today.
Namaste
Kaela
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