Chief Guest in Nepal

There were several moments that brought me to tears. Tears of joy and gratitude and love. The first was near the beginning. I had been to the home of Sita Tharu already, the 16-year-old Room to Read girl scholar whose home was humble, but clean. Where she lived with her brother and younger sister, but not with her mother who had died of stomach cancer, and not often with her father who worked for most of the year in India to support them.

We had flown half way around the world in a big plane, flown in a small plane to western Nepal, driven 1.5 hours north (passing through Bardiya National Park), driven to the small city of Kramala, off the paved road, and up the dirt road a few minutes. That is where the school was. But more importantly, that is where the kids were.

We stopped the car just outside of the gate, I got out, and that is when I saw all of them waiting. Not just a few students, not just a few dozen, not even just a hundred students. Sita was there, but she was just one scholar of almost Nine Hundred students who were there waiting, waiting to receive me. Waiting along-side the road to their school, with their school uniforms of light blue-green shirt and darker blue skirt or pants on. I was excited to begin to walk down this road. First, two came up with a lei of hand-picked flowers. The next gave me a single flower, which I received in my hand. I smiled back the biggest smile I could give them, and said Namaste. Left and right, more and more beautiful faces, continual exchanges of Namaste and smiles between us and flower upon hand-picked flower were given. They were young and older, from kindergarten through ninth grade. Moving slowly, my hands were soon filled up with flowers and I received a hint to hold the bottom of my shirt up like a makeshift basket, surrounded by my arms to receive more flowers. I tried to look into the eyes of each and every one of them. What seemed like forever, but was a few minutes into this slow procession and exchanges of light between our souls, this was the first time (of many) in which I felt tears of happiness. Truly the light in me greets the light in you.

This magic continued through hours of singing and dancing and music and speeches (by the school heads, Room to Read representatives, and a short one by me as well!) and dancing and ribbon cutting and more dancing. I even had a pinned-on broach labeled “Chief Guest.”

I have tears in my eyes now, remembering it all, which was now almost one month ago. This is what life is all about.

Quick update from Nepal

Had an amazing time at my Room to Read school in Bardiya Nepal (southwestern): imagine being welcomed by over 900 students, waiting in line with flowers that were hand-picked and sometimes sewn into leis, greeted by infinite smiles and Namastes, then a reception with kids singing, multiple different traditional dances performed by the kids, speeches with hope, and tokens of love given. The school building itself was also very well done, complete with a Reading Room library that was literally our shelter from the storm: a dust storm blew in just the minute the ceremony had ended and we took refuge in the library, shoes off, sitting on the comfortable cushions at the low desks looking through all of the books and learning about the library.

Now, I am sitting with Ralph in Pokhara, Nepal after a trek around most of the Annapurna circuit. My favorite part was the pass day (Thorung La): a good steady trail to over 17.5k ft, beautiful views of the surrounding high mountains, a late lunch with yummy veg noodle soup, and finishing the day in lush Muktinath, visiting a few Buddhist temples and being calmed by the flowing waters. 

More to come later!

The Plan...

It has been three years since I was on my way to Kathmandu, but in some ways it feels like yesterday. Telling your body that it is 'wrong', and that it is really the morning and not the middle of the night is always met with some resistance; I think I am about half way there to being adjusted. I am sitting in the Bangkok airport, remembering the very first time I came through Bangkok in 2003, in a different airport and searching around the airport for a place to sleep through the night before we found an open hotel transfer room. Now, the airport is a new one, bright and shiny, with even a place to take a shower to boot, which helps a little with the jet lag.

 

So... what is the plan? The plan is to be in Nepal for two weeks and China for one. I am meeting my boyfriend Ralph in Kathmandu in a few hours, he having already been in eastern Nepal for a week photographing the cutest red pandas with the Red Panda Network (a grantee of Green Grants back in Boulder). 

 

In Nepal, the first priority and first thing on the list is to head to southwestern Nepal to visit the new school that I and many donors (over 185 to be specific) helped build with Room to Read. We fly to Nepaljung (a city) in Bheri (the state), and Room to Read has set up a great visit that includes visiting the school, students, and teachers, and visiting the home of one of the Room to Read girl scholars. There is even supposed to be a welcoming ceremony at the school!

 

Next, we head to the Annapurna circuit in middle-northern Nepal. This will be a beautiful trek covering around 130 miles (or so, depending on side trips or decisions along the way), going through some of the deepest gorges on earth, seeing some of the biggest peaks on earth, covering multiple ethnicities across many villages, exploring monasteries and getting some good air all the way up to the pass which is over 17,000 feet.

 

The final leg of our journey will head to the Yunnan province of China, spending a little time among the rice terraces and ethinic villages and tea plantations of Xishuangbanna, exploring the town and some work of water quality advocates in Lijiang, then making our way back to Kunming (I'm hoping to see the Bus Rapid Transit there, as it was something I worked on a little for work).

 

Since I'm not supposed to have my tea next to the internet computer, I think I'll go have a sip. Till next time.

 

Val