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