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!

Before....After!

So I had had enough after 5 months of growing hair...October 13th to March 13th, here is the result:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.