India

Before coming to India, I had few expectations. I had heard so many different things that I didn’t exactly know what to expect. After being in India for almost a month, I know that almost everything I had heard about India was true even though most of them contradict each other. So far I’ve seen mansions and shacks, beaches and jungle, rich and poor, new and old, healthy and deteriorating, Muslims and Christians, Sikhs and Hindus, the happy and the hopeless. The fact is that India is a country full of contradictions and I think that’s what I like most about it.

The first three weeks we spent in India were on the beaches of Goa. Coming from Nepal, it was a complete shock. Everything was different; the weather, the people, the houses, the money, the food, everything. I hadn’t even noticed that we were living under a rock in Nepal and I had no idea just how different India was. After a week of doing pretty much nothing in Colva, we started to evolve to the new environment. One night we decided to bus to Panjim, the capitol of Goa, to go to the International Film Festival. After bussing for two hours, we were told that tickets were only sold during the day. Of course, we decided to try to sneak in. On our way to one of the back doors, we ran into the head chairman of the film festival and he ended up giving us free passes. For the first time in almost four months, we sat in an air-conditioned movie theater and watched random Hindi, American and European movies. It’s crazy that something so normal back home felt like an incredible treat after Nepal. A couple nights later, we heard about a “Silent Rave” in Palolem and decided to check it out. After driving our mopeds for two hours and getting severely lost (although my dad won’t admit it), we came to a bar filled with people wearing headphones. After paying about $10, we walked into the “Silent Rave” and it was literally just that, a rave that was silent. There were three DJs playing up on a stage, each with a certain color in front of them. All of the people there were wearing headphones that were wirelessly connected to the DJs on different color-coded channels. We ended up having a great night dancing around or taking off our headphones and watching other people dance to complete silence. The second place we went to was Aranbol. So far in India, Aranbol has been my favorite town. The town itself is the perfect size, you can walk from one side to the other comfortably, but there is still much to see. The people we met there were amazing. For the first time in almost four months, I hung out with people my age, who also happen to be American. Although it’s been great learning how to converse with people of all ages, it was so relieving to be able to talk about stupid teenage stuff instead of things like the meaning of life or how sick society is.

            After nearly three weeks of swimming in the ocean and relaxing in the sun, we decided it was time to move on. My sister, dad and I split off from the group and took an overnight train to Fort Cochin. Although it was dirty and slightly crowded, the train ride was fairly exciting. We slept on small bunk beds with six to a compartment. Every few minutes a chaiwalla would come through offering the delicious tea that I’ve quickly become addicted to. Half way through the night I woke up and looked down to see two men curled up, sleeping on the dirty floor and another two men on a single, miniscule bed. I felt racked with guilt looking at my enormous backpack taking up half the room on my own bed, but I don’t move it. After about 12 hours, we arrive in Ernakulum and take the ferry to the island that Fort Cochin is on. Fort Cochin is a complicated place with a simple life. There are beautiful old temples, mosques and churches everywhere. The history of the island is filled with religion. There lived Jews who escaped persecution, Portuguese Christian missionaries, as well as followers of the more native religions of the country such as Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. One night, we decided to go to Ernakulum to see the newest Mission Impossible. I had no idea that Ernakulum was a big city until I found myself on a massive street with malls, tall buildings and streetlights. It wasn’t until then that I realized just how long I’d been traveling. Everyday things like sidewalks, real stores and streetlights now seemed foreign to me. After that I couldn’t help thinking about how foreign Seattle will feel when I go home in only a few weeks. That’s one of my favorite things about traveling for such long periods of time. The foreign becomes ordinary and the ordinary becomes foreign. The longer you travel, the more and more you get used to abnormal things.

            After a few days of exploring the fort town, we caught a train to the Amma Ashram. The Amma Ashram is a place where people from all over the world come to explore spirituality and to be in Amrita Singhs’s presence. An ashram is a place filled with positive energy where people can meditate, contemplate, become yogis, etc. The Ashram is in the town where Amrita was born, who is more commonly called Amma, meaning mother in Hindi. Amma is an incredible woman, there is no doubt. She is a celebrated humanitarian and has helped people all over the world but she is more famously known for her hugs. Three times a week, Amma gives Darshan for eight hours at the Ashram. During this Darshan, Amma hugs lines and lines of people. She is known to be able to give such a Darshan for up to twenty hours without a major break. You would think that a woman who has hugged over thirty million people would be brisk with her hugs, or be constantly agitated, but from what I say, Amma gives special intention to every single hug and is happy to do so. Her message has spread all over the world to people of every religion. Many people consider Amma to be an enlightened being, here to lessen the suffering of the world. Many believe that meditating in the presence of an enlightened being is a sort of shortcut to becoming enlightened yourself, thus many people live at the ashram for months, working towards enlightenment. These “students” spend their time meditating and doing daily chores to keep the Ashram running. They all dress in white clothing, typically traditional saris or Indian tunics. My time at the ashram was enjoyable, and I could see how people could live there a long time because of the positive energy surrounding the place. Personally, I find myself closer to happiness when I’m out trekking or exploring a foreign place, so I doubt I will ever live there but I have great respect for Amma and her work.

            While we were in Aranbol, we heard about a place called Hampi that we could not miss out on. After a few days in the Ashram, we decided to get on a train and spend Christmas there. Personally, I hadn’t heard a single thing about Hampi except something about rocks, so I was quite surprised when we got there that it was literally a desert filled with enormous boulders. By the river there is a small town and tree groves. If the scenery weren’t enough, there are also dozens of ancient stone monuments that have begun to crumble in the most beautiful way. To me, Hampi is like the rock formations of Cappadocia in Turkey or Utah, jungles of Laos, and the ancient temples of Cambodia. You can’t look anywhere without being impressed. The best part is that you’re allowed to explore all of the monuments. If Hampi were in the states, each ancient building would have barbed wire fences surrounding them with trespassing signs forbidding you to come anywhere near them. So far in India, Hampi is by far the most beautiful place I’ve been. Christmas day we decided the best way to explore would be to rent motorcycles and drive wherever we could. My dad and I ended up driving around for five hours and we still hadn’t seen every monument. Later that night, my dad, sister and I climbed up to the Hanuman Temple, which lies on a mountain of boulders, and watched the sunset. The Indian sun is an incredible thing. Instead of lighting up the whole sky and being a central region of an especially bright color, the sun is an enormous circle of solid orange or pink. So far I have not been disappointed with a single sunset, and the one that evening at Hanuman Temple was especially impressive. Not a bad way to spend Christmas in my books.

            Although India and Nepal are neighbors, there are an incredible amount of differences. For example, Nepali’s are almost always either Buddhist or Hindu. In India, all religions combine. As history shows, this has created many violent battles, but in every town and city I’ve been in here, there seems to be a peaceful coexistence. Also, one of the very first things we noticed about India was the fantastic infrastructure. After being in crumbling Nepal for three months, we were stunned to see fully paved roads, street signs, stoplights, modern buildings, highways, etc. Of course, not all India is like this but it seems that most of the major towns and cities are incredibly developed. But nothing is more different between the two countries than the people, specifically their attitude towards foreigners. Every time I walk down the street here, people step in front of me and immediately ask my name or what country I am from. In Nepal, it is usually a simple “Namaste” or “how are you?” In India, I have struggled with appreciating the attention that sometimes feels invasive. Another subtle difference is that many financial transactions seem to be much less appreciated than in Nepal. Almost every single time we purchased something in Nepal, the salesman, etc. were very happy to receive the money, even after you haggled with them and gave them less than they asked for. Here, no matter whether you haggled or not, it often seems that they are not satisfied with the amount given, as if we cheated them. Also, getting change is nearly impossible here. If you pay for something that was 85 rupees with a 100 bill, they will often grumble about it, make you go and get change, or even not give you full change back because they don’t have it. I have struggled even more so with the staring here. In Nepal, the locals tend to watch your every move but as soon as you look over at them, they go back to their business. Here, no matter what face you pull at them or how long you stare back at them, the staring is constant and merciless. With all of these things, I constantly have to remind myself that it isn’t wrong, simply different.

            With all these differences from Nepal and America, it is only time that can help you evolve to appreciate it. I cannot possibly change the way things are done here, nor would I if I could. The intense dissimilarities are what make traveling so interesting and addicting. The world is a massive place and we need to remember that our way of doing things is certainly not the best or only way. It’s because of this that one cannot possibly start to appreciate the versatility of life without first making themselves incredibly uncomfortable in a foreign place.

Donation Project

Why do we give? Is it out of guilt? Compassion? More importantly, does it matter? These were the very questions I asked a monk named Yeshe. Yeshe is a 60-some year old monk born in Philadelphia, living in Pokhara. Throughout my months in Nepal, I frequently questioned him on Dharma (truth according to the Buddha). When I started this project, I asked him to explain the Buddhist beliefs behind giving. He told me that generosity is one of the basic principles to living a good and happy life. Karma plays an enormous role in giving but we must not give to get good karma for ourselves or to receive thanks and praise, but because we want to see the other person happy. Pure generosity benefits you even more than the person you’re helping. However, even if our generosity or compassion is not pure, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give, because it makes little difference to the person you are giving aid to. Another thing Yeshe told me was that we must stretch beyond the people we know. Many times when we help people we know, we are aware that it will somehow benefit us in return. However, when we benefit complete strangers who we doubt we will ever see again, we expect nothing in return and that is when simple generosity becomes compassion.

Before I left for Nepal, I created this website and sent out an email to friends and family, asking them to contribute money to my donation project. I explained that I would be traveling through Nepal for a few months and would like to give back to the communities that welcomed me. Over the summer, I raised $1,325. This amount of money is almost five times the average Nepali’s yearly salary. Last week, I finished surveying possible projects and selected four organizations, all of them working towards the betterment of various issues in the education system. Instead of researching every single organization and project in Nepal, I researched the ones that found me through friends, people I trusted. My unorthodox plan of coming to Nepal and finding the need instead of finding projects online and judging them from afar has paid off. This way, I created relationships with the people I was helping. Although I have little experience in giving and a lot of experience in taking, I found it incredibly easy to get started. Once I had an idea, or someone else recommended something, the doors opened up and opportunities spilled out. People were so gracious and kind, not just because I had money to give but because they were so happy with the work they were doing, I was simply helping them get a little closer to their goals. Before I started this project, I met with Rob Rose, a very important man doing inspirational work in Nepal. He told me that while I looking for people to donate to, to let things come to me, rather than search for them. This has probably been the most important advice I received for my donation project and has transferred into my overall attack at life.

There are several issues concerning children’s education in Nepal, and these problems have long term affect on every student’s life. On average, a school in Nepal has around 250 students and five teachers. That’s 50 students per teacher, thus making it impossible for students to have each of their personal needs met. Another major issue is the social norm of corporal punishment. Many government schools are in bad physical shape and are extremely underfunded, especially in the countryside. Most of the very few books in the schools are written in English or other foreign languages. These books are so rare and precious that teachers often lock them up, making them unavailable to curious children. Another major issue in Nepali education and home life is corporal punishment. According to Nepal law, guardians and teachers should not be held responsible for grievously hurting a child in the course of education or defense. Education can mean teaching anything from the ABCs to potty training. The Nepali laws that forbid violence and cruel treatment exempt “the act of scolding and minor beating to the child by his father, mother, member of the family, guardian or teacher for the interests of the child.” When we first hear or even see this firsthand, it is shocking and unimaginable. How could a child learn about compassion and general kindness when the people who are supposed to love and care for them the most are legally allowed to beat them? But we must understand that it is not our culture and it is not their fault. Most of these parents do love their children dearly, corporal punishment is just the only way they know how to teach. It was taught to them by their parents and teachers, and theirs before then, and so on. But just because it is the norm, doesn’t mean it can’t be changed.

Looking more closely at education, it is immediately noticeable that the small amount of opportunities available to Nepali men is enormously greater than those to Nepali women. Fewer than half the people in Nepal are illiterate and the amount of literate men is more than double that of women. There is a saying in Nepal that educating your daughter is like fertilizing your neighbor's crops. It does not benefit you in any way and is a waste of money. But this belief is greatly outdated. A child whose mother is educated is twice as likely to survive past the age of five. The social norm is that women don’t need an education because their responsibilities are in the house only. It is the woman’s duty to feed the kids, clean the house, take care of livestock or domestic animals, wash the dishes, and do the laundry. They also have to take care of their husband’s mother, brothers and sisters. Because of this and having the men as a priority for healthcare, Nepal is the only country in the world where women’s lifespan is shorter than men’s. When all the major decisions are made by Nepali men, from who the daughters will marry to whether they are taught to read or not, it is evident that most women in Nepal never get a say in their own future.

I chose education and women’s rights issues to focus on because it is clear that with the betterment of these problems comes the betterment of life. It is for this reason that I have chosen to support the Fulbari Project, the Room to Read Organization, the Cosmic Brontosaurus School, and the Himalayan Children Care Home. After months of searching for valid and hardworking organizations, these four have inspired me the most. As I said earlier, each program has a different mission to better the education and lives of children in Nepal.

Fulbari Project

The Fulbari project is working to create a center in Pokhara where teachers and parents can come to learn about the issues of corporal punishment and how to teach without hitting. They are also trying to get schools to require their teachers to go the center and complete various courses before working for them. My sister was actually the one who found the project. A family member who was friends with the creator of the project, Ram, recommended it to her. With Ram, my sister worked over a grant request that asked different embassies in Nepal for money to help build the center. After she told me about the work Ram was doing, I was intrigued. I’ve seen parents, teachers, even strangers hit children and each time I see it, I feel like I’m getting hit as well. I decided to meet with Ram and asked him about the work he’s doing and the funding needed. I immediately liked him. He was so enthusiastic about the project and I could tell he would work hard to complete it. He told me that right now, they are working on finding money to make the pathways wheelchair accessible and said that any money would help. I decided to give the project 20,000 rupees, the equivalent of about $240. This may not seem like a great amount of money, and doesn’t cover most of the costs for the wheelchair accessible pathways, but Ram was incredibly grateful and said the money would help greatly.

Room to Read

Room to Read is an organization that works to build libraries, provide books written in local languages, and send girls to school. They have built 3,000 libraries and 900 schools and have sponsored over 13,600 girls. Their teams speak the language, know the customs and laws, and understand the issues surrounding their various programs. This makes it possible for the workers to partner with the local community to complete a given project. This makes the community self-efficient. Instead of giving the village a fish, they are teaching them to fish themselves. Because I could not afford to build a whole school or library, I decided to sponsor a girl to go to school for a year for $250. Room to Read is a greatly respected organization that has done incredible work all over the world. Their main mission is to fight global poverty and they are doing this by attacking with education. There is no doubt that the organization has made great headway and it’s a great feeling knowing I could help out.

Cosmic Brontosaurus School

The Cosmic Brontosaurus School is a school run by Prem Kunwar. The school teaches foreigners the local languages, but there are several other projects Prem works on. Prem is from a village three days away from Pokhara. There he has built clean water stations and medical clinics to treat the villagers. He has also built a school for 200 children. The fees for each student to attend the school are $60 a year. Even though this seems incredibly low, there are so many families who cannot afford this and if they can, the sons get priority for the opportunity. I donated $300 to send five girls to the village school for a year. This money, besides allowing the girls to be educated, will help sustain the school by paying teachers salaries and paying for new books or materials. I have the opportunity in January to visit the village with Prem and greatly look forward to it. It would be an incredibly experience to see first hand what his compassion for his people has accomplished.

Himalayan Children’s Care Home

The Himalayan Children’s Care Home works to provide a better life with free education, health care, food and lodging for children from the Mustang region. Throughout rural areas in Nepal, parents engage their children in household activities such as fetching water, grazing the cattle, collecting firewood in all seasons, including the dead cold winter. At present the home has 45 children aged between 5 and 16. Some of them are orphans; some have only one parent while others are from financially poor families who are not in a position to afford any fees. Himalayan Children’s Care Home is aimed at providing a modern education and upbringing while trying to preserve the unique Tibetan culture and traditions that are currently on the brink of extinction. After meeting with the administration, they told me the fees to sponsor a girl to go to a school for a year. They brought out three girls who were hardworking and greatly deserving of the opportunity, Tenzing, Lhakpa, and Nyima. Tenzing is 11, speaks incredible English and was born in Tsarang. Lhakpa is a shy 10 year old from Marang. Lastly, Nyima is 7 and was born with  I was originally planning on only sponsoring two girls, but after hearing the fees were much lower than what I had originally thought, I decided to sponsor all three for $480. After meeting them and making the donation, the girls wrote me a letter of thanks and promised to email me about their schooling.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for the support, without you there would be ten more girls working every day instead of receiving the education that all children deserve. I am so grateful for your pure generosity. Thank you.

http://children-nepal.net.np/page.php?id=42

http://www.roomtoread.org/

http://hchmustang.org/

(Pictures coming soon)

Goodbye Nepal...for now

After three months of traveling through Nepal, I can easily say I have fallen in love with the country. The people, the food, the mountains, the dogs, all of it. I learned so much from the people I met and the things I did, and for that I am forever grateful. From the Buddhists, I learned about impermanence and compassion. From the Sherpa’s I learned about strength and the importance of family. From the locals of Kathmandu and Pokhara I learned how to be carefree and grateful. From the mountains I learned about strength and determination.

The way of life there is incredible. Simplistic and happy. Everyone takes only the bare minimum and gives back the rest. Nepali life is a family life. Strangers are brother and sister, mainly due to Buddhist belief that we are all family, we just haven’t met each other yet. If someone needs help, everyone is there for them. The communities are so tightknit that it’s hard to walk down a single block without several friendly and enthusiastic conversations. I think Western societies have a lot to learn from Nepali’s. It is too often in our world that we reject a phone call from our parents, or don’t take the time to smile at a stranger and brighten there day, only if just a little. In our world, we become friends through gaining trust but in Nepal, trust is immediate, and thus so is friendship. The differences between our lives and theirs are infinite, but the biggest difference is that they look past it much easier than we do.

Throughout my travels in Nepal, I came across an incredible amount of surprises. It seemed that nothing was what I had pictured. The mountains were a thousand times more massive than I ever imagined, the people a thousand times more hospitable, the rudimentary lifestyle a thousand times barer, etc. I think the biggest surprise of all is a tie between the mountains and the economy. The first time I saw the Himalayan Mountains, I almost cried. The size was unimaginable and the peaks were so incredibly steep that it looked like they could topple over at any second. My time in the Himalayan range was unforgettable. There were very few moments where I was unhappy or wanted it to be over, but they were just that; moments. What was so surprising about the economy was that there was no %1. Everyone was poor, some just slightly less than others. In the three months that I was in Nepal, I did not see a single fancy building that showed off its wealth. This might sound weird but I loved that. It was so great to see people so happy with what perceive as so little. A lot of houses are made from spare tin or stones and walls separating rooms is a luxury, as are outhouses, running water and multiple beds. Then again, houses are a luxury. One of the things I get the most annoyed with back home is people with three cars, five televisions, four bedrooms they don’t need, massive amounts of clothing, etc. We don’t need these things and Nepali lifestyle is the proof.

Although I can rant and rage about how much I love Nepal, it definitely wasn’t always that way. I had several days, even almost whole weeks, where I was so fed up with getting stared at, asked to buy things, fake holy men, etc. that I just wanted to give up and go home. These days were mostly within the first month that I was here. Over time, I realized through the people I met and places I saw that this place I am in is beautiful and I shouldn’t waste a second of it. Of course, I still have those days where I miss my friends or I’m sad about not being able to go to homecoming, but in a little over five short weeks, I’ll be home and missing Nepal and India. Although I miss them now, and I’ll miss here then, I know that there is no time but the present, and I might as well enjoy it.