Written by Katie Lillie Gurung
When we arrived in Kathmandu Bijaya was surprised to see how small the airport there seemed. Our friends Jeewan and Yam Bhai met us at the airport and we took a taxi to the Pokhara Peace Hotel http://www.hotelpokharapeace.com. Bijaya also felt a bit overwhelmed riding in the taxi- now that he has learned to drive in the US he sees how chaotic the driving in Nepal seems. Taxis squeezing through the smallest spots and nearly hitting every car, bus, motorcycle and person that it goes by. We spent three days in Kathmandu hanging out with friends. We also met up with Bijaya’s sister who is leaving in a few days to go to South Korea to work in a sock factory, so we were thankful we were able to see her before she left. It rained some every day we were in Kathmandu. We ate at a DELICIOUS restaurant in Tamel, it’s the most popular restaurant for local Nepali people that live in the Tamel area. We will probably eat there every day when we get back to Kathmandu on our way home!
We made the 5 hour ride to Kalimati, where one of Bijaya’s aunts lives. We arrived late, so we ended up sleeping there one night instead of going straight to his village. From Kalimati it is a couple hour walk (but straight uphill!) to Chok Kot. With our lack of walking in the US, we thought it might be easier to get a jeep to drive us up to his village. The ride was bouncy, and a bit scary on the extremely steep “road” with slippery red mud making up most of the road. From the end of the road it was an easy 5 minute walk to Bijaya’s house – by far the easiest journey we’ve ever made to his village, and I was thankful, haha. When we walked up to his house his dad was sitting outside weaving a Doko (a basket used for carrying heavy loads) and two men were cutting logs with a long hand saw. His mom was cooking in their outside kitchen and his grandpa (86 years old) was doing some kind of work as always, he NEVER stops working. He can’t sit down for more than a few minutes, and thinks of some other work to do. Everyone in the village tells him to stop working because he’s so old (the oldest in their village) but he’s the hardest worker I’ve ever seen, and we all know he’s happiest when he’s being productive. That’s the key to a long life it seems, never let your body or mind rest for too long!
The first night we got to his village it’s tradition for the eldest of the family to welcome us home by tying a string dyed with turmeric around our necks.
We spent the next couple of days visiting people in the village. The first night we were there we gave Bijaya’s family (his parents, two sisters, two nephews and a niece) the gifts we brought for them from the US. The kids couldn’t have been any happier and spent the whole night playing and dancing.
One day we went to Bijaya’s old school- which a couple years ago was moved to a different location so that it could attract more children from different villages in the area. The school looks completely different from the first time we saw it. It used to be all bamboo walls and tin roofs, now there are four nice classrooms and an office. However, three of the four classrooms have two grades in them which makes it very difficult for the teachers to teach and for the kids to hear and not be distracted. Therefore we are hoping to be able to help them build at least two more classrooms just like the ones that are there now. We still think a small library would be a great asset in the area. At the school they had a small welcoming ceremony for us, gave us tikka (blessings), scarves and Jeewan gave a little speech about us, Project for a Village, and the work we are trying to do. We gave all the kids American candy and also brought a volleyball and soccer ball for the school (as well as a pump and some teaching materials). We also gave the money that we have raised from gift wrapping donations in our shops. After the kids left the school we stayed for about an hour to talk to the teachers about teaching techniques and ways to help students improve. When we return to the village we plan to meet with people to talk about how much building two more classrooms and a library would cost.
The next day we walked around with Bijaya’s two small nephews, taking lots of photos and meeting more people in the village. That night the Mother’s Group came to our house to sing and dance to welcome us back home. This is a tradition that is done with people come home after being away for a while. Most of the women from the village came. Bijaya’s sister and mom served them all tea and some snacks as they were there until almost 2am. At last, it’s tradition to give the group some money, which they use for things around the village.
Bijaya had fun showing everyone our wedding photos from the US as well as pictures from our trips to Chicago and California. The snow pictures especially fascinated everyone.
