Photographs of Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

Leaving Pokhara for the trailhead during the national strike


Trailhead after 5 hour walk from Pokhara


Our guide Pasang (L) and his brother/assistant, Sonam (R)


Entering the town of Birethanti on Day 2


Pasang, Doug and Jackie atop Poon Hill


The lovely hosts at a guesthouse near Annapurna Base Camp










The scenery
Blooming rhodies


Daulaguiri


Terraced fields near Chommrong


Hinchuli


Annapurna


Machhapuchhare


Annapurna South


Phewa Tal (Lake Phewa in Pokhara)

Photographs of Kathmandu

My Host Family


East Kathmandu - closeby to where my host family lives


Dal bhat tarkari (Lentils, rice and veggies) - our daily meal - yum!


Young fruit vendor


Children at a school outside of Kathmandu supported by Hope and Home


My "niece" Rachna and me


Vegetable vendor in Thahity (pronounced "tahity" really!)


Sadhu at Pashupatinath temple (Hindu temple) on Shivaratri


Bouddhanath temple (Buddhist temple) during Losar (Tibetan New Year)


At a friend's wedding (celebrated in traditional Tibetan way)


Priest presiding over a Bratabanda (Hindu coming of age ceremony)


Another Bratabanda


Washing and playing in the holy Bagmati River


Empty street during the nationwide strike


Jubilation after the strike


Happy taxi driver after the strike - "now I can work"


Volunteer organizers (Rabyn-white shirt back row & Bijen non-striped blue shirt front row), host family members and Volunteers

Photographs from the Disabled Rehabilitation Centre (DRC)

Photos of the children at DRC:

Children enjoying the donated books















He's 6 years old and tons of fun!















Jackie and pals





Friends learning about the world!


The Three Musketeers


Jackie with more of her pals















Doug with the children on our last visit with the folks that volunteered after Jackie















Photos of Holi Celebration at DRC: (see earlier blog for details)

Celebrating Holi


House mom being doused in true Holi tradition


House mom with some of the children


A sweet smile


Tikka being placed by house mom

Goodbye Nepal, Hello USA!

Aloha!
Greetings from Hawaii! After two days of flying, Doug and I are back in the U.S.. We arrived on April 30th - on Doug's birthday. Luckily for him, he got to celebrate it for 41 hours if you call celebrating - sitting on a plane, going through customs, and suffering from extreme jet lag. Fortunately, we felt good enough in the evening to go out for a wonderful Filipino meal at a new restaurant that my folks wanted to treat Doug to. The restaurant, Max's of Manila, is part of a chain of restaurants that originated in the Philippines, and it was the place in Manila where my mom and dad enjoyed a wedding dinner over 30 years ago!

It has been quite odd going from Nepal to Hawaii. Believe it or not, there are some similarities between life in Nepal and life here at my folks (the crowing of roosters, eating lots of rice and veggies, buzzing and biting mosquitos, and the speaking of another language - fortunately this time, I understand and speak it). So really, the odd thing is that it doesn't feel weird to be back. Not much of a culture shock - except for order on the highways, high-technology, etc... BTW, DSL feels like lightning speed after Nepal's very slow internet access. But, I sure do miss Nepal already - the people, the cultures, the language. The last couple of days there were spent visiting friends, saying goodbye to the children at DRC, and binging on Nepal's national dish- dal bhat tarkari (lentil/rice/veggies). "Aagayo!" (I am full!) was the common exclamation for those two days.

So to wrap up this blog, I must say it was a great couple of months in Nepal despite all that was going on there. If you've been keeping up with what has been happening there, you know that only time will tell what will come of the restoration of democracy. One thing for sure, the people of Nepal are full of spirit and are proud of their beautiful country and many of them are hopeful for a better Nepal. Doug and I are with them in that hope. Until the next travel blog, let's hope for peace and the restoration of an effective democracy in Nepal.

Namaste, Jackie

Don't worry, chicken curry!

Namaste everyone!
Doug and I just finished trekking in the Annapurna Sanctuary and are now spending the day in Pokhara. We decided at the last minute to go there after all, rather than to the Everest region, where we had been before. Pokhara, the resort town 20 minutes away from Kathmandu by flight, is where trekkers start their journeys to the Annapurna region. It is a beautiful town, with grand mountains towering over it and a big lake to relax by. Although there was some unrest here in Pokhara, it did not pose any risk to us. And what can I say about the trek, it was great! Beautiful scenery, lots of thunderstorms, monkey, pheasants, great company, etc, etc... Our guide Pasang and his brother Sonam were with us and Pasang kept us on the right path. Whenever we had a question or concern about something, he would set us straight, and then say "don't worry, chicken curry". Sonam served as our porter and was happy to carry our light bag, a mere 16kg! The maximum is 30kg for porters. This kept him fresh at the end of the day, so he could check out the town and visit with bahinis (younger sisters), ahem... We stayed in teahouses along the way and met some nice folks as well. Because of the bandh (strike), there were a lot less tourists than usual in the region, so less crowded overall (good for us, I cannot imagine what it would have been like with more people trekking!). We were fortunate to spend a couple of days in the town of Ghorepani celebrating the Nepali New Year (the greeting "Naya barsako, subha kamana" - Happy new year!, was said often on this trek). We got to watch the Gurung people do the yearly fresh yak blood drinking to give them strength for the year. There are many ethnic groups in this region, but mainly Gurung and Magars in the areas we were in. The only yucky part was having to walk from Pokhara to the trailhead in Phedi - 5 hours away, due to the nationwide strike (and not to mention Doug's stomach bug that started that day and lasted another day and a half - until he took some azithromycin - the wonder drug!). We hoped that the strike would be over before we were done with our trek, but it is still continuing, which meant we had to walk back from the trailhead to Pokhara, but this time only 4 hours because we started walking at four in the morning while it was still cool and pass the time chatting with some lamas heading into Pokhara themselves. The walk was a minor inconvenience to us compared to what the citizens of this nation have had to endure since the 6th of April - no work, no school, diminishing supplies of food, etc. No one knows when the strike and the curfews will end, but it is apparent that it will continue indefinitely until the king makes a move to give up absolute power and restore democracy. I must say it makes me grateful to be US citizen despite the problems we have there (in fact, many Nepalis who asked me where I was from would comment on how lucky I was to be from the US, interesting,eh?). I am looking forward to returning home. Doug and I plan to leave on April 29th, with a stopover in Hawaii to visit family. Well, gotta run, so pheri betaungla (until we meet again!)and don't worry, chicken curry!-
Peace and Namaste, Jackie

Wish for Peace

Greetings everyone,
Not sure if it has been in the news there, but there has been unrest here in the capital city of Kathmandu and other areas of Nepal as a result of the general strike imposed by the pro-democracy Seven Party Alliance and the Maoists, and in addition to the day-time curfews imposed by the King's autocratic government. Many people have been defying the curfews with pro-democracy rallies and protests. There have been some fatalities, although even one fatality is too much. These events have really made life difficult for the average citizen as many are unable to leave their homes to go to work (if they are not working, they are not paid), to buy food, to go to school, etc... Doug and I (foreigners in general) are safe and staying put in the tourist district of Thamel. We were supposed to fly out to Pokhara tomorrow where we were to launch our trek of the Annapurnas, but instead will probably fly to the Everest region as Pokhara is experiencing much unrest. The Everest region is not affected by the insurgency at this point, and being that there are no roads in the area, it is not affected by the strike. Our plan at this moment is to take the safest option - that being trekking in the Everest region, unless the strike is miraculously called off in the morning, a highly unlikely event.

On a more pleasant note, we were able to leave the tourist district early this morning to visit Swayambunath, which is one of the most revered religious sites in Kathmandu. We had a few hours before the curfew was imposed and it was nice to be out in a peaceful area, near a beautiful forest, just chilling out. We shared a donut that puts Krispy Kremes to shame and fortunately, the donut was eaten before it could be snatched by one of the temples many monkeys. Doug lit some butter lamps and with that he was able to make one wish - a wish for a peaceful resolution to the current situation here. Let's hope his wish comes true.

Peace and Namaste,
Jackie and Doug

Coming of Age

Greetings all! Despite being done at the Disabled Childrens Center, it has been a busy week. On Monday, I attended two Hindu Bratabanda (coming of age) ceremonies for adolescent boys usually between the ages of 8 through 18, although the most common age for the ceremony to be held is around 13 years old. The boy is put through a series of rituals and a puja (prayer ceremony) is held for a few hours. One sign that the boy has had his Bratabanda, is the ceremonial shaving of his entire head, with a small tuft remaining on top. Although it is a serious ceremony, it is overall a very fun time for the boy because after the ceremony, he is showered with many gifts and there is always a wonderful feast for family and friends who have attended. Being there for the entire ritual is not compulsory, so you can still enjoy the food even if you weren't there for the ritual! Yum!

Doug arrives in a few days and as I mentioned earlier, Kathmandu will be experiencing a general strike. We hope it will be peaceful and for the most part, I think we will be safe... Gotta go now, my time is up.

Peace, Namaste,
Jackie

Where has the time gone?

It is Thursday, March 30 by our calendar and Cait 17 (pronounced "chite") by the Nepali calendar. On Cait 31, it will be the end of the Nepali year of 2062. It can be challenging when discussing dates. I have now got into the habit of saying, my last day is "on the 18th, by your calendar". What this means is that tomorrow will be my official last day at DRC, but I will still have another week to work with Hope and Home on other projects. I am so sad about leaving DRC. During the five weeks that I have spent with the children, I have come to adore them immensely. Right now, they are on vacation, but some are eagerly preparing for the upcoming school year and awaiting results of their final exams which will determine whether they advance to the next grade or "class" as they say here. So, despite the fact that they are on vacation, a few have been eager to get more grammar lessons. Fortunately, I found a great grammar book written for class 5,6,7 levels - which explains grammar in both Nepali and English. So when we are discussing, say, prepositions, I just point to the page, have them read it, and voila, they can yell out prepositions! Who says you need to be an English teacher to teach English? Just kidding! English is a tough language to learn - so many rules and so many exceptions!!! What's that about? (Yeah, I know, I am dangling my preposition, but hey, it is cool to do that now!)

You might be wondering - has Jackie turned into a Grammar freak?! No, not really. We have had some "fun" time, too. There has been a couple of birthday parties, one that lasted all day! We also had an Art project day, where the kids drew pictures, painted, colored, etc... They had a blast and it was a good way for them to relax after the brutal exams. I have been the lucky recipient of some of their work! We've also played games - they love Memory Games, Simon Says, etc... etc... (they like to use "etc..." alot, so when in Rome...). There has been a lot of singing and dancing, too. Again, your donations have come in handy (bought some of their favorite music for them to listen to, games to play with, books to read) and they love all the art stuff!!!

Doug is soon arriving. Hopefully, it will be uneventful. The day he arrives marks the 10th anniversary of the Maoist insurgency and there might be a general strike which means businesses and the roadways may be closed country-wide. There might be some demonstrations, we hope peaceful. If the roadways are closed, I and some friends will have to pick up Doug from the airport on foot and rent some folks with bikes to help shuttle his stuff back to our hotel. Fortunately, my host family lives very close to the airport and if necessary, we can go to their house instead. Overall, things have been pretty low-key here in Kathmandu. Most of the problems occur outside of the valley - which makes life tough for the villagers. I feel safe and there is no need to worry.

I hope all is well there and peace to everyone,
Namaste,
Jackie

Are you jutho today?

Ok, this posting may be a bit TMI-ish, but I feel like I gotta share this. If you are living with a Hindu family, be aware that when you females are menstruating, you are considered "jutho" (pronounced joo-tow). What this means is that you cannot touch anything that the man of the house will be using for eating or touch anyone who will be preparing his meals (for some it can be even more stringent). So, what's so bad about that, you might wonder. You may have even correctly surmised that the woman is off the hook for cooking during this time period -yay! But, after the 4 days, even if she is still having her menses, she is now not jutho. This is a relaxed rule (previously, the woman was jutho for the entire period). I think the relaxed rule was thought up by the guys who got sick of cooking his own food after 4 days! So, you might now be thinking, ok, so what's the big deal? - well, for me and other women here, it means we have to eat in our room, our dishes are not to be mixed with the others, food is dropped onto our plates so as to not connect the server (the other woman in the house) with our plates. Once you are past the four days, you must then wash everything you have touched if it is washable. If it not washable, it must be put out under the sun to be purified (ie heavy blankets, but not the bed mattress or bed itself as it did not directly touch your body). It was kind of stressful actually. Rachna, the host couple's daughter, fortunately, was jutho about the same time as me, so she and I were 'banished' together. She even extended her jutho-ness to keep me company while we ate. Her mom finally cut me some slack at the end, but I think she would have preferred total purification (I wore a totally clean pair of pants after I washed myself on the fourth night, but slept in my bed before it was totally purified. She did not require that I wash the pants after one use. Oh, by the way, it is not uncommon for one to wear the same pair of pants for days on end, and shirts, too... Good thing I have a cold and can't smell anything. See what I mean, TMI! haha!

(the literal meaning of jutho - is the act of the rice that have touched your plate, falling on the eating surface - table, floor, whatever. But most use it in reference to that time when you are impure - during menses & childbirth)

Namaste all!
Jackie

Since when are dogs nocturnal?

Someone please tell me, are dogs nocturnal? I did not think so, but here in Nepal, they are. They bark all night long (I got used to it by my third night at my host family's home), and sleep all day. On my walk to the care center and back, I see dogs sleeping and sunning themselves - not barking, all day long! At first, I wanted to just wake them all up, but that would be risky - with rabies, and all. And plus, they never bother me now, so why should I interrupt their slumber? Hahaha!

So, life here for me is going well. I absolutely love the children. I have to clarify that the disabled care center is not really an orphanage. Some of the children are orphans, but the majority are disabled children who come from very poor families who live in remote villages of Nepal. Their families could not provide them with adequate care. The official name of the the center is the Disabled Rehabilitation Center (DRC), Nepal. A husband and wife team (Tanka and Urmilla Tiwari) from Nepal established the center in 2000. Both of them are disabled themselves. The facility is by no means state of the art. Hygiene is less than optimal by western standards, but appears to be adequate by Nepal standards and not causing serious issues. At least there is running water and soap in the toilet room. The children are well-disciplined and cared for. Nevertheless, they are kids after all, and they can get playfully rambuncious, with the occasional fight here and there! However, there is much respect, chores are shared, and always there is a helping hand.

I have only less than two weeks remaining at the center! Since all the children have been preparing for final exams, we have had no real play time, except for Holi. So I look forward to doing art projects and just playing with them rather than just giving homework, homework, homework! Even I am sick of homework! The week after that (first week in April), I will be doing some site visits with the organization that placed me at DRC. We will be visiting a rural school to teach kite-making, and in another, we will be delivering supplies. I will truly miss "my" kids. I feel totally connected to them and hope to have a lasting relationship with them through letters.

Thanks for reading the blog. It keeps me connected to all of you! Hey, did I tell you another holiday is coming up - Cait Dasain (pronounced, chite da-sign). It is the smaller version of the festival Dasain that happens in November. It is like Christmas to them, but the smaller one, is the mini-Christmas. It is celebrated for one day only, but big Dasain is celebrated over a number of days! See what I mean about holidays here in Nepal? Oh, and did I tell you, the Nepali New Year is coming up, too?

Namaste, Jackie

Holi - day!

I think Nepal leads the pack of countries with the most holidays. On Tuesday, everyone (well, almost) celebrated Holi (pronounced like holy). It is considered the festival of colours to celebrate the coming of Spring. But it also is the festival to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. It has its roots in a mythical Hindu legend where a young son of a power-hungry king decided to worship the Lord Vishnu. The King wanted everyone to worship him and he was so angry that his son did not, that he ordered his daughter or sister (not sure which one) Holika to kill his son. Holika apparently could walk through fire, so she was going to burn the King's son in the fire, but somehow, she was burnt instead. So, where does the colour part come in? Well, here in Nepal, the way to celebrate Holi is to fill colorful balloons with water or colored water and throw them at friends - however, innocent folk, young gals in particular, get hit all the time by surprise! Also, friends get together and paint their faces with various colours of powder usually used for tikkas (the ceremonial painting of a dot on the forehead during Hindu worship). It is craziness! I celebrated with the kids at the rehab center. We had a blast!!!

Now the serious part, after Holi, everyone had to crack open the books again, because today is the start of a weeklong course of examinations. For many, today is their primary English exam. More to come... wish them luck!

Namaste,
Jackie

Had a date with who?

Last Friday, I had a date with a couple of lamas (monks) that I have befriended here. Namkha and Karma are both of the Ningma sect of the Tibetan Buddhists. It is one of the oldest sects in Buddhism. Namkha invited me to visit the temple of Swayambunath which is a gathering place for both Buddhists and Hindus in Kathmandu. We stopped by their friend's shop to fix Namkha's prayer beads, and in true Nepali style, had to have some tea! Talk about whirlwind, we did this during my mid-day break of 4 hours - yeah, sounds great, but it takes forever to get across town in a taxi, and even worse in a micro-bus!

I will be spending more time at the orphanage now that my language classes are over and also because many of the students are preparing for "examinations" (aka mid-terms). Like I mentioned before, it has been a challenge. My language lessons have come in very handy. Many of the supplies you have donated have also helped me create some learning tools. I will be distributing some of the supplies to the orphanage I am at, but also to one that is newly being established. The new one does not have anything - no school supplies, no electricity, and even worse, no running water. I hope to donate some of the monetary gifts to help install a water line. Remarkably, the dollar goes a long way here. I can spend 100 rupees on a taxi and not think twice here (rs 100 = $1.40), but for some, it is a days wage! Thank-you all who have helped - it is greatly appreciated!!!

I gotta go back to the orphanage now. More to come. Oh, did I tell you that Kathmandu has over-used its electricity - so it is turned off for 5 hours or so a day or night depending on where you live? It creates such a hardship, but people manage. My tikka headlamp has come in really handy!! And lastly, Lakpa and Sharmila's wedding was a blast!

Namaste,
Jackie

Om Mane Padme Hum

All hail the jewel in the lotus, Om mane padme hum, the mantra of compassion. As I sit here at the best internet cafe that I have come across, I hear this mantra over and over again as it is put to music. Also, from my vantage point in this second floor cafe, I have a clear view of Bouddhanath Stupa - which I mentioned earlier is one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world. It is also the Buddhist center of Kathmandu. It will be closeby to this stupa where I will be attending a Buddhist wedding today of my friends Lakpa Lama and Sharmila Lama. It is such an honor to be invited and I even went and got me a traditional Tibetan choba (traditional dress that the Tibetan women wear). Lakpa thought it would be ok for me to wear my usual clothing (yeah right, nylon trekking pants and a t-shirt!), but he said it would be special if I wore the traditional dress, so he helped me get one (like he had the time! for god's sake he's getting married!, but he insisted on helping me not get cheated!).

The work at the orphanage is going well, to me anyway. I have developed a system of sorts, but it could change. I go there twice a day, as most of the children are in school during the day. I spend about 5 hours there right now, but after my language classes are over, I hope to spend more time there so I can concentrate on those too disabled to attend school. Yes, as part of my volunteer experience, I have been provided language classes, and after just two classes, it has come in very handy at the orphanage, where even the staff know minimal, if any, English. The brighter, older kids help out a lot and many of them want to teach me Nepali. I've told them that they need to concentrate on learning English, not teaching me, but they don't listen. I guess kids all over the world are the same. I wish I could tell you about every single one of them - they are all so remarkable and all so willing to learn. I cannot think of any of them who are not interested. I have developed some word games and they like that a lot - and want more (what have I started!?). They are all concentrating on upcoming examinations, so I have been asked not to deviate too much from their lessons (lessons? what lessons?). Some of the children are not provided good lessons and are asking ME for homework. When I arrive, they grab their notebooks, throw it on my lap and say "give me homework, please"!!! Can you imagine a kid begging for homework?

Ok, that's it for now. Oh, by the way, I have not been asked yet to help with calculus, but my knees are shaking because yesterday I was asked to help with another complicated math problem - thank goodness the answers were at the back of the book and I could work my way backwards! Yikes!!!

Miss ya all and hope you are all well,
Until next time (provided there is electricity and I feel up to making the trek here), Namaste, Jackie

Dal Bhat Tarkari

Dal bhat tarkari is sooooo good. That is what I have been eating for the past couple of days since I moved in with my host family, the Pokhrel's. The couple's 18 year old daughter, Rachna and her parents Ramesh and Indira have been taking such great care of me. I am so lucky. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for all of the children here in Nepal. I started my volunteer "duty" this week and it has been quite the challenge. There are about 35 children in the facility ranging from 5 to 15 years of age with many different types of physical disabilities. I have been tasked to help them learn English and help them with their homework. Yesterday, I was asked by one child, Surendra, to help him with his Algebra! Algebra? What's that? I haven't done algebra since high school! Well, it slowly came back and I did not lose face afterall (how could I let down a kid who says "you don't know algebra???", I answered, "well, it's been a while, but give me your book - (written in Nepali no less), and I will figure it out". Whew, dodged a big one there. Hopefully today he won't ask me to help him with trigonometry - I will be doomed!

Anyway, on the serious side, the organization - Hope and Home are really trying to do more for other facilities in the valley. We visited a school and orphanage outside of kathmandu which was very eye opening. If you ever want to volunteer or help out - please let me know, and I will hook you up.

Well, I need to go now. More in a few days.
Namaste,
Jackie

Happy New Year!

What could top playing ping-pong with a monk named Namkha from the Solu Khumbu region? Besides eating a boatload of food, that is what I did today with Babu and his family and friends to celebrate Losar. Today is the start of the Sherpa Losar festival, which is the celebration of the New Year. Depending on where you are from, Losar is celebrated at different times but usually in February/March. The big festival will be on March 2nd at Bouddhanath Stupa which will be closeby to my host family's home. Tonight, I accompanied Namkha back to where he is staying while here in Kathmandu, near Bouddhanath, and returned to the stupa with friends Lakpa and Sarmita, to witness and join the throngs of people circumambulating the stupa and lighting butter lamps as offerings. It was quite the sight to see. I wish all of you were here to see this.

My postings will be less frequent starting tomorrow as I will be moving out of the tourist district (loaded with cybercafes) - to an area with less access. I will try to update at least a couple times a week. Please continue to stay tuned - it's great to know that many of you are reading my postings that gives me great pleasure to share!

By the way, did I tell you that Namkha gave me his email address? - technology knows no boundaries!

Namaste and Tashi Delek,
Jackie

High Speed Internet - NOT!

Hi all, this might be the best way for me to communicate to you en-masse. Internet connections are slow - the norm. Also the norm, riding around town by motorbike. Yes, this time it was with Rabyn from Hope and Home to do our site visit. I will be staying with a family who lives about 15 minutes away by foot from the disabled childrens facility where I will be volunteering. I start on Wednesday. Most of the children were at school when I visited today. I will be helping them in the morning and in the afternoons six days a week. Originally, I was going to be living there as well, but Rabyn set me up with a Nepali family close by. I think it will be great being part of a family. I will have a younger sister aka, bahini, at home who will show me the ropes.

Oh, btw, I got the name of the festival yesterday wrong. It is "Shivaratri" and it is to celebrate the Lord Shiva. I went with a young man name Dhurba, and it was amazing! More than 300,000 people from Nepal and India attended. Many sadhus (holy men) also come. On Shivaratri, smoking marijuana for the day is allowed - so that was a big draw.

Sorry that I cannot send photos - with this connection it is virtually impossible to send or receive anything with attachments. Perhaps blogs are different, but I am not sure.

Until the next post,
Namaste,
Jackie

Motorbike? We're going there on a motorbike?

I said I would post in a few days, but it's a quiet Sunday morning and lots have happened since my last posting. Yesterday, my friend Puspa (aka Pancho) took me to the city of Lalitpur, better known to tourists as Patan. There you find a large square full of beautiful temples. It is one of three temple squares in this area which housed the palaces of the ancient Malla kings that ruled here at one time. Puspa tells me that during that period (sorry, no dates, but might have been in the 1600s), three kings ruled - therefore, there are three temple squares (called Durbar Square in each area), one located here in Kathmandu, another in Bhaktapur (about 10 km east of KTM) , and the one previously mentioned, in Patan (about 7 km south of KTM). So how did I get there, well on the back of Puspa's motorbike! It was a fun and crazy ride - I'll show video when I get home! If any of you have been to Kathmandu or any third world city, you know what a ride it was!

We then headed to Bouddhanath - where one of the largest Buddhist stupas is located, to meet another friend for lunch. Let me tell you, the food is simple but delicious. I've only had Tibetan food since I got here. The Buddhist are currently celebrating Losar (Tibetan New Year) and depending on what sect you are a part of, this is celebrated around the phases of the moon usually in February. My friend Babu, who is a Sherpa from the Solu-Khumbu region (aka Everest region), is celebrating Losar on February 28th and has invited me to join the celebration at his home here in KTM. I am looking forward to it!

As I sit here, children are outside playing in the street getting ready for a "festival". I've just learned that today, the Hindus will be celebrating Subratri - the Lord Shiva's birthday. I may just have to check it out!

Tomorrow, I will officially meet with the organizer of the volunteer org that I have signed up with and we will be doing a site visit to the children's facility I will be volunteering at. Not sure exactly what day I begin, which how it is here, I am assuming the first of March. I am looking forward to the work.

More to come! Thanks to everyone for your messages! I hope all is well there at home - sure miss you all! Namaste, Jackie

Greetings from Kathmandu!

Greetings from Kathmandu! I made here safe and sound. It is quite remarkable how things appear to be exactly as they were in 2001. Yet, I'm sure they aren't and this is confirmed by conversations with the locals - friends that I made when I was here before. And also confirmed when I got lost today looking for the KEEP office (Kathmandu Environmental Education Project), to fill my water bottles. I did not even stop to think that perhaps they may have moved from their previous location, which they did! KEEP is a great organization which helps to improve & preserve Nepal's natural environment by organizing clean-ups, by providing bottled water to refill tourists' containers (rather than buying water in plastic disposable containers), by educating tourists on safe and environmentally sound trekking (safe for both the trekkers and the porters), among other services.

I am currently staying in the tourist section called Thamel to get my bearings, and will move on to the children's home sometime next week or so. The organization will be conducting an orientation - to culture and language - before I start. On Monday, we will be making a site visit. I am looking forward to the experience and look forward to filling you in. In the meantime, I will try to get acclimated - to the honkings, traffic dodgings, and smog to name a few things :), but that's what makes it Kathmandu!

Until next time, Namaste, Jackie G

Bye, Bye, Bangkok

I do not think there is anyplace in the world with as many temples as Bangkok, with the exception of Nepal. Visited Wat Pho yesterday which houses the largest reclining Buddha around. It was magnificent! Walked around the area a bit, visiting a huge marketplace - Yum, checked out the canal, etc... Bangkok is a city full of life and activity. Wow! Now I am heading off to Kathmandu, next post will be there! Namaste, Jackie

Bangkok Flash and plug for China Air

Hi all, just got into Bangkok and wow is it warm! Summer is just beginning so temps are running about 80+ degrees. It took a while to get here, about 20 hours. But could have been worse - lady next to me was returning home to Thailand from Sarasota and had been travelling non-stop for 30+ hours. The longest leg for me was 14 hours to Taipei - I have never watched so many movies- all good - check out the Capote flick! Anyway, China Air is the way to go. Even in economy class, you get to choose from a huge selection of movies, you get house slippers, and dare I say, really good food (ok, this is coming from someone who loves cafeteria food!). As of my departure day, I did not have a place to stay in Bangkok (procrastination rearing its ugly head again!). But a last minute confirmation call to China Air brought up the question of where I was staying the night. Voila!, they set me up! I got off the plane and there was Kan (hotel rep) to whisk me through the lines and get me to a comfortable hotel in no time at all! So here I am, blogging you already and I haven't even been in Bangkok for more than 2 hours. Ok, I am off to check out the sights, what I can squeeze in for less than a day! It's a flash alright, and did I already tell you that compliments of China Air - I get dinner and breakfast, too! It really is all about eating! Until next time, Jackie

Welcome Friends!

Hello friends! Welcome to my Nepal blog. I am not yet in Nepal, but will soon be and I will be updating you via this blog. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful send off, donations and well wishes! I look forward to sharing my experiences with you, so please visit this blog from time to time! Namaste, Jackie G