Welcome to Nepal

This is the first blog I'm typing on a handheld device so bear with. The ending cuts off and I'm having trouble going to the end to finish it, so you get to make up your own. Happy July!


I'm currently in a place that I never thought I would be both geographically and personally. Do you ever imagine your current self talking to a younger version of yourself telling them of things you will (are) do (doing)? In my high school yearbook from senior year my life plans were to "go to college, major in Elementary Education, get a teaching job, get married and have kids." I've been pondering over that for a while wondering why I wanted everything so clean and tidy (and safe) then, and when that changed. When did I decide to do other things in life before settling down into teaching and/or married life? While that's a fine and dandy option for many people, I thank my lucky stars, and more realistically the people I've known and experiences I've had, that my mindset changed.


For me, going overseas is both a selfish and giving thing. One of the biggest reasons I ever left America was so I could broaden my horizons, see the world, learn about different places, make money (in South Korea), and overall try and make myself a better person. While in Nepal I am doing all of that, except making money, so now I'm tapping into the giving part of the plan.


Let me get less abstract about all of this and get started on the concrete experiences. I arrived in Nepal just over 2 weeks ago, leaving behind South Korea and what she gave me; a well-paying job, housing, familiarity, friends and my lovely partner. I arrived in Kathmandu in the evening and was picked up and taken to my hotel a bit outside of the city in Bhaktapur, which is a wonderful and very old town. The next day I went into Kathmandu, which is a hot, large, loud, and bustling city full of crazy drivers, with farm animals everywhere. My eyes were big on the drive in. I meandered around braving some taxi cabs and exploring museums, Durbar Square, temples, and had the best lunch ever. In my limited experiences traveling around, I find that I like major cities much less than small towns. I'm glad to have seen Kathmandu but was equally glad to leave.


The next day I flew into Lumbini, which is about an hour drive from my school, Lumbini Boarding School. It is also the birthplace of Buddha and very close to India, so there is some contention about whether he was born in India or Nepal. Every Nepalese person has adamantly told me, "It's Nepal!" Personally I vote for Nepal though I'm quite partial to the country now.


The greeting I received there was unexpected - I thought my friend Tuk was just coming but along with him he brought five young girls dressed in traditional wear with lots of make-up bearing flower garlands and scaves. There were also school teachers present and many people snapping photos, including people that had nothing to do with the school. Tuk is the reason that I am in Nepal, well he and Marianne. The long and short of how I got here is that someone I went to high school with works for a non profit, which Marianne is the CEO of and Tuk is affiliated with.


After the drive I was put up in a nice hotel for the night and was fetched the next day, which was Friday and a half day of school here. The husband and wife who drove me to the school are just two of the many people here who either worked to get me here, aquired amenities to aid in my comfort, or who feel responsible for my safety and well-being. One of the many.


Once I arrived at school I was stunned and overwhelmed by the reception. The typical greeting in Nepal to people they respect or are thanking is to give them scarves and flowers. I stood outside of the gate of the school and saw the entire student body and staff lined up in a circular pattern in two lines with an aisle down the center, just for me. I had to wait a few minutes before entering the throng of people and I kept thinning, 'Holy moly' (perhaps a little.less PG) and 'This is certainly nothing I'll ever forget.' and like the little girl on the Magic School Bus, 'They never did this at my old school.'


Finally I got the go-ahead and walked down the aisle, first being presented with some garlands of flowers (like Hawaiian leis) and a few scarves, and was then walked down the aisle of excited, screaming Nepali children. A woman followed me with a tray because I was being presented with so many bouquets of flowers they just kept falling out of my hands. The children would look at me, nervously, shyly, excitedly, say Namaste (the traditional greting here) and hand me the flowers. The procession of children even went upper on the second floor balcony. I said Namaste so many times it started to sound weird. I stopped to look around at one point and was awestruck at all the people smiling, cheering and looking super psyched just because a foreign volunteer arrived. It was exciting yet daunting; would I live up to this seemingly high expectation they had set for me? The answer is of course what it always is, I can only do my best.

I was then led to the principal's office for a chat and a sit down with the important men (no women) of this school and some surrounding schools it's connected to. I was given a refreshing glass of Mountain Dew and then was brought to the room where I would spend the next month residing. It's a very basic room with a bed, desk, ceiling and extra fan, and a make shift couch in the corner. Perfect for my current needs.

Once I was settled in, there was an official welcoming ceremony for me with all those important men (just men) making speeches where I believed they welcomed me but I was unsure due to them being in Nepali. At one point while I was scanning the room I looked behind me and saw a huge banner with my large face on it stating, "We heartly welcome Miss Katie Kearney!" I try not to be too outwardly vain, but woof to that picture. Its not my favorite and quite frankly startled me quite a bit to see myself that big that close.

Well this is all just the beginning and I will write more later. I get a lot of time here to do a lot of things I missed doing on Seoul, namely reading and writing. To wrap it up I will say this about the whole experience. It's wonderful, hard, confusing, thrilling and b