Beyond Words

Emily and I just returned from our trek. AMAZING! I thankfully started feeling better during our bus ride out to Pokhara last Saturday. Then our 5 days of trekking - with a day in Pokhara on each side of the trip - was like nothing I had done before. I only wish David could have been there with me. He was with me - though wish he could have seen it with his own eyes. I will blog in more detail soon... here's one pic for a starter :)

Home sick

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)

Last night I went to bed feeling great. I was excited for my last day at the hospital and happily anticipating our trip to Pokhara on Saturday for our week-long trek. Well, a few hours into sleep, things went from great to okay and from okay to bad. I seem to have come down with some bug - hopefully of the 24-hour variety - that kept me up all night and kept me from going into work this morning. Feeling sort of down and pretty crappy, I curled up in my bed (so thankful to have a bathroom just steps away) in hopes of feeling better.

I write this post not to seek sympathy, but to share the power of community and prayer. Libby offered to do anything at all, as soon as I broke the news that I'd not be joining her at the hospital today. In fact, she is doing a number of favors for me today. Miley - our house "didi" - busy washing laundry, cleaning dishes, keeping everything tidy - came into my room to check-on me... she had a sense without even have seen me that I was sick today. Not too long after her visit, Ross - another housemate - a man who has diligently been coming here for over 30 years to work on Bible translation, came to offer any help that he could be. Just now I wondered downstairs to find a DVD in our common room. There I met a Canadian couple, about to head out from the house here to do some Christian ministry work in a village outside the valley. They prayed for me.

I'm not feeling 100%, not by any means. But, my spirit feels much refreshed. As you go about your day and decide whether to reach out to another (or not), know that Jesus will work through you to heal in so many ways, in tiny ways and big ones, if only you call on Him.

I'm supposed to head over to Kathmandu later tonight to meet Emily and bring her back to my guesthouse so that we can prep for our journey that's scheduled for an early morning departure tomorrow. I know it is all in God's hands. Pray that His mighty will be done!

From our rooftop on laundry day: black socks, solar water heaters, and mountains in the distance.

Rhinos, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

On Friday I took a 6-hour bus ride to Chitwan to meet up with Emily. On Saturday we took a 1- hour bus ride with her Habitat for Humanity group into Chitwan National Park.

Our destination was the Island Jungle Resort. We arrived via dirt road and knew we were in the right place when we saw the sign above. However, there were no buildings around - all we could see was the jungle, river, and a couple of wooden canoes. Oh right, we're staying on an island! So we took the wooden canoes across the river, packed in with our backpacks and about 10 people per canoe. Ours gained a bit of water as we crossed, but we made it safely!

We were greeted with a cup of mango juice and our "schedule for the weekend." Our first activity was an elephant ride!! We had four people on our elephant - Emily, her Habitat roommate Sonia, our driver, and myself. It's hard to get a picture of yourself on an elephant, but here's a glimpse at us while riding the elephant; you can see another group of riders in the distance.

We journeyed through tall grasses, rivers, and jungle trees. Splashing, crunching, crushing whatever was in our way!

Here is a closeup of our little lady:

After returning from our exciting ride to our gorgeous riverside resort, it was time to eat lunch. After lunch we changed into our "bathing costumes" (shorts and t-shirts, since we didn't bring bathing suits) and headed down to the water...

So that we could wash (and ride!) the elephants. Here is Emily surfing on an elephant who is lazily lying on her side.

Later in the afternoon we went on a walk through the jungle looking for rhinos, tigers, and sloth bears, among many other animals. Here are scratch marks that a tiger has left on the trunk of a tree, in order to mark his territory. We saw fresh tiger poop, fresh claw marks in the sand, and the half-eaten carcass of a water buffalo - but we never actually saw a tiger up close. Fine by me.

Hard to see in the photo below, if you look close - on the sand across the way - is a crocodile bathing in the evening sun.

We returned at dusk via wooden canoe.

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains

and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and

all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)

We enjoyed watching the "stick dance" performed by a group of teenagers. The dance was originally danced with the intent to ward off malaria. Later in the evening, Emily and I joined the dancing fun.

I woke at 6am the next morning for an early morning "bird watching walk." Though the weather was a bit too misty to see the birds, we definitely heard them. Best of all was when we saw a giant rhino rise from the water into the mist. He's hard to see below, but he is there! The scene was quite majestic.

We enjoyed breakfast, another hike, reading by the river, and lunch before heading back to Emily's hotel in a nearby town. Who ever though Em and I would end up in Nepal together?! God works in crazy ways.

Momos in the Dark

A reflection from David regarding our first day in Nepal...

On our very first night in Nepal, Krista and I headed from the airport to the touristy district of Kathmandu called Thamel. The guesthouse we stayed in, Kathmandu Guest House, has been around for a long time, and many things in the area are measured by how far away they are from the Kathmandu Guesthouse. We got in at about noon so we had all afternoon to explore. Strangely,  it was 10:15pm back in California and when you are in airports and airplanes for nearly 40 consecutive hours, you're body becomes confused. Am I tired, or am I just being irritable for no reason? Am I hungry or is that pain in my stomach from eating four airplane meals in a row?

We walked around town a little bit where every store front sells knock off North Face and Marmot clothing gear. The streets are teemed with honking motorcycles and tourist vans wiz by forcing pedestrians onto the sides of these roads that were clearly not designed for vehicles at all.

After settling in and finding some snacks, we fell asleep mid afternoon, waking up with a big appetite at about the right time for dinner. Now, we had never looked at a menu in Nepal before, nor did we know the standard rate for different types of food, so we explored. We went to six or seven restaurants and asked to look at their menus. What's a doso? How about a momo?

Krista probably could have went on looking at menus for 30 minutes, but after walking into several restaurants just to walk back out again, I was turning into a kid at a candy store. I didn't care what I ate, so long as I could eat something, and eat it soon. So we landed on a restaurant called the "Momo Star." it had a long, skinny dining space elevated three or four steps up from the entrance. The split level was then filled with the kitchen underneath the dining area. There were maybe 10 tables that could seat four people each. After staring at the menu trying to determine what type of food would come if I ordered this or that, we decided it was only fitting to order a plate of Momos, the namesake of the restaurant. After a few minutes, we were served milk tea (delicious!) and the Momos canes out shortly afterwards. Momos turned out to be a thin layer of steamed dough with some sort of filling. They are really quite tasty and usually come with some spicy sauces on the side.

By this time, the sun was long gone, but we felt confident finding our way back to the guesthouse. As we were munching on our Momos, a strange a unexpected (by me) thing happened: all the lights in the entire neighborhood shut off. My mind started racing: there's about to be a massive earthquake, people are going to get robbed, we didn't bring a flashlight with us, hold Krista tightly!

A few seconds later, a few lights turned back on, but not at the same brightness as before.

The majority of Nepal's power is generated with hydroelectricity. With H2O flowing from the highest point on earth to nearly sea level in about 100 miles, there is a lot of potential energy. But this time of year is dry season in Nepal, which means not much water flow and not much energy.


Without their primary source of energy, the Kathmadu Valley is subject to "load-shedding" which means that everywhere household, store, restaurant, hospital, etc. only has 10 hours of electricity each day. We had a schedule posted at our guesthouse for each day of the week and when the power would be on or off. Each day was different, and we would generally have two five-hour chunks of time where we would have power. Sometimes it would be in the middle of the night, sometimes in the middle of the day. If we ever wanted to turn on a light, use the microwave, or try to have a semi-warm shower, we would have to wait for the electricity to come on.

Our adventures had only just begun.

Through the years

 

 

Friday afternoon

Traditionally, Saturday morning has been my favorite time of the week. A chance to sleep in, to wake up to chirping birds and the morning air, and to experience the delight of a new day. However, Friday afternoons give Saturday mornings quite the competition for being the best part of the week. And for David, Friday afternoons are his favorite. So instead of seeing these two times as competing for the best part of the week, we embrace both and get to celebrate two “favorite times.” Guess that’s all a longwinded way of saying… I was excited for it to be Friday afternoon because I know how much David loves Friday afternoons!     

_______

Today was Libby’s parents last day in Nepal. They have a flight out late tonight. Her mom had been wanting to get a custom-made kurta. So we brought them back to the place where I had a couple kurtas made for me.  

  

[About ten days ago we had accompanied Olga and friends to Neeva Fashion: Kurta Salwar, Sarees, and Fancy Ladies Wear. We had gone in hopes of picking out fabric for a kurta (tunic-topic), trousers, and matching scarf. It’s quite the process and can be overwhelming at times, as the women who work there have all the material organized in neat piles on shelves and as a customer remains unsure about this color or that pattern, they will unfold and present more and more choices. By the end of the process, we had probably seen over 100 unique color, pattern, and material combinations! They come in every color imaginable, have varying degrees of “bedazzlement” with sequins and sparkle, and may be made of cotton, pashmina, silk, or probably some others. I couldn’t decide on only one, so I splurged for two! They took many measurements of me with their cloth tape measure. As recommended by Olga’s friends who have had many kurtas made over the years, I asked for the tailors to measure “loosely” – as I was much taller than the average Nepali and wanted to be sure to fit into my new clothes. We paid on the spot and were instructed to return in about a week’s time for the finished products.]  

As you can imagine, I was incredibly excited that Libby’s mom wanted to have her own kurta made, as I had the chance to experience this rainbow of fabrics all over again. I also thought my own kurtas might be ready for pick-up. They were! So as Libby’s mom was choosing between materials, I was trying on my new kurtas. They are wonderfully comfortable and elegant looking. We even found an already-tailored beautiful tunic top that Libby liked and looked gorgeous wearing.     

After our kurta extravaganza in Kupondole, Laltipur (Patan), we took a 15-minute taxi ride into Thamel (Kathmandu) for dinner at an Israeli vegetarian restaurant suggested by our guidebooks: OR2K (http://www.or2k.org/).

The menu was filled with delicious salads, soups, Mediterranean combos, and more. We had a special treat because the vegetables were all pre-treated in filtered water, so visitors such as ourselves could actually eat the salad! (a very rare occasion here). In addition to the delicious food, the seating arrangements were padded mats on the floor with low tables, the room was lit by black lights making everything that was white or bright glow fluorescently, and the walls were covered in colorful paintings. I would gladly return here for another meal!

After dinner, Libby’s parents prepared to head to the airport and Libby and I headed back home via a series of two taxi rides, as the first driver seemed a bit confused about his whereabouts. All in all, it was one superb Friday afternoon here and though I am missing David to share it with, I’m happy to know he spent the exact same hours enjoying a morning golf outing!

A mighty sky

A striking scene of sun and clouds, as viewed from my rooftop this afternoon. How awesome is it that we have a God that creates such beauty and enables us to see it!

The rain continues...

Let us acknowledge the LORD; 

let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.

-Hosea 6:3

It has been sunny everyday that I have been here. I don’t think it rains too often during winter here. So it is a special day when it does. The thunder and lightning continued all night long. Multiple times I woke to the boom and flash of light that I’ve grown to miss so much while living in California. Having the day off from the hospital, I planned to sleep in. When I woke around 7:30am, the rain had slowed to an occasional sprinkle and puddles could be seen everywhere. I’ve always loved running in the rain and though I’ve been working to get over a head cold, I thought what better way to commune with God in the moment than go for a jog. I’m sure I elicited some strange looks directed my way, but I was excited to be hopping over puddles and finding sure places to put my feet. The air was a welcome relief from most days because even though there was still much exhaust from the vehicles, the normally constant layer of dust had been beaten down by thousands of raindrops. I ran on narrow dirt roads and wide paved roads, dodging taxis, buses, bicycles, and children waiting for school buses. Not too long after returning home, did the steady rain start again – resounding with an occasional boom of thunder.

Today I have no plans. I love days like that. They do not happen frequently enough. Correction – I had one plan - to talk with David! We skyped after returning from my jog and the strangest thing happened: our video call that was initially working just fine decided to make me mute. I could see and hear David and he could see me, but he could not hear me. Definitely was interesting to have a conversation where head movements and facial expressions became the only way I could communicate.

With the rain coming down hard, I’m happy to stay curled up inside. Better yet, Miley our “house mom” offered to cook a meal for Alice (a housemate) and myself. We pieced together what food we had on hand. I had bought lentils and rice in hopes that someday I would get to experience Miley’s cooking – today was the day!  We had only to walk ten steps to the kitchen to enjoy a hot delicious meal; all three of us eating together.

I’m not sure what I will do this afternoon. Libby is gone with her parents to Nagarkot and possibly Bhaktapur, though I’m not sure how their plans have changed with the abnormal weather.  I’m thankful for this day of rest and reflection. 

Rain

It's been sunny everyday here... until now: A thunder and lightning storm! Ah, what will it look like in the morning after a night of rain? Excited to see. Could be pretty muddy...

The Nursery

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 18:10

After spending my first two weeks on the children’s ward at Patan Hospital, I transitioned to the nursery this week and have now spent two days with the babies.  Each morning I attend a teaching session, yesterday it was about the previous day’s admissions and today it was on chronic kidney disease, after which the residents disperse to their respective teams to pre-round and round. There are two intermediate nurseries and also a NICU. I have spent the first part of the week in nursery A and will spend the last couple of days this week in nursery B.  Thus far the babies have ranged in gestational age from 27 weeks to full-term and have varied in birth weight from less than 1 kg to over 3 kg. There are a couple of incubators in the intermediate nurseries, but any baby that requires intubation is transferred to the NICU. 

"Nursery A"

After morning rounds at the bedside of these babies, the team scatter to various duties. One resident will go the post-partum ward to exam the healthy babies “rooming-in” with their mothers. Another will cover the OT (Operating Theater) for c-sections and the Delivery room for vaginal deliveries. I’ve been waiting for my opportunity to attend the deliveries. Today I was granted that chance!

After trading my tennis shoes for “slippers” (plastic shower sandals) upon entering the OT area and donning scrubs atop by street clothes, a blue hair cap, and green facemask, I was dressed to observe my first c-section delivery.

The resident showed me how he prepped the bed with a warming lamp, set up the facemask, bag, and O2 if necessary, and prepared the suction. After watching him receive and care for one new baby, it was my chance to “catch” the next one. 

Ready for the hand-off!

“Catching babies” is a role medical students can fill for healthy babies and one that I have filled multiple times back at home. However, little did I know until today that there is a big difference here related to how the baby is later presented to its mother. In the U.S. we make sure the child is stable with an exam and necessary support, swaddle them tightly in a blanket, and bring them to the parents’ sides. Here in Nepal, the naked baby is carried to the mother’s side. When it was my turn to show the baby off for the first time, I supported the baby with one hand under its rump and the other hand under its head. Well, when I brought it to the mother’s side, I quickly learned why the baby had to be naked. It seemed the most important part of this encounter was to be able to visualize the baby’s private parts, as words alone were not enough. With that first baby, I quickly learned how to present the baby properly to its mother. Despite the emphasis on visualized the sex of the child, all the mothers today appeared equally thankful to have a boy or a girl.

He's a squirmy fellow:)

As I reflect on today, I just keep thinking how words really cannot describe the miracle that each life is. I love being there for the transition from a baby swimming in a sea of amniotic fluid to one breathing air and crying for the very first time. When their little eyes open up to the world around them, I am moved to my soul. I sense such ultimate innocence and dependence, yet such wonder and awe. Of course a healthy baby is such a blessing, as there unfortunately are many complications with the grueling birthing process. Today the babies were wonderfully pink.  

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation– if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good" 1 Peter 2:2-3

My Birthday

I was born twenty-eight years ago today. This is my third birthday that I have celebrated outside of the United States. This coming year will be the longest year of my life thus far. Why? Well there are 29 days in February this year, but as we know that happens every 4 years. However, I started celebrating about 12 hours before the rest of you in North America. So as I get ready for bed here, I still have all day to celebrate in the United States with you!

How does one spend their birthday in Nepal? Well, from what I’ve learned from conversations here, most Nepali people do not know the day they were born. Historically most Nepali babies were born at home, perhaps delivered by a family member or, if you were lucky, a midwife lived close enough to come assist in the delivery. Nonetheless, most people live in rural villages and the sense of an exact birthdate had little, if no, value. Today there are incentives for women to deliver in hospitals and, increasing over just the last several years, children are now growing up to know their birthdays. That being said, birthdays in Nepal are just not that big of a deal.

Sticking to the Nepali attitude regarding celebrating (or even knowing or recognizing) one’s birthday, I made no special plans. Of course, I ended up having a splendid and special day. I woke up to a birthday call via skype with David. Enjoyed breakfast with Libby. Had an awesome morning at the hospital – my first day in the nursery (I loved it!). Ate at our favorite lunch spot right across the road from the hospital. Took a chiya break in the afternoon sunshine before finishing our time at the hospital in outpatient clinic with some precious kids.

The streets seemed extra busy today as we walked home from work. As we turned off the main road and headed towards our house, we were greeted by a magnificent surprise. It has been quite hazy lately. When it’s hazy here, you can’t make out the mountains at all. The “haziness” can be so thick sometimes that you can barely even make out the nearby foothills. I had prayed that I would get to see the mountains today, my birthday. I know God answers prayers in so many different ways.  Some are answered in ways that we would hope for and other times they are answered in not so obvious ways. They are heard and they are answered. Well today this prayer of mine was answered exactly as I had hoped for. The snow-capped Himalayan mountain range rose about the dust, noise, buildings, pollution, and the foothills. Even though the day was far from being perfectly clear, those mountain peaks jumped out of the sky, soaring where you would think only clouds could be. Thank you God for allowing us to come right to you in prayer. Thank you for caring about the big things and the small things. Thanks for showing off your gorgeous creation for us to see here in Nepal today.

Rooftop view of the mountains, from our guesthouse. Look in the distance, there are mountains - not just clouds (Better in person!)

After an extended viewing of the mountains from our rooftop, Libby and I headed into Kathmandu via taxi. We met up with her parents who had quite the day of walking and touring, and headed into Thamel for dinner. Since her parents were to be having traditional Nepal food in coming night, we decided on Korean food for dinner tonight. By map and guidebook, Libby meticulously led us through the disorganized streets to the alley of a well-reviewed Korean restaurant. 

Libby with her parents, excited we found our dining destination.

I don't think I’ve ever had Korean food and was excited to try something new. Based on Libbys’ recommendation, I ordered bibimbap and was served a piping hot bowl of rice, vegetables, stir-fried beef, and a freshly cracked egg – all of which you mix up together as soon as it is served, as the dish is so hot that there is still some more cooking to be done! There were lots of little side dishes and steaming hot soup as well. 

Missing Libby from the photo. Now if only David and Mike could have been here too...

After dinner we made a surprise stop at a bakery to look for a birthday cake or some other celebratory dessert. I picked out a “chocolate ball." We enjoyed our desserts on a second-level outdoor café with reggae music in the background overlooking the streets of Thamel.

My birthday dessert: a "chocolate ball" - it really was all chocolate.

After a short taxi ride home and a hot shower, I’m now warm and cozy, curled up in bed, missing my husband, but excited to extend my birthday celebration a bit longer when I wake up in a few hours to watch the Super Bowl via Skype with David. Let the celebration continue….

Places We've Stayed

Here are some of the guesthouses and hotels we've stayed at while here in Nepal!

One Day

Today was a typical day here, as typical as any may be. Wake up around 7am, body stiff from having slept so soundly at night that I must barely have moved. Emerge from my cozy, sleepingbag-lined bed to the chilly morning air. Use my curtain to wipe condensation off the windows; peer out towards the Himalayan mountain range (and hope it's clear enough to see the snow-covered mountains).

Wander out to the kitchen to cook up so oatmeal, this morning mixed with brown sugar, though most other mornings I’ve mixed it with jam. Read and reflect briefly while eating the steaming oatmeal. I want to work my way through the New Testament, obviously not to be finished in my time here, but a place to begin nonetheless. True confession, this morning I checked email instead of reading the Bible.

Yesterday though I was reading from Matthew. In chapter 1, verses 22-23 it says: All this (the birth of Jesus Christ) took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”  Have you ever made a promise? God made a promise years and years before Jesus walked this earth. He made a BIG promise. In the Old Testament, in the book of Isaiah, it is written: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” He made a promise and he fulfilled it. Fulfilled it in a mighty mighty mighty way. What an awesome God we have.

Libby and I leave the house between 7:30 and 7:45am to reach the hospital by 8am. It takes 15 minutes, almost exactly, to get there. We are at the hospital until about 4pm. When we arrive we are warm from walking, we quickly get cold while rounding in the unheated wards (I don’t know of any buildings that are truly heated here in Nepal), we may warm up with a few minutes of sunshine at lunchtime (like today when we drank “chiya” (milk tea) in the sunny hospital courtyard), then likely get cold again while observing outpatient clinic appointments.

By the time we get home at the end of the day, we are ready for a snack. Today it was mouth-watering pear juice and digestive biscuits. Yum yum. Then we decided to get some exercise. Aside from the one jog David and I went on the day of the strike last week, I haven’t done any proper exercising since being here (excluding walking/hiking). Libby brought some workout DVDs from home and today we did our first one. Kickboxing! We set up our own workout studio in the common room on the second floor by moving a coffee table out of the way and rolling up a rug. For over an hour we punched, kicked, ducked, and dodged invisible boxers. If we had a mirror to see ourselves moving, I’m sure I would look ridiculous. Lots of room for improvement!

As Libby had yet to try Nepali dal bhat, we asked the residents today for suggestions of a good local place to eat. Upon their recommendation we went to a Thakali restaurant for dinner. It was wonderful spot located less than a 5 minute walk from our home here. We sat on the floor on low-set chairs and enjoyed a vegetarian Thali set meal (with milk tea for dessert, of course). After dinner I showed Libby some photos from David and my adventures in our first week here and then brainstormed some fun activities to do with her parents, who will arrive this weekend. Both Libby and I miss our husbands dearly, but are so thankful to have each other’s company to adventure here together.

I topped off my night with a video skype call to David. Seeing the one you love makes all the difference!

Life in Patan

1/23/12-1/30/12

The taxi from Bhaktapur dropped us off close to Jawalekhel. He couldn’t go all the way into the center of this district of Patan because of a potential “strike” causing a traffic disruption. We climbed out of the tiny taxi, strapped on our backpacks, and though we really had no idea where we were, we started walking. After walking along a busy street with racing buses, taxis, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles, with larger storefronts than we had yet seen, we pulled our a map to try to make sense of our whereabouts. David, “Mr. Awesome Sense of Direction,” pointed us the right way and soon enough after crossing the street and changing direction, high up on a telephone pole we spotted a blue-and-white sign pointing us to “Shalom.” After a few left and right turns taking us down some smaller alleys, we arrived at the gate of our new home. We rolled back the heavy metal black gate, glanced up a series of small balconies on the corner of the 4-or 5-floor structure, and made eye-contact with an older Nepali woman who had just come to the window. Unsure of our next best step, we waited in the courtyard. This woman, whom we would soon learn was our house “didi” (older woman, helper), waved us in through the front door. She showed us to our room, offered us a bottle of water with a couple of glasses, and gave us our key. Our room had a giant bed – 2 twin beds pushed together creating an almost seamless union, two walls of windows, a desk, and our very own bathroom.

That first afternoon we ate at the nearby Bakery Café (a Kathmandu/Patan chain of restaurants offering delicious fair in a relaxed environment, served to you by an entirely deaf wait staff). We then found our way to Patan Hospital, in order to scope out our route for the next morning (Krista’s first day of work). Later we picked up our larger backpacks, which we had left at Olga’s during our trip to the outer rim of the Valley.  We arrived home for the night, unpacked, and went to bed.

Throughout the course of the next week (1/23-1/30), David explored Patan during the day while Krista worked at the hospital. She is there from 8am until 4 or 4:30pm, with full days off on Wednesday and Saturday. Many of the adventures we experienced that week will be described in posts to this blog dedicated entirely to each unique event; however, in summary, we visited a couple of children’s homes, ate at a friend’s restaurant, experienced a full-on-no-vehicles-allowed “strike”, ate Dal Bhaat with our hands (or rather David did), went for our one-and-only jog, journeyed to Bodha (including Kopan Monastery), observed end-of-life practices at Pashupati Temple (cremation grounds), and learned much about Hindi and Buddhist culture at the Patan Museum in Patan’s Durbar Square. David was a busy man, meeting with a few different people that he was blessed enough to be connected with by some dear friends and family. Krista will write about her time in the hospital in more detail, but thus far - despite a very different set of available resources compared to what we get used to in the U.S. - she has observed compassionate thoughtful care of these most beautiful and precious Nepali children.

David’s last day here was Monday the 30th of January. He walked Krista to the hospital and then took a taxi straight to the airport. Krista arrived at the morning teaching session with tears in her eyes and sadness in her heart. Thankfully there is free internet in Singapore (first layover spot) and Skype, once home, to look forward to!

Nagarkot to Dhulikhel, then onto Bhaktapur

1/20/12 – 1/22/12

Today we packed up at the Farmhouse and embarked on a wonderful hike from Nagarkot to Dhulikhel (about 20km). We started off with a big breakfast at the Farmhouse and told the staff there that we planned on walking to Dhulikhel. Using a lot of hand motions, the manager gave us directions: “up up up, down down down, up a little hill, down down down.” We told him we had heard it would take about 6 hours to hike between the two towns, but he assured us it could be done in 3.5 hours. When asking for directions in Nepal, nearly everybody gives you the amount of time to travel to the destination rather than the distance to be traveled.

Our first detour on the hike was to checkout the “Peaceful Cottage” – another place we had thought about staying while in Nagarkot. There were great views from there too; perhaps we will stay there in the future (though we really loved the Farmhouse!). After winding through Nagarkot, we exited the mountain town by weaving though an army base. There were funny inspirational quotes written in English, nailed to posts throughout the army area: “Grab the bull by the horns” “When the going gets tough the tough get going” “I’m on time” (that was the strangest one, we thought). Surprisingly the route to Dhulikhel was very well marked, with arrows pointing the whole way. We walked along the top of a ridge, which offered tremendous views of deep valleys stretching down both sides of our trail. We went down hundreds of stone steps, stopping at one for a lunch break of Nepali bread with jam and butter. We climbed terraced hills covered with yellow-flowering mustard seed plants. We walked through small villages. At one point David stopped to do pull-ups on a trekker’s shelter, as a young boy and his grandfather looked on with much intrigue (i.e. likely thinking he was crazy). The hike went through wooded areas, farmland, terraced hills, small villages, and people’s backyards all with the gorgeous Himalaya backdrop. It was truly a peaceful and magnificent hike.

Once we arrived to Dhulikhel, we needed to find a place to stay. The first hotel we checked had no vacancy. The second hotel would have worked, but we kept looking. As we were going down a driveway for another, we were approached by the most excited man we had yet to meet in Nepal. He adamantly encouraged us to visit his hotel. He told us he would give us a good price. So we followed him. As we walked into the door of his hotel, he had one of the boys play music on the guitar as a welcoming and another boy ran ahead to show us a room. We walked through a door with empty window panes (perhaps no money for actual windows) and proceeded up many flights of stairs in a shoddy, unfinished building. We both knew this was not the place for us to stay, but the man was becoming more and more adamant that we would say yes. We told him we were going to keep looking. Rather than bidding us farewell, he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with David to lead our search for other lodging. He kept telling us about his uncle’s hotel. Against his advice we decided to check out the Dhulikhel Lodge Resort (“that’s expensive” he exclaimed) and secretly hoped we could dodge him with this move. He continued to follow us all the way to the reception desk of the resort, even introducing us to his “uncle” – the receptionist (who later told us he was not related to this man).  We ended up really liking this place and negotiated a fair price that included breakfast and dinner at their hotel restaurant. Our room again had tremendous views of the Himalayas. That afternoon we explored the streets of this small town, relaxed reading by the hotel’s giant circular fireplace, and enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner in their dining room. We checked out the many channels on our first room with a TV (there were a lot of channels - maybe 70!), but opted to watch Friday Night Lights.

The next day we packed up with plans to get a taxi into Bhaktapur. As we approached the taxis, along came a public bus with someone shouting “Bhaktapur!” (or so we thought we heard). So we jumped on there and hoped we were headed in the right direction. At first we had plenty of space in the back of the bus, but as time went on the bus became increasingly crowded – people crammed in the seats and filling the aisles. Some people were even riding on the roof! We made stops every couple of minutes it seemed, with people constantly getting on and off. However, it was a fun ride and a great way to experience more of the culture. We didn’t know exactly where or when to get off. Thankfully the bus driver seemed to be looking out for us and yelled back at us when it was our stop.

Bhaktapur, “the cultural center of Nepal,” immediately struck us as quite distinctive with its brick walkways and many stores of handicrafts. There seemed to be a unique sense of culture and pride that was missing from Thamel. Again, our first task upon entering a new city was to find a place to stay. Krista became quite fond of going into many different guesthouses to see the many different styles of rooms and buildings. Eventually we settled on Newa Guesthouse, which was right in the shadow of the tallest temple in Nepal. We relaxed for a bit in our room, then ventured out to Pottery Square, Durbar Square, a fabulous snack atop a rooftop restaurant, and walked through narrow streets lined with lots of woodwork and metalwork shops. We ate dinner at the Sunny Café, on their rooftop looking out onto Tualini Tole.  

We had a great night sleep and woke early for breakfast the next day. We ate in a cute café looking out onto Durbar Square – eggs and toast, for each of us. We had plans to go to the Art Museum, Woodcarving Museum, and Metalwork Museum – one ticket granted entrance into all three. However, our plans were stalled by the art museum opening 30 minutes later than advertised. Nonetheless, two young gentlemen offered to be our “guides” for Durbar Square – we declined their offer but ended up talking with them for quite some time. One of them impressively spoke many languages, in order to offer his services to tourists from several countries. After visiting the museums, we packed up our belongings and found a taxi that would drive us to Patan. It was time to find our new home, the Shalom Guesthouse.

The First Few Days in Nepal

1/15-1/17/12

We departed Sunday at 12:50pm from SFO. We arrived at 12:05pm today, Tuesday January 17th, nearly 35 hours later. We feel as if we have already been on quite an adventure, though in truth we are just beginning. The flight from SFO to Seoul was the longest leg with a flight time of over thirteen hours. We sat next to a lovely little lady returning home to Bangladesh. The meals were terrific and entertainment satisfying. We kick-started the first leg with a “Singapore sling” (the country’s signature cocktail). For a long time we have been wanting to see Moneyball and were disappointed that we would be out of town on Friday January 20th when it is shown at Flicks (www.flicks.stanford.edu), but lucky for us, we watched it together on the plane. We supplemented our entertainment with a UFC fighter movie for David and a mindless chick flick for Krista. One of the strangest parts of the flight is that it seemed to be perpetually dusk – the sun never truly set, as we were moving west at just the right speed to stay just ahead of it. We moved about the cabin as much as we could during that long flight, but when we arrived for a short layover to refuel in Seoul – David was ready to exercise! He stretched and did some core exercises, as Krista tried to take a nap. Thankfully we slept for most of the flight to Singapore. Upon arriving in Singapore at 2am, the airport was quiet, but filled with lots to do. We visited a butterfly garden, enjoyed a foot and lower leg massage at automated machines throughout the terminals, we walked-jogged-ran in intervals to the correct terminal, and we watched Chariots of Fire in one of the two free movie theaters in the airport. We slept a little more and soon it was time to make the final flight to Kathmandu.

1/18/12

After a solid sleep of close to 12 hours, we were off for an early morning walk about Thamel. We ate some leftover momos from the night before, still delicious though only cold leftovers. There seemed to be slightly fewer cars and motorcycles in the morning, making the walking a bit safer and more enjoyable. Surprising to us, many people were picking up trash and sweeping the streets. Most of the storefronts were still closed, but in their place were men and women sitting in front with blankets covered in produce, clothes, and knick-knacks for sale. Some men were pushing bicycles with huge baskets filled wit fruit. At one roadside stand of newspapers, ten men stood shoulder-to-should all reading a different paper. Some children accompanied a mother or father to the marketplace, helping to sell whatever good their caregiver was tending. We happened upon a square with many people walking about a Buddhist temple in a clockwise procession while carrying prayer beads, sometimes praying aloud, and ringing bells that echoed beyond the square. We ate breakfast outside at a hotel café just down from our guesthouse. David had a “Mexican breakfast” of fried egg, corn bread, beans, and salsa; Krista had a Nepali omelet of eggs and vegetables with a side of toast. We packed up our belongings, divvying up what we expected to need for the next four days and packing this into our small bags, in hopes that we could leave everything else in our big packs as we headed out to the countryside.

We took a taxi to Patan to meet with Olga. As many streets don’t have names and houses don’t have numbers, we were instructed by Olga to have our taxi driver call her Nepali cook to have the directions explained over the phone. It all worked out and we made it to Olga’s beautiful home and gardens – an oasis right within the city. She was absolutely wonderful to meet, with a huge heart and amazing stories (check out Nepal Youth Foundation website for more details of all her projects). We enjoyed a lunch of soup, quiche, and salad (a special treat – with fresh vegetables from her own garden). We plan to meet up with her again before David leaves and hopefully more times throughout Krista’s weeks in Patan.

We hired a taxi to take us to Nagarkot, a mountain town about 1.5 hours outside Kathmandu. The ride took us through more city, some farming land, and into the hills. The road became windy and steep. David thought if it was in better condition and there weren’t so many crazy honking vehicles, the path would have made for a beautiful bike ride. We were hopeful to stay at the Farmhouse Resort, recommended by a couple of different friends, but since it was beyond the main town of Nagarkot we weren’t sure if the taxi would take us there. The driver did not know where to go, but after stopping to ask a townsperson for help, we were all set with directions. However, less than a kilometer beyond stopping for directions, the road transitioned from paved with some potholes to one made of rocks, dirt, more rocks, and giant potholes. The poor taxi kept driving us out further, even though with each bounce we were quite sure a tire might pop or part of the car would break. We followed some signposts until we had reached the small gate of the Farmhouse, passable from here on out only by foot. We were greeted by a friendly staff and immediately offered tea and coffee. We toured the grounds and opted for a deluxe corner room with two walls of windows offering breathtaking views of the Himalyas. We read a bit, relaxed with “milk tea”, and enjoyed a traditional dinner of dal bhaat, spinach, curried cauliflower, potatoes, and hardboiled eggs. With “Everest” beer for our beverage and a delicious honey-filled crepe for dessert. we were the only guests at dinner and the whole resort was catering to our every need. We lit a fire in our in-room fireplace with brief success, but then the smoke started coming in the room and we aborted that mission. Hot showers were refreshing and we went to bed with hot water bottles to help keep us warm.

1/19/12

From the bed in our room at the Farmhouse in Nagarkot, we woke to a beautiful sunrise. We put on our warm clothes and ventured outside for an even closer look, as the sun began to light up the mountains. There was frost on the ground and the prayer flags were blowing in the wind. The scene was majestic, the mountains mighty.

For breakfast we enjoyed apple pieces, muesli with hot milk, scrambled eggs, and Nepali bread with butter and peach jam (homemade from Farmhouse peach trees). As always, we enjoyed our “milk tea” as well. We then made plans with the Farmhouse staff to arrange for a guided walk to a nearby temple. When we asked how long it would take us to get there, there was bit of a miscommunication that led us to think it would take anywhere between 2.5 and 8 hours. We decided to go for it!

We met our guide a few moments later, a 24-year-old local dressed in jeans, button-down shirt, black jacket, and tennis shoes. He was very friendly. We started our journey right about 9 o’clock, walking through small farming villages with incredible views of the Himalayas. We passed a couple of schools, with children in uniform aligned in the playgrounds. We crossed paths with chickens, roosters, goats, cows, and baby versions of almost all these animals. Whenever we passed someone, we greeted him or her with a hearty “Namaste.” The children seemed to be most eager to exchange a greeting, but everyone was friendly and pleasant. The path was impressively flat at times, as it cut through a very mountainy part of the countryside. At one point, we came across a full-size soccer field, albeit made of dirt with no grass, which nonetheless was undoubtedly hard to create on the side of a hill. We journeyed down a big ziz-zagging road, several hundred meters, commonly being passed by motorcycles and overcrowded buses beeping their horns incessantly. After hiking for close to two hours, we reached a larger village at the base of the hill. We crossed a rickety bridge made of wooden planks and a chain-link railing and proceeded on a narrow trail. We climbed up through people’s terraced farmland, balancing between potato fields and tall grasses. Our guide protected us from barking dogs and only once stopped to ask directions to the temple. We got lost a few times, trekking “up and down, up and down” – as our guide stated. He knew where we wanted to get, we could see our destination with prayer flags blowing in the distance, however there was a big valley in the middle. Finally we reached a road that brought us right to the Vajrajogini Temple. There were dozens of visitors at this Buddhist/Hindu temple, though we appeared to be the only white ones. Perhaps the most captivating visitors were the half-dozen monkeys climbing about the temple and around the grounds. They sure were funny to watch, playful and mischievous. One little one strategically ripped a bag of rice out of the hands of one lady. Today the temple doors were open revealing a statue of a sacred goddess. We joined in with the visitors by removing our shoes and climbing the stairs to peer into the magnificently decorated innards of the temple.

From the temple, we journeyed downwards through more countryside to the town of Sankhu. We proceeded right through two lines of instrument playing locals, banging of drums and blowing trumpets. We have no idea why there were playing. A couple of kilometers away on the other side of town, was a big festival; we think it was religious of some sort. People were selling trinkets, clothes, food, religious offerings; there was a ferris-wheel for the children. A couple of young girls approached us holding what looked like a holy book they were trying to sell to us. We said no, but later saw others placing money and flower offerings atop the books and bending over to kiss it too. There was a large pool of water in which some people were bathing, while others seemed to be ceremonially tossing water over their shoulders in some religious ritual. Many people were dressed in red. Many had burnt offerings of flowers. Many were praying. It was a loud and chaotic scene. Then we started the uphill trek back up to Nagarkot, passing through more farmland and tiny villages. It was now at least 2pm, we had not eaten lunch, though thankfully had packed a bit of water, but the sun was shining bright and we were beginning to get a bit tired. When we finally spotted the Farmhouse we picked up our pace, excited to be close to a cold drink and hot shower. We paid 1000 Nepali Rupees (about $12) to have a guide with us the entire day. We were very thankful to have him. It was quite a fantastic and unique way to explore the countryside.

Tonight for dinner, the Farmhouse was filled with many more visitors than previously. Last night it had been just the two of us for dinner, but tonight there were about 15 people there. We enjoyed similar traditional Nepalese food, though served buffest-style this time. We sat with a very friendly Dutch couple that had just arrived to Nagarkot after having spent four or five days exploring Kathmandu. They previously were art dealers with a high-end gallery in Amsterdam and exhibits throughout Europe and the U.S. Now they live in Italy for eight months of the year and Holland for the remainder. We discussed everything from travel to politics to healthcare. They highly encouraged us to someday embark on a bike tour of Europe. Interestingly, they had emailed the Farmhouse ahead of time to book a room, specifically room #15 – as the guidebooks said it was the best. Turns out we ended up in that room. They were understanding, despite the funny happenstance that we ended up in that very room.

Tonight we asked the Farmhouse staff to help us light the fire because last night we had brief success before our room was filled with smoke. Tonight the fire burned well initially, but when we added wood, smoke again came billowing into the room. Seems that perhaps we need just a bit more practice tending to indoor fireplaces here in Nepal.

Tomorrow we plan to pack up and head to Dhulikhel. We expect the hike to take about 6 hours. Now we will read a bit and then fall asleep. In fact, David may already be sleeping.

Beautiful San Francisco Saturday... drew, david and me. Biked across the Golden Gate and all around the city. The Blue Angels put on a show in the afternoon. In' n ' Out was a superb lunch. Watched Stanford football at a little pub. Home for leftovers in the evening. What a day!

Exploring Huskvarna

Since the season has been over, I've decided it's about time to get out and see some more of this special little town and its surroundings! Thanks to Frida's mother, I now have a bike to get around on. I've been skipping the bus when its not too rainy, and using two wheels to get into Jonkoping and around town here in Huskvarna. There are many paths through nature. I specifically love the one that rides along the border of Lake Vatten. Sometimes a bit windy with waves actually crashing against the shore; on calmer days, the ride proves to be quite peaceful with a welcome sense of majesty.

On Thursday I visited the Match Stick Museum... Sweden is the proud inventor of the first safety match. Back in the 1800s and early 1900s, Jonkoping was home to the most bustling match-making factories in the world! They supplied matches for millions of people and continue to make matches today (though with the advent of electricity, the demand for matches greatly decreased). Within this museum, a bonus exhibit was displayed: "China Girl." China Girl is an exhibit completed by a Swedish artist that serves to reveal and heighten awareness about today's problem of disappearing girls in China. Due to a number of contributing factors, millions of girls are lost by abortions, abandonment, or murder. Across the planet, the normal ratio of boys to girls is 105-to-100; however, in certain provinces of China, the ratio is 130-to-100. Wow! A Chinese saying goes like this, "Having a girl is like watering your neighbor's garden." What?! This is crazy sexism, and it is not stuff of the past. This is happening now. TODAY. Much much much life is lost. How can this be? If you link through the title of this post, you can reach some photos, one of which captures the text of the "China Girl" exhibit. Worth a read. Please.

I also had the chance to explore the Husqvarna Fabriksmuseum (http://www.hkv-hbf.f.se/husqvarna/inf_sv.html). Beginning in 1689 and continuing successfully to this day, Husqvarna produces or has produced a diverse range of items including firearms, ovens, motorcycles, chainsaws, bicycles, mopeds, boat motors, sewing machines, and more. The 160m tall waterfall outside the factory and museum was one of the original reasons why Huskvarna was chosen to be location of the factory. Using the great force from this water, the water power enabled great productivity. Today the company has over 16,000 employees, though the majority of the manufacturing is actually now completed in the U.S. On my way out of the museum I met a man that has worked with Husqvarna for over 50 years. He is now retired, but provides factory tours to interested groups. When he was young he worked in the manufacturing division of the company and then eventually moved over to help direct buying and selling; his father worked at the factory too. A really nice guy full of lots of Husqvarna stories. He has a trip planned to Nashville, TN - he loves country music!

Well, that's a little recap of my most recent adventures around town. In a few more days I will be headed to Ireland! I cannot wait to reunite with some of my fellow counselors I worked with this past summer, but I too am enjoying my last few days in Huskvarna, Sweden. Gimme a shout and have a super weekend!!