Goodbye's are always hard.

Highlights...

We FINISHED our Sports Field! And then we organized a giant Fun Day. Hundreds of people showed up to partake in our day of soccer games, relay races, carnival booths, and performances. Let's just say seeing Nepali kids have a Color War for the first time, or play Pin the Tail on the Goat was really special. Everyone was smiling.

And my child club performed marvelously (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes aka Tauko, Kant, Gorda, Aulla). And, my girls sang a song they composed- in front of everyone. Which was a huge deal for them. In fact, Bijay told me he didn't recognize them, at first he thought they were our city girls group because they stood with such confidence and pride.

Such nachas.

Saying goodbye to the Stone Quarry was really emotional- some of the women got up and gave speeches, in tears. "You showed us that we're worth something, and that we can change our lives," one woman said. Another:"Before, the Rai villagers used to beat our children on the way to school, they used to tease them and push them into the mud.Now, they don't do that anymore."

By the way, both communities- Rai and Stone Quarry participated in the Fun Day together. On mixed teams. They spoke, and laugh, and socialized- together.

The kids were the cutest. I worked with the Stone Quarry child club and they all brought heaps of flowers (aka weeds) to thank me at the closing ceremony. They just kept piling them on and on. The day after was our final child club meeting and they showed up with mischievous smiles,hands clasped behind their backs. Of course, they had brought even more flowers. Those bouquets might have been made up of weeds, leaves, and sticks but they were the most beautiful flowers I've ever gotten.

Our last night we had a goodbye dinner with CIRDS, our partner NGO in MB. Ram, the father of the girl I had worked with in school is on their board and he gave a speech thanking me- this time, I was the one in tears. (Then he told me to friend him on Facebook which made me laugh).

My last meeting with the Young Girls was amazing. Not only did we elect a board (President, Vice President, Secretary and Vice Secretary) but they came up with a song, slogan, and group symbol, all on their own.

We also did our usual Woman of the Week tradition. (On Wednesdays, me and Reut pick a famous woman and show her picture, give a brief bio and connect it to the topic at hand). This time though I didn't show them the picture. I told them the WW was a young girl, who grew up in a village in Nepal, was confident, educated, a role model to all etc, etc. Finally I opened the paper I'd been holding- on it I had taped a mirror. You're the Woman of the Week, I said.

SUPER corny, I know. But they loved it.

Then, we played the string/web game (have a big ball of string, tie it on your hand, say something you learned/enjoyed and throw it across the room- it eventually created a giant, interconnected web). After,we turned our threads into beaded bracelets. It's so funny how girls across the world are the same, the second they saw the beads they got so excited.

By the way, some of the things they said to me:

"I loved the story of Joseph. It showed me that I could make a difference here."

"I realized that it's important to know your husband before marriage."

"I learned what birth control was."

"My favorite part was the games that showed us self confidence and self esteem"

More nachas.

We also had a giant goodbye party with the whole village. More tikka, more flowers, A LOT of dancing. I don't know how these little kids can shake their hips so well, but they just can.

Being back in the city for good is strange. But it's really nice to know that I have running water and an indoor bathroom...

Tomorrow, Yotam and I are brining the Minister of Inclusive Education to AutismCares. I think this has the potential to be one of the most important things I've done- him seeing the place might enable them to get some support from the government. So, wish me luck!

Where to begin?

First, huge mazal tov to Eliah and Inbar, my two mud hut-mates who are now ENGAGED. (Yes, they got engaged IN NEPAL).

This is our last real week of work. As such, it's been crazy. My girls really stepped up their game and created a group name, slogan, symbol. Even a song. Not to mention we now have a President, Vice President, and Secretary. (By the way, can I just say- voting in Nepal- not so pashut...)

Our sports field is nearly ready to go. It took A LOT of work this week but everyone helped out- even the child clubs came to level and clear the field. (Awesome as their participation was, seeing 7 year olds working with serious tools isn't the most heartwarming sight...but is also totally normal here...) Monday, we're having a giant Fun Day to officially open our sports field- consisting of a relay race/carnival/performance thingamajing for all the different communities. It's taken a lot of planning but it's pretty amazing what carnival games you can think up when all you have is rocks and dirt to work with...

Also this week, I had an Australian physical therapist who is working for TBT come to the school to assess one of the students I work with. This girl, Sambreede has some very obvious delays, she can't read or write (the rest of her class can) and she has coordination and movement issues. After the assessment I wrote out a list of therapy suggestions for her family and had Prakash translate it into Nepali. Ram, her father, was so thankful when I gave it to him, there were nearly tears in his eyes. Hope it helps her...

I guess I'm nervous and excited for this week. I don't really know how to say goodbye...

One last story. This was one of my favorite moments so far.

Tu B'svat is a really meaningful time for me and I had planned in advance to have as many of the shivat haminim at our seder as possible (Not an easy thing to do in Nepal). But, I had already gotten a wheat plant special from our farm, olive oil and dates straight from Israel, and dried figs and fresh pomegranates after some searching around in the city.

I was walking around Madabesi on Tu B'shvat, thinking about what we were missing (barley and grapes). As I was walking around the bazaar what do I see in front of me?A fruit stand.

Selling green grapes.

I had only seen grapes once before in Nepal.

And I had never seen them in Mahadabesi.

But here they were, on Tu Bshvat, just waiting to be bought.

And they were delicious.

Less than two weeks left in the village...

This week we did a workshop on classroom discipline with some preschool teachers. We asked the following question Do you/how do you punish your students?

Want to hear the answers? (You might not actually want to )
1. Have them stand up and have the rest of the class laugh at them
2. Beat them

I'm not sure which one is worse....

This week we started working on our sports field...finally! It just seems like because we're leaving soon there's an explosion of things to do

Gotta get to it!


.

This one might be PG13...

So in keeping with our 'Relationship" theme, we had a talk with the young girls about sex this week. I won't go into all the details, but let's just say it went great. I was really nervous- Sabita told me they had tried to broach this topic before but it hadn't worked- the girls had been too shy and uninvolved. So we decided to structure the lesson a little differently- we hung up silk curtains, and served hot chiya (tea) with sweet biscuits. Then we eased them into things slowly- we started with some neutral pictures, moved on to informal discussions and eventually ended with some diagrams and factual information (with the help of a a super strange Nepali version of 'What's Happening to My Body.") Considering the delicacy of the subject, it was amazing how they all listened and participated. I was astounded-most of them didn't know about the things we discussed or had only heard 'from friends.'

After the session we spoke with Santi alone. Found out that she had only spoken to her husband for the first time three days before they got married. Also, that she had no knowledge of what sex was beforehand. We asked if she was using family planning and her response? "What is that?" So we explained it to her, and she told us that with her husband's permission, she would go to the health post and get some birth control pills. Score one for us helping there NOT be another 15 year old mother....

School was still in exams this week so things weren't so hectic. Beruria's mom came to visit MB for a couple of days and it was great. Not only did she give an amazing shiur (ps I miss learning Torah) she also brought Starbucks Holiday Blend with her. What more could I ask for?

The work week was also pretty short because of our extended seminar- all the groups met back at the Big House in Kathmandu on Tuesday night. The plan was to travel to Gorka for the weekend, but of course, on the way there there was a banda (strike) and the roads were closed. We ended up having to switch our plans on the fly and travel to the lovely Bandipur instead. Spent New Year's weekend there- that was interesting. It's funny how things work- looking back on where I was last year, I can't say that I ever thought I'd be in NEPAL.

Sunday we traveled back to Kathmandu but of course there had to be yet another banda. It took us around seven hours to get home....

Time for bed.

But one last story of course, courtesy of the Mishikers. As told by Dan:

" I was walking in Durbar Square when I saw a huge banner advertising a Chagall art exhibit. A real art exhibit? In Nepal? I couldn't believe it! I walked closer to the poster, but there it was, clear as day- "The Magic of Color: Marc Chagall." I was so excited, I'd been dying for a classical culture fix! But then, I looked at the poster again. And I noticed it didn't just say "The Magic of Colour: Marc Chagall." It said "The Magic of Colour: March Chagall. And in fine print, underneath-"Posters of Chagalls' work will be exhibited."

Did you get that?

This 'art exhibit' was showing POSTERS. That's like going to a concert in Carnegie Hall to hear a RECORDING.
Only in Nepal...

Time's awastin'...only six more weeks on TBT.

Had a really interesting meeting with my young girls this week. After the whole Santi and Smriti incident, we decided an actual conversation about marriage was in order. To start off, Reut drew a caricature of a traditional married woman in Nepal and we asked what the picture represented. We went on to discuss what exactly were the responsibilities of married women. Among the answers, "cooking," "cleaning," "listening to your husband," "having children." Some of the girls seemed TERRIFIED at the prospect of marriage. As Sahni said "I don't want to get married because I'll lost my freedom. Santi, the one who had gotten married a week earlier chimed in "You have to do what your in-laws tell you, and you always have to listen to them." Other girls voiced their concerns regarding their friendships- "We won't get to play with anymore."
The thing is,whether they like it or not, most of them will be married within a year or two.
It's a hard reality for me personally to deal with- they just seem like they have so much more to do before life responsibilities kick in. But this is their life. I think what I can try to do, with the short time that I have, is to develop their ideas, to improve their confidence--- to help them become the best 'selves' they can be for the next few years....
On a different note, we taught the stone quarry kids about hand washing and hygeine this week and I came up with a great game, Germ Tag.The way it works- One person is the Kidera (Germ) and another is the Paani (Water). The Kidera/Germ goes around tagging people. If you're tagged, you freeze, sit on the floor and yell "Paani, Paani!" (Water, Water!) The Paani/Water person them comes to 'clean' (aka untag) you and off you go. Worked like a charm.
Today I went with Yotam to check out an organization called Autism Cares. I'd found it online and the Minister (whose official title,I found out, is Deputy Director) had mentioned it to me, so I thought it was worth looking into. Well, let's just say it was both rewarding and disheartening. It's the only organization if its kind in Nepal and it opened just two years ago. Basically it was started by a group of mothers of children with autism and now has a small daycare and an amazing mother/child workshop program. But, they only have one trained staff member, and one part time doctor. He happens to be the only doctor in Nepal who can diagnose autism- people here don't know what it is and don't know how to recognize it. The thing is, I'm not sure people would care. They're slowly working on building it up but to what extent? How do you introduce a concept like that? In terms of Autism- America has schools, professionals, seminars, conferences, ideas, development and Nepal has....nothing?

One last story. This was bizzare.
On Wednesday, Sabita tells me that the school is having some sort of entertainment program, sponsored by a local Korean NGO. Thinking I would get a real cultural experience, I trekked down from our hut to the school building. There was a program alright. Set up on the main field was a large tent. In front of it- a small pine tree decorated with twinkling colored lights. On top of it- a red and green poster. With pictures of Santa Claus. This Korean NGO? It was a missionary organization. The entertainment program? It was a Christmas pageant.
Oh, and how did they open up? A young man, dressed in Nepali clothing and a bright red Santa hat stands in front of a very large, unsuspecting, mostly destitute, and generally Hindu crowd and says. "Merry Christmas. Listen to us and we'll give you presents!"
Only in Nepal....

My girls made me PROUD.

So I've been discussing youth and change and idealism with my young girls group...albeit in very basic terms. However, some of the messages must have sunk in because they decided they wanted to make a difference in our village. Their plan- rebuild the main path, which is quite muddy, rocky, slippery and in general very accident prone. We had been discussing this idea for a while without any concrete action taking place and to tell you the truth, I wasn't one hundred percent sure things would work out. But work out they did. Forget the actual path building- the hardest part of the work took place on Tuesday--they spent the entire day bringing up huge rocks, little stones, and baskets upon baskets of sand up from the stone quarry. Let me tell you, these girls are STRONG. and BUFF. and they work HARD.
The next morning, I woke up early and walked to the village alone (Reut was sick the whole week). Sabita, our Nepali coordinator and translator wasn't there and I was really nervous about things working out. Luckily, with Bijay's (another staff member)help the girls got the general idea and started working.
Clear the mud, sweep the path, put on sand, level it with rocks, put on more sand, pour water and repeat. And repeat and repeat and repeat.
We worked for four hours and it was incredible. At some point, the whole village started to join in. There were my girls, age 14-16, directing little children, mothers, even some of the (mostly alcoholic) men joined in! And at the end of the day we had a beautiful, smooth, and safe path for people to work on.
Such Nachas.

On Thursday, I went, along with three staff members, to visit an NGO called Self Help Group for Cerebral Palsy which is an AMAZING organization.They have a school,vocational center, and physiotherapy institute.Basically, this organization supports all the cases of CP in Nepal with absolutely no help from the government (shocker). If you're looking for a worthwhile cause, here it is. http://www.cpnepal.org/

Other highlights this week include: waking up at four in the morning to hear a Shaman chanting outside my neighbor's hut(sitting in front of a fire, blowing a shofar, and banging drums), ostensibly trying to get rid of evil spirits, Bru's mom coming to visit (and giving me a package from my own wonderful mother), and eating really good lemon meringue pie in Boudhanath.
Oh, and one last thing:
On Monday, in my young girls group, we were going around in a circle saying one thing that happened over the weekend. Well, turns out that Santi (age 15/16), had gotten MARRIED over the weekend. To another village boy (age 18). Oy.
At least she seemed happy about it...

Chanukah in Nepal was definitely an interesting experience.

So first of all, we had to make our own chanukiot- you can't really go to the nearest Judaica store and buy one. But teek cha, I collected a bunch of clean garbage (yea, I've become super environmental) and constructed a small, colorful menorah. Mainly out of egg cartons. Which are flammable. Of course, I only discovered that after I nearly burned down the village on the first night of Chanukah. Good thing the guys in our group had created a giant beer bottle chanukiah to use instead...

It was hard to feel the Chanukah spirit around us but we worked at it. We made latkes, complete with fresh yogurt from our neighborhood cow, homemade applesauce and for the grand finale- sufganiyot from scratch! Of course, our neighbors wanted to know what exactly we were doing. And somehow, the Maccabee story just doesn't translate very well into Nepali...

Other than that, time has been flying. The resource room idea is going well- I've started working with three kindergarten students. One of them I've actually managed to coax out of the classroom and into the library (some candy was involved), two others I'm still sitting in their class, trying to get them to feel comfortable with me. It's been hard though, to see children who are need of obvious therapies and know they won't be getting the help they need. Huge thank you though to Rebecca and Matt for their respective OT/PT ideas.

My other groups are going well- the child club is adorable (yesterday I took them on a tiger hunt) and the young girls group is flourishing. This week, Reut and I wanted to tell a story that wove in the themes of 'small change, big difference,' along with the ideas of the power of youth. Somehow I started telling them the story of this guy Joseph who lived in a big village called Egypt. I might have used poetic license a little freely... in my story Joseph was a young teen who gathered his friends together to store grain in case of a famine when he realized his fellow villagers weren't concerned enough but they loved it.

Last story.

I was sitting in one of the nursery classes a couple of days ago as the teacher taught the ABC's.

Here was her example for letter G

Teacher: Letter G!

Kids: Letter G!

Teacher: G is for GUN!

KIds: G is for GUN!

Teacher: (pretending to shoot the kids) Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

Kids: (pretending to shoot each other, the teacher, and me) Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

P.S. Pictures! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?id=554350271&pid=7938057