I did it!
I survived one year in Nepal! Can’t believe how fast time
has flown by even though I know many of you have had to hear my whinny
complaints about me being bored, questioning what I got myself into and even me
questioning if I should just go back home because I’m wasting my time. But I am
happy to say I am still here, happy I have stuck it through and I truly think
the best times are ahead of me. I know people in Peace Corps always say things
take quite a while to get started and that’s what this whole first year has
been, getting started. I have done various ‘projects’ throughout this first
year but I am definitely not content with the work I have done. I could not go
home after just one year of Peace Corps and feel I fulfilled what I have set
out to do. I went into Peace Corps thinking 27 months is way too long of a
commitment but I now understand why they require 2 years at site vs 1 year. It
takes time to learn the seasons, not just for agriculture reasons but when
people have breaks, when the work load is a lot, what’s the best timing for
implementing a project to get people involved, and when are all the holidays
(Nepal has a ridiculous number of holidays).
So moving forward into the next 14 months I have some major
‘check points’ as I call them and also some work cut out for me. First: the
farmers market idea is starting to take off, we have had several meetings
figuring committee members, transportation, management, and outside sources of
money. Slowly (omg so slowly) it’s starting to get going. We have two of the
biggest holidays coming up next month so after those holidays are over I think
we will be able to get moving a bit faster. Also as soon as this monsoon rain
stops I will start making the cook stoves again, that is a great time passer. I
have also started an after school English program just with 10 students from
grade 10. It is actually quite fun (surprisingly since I have minimal patients
for kids), we go over simple topics and I force them to speak English because
during school hours classes are too big so they generally do not learn to
listen and speak very well, most of English is based on reading and writing but
the kids don’t know how to speak. Eventually I want to do a world map project
(painting a large world map on a wall of the school-many people have no concept
of geography as they do not teach that in school) and paint a map of Nepal as
well. Also I have to keep things fun and maybe a water balloon fight (aka me
throwing water balloons at kids when they get answer wrong….haha just kidding…maybe)
and playing sports like soccer and volleyball.
Now for the fun stuff ‘check points.’ So I view Peace Corps
a little like a video game: there is an end goal/time line, you feel defeated
repeatedly and have to start back not from the beginning but from your last
check point, and when you hit a new check point in the game you get your new
three lives again. So all you do is have to keep in mind your next check point
goal and not loose all three lives before you get your next re-up of lives, if
you don’t make it that’s when you terminate early and end up back in the USA
prematurely (thankfully that hasn’t happened to anyone since our swearing in
ceremony).
Check points:
October 8th, my birthday wahoo, the plan is white
water river rafting in Pokhara. Should be a great time as the monsoon just
ended so the rapids are really flowing so that should be amazing.
November 1st, I get to meet the new group and
give a lesson on nutrition. (New group arrived September 7th-so
excited to meet the new crew).
November 16th-25th, India! Taj Mahal,
Jaipur, Kerela, and Goa. Pretty excited and my friend Cheynie from the US is
coming on this trip with me! So excited we are going to have a great time.
December 1st-5th, Mid Service
Training-we have teeth cleaning, doctor check ups, and some small training
stuff. Less than a year left!
January 1st: last New Years in Nepal and
celebrating with Peace Corps friends.
February: Meeting up with a past personal training client in
Kathmandu (maybe)! It will be wonderful to see a familiar face.
March: New group arrives
July: Close of Service training! We made it, home stretch.
August: Malaysia vacation, concert in the rainforest!
September-October: Wrap up all projects
November: FREEDOM and GOODBYE NEPAL!!! Travel begins to
Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia November-December.
Israel, Jordan, Egypt January (depends on those countries stability in
2016-that’s a maybe). Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia Peru,
Venezuela (maybe) February-mid March. This is all tentative and dependent on
how much a can stretch my dollar! But it gives me something to look forward to
that’s for sure!
So how am a different
from a year ago?
-I drink fresh hot milk and like it; I even enjoy the thick
cream on the top….never thought I would enjoy fresh whole milk. (Was a skim
milk kind of girl if any milk at all).
-I eat with a spoon again (probably 60% of the time, eating
with my hands every meal causes way too many intestinal issues).
-If I get a bag of food and there are bugs in it I only get
unhappy because its going to take a lot more time for me to eat it because I
have to go through it all and pick the bugs out.
-When there is bugs are other floating things in my drink I
just fish them out and continue drinking.
-When people ask me pointless questions I respond with the
same question. Ex. Why don’t you want more food? Why do YOU want more food? Or
Why do YOU not want more food?
-I talk about poop at least once a day.
-I get so excited when I get a cold pop; and soda water is a
real treat!
-I have become even more of a psycho planner. Gotta have
stuff to look forward to!
-My friend groups in village are all significantly younger
than me.
-I have way more patients for people who speak English as a
foreign language and struggle. I know before I didn’t have patients for their
slow speaking and would get frustrated but when I go back I will treat
foreigners/immigrants with way more patients and kindness. The amount of
patients people have with my poor Nepali is amazing.
-I fully understand what its like to be stared at, have rude
comments made to me about my physical appearance, stereo types people have
based on my skin color bluntly said to me, and constantly being ‘different.’
Because of this I have no tolerance for people who say things based on how
someone looks: you don’t know them or their background or their lives so don’t
make assumptions based on appearance.
-Having too many cloths/things is more of a hassle than
anything. A simple wardrobe is all a person really needs.
-I know what’s essential to live comfortably.
-Squat toilets are great……no toilet paper is the really
‘shitty’ problem ;)
-I truly love my smart phone……probably not what someone
would expect me to say but the amount of information we have access too via
internet is absolutely amazing. Staying in contact with people back home is so
easy and affordable. I’m in the 10th poorest country in the world
but I have data on my phone…..I’m so confused by development. Data plans and
cell service is no problem but a glass of clean water or consistent electricity
is no existent.
-I can eat chicken bones and so many weird body parts of a
goat; I would dominate in fear factor if ever a contestant!
-I am a bomb ass gardener! Composting queen here and can
hand till an entire garden area in a short amount of time. (I will have a
wrecked back because of it but there are prices to pay for manual labor).
-I am a squatting champion, can squat for a very long period
of time compared to when I showed up to this country.
-Every once in a while I consider getting married and having
kids would be alright……then I wake up every morning to a crying baby and a
woman cooking all the meals for her husband and family and that consideration
is instantly squashed. Haha
-I don’t crave food anymore….trust me an amazing moment in
service is when food cravings stopped.
-I realize development doesn’t always happen with big
projects or require large grants. It is spending time with the people, gaining
trust, learning from them and then them learning from you, slow small changes
lead to bigger things eventually. Coming in telling them their ways are wrong
is not going to get anyone very far at all. Reinforcement is key and that
doesn’t happen when people just come and go in a weeks amount of time. Peace
Corps is 2 years for a reason; I understand that now.
-I don’t handle boredom very well.
-I have no filter and curse too much.
-I really desire a job with a specific set of skills.
-Education is so important and I use to think the USA had a
crap education system (yes there are still flaws) but it doesn’t even compare
to how poor the education system is here, its so sad and without adequate
education it really will hold back a country. These people are centuries
behind.
-I am not too scared of spiders any more.
-I am still terrified of snakes. (no change there)
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| Teej: Womens festival. Got very dressed up and did a lot of dancing! |
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| Me my host mom and younger sister after dancing for Teej |
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| Cooked up some garden snails...not bad, not bad at all |
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| Snake who went in the kitchen and Ben saved the day and killed it! |
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| Casual morning bus ride, 10 minutes after departure front windshield shattered. I screamed like a lil girl. |
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| Hash Harriers! Everyone gathers and does a run through paths that someone layer out and after 1-4 hrs of running you get all the beer you could want in an hours time. It was a great time. |
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| Fellow volunteers after scoring an Avocado tree, passion fruit, thai melon, grapes at a nursery and am introducing them to my village! Success. |
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| They are HERE the new group 201 arrived Sept 8th!! |
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| Giving tika at the school program. Guest as usual. Somethings never change. Sigh.... |
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