I Traveled to the Future!

And now I am back in the past. According to the Nepali calendar, it is year 2068. But now I'm back home and it's 2011. I was selfish my last couple of days in Nepal and didn't write a blog. I wanted to soak in every last drop of the culture, food, friends, and my new family I knew I was going to miss so much when I left. On Friday, we did our last Making Lives Better project in Nepal (but Sneha, Pradipti, and KC will head off with a whole crew in July to install water purification systems for Projects for Peace!). We delivered bookbags filled with notebooks, pencils, and pens to students in the Kamdhenu School and what a site it was! We were able to provide over 250 students with bookbags and supplies! We filled the bookbags the day before and rented a bus to take us to the location...only it couldn't! We still had to walk about half a mile carrying all the school supplies down a very narrow raised path and across the scariest bridge of my life! It was made of cable and it shook and it had broke in the past (or so they teased me) and I could see the water below, and KC started jumping to scare me and it worked and.....well you get the picture!! Actually, I'll see if I can get the picture uploaded. Students from Maatri Shishu School assisted us in every way. They carried bookbags and notebooks, helped us organize once we got there and were wonderful translators for me once we arrived!!! The fact that I don't speak Nepali wasn't helpful during this donation. There was once English teacher in the school, but many of the children really struggled to grasp the language. The students of Maatri Shishu kept me in the know, and had a blast trying to teach me words on the bus ride home! The students of Kamdhenu were so thankful for the supplies we provided them with! They showered us with garlands of marigolds and small bouquets they had made and some even performed a patriotic song. On Saturday, Sneha, her brother and father took me to a Nepali engagement ceremony. It was colorful, fancy, musical, and traditional! The family was dressed to impress and the bride and groom were covered in garlands of all sorts. Sneha and I wore kurtas, traditional Nepali long shirts with legging like pants. Guess what color mine was?! Of course, orange! We spent the afternoon at home. Amu, Sneha, and I packed my luggage. I came with two bags half empty and left with four full!! In my defense, I did bring back goods for Making Lives Better and some things for Sneha. I baked with Rohit, took a nap and listened to it rain. Sneha's parents took us out for dinner at a very tasty restaurant! Amu, Sneha, and I walked down the street to visit a sacred chariot that is pulled around by hand. It was dark outside and people came from all around to light candles around it...it was a sight that made the hair stand up on my arms. Once back at home we all indulged in brownies and cake. Sunday morning my flight left at 9:30am and we left the house by 6:30am. Saying goodbye is not one of my strong points. Saying goodbye to the people who had taken care of me for the last month was difficult to say the least. I'm not going to tell you that there were tears in my eyes or a big lump in my throat that prevented me from talking.... But before I knew it, I was through customs and all alone on my trip back to the past. 5 airports and almost two days later I arrived back at home safely! But without my baggage. :-( Thanks to Amu's advice, we taped my name all over my bags along with my address and yesterday I got notification that they had found my bags and they should arrive at my house tomorrow! So, my turn of the Take a Friend Home experience is over, but not my love for Nepal. I would like let everyone know how much I sincerely appreciate their kindness and generosity in making my stay the absolute best experience of my life. I miss you all already and I promise I will take good care of Sneha when she arrives in August! Be ready for a different life Sneha! The Show-Me State is ready to Show-You what we're all about!

Attack of the B's!!!!!

Bhuwan, Bella, Bebo, Buwa, Bhailu, bhuja, Business, Baking, Basa, Buses, and Boy! Bhuwan=The boy who lives with Sneha and sleeps outside my door (I feel so protected!)He speaks English, but I have to work hard to get him to talk to me. Bella= Sneha's Yellow Labrador who is so sweet. Bebo= Sneha's German Shepard dog who hates and absolutely terrifies me! I swear her eyes can see the fear in my own and she smiles... Buwa=Nepali word for Father. Rajan and I worked out at the gym (with NO airconditioning!!!) We also spend a lot of time with Sangita's Buwa. We ate dinner with him last night and saw a musa (mouse). I wasn't a fan to say the least, so now the joke is to yell "MUSA" and see my reaction. Sadly it works everytime. Bhuja=Rice; I eat a lot of bhuja and love it most with simi (greenbeans). Business=No fun, but necessary. Sneha, Pradipti, Raghabendra and I have been doing a lot of work for Making Lives Better and preparing for their Projects for Peace trip in July. We have met with many people about different things: Blessings in a Backpack (MLB's project that will take place tomorrow!!!), water purification systems, transportation etc... I am not engaged (and fight to stay awake in most) in these meetings because they conduct business in Nepali and I get soooo lost and confused! But, everything is going well and we (well, Sneha and Pradipti did the purchasing, because as a foreigner I would get charged much more) even bought more handicrafts to sell for MLB. Watch out Westminster, there are some awesome things coming your way! Baking=I brought my love of baking cakes to Nepal, and wish I would have brought the tools to do so as well!! I've made 4 cakes now without measuring cups, a cake pan, oven or mixer! To say the least I've been very creative..... :-) Basa=Nepali word for sit. Bus=A bus just like you would think. We took a bus to visit the school where we will donate Blessings in a Backpack. If you don't let my parents know, I'll tell you that the bus was soooo full we rode on the top!!!! (which I also found out today is illegal)..... Boy=Male Chilren. Specifically one on the street who came at Sneha and I with a khukari (Nepali knife) while we were walking on the street! I honestly think my heart leaped into my throat! Then he turned around an laughed. But here is the deal, boys on the street try to scare people (not just foreigners) in attempt to make them drop their bags so that they can run off with their money and wares. So even though I was terrified and screamed (although I know Sangita screamed louder!) I feel sad for the boy and what he has turned to. So, now that we've been through all of these it seems like nothing, but let me tell you, it has taken me until now to keep all the Nepali B words straight!

A Remarkable Experience: Nepali Hospitals

Sneha's Aunt Chanda is one of Nepal's finest doctors who specializes in women's health as an OB/GYN. I first met Chanda when she visited Westminster this spring. She happily agreed to take me to her hospital while I was in Nepal, and today was the big day! Traffic made us almost on hour late, but it was well worth the wait. I'm going to try to keep this g-rated for those of you with weak stomachs and weak hearts. I was in the operating room for a c-section and two abortions. The way operation rooms function is soooo very different than in the US. Flip flops are worn, cell phones are used, and the level of sanitation is much different as well as the level of technology. Those things may be different, but the people are not. Despite the language barrier I was able to detect happiness, fear, and absolute terror in the patients I saw. I toured the entire hospital and was fascinated by the way things work. Most charting is done by paper, not computer. Most communication within the hospital is done by personal cell phone. The hospital is not airconditioned, yet some of the operating room were. There was only one elevator in the entire 5 story hospital to move patients. If it breaks they carry them up stairs. Closed toed shoes aren't worn anywhere. Families aren't allowed to be with women while they give birth. Wheelchairs aren't really wheelchairs, but lawnchairs on wheels. Syringes are thrown in trash cans that sit in the hallways. Medications are not locked in cabinets. My list could go on and on but I do realize for those of you not interested in medicine, this isn't too entertaining! But despite all these things, in what I have learned is true Nepali spirit, the doctors and nurses care so much for their patients and make them laugh and feel safe and secure; something I admire and respect. So to say the least, I had an eye-opening, remarkable, and absolutely perspective changing experience! An enormous thank you to Dr. Chanda Karki and Shreyashi for your time, energy, and knowledge today!

Nepal: Where nursing homes don't exist.

The family tree is built differently in Nepal than in the US. It is a patriarchal system that took me a while to grasp. I guess it goes to show the true feminist within me! The daughters are transferred from their own family tree and added to their husband's. After marriage the daughters become a bigger part of their husband's family than their own. Cousins do not exist because their is not a Nepali word for cousins. All the children of brothers and sisters are not cousins, but bothers and sisters as well! Sneha has only one true brother, but she has very many other "brothers" and one little "sister!" On Saturday, the only resting day in Nepal, Sneha's family and I went and visited many of her relatives. This was not much different that any other day, because Nepali families are very loyal and visit each other most everyday! Almost every day I have visited with Sangita's parents, and now Rajan's parents are living with us so I hope to get to know them better as well! Here, the children are responsible for taking care of their parents when they are not able to do so themselves. Although I have seen firsthand the stress it can create on a family, I like this approach much more than what occurs so often in the US; sending elderly people to a nursing home. Sometimes the language causes a barrier, but with smiles and laughter I communicate pretty efficiently with her grandparents! Her grandfather, Hikmat, is especially intriguing and is fascinated with the fact that I live on a farm. He too, runs a farm in Nepal and we swap stories of how things are done and what typically goes into being successful!

"Misty? Why not Sunny?"

"Misty? Why not Sunny?" was the response from Sneha's Uncle when I was introduced to him. Tonight we had dinner at his house and then went and watched salsa dancing! We watched him dance, and then Sneha, Rohit, and I sat in wonder at the others dancing. I want to tell you about public transportation in Nepal. The population is so great and traffic is so congested that the more people that can fit in a vehicle the better! There are two modes of public transportation, microbus and tempu. A microbus is just a little bit bigger than a minivan and has a driver and a conductor. The conductor pounds on the outside of the microbus, yelling and signaling to the driver when to stop. It's quite fascinating, but even more intimidating because they yell in Nepali and I don't understand! Thank God for Sneha my personal translator! Then there are the tempu. Imagine a full size bed on wheels....3 wheels! Tempus are giant tricycles with two benches inside a cab. The wheels are soo narrow and the vehicle itself seems so tipsy that I haven't yet rode in one! Tempus are filled so full that sometimes people just hold onto the roof and stand on the bumper....needless to say, seatbelts aren't a priority in Nepal. Children here aren't required to sit in carseats, but rather are usually carried or stand between their parents legs on a scooter! Scooters and motorbikes are very popular modes of transportation. They even have parking lots for them! Drivers of scooters and motorbikes are required to wear a helmet, but not passengers. I prefer to get around on a motorbike above all. From there I can see in every direction to take pictures, zip in and out of traffic, but a mask must be worn because there is so much dust and pollutants in the air. However, we are fortunate and Sneha's grandfather and father have SUVs and drivers who take us around, so we don't have to wear masks that often!

Generosity of the Nepali People

Yesterday, Sneha and I picked up a collection of donated items for Making Lives Better from Rupy's International School where her brother Rohit attends school. All the items were donated by the school children and they did a fantastic job! We completely filled an SUV with all the items. Just as when I was in Belize, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with the children. They are so intelligent, most of them being trilingual! We took pictures with them and I even played a little basketball...well....tried to! I met Sneha's grandfather who lived in the US while he served in the Nepali Army. I like him very much and he likes to talk to me about farming in the US because he oversees a farm here in Nepal. He introduced me to my favorite treat since being in Nepal; geri and swari. Its similar to a funnel cake, but smaller and brittle and oh soo SWEET!! (Everyone comments on my name here, because Misty means sweet in Bengali, a language spoken in India). This morning we visited Sangita's school again. I absolutely love the children there! I sat in on music class again. I just can't capture enough of their spirit! I also watched my first 3-D movie in a theatre that puts most of the theatres I've been to in the US to shame! It was Kung Fu Panda 2. I guess I should go watch Kung Fu Panda 1 now...haha. We then rode motorbikes, I rode on Prateek's orange one, to the Monkey Temple. It was a very interesting place with the most spectacular view of an on-coming storm and a rainbow! We went grocery shopping and then Sneha and I had dinner with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. I was literally showered with gifts from a handmade necklace and bracelet, to a favorite jam of the little cousin. When preparing the meal, they made it especially bland for me, knowing that I cannot tolerate any spice! Sneha's little cousin took a liking to teaching me Nepali words, something I cannot say I excel at pronouncing! lol Her aunt also painted my fingernails and toenails with the cutest little flowers! We rode scooters home and I starred at the full moon the whole way, trying to imagine what it would look like from Missouri.

Pictures from Pokhara

Misty finally got to see the mountains! 

Up in the air!!

Meeting with new friends 

At the peace pagoda...