First thoughts

I'm not going to go into details about the mess it was getting here but I'll just say the devil wanted to play a little part in this trip...despite all his efforts however, God prevailed and I made it here Monday morning at 8am. (Only a day late)

The first night I said at the hostel in Kalanki, Kathmandu where I met a few other volunteers. Ursina, Dan, and Miranda are all here for the next month however they are working in different children's homes. We exchanged numbers so we can get together sometime in the next few weeks.

Kalanki is an interesting part of Kathmandu. The streets are very crowded with shops and I don't believe there are any traffic laws. That in it's self was an experience. I walked around a little but decided to hang out at the hostel. The hostel is a house where the volunteers stay before and after their project.

Tuesday they took me to my project. I met my host mother, Suna and host sisters, Sapana. and Ratna. Two of the boys were also home from school with the chicken pox. They fed me some Daal Bhaat which is rice and bean soup, then I unpacked all the gifts everyone sent with me. Mommy helped me to sort through them and pass them out. It was amazing to see how grateful they were for such a small thing.

When all the children were home and everything was passed out they dragged Michael and myself outside to play. (Michael is another volunteer at the project. He is 19 and came from South Dakota) Once again they showed me how much they could do with very little. The bigger boys played soccer and I played several different games with the younger kids.

For dinner we had Daal Bhatt. This is the only meal they have but thankfully it tastes good. They serve very large helpings which are difficult for me to finish but I'm trying. If I didn't stop them they would give me even more. After dinner we sat on the terrace and I listened to them talk. (I don't think I mentioned yet that they don't speak very good English. The children speak more than the adults however) Yet again they amazed me with their contentment. They sat for several hours just talking. They didn't need a TV or video games.

And that was the first day. All of them are really wonderful. They gave me a Nepali name: Kulpina, and they're teaching me Nepalease...I'm slowly picking up phrases.

Wednesday was a similar day except there was no school. I just played with the children and really worked on learning their names. There are 19 of them and all their names are new to me so it has been difficult. I think I almost have it now.

I also learned yesterday that they are Christians here. It's difficult to talk to them about it because of the language barrier but I'm learning bits and pieces. Many of them have4 had a rough life already so early but you wouldn't know based on their attitude. They are able to recognize the blessings in their life and not dwell on their hurts. I think they are teaching me more than I'll be able to teach them.

...well I am going to leave it at that for now. My next post I will have to tell you about the bathrooms...we really do take so much for granted!