Last day in Nepal.

Past week has been kind of a blur- packing in the goodbyes, running last minute errands and so on.

Highlights:

Seeing a Hindi movie with Sabita! Bollywood is the new Hollywood. The movie, Patalia House, is kind of like an Indian version of The Rookie- it's about a cricket player who abandoned his dreams because of his father but eventually (at age 34) s given a chance to play professionally. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patiala_House) Unlike The Rookie though, it had a little bit of everything in it - comedy, romance, drama, amazing dance scenes,- you name it, it had it. Also, movie theaters in Nepal are nice. We didn't even go to a super fancy theater but some of them (there are only three...) have reclining chairs and waiters. All for two dollars- not too bad.

Last shabbat here I spent at Chabad- was really nice to hang out there, ran into some old friends and made some new ones. Also spent Friday cooking there (can you imagine making challah for hundreds of people?) Chabad here does amazing work, and if you're so inclined, they can definitely use donations.

One of the days, I went on a little trek with Erez to Pharphing, a little town a bit south of Kathmandu. It was nice to explore and we had some great dalbaat but I think I've concluded that once you've seen one Tibetan temple, you've kinda seen em all...

By the way, Aleeza has a great motto for Nepal "It's just not what you expect." That kinda covers it for everything- food you order, a shirt you buy, a trip you go on, a person you meet. So this week I had one of my own IJNWYE moments. I wanted to get Chooch a birthday present (Happy 17th!) and since it's fairly easy to make things here, I brought in a picture of small silver earrings in the shape of a heart and asked Bina, the jewelry lady if it was possible to copy them. "Sure, sure," she said. "I'll call you when they're done." So yesterday she called me to tell me they were ready. I walked to the store that afternoon and waited as she rummaged around, finally producing a rather large box. Smiling, she opened it and there lay two beautiful silver heart earrings- just as I ordered. Except, they were HUGE. As in, the size of my face, not the size of two delicate earrings. But, like I said, IJNWYE.

Another highlight of the week- two nights ago there was HUGE thunderstorm in Kathmandu, unlike anything I'd every experienced. I had already woken up from the thunder and lightening when there was a really loud BOOM- it was one of the loudest thunders I'd every heard! I ran across the hall to Ari's room, only to find that Aleeza and Erez were already there all huddled together. Just like kids, we stayed there until the storm was over. I think we wanted to make hot cocoa but there was no cocoa. Or electricty for that matter. Ke Garne... P.S.- the insanely lous sound was actually lightening hitting the Monkey Temple, which is a two minute walk from the house. Check it out here http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Lightening+damages+Swoyambhu+Pratapur+temple&NewsID=276524

Leaving to the airport in an hours. Although I only have four actual hours of flying time, I have to fly to Dehli, then to Mumbai, then finally to Goa...so that makes thirteen hours with stopovers. Lucky me.

But maybe I'll be too drained and exhausted to be sad about the fact that I'm leaving this place. It's been difficult, surprising, frustrating, delightful, annoying, overwhelming, and more. But, when all is said and done, you know what? It's a place I've grown to love, and a place I can call home...

Living in a mud hut in Nepal and living as a tourist (is that what I am?) in Nepal are two very different things.

Firstly, I generally have running water. And, an indoor bathroom. But what's most disorienting to me right now is that I get to relax (or try to). And pretend I'm on vacation. It's been suprisingly difficult going from an intense work schedule (emotionally and physically) to paragliding over the Himalayans.

Maybe you need some more background on that...

So the day after TBT ended a group of us headed off to Pokhara, a beautiful lakeside city in Nepal, 7 hours outside of Kathmandu. We spent a few days there ( recovering) and for the first time we got in some R & R. Good food, some sleeping, and an occasional hot shower. One of the days I woke up, decided I felt like going paragliding and voila- I flew over the Himalayans. By the way Tbaums- skydiving was wayyyy more fun. Still, flying over Everest? Pretty cool. Nepal, by the way, is rife with outdoor/adventure sports- most of which I won't get to do this time. Maybe some other day....

We also went hiking, took walks, and went on a great bike trip around the gorgeous Phewa Tal lake. (Best part was stopping off at some quiet lakeside gazebo and cafe and just lying in the sun for hours..)

I headed back to Kathmandu after the long weekend and have been hanging out with some Nepali friends here. Yesterday, I worked on Bijay's Hebrew U application with him and got to see his house- shocking, but a Nepali bachelor pad looks VERY different than an American bachelor pad. By the way, Bijay is amazing. He started an organization for working children in Nepal at age 16 and has been involved every since, working with the UN, the Nepali government, and of course, TBT. He also started (through TBT) the first social activist youth movement in Nepal, Hami Yuva. When I get disheartened about the situation here, I just think about people like Bijay- they're going to change this place for the better.I'm sure of it. (Btw, Nepal now has a Prime Minister! After 17 tries! Still no cabinet though....)

I've also been wandering around the city on my own- you know what the best feeling is? Walking around a foreign city with a map in your hand and actually figuring out how to get places.I wouldn't say I'm perfect at it (I'm in Nepal after all, there are no addresses...) but the difference to how I felt on day two of TBT (our Alone Tour) and now is HUGE. And that's great.

I also visited the Creative Womens Workshop- an amazing 'factory' (aka four women in a kitchen working) where they make BEAUTIFUL paper items- journals, cards, albums, anything. They can even make skirts. Out of Paper.

(yes that's PAPER!)

And everything there is organic, inexpensive, natural, and helps support destitute women. Aranja, the woman who manages the place seems to be another one of those gems. She's studied abroad in Israel and Canada and now works with a whole bunch of micro-finance programs and started the workshop in order to generate income for poor women here.

So cool.

I've also been working on finalizing my travel plans to India. Looks like I'll be leaving Nepal in a week or so and starting off in Goa. Just thinking about leaving is hard...

Note to everyone:

DON'T SEND ME MAIL.

Yonatan, public shoutout, thank you SO much.

But, I didn't actually get my package.

Maybe I should backtrack a bit.

Eliah tells me that there's a notice in our post office box saying I got a package. He tried to get it for me but they wouldn't let him. So, I decide to take the day to go to the post office and gather my package. I say 'take the day' because I'd been warned by others that the post office here is a nightmare.

Wasn't warned enough...

So I get into a cab. First, I get dropped off at the wrong place. After walking around a bit I see a sign for the post office. I enter a dimly lit building. No lines, order, or signs, just people milling around. I try to ask someone where the PO Boxes are. Fail. Finally, I call my friend Roni who says something about going outside, finding room 31, and taking it from there.

I walk outside to a courtyard. Tons of people around (doing nothing). This place is a maze of dark, decrepit rooms and smelly hallways. Somehow, I find room 31. Am told to go to room 34 instead. I enter, tell them I have a package. The guy takes me to the room and leaves me there. Oh, okay, I'm expected to find it on my own. So there I am, in a room of hundreds of packages sifting through, looking for my name. No go.

I find the worker and am told to 'maybe' go to room 29. I go to room 29 but wait, it's just the office part, not the actual room. So I find the actual room and am told I need the slip of paper that says I have a package. I get lost for 15 minutes and find the post boxes. The nice didi there helps me find the correct one and I go back to room 29, slip in hand, and show the guy behind the counter.

'We need your passport,' he says. I produce my passport (I'd been forewarned).

'Now we need a copy of your passport.' The slip to redeem it doesn't mention needing one. But the guy doesn't care. Okay, so I'm near to tears. I walk out of the office and wander around looking for a photocopy machine place. After 40 minutes I have not found a place. Frustrated, I walk back to the post office and tell the counter guy that I couldn't find anything. 'Oh,' he says. 'There's a photocopy machine here.' (Yea?Thanks for telling me that before.....). I walk to another room. 'You can't use the photocopy machine' the guy says. Ready to scream, I walk back to tell counter guy.He sends a didi with me back to the other office to see if she can use the photocopy machine. After a long debate, they don't let her either. I am so close to jumping over and just using the darn machine myself.

We walk back to the counter. Tell the guy what happened. 'Just go get your package,' he says.

I'm elated and I walk in, show the worker my slip and he finds a small package. Just seeing something from home makes me happy. 'But wait', he says, 'you need to get a signature of approval- go to the counter.' I walk back to counter guy and tell him. 'No,' he says. 'I can't sign because you don't have a copy of your passport.'

So now I lose it.

I start BAWLING. Everyone stares. Tears are streaming down my face and the guy just stands there, gaping. I would have grabbed the package and ran but he was holding it. As it was, I took the slip, crumpled it up and threw it away.

Then, with some final yelling (In English, Hebrew, and Nepali) I gave up. And walked out.

Sans package.

And they now have the slip to redeem it.

And on the way home the taxi I was in broke down.

But, the meeting with the Minister and AutismCares was great. I think he's going to try to get them government support, and also, he gave them a slot to present at a conference on special education in late February. Still crazy that we, an Israeli organization, needed to connect a Nepali minister with his Nepali constituents.

Last story:

Yesterday, Beruria and I had to make breakfast. It's always tricky buying groceries here because Swoyambhu (our neighborhood) is the monkey capital of Kathmandu. So we're walking home, surrounded by serene Tibetan men and women making pilgrimage to the local temple, and Beruria is carrying a bag of eggs. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see agiant monkey leaping across the street towards us. I freeze as it jumps onto Beruria, who promptly SHRIEKS, throws her hands in the air, and drops all of her groceries, eggs included.

I'm still frozen when, out of nowhere, the (seemingly serene) aforementioned Tibetan women kick into gear. Three of them race towards us, SCREAMING and waving their hands to scare the monkey runs away. One of them has a rock in her hand, another pulls out a slingshot. I kid you not. They gather up our eggs, take us off to the side, provide us with a new bag and the wise advice "Put in shawl, yes?"

So while Nepal's post office might have been the most traumatic experience in recent years, you can't help but love a place where elderly Tibetan women turn into wild Amazons to help you.

Only in Nepal...

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...