volunteers

A large portion of my job involves working with short-term volunteers. This year has been full of working with a variety of volunteers from all over the US. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve been able to spend with them and have been encouraged by them. With every team I learn something new and try to improve on my leadership skills so that I can better help the next volunteers that come. Here are a few things that I have now added to the orientation that I give.

**Some of these things may seem obvious but trust me when I tell you that for some people the obvious eludes them.***

• When trekking through the Himalayas you will be walking at high altitudes AND you will be walking up hills…a lot. 

• Don’t bring your Social Security card to a foreign country. 

• Don’t give Hindus your beef sticks. It’s nice that you want to share but for the millionth time “HINDUS DON’T EAT BEEF!”

• Nepal's restaurants specialize in Nepali food not American food…lower your expectations.

• Blood in your stool is a big deal. Medical professionals should be contacted.

• When I say pack light I’m talking 15 or 20 pounds NOT 60lb…there is a big difference between need and want.

• Don’t pet wild animals. Yes, wild horses will bite you.

• New life rule, if it’s not yours don’t pet it.

To all the volunteers that came to Nepal to serve this year THANK YOU! It was a joy working along side you. You will be remembered…even if it is in telling an embarrassing story to the next set of volunteers.

May the Lord Bless you for your faithfulness!

Reflections from the Gym

I feel like the word Gym should be spelled with a J not a G.

Exercising without and iPod is like torture

While watching professional bowling at the gym I have decided that I could never marry a professional bowler…I would lack respect for him and constantly make fun of him. I believe that if you can drink a big gulp between rounds then it should not be considered a sport

The fact that WWF continues to be on TV baffles my mind

Watching women wrestle on WWF is a little bit dirty

For America being such a “sexually liberated” country American women are probably the most modest in a locker room. Eurpoeans and Asians have no problem walking around in their birthday suits.

According to India’s TV coverage of the Goodwill Games the only sport they have is badminton and shooting.

Had someone invested in me while I was young I believe that I could have been a professional shooter and gone to the Olympics.

Older South Asian men work out in polo shirts and black socks…I think this is strange.

Working out with a trainer reinforces a few truths about myself

1. I am not flexible
2. I don’t have good balance
3. I don’t like pain

magic

I’ve never been one to claim that I was smart much less brilliant. I don’t understand how plains work, computers are often a mystery, and for the life of me dipping dots are a tasty freak of nature. Due to my lack of intelligence and lack of curiosity as to how these things are actually made I like to chalk it up to magic. That’s right folks; I like to pretend that things I don’t understand are magical.

Last night I had another encounter with magic in the form of a pineapple corer. I was given said corer as a gift from my brother-in-law’s brother’s wife. To keep things less confusing let’s call her my sister in law or better yet let’s just call her by her name, Julie!

I don’t know Julie very well other then whenever she is visiting my sister they seem to go shopping. My sister mentioned to me that Julie got me something and that she would send it in a package. The package did arrive and I looked at the simple instrument and then put in a drawer.

Last night my friend Erin purchased a pineapple and I thought it was high time to bring out the corer. I looked at the directions and proceeded with pessimistic caution. Truth be told in my mind this thing was not going to work…but then..it did. As the pineapple corer started taking the pineapple from the inside out I was in utter amazement…it was like magic. It was so easy!

Thank you Julie for the awesome gift. I never knew such a thing even existed. Now I have easy access to my favorite fruit and a little bit of magic in my kitchen.

AMAZING RIGHT?

Erin with the finished product

(pineapple and pomegranates)

Delhi India

Early September found me in Delhi India. I don’t get the chance to travel there very often and to be honest with you I’m not the biggest fan of Delhi. It is a BIG city with a population of about 14 million. The city is chaotic, hot, and intimidating.

There are however a few things about Delhi that I do like.

The city is old and full of some pretty amazing structures from the time of British Rule. A friend and I ventured are away across the city to meet some old friends at a park. Low and behold in the chaotic city there was this beautiful green park with pretty old buildings.

The malls are modern and full of yummy goodness. In the mall you can find Cinnabon, McDonalds, Hogendoz, and my favorite frozen yogurt with fresh fruit. It had been at least two years since I’ve enjoyed raspberries and Delhi’s Coco Berry reunited me with my old friend Red Raspberry.

Friends. I have some pretty amazing people who live and work in Delhi. Because of my disdain for India I am always amazed and impressed with those who chose to move to Delhi. During my few weeks in Delhi I stayed with my friend Autumn. Autumn is a single girl who has managed to tackle Delhi. The concrete jungle by no means intimidates her. Armed with map and Indian Rupies she can get just about anywhere.

One night we decided to be tourist and went to the India Gate. The Gate is a monument built to honor those fallen in the war. The reason why I try not to do touristy things is because people end up taking more pictures of my friends and I then they do the actual monument. This particular outing was not acceptation.

Famous People. For some reason famous people like to visit India I was hoping to see Julia Roberts or Kate Perry but my timing was off. I did however see Curtis Stone in the airport. You may know him as the take home chef and I hear that he now helps with The Biggest Looser. Let me just say that he is very attractive and tall.  

sleeping in the village

Because we were far off the beaten path there were times when my team and I had to stay in National friend’s homes. These village homes are small and quaint. Often there are only two rooms (one being the kitchen) and the entire family piles in. As guest we were treated like royalty and were usually given the only bed in the house. All that to say even though our accommodations were “meek” they were highly appreciate.

After spending the day teaching in the villages the team and I all went to a friend’s house for dinner. After drinking tea for an hour we were finally given dinner and then ended the night with another round of tea. The guys were going to sleep at the house that we were currently at but us girls had to hike down to another house.

After putting on our boots and headlamps we headed out into the pitch-dark village. Our journey led us through a river, down a hill, up a hill and through a cornfield until finally we reached the home we were to sleep at. Due to the late hour we were ready to crash. We were given an apology for the bed bugs and then directed to the outhouse for one last bathroom break before sleeping.

My Nepali friend Sunga was my bathroom buddy. As we made our way down to the outhouse my first response was “um..Sunga, I think this is a chicken house.” The wooden structure I was looking at was raised off the ground and had a small opening…an opening so small only chickens could get through. Sunga peered around my shoulder, looked into the opening and said, “that’s the outhouse”. I then proceeded to try to get my 5’8 body into the small opening without falling. After a few minutes of my futile efforts I called out to Sunga (by this time she had moved off into the shadows) “I can’t do it…I can’t get inside…IM TOO BIG”. Sunga's response was “I just went while you were trying all that.” (you know it's bad when a Nepali won't even use it) With a heavy sigh, I hiked into the cornfield, did my business; all the while praying that leaches did not attached themselves to my exposed fanny.

It had been a long day and I was ready for sleep.  My bed (a plank of wood) was indeed full of bead bugs. It was a long night of tossing, turning, and scratching. The next morning after waking up Sunga got a glimpse of my belly as I was stretching with my arms in the air

Sunga, in a surprised tone “what happened to your stomach!” I then looked down to see that my belly was covered in red spots. After further inspection I realized my arms and legs were covered as well.

When the women we were staying with realized that we were awake they brought down a big plate of grilled corn on the cob and tea. After eating 3 things of corn we said our goodbyes and were off to the next adventure for the day. 

My years living as a comfortable American have made it difficult for me to adapt to village life. Between the bed bugs, food, and outhouses I often wake up feeling cranky. Then I open the window and see the mist blanketing the Himalayan Mountains and I’m reminded of the adventure that I’m on. 

visiting the school

My friend Phurpba is the head master of a school in the village. Every time I’m in the village visiting Phurpba swinging by the school is a must.

The day we went to the school was gray and rainy but that did not dampen the spirits of the children.

Because there were four of us and only two classrooms (village schools are small) we split up, the girls taking the little ones and the boys taking the older ones.

I decided to try and teach my class the hokey pokey. As I started teaching the song we had to take an intermission and go over Left and Right. I quickly learned that Left and Right should NOT be taught while standing in a circle. Finally the kids got it and they performed what I thought was one pretty cute rendition of the Hokey Pokey.

During break time the boys played a muddy game of soccer, the girls vied for photos, and the loners sat down and chowed on some grilled corn.

Should you ever come to a village school you will immediately fall in love with the children. You may even find yourself rationalizing kidnapping.

Here are a few of my favorite pics of the kids...

Portland, Or

Before moving overseas I was living in Vancouver Washington. For those of you who don’t know, Vancouver is just across the river from Portland Or…and if you did not know that there was a river separating the two states then please stop reading this post and spend your time learning American geography.

Upon moving to Vancouver I quickly fell in love with the Portland metro area. It holds a perfect balance of quirky and beauty that so eloquently describes the great Pacific Northwest.

Here is a video that does an excellent job of showing off Portland. While watching this video you may wonder about the obsession with alcohol making…you should know that Portland boast being the largest producer of micro brewery in the country.

Here are a few other reason why I love Portland...

The Portland Urban Iditarod. Where teams dress up and race shopping carts through the city. My Mom and I got to experience this together. It is truly a must see.

http://www.keepportlandweird.org/urbaniditarod

Portland Zombie Walk. At the end of the walk the participants gather together to perform the thriller dance. 

http://pdxpipeline.com/2009/10/25/video-2009-portland-zombie-walk-thriller-dance

I could go on about flicks on the bricks, the park blocks, and crazy hippies dancing at the farmers market. Just suffice it to know that I love this city and think that if you have yet to visit then you are missing out.