Random thoughts to end out October

Almost the end of October. Week 13 One grading period down: Random Thoughts

I will have to say, I never thought I would look forward to the shower and bed in my new home but I am now eating my words.  It is good to be home and I have some wonderful new friends and memories from my vacation.

The week after a vacation is always hard (ironic right? We should be revitalized, rested and ready to go).  However, when the week after a vacation is also the end of a grading period, it is extra stressful.  I had procrastinated, so I had to work long hours to get all the papers graded and will begin again tonight so that it does not happen again.

I will back up a few days and talk about going to my hair appointment. I show up at 4:15 and leave at 8:30.  For over four hours I have four people working on taming these wild locks.  I feel sorry for them but they do not seem to mind the work.  The owner leaves about 6 with the coloring done and all they have to do is blow dry and straighten.  It was a task, but I was pleased with the results.  I share a taxi with two of the young ladies and they said they hope I come back—they hope I come back!  A miracle has just happened.

The week ends with the students organizing a Zombie Night and Capture the Flag Halloween Party (No, they do not celebrate Halloween here, but who doesn’t like to dress up in weird costumes?)  They also try to celebrate fall (the season) and there is definitely no fall; and I heard they we have a Christmas program put on by the kids (????)  It should be interesting seeing mostly Buddhists kids singing songs about the coming of Christ.

Taxis: I am still closing my eyes for most of the taxi ride especially as were try to cross intersections and as they zip through traffic.  At one point, I look at the speedometer and it said 80!  My we are going fast- then I realize it is in kilometers and I calm down a bit.  Generally, I am being carted around in small Toyotas from the 1980’s. At times, I think the transmission is about to fall out, yet as we all know about Toyotas- they “keep on keep’en” on. However, I am frustrated that taxi drivers do not know the city well.  Today, I go through six cabs before I find one who might get me where I need to go. In the end, he did not get me where I needed to go but rather in the general vicinity and then I had to ask several people before I found my destination.  Goggle map quest has not gotten to this area, nor do they have GPS. Someone needs to give them GPS!

Goals for November:  I have spent the last two months settling in and avoiding the rainy season.  I have mastered the primping- I found my favorite place to go for manicures and pedicures and even had a 30-minute shampoo yesterday (for $3!!) that was like a full body massage. I have a seamstress and know where to buy material and I have someone coming to my house twice a month to give me a massage. So, this month my goal is to see more of this city. Today, I went to church with two of the young ones from school.  The service was nice and similar to my home church on Pflugerville. Loved it!

Next week, I am finally going to see the Swedagon and I have a trip planned to participate in the light festival. I will also include small trips during the week. I will take my camera so this month’s blogs will probably be more pictures than writing. I will end with Things I do Not Want to See:

1.     The rat in Courtney’s bathroom. I love a good story and Courtney did not disappoint.  A nice relaxing shower turned in to a Bates Motel moment for her. Trapping the beast, she does what every good farm raised female would do- she calls in the male neighbors. They tag team at trapping the beast in the pipe and as the rat is flushed out with water, a machete seals his fate.

2.     A nine year-old delivering take-out to our school: Each day our school has a take out place for teachers to order lunch and it is either delivered or one of the drivers goes and picks it up. Sometimes it is just good to get a nice salad, rather than eat what is leftover from dinner. Last week, a nine year old delivers from the local place around the corner and my immediate response is, “Why is he not in school?“ Education is the great equalizer and it is so important for these people to demand a quality education for all- wealthy and poor.

3.     What the man was doing in the corner: I am walking home from chaperoning the student council Zombie night, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a man squatting in the corner, in the grass.  Now, the people over here tend to have no problem getting low to the ground and have an amazing inner core.  It is my hope he was exercising.

4.      Flies: Until now I have not noticed but there have not been any flies.  They are starting to emerge- dang it!

5.     The rat at the bar:  We seem to have a theme going on here, but last night I was celebrating a friend’s birthday and we are on our way to a hip-hop concert when we stopped for a beer at an outside bar at the lake. I see the person next to me jerk and my roommate tells me not to look. She is so wise; I wish the gal next to me were so nonchalant with the creepy creatures because either there were many or the same one made his rounds (Isn’t it interesting how we never use the pronoun her/she for a rat?).  Needless to say, my feet were off the floor while I quickly finished my beer.

6.     Pigeon sex. Yes you heard it right- Pigeon sex.  I guess I should know that it happens, but that does not mean I want to see it.  Yet, I have an amorous couple of birds outside my office window. I could have lived my whole life without being witness to their love (I did not mean to watch- it just happened so quickly!).

That’s all for now. Email me and let me know what you guys are up to. Trish

Random thoughts/ Random pictures

 This is a table and chairs at a local tea house-- It is for adults!!!

 My seniors at the Homage ceremony- where they pay respect to their parents and teachers

 Traditional musical harp

 Water from the mountains of Nepal

 How can I get this clothing line in Austin??? It would sell like hotcakes. Nepal clothing shop

 Traditional swing put up for the festival in Nepal.

 YIS homage ceremony

 This is Min; he is one of my students.  He works hard at school and then daily goes to Korean school for a couple hours.  He also  goes on Saturdays and during the holidays we have.

Nepal, I miss you!

Last blog about the Nepal trip (3 total)

The final vacation days- “A Walk in the Clouds” and shopping for earthly things.

Day three:

I will have to admit that a vacation to me is sight seeing, relaxing, sleeping in, and a little partying.  The sleeping in is not happening on this vacation.  Weird as that may seem, it does not matter.  In a place so beautiful, it seems like sleeping in is such a waste. Today we wake up and Obin and Sarah take off for places unknown (part of their plan is to take public transportation back into the city- oh to be young!).  The rest of us wake up and pack up to go.  We manage to take many more pictures of the beautiful mountain and then head out.  We hire three of the young men to help carry the bags down, but all of us still are “packing”. I will say walking out is much easier than walking in to the resort.  We have about ½ mile of pure uphill and then the rest is just slow and go- down hill. It is at this point I realize how hard the walk in was.  I remember my days at Canyon Lake when my walking partner Wendell use to push me up the hills as we were reaching the top or my lab, Buddy, would aid in my struggle. It seems like a lifetime ago; where do the years go?

We reach the bottom and only wait a few minutes for our ride (just enough time to take more pictures and see the locals).  Our host family has hired a driver and we are dropped off downtown to eat lunch and shop (two of my favorite things). Bijaya meets us and takes us to a beautiful Stupa (my camera was out of batteries so I will have to post pictures of it later) that has shops all around it.  It is raining, but it does not stop our search for treasures.  Yet another vendor stops me to sell a flute–like instrument and is even more relentless when I tell him I already bought one (Zachary- guess what you are getting!)  I finally have to get rude and tell him I did not even want the first one I bought, let alone another one!  I find my prayer wheel, and several more things I will not mention since they will be gifts.  We go home, shopped out and ready for bed.  I think it is about 8:00pm.

Day Four- More shopping and sight seeing

Who am I kidding?  More shopping and a little sight seeing. As I fill my third bag, I start to wonder if my luggage will handle to weight and if I will be paying hundreds of dollars in baggage charges. I will have to admit, I got into the game of bargaining down the prices in the shops. I thought I was pretty good at it, until I watched Charlene in action. I did not enjoy the street sellers who would come up to me directly and hassle me. Of course I could not take the pressure and ended up buying.  Who wants skull prayer beads (quite and oxymoron!) and little brass puzzle locks that look like lions? You live, you learn.  On my first day I bought beautiful, handmade shawl; I think I overpaid, but I love it so all is well. We leave tomorrow and although I will be sad to go, a new adventure awaits (that is after grading papers, averaging grades, writing comments, doing lessons plans and regaining energy). That’s all for now.  Enjoy the pictures.

Reflections:

1.     Things are really just things, but when those things remind you of people and places the money spent on those things make is worth it.  Every day when I get ready for work, I add my jewelry to finalize my outfit.  Most of it has been gifts from friends or things I have bought in a special place.  These small reminders help bridge the distance in this time in my life.  It might seem silly, but it is true. 

2.     Sacrifice- some do so more than others and make it part of their life.  Others do it when tragedy strikes. We need both types of people.  Women in third world countries do it minute by minute. I am so glad to have been born in a place and time where modern conveniences are the norm and time to enjoy life is abundant. 

3.     When my battery went out in my camera, my friend told me to take a snapshot with my mind.  I have taken many on this adventure and I hope that I will always have a clear mind so that the photos do not fade. 

4.      I can’t wait to share with you the wonderful woman who served as host for us on this vacation.  I will wait for the right time and the right words and then you too will be amazed.

The trail up the mountain.

 Documentation that I did it.  I ma smiling in this picture but it all an act.

 As I tried to read these black bugs had another idea.

 A view to remember

 We think this is an eagle and the sun is behind the clouds

 Some people do beach pictures with bare feet- I have my own version

 Charlene by her fire pit

 The village school in the valley

 look at the terraced farming

 Public transportation

 Could they squeeze another one on?

 Working in the field

 standard shop that line the streets

 what a cutie

 Popsicle stand???

 Fer and Bajiya

 vendor- yes those are skull prayer beads

 plaza

 Job recruitment fair

 public transportation

 A traditional meal in Nepal

 Sarah

Kathmandu -Out of the city and into the clouds

Kathmandu- Day two – “The best laid plans….”

We wake up at about 6:30am to sounds all around us.  The neighbors do their water ritual, wash their pots and pans, dogs bark to establish their territory and cars honk to let the other person coming around the corner of the tightly paved streets know that they are coming. We try to stay out of our hosts way, but since we are guests in their home, much of the morning revolves around making us comfortable.  This is such a gracious family. Bajiya has enlisted the help of four young people who have come into town from their village for the festival.  They are all products of the wonderful generosity that the Nepal Social Service Organization.  They are also there because in a couple weeks, the family with offer housing to four heart patients who have come to the city from Bajiya’s home village to receive surgery. I have truly met an angel on earth and will expand on that in a post all of its own.

Because of the cyclone off of the coast of India, and the weather it brought to the surrounding areas, our plans have changed once again (much to my approval).  We now have tickets to the beautiful town of Pakraha.  I am pumped. We go from the international part of the small airport to the domestic area (walking along the parking lot, up a mud trail - OMG- is that a monkey!!  and into the lobby).  It is amazing to see all the people waiting for their plane and their Himalayan adventure.  It is even more amazing that I can count myself as one of those.  Fer (my Spanish teaching Ecuadorian friend) spots some fellow Spaniards and goes to talk.  Come to find out, they are among the most revered and celebrated trekkers in Equator.  Not to mention, the most handsome! We find out that our flight has been cancelled. Plan D must be made. Could we just hop on the helicopter that our new friends chartered? 

After much research and many phone calls, we will now go to a small resort outside of Kathmandu called Shivapuri Village Resort. We will be driven by car most of the way there (two trips) and will have to walk to rest of the way to the resort. Oh my!  Yes- I can do this.  Thank God I am in the second car (the driver came back for us) because had I not been doing the second part of the walk up in the dark, I probably would have quit (this is my conclusion after walking OUT of the resort when we left). I have my backpack on, my new Keen shoes and my new “ I got this” attitude. As it turns to dusk, Sarah “ I accidently run 15 miles” Leonardis meets us with a young man who works for the resort (she thinks I am walking in my flip-flops and brings my tennis shoes that I had packed in someone else’s pack-so nice).  They offer to take my backpack (no- I can do it and want to write about doing it full force), and then the young man offers his arm as we go over slippery parts of the walk.  I am not that stupid and take the help thus not falling about three times as we proceed up the mountain. We arrive in darkness and are greeted with a wonderful fire manned by Charlene “fire starter” Speng and enjoy a authentic Nepalese dinner. I am excited for morning to come and with it the view we worked so hard to see. It is a good thing that the view was worth waiting for because the rooms were damp, the bedding was .. I can’t even describe it, and the showers were cold.

I awaken at 6:00am due to the fact that my roommate was up and about because my sleep was hard that night (a ladylike way to say I was snoring)  probably because I had taken a zanex in anticipation of flying into the Lukla airport (the only time I use this is when I am about to get in a small plane- for some reason I have become claustrophobic at age 48).  I got up and out so she could sleep. 

It is amazing; we are literally in the clouds. It is so beautiful; we decide to stay two nights.  Sarah takes off for a long trek, Obin, Charlene and Fer take off for a short trek and I stay to read the book I assigned my 8^th graders as well as walk around the lovely woods (I feel like trekking into the joint was my trek!).  I could not have asked for a more relaxing day.  The employees were so gracious and met our every need and the scenery changed with each gust of wind.  I took 299 pictures and I bet a majority of them were of the same three mountain scenes but one would not know it because of these changes.  The resort is owned by a past political figure and rest atop of the Shivapuri National Park.

Reflections so far:

1.     So many times we talk ourselves out of things based on limitations we arbitrarily put on ourselves.  This stifles our actions, our creativity and the development of our authentic self (to borrow a term from Oprah).  I hope I can catch myself doing this so that even in my post 50 years, I can grow and develop new skills and talents.

2.     I am a Christian, yet I am curious of other religions and more than that, I seek the knowledge of those religions so that I can better understand our differences.  I am sure my hosts grew tired of my questions, but never showed it.  I am confident that the world would be a better place if more people sought knowledge about the things they do not understand before condemning. Sometimes I “Imagine” what that world would be like.

3.     Some people call me a control freak.  I am so learning that sometimes controlling things so much limits a person.

Remember- if you click on the pictures, they will come up full screen.

 Monkeys at the airport- never thought I would say that!

 Sarah and Charlene waiting for our flight (only to learn that it was cancelled) along with other adventurers.

 This is not an interesting shot, but on my trek up to our lodge, I would often stop to "take a picture" but really just to catch my breath!

 A long, long, long journey.

 Up among the clouds part one- morning time.

 Beautiful flora

 Our spot among the clouds.

 Where all the cooking happens

 The lodge where we eat and where the wood burning stove is.

 I did not have to worry about the water here.  The range supplies most of the water for the Kathmandu valley. This is how they cool their beer

 Good morning world!

 meditation is easy when the world moves so slowly.

 Obin and his uncle

 Early morning dew