Hey hey!
As of today I have been in Nepal for two weeks, meaning my trip is almost halfway over! That went so fast....I wish I could stay longer. All the other volunteers are staying at least two months. It's a lot easier to get closer with the kids if you're around for a while. But speaking of the kids, things are going pretty well with them. For the past week they've been studying for their exams, which end on Monday. Honestly, I'm glad we have so many volunteers here right now because we've been able to give the kids one on one help with their studying. They're learning pretty impressive things. I'm doubly impressed that all of their subjects, other than Nepali, are taught in English! Rajju was reading a really advanced story for her class and Nischal tried to get my help with vocabulary words I had never even heard before. Their school seems pretty good. The only good schools here are private schools, though, so Rajendra is paying a lot to send all of them there. These kids study nonstop. So it's a good thing that after Monday they have a week-long holiday! We are going to be super busy next week. We've been trying to brainstorm things to do to entertain them, but it turns out that finding an activity to satisfy all the ages in a city we barely know is nearly impossible. But I think we are planning a picnic and a trip to the worlds largest statue of Shiva! Maybe a water park? Exciting stuff.
Things are going well socially too. The English girls have pretty much adopted me and I do most things with them. We went to yoga the other day (I have finally accepted the fact I don't like yoga) and have been going out to lunch and exploring Kathmandu outside of Thamel. We started wandering the other day and ended up in a backstreet in front of a beauty salon. Sam and Hannah wanted henna done on their hands and feet, and since we were there I decided to get a haircut. It was an interesting experience. Apparently when women get their haircut here they specify a style they want. My haircutter was very confused when I told her I didn't want it styled, just trimmed. It didn't help that she barely spoke English. No worries, I didn't come out bald. She actually did a really good job and it was fun! That night the English girls, Arthur, and I went out for the first time. All bars and clubs close at midnight here due to a problem the city used to have with an excessive amount of intoxicated foreigners, but we managed to go to three different places before closing time. We met a bunch of medical students interning at the hospital here and talked to them for a while, and I met two guys from Georgia! It was nice to speak to people without any language barrier.
Unrelated, but I forgot to introduce two very important members of the house! Didi and Auntie are the house mothers here, responsible for cleaning, cooking, and disciplining the children on minor matters. They don't speak much English but find a way to bond with us without language. They're both absolutely hilarious. I helped them do the laundry the other day and we ended up having a dance party/ photo shoot on the roof with Danuraj. It was a good time. They add a lot to the house. Auntie actually lives here with her daughter, Aakriti. Didi lives a few minutes away with her son Shakti but they spend all their time at the orphanage. Both Shakti and Aakriti are just part of the Ramro Sahti family. They have a really good family dynamic here. I'll post more about it later. But now it's bed time for the little ones!
Love,
Kate
As of today I have been in Nepal for two weeks, meaning my trip is almost halfway over! That went so fast....I wish I could stay longer. All the other volunteers are staying at least two months. It's a lot easier to get closer with the kids if you're around for a while. But speaking of the kids, things are going pretty well with them. For the past week they've been studying for their exams, which end on Monday. Honestly, I'm glad we have so many volunteers here right now because we've been able to give the kids one on one help with their studying. They're learning pretty impressive things. I'm doubly impressed that all of their subjects, other than Nepali, are taught in English! Rajju was reading a really advanced story for her class and Nischal tried to get my help with vocabulary words I had never even heard before. Their school seems pretty good. The only good schools here are private schools, though, so Rajendra is paying a lot to send all of them there. These kids study nonstop. So it's a good thing that after Monday they have a week-long holiday! We are going to be super busy next week. We've been trying to brainstorm things to do to entertain them, but it turns out that finding an activity to satisfy all the ages in a city we barely know is nearly impossible. But I think we are planning a picnic and a trip to the worlds largest statue of Shiva! Maybe a water park? Exciting stuff.
Things are going well socially too. The English girls have pretty much adopted me and I do most things with them. We went to yoga the other day (I have finally accepted the fact I don't like yoga) and have been going out to lunch and exploring Kathmandu outside of Thamel. We started wandering the other day and ended up in a backstreet in front of a beauty salon. Sam and Hannah wanted henna done on their hands and feet, and since we were there I decided to get a haircut. It was an interesting experience. Apparently when women get their haircut here they specify a style they want. My haircutter was very confused when I told her I didn't want it styled, just trimmed. It didn't help that she barely spoke English. No worries, I didn't come out bald. She actually did a really good job and it was fun! That night the English girls, Arthur, and I went out for the first time. All bars and clubs close at midnight here due to a problem the city used to have with an excessive amount of intoxicated foreigners, but we managed to go to three different places before closing time. We met a bunch of medical students interning at the hospital here and talked to them for a while, and I met two guys from Georgia! It was nice to speak to people without any language barrier.
Unrelated, but I forgot to introduce two very important members of the house! Didi and Auntie are the house mothers here, responsible for cleaning, cooking, and disciplining the children on minor matters. They don't speak much English but find a way to bond with us without language. They're both absolutely hilarious. I helped them do the laundry the other day and we ended up having a dance party/ photo shoot on the roof with Danuraj. It was a good time. They add a lot to the house. Auntie actually lives here with her daughter, Aakriti. Didi lives a few minutes away with her son Shakti but they spend all their time at the orphanage. Both Shakti and Aakriti are just part of the Ramro Sahti family. They have a really good family dynamic here. I'll post more about it later. But now it's bed time for the little ones!
Love,
Kate
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| Auntie! The cloth on her head isn't there for any reason other than she wanted to put a shirt on her head |
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| Didi! |
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| Didi, Arthur, and Danuraj |
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