A quote

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.

-Miriam Beard

Jack and John saving the day

I ate some sort of special dutch waffle today-that was nice.  I'm spending the day relaxing and working in Kathmandu before I leave for village tomorrow.  This morning I was able to enjoy a farmer's market held in a restaurant near my hotel (that's where I got the cool waffle).  It's always a pleasure to take part, even if I can't afford much of the merchandise.  The atmosphere is worth the time spent.

I so luckily got to spend a week with the newly arrived group of volunteers (N202) and co-facilitated trainings on topics such as sexual assault, unwanted attention, gender considerations, and stereotypes of Americans in Nepal.  It was a joy to spend time with the Peace Corps Nepalese staff and help answer any questions the new trainees had.

An interesting paradox I find myself  in Nepal: you know how you grow up being taught (at least if your a female) to never follow a stranger down a sketchy and dingy alley, or into a creepy abandoned garage, or if not taught, intuition tells you NOT to?  Well I just did that.  I'm sitting at a cafe using the free wifi, and after so much coffee the bathroom calls thy name. I asked where the bathroom was, then found myself following one of the boy workers out behind the shop, down a dusty driveway into a dark and abandoned looking garage, and up a creepy staircase.  As I was walking up the stairs, I thought to myself, "I can either end up at the bathroom, or end up... someplace bad".  But it was the bathroom :) .  The bathrooms just need to look less creepy.

-Bora

Jhaga's video placed 5th!!

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I guess this embedding doesn't work... but it was announced on the Peace Corps Facebook page on March 3rd. Scroll down the posts to see it, and check out the other video winners as well!!!

I got everything-I got you

I’ve been pretty sick the past couple of days.  That “rainy day” inside my body kinda feeling.  The feeling is probably being helped by the sudden storm that came about two nights ago.  With a swift and humongous crack of thunder, the storm came and has yet to leave.

So today after visiting the local school and a nearby village, I’m in my room listening to Jack Johnson.

The diversity of obstacles people face in Nepal continues to surprise me.  Leeches in the hills, mold during the monsoon season, the sweltering heat in the terai (southern flats), sharp cold (in the mountains in particular), unrelenting mosquitoes, flies, landslides, floods, avalanches, windy and difficult roads; it’s all in a day’s battle here in Nepal.

In other news, time is flying by and I’ve started a new journey in my mind: “OMG WTF am I going to do after PC”.  But worrying is unhelpful; whatever will be-will be.  I’ve been busy traveling for committee meetings (I’m a member of the Volunteer Advisory Committee a.k.a. VAC and the newly created IDIC or in short, Diversity Committee), Peace Corps trainings, prepping for our district GLOW camp (girls empowerment camp), finishing up my mushroom farming and improved cook-stove projects, and waiting ever-so-patiently for my SPA grant money to come in so I can start my proposed sewing training and community library project.  I’m also looking forward to vacations I have planned for May with other volunteers and also in August with my San Jose cuties!

In the meantime… Jack Johnson, take me away!

Love,

Bora

 PS- Thank you all who have supported my video of my Nepali little sister, Jhaga.  Cheers to Peace Corps Week 2015 and we can’t thank you all enough for the warm regards!!!

It seems like 2013 was just yesterday

It’s quite incredible the speed in which the future is coming, or in a way, has already arrived.  Today is March 1^st, 2015.  Can it be so?!?

Living in Nepal has taught me many lessons.  Here are a few.

1.       Drama be witcha wherever thou be-est.

Drama, mainly concerning hurt feelings, sometimes exaggerated emotions, and more often than not brought about by feelings of boredom, spite, or jealousy.  No matter how down to the basics your life may seem or how much you want to avoid it, there’s always an opportunity for drama to enter/re-enter into life.

2.       The quality of a human’s life may be determined by his/her access to shelter from the cold.

a.       Although I’ve never been a fan of the cold to begin with, living in Nepal has forced me to realize the ease in which a person can be stuck in a storm without proper shelter, and the inevitable suffering to come if not found in time.  I hope to always remember how dangerous Mother Nature can be and to never take advantage of the comfort of a safe and warm home.

3.       You may not be able to evade life’s ups and downs, but you may be able to control which ups and downs your life will take.

a.       Coming into my second and final year in Nepal, I have begun to think about my options for after Peace Corps service.  Listening to the stories of counter-culture-shock Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) experience upon coming back to the United States does not sound appealing or easy.  No doubt I am excited to get back home to be with family and friends, however I know life does not end with my Peace Corps service and I will most likely have to work hard, struggle, and endure some tough transitions before I find “my place”.  “Life is life, fight for it”.

4.       Work hard, play hard, but never forget what’s most important in your life.

a.       When it’s time to get work done, I think it is an important quality to be able to focus on the task at hand and do your best.  At the same time, life for me has never been 100% about work, and I believe it is important to find time to “be alive” while you are.  And while a “work hard play hard” methodology rings true to a way of life I consider valuable, at the end of the day I find neither work nor play ringing true to the rhythm of my soul.  Neither ‘being the hardest and best worker’ nor ‘being the person who had the most fun’ would fulfill me in the end.  But remembering to love, to care, to forgive, and to carry on when the going gets tough, keeps me in beat with what’s real and what’s important.

Peace and love and warm blankets to all,

Bora

PS- to Bear and Meg: The turkey jerky you sent from Chevron was quite possibly the most delicious, comforting, amazing thing I’ve eaten in the past 1.5 years.  I made it last as long as I could. BIG HUG!!!