"When we travel with the eyes and ears of the God who sent us, we will see wonderful sights, hear wonderful sounds, meet wonderful people...and be happy to return home."
- Henri Nouwen
It's been an incredible year. So many relationships have been formed, and connections made around the world, and I feel so blessed to have experienced and seen so much. My life has been changed, and I have learned more than I ever could have expected. This trip blew away any expectations that I ever could have had.
I would like to take this time to thank Remy for being such a solid friend and companion. To be able to share such amazing experiences with such a friend was a blessing.
To everyone that has been reading this blog, you have encouraged me. Thanks. If you want to talk about travels and the world over a good cup of tea, I'm down for it.
"I want to repeat one word for you:
Leave.
Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."
-Donald Miller
Peace.
-Tim Martin
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Nearing the Finish Line
Packages are smaller, the metro is more efficient (and existent), streets have cobblestone, buildings are OLD, croissants are fresh, and now it's Dutch, not Afrikaans (or Zulu, ixiKosa, Lugandan, Swahili, Nepali, Spanish etc.) that is spoken. Hello Amsterdam! We've almost arrived at the finish line, but we are delaying our sprint towards it by making a 6 hour layover turn into 4 days. We arrived on Monday morning, and I still haven't recovered from the culture shock. My first reaction was: "I miss Africa".
After our arrival, Anna-Marie (one of Remy's father's friends who lives in central Amsterdam) spotted Remy's curly locks and brought us to her house. We immediately got right to work...if you can call madly touring a beautiful European city "work". It's hard to get used to the style of a European city, and it's people, after spending quite a chunk of time in Africa and Asia, and I'm bracing myself for being home as we speak. It's going to be a strange feeling to have complete familiarity.
Gosh! Before I get too wrapped up in news from the Netherlands...We had a great final week/weekend in South Africa. We finished up our painting project in the Crossroads township, said goodbye to our American friends, and had a fun final weekend. I went surfing (for a second time - we had gone with David when we stayed with them) at Muzenberg beach again, and I really feel I could get into the whole surfing thing. Very fun. I also got to watch another great rugby match (another thing I've taken a liking to whilst in S.A.) with David and be a part of Sarah Gammon's 18th birthday, which was a very good time as well. Remy decided to jump out of a plane on our last day (skydiving), which was (I would imagine) a different way to spend an afternoon: falling 9000 feet before a parachute saves your life. After reluctant goodbyes to Cape Town, South Africa, the Gammon's, the giraffe's, and the Miller family, we hopped on the plane.
Which brings us to the last few days. To keep it brief, our time here has involved Museums (such as the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank's House, and the Rijks Museum...amazing), biking around the city on a rented bike, eating a dinner in complete darkness with blind waiters serving us, sweet live jazz, photography (Amsterdam is quite a beautiful old city), and eating some nice Dutch food...etc. Tomorrow Mac Bargout is meeting us here, and we fly home with him on friday.
Next I will enter Canada, familiarize myself with friends and family (and North America), try to take a breath, and conclude all that I have experienced in one magnificient (that's the dream) final blog entry. See you soon Canada.
After our arrival, Anna-Marie (one of Remy's father's friends who lives in central Amsterdam) spotted Remy's curly locks and brought us to her house. We immediately got right to work...if you can call madly touring a beautiful European city "work". It's hard to get used to the style of a European city, and it's people, after spending quite a chunk of time in Africa and Asia, and I'm bracing myself for being home as we speak. It's going to be a strange feeling to have complete familiarity.
Gosh! Before I get too wrapped up in news from the Netherlands...We had a great final week/weekend in South Africa. We finished up our painting project in the Crossroads township, said goodbye to our American friends, and had a fun final weekend. I went surfing (for a second time - we had gone with David when we stayed with them) at Muzenberg beach again, and I really feel I could get into the whole surfing thing. Very fun. I also got to watch another great rugby match (another thing I've taken a liking to whilst in S.A.) with David and be a part of Sarah Gammon's 18th birthday, which was a very good time as well. Remy decided to jump out of a plane on our last day (skydiving), which was (I would imagine) a different way to spend an afternoon: falling 9000 feet before a parachute saves your life. After reluctant goodbyes to Cape Town, South Africa, the Gammon's, the giraffe's, and the Miller family, we hopped on the plane.
Which brings us to the last few days. To keep it brief, our time here has involved Museums (such as the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank's House, and the Rijks Museum...amazing), biking around the city on a rented bike, eating a dinner in complete darkness with blind waiters serving us, sweet live jazz, photography (Amsterdam is quite a beautiful old city), and eating some nice Dutch food...etc. Tomorrow Mac Bargout is meeting us here, and we fly home with him on friday.
Next I will enter Canada, familiarize myself with friends and family (and North America), try to take a breath, and conclude all that I have experienced in one magnificient (that's the dream) final blog entry. See you soon Canada.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Themba Care and Crossroads (Babies and Paint)
My clothes have been covered in Drool...and paint. On Monday we were taken from the Gammon's house to Themba Care, a hospice for babies with AIDS located in a township near central Cape Town. It was heavy stuff, but an awesome experience. We were shown our "office" for the next few hours: a room with some couches, high chairs, floor mats, and a sea of babies. We spent 3 or 4 hours just trying to entertain the babies, and being entertained ourselves. It was sad to see what we saw, but it was a place filled with so much hope and so much love, and some really beautiful children. The year Themba Care started (2002), they had a death rate of 70% with their children, and last year they were down to 2%. There is no medical explanation for this, as they have new babies coming in a lot, and they are all given the proper ARV's and medical attention for their disease. I believe it is a miracle, and simply a matter of the children being shown the gift of hope and love. An amazing place. The babies are all very underdeveloped (babies several months old were the size of newborns), and some show signs of being malnourished and struggling with various sicknesses. Highlights were just wathcing the babies as they broke into massive smiles, or crawled up behind me and began trying to climb my back. Remy was trapped at one point when a larger child fell asleep as she sprawled across his lap. It was a lot of fun, but we were tired!
After leaving Themba Care we went with some of Pete's friends to a different township, called Crossroads, where we started our official project for the week. We met with a short term missions group of University students from the States, and we were shown a community training centre in the township. Our project for the week has been cleaning and painting the community centre, inside and out. It's been a really fun experience there as well, and a few people from the township have even come in to meet us and help out with some painting as well. Very cool.
It's been fun getting to know the American group and we've been able to work well together and quite efficiently. They've welcomed us two "Canucks" into their community and we've enjoyed our time with them a lot. We're back at Pete and Katie's house chilling out in Somerset West, and getting ready to say goodbye WAY too soon. I can't believe we leave South Africa this Sunday.
Hope everyone reading is still entertained and doing well.
After leaving Themba Care we went with some of Pete's friends to a different township, called Crossroads, where we started our official project for the week. We met with a short term missions group of University students from the States, and we were shown a community training centre in the township. Our project for the week has been cleaning and painting the community centre, inside and out. It's been a really fun experience there as well, and a few people from the township have even come in to meet us and help out with some painting as well. Very cool.
It's been fun getting to know the American group and we've been able to work well together and quite efficiently. They've welcomed us two "Canucks" into their community and we've enjoyed our time with them a lot. We're back at Pete and Katie's house chilling out in Somerset West, and getting ready to say goodbye WAY too soon. I can't believe we leave South Africa this Sunday.
Hope everyone reading is still entertained and doing well.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
South Africa, here we go...
Dear Reader,
If you get the chance, please travel to Cape Town one day. It's beautiful.
-Timothy
People had given us some really great reviews of Cape Town, and it really is everything it's cracked up to be. I'm getting ahead of myself; please excuse me for taking so long to write this, I've been distracted by my surroudings recently. We arrived on May 1st, after some complications getting into the country (long-ish story), and we met our friend Pete (Miller) at the airport. It was the Pete Miller that we met at OPC last summer, the one with flowing blond locks of hair like that of a Swedish diety, and the one who invited us to stay at his house in South Africa should we ever be in the neighbourhood. Well here we were, in the neighbourhood, being warmly welcomed by Pete (with his flowing locks sadly chopped off), Katie (his wife, and fellow leader at OPC), and Hannah Miller (a VERY new addition - just 8 weeks old!). The Miller family welcomed us in, introduced us to Somerset West (their stunning town about 50 km east of Cape Town), and showed us the way things go in South Africa: Mountain biking, Ocean views, and of course, a "Braai" on our first night. A Braai is like a souped up barbeque where you normally eat this amazing sausage roll called "Boerwors" (pronounced something like "boorvorsh", sort of).
First impressions: "Do people here realize how incredible this place is?"
For our first few days we hung out with the Miller family, saw Kurstenbosch (largest botanical Gardens in Africa?...possibly the world?), hiked Table Mountain, Mountain biked near Stallenbosch (beautiful, if you were wondering), saw vineyards, and played Ultimate Frisbee! Pete has friends on the South African national team, so this was GOOD Ulti...and I was shocked at how rusty I was at first. Yikes.
After those first few days, we met up with old family friends of ours (the Gammon's), and we've now spent the last week at their house, which is right in Cape Town itself (so we could see more of the city via the Metro system). I hadn't seen The Gammon's for a few years, so it was crazy to reconnect here in Africa and see them again. This week Remy and I have seen Robben Island (where Mandela, and many others, were imprisoned), the Cape Town waterfront, downtown, and we've also been introduced to some awesome music (and been to two local shows!) thanks to Jessica Gammon, who is currently in second year at UCT (University of Cape Town). There is a lot to be done in Cape Town, and there is no way we will do it all. However, I did have the goal of seeing a Giraffe, and I'm pumped to say that it has been accomplished! Glorious. I signed up for a day trip Safari to a (relatively) small wildlife reserve just 3 hours outside of Cape Town, because I didn't have time to travel across the country to Kruger National Park or something...but it was breathtaking. All you could see stretching around in every direction were open plains and the Cape Fold Mountains rising up everywhere. I was actually fourtunate enough to see a lot of amazing wildlife on the Safari, and the highlight was definetly the two Giraffe's we saw hanging out together on a hillside.
Also, today I went down to the Cape Town waterfront where the "Tour D'Afrique" bike race was finishing. It is a bike race that takes place over 4 month's and stretches over 12,000 km from Cairo to Cape Town. I was there at the finish line to cheer on a teacher from Crescent School - Mr. (Jamie) Macrae! It was awesome. For you Crescent boys reading this: Mr. Macrae definitely had a solid cheering squad of students from the GAP (Get Ahead Project) School from Queenstown, South Africa (who Mr. Macrae has been raising money for by doing this bike race - about $40,000 at this point I was told!). It was awesome to be there for the finish of this amazing race, and it was crazy and unreal to meet up with a Crescent Teacher in the middle of Cape Town. I didn't see that one coming when I planned this trip.
So that has been South Africa so far. On Monday we're meeting back up with Pete to get involved with volunteering in some of the townships for our final week here. Pete is really involved in serving in some of the poor communities around the Cape, and we're hoping to help out for a few days with some AIDS patients, children and families in 2 of the townships around Cape Town. So the tourist stint is coming to an end.
Hopefully I'll be able to update soon about how the volunteering goes, and on May 18th we are off to Amsterdam, where we spend 4 days chilling (and meeting up with Remy's dad), before heading back to Canada all together. I can't believe all that we've experienced, and I'm bracing myself for a bit of culture shock in a couple of weeks. Time to try and process everything.
Peace.
If you get the chance, please travel to Cape Town one day. It's beautiful.
-Timothy
People had given us some really great reviews of Cape Town, and it really is everything it's cracked up to be. I'm getting ahead of myself; please excuse me for taking so long to write this, I've been distracted by my surroudings recently. We arrived on May 1st, after some complications getting into the country (long-ish story), and we met our friend Pete (Miller) at the airport. It was the Pete Miller that we met at OPC last summer, the one with flowing blond locks of hair like that of a Swedish diety, and the one who invited us to stay at his house in South Africa should we ever be in the neighbourhood. Well here we were, in the neighbourhood, being warmly welcomed by Pete (with his flowing locks sadly chopped off), Katie (his wife, and fellow leader at OPC), and Hannah Miller (a VERY new addition - just 8 weeks old!). The Miller family welcomed us in, introduced us to Somerset West (their stunning town about 50 km east of Cape Town), and showed us the way things go in South Africa: Mountain biking, Ocean views, and of course, a "Braai" on our first night. A Braai is like a souped up barbeque where you normally eat this amazing sausage roll called "Boerwors" (pronounced something like "boorvorsh", sort of).
First impressions: "Do people here realize how incredible this place is?"
For our first few days we hung out with the Miller family, saw Kurstenbosch (largest botanical Gardens in Africa?...possibly the world?), hiked Table Mountain, Mountain biked near Stallenbosch (beautiful, if you were wondering), saw vineyards, and played Ultimate Frisbee! Pete has friends on the South African national team, so this was GOOD Ulti...and I was shocked at how rusty I was at first. Yikes.
After those first few days, we met up with old family friends of ours (the Gammon's), and we've now spent the last week at their house, which is right in Cape Town itself (so we could see more of the city via the Metro system). I hadn't seen The Gammon's for a few years, so it was crazy to reconnect here in Africa and see them again. This week Remy and I have seen Robben Island (where Mandela, and many others, were imprisoned), the Cape Town waterfront, downtown, and we've also been introduced to some awesome music (and been to two local shows!) thanks to Jessica Gammon, who is currently in second year at UCT (University of Cape Town). There is a lot to be done in Cape Town, and there is no way we will do it all. However, I did have the goal of seeing a Giraffe, and I'm pumped to say that it has been accomplished! Glorious. I signed up for a day trip Safari to a (relatively) small wildlife reserve just 3 hours outside of Cape Town, because I didn't have time to travel across the country to Kruger National Park or something...but it was breathtaking. All you could see stretching around in every direction were open plains and the Cape Fold Mountains rising up everywhere. I was actually fourtunate enough to see a lot of amazing wildlife on the Safari, and the highlight was definetly the two Giraffe's we saw hanging out together on a hillside.
Also, today I went down to the Cape Town waterfront where the "Tour D'Afrique" bike race was finishing. It is a bike race that takes place over 4 month's and stretches over 12,000 km from Cairo to Cape Town. I was there at the finish line to cheer on a teacher from Crescent School - Mr. (Jamie) Macrae! It was awesome. For you Crescent boys reading this: Mr. Macrae definitely had a solid cheering squad of students from the GAP (Get Ahead Project) School from Queenstown, South Africa (who Mr. Macrae has been raising money for by doing this bike race - about $40,000 at this point I was told!). It was awesome to be there for the finish of this amazing race, and it was crazy and unreal to meet up with a Crescent Teacher in the middle of Cape Town. I didn't see that one coming when I planned this trip.
So that has been South Africa so far. On Monday we're meeting back up with Pete to get involved with volunteering in some of the townships for our final week here. Pete is really involved in serving in some of the poor communities around the Cape, and we're hoping to help out for a few days with some AIDS patients, children and families in 2 of the townships around Cape Town. So the tourist stint is coming to an end.
Hopefully I'll be able to update soon about how the volunteering goes, and on May 18th we are off to Amsterdam, where we spend 4 days chilling (and meeting up with Remy's dad), before heading back to Canada all together. I can't believe all that we've experienced, and I'm bracing myself for a bit of culture shock in a couple of weeks. Time to try and process everything.
Peace.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Leaving the Pearl
Zanzibar was a good time. We ended up making friends with a group from a study abroad program, and it was awesome to have a new group to travel around with. They were from Canada/U.S. Three of them also happened to be taking the same bus to Moshi (where we flew back to Uganda from...the town beside kilimanjaro), so we had some good times hanging out. Also, 3 of the guys were on their college Ultimate teams, so we had some good frisbee talk, and we shared in missing that great game (none of us had the frisbee's we had brought with us to throw on the beach, sadly). They also helped us out a lot, and we might not have made it back without their help...from getting our bus tickets for us, to allowing us to stay at the same places (we had no idea where to go for our nights in Dar es Salaam and Moshi)...so that was really cool.
So we're now back in the Pearl of Africa. But we leave tomorrow for Cape Town. Isn't that wild? My hope is that I see a Giraffe before I leave this continent. That's the dream, because Giraffe's are the greatest animals. I read recently that they have the same amount of neck vertebrae as us, but that each one is 8 inches long! Isn't THAT wild!?
So today we have to say our goodbyes to everyone from KiBO, Abraham and Judith (and the twins: Edna and Maria), and this wonderful country. We both agreed that the people in Uganda are much more welcoming and friendly than those of Tanzania (I'm sure there are nice people in both countries...but that was our impression). I suppose we'll see if South Africa measures up to East Africa. Time has flown way too fast.
Werinkup Uganda.
Peace
So we're now back in the Pearl of Africa. But we leave tomorrow for Cape Town. Isn't that wild? My hope is that I see a Giraffe before I leave this continent. That's the dream, because Giraffe's are the greatest animals. I read recently that they have the same amount of neck vertebrae as us, but that each one is 8 inches long! Isn't THAT wild!?
So today we have to say our goodbyes to everyone from KiBO, Abraham and Judith (and the twins: Edna and Maria), and this wonderful country. We both agreed that the people in Uganda are much more welcoming and friendly than those of Tanzania (I'm sure there are nice people in both countries...but that was our impression). I suppose we'll see if South Africa measures up to East Africa. Time has flown way too fast.
Werinkup Uganda.
Peace
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Kalangala, Zanzibar - Island Chillin.
Last Thursday I said goodbye to all the amazing students and teachers of the two Kisugu schools. My time there was way too short, but I'm so thankful I made the connections I did. I managed to talk to them about potential pen pals type things between students from my grade 5 classes, and the grade 5's of Crescent. I told them I'd check with Crescent...so if anyone from Crescent is reading this: Is that cool? That sort of thing would be really valuable for the students on both sides of the world.
Friday morning we left with our friend Gerald (from the KiBO foundation) for Kalangala, which is a beautiful island on Lake Victoria. We took a ferry over the equator with some borrowed bikes, and camped out by a beach on the island. We had some sweet bike rides around the island through the think jungles and down some awesome hills. Uganda has the largest number of species of birds in the world (I believe...at least in Africa), and even Kampala has a lot of cool birds. But the wildlife on the island was beautiful and even more plentiful.
On Monday, we hopped on a flight over to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. We took a public bus, where we discovered that everyone in Tanzania speaks Swahili, and no one really knows any English. (Despite the presence of regional languages in Uganda - namely Lugandan in central areas - most people can understand English). After a crowded bus ride, we were dropped off at the fish market, where a man we met (who called himself "Starfish") directed us to the ferry docks. We got a ferry after some intense bargaining wars, and got ourselves over to Zanzibar. Zanzibar is one of the most unique places I've been this year! We've just had a day or so of exploring and taking many pictures of the old Zanzibar town, Stonetown. It is as though we have gone back in time. Very beautiful and very surreal.
We've got a week in Tanzania before we head back to Uganda, then catch our flight to South Africa for the last leg of our adventure. I'm pumped.
Friday morning we left with our friend Gerald (from the KiBO foundation) for Kalangala, which is a beautiful island on Lake Victoria. We took a ferry over the equator with some borrowed bikes, and camped out by a beach on the island. We had some sweet bike rides around the island through the think jungles and down some awesome hills. Uganda has the largest number of species of birds in the world (I believe...at least in Africa), and even Kampala has a lot of cool birds. But the wildlife on the island was beautiful and even more plentiful.
On Monday, we hopped on a flight over to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. We took a public bus, where we discovered that everyone in Tanzania speaks Swahili, and no one really knows any English. (Despite the presence of regional languages in Uganda - namely Lugandan in central areas - most people can understand English). After a crowded bus ride, we were dropped off at the fish market, where a man we met (who called himself "Starfish") directed us to the ferry docks. We got a ferry after some intense bargaining wars, and got ourselves over to Zanzibar. Zanzibar is one of the most unique places I've been this year! We've just had a day or so of exploring and taking many pictures of the old Zanzibar town, Stonetown. It is as though we have gone back in time. Very beautiful and very surreal.
We've got a week in Tanzania before we head back to Uganda, then catch our flight to South Africa for the last leg of our adventure. I'm pumped.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Two New Friends: Mark and Chris
Mark is Probably my biggest fan. Sorry Mom. He's about 4 years old, and he attends the Nursery School part of Kisugu St. Stephen's. There are a group of the nursery children that yell "Mzungu!" (white man), and run at me whenever I arrive at school. I am normally escorted by a group of 3 or 4, grabbing my arms or just hugging my waist, all the way to the office, where I wait for my lessons to start. But the best part is when I'm waiting in the office reading or reviewing my lesson plans. Mark just comes in and stands next to me. He is silent. He just admires my arms/hands and pats them with his hands, or just stares up at my face. The other teachers find it really funny, and they always laugh as they try to convince Mark to go back to the class he's supposed to be sitting in. But today was an important day in our relationship, as Mark finally opened his mouth! I decided I would start off today with a question he might know the answer to...and this is how our conversation went:
Me: So what's your name?
Mark (pausing, focused on my arm): "...(Something in Lugandan)...Mark"
Me: We've met before haven't we Mark?"
Mark: Yes.
Me: "So do you remember my name?"
Mark: "Yes."
Me: "What's my name?"
Mark (pausing): "...Mzungu."
Oh man. he's hilarious. Really shy, but apparently fascinated with me.
Chris is a few decades older than Mark. He's been a teacher here for 20 years, and he is one of the grade 5 teachers (the grade I'm helping with at both schools) at the government school. After classes, he normally comes to help me with the sports and games with the students. He is a very calm, serious man, but you can tell he has a passion for teaching and I often catch him stifling a laugh at the many hilarious moments that happen during the games time.
I mention him also because he is trying to accomplish something that I want to help him with. He wants to build a fully operational school in his home village, Mbale, in Eastern Uganda. We have talked about his idea, and he has recently given me a full proposal of all the costs for his potential school. I really respect him, and I have told him I'll do what I can to help, and he was so thankful that he told me he would dedicate the school to me or name it after me...which I told him was a ridiculous idea. The point is, the best long term solution to poverty is the education of children and I have seen the truth of that as I have travelled this year. So this is the first plug for Chris Wanyakala's school. He has estimated the total cost (including teachers salaries, buying land, building the school, and buying materials) to be about the equivalent of $40,000 dollars (60 million Ugandan Shillings sounds much more intense). Just a heads up about that.
School is going really well. Exams started today at Kisugu St. Stephen's, and they start on Wednesday for Kisugu Church of Uganda (Gov't School). Exams basically mean less lessons and more sports and games outside in the breaks between papers! Frisbee with the kids at Kisugu St. Stephen's today was incredibly chaotic and hectic, and I don't think I stopped laughing the whole time. I think they were extra excited after being cooped up for their exams. Awesome.
A quick lesson in Ugandan slang: "Werinkup." (literally: "We link up", as in, I'll see you later, we'll link up and hang out soon - said with a strong Ugandan accent that Remy and I can't fully imitate yet).
Lesson #2: "T.I.A." -> This is Africa. (In case you hadn't heard that one)
Werinkup.
PS - Pictures: The boy on the far right is Mark. The man next to me is Chris.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I have to make this quick.
This week has been incredible! My teaching schedule looks like this:
11 am: A beautiful time for a first class...I teach about 20 students at the smaller of the two school for a Ugandan 40 minutes (closer to an hour) at "Kisugu St. Stephen's Primary".
After lunch: I have two official classes at the government school (Kisugu Church of Uganda). The smaller one has 100 students...the bigger one has 110. It is equally as fun!
After school I take one of the government school classes out for sports and games! (FRISBEE!). SO MUCH FUN.
So school has been a blast! I've been teaching english, as well as general knowledge about the world, because most students don't know anything about the world outside of Uganda/East Africa. (Someone told me that Ethiopia was the continent North of Africa).
Also, Yesterday I went kayaking on the Nile River in Jinja! (where the Nile starts!) It was awesome. Remy went Bungee jumping, and I decided that wasn't for me. He had fun though.
Things are good.
Peace.
This week has been incredible! My teaching schedule looks like this:
11 am: A beautiful time for a first class...I teach about 20 students at the smaller of the two school for a Ugandan 40 minutes (closer to an hour) at "Kisugu St. Stephen's Primary".
After lunch: I have two official classes at the government school (Kisugu Church of Uganda). The smaller one has 100 students...the bigger one has 110. It is equally as fun!
After school I take one of the government school classes out for sports and games! (FRISBEE!). SO MUCH FUN.
So school has been a blast! I've been teaching english, as well as general knowledge about the world, because most students don't know anything about the world outside of Uganda/East Africa. (Someone told me that Ethiopia was the continent North of Africa).
Also, Yesterday I went kayaking on the Nile River in Jinja! (where the Nile starts!) It was awesome. Remy went Bungee jumping, and I decided that wasn't for me. He had fun though.
Things are good.
Peace.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Back to Primary school
Through the KiBO foundation I have met many interesting people. Last Thursday Abraham introduced me to the head teacher of Kisugu Church of Uganda Primary School, a very impoverished school that KiBO students have recently helped support. They invited me to come and teach, so on Friday I went to meet with them to discuss where/how I could be used. This is where things get interesting...I feel like I say that a lot. For the record, this year has been interesting.
Anyhow, so we drove past a few school buildings and up to a set of gates that said "Kisugu Primary School"...or something like that. I went in with Remy and we asked for the head teacher. They said he was away, but they gave us his mobile number. I had forgotten his name, but I called anyways and told him who I was, and that I wanted to talk to him about volunteering at his school. He seemed surprised and just said: "I'll be there in 2 minutes!" In non-Ugandan style, he came flying up the hill on a motorbike (or "bodaboda") within about 2 minutes!
He greeted me with a big smile, and I couldn't understand why I didn't really recognize him...He brought me to the office and asked me how I heard of his school, and how I got his number. Hmm...well...does KiBO foundation ring a bell? ....Nope. He proceeded to tell me that his school was called "Kisugu St. Stephen's primary school", and that the school I was looking for was probably "Kisugu Church of Uganda primary school". This was true. But he went on to say that he was so excited when he got my call because their school has a great need for teachers, and they have been looking ever since they started for any sort of partnerships with teachers from overseas! He told me he understood if I wanted to teach at the other school, but that he welcomed any commitment I could give to their school, as he considered my (completely random) showing up a total blessing. Long story short, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to drive just past the other Kisugu school in order to meet this awesome man. As of tomorrow, I'm meeting an english teacher from their school and I'm gonna help out with grade 5!
I also went on to meet the head teacher from the other Kisugu School (whom I had met), and they also assigned me to two grade 5 classes (English), as well as a joint grade 5 class doing sports and games (ie - Ultimate frisbee) after school. I'm pretty pumped for tomorrow. The only problem is that it really won't be much of a commitment because they go into exams in 2 weeks...but I'll have a couple of weeks to make a connection with 2 very needy schools, possibly improve some english and teach them about the world, and play some sweet ultimate games. Hopefully I can help out in such a short time.
Remy is in the process of getting involved in some very interesting and creative ways, and will possibly be going outside the city to help with arts n' crafts sorta stuff in a village nearby, so he won't be joining me at school.
So it seems that anywhere I go this year, I always get pulled back into teaching at good ol' Primary school. Hooray for maturity! The crowd I've been hanging around this year might be slightly different to the first year university crowd this september. We'll see if I fit in...
Anyhow, so we drove past a few school buildings and up to a set of gates that said "Kisugu Primary School"...or something like that. I went in with Remy and we asked for the head teacher. They said he was away, but they gave us his mobile number. I had forgotten his name, but I called anyways and told him who I was, and that I wanted to talk to him about volunteering at his school. He seemed surprised and just said: "I'll be there in 2 minutes!" In non-Ugandan style, he came flying up the hill on a motorbike (or "bodaboda") within about 2 minutes!
He greeted me with a big smile, and I couldn't understand why I didn't really recognize him...He brought me to the office and asked me how I heard of his school, and how I got his number. Hmm...well...does KiBO foundation ring a bell? ....Nope. He proceeded to tell me that his school was called "Kisugu St. Stephen's primary school", and that the school I was looking for was probably "Kisugu Church of Uganda primary school". This was true. But he went on to say that he was so excited when he got my call because their school has a great need for teachers, and they have been looking ever since they started for any sort of partnerships with teachers from overseas! He told me he understood if I wanted to teach at the other school, but that he welcomed any commitment I could give to their school, as he considered my (completely random) showing up a total blessing. Long story short, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to drive just past the other Kisugu school in order to meet this awesome man. As of tomorrow, I'm meeting an english teacher from their school and I'm gonna help out with grade 5!
I also went on to meet the head teacher from the other Kisugu School (whom I had met), and they also assigned me to two grade 5 classes (English), as well as a joint grade 5 class doing sports and games (ie - Ultimate frisbee) after school. I'm pretty pumped for tomorrow. The only problem is that it really won't be much of a commitment because they go into exams in 2 weeks...but I'll have a couple of weeks to make a connection with 2 very needy schools, possibly improve some english and teach them about the world, and play some sweet ultimate games. Hopefully I can help out in such a short time.
Remy is in the process of getting involved in some very interesting and creative ways, and will possibly be going outside the city to help with arts n' crafts sorta stuff in a village nearby, so he won't be joining me at school.
So it seems that anywhere I go this year, I always get pulled back into teaching at good ol' Primary school. Hooray for maturity! The crowd I've been hanging around this year might be slightly different to the first year university crowd this september. We'll see if I fit in...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Uganda. (Chapter 3 begins)
Peter Crysdale was right. The sky in Sub-Saharan Africa during the rainy season is breathtaking.
I have learned a lot in my first week in
KiBO:
See "
See “KiBO foundation” – an organization based in
We are staying in
At this moment the KiBO program is finishing its third class, and starting it’s fourth. When we arrived the third class of students was running its final project, which was a series of fundraisers to raise money for a nearby orphanage/primary school, to improve their learning environment. “Ugandan youth helping other young Ugandans, that’s what it’s all about. Not taking handouts from North Americans, but realizing they can make a difference themselves to solve the ‘
Anyhow, so it’s a bit of a transition period here at KiBO (between class 3 ending and class 4 starting). Remy and I were able to help out at the final fundraiser for class 3, which was a huge car wash event last Saturday. It was intense! I’ve never seen cars washed with so much vigour. It is now “KiBO week”, so there are various intro events for class 4, and people can come into the centre and get a peak at what KiBO is all about.
In the past few days (due to the hectic organization stuff going on at KiBO centre, Remy and I were given a chance to explore the city (and get out of everyone’s hair). It has been really fun to just discover all that
So we’re in
I really will try to get pictures up soon. Really, I will.
Peace.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Dubai/Oman: Pit Stop
From the mountains and the cold, into the heat, desert, and coastline extravagance of Dubai. From the refrigerated frying pan, into the fire. A very hot, wealthy, sandy fire. The Nepal to UAE (United Arab Emirates) transition is about as big of a contrast as you can imagine. Think Gordon Lightfoot doing a cover of a Rage Against the Machine Song. Yeah, I know. People in Nepal try to farm snow covered villages over 4000 metres above sea level. People in Dubai go skiing on an indoor ski hill in a mall in the middle of the desert.
My time here has been well appreciated, and I've enjoyed seeing the fantasy world of Dubai, and recognizing it as such. It's a nice place to visit if you have a friend's father's apartment floor to sleep on (rather than trying to pay for a hotel here), and it's an interesting place to see (quickly), and then leave before things get a little bit too overwhelming. I'd say I'm ready for our flight to Entebbe (Uganda) tomorrow morning.
The environment of this area of the world is completely different to anything I've experienced, and that is perhaps what I've enjoyed the most. We drove out into the desert and spent a night camping under the stars for an "Arabian night"...Alladin style. It was really beautiful to be surrounded by the bare rock and sand of the desert and we had a lot of fun climbing the rocky mountains around our makeshift "campsite". We also got to ride ATV's on the sand dunes and take huge air off of the dunes...totally hardcore, sort of. Remy is actually quite a proficient ATV-er...and I am not. Claire managed to fall off her ATV, then have it land on her. Don't worry, she's fine. (Claire is Remy's sister, who was also touring the area with Remy's Dad - Mac - Remy, and Myself).
We spent one night in the Sultanate of Oman, which was like an undeveloped version of the UAE. The geography of the coast of Oman was incredibly beautiful: fjords, Jellyfish/dolphin populated water (the gulf of Oman), beaches, and fishing villages were highlights.
The past few days have included the following other activities: Skiing (yep, I went with Claire to "Ski Dubai" - totally surreal!), an Ice Cafe (we ate lunch in a refrigerated room made of ice!), ATV riding, eating tasty Arabic food, sweating, Camels, seeing the worlds only "7 star hotel" and the worlds tallest building, and being subjected to unnecessary amounts of wealth. Yes, people actually pay over 15, 000 dollars for a hotel room for a night. Apparently that's a good idea. (Sorry if one of my readers has stayed at the Burj-Al-Arab hotel before!)
So the Dubai/Oman mini-chapter of the trip has been very interesting, filled with beautiful nature and one heck of a city, which I am still trying to process. Next chapter: Uganda!
Peace.
PS - those of you that are shaking their fists at me due to a lack of photos...if you have facebook, photos are a lot easier to add there, thus mine are posted there...if you don't have facebook (Mom and Dad), I'm sorry and I will try to get some photos put on here soon!
My time here has been well appreciated, and I've enjoyed seeing the fantasy world of Dubai, and recognizing it as such. It's a nice place to visit if you have a friend's father's apartment floor to sleep on (rather than trying to pay for a hotel here), and it's an interesting place to see (quickly), and then leave before things get a little bit too overwhelming. I'd say I'm ready for our flight to Entebbe (Uganda) tomorrow morning.
The environment of this area of the world is completely different to anything I've experienced, and that is perhaps what I've enjoyed the most. We drove out into the desert and spent a night camping under the stars for an "Arabian night"...Alladin style. It was really beautiful to be surrounded by the bare rock and sand of the desert and we had a lot of fun climbing the rocky mountains around our makeshift "campsite". We also got to ride ATV's on the sand dunes and take huge air off of the dunes...totally hardcore, sort of. Remy is actually quite a proficient ATV-er...and I am not. Claire managed to fall off her ATV, then have it land on her. Don't worry, she's fine. (Claire is Remy's sister, who was also touring the area with Remy's Dad - Mac - Remy, and Myself).
We spent one night in the Sultanate of Oman, which was like an undeveloped version of the UAE. The geography of the coast of Oman was incredibly beautiful: fjords, Jellyfish/dolphin populated water (the gulf of Oman), beaches, and fishing villages were highlights.
The past few days have included the following other activities: Skiing (yep, I went with Claire to "Ski Dubai" - totally surreal!), an Ice Cafe (we ate lunch in a refrigerated room made of ice!), ATV riding, eating tasty Arabic food, sweating, Camels, seeing the worlds only "7 star hotel" and the worlds tallest building, and being subjected to unnecessary amounts of wealth. Yes, people actually pay over 15, 000 dollars for a hotel room for a night. Apparently that's a good idea. (Sorry if one of my readers has stayed at the Burj-Al-Arab hotel before!)
So the Dubai/Oman mini-chapter of the trip has been very interesting, filled with beautiful nature and one heck of a city, which I am still trying to process. Next chapter: Uganda!
Peace.
PS - those of you that are shaking their fists at me due to a lack of photos...if you have facebook, photos are a lot easier to add there, thus mine are posted there...if you don't have facebook (Mom and Dad), I'm sorry and I will try to get some photos put on here soon!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Before....After!
So I had had enough after 5 months of growing hair...October 13th to March 13th, here is the result:
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Everest, you win this time. (see below for second new entry)
The window between leaving Bandipur and leaving Nepal allowed time for one thing: A trek in the Everest region. We were more than a little disorganized with how we planned the trek, but everything seemed to fall into place for us. We went to the airport on March 1st, looked around for a volunteer who was friends with volunteers we had met through Peter. We hadn't met him, but we had heard he had a pretty sweet trek planned. So we arrived at the airport, and I went up to the first guy with a beard I saw and said: "Cody?" And I was right! We had talked on the phone the night before and basically the plan was that we would tag along with him if we could get last minute seats on a flight to Lukla (Everest region airport). After meeting Cody, we went to the "Yeti airlines" desk and said: "Do you happen to have two extra seats on this mornings flights to Lukla?" The reply: "Yes." Everything was seriously going our way.
So we started our trek with Cody that afternoon in the misty mountains. The plan was to trek from Lukla (2800 metres above sea level) to Gokyo Peak (A beautiful mountain that overlooks Everest from 5300 metres). This is how the trek went for me:
First day: Lukla down to Phakding - no problem. (2800 - 2600 m)
Second day: Phakding up to Namche Bazar. This would be a killer, and our greatest rise in elevation on the entire trek. (2600 - 3450 metres).
Second day (halfway through): oh boy...I think I have altitude sickness.
Second day (at Namche Bazar): Boy it's hard to breathe...and the world is spinning...and I have no appetite.
Third day: Sick. Let's stay here to acclimatize and allow Tim to stay alive and take some medicine.
Fourth day: Worse. Ok Tim, you go down, we'll go up. (3450 - 2800...down to a town called Jorsalle)
Fifth day: ...the same? I'm gonna go down some more. (2800 - 2600...back to Phakding)
Sixth day: ...possibly worse still: let's get to Lukla and get out of here!! (2600 - 2800)
So I caught the first flight back to Kathmandu after 2 antibiotics and 1 altitude medication drug failed to do anything about my condition...and saw a doctor the next day. Apparently I had gotten a pretty stubborn bacterial virus and I would need a few days to recover while on some new antibiotics.
Lowlight: being sick.
Highlights:
#1: I did get a few clear days while trekking and the Everest region is really breathtaking.
#2: I'm feeling better now!
#3: I was allowed to stay at Peter's house while I recovered - I got some good reading/writing done.
#4: Remy got back today and said they made it to Gokyo Peak and it was unreal. So it was a successful expedition, despite my failure to perform.
We leave Nepal this Sunday and I can't believe how fast it's flown by! Other cool things I haven't mentioned on the blog:
We went Paragliding in Pokhara! (Very cool)
I shaved today! (I look like a baby!)
Remy got his eyebrow pierced! (JUST KIDDING! HA!)
Peace.
So we started our trek with Cody that afternoon in the misty mountains. The plan was to trek from Lukla (2800 metres above sea level) to Gokyo Peak (A beautiful mountain that overlooks Everest from 5300 metres). This is how the trek went for me:
First day: Lukla down to Phakding - no problem. (2800 - 2600 m)
Second day: Phakding up to Namche Bazar. This would be a killer, and our greatest rise in elevation on the entire trek. (2600 - 3450 metres).
Second day (halfway through): oh boy...I think I have altitude sickness.
Second day (at Namche Bazar): Boy it's hard to breathe...and the world is spinning...and I have no appetite.
Third day: Sick. Let's stay here to acclimatize and allow Tim to stay alive and take some medicine.
Fourth day: Worse. Ok Tim, you go down, we'll go up. (3450 - 2800...down to a town called Jorsalle)
Fifth day: ...the same? I'm gonna go down some more. (2800 - 2600...back to Phakding)
Sixth day: ...possibly worse still: let's get to Lukla and get out of here!! (2600 - 2800)
So I caught the first flight back to Kathmandu after 2 antibiotics and 1 altitude medication drug failed to do anything about my condition...and saw a doctor the next day. Apparently I had gotten a pretty stubborn bacterial virus and I would need a few days to recover while on some new antibiotics.
Lowlight: being sick.
Highlights:
#1: I did get a few clear days while trekking and the Everest region is really breathtaking.
#2: I'm feeling better now!
#3: I was allowed to stay at Peter's house while I recovered - I got some good reading/writing done.
#4: Remy got back today and said they made it to Gokyo Peak and it was unreal. So it was a successful expedition, despite my failure to perform.
We leave Nepal this Sunday and I can't believe how fast it's flown by! Other cool things I haven't mentioned on the blog:
We went Paragliding in Pokhara! (Very cool)
I shaved today! (I look like a baby!)
Remy got his eyebrow pierced! (JUST KIDDING! HA!)
Peace.
Goodbye Bandipur
Ok, I haven't done this in a while and I'm sorry. I fell off the ball. Now I'm on it, don't worry.
Our last week in Bandipur flew by like nobody's business. All of a sudden 2 months was up; no more Dal Bhat, no more school, and a lot of goodbye celebrations to be had. On our last night in Bandipur we were invited for 4 dinners, we got a total of about 10 garlands of flowers draped all over us (from schools/learning centres), I was given 3 Tika's (red bits of rice/paint on my forehead), and we spent much of the day dancing and singing Nepali songs with the children. There was a lot of laughing, eating, dancing, and gift recieving...by the end of it all we were exhausted but we felt very loved.
Highlights:
We were invited to one of the teacher's houses to learn how to make Mo mo's (a delicious dumpling-type food popular in Nepal), we were given traditional Nepali men's hats from our family, and we were given loads of beautiful flowers as gifts from various children.
Despite all the joy in the celebrations, it was hard to say goodbye to all of the amazing people we had been blessed to live alongside as we stayed in Bandipur. I will miss the children that would randomly attack us as we walked through the streets, the times when Rajani (our Nepali mother; "Aama") would play tricks on us, the students at the learning centres we got to hang out with, and the beauty of the village itself. If someone were to go to Bandipur as a tourist (as many people do - staying for 1 or 2 nights), they would witness a beautiful old village, however if you ever get the chance to go (to any Nepalese village), I recommend staying a bit longer and becoming familiar with the most beautiful part of the village; it's people.
Namaste Bandipur, I'll come back as soon as I can.
Peace.
Our last week in Bandipur flew by like nobody's business. All of a sudden 2 months was up; no more Dal Bhat, no more school, and a lot of goodbye celebrations to be had. On our last night in Bandipur we were invited for 4 dinners, we got a total of about 10 garlands of flowers draped all over us (from schools/learning centres), I was given 3 Tika's (red bits of rice/paint on my forehead), and we spent much of the day dancing and singing Nepali songs with the children. There was a lot of laughing, eating, dancing, and gift recieving...by the end of it all we were exhausted but we felt very loved.
Highlights:
We were invited to one of the teacher's houses to learn how to make Mo mo's (a delicious dumpling-type food popular in Nepal), we were given traditional Nepali men's hats from our family, and we were given loads of beautiful flowers as gifts from various children.
Despite all the joy in the celebrations, it was hard to say goodbye to all of the amazing people we had been blessed to live alongside as we stayed in Bandipur. I will miss the children that would randomly attack us as we walked through the streets, the times when Rajani (our Nepali mother; "Aama") would play tricks on us, the students at the learning centres we got to hang out with, and the beauty of the village itself. If someone were to go to Bandipur as a tourist (as many people do - staying for 1 or 2 nights), they would witness a beautiful old village, however if you ever get the chance to go (to any Nepalese village), I recommend staying a bit longer and becoming familiar with the most beautiful part of the village; it's people.
Namaste Bandipur, I'll come back as soon as I can.
Peace.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Rhinos, Crocs, Nuns...oh my!
We left the Nepal that we had expected, and arrived in a Nepal that we didn't know existed. It all happened last weekend, in a place known as Chitwan National Park. This National Park is located in the region known as the "Terai"...basically - the lowlands of Nepal. Yes. Low-lands. So there we were...in Nepal, with no mountains in sight, and all sorts of animals that you might expect to see in "the Jungle Book"...in fact that's exactly the sort of place we were. We even thought we saw Mogli and Baloo at one point. Well, not really. I really wish the picture uploader was working right now, because I've decided that telling you all about being a few feet away from wild rhino's, crocadiles, deer, peacocks etc., and riding on the back of an elephant through the jungle, is less cool than showing you the pictures. But I suppose you'll have to wait. I don't think I need to say that we had a really incredible weekend in the Nepalese jungle, and that seeing Remy get elephant snot all over his shirt was hilarious...but I'll say it anyway.
Along with bumping into some interesting animals, I've decided to take some time to tell you of some interesting people. Sister Barbera, Sister Andre, Sister Evangela and Sister Miriam, are 4 of the coolest Nuns you will ever meet. Now I know there are some cool Nuns out there (Momma T, Dorothy Day etc.), but these ones are worth meeting. Earlier this week, the volunteers that are in Bandipur at the moment (Joli, Remy, Tim, and a new volunteer named Zanna) got to have lunch with 3 of the Nuns that started "Notre Dame School" in Bandipur (Sister Miriam couldn't make it). It was the highlight of my week.
Sister Evangela came to Nepal over 20 years ago (from her home country of Japan) to a no-name, ghost village known as Bandipur. At that time Bandipur was filled with only the poorest of the poor, had no phones, no electricity, and barely enough food being farmed to live on. Sister Evangela decided to come and start a school, because the people here had nothing. And she stuck it out. I wish everyone reading this had been able to be at that lunch with the Nuns. I wish you could all hear all their incredible stories of joy in hardship, see the twinkle in each of their eyes, and feel the love that seems to ooze from their pores. They are incredible people. Over the 23 years the school has now been running, various Nuns from Japan have helped in its growth, however it has been the faithfulness of these 4 Sisters that have sustained it, and have allowed for all castes to be in school together (drinking from the same fountains, and eating from the same cafeteria!), and for hundreds of impoverished people to have graduated with education, hope, and opportunity they could only dream of before. Miriam and Evangela are two Japanese Sisters, and Andre and Barbera are two American Sisters (known as "sisters squared" because they are also biological sisters)that worked in Japan for many years, before joining Evangela in her work in Nepal. They have stories of being malnourished, living in huts with bed bugs and rats, and having days when they didn't have the strength to stand and walk to school simply because they hadn't been able to get enough food to eat. And when Joli asked "so how much longer do you plan on staying in Nepal?", they just laughed and then Sister Andre simply said: "Well...I guess until we can't teach anymore." They have taught me a lot about faithfulness, joy and simply about being young at heart.
As for my news, I'm planning on starting a sweet band known as "Class 3, feat. Dipak". I've started bringing the guitar to class and singing more songs with them, and they are actually great singers! They've been really fun, and I'm really gonna miss them. It's crazy because this coming week might be our last one in Bandipur!
I hope everyone is well back home, and a big high five to anyone still reading these updates. My apologies once again for the lack of pictures. Also, Kelsey - happy 20th birthday in a few days!
Peace.
Along with bumping into some interesting animals, I've decided to take some time to tell you of some interesting people. Sister Barbera, Sister Andre, Sister Evangela and Sister Miriam, are 4 of the coolest Nuns you will ever meet. Now I know there are some cool Nuns out there (Momma T, Dorothy Day etc.), but these ones are worth meeting. Earlier this week, the volunteers that are in Bandipur at the moment (Joli, Remy, Tim, and a new volunteer named Zanna) got to have lunch with 3 of the Nuns that started "Notre Dame School" in Bandipur (Sister Miriam couldn't make it). It was the highlight of my week.
Sister Evangela came to Nepal over 20 years ago (from her home country of Japan) to a no-name, ghost village known as Bandipur. At that time Bandipur was filled with only the poorest of the poor, had no phones, no electricity, and barely enough food being farmed to live on. Sister Evangela decided to come and start a school, because the people here had nothing. And she stuck it out. I wish everyone reading this had been able to be at that lunch with the Nuns. I wish you could all hear all their incredible stories of joy in hardship, see the twinkle in each of their eyes, and feel the love that seems to ooze from their pores. They are incredible people. Over the 23 years the school has now been running, various Nuns from Japan have helped in its growth, however it has been the faithfulness of these 4 Sisters that have sustained it, and have allowed for all castes to be in school together (drinking from the same fountains, and eating from the same cafeteria!), and for hundreds of impoverished people to have graduated with education, hope, and opportunity they could only dream of before. Miriam and Evangela are two Japanese Sisters, and Andre and Barbera are two American Sisters (known as "sisters squared" because they are also biological sisters)that worked in Japan for many years, before joining Evangela in her work in Nepal. They have stories of being malnourished, living in huts with bed bugs and rats, and having days when they didn't have the strength to stand and walk to school simply because they hadn't been able to get enough food to eat. And when Joli asked "so how much longer do you plan on staying in Nepal?", they just laughed and then Sister Andre simply said: "Well...I guess until we can't teach anymore." They have taught me a lot about faithfulness, joy and simply about being young at heart.
As for my news, I'm planning on starting a sweet band known as "Class 3, feat. Dipak". I've started bringing the guitar to class and singing more songs with them, and they are actually great singers! They've been really fun, and I'm really gonna miss them. It's crazy because this coming week might be our last one in Bandipur!
I hope everyone is well back home, and a big high five to anyone still reading these updates. My apologies once again for the lack of pictures. Also, Kelsey - happy 20th birthday in a few days!
Peace.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Christians…in Nepal?
For those of you that forgot, or didn't realize, Nepal is said to be 80% Hindu, 15% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and 0.9% "other". So naturally, I figured Remy would be the only Christian I would meet here. Not so.
This past weekend we took a bus into Kathmandu to hang out there and meet up with Lee, a good friend Allison Taylor, and a group of Christian youth workers she works with. They were traveling in Nepal and Bangladesh looking at various places they could take University students to serve. My first experience with the Nepalese Church was when we went to a gathering of Nepalese University students at a Church in Kathmandu. We got to meet the students and talk with them about the Church in Nepal and how it is an encouragement to the worldwide Church, and to the Church in the west. So that was my first experience with Christians here. Very cool.
On Sunday morning, Remy was quite sick, so went with him to Peter Dalglish's house, where he was going to take refuge until he felt well enough to trek back out to the middle of nowhere…er…Bandipur. That left me fending for myself, trying to locate a public bus terminal where I could catch a bus back to Dumre (the nearest "somewhere" to our "middle of nowhere" village). Eventually I found myself in the back row of a public bus in Nepal…the only white person in sight. About 5 minutes into the bus ride, the guy next to me asked me a question about the flags on my backpack (I have a Canadian flag, as well as a Honduran flag…so he had reason to be curious). I told him what each of them was from, and after a couple seconds of conversation (I mentioned I had taught in Honduras, and was now doing similar volunteer teaching in Bandipur), the guy down the row leaned over and said:
"You are a believer?"
"I'm sorry?" I said. (WHAT!?)
"A believer...Christian?"
"…Umm, ya…yes I am…are you?"
"Ya, and so is my friend James here (indicating the guy at the far end of the row). We're both Christians. I thought you were a missionary."
Try your very best to imagine my reaction to this conversation. Just try. I dare you. But what happened next might even be more amazing…Lazaraus and I ended up talking the whole drive, sharing email addresses, singing songs together (he whipped out an MP3 player and we both listened to "Blessed be your name", "Here I am to worship" and we sang numerous other songs together!...I'm still trying to imagine what the other Nepali people on the bus were thinking.) He invited me to meet his family (they live in Dumre) and also invited us to dinner at his college in Kathmandu if Remy and I have time when we go back.
I still don't know how anyone in Nepal could turn to any stranger and just ask: "You are a believer?" That doesn't make sense…I felt like replying: "Do you know the odds of that!? NOT HIGH!" But what I'm more amazed with is the faith of the Nepalese Christians I have now met. They live in a country where they are the complete minority, and until recently (and still in some areas) were treated pretty badly for their beliefs. They also live in a country where there are huge problems with poverty, drug use, and lack of education (etc.) and they can't just be complacent with all of that staring them in the face. In the west, Christians (and non-Christians) can often be so insulated by their wealth that serving the poor is not necessary, or it is a simple donation to United Way away. Christians here don't quite live with the same insulation. Lazaraus and James are in a Christian worship band that gives concerts to recovering drug addicts and they both have done their share of work and service in impoverished communities in Nepal. Their stories and their faith have taught me so much about following God despite hardships, and just what it means to love your neighbour. It's like they are actually living as that guy Jesus did, and it's moments like that where I take a good look at my life back home to see how it compares. I think I have a lot to learn.
Peace.
This past weekend we took a bus into Kathmandu to hang out there and meet up with Lee, a good friend Allison Taylor, and a group of Christian youth workers she works with. They were traveling in Nepal and Bangladesh looking at various places they could take University students to serve. My first experience with the Nepalese Church was when we went to a gathering of Nepalese University students at a Church in Kathmandu. We got to meet the students and talk with them about the Church in Nepal and how it is an encouragement to the worldwide Church, and to the Church in the west. So that was my first experience with Christians here. Very cool.
On Sunday morning, Remy was quite sick, so went with him to Peter Dalglish's house, where he was going to take refuge until he felt well enough to trek back out to the middle of nowhere…er…Bandipur. That left me fending for myself, trying to locate a public bus terminal where I could catch a bus back to Dumre (the nearest "somewhere" to our "middle of nowhere" village). Eventually I found myself in the back row of a public bus in Nepal…the only white person in sight. About 5 minutes into the bus ride, the guy next to me asked me a question about the flags on my backpack (I have a Canadian flag, as well as a Honduran flag…so he had reason to be curious). I told him what each of them was from, and after a couple seconds of conversation (I mentioned I had taught in Honduras, and was now doing similar volunteer teaching in Bandipur), the guy down the row leaned over and said:
"You are a believer?"
"I'm sorry?" I said. (WHAT!?)
"A believer...Christian?"
"…Umm, ya…yes I am…are you?"
"Ya, and so is my friend James here (indicating the guy at the far end of the row). We're both Christians. I thought you were a missionary."
Try your very best to imagine my reaction to this conversation. Just try. I dare you. But what happened next might even be more amazing…Lazaraus and I ended up talking the whole drive, sharing email addresses, singing songs together (he whipped out an MP3 player and we both listened to "Blessed be your name", "Here I am to worship" and we sang numerous other songs together!...I'm still trying to imagine what the other Nepali people on the bus were thinking.) He invited me to meet his family (they live in Dumre) and also invited us to dinner at his college in Kathmandu if Remy and I have time when we go back.
I still don't know how anyone in Nepal could turn to any stranger and just ask: "You are a believer?" That doesn't make sense…I felt like replying: "Do you know the odds of that!? NOT HIGH!" But what I'm more amazed with is the faith of the Nepalese Christians I have now met. They live in a country where they are the complete minority, and until recently (and still in some areas) were treated pretty badly for their beliefs. They also live in a country where there are huge problems with poverty, drug use, and lack of education (etc.) and they can't just be complacent with all of that staring them in the face. In the west, Christians (and non-Christians) can often be so insulated by their wealth that serving the poor is not necessary, or it is a simple donation to United Way away. Christians here don't quite live with the same insulation. Lazaraus and James are in a Christian worship band that gives concerts to recovering drug addicts and they both have done their share of work and service in impoverished communities in Nepal. Their stories and their faith have taught me so much about following God despite hardships, and just what it means to love your neighbour. It's like they are actually living as that guy Jesus did, and it's moments like that where I take a good look at my life back home to see how it compares. I think I have a lot to learn.
Peace.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Teacher Strike and Some Good Humour
Well, it takes some good humour to deal with the frustrations that come with volunteering in Nepal. Between disorganized public schools with under worked and overpaid teachers, everything working on "Nepali time", and the amount of festival holidays you have when your country is 80% Hindu and 15% Buddhist, it's hard to be a productive volunteer. Remy and I have both agreed that we would have needed 4 months in Nepal if we wanted to get two months of work done. Alas, the news is true, there is some problem with the teacher union in Nepal and the Maoists (or something…the news we get is not completely accurate sometimes), and there is no school from yesterday (Wednesday) until Sunday. This leaves us a lot of free time between our learning centre sessions in the morning and the evenings, and the odd Ultimate Frisbee game. At least I get more time to read. I'm really enjoying "The Irresistible Revolution", and I would like to take this time to thank Jon for lending it to me (sorry I still have it), and tell all of you to read it!
One thing Remy and I have learned though, is that the teachers here are actually really funny and are generally great people, with some layers to get through. They are like onions. Or Ogres. The only thing is that most of them probably shouldn't be teachers…great people, but NOT born educators.
As for humour, my main man Ramsharan helps in that category. He is a grade 8 student that attends the learning centre sessions. He's awesome. It's funny because there are 3 "Ramsharans" that Remy and I know now. He is "small Ramsharan", "middle Ramsharan" is a young cook from the Old Inn (our neighbours), and "Big Ram" is the owner of the Old Inn. All 3 of them are awesome people, and it's cool because Remy found out that Ramsharan means "Surrender to God" (on a side note). So anyhow, I'll give you one of Ramsharan's jokes:
There were two brothers named "discipline" and "I dunno". One day, discipline was in the bathroom, when an elder from the village went to "I dunno" and said: "Young man, what is your name?"…"I dunno", he replied. Shocked, the elder exclaimed: "Where is your discipline!?"…"It has gone to the toilet," said I dunno.
BA DOOM CHING!
He told me another one about an ant wearing an elephant's underwear, but to be honest I didn't get it.
One more quick thing...When Remy and I were in Pokhara a couple weeks back, we bartered for a second hand acoustic guitar that I ended up buying. I officially have a travel guitar! It's been really fun playing it with the family and taking requests for songs that I can't quite play. Good times.
Peace.
One thing Remy and I have learned though, is that the teachers here are actually really funny and are generally great people, with some layers to get through. They are like onions. Or Ogres. The only thing is that most of them probably shouldn't be teachers…great people, but NOT born educators.
As for humour, my main man Ramsharan helps in that category. He is a grade 8 student that attends the learning centre sessions. He's awesome. It's funny because there are 3 "Ramsharans" that Remy and I know now. He is "small Ramsharan", "middle Ramsharan" is a young cook from the Old Inn (our neighbours), and "Big Ram" is the owner of the Old Inn. All 3 of them are awesome people, and it's cool because Remy found out that Ramsharan means "Surrender to God" (on a side note). So anyhow, I'll give you one of Ramsharan's jokes:
There were two brothers named "discipline" and "I dunno". One day, discipline was in the bathroom, when an elder from the village went to "I dunno" and said: "Young man, what is your name?"…"I dunno", he replied. Shocked, the elder exclaimed: "Where is your discipline!?"…"It has gone to the toilet," said I dunno.
BA DOOM CHING!
He told me another one about an ant wearing an elephant's underwear, but to be honest I didn't get it.
One more quick thing...When Remy and I were in Pokhara a couple weeks back, we bartered for a second hand acoustic guitar that I ended up buying. I officially have a travel guitar! It's been really fun playing it with the family and taking requests for songs that I can't quite play. Good times.
Peace.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Nepali Tea and Some Big White Waves
I am the luckiest man on the Earth. I just returned from a weekend of whitewater kayaking on the Trisulli River in Nepal. I went along with a rafting trip for volunteers from Himalayan Encounters (the NGO that the other volunteers - Angela, Lee and Joli - came to Bandipur through) and kids from the village. I just tagged along...and somehow scored a free t-shirt out of the deal. Sweet. The river was incredible. An onlooker would have seen 3 rafts full of screaming kids and volunteers that would fly down the rapids, and then a bearded man in a kayak somewhere in the mix of foaming water, paddles and MASSIVE waves. I had fun. It was kind of scary because they just kept shooting the rapids without scouting, so I would just yell to Dill (the lead Nepali guide), asking what to look out for…and I would get an explanation yelled back that might sound something like this: "OH! You stay middle, then right, then left…and watch out for washing machine!"…thanks Dill. And for the record…the washing machine was intense…and I hit it straight on. In the (cold) morning I also got to go out kayaking with Dill, and we played around in some rapids near where we were staying. He gave me some helpful tips (he's a pro!), which was very cool.
So Tim, are you doing anything to HELP people lately, or are you just having a blast going kayaking!? Ok…Valid question. But don't worry, this week I'll work extra hard to make up for all the fun I had. I think our schedule at Bhanu might be returning to normal, because their exams are ending soon I think, so that'll be good. So far class 3 has been very keen on music, so lately we've been singing "baa baa black sheep", "Old MacDonald (had a farm)", and "Head and shoulders (Knees and Toes)". Keepin' it real with "Tupac Shakur"…er…"Dipak Sir" (good one Jon). Oh! Did I mention that we had our first game of Ultimate Frisbee last Wednesday with a bunch of the kids!? We did. It was a draw, 2-2. We needed some more consistent defense and we would have taken it, but those are the breaks. Also, Lee and Angela left today, which is sad. Remy and I got along very well with Lee (www.byebyewest.blogspot.com), and he is staying in Nepal for 3 more months, so we plan on hanging out in the coming weeks.
And as for the title of this update…I'm really digging Nepali Tea.
Peace.
So Tim, are you doing anything to HELP people lately, or are you just having a blast going kayaking!? Ok…Valid question. But don't worry, this week I'll work extra hard to make up for all the fun I had. I think our schedule at Bhanu might be returning to normal, because their exams are ending soon I think, so that'll be good. So far class 3 has been very keen on music, so lately we've been singing "baa baa black sheep", "Old MacDonald (had a farm)", and "Head and shoulders (Knees and Toes)". Keepin' it real with "Tupac Shakur"…er…"Dipak Sir" (good one Jon). Oh! Did I mention that we had our first game of Ultimate Frisbee last Wednesday with a bunch of the kids!? We did. It was a draw, 2-2. We needed some more consistent defense and we would have taken it, but those are the breaks. Also, Lee and Angela left today, which is sad. Remy and I got along very well with Lee (www.byebyewest.blogspot.com), and he is staying in Nepal for 3 more months, so we plan on hanging out in the coming weeks.
And as for the title of this update…I'm really digging Nepali Tea.
Peace.
Friday, January 25, 2008
A Long way from Yonge and St. Clair.
So we have taken on some work here finally and we are starting to find our groove. Nepal is very different to Canada. As Peter always says to us when we're travelling together: "Long way from Yonge and St. Clair eh guys?"
The public school system here is pretty discouraging, especially at Bhanu school (the high school). We are teaching english classes there to grade 6 and 7, however our original schedule of teaching 12 classes a week has so far only been 6 classes a week, because of bad communication, weird exam schedules, and a principal who doesn't seem to care much about his students. We have yet to teach class 6a, however 6b and class 7 both have about 50+ students...and apparently if everyone showed up we'd have up to 80 or 90 students. They are very well bnehaved though. Children here in general are amazing. They are almost all very well mannered and calm, and it is very different to teaching in Honduras. It's also nice because Remy and I are team teaching at Bhanu, and that is going very well...that way if our lesson plan just isn't working, or we make a mistake while writing on the board, we can laugh at each other for it.
Teaching at Dil school has been great! I'm teaching the grade 3 class there! It's really exciting to have the same age group as before, although their english level is less than that of the grade 1's in Honduras. It's very challenging, but I have been made to feel a lot more appreciated at Dil school. The Nepali grade 3 teacher told me (in broken English), that the grade 3's have given me a Nepali name; "Dipak". She seemed really excited about it, but I still haven't figured out what it means. Judging by her reaction, I think it's a compliment (fingers crossed).
Before school (8-9 am) and after school (4:30 - 6 pm) we also help at one of the village learning centres - teaching english lessons to students from grade 6-9, and helping them with English and Math homework. (although Remy and I both struggle with the grade 8 and 9 math! hahaha...I know...we're pathetic!).
So ya...We're more settled in now, trying to pick up some Nepali (getting slightly better), and enjoying our lentils/rice/veggies (Dhal Bat) twice a day. We also got a chance to hang out in Pokhara last weekend with Peter and friends, and I've started helping Lee (one of the volunteers here) with doing some sports with some of the village boys. You guessed it...Ultimate frisbee. Aw yeye.
Peace.
The public school system here is pretty discouraging, especially at Bhanu school (the high school). We are teaching english classes there to grade 6 and 7, however our original schedule of teaching 12 classes a week has so far only been 6 classes a week, because of bad communication, weird exam schedules, and a principal who doesn't seem to care much about his students. We have yet to teach class 6a, however 6b and class 7 both have about 50+ students...and apparently if everyone showed up we'd have up to 80 or 90 students. They are very well bnehaved though. Children here in general are amazing. They are almost all very well mannered and calm, and it is very different to teaching in Honduras. It's also nice because Remy and I are team teaching at Bhanu, and that is going very well...that way if our lesson plan just isn't working, or we make a mistake while writing on the board, we can laugh at each other for it.
Teaching at Dil school has been great! I'm teaching the grade 3 class there! It's really exciting to have the same age group as before, although their english level is less than that of the grade 1's in Honduras. It's very challenging, but I have been made to feel a lot more appreciated at Dil school. The Nepali grade 3 teacher told me (in broken English), that the grade 3's have given me a Nepali name; "Dipak". She seemed really excited about it, but I still haven't figured out what it means. Judging by her reaction, I think it's a compliment (fingers crossed).
Before school (8-9 am) and after school (4:30 - 6 pm) we also help at one of the village learning centres - teaching english lessons to students from grade 6-9, and helping them with English and Math homework. (although Remy and I both struggle with the grade 8 and 9 math! hahaha...I know...we're pathetic!).
So ya...We're more settled in now, trying to pick up some Nepali (getting slightly better), and enjoying our lentils/rice/veggies (Dhal Bat) twice a day. We also got a chance to hang out in Pokhara last weekend with Peter and friends, and I've started helping Lee (one of the volunteers here) with doing some sports with some of the village boys. You guessed it...Ultimate frisbee. Aw yeye.
Peace.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Bandipur
There are so many things to say about where we are living. Remy and I are sharing a room that is about 10 x 10 feet (I got the softer bed, thankyou rock/paper/scissors), in a village that is over 1000 feet in elevation, which we had to hop on the back of a pickup truck (with about 25 other people on it, no joke) in a nearby town to get driven up to it. I am using the one computer with dial up internet that is in the village (at least that we've been able to find), and it we are discovering more and more differences everyday.
We are living with a Nepalese family, and they are incredible. Our Nepalese mother, Rajani, goes above and beyond for us, and won't let us get involved in any of her work in the household. We are called down for 2 main meals a day, called Dhal Bat (rice, cauliflower, potatoes, spicy stuff, and other veggie things all mixed together and eaten with your right hand...no spoon/fork/knife needed! It's awesome!), and there are a couple other times when we are served tea and special little rice cake-y type things, or homemade vegetable mix biscuit things. We are trying to get used to a culture that doesn't do the whole "lunch" thing, however around noon we both get pretty peckish.
Anyhow, there are so many things to say about Bandipur. We've had pretty cloudy weather, so we haven't been able to take advantage of our close proximity to the Himilayas yet...but don't worry, when the clouds clear, there will be some sweet pictures to upload.
We have been settling in the last few days, and next week Remy and I will start teaching together at Bhanu school (the public high school). We have been given 9 periods a week of English classes there, and that should be a cool challenge. We are also helping at the village "learning centres" doing tutoring and extra help after school, and we may be getting involved in teaching at Dil school (the public primary school). Hopefully next week we'll figure out our schedules and where we are going to be serving.
Peace.
We are living with a Nepalese family, and they are incredible. Our Nepalese mother, Rajani, goes above and beyond for us, and won't let us get involved in any of her work in the household. We are called down for 2 main meals a day, called Dhal Bat (rice, cauliflower, potatoes, spicy stuff, and other veggie things all mixed together and eaten with your right hand...no spoon/fork/knife needed! It's awesome!), and there are a couple other times when we are served tea and special little rice cake-y type things, or homemade vegetable mix biscuit things. We are trying to get used to a culture that doesn't do the whole "lunch" thing, however around noon we both get pretty peckish.
Anyhow, there are so many things to say about Bandipur. We've had pretty cloudy weather, so we haven't been able to take advantage of our close proximity to the Himilayas yet...but don't worry, when the clouds clear, there will be some sweet pictures to upload.
We have been settling in the last few days, and next week Remy and I will start teaching together at Bhanu school (the public high school). We have been given 9 periods a week of English classes there, and that should be a cool challenge. We are also helping at the village "learning centres" doing tutoring and extra help after school, and we may be getting involved in teaching at Dil school (the public primary school). Hopefully next week we'll figure out our schedules and where we are going to be serving.
Peace.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Cuz I'm leaving, on a rickshaw, don't know when I'll be back in Kathmandu.
So that doesn't rhyme at all. But, we are leaving tomorrow morning for Bandipur! Just thought I'd let you all know... I don't know what the computer situation is going to be there, so just in case I can't give regular updates I thought I would tell you what I might be doing, and then you can imagine new stories by yourself as you go about your daily lives.
There are two schools we can work at there: one is Notre Dame school (nice school run by nuns) and the other is Banu School (Public school in Nepal, need I say more?). We will also be helping at the "learning centre", where we will most likely be doing small group tutoring stuff. Remy also has some sweet ideas for sustainability projects he might start up in the village, so that stuff might go down as well. Needless to say, we'll be kept busy for the next 10 weeks, and if you don't hear many stories from me, I trust all you diligent readers can come up with some awesome imaginary ones yourselves! (You could even start your own blogs: "whattimmartinmightbedoing.blogspot.com").
Peace.
PS - "Momos" are an excellent kind of Nepalese awesomeness (food)...shout out to Bethany for telling me about them in advance. I'm addicted.
There are two schools we can work at there: one is Notre Dame school (nice school run by nuns) and the other is Banu School (Public school in Nepal, need I say more?). We will also be helping at the "learning centre", where we will most likely be doing small group tutoring stuff. Remy also has some sweet ideas for sustainability projects he might start up in the village, so that stuff might go down as well. Needless to say, we'll be kept busy for the next 10 weeks, and if you don't hear many stories from me, I trust all you diligent readers can come up with some awesome imaginary ones yourselves! (You could even start your own blogs: "whattimmartinmightbedoing.blogspot.com").
Peace.
PS - "Momos" are an excellent kind of Nepalese awesomeness (food)...shout out to Bethany for telling me about them in advance. I'm addicted.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
What to do Kathmadu?
Everything is different in Nepal. As we drove through part of the city yesterday evening with Peter Dalglish, and our new Nepalese friends (Kamil and Binod), Peter explained how Nepal is basically the exact opposite of everything we are used to in North America. The more I see and experience here, the more I understand what he was saying.
Remy and I are here, and that reality is still sinking in. It's been very nice to have Remy here to process all of this with, because Nepal is very different. I don't know if I can hammer that point home enough. It makes Honduras look organized.
Today is our first full day here, which is a strange thought, because I'm writing this saturday evening, and we left on Wednesday. Thankfully we made it safely here with all of our luggage, but boy oh boy I have never felt as tired as I did yesterday! Travelling this far apparently takes it out of you. We've had the opportunity so far to see quite a lot of Kathmandu, thanks to Kamil and Binod, and we've had a lot of fun with them. They work for Peter here, and will probably be joining us in Bandipur when we go. We've been staying in the Kathmandu guest house, which is pretty much dead centre in this crazy city, and you almost have to brace yourself just to walk around in the street your first few times.
We've already seen a few world heritage sites: Pashupati (a beautiful Hindu temple area) and "the Monkey temple", which is a buddhist temple that is on top of a hill (keeping in mind that it is a "hill" in relation to the HIMALAYAS!) from which you can see all of Kathmandu. It is very beautiful, but the staircase up to the top was a doozy.
Some highlights:
We went to a school in Kathmandu that Peter teaches at (Peter is "the man" here, he has connections everywhere, and I think every Nepalese person knows him) and on a wall near the entrance was a sign that said "Gifted by an Ice Hockey Player. Canada." And I almost fainted when I looked at what was above it...you guessed it: A Vancouver Canucks jersey, in the middle of Nepal. Word. Take that Leafers.
highlight #2: Mountains. Restaurants and houses often allow you to eat/hang out on the rooftops, and since there are no large buildings anywhere here you can look out from any rooftop and see the worlds tallest montains. Incredible.
Highlight #3: Kamil and Binod. They are really funny guys. "What to do Kathmandu?" is a Kamil quote that he says whenever there's some wild rickshaw driver or something...good times.
So...I like Nepal.
Peace.
Remy and I are here, and that reality is still sinking in. It's been very nice to have Remy here to process all of this with, because Nepal is very different. I don't know if I can hammer that point home enough. It makes Honduras look organized.
Today is our first full day here, which is a strange thought, because I'm writing this saturday evening, and we left on Wednesday. Thankfully we made it safely here with all of our luggage, but boy oh boy I have never felt as tired as I did yesterday! Travelling this far apparently takes it out of you. We've had the opportunity so far to see quite a lot of Kathmandu, thanks to Kamil and Binod, and we've had a lot of fun with them. They work for Peter here, and will probably be joining us in Bandipur when we go. We've been staying in the Kathmandu guest house, which is pretty much dead centre in this crazy city, and you almost have to brace yourself just to walk around in the street your first few times.
We've already seen a few world heritage sites: Pashupati (a beautiful Hindu temple area) and "the Monkey temple", which is a buddhist temple that is on top of a hill (keeping in mind that it is a "hill" in relation to the HIMALAYAS!) from which you can see all of Kathmandu. It is very beautiful, but the staircase up to the top was a doozy.
Some highlights:
We went to a school in Kathmandu that Peter teaches at (Peter is "the man" here, he has connections everywhere, and I think every Nepalese person knows him) and on a wall near the entrance was a sign that said "Gifted by an Ice Hockey Player. Canada." And I almost fainted when I looked at what was above it...you guessed it: A Vancouver Canucks jersey, in the middle of Nepal. Word. Take that Leafers.
highlight #2: Mountains. Restaurants and houses often allow you to eat/hang out on the rooftops, and since there are no large buildings anywhere here you can look out from any rooftop and see the worlds tallest montains. Incredible.
Highlight #3: Kamil and Binod. They are really funny guys. "What to do Kathmandu?" is a Kamil quote that he says whenever there's some wild rickshaw driver or something...good times.
So...I like Nepal.
Peace.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Going, going.....gone.
So it's that time again. Our flight (mine and Remy's) leaves in a few hours....which means in a few days I'll actually reach my destination...NEPAL!!!!
Oh boy this is scary. I mean, exciting.
Here's a basic look at our itinerary:
Nepal for 10 weeks (living/volunteering in a small village called Bhandipur)
Dubai for 4 days (staying with Remy's dad....how cool is that?)
Kampala, Uganda for 6 weeks (living in the capital, volunteering with the Kibo Foundation)
Capetown, South Africa for 3 weeks (living with Pete and Katie - friends from OPC!)
....Home.
January 9th to May 21st...crazy times.
Hope you guys enjoy the stories that are to come.
Peace.
Oh boy this is scary. I mean, exciting.
Here's a basic look at our itinerary:
Nepal for 10 weeks (living/volunteering in a small village called Bhandipur)
Dubai for 4 days (staying with Remy's dad....how cool is that?)
Kampala, Uganda for 6 weeks (living in the capital, volunteering with the Kibo Foundation)
Capetown, South Africa for 3 weeks (living with Pete and Katie - friends from OPC!)
....Home.
January 9th to May 21st...crazy times.
Hope you guys enjoy the stories that are to come.
Peace.
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