Since I’ve arrived, many things have happened. Let me try to split up the things that have been happening into the important elements:
Internship
While here in , I am spending a significant part of my time working with some Youth Managed Resource Centers (YMRCs). There are a number of centers around the country, but I am specifically working with four in the cities of Sankhu, Bungamati, Panauti and Basamadi. So far, I have only worked with the one in Sankhu. I ended up spending the greater part of two weeks there, doing some capacity building in web development, and conducting informal English courses for the youth running the center. Some afternoons, I also went to a local school to conduct English lessons for classes 7 and 8. It was terrifying to go teach when I had no idea what I was supposed to be teaching, but it went quite well, and I even taught them all to spell “onomatopoeia,” which is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what it is named, such as “zip” or “slurp.”
The YMRC in Sankhu was started about five years ago by four dynamic, creative, capable, amazing youth from the city who are still involved in its daily runnings, and have fought extremely hard to make it what it is today, a real heart to the community. It provides many services, such as computer classes, English instruction, internet, as well as organizing a number of community projects and clubs for women and youth. The list could go on, and they really are amazing in what they do. We will be organizing a youth summit in Sankhu in about 3 weeks with youth leaders from all the centers in the country, the 4th of its kind.
Staying with Pranav’s family
I am so lucky to be able to stay with my friend Pranav’s family while I’m here in . Pranav and I met at Macalester seven years ago, and have been friends and fellow anthropology majors this whole time. Though he is still in the studying, he arranged it so I could be here! When I first arrived, it was just his mom holding down the fort, since his sister was still studying in the , and his dad was working in . Now everyone is back and the house is full J. I’ve enjoyed each phase of different people being around, as each brings a new dimension and style of interaction. I’ve also been enjoyable meeting the whole extended family, many of which live very nearby. It feels nice to be a part of a family rhythm!
Himalayan Hash House Harriers (Hash, for short)
Hash was one of my favorite things to do in , and so I made sure to find the hash immediately upon arriving here. I may have these details wrong, but I think hashing was started several decades ago by a group of British ex-pats living in southeast Asia somewhere, who made a game out of hiking by having a “hare” set a trail using flour or paper, and then having everyone else follow the trail. These hash clubs can be found in almost every country and often involve a weekly hike, which one can walk or run. I’ve found it to be an amazing way to explore the country, be in nature, and meet interesting locals and folks from abroad. I’ve been able to make it to two hashes so far, and each time, I’ve met at least one Minnesotan. The first hash, I even met the father of a Macalester kid I know. It is a very small world, indeed. ’s hash club is coming up on its 1600th hash and will be having a special weekend-long hash, which I hope to be able to attend. However, time is starting to feel very packed, and I don’t know how everything will end up fitting into the schedule!
Baha’is
I’ve managed to meet Baha’is, members of the Baha’i Faith, in many countries I’ve been in, and wanted to make sure that I also got the chance to meet them here in . It’s always interesting to see how different communities work within the structure of the Baha’i Faith, hear about the various activities going on and undoubtedly establish some connection of someone who knows someone else. Here was no different! After a long search with a number of false trails, I was able to find the Baha’is just in time for the Declaration of the Bab celebration, which was full of kids singing, performing dances and skits, and socializing. It was a beautiful celebration, and the community is very busy and active. And, yes, there were connections with people I knew from , , and among a few others. I was supposed to attend another event recently, but got sick and was stuck in bed in Sankhu. It was at that time, a girl I work with in my internship was looking through my pictures and saw the pictures of me with a Baha’i girl, whom she knew! So, even in there are connections!
Being sick
I have a feeling that this aspect of the trip will integrate itself into all parts of my time here. So far, I’ve been getting sick one or two days each week, each time with different symptoms, which I’ll spare you the details about. I really hope the sickness keeps itself to a minimum, however.
There you go…the quick rundown.