A Christmas to Remember

My Christmas in Nepal turned out better than I could have imagined after the news about the impending strike and so many friends heading in different directions. If the best way to make God laugh is to make plans, I'm sure I succeeded when I'd pretty much decided to stay home and try to survive Christmas with my guitar, only to end up having a fabulous Christmas with friends. Since I have so many pictures to share, I'll try to tell the story through the pictures. It all begins on the night of the 23rd...


A few days before Christmas, I met another Fulbrighter for a "Bethanys" night out. Oddly enough, in a fairly small group of Fulbrighters, we have two Bethanys and we both have ties to Delaware - It's a small world! Anyway, we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner and decided to get dessert after catching up and enjoying our dinner. The menu said that they had "fried bananas". Being our spoiled selves, we figured that meant we'd be eating sauteed fried bananas, friend bananas with chocolate sauce, or something fancy like that. Nope. We got deep friend bananas. Ha :)


Fortunately the threat of a valley wide bandh (strike) on Christmas Eve failed to materialize and I was able to attend Christmas Mass with friends (Marissa, Alex, Alex, Magda & Luke) at the Catholic Church of the Assumption. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I was in for a surprise when we came to a HUGE Catholic Church, decorated to the nines and filled to the rafters with people. The service was very nice and done in both English and Nepali. I'm SO glad that I was able to go.


Here's one of the outside shots of the church. I'm sure it's extremely impressive at any given time, but it was amazing with all the lights and decorations for Christmas.


After church I wandered out to the manger scene outside the church and was thrilled to see that apparently Jesus, Mary and Joseph are of the Newari caste! :) The outfit on the baby Jesus is a traditional Newari baby outfit (my youngest host nephew often wears similar outfits), and the shirt Mary is wearing is traditionally a Newari top as well. I always love to see how people fit the story into their own culture, and was not disappointed on Christmas Eve!


After the service, we found a really nice restaurant near the church to have some dinner. Given that many of us had just met each other before the church service or in the last few days, we all got along fabulously and had a great time. Dinner was made even better when a group of children came in and serenaded us with Christmas carols! It was a wonderful night.


The next afternoon, some of us went to a lodge on the edge of the Kathmandu Valley for some R&R. Unfortunately the R&R couldn't start til we got to the place - adventure ruled the journey! Our first leg to the lodge was an hour-long cab ride. Sounds relaxing, but the streets of Kathmandu are anything but, plus we were trying to squeeze 5 adults into a car that comfortably fits 3 (plus driver). The second leg was when the excitement really came though - we caught the last bus to the village, but there was no room except for the roof! Here, Alex, Alex & Magda are trying to stay warm and secure on top of the bus. Definitely the first time I've had a Christmas day quite like that one!


Marissa and I trying to stay warm on the bus. Sorry about the blurriness, it's hard to take pictures when you're trying to stay on top of a moving bus! :)


View from the top of the bus and of the powerlines we would soon be dodging! 45 minutes on top of a packed local bus going up a mountain on dirt roads is a pretty long ride. All in all, it took an hour cab ride, 45 minutes on top of the bus, and an hour walk up the hill in the dark(that felt like a mountain!) to get to the lodge. Fortunately we had a fabulous time and it was all worth it :)


I know it's difficult to see, but this is me dodging one of the many powerlines that kept hitting the top of the bus! My mom was less than thrilled when I told her I'd ridden on top of a local bus and had to duck under powerlines - particularly when she misheard me and thought we were JUMPING over powerlines! My friends all got to know mom's voice that night - they were across the room but could hear her enthusiastic response quite clearly. Fortunately though, she opened her pashmina shortly after, so I earned back some brownie points.


Here's the lodge where we stayed. It consisted of a number of buildings including a kitchen, bathroom, main lodge with beds in a loft, etc. Very cozy place, and the food was as homemade as it comes and absolutely delicious! Most of us bought jams and homemade pickles to bring home since they were so incredible. We had a blast hanging out, talking, getting to know each other and just joking around. Our group was great - 3 of us from America, living in Nepal; one American who teaches Spanish in Singapore; and a Greek lawyer :) Turns out we all get along famously!


Here's a picture the inside of the the building where a couple of us stayed - there were two beds in a loft above the main room as well. You can tell we'd been there for a bit, but you can still get an idea of what everything looked like. I'd be perfectly happy in a house like that someday!


The view from the lodge. Unfortunately, the day we were there was overcast so we couldn't see the snow caps, but it was still a beautiful place. I was finally able to go for a run without worrying about smog-induced asthma or getting hit by cars and motorbikes. It was wonderful!


And finally, a picture of all of us before we left. Great time.

I hope you all had a joyful Christmas full of friends and family! For those of you in the blizzard-y areas, have some fun in the snow for me!

Tonight I Saw the Man in the Moon

Though the academic in me knows it’s fantastical, seeing the same man in the moon (in Nepal!) that I was taught to see by my parents when I was little was incredibly gratifying. When you’re in a foreign country without your family for Christmas (and admittedly slightly homesick), any little reminder that you’re still connected with home is a blessing. The moment was improved even further when my young host nephew, Saigaon, burst into a cheery rendition of “Jingle Bells” that the previous Fulbrighters had taught him. Merry Christmas from Nepal & Happy Winter Solstice!

So many different things have happened since I last wrote, that I think it may be best to just include bits and pieces of the last few weeks. In no particular order -


Last week I received two packages that made my week! My wonderful family sent a package with long johns (that I’ve been wearing non-stop; it’s COLD in Nepal and there’s no indoor heat!), almond rocha (made by a fabulous family friend! Thanks Barb!), instant hot cocoa with marshmallows, and a few other goodies. The almond rocha is nearly gone, as is the hot chocolate, but the thrill of the package remains! Karen, my awesome friend from Great Falls sent the second package which came with gloves, a spinning daisy pen, candy and other items. The daisy pen’s a little crazy – apparently you’re supposed to wind it for it to spin, but it seems to have a life of its own! Thank you guys SO much for sending Christmas cheer to Nepal!

Saturday, Christmas cheer was evident once again in a Fulbright Christmas party hosted by Kerry, which included the Nepali food staple, daal bhat, loads of chocolate, great decorations, Christmas sweaters and Dirty Santa. It was wonderful spending time with friends, celebrating Christmas and taking a little time to relax. The day didn’t end there though – later that night found many of us pub-crawling our way around Thamel (the touristy area of Kathmandu) with other foreigners, decked out in santa hats, tinsel, and other Christmasy things, decorating each pub that we entered for Christmas. Hats off to the organizers – it was a really fun time!

Another night, Anu (my research assistant and I), attended talks by departing Fulbrighters – one on local sign language in Nepal, and another on NGOs in the Shangri La (Humla) region of Nepal. The talks were both incredibly fascinating. The first presentation gave me significant background for my own research and taught me lots about what’s going on the villages where education hasn’t yet reached. Fortunately I was able to pick Mara’s brain at dinner later, and she has been a valuable resource. I look forward to working with her in the future once I have a firm grip on my own research! The Humla talk was an eye-opening one. Humla is the poorest district in Nepal, despite (or possibly as a result of) many medical and food camps. The presentation laid out some of the problems that can come with the food and medical camps, particularly in regions as poor as Humla (e.g., people being given medicine on empty (starving) stomachs or becoming dependent on food donations), and gave several ideas that could improve the effectiveness of NGOs in the area.

I finally got my Indian visa! I had scheduled a bit of time to spend getting my visa because I’d heard that it can be a bit difficult here, but finally obtained it with relatively few issues. The Indian consult has a separate place where they issue visas due to the number of people needing them, and seem to have a system in place. It takes at least 2 days, but because I had done the first step back in December, I was able to get the visa in one day. I can’t wait to go to Goa, India for the Fulbright conference in March– I’ll be presenting a paper on my work up to that point.

Anu and I have been fruitlessly working our tails off on the schedule. Even though we have to do it, it’s hard to get motivated since our schedule has changed at least 20 times in the last 2 weeks! We had planned to go to a town north of Kathmandu, Barhabise, today, but received a call from a teacher there yesterday telling us that the school had exams and then a short winter holiday. With the exams, winter holidays, national holidays, and programs, we can’t seem to catch a break! Fortunately, another large deaf school in Kathmandu is open tomorrow until Friday, so we’ll be there. We did have a breakthrough with scheduling today though – we met with our mutual Rotary friend in Banepa who was instrumental in helping us plan out our first “elephant trip” beginning the first week of January (“elephant trip” is Anu’s term and extremely appropriate since we hope to take a day off and ride elephants at the Chitwan National Park!). The trip is planned to the Terai (southern Nepal) and will span 18 days and 6 schools. Thanks to connections, we have families to stay with in every town! Whew…. Here’s to hoping that we can keep that itinerary stable at least!

I was thinking about the numerous ways I've traveled since I've been in Nepal today. Lots of walking, tempos (electric rickshaws), local buses, tourist buses, scooters, motorcycle, cars, etc. Pretty impressive list...but the funniest time was with 3 people and a toaster oven crammed on a scooter. Very Nepali! Though we didn't even come close to the most crowded motorbike I've seen - a mom, dad, 2 kids and a dog! Who needs a car when you can cram that many people on a bike?

My Christmas plans are not as exciting as some, but I’m looking forward to attending Christmas Eve Mass at the Assumption Church in Kathmandu with friends, going to a Christmas Lunch at Laurie’s house and hopefully making a short trip to Daman (on the way to Mt. Everest) for a day or two afterwards. I wrote this last night before finding out that there's a valley wide bandh (strike) on Christmas Eve and all of the transportation will likely be shut down in Kathmandu. So, Christmas Eve will be spent at home playing Christmas carols on my guitar most likely! But hopefully the rest of the plans should stay relatively intact... It should be a very Nepali Christmas, but I will miss my family and friends from home.

I hope everyone’s Christmas is full of family, friends, food and happiness!

Lots of Time, So Little to Do!

Wait. Strike that. Reverse that...LOTS to do, SO little time to do it!:)

It's been a busy week or so since my last blog post! Anu and I have been working extremely hard on our research and have learned many things, had a breakthrough in information, and continue to revamp our ever-changing schedule. Last week, we went to several places to gather information, all relatively close to Banepa. This week, I've been in Kathmandu running errands and getting a few things done while Anu attends her cousin's wedding.

First, we went to a nearby town called Dhulikhel, where you have an amazing veiw of the Himalayan mountains (sadly, that was the day I forgot my camera), and where there are several organizations we'd been told that we should speak with. Despite putting in an 8-hour day and having all intentions of being productive, our day ended with very little information. During the day, we went to three government offices that deal with education in the Kavre district, and fortunately found many cooperative people, who unforunately, had very little information for us. Ultimately the day was spent walking from office to office, drinking tea, meeting with a number of people, and riding the bus. One place, the Education Training Center, was most helpful, as they provide professional development courses for teachers, including a brief (12 day) sign language class for teachers of the deaf. I was most impressed by the effort put into making the professional development courses useful for the teachers - schools are scouted to see what the teacher needs are, and then there is follow-up with the teachers after the training to ensure that they have learned from the training and are implenting what they've learned in their classrooms. Help is also provided to those who need it.

The majority of the time last week was spent in Bhaktapur, a beautiful old town that is a world heritage site due to its ancient temples, palaces and sights. We met with the president of the Bhaktapur Deaf Association the first day, and then spent the following three days at the CBR Deaf School and finally went to the CBR (Community Based Rehabiliation) office on Friday. I met the principal (and teacher) from the deaf school in September during the deaf parade in Kathmandu and she had invited me to see her school when I got the chance. It was wonderful to see her again, and she warmly welcomed us into the school. The school is situated inside the campus of a hearing school, but is run separately, and operates as a separate entity with different schedules, rules, and protocols. There are 3 classrooms, and the students range from beginners (early preschool) to class five. Each of the classrooms house 2grades - Beginners & Class 1, Class 2 & 4, and Lower Primary (Kindergarten) & Class 5. The splits are a little different, but the principal explained to me that the largest split (K & 5th) allows her to her instruction time on the 5th graders who have more a more difficult curriculum, while the younger students are able to work by themselves. I have mixed feelings, but it seems to be working well in Bhaktapur. Having some experience teaching multiple grades, I think that there are extrordinary challenges regardless of how the grade splits are done.

While at the CBR school, I was able to observe all three classes, taught by 2 hearing teachers (who are fluent in Nepali Sign Language) and one deaf teacher. All three teachers have been teaching and signing for a long time, and this is evident in their instruction. One observation I did make, however, was how a lack of subject specific (in this case, deaf and/or special education) training can cause problems in the classroom. While one teacher who had the least training was a talented teacher and understood how to teach so his students would understand, he lacked the proverbial "toolbox" learned in training to deal with a student who had some cognitive delays. As a result, the student received very little behavioral modification, and little to no academic instruction. Had the teacher had formal education training, despite the challenges of having a multi-grade classroom with students who are deaf (and the student who is deaf plus), he may have been able to come up with ways to better handle the situation. This observation, as well as discussions with the principal (Yojani-ji), led to the idea of taking my research - when it is more complete - to several universities in Nepal and broaching the idea of beginning university programs for teachers of the deaf and interpreters. As of now, there is only a 6 month training in sign language for new teachers, and no higher education degrees in deaf education or interpretation. Even if the discussions don't bring about immediate changes, informing the universities of the need may start the ball rolling for future implementation.

Also at the Bhaktapur Schools for the Deaf, Anu and I observed a weekly sign language class for students' family members that is held after school on Friday. I was extremely impressed by the number of family members (mainly mothers, but including siblings, a grandmother, and a lone father) and their enthusiasm for learning Nepali Sign. The class was held in a classroom at the school and taught by one of the teachers.

On Friday, we went to the CBR center (an NGO who founded and runs the school), to speak to the director and founder. The Bhaktapur CBR is a very impressive organization that was begun as a program that would help all individuals who are differently-abled in the Bhaktapur district with whatever they need to be successful. This includes education, medical care, technological assistance, job searches, and anything else the individuals may need. The program is run by locals for locals, and while they now work cooperatively with the governement and generally receive funding from other international NGOs, the work is carried out by local employees who are determined to improve conditions for people who are deaf, blind, have physical challenges, or any type of cognitive challenge. They are currently struggling with funding, but continue to work hard to provide for the needs of the people they serve. Also, while there, I found out that a list of deaf classrooms and schools in Nepal does exist! - and apparently there are around 140 of them! While I was a bit shocked by seeing something that I had asked for for the last 3 months and assumed didn't exist, and the sheer number of schools, I am so grateful for the information.

Now Anu and I are faced with the task of reprioritizing and scheduling our next few months. I believe our first priority will be the independently functioning deaf "schools", the second, the local deaf organizations and NGOs around those schools, and then finally we will attempt to visit as many classrooms in as many parts of Nepal as possible. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it, but I truly believe the research we come up with will be worth the hard work. Right now, our biggest challenge is remembering to schedule some free-time for ourselves on the long trips. Yesterday, going day by day over one of our trips, I realized we had just given ourselves 17 straight days of full time work and travel... I think we'll be doing some adjusting!

More stories about day-to-day life in Nepal coming shortly! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Research and Namobuddha Pictures

On the way to a village near Banepa (40 minute bus ride, 40 minute walk) where I got to observe a signing class taught by Dinesh Bade Shrestha (who is deaf himself) and one of the programs run by the Kavre Development Association of the Deaf.

Dineshji, as he was teaching the students calendar signs (months, days, years, etc). The signs for the months were particularly interesting now that I'm learning about Nepali culture. The sign for each month represents the festivals or other main event that takes place that month. For example, the Nepali month for January (the Nepali calendar varies slightly from the US calendar) is a sign representing "cold" because it's so cold, October represents the Dashain festival, etc.

The building where the class takes place. A local post-secondary school (Grades 1-12), opened up an empty building for the class. We were visited several times during the class by curious students from the main school and it appears that a few of them have even been learning a little bit of Nepali Sign!

Dineshji teaching to his class. Originally there had been close to 30 students, but that number has dwindled as the class continues as the students are typically adults who work full time in the potato fields and can't take time off for study without losing valuable income. I believe the class was now down to about 11, though there were only 4 students in the class the day I observed (which was in the middle of prime harvesting season).

The higher secondary school in Sunthan, near the town of Panauti (in the same region as Banepa) that Anu and I visited over the last few days. While the school itself is hearing, there is one deaf classroom that serves up to 10 children in Grades 1- 5. The school is residential and commuter, and as of now, all the deaf students attending currently live at the school. After the students finish in 5th grade, they are usually sent to the Kavre Deaf School in Banepa to finish their schooling.


The children in the deaf class (there is one girl, but she was not in attendance this week. Shanti mam, the teacher, is standing in the back. She has only had 10 days of sign language training, but works hard to be the best teacher she can for the students. My research assistant Anu, is kneeling in the front row. She has been indispensible for the field research!


The fields where the children play during break time. This school is fortunate to have such a large area for the children to use for the break - many schools have only a small court yard.


The students' favorite pastime while in between schoolwork - teaching Anu and I signs from the many sign language posters on the wall! Though there are very few instructional tools, thanks to the Ministry of Education and the Nepal Federation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, there are many sign posters on the wall in the classroom. Interestingly, though not surprisingly, the students have a much larger vocabulary of nouns and concrete verbs than even simple abstract words. It was clear that much of their sign education has come from the posters. They certainly know those words well though!


Shanti mam teaching students. Due to her lack of sign experience, the diverse grades and needs of the children, and the lack of assistance in the classroom, much of the instruction was given individually and primarily consisted of the students doing book work. This type of instruction is not uncommon in Nepal, and I found Shanti mam a very passionate teacher who was doing her best in the circumstances at hand.


When it was time to leave the Sunthan school, Shanti mam wanted to give us a few fresh oranges off of the many beautiful orange trees that surrounded the village. She also gave us sugarcane, which both she and Anu patiently taught me how to eat (you peel the skin off with your teeth and then chomp down on the meat of the cane. After extracting the sugar cane juice, you spit out the remaining fibers.)


Anu and I visited a Hindu temple at the top of a large hill in Panauti on our way back from the school on the last day. The temple wasn't much to see (especially after walking up HUNDREDS of stairs...) but the Hindu priest in the next shot probably made it worth the hike.


A South Indian Hindu priest who is living in a room at the top of the hill near the temple and blesses the people who come to see the temple. His hair was CRAZY. In another picture, he was holding it up, and I couldn't tell what I was taking a picture of until I put the camera down - it looked like a number of snakes at first! Those who know my fear of snakes can imagine my trepidation as I looked through the camera! I was very happy it turned out being his hair...


The view from Namobuddha, a large Tibetian Buddhist settlement outside of Banepa. It took about an hour's bus ride and another hour or 2 hike up a Nepali "hill" (the size of a large Applachian Mountain!) to get there. It was a wonderful Saturday spent with my KTM roommate Swetha, Anu (my research assistant), and Anu's boyfriend.


Swetha and I peeking out from inside a small cave situated in the Monastery/Nunnery compound, near a HUGE statue of lord Buddha.


A few of the thousands of Tibetian Buddhist prayer flags that were found all over Namobuddha, attached to trees, buildings, temples, stupas, etc.


The view of Namobuddha and the large Nunnery/Monastery that rests on the hill. Everything about it was spectacular - the view of the snowcapped mountains in the distance, the opulently decorated temples and shrine rooms,the rice terraces all around...


Me in front of the beautiful Himalaya mountains. It was difficult to pinpoint where the sky and clouds ended and the peaks began.

What Can You Do With a Deaf Ed Degree? Well...

The last few days have been great learning experiences for me as I have had the opportunity to both visit my (host) cousin’s school (he’s hard of hearing but goes to a hearing school) and begin research in a deaf classroom housed in a hearing post-secondary (grades 1-12) school.

My host father asked me a few weeks ago for any advice I had regarding his nephew’s hearing loss and the best way to help him succeed in speech and school. I was so excited to help, because not only do I have some expertise in the area (as a deaf educator), my main source of expertise comes from living as a hard of hearing/deaf person and knowing what works for me! We had previously discussed R’s speech with his parents, and I told them some ways that they could help him understand what was going on and potentially improve the quality of his speech. Like many households in Nepal, my host family’s house is always busy, loud and filled with people. Often times the TV is turned on as well. Those of you who know something about deaf people know that this is a recipe for a very lost, frustrated deaf individual. Background noise, multiple conversation, and excess speech not directed to the deaf individual all make it very difficult for the deaf person to know what’s going on, and get anything valuable out of the situation at all. I’ve noticed R. staring into space many times and apparently ignoring everything around him – basically, despite knowing the language spoken, he’s acting like I do in a room full of Nepali speakers (sometimes English speakers as well!). For maximum understanding, I encouraged my host father and my cousin’s parents to speak directly to him, make sure he can see their mouths, speak clearly and audibly, and minimize background noise as much as possible. Regarding R’s speech clarity, I let them know that encouragement is the best thing they can do – ask him to repeat the word until he says it well (for him, not in comparison to others), and as soon as he does, compliment him or otherwise let him know that he’s doing well. Also, speaking clearly to him when they talk will also help his speech as well as his understanding because he will know what words are supposed to sound like. FYI, if you have a deaf or hard of hearing friend/coworker/family member – these tips are pretty generic and may help your communication with that person!

Yesterday, I also went to the private school that R. and his cousins attend and spoke to the principal and teachers about ways that they could help him to gain more understanding in class and better thrive in the academic environment. I was in for a bit of a nasty surprise when I was told that they were doing what they could, but R. must be cognitively challenged. Having met R., and seen no sign of a cognitive deficit, I had to control my horror and ask for examples about how he was struggling. I learned that his struggles in school were right in line with the struggles of MANY deaf children around the world – his low vocabulary was making reading extremely difficult, he couldn’t express himself well through spoken or written language, and he had trouble paying attention. I explained to the principal (and teachers later also) that these were not signs of cognitive delay, but rather problems seen in a child with a hearing loss who has had limited access to language. I REALLY hope I got through. After meeting with the principal, I observed R. in class for an hour, and saw many things that the principal had mentioned, as well as a few other things that may have been obvious to me only because I’d done the same things in school. When the class was finished, I met with R.’s teachers and principal for about 20 minutes to give them some ideas of things I’d seen and things that can sometimes work with children who are hard of hearing (not talking while writing on the black board, keeping expectations high, allowing R. to express himself in whatever way is easiest, etc.). It was an impromptu in-service, but I hope that it helped at least a bit! From what I’ve seen, the teachers were very eager to help R. in any way they can (provided they have the time and resources), and the principal was eager to help as well. I may not be R.’s favorite person anymore though – after noticing him ‘pretending’ to read during silent reading, he got to read again with me last night and answer the comprehension questions again that he’d copied from his peer during class. Once a teacher, always a teacher!

Today, and for the next few days, Anu and I are visiting a ‘deaf school’ in Sunthan, a village near Banepa. Rather than being a full deaf school, it is actually a deaf classroom within a hearing school, but like independent deaf schools, it’s still providing quality education to children who are deaf! One thing to note about research in Nepal – the transportation lasts nearly as long as the research. Today, we took a bus to a nearby town and then walked up a long hill for about 30 minutes to get to the school. I can’t say I mind though, the walk was beautiful! Our time at the school was very fruitful, and we were able to get our survey questions answered by the principal and the teacher of the deaf, and observe for a little while. Well, kind of observe. The reason I typically have at least 3 days built in for each school is because the first day, you try to observe but your presence is such a novelty that both the students and teacher often get distracted and forget to do their lessons. What lessons you do see are often not an accurate portrayal of a normal lesson. After the first day or 2 though, the novelty wears off and the lessons become much more like they are on a regular basis, so the observation is more accurate. Today the students were thrilled to see us, and kept trying to teach us more sign language – as there is only one teacher for the deaf who has them all day, she was perfectly happy to accept a bit of a break! I promised to teach the English portion of the class the next 2 days. I’ll post pictures of the students, school, and village soon.

Rather Random Culture Experience:

I was honored to attend a birthday dinner for my sister-in-law’s brother’s second birthday a few nights ago and was treated to a Newari (one of the many castes in Nepal and the first to settle the valley) feast! Apparently the even birthdays during childhood (2, 4, 6, 8…20) are huge celebrations where special dishes served only for select occasions are served. I’ve never seen so many dishes at one meal in my life! I think over the course of the evening, I saw at least 20 different dishes, maybe more. Despite the number of dishes, you were expected to try everything and even take some seconds. Needless to say, I was pretty stuffed by the end of the night. It was great getting to experience the birthday celebration though, and also to meet my sister-in-law’s family. Between aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and more, I have to be ‘related’ to at least half of the Banepa community! It’s been a joy experiencing the “it takes a village to raise a child (or at least 30 extended family members…)” culture of Nepal.

Thanksgiving Adventures in Nepal

Though I sorely missed my family and friends who were celebrating Thanksgiving in Montana and Virginia, I was able to have a Nepali Thanksgiving with my friends here that lasted 3 days!

Day 1 was the program at the Ambassador's house that I mentioned in my previous post. It was nice - a veritable mix of American tourists, workers, researchers, etc. See the "Get Thee to a Nunnery" post for more about the Wednesday program.

Day 2 (actually Thanksgiving) found us going to the Fulbright Nepal director's house for a traditional meal of turkey, stuffing, pie, cranberry sauce. Given the multi-cultural nature of the gathering, Daal Bhat (rice/lentil stew/curried veggies) was also served for those who didn't want (or recognize!) the American dishes. As much as I love daal bhat, I went straight for the traditional foods! The food was good, but I don't think anything can compare to family thanksgiving - the whole 'nobody cooks better than mom and grandma' thing is pretty impossible to overcome.

The company was wonderful and I met so many interesting people. One conversation with a lady from Canada who is deaf and blind, was particularly inspiring. CoCo has been traveling the world for several years making friends around the world and giving speeches motivational speeches. She communicates through tactile American Sign Language, and put up with my trying to remember ASL after a period of Nepali sign only! If you're interested in learning more about CoCo's adventures, she has an awesome blog: http://tactiletheworld.wordpress.com/

Day 3 consisted of an awesome comfort food dinner with Marissa and Swetha. After running some errands and getting things done during the day, we got down to cooking about 5. By 6:30 we had soft pretzels, homemade pizza, mozzarella sticks, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and my grandmother's awesome sweet potato casserole. Before the heart attack comments commence - yes we know how unhealthy it was. I think we were just all needing various tastes of home and comfort. It was wonderful and we had leftovers for days....well, all except the soft pretzels - apparently they were delicious enough for the dogs to get on the counter, get the bag of pretzels down and then eat both the bag and pretzels. Fortunately, other than some odd noises, the dogs seemed to be just fine. I've posted some pictures of the deliciousness below.


Cookie dough...'nough said!


Grandma Hunny's famous sweet potato casserole (the family farm meets Nepal!) and mouthwatering brownies.


Perfect soft pretzels and some of the best homemade pizza I've ever had.

The other part of Thanksgiving worth mentioning was our brush with a crazy cab driver. Coming home from Laurie's dinner, we took a cab back to the house after negotiating a reasonable price with the driver. When we were getting out, he tried to increase the price on us and tell us that we hadn't actually negotiated. We tried telling him that we all knew the negotiated (final) price, and paid him what we had decided on originally. This scene, unfortunately, is fairly common in Kathmandu, and usually ends with the driver driving away in a huff. This time, however, the driver began screaming at us, chased us towards the house and then tried to get into the gate. Fortunately, Marissa realized what was happening and the 2 of us slammed and locked the gate before he could get in. Thank God for automatically locking gates! Though we were terrified, we didn't realize just how scary the situation was until it dawned on us just how rare non-domestic violence against women is. More than likely, the cab driver had false bravado stemming from membership in a gang or something and the situation became about his pride being dented rather than money. SCARY! But we were so fortunate to get away.

Hope everyone had a wonderful, delicious Thanksgiving!

Get Thee to a Nunnery!

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent a few days at a Buddhist nunnery last week working on my schedule and research surveys and spending some time by myself. Not as isolated as I'd planned though - Much to my chagrin the nunnery had WiFi! Sigh. Me being me, I spent some time on it even though I'd planned not to.

I did get to attend several Pujas in the mornings though, and they were very spiritual and fascinating as well. Buddhist pujas are times of worships when nuns and monks (nuns in my case) come to the temple and spend an hour and a half chanting. Some of the chants also included drums, conch shells and long horns. The rhythmic chanting was a surreal experience. Often I felt as though my heartbeat matched the chants - fantastical or not, it was pretty incredible. My first puja, I discovered just how human nuns are. In their dress and especially at task, they often seem almost ethereal. But they're just like us! At the early morning puja (5:30-7), the little nuns (beginning around age 7) were giggling and poking at each other, some of the teens and older nuns dozed off accidentally, and a few just looked bored. I hid a smile - the same thing happens in church at home! The second time I went though, the monk who was in charge at the nunnery attended puja - talk about a different atmosphere! It almost seemed like the temple sighed in relief when the monk left puja a bit early.

While at the nunnery I also met a fellow American who had come for a 10 day course with a famous lama. She's been studying Buddhism for the last 20 years, and has lived in India (Dharmasala-where the Dalai Lama lives), for much of the last 10 years. Cyndy invited me to Day 1 of the course after speaking with the organizer and arranging for a seat in front so that I could read the translator's lips. It was a good program, the Lama was extremely likable, but the translator never moved his lips and spoke in an unnatural cadence - he repeated the Lama's words, but aimed to keep the audience more connected with the Lama by speaking fairly monotone and emotionless. Given this, I got very few of the actual words, but gained insight nevertheless. At the end of the class, my friend and fellow Fulbrighter Marissa came up to say hi - turns out she was taking the same class. When we went to lunch, Marissa and Cyndy discovered that they had actually met 3 years ago in Dharmasala when Marissa was doing a study abroad program! It's SUCH a small world...

Thanksgiving Activities in Nepal:

Swetha is housesitting (and dogsitting) for an Embassy family who was generous enough to let several of us stay since they understood how much we missed the amenities of the States. We feel like we're living in luxury! A generator for electricity during loadshedding,a washing machine and dryer, and water we can drink from the tap. WOW. It's amazing how thankful we are for the small things now - I found sweet gherkins at the grocery store yesterday and nearly broke into a happy dance :)

The American Ambassador to Nepal sent an open invitation to Americans in Nepal to come to his house for a Thanksgiving program and (what we thought was dinner, but turned out to be refreshments). Many people showed up, and the mix of tourists, people on business, people doing research, and those working in Nepal was a fascinating one. We got to briefly meet the ambassador who was very friendly and excited about Fulbright's 50th Anniversary next year (50 years in Nepal).

Today we're headed to Laurie's (the director of Fulbright Nepal) house for an actual Thanksgiving dinner. I'm SO excited for stuffing (!!!), mashed potatoes and gravy, pie and even turkey! I think the vegetarian in me now is disappearing for today...tradition's just too strong. It should be a good time with friends and good food, but I will sorely miss my family and the thanksgivings in Virginia and Montana.

Random snapshots of life in Nepal:
Scooters don't start when seriously dirty.

When a shopkeeper can't give you 1 or 2 rupees in change, he/she gives you a piece of hard candy instead.

Loadshedding's up to about 5 or 6 hours a day now. I'm told by February it'll be closer to 18 hours. Ugh.

S'mores are about to be made in Nepal - we even found marshmallows! Of course they're called "American Marshmallows" here.

My trip to Biratnager was postponed until later, but the traveling and serious research commences in 2 or 3 days! My schedule for the next 8 months is pretty ridiculous. I'll try to post it soon!

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!Some of the many things I'm so blessed to have: a wonderful family, amazingly supportive friends, the opportunity to work in and experience Nepal, more than enough food, and the health and desire to enjoy it all.

A Longwinded Account of Life in Nepal

I’ve had quite a crazy week, but I’ll do my best to post a rundown of everything.

For those of you who are too busy for the long winded account, here’s the abstract.

In short form:
Last Wednesday I met my new research assistant, Anu, who is FABULOUS. Thursday, I went back to the Kavre Deaf School to apologize for my absence and explain my new research goals. Friday, I met a deaf lady who is friends with my host father and went to my first Rotary meeting. Saturday and Sunday were spent in Kathmandu with friends. Monday, I went back to Banepa and met my research assistant to go to a nearby village and see an adult sign language class. Tuesday, I came back to Kathmandu and got my notes in order and met a fellow researcher who is working in the deaf community. Wednesday, I prepared to go to a Buddhist nunnery to hole away and get lots of scheduling done. Unfortunately, the nunnery guest house was full, and I will continue my hunt for a monastery or nunnery tomorrow.
For those of you who are “very interested” or at least, bored with whatever you’re doing, here’s the rather long-winded account

In long form (by subject):

Research Assistant
I met my new research assistant, Anu, through a Rotary contact who knows Robert Rose, the founder of The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) and my affiliation for Fulbright. Mr. Shrestha, the man who introduced us, was found Anu for me, and let me know that he had a potential research assistant who had great qualifications and speaks wonderful English. After meeting Anu and doing a few short research trips, I’ve discovered that she will be a wonderful asset and I’m thrilled to be working with her. She’ll keep me on my toes for sure – she can’t wait to learn Nepali Sign Language and keeps checking to make sure that I’m getting my research organized, that I’ve prepared questions for interviews, or have begun to schedule trips.

Research Overview
About the research, like I mentioned before, I’ve had to change from an in-depth project to an increasingly broad project that will take me all over Nepal. I’m planning a four-part final project with Part 1 being a general overview of deaf education in Nepal including methods of instruction, strengths, weaknesses, etc.; Part 2 will be a list of all the deaf schools (I can find) and basic information; Part 3 will be a list of all the local deaf organizations with basic information; and Part 4 will have a list of NGOs who work specifically with the deaf with basic information. Given the difference in perspectives, such research may not be used in Nepal as I would hope (to make connections between schools, organizations, and NGOs), but the research will hopefully be a good resource and potentially strengthen the deaf education network. One reality that I’ve had to face is that I will likely miss schools (there’s no reliable list of schools available – I’ve already added 10 schools to the list I was given by the Nepal Federation for the Deaf), and that even if I should somehow locate all of the schools and organizations, there’s a good chance I’ll run out of time to visit all of them. I hope to find an NGO or association in Nepal who is willing to help me to add to the research as more information appears after I have to leave. That way, the research will be continually updated and disseminated, and hopefully will remain useful and current for a longer period of time.

Dhulikhel Rotary Club
I attended my first-ever Rotary Club meeting in Dhulikhel (a town near Banepa) last Friday. Mr. Shrestha invited me to come to the meeting and share what I was doing, as well as meet his fellow Rotarians. I was surprised when I arrived to find almost as many western faces as there were Nepali! There was one other American who was doing research in agriculture in Nepal, 3 Australians who work for an NGO that has started an orphanage in Nepal (for children ages 3-18, they hope to help them all the way through school and into post-high school jobs and academics), and another lady from Australia who is actually a member of the Rotary Club in Dhulikhel. I enjoyed the meeting and came away very impressed with all that the club is doing. Also, upon finding out that my dad is also a Rotarian, Mr. Shrestha appointed himself a sort of temporary guardian because I am his friend’s (fellow Rotarian’s) daughter. I am well looked after in Nepal between my host family in Banepa and the numerous other friends I’ve made!

Val, the Rotary club member from Australia, usually comes to Nepal annually for a few months, and spends much of her time in Australia fundraising for various causes she’s heard about in Nepal through Rotary. One project she told me about when I ran into her and Mr.Shrestha on the way back from the village where I did research the other day, was that a group of school children in Australia raised money (by doing chores for their parents) to purchase two goats (a male and female) for a family in the village. I thought that was a wonderful idea for a philanthropy project for children! If anyone’s interested in doing something like that, let me know and I can help facilitate it from the Nepal side. If it could lead to pen-pals and friendship between children here and in America, even better!

Deaf People in Banepa
My host father, Tikaji, has decided to introduce me to all of the deaf people he knows in Banepa, so I have made a good number of contacts through him. First, we met with a woman who he grew up with and who became deaf around age 6 after becoming sick and developing a high fever. Rseea was very nice and communicates largely by Nepali Sign and gestures. She seems to be able to lipread well also. While we were there, Tikaji surprised me by stating that when Rseea was sick as a child, her tongue grew to an abnormally large size causing her to not be able to speak, and asked me if that was why most deaf people in Nepal couldn’t speak. Having been forewarned about this view by the book “Buddhas in Disguise” by Irene Taylor, I was able to conceal my surprise and explain gently that Rseea’s tongue looked normal in size to me, and her speech deficit was likely due simply to the fact that she couldn’t not hear the sounds needed for intelligible speech. I explained that I was fortunate because I could hear pretty well while my speech developed, allowing me to speak pretty intelligibly, but she may not have had training to continue learning how to speak and recognize sounds after she became deaf. Though the view surprised me, it is a logical one to have when a person has no background knowledge in the subject – it’s less logical to assume that something wrong with the ears would affect speech in such a way.

While meeting the deaf members of Banepa, I also found out that Tikaji’s nephew, who lives in the large family house over the shop, is hard of hearing as well. How I went several months without meeting him or anyone mentioning him to me is surprising, but the family may have been making sure I would not judge them for having a deaf member of the family before allowing me in on the well-known “secret”. Tikaji’s nephew can hear some, and has a hearing aid which allows him to communicate primarily through hearing and lipreading. Signing is not an option that has been entertained. I was involved in a family meeting the other day about how to teach the nephew (who is 10 or 11) how to speak more clearly, and how to improve his academics. Apparently he will be starting speech therapy in Kathmandu soon, and opportunity afforded to very few people in Nepal who have hearing loss. I agreed to go with Tikaji to his school next week to give the teachers and principals a few ideas on how to make learning in a hearing classroom easier for him.

Sign Language Class in Village
I went to a sign language class in a very small village outside of Banepa on Monday to see how it was taught, who was being taught, and get a general idea of the education afforded to deaf people in the villages. Getting to the village included both a bus ride and a fairly long walk and Anu and I met up with Dineshji, a deaf sign language teacher who now goes around to villages near Banepa and teaches sign language to deaf adults who have had very few communication options in the past. This project is part of the Kavre Development Association for the Deaf, and has included three nearby villages since its inception. The villages are chosen by Dineshji who finds places that have a large concentration of deaf adults without sign language, and then when the village is chosen, puts up posters and knocks on doors. Somewhat surprisingly, most of the students in the class seem to be at least minimally educated (in hearing schools or homes) and all demonstrated at least basic literacy skills. Two of the students appeared to have exceptional literacy skills. The day we went, only 4 students came, but as it is during harvesting season, the number is not surprising. The classes in a resource room at a post-secondary school, and 38 students came from all over at the beginning, but the number has since decreased to 16 because so many needed to get back into the potato fields and earn money to feed themselves and their families. Anu, my research assistant/interpreter, was a huge help with the interviews and great company. I think we’ll get along swimmingly!

Random Side Notes
Unfortunately, I had the unpleasant experienced of being harassed on the bus the other day, but have since learned how to best avoid situations like that in the future – sit up front or stand, and as Anu told me, “bring a safety pin with me to poke anyone who bothers me because telling them to stop isn’t going to work”.
A huge shout out to the Idaho State University library for giving me access to the databases so that I can make up for the research lost in my luggage. The access will make my research so much easier!

On Saturday, I went to my friends’ Nepali class and learned exactly how deaf and inept at language learning I am. I now have empathy for class clowns, because my frustrations were vented in a similar manner (lots of joking, trying to find the easy way out) during the class. Had I been this deaf when I learned spoken English, my English would not be nearly as good as it is now. I was fortunate to have the amount of hearing that I did back then.

I am headed to a Buddhist monastery or nunnery for a few days to get my head back on straight, organize my research, set up my schedules, and basically just get mentally healthy so that when I begin my travel-heavy field research I’m on top of my game.

I will likely be headed down to the Terai (in southcentral Nepal) for 15 days at the end of November with Anu and some Rotarians to do some of my field research there.
I’m looking forward to diving headfirst into the research!

Thanksgiving in Nepal will consist of a few American dinners and a comfort food dinner with friends – can’t wait for the traditional Thanksgiving foods!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and safe travels!

Diwali in Pictures!

Rock concert in our yard during Diwali - amps, electric guitars, bass, set of drums, mics, groupies, dancers....


The first group of musicians to stop by. We were so confused about what was happening! I snuck out to take a picture but didn't know I was supposed to be the audience...


Subhaum, Amardeep's son. He's so cute and smiley; I was thrilled to get a picture that did him justice!


Sagaon, Sudip's son. He LOVED Diwali and the fact he got to play with sparklers. Having playmates (me and Swetha) got him even more excited. After deciding the other day that my laptop case was too boring, Sagaon gave me one of his coveted Spiderman stickers. I now have a seriously cool laptop case...


Swetha playing with some of the hardcore firecrackers we had. I think everyone got a bit burned by these - I've never seen anything close in the States.


The fun spinning firecrackers. Once you light these, everyone stands in a circle jumping and kicking the sparkler to others. Definitely one of the more enjoyable firecrackers we had.


This picture was actually supposed to be below the picture of the Shiva statue, but it's here to show just how large the statue was. It was HUGE!


The statue of Shiva. I believe it stands 173 meters? Somewhere around there. It was commissioned by a spa to draw tourists in, and all around the statue there are advertisements for spa services. I think they made the trail extra long and steep so tourists would need spa services by the time they got to the top!


The veiw from the statue of the Kavre area. I love coming to Banepa and seeing the scenery change from smoggy and crowded to green and peaceful.


I think Swetha captioned this one best when she saw it: "The beginning of the worst bus ride of your life..."

Tika Dogs, Traveling Minstrels, Christmas Lights & Firecrackers

We’ve recently had my new favorite holiday of the Nepali calendar (I haven’t seen them all yet, but I can’t see very many topping this one!). Diwali began last Friday and ends tomorrow (Monday). According to Swetha, Diwali – also known as Tihar – is celebrated for many reasons, depending on who you are and where you’re from. In Nepal, it’s typically a celebration of the goddess Laxmi (the goddess of wealth) and the festival is known as the festival of lights. When all the lights are turned on, the towns resemble diamonds – a tribute to Laxmi.

Diwali consists of crazy colored lights all around town, general decorations, Nepali sweets stands in the market, lots of food and raksi, traveling minstrels and firecrackers. Essentially, it’s Christmas, Halloween, and the 4th of July all rolled into one! Unlike Dashain, which is celebrated mainly in the home, this festival is clearly public and a sense of festivity has been in the air for days. Women buy new clothes, the marketplaces are packed – not today though, EVERYTHING was closed! – and even the stray dogs are given puja (blessings) and tika-ed with red marks on their foreheads and collars made of flowers. The dog puja is not the only thing – apparently cows and dogs both have a day when they are honored with puja and tikas. I guess I missed the cow day…

During the holiday, Swetha came with me to Banepa where we celebrated with my host family. On Friday the celebration was less pronounced, but we were given foods that are typically only seen on holidays – su-ra (flat, dry rice), achar (nasty pickled stuff that’s very popular here), and some kind of fried Nepali sweet/donut thing.
On Saturday, the festivities began when we went shopping for new clothes. Like some of our holidays at home, new clothes are purchased during Diwali. Honestly though, we just wanted to go shopping! One of my maamaas (my host mother’s brothers) has a large kurta shop that has gorgeous materials of all kinds. We decided to go there. In hind sight, that was either a really good decision or a really bad one – both Swetha and I ended up with quite a few new fabrics! I did get a few warmer fabrics for winter though, so it was both a fun and practical shopping trip. Those who know me will be shocked to hear that my new winter kurta is pink and purple (seriously mom – they’ll match the running shoes you were so scared I’d hate!).

After our successful shopping trip, we went to see “The Largest Shiva Statue in the World”. On the way to Banepa, there’s a HUGE statue of lord Shiva on the top of a hill that you can’t miss. It’s incredible. It looks like it’s made out of copper, but according to my host brothers, it’s just painted copper-colored. Swetha tells me that not only is the size impressive (146 feet!), but Shiva is rarely seen or worshipped in his human form. The short story is that he ticked off a few other gods who decided that from then on he would only be worshipped in symbolic form. Despite the fact the statue was built as a tourist trap by a spa, it was pretty incredible and the view from the top of the hill was beautiful.

Saturday night it was time for raksi and fireworks. I was a bit nervous that with the raksi in our system we’d burst into flame around firecrackers, but fortunately we weren’t seeped in raksi! The reason behind this fear was that during the Dashain holiday, my dai (older brother) demonstrated the serious alcohol content of raksi by having me dip my finger in the raksi and then have it lit on fire. My finger went up in flames for a few seconds! Needless to say, raksi and firecrackers didn’t seem like the smartest combination. All was well and Swetha, Amardeep (my oldest dai), Amardeep’s precious 6 month-old son Subhaum, and Sudip’s (youngest dai) 8 year old son Sagaon set out to play with firecrackers. It was a lot of fun to set off rockets from the roof, jump over the spinning firecrackers, and play with sparklers. Don’t worry though – Subhaum was kept far away from the action!

Sunday, we headed back to Kathmandu (me to retrieve my luggage which has FINALLY, after 2 months exactly, arrived in Nepal). It was amazing to see everything closed in Nepal – even Bhat Bhateni (Nepal’s answer to Walmart and Macy’s) which is never closed, was closed today! When we finally arrived in Kathmandu – it took 2 hours due to a HUGE traffic jam – we figured that the majority of the excitement was over. We were wrong. Over the course of the day, at least 4 groups of singers or people with instruments came to our door. These included kids, teenagers, and adults. The most impressive group showed up about 9pm with amps, electric guitars, bass, drums, dancers and groupies! We had a full-blown concert rocking out in our yard for a good 30 minutes. Our landlady’s family explained what was happening – traveling minstrels come knocking, play a few songs, and are given puja and money. Not just scraps either – serious money! The grandfather who lives above us tried to get me to join with my guitar so I would get money too  I politely declined and played photographer instead.

While I love learning about the holidays in Nepal, I’m looking forward to the end of school and business closings so that the bulk of my research can get underway. I have to get started – I have at least 23 schools to go to, plus however many organizations I come across!

Lots to do, so little time to do it…

Post Script:

The luggage returned, but was missing all of my research, my hard drive, batteries and my Under Armor shirt. I was not happy. I was reimbursed for the missing items, but received nothing for the 2 months the bag was missing. The moral of this story? I will be Fed Ex-ing my bag home.

Pics from Pokhara

So sorry these have taken so long to put up! I have tried at least 20 times, but even on good internet days the internet is generally unreliable. On bad days, many negative thoughts are directed at the little triangle icon that tells me there is a connection but no internet access. Out of frustration, it is now named the "triangle of death". Patience is certainly a virtue, but not one that I like gaining! In order to become patient, you must have opportunities to be patient... The internet in Nepal is apparently one such opportunity!

I hope you enjoy the pictures! If they convince people to come visit me, even better! :)


Breathtaking view from the Peace Pagoda. Wow.


Same as above but on the way up to the Peace Pagoda.


Some of the beautiful rice terraces in Nepal. They're created when an embankment is flattened out in a number of sections to make the rice paddies.


The Peace Pagoda in Pokhara. It displays statues of the Buddha on all sides that represent the 8-fold path in Buddhism.


Children walking down the mountain to go to school. The uniforms you can see are extremely common in Nepali education. It is rare to find a school that does not require them.


My friends who went paragliding with me - Swetha, Mikaela, me, Mary & Marissa. We went for Swetha's birthday. It was an incredible day and the paragliding was such a spiritual experience!


Learning how to run despite the parachute's pull. You start running, gain momentum, and then you have to keep running when the parachute catches air and pulls you back. Basically the idea is to simply run off the cliff. It's against all logic but totally worth it!


Me and my awesome paraglider instructor. His name was Igor, he's from Russia and knew EXACTLY what he was doing though I heard only snippets of it because A. He was behind me and I couldn't read his lips and B. He had a REALLY thick accent! When he gave me the reins and told me to pull down on the right side, I did manage to hear him yell "Not that fast! You'll drive us to the ground!" Oops...


Swetha's knees and most likely my parachute below although we were all so excited to get in the air that none of us really looked at which parachute we had. Regardless whose parachute, that's what we all looked like!