5 days later...Here's Hetauda!

I sincerely apologize for the "posts in quick succession" that didn't happen. There were several reasons for this. Mainly, our "reliable" internet ceased to be reliable after I praised it on the blog, shutting down for 2 days and then finally coming back even slower than normal, making it impossible to upload pictures. In all honesty though, if I'd had the inclination I could have gone to a place with WiFi, but I kind of disappeared from the society for a few days after returning from the trip. Nepal's not the best place for an introvert. The culture is inherently social, and in the 12 days we were gone, I had maybe 2 whole hours to myself. Since I recharge when I'm alone, I desperately needed recharge time when I arrived back in Kathmandu, not to mention recovering from the physical exhaustion of working or traveling non-stop while we were gone.

So, to continue the story of our journey, after the time in Chitwan, we headed straight to Hetauda in the Makwanpur district. Here, we were fortunate to stay with more family members of Ashok sir, the Birenda Shrestha family, who welcomed us with open arms and copious amounts of food! Hetauda is a large town on the edge of the flat Terai but officially in the hilly region. The result is a beautiful town with many fields and flat areas, but with great views of the "hills". I say "hills", but anywhere but Nepal, the hills nearby would actually be considered large mountains. It's all relative!

Anu and I stayed in Hetauda for 3 days while we visited the Shree Shanti Deaf and Hard of Hearing Primary School (just outside Hetauda). This school was only founded recently (in late 2005), but has already grown from 8 students to close to 100, though it goes only through Class 6. Despite the numbers, the principal and president of the school told us that they know of at least 6 deaf children in the surrounding villages whom they can't reach due to the distance and lack of residential housing at the school or a second bus. There have been attempts to send a sign language teacher to the village to teach the children Nepali Sign, but this only happened a few times before logistics and funding made it impossible. They continue to look for options that will enable them to reach out to all children in the future, but for now, are providing the best education they can to the students who currently attend.



One of the teachers quizzing a student in English spelling. The students in Nepal learn Nepali Sign, written Nepali, written English and international fingerspelling (same as English fingerspelling, with a slightly different "t"). I was really impressed with the teacher's patience and high expectations for the students.


This little guy was the newest student at the school and hadn't had any communication prior to attending school so his behavior left much to be desired. He was far more interested in figuring out who we were and demonstrating what he'd learned (the numbers 0 and 1) than in listening to his teacher. Part of the difficulty in researching in schools is that no matter how hard you try to blend into the walls and not cause a disruption, students (especially those who are naturally inclined to distractions) have a hard time ignoring your presence.


The students in Class 1. Two of the students were deaf plus (had cognitive delays as well as deafness), but the range in ages is also attributed to late admission to the school. Many deaf children begin school significantly later than their hearing peers and without a strong (or even any) language foundation.


The school bus, which was donated by the Indian government, serves as transportation to and from school for both the teachers and students. Anu and I rode in the bus back to our host family's house each day, and the trip was very different than a bus ride in the States! We stopped for reasons such as picking up teachers' spouses, for the bus driver to buy some plants, and for a teacher to buy some eggs. One place where the most students got off the bus was an orphanage for children with disabilities. A number of the students in school stayed at the orphanage so that they could attend.

Faith Like a Mustard Seed

While we were in Hetauda, I had a lesson in faith too. I went on a walk with Anu one day during the lunch period at the school and we walked through beautiful fields with yellow flowers. Not sure what the crop was, I asked, and was told it was mustard. In that instance, surrounded by miles of mustard seed fields, I finally wholly understood the parable of the mustard seed in the Bible. No wonder Jesus wanted us to have faith like a mustard seed - it grows exponentially!

One of the most beautiful things about Nepal is its ability to be universally spiritual - according to my friend Mikaela, there are 'Aha!' moments for every religion.

I can't even begin to quantify all that I've learned during my time in Nepal, or even fathom all that I'll continue to learn, but I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunity! More to come soon(or as soon as I have some semblance of reliable internet)...