dal bhat, dal bhat, dal bhat

it's the main diet of a true Nepali, consisting of essentially rice and lentil soup and i've been earning my dal bhat stripes since i've been in Panauti.

Dal Bhat usually comes with some kind of sides. to the left is some spicy sauce stuff and to the right is curried cauliflower and potato

don't get me wrong, its really really good and i'm learning how to make it so i can make it at home but what's dragging me down is the lack of variation. i've noticed my energy dragging and a couple other weird things. so while the i'm happy and content to keep taking down mounds of the stuff, i'm also making regular trips for other food to switch it up a bit. it's just a guess, but while i know genetics play a role in height, diet probably has some effect on why all the doorways in this country are at eye level for me. i had a funny shaped head before Nepal, it's only getting worse since i've been here.

moving on. i'm staying at an orphanage in Panauti called Joining Hands Nepal. the whole set-up is ran by Himal, an ambitious 20 something who's always wanted to care for abandoned children. they live in a 4-story building, on the top 3 floors.

the children are...Rachel, Christina, Brian, Louisa, Maria, Clara, James and Johnny aka Buddha. i don't have pictures that do them each justice yet but i'll try to get something up in a couple days.

my days start early, 5:30am or so, with an early class with the children before we all head off to school at Arunodaya Private School. after teaching 4 classes myself at Arunadaya, it's back home for another class with the kids at home, homework, dinner, homework and bed.

teaching has been a handful and best described as life at a zoo. it's hard enough to battle the attention span of a teen, mix in the novelty of a giant from America in this little town and barely serviceable English skills and i've got my hands full. their issue with English skills is comprehension. they can memorize and repeat better than any group of children i've ever seen but if you rephrase a question, merely using synonyms for the key words, they are completely stumped.

my first day as school was quite an experience too. the school put together a big welcome program for me and all kinds of stuff.

i'd like to take a moment to congratulate WWF, WWE and all the professional wrestling organizations in America because you've absolutely nailed your marketing/advertising efforts out here in Nepal. it's practically the only thing boys over here watch regularly and they always ask how many live matches i've been to. thank you, WWE, The Rock and your roided up friends.

funny/interesting things i've seen so far in Panauti...

• children have to ask permission to enter/exit a room, sit, stand, speak and a bunch of other stuff
• a barber comes to school every couple days and gives haircuts throughout the day in the only stairwell in the building. teachers, kids, anyone is welcome.
• i finally broke down and trimmed the beard. while it cost me about $12 USD to shave my head in NZ, it cost me 50 cents USD for a hand-trimmed beard. scissors and a comb the whole way but i don't think he really had another way to do it. it also included a head, neck and shoulder massage that bordered on chiropractic work and incorporated a series of weird snaps of his fingers and essentially punching me in the head.
• i bought a dress shirt for teaching. it was a challenge to find something to fit me (because the avg male height is 5'5) but i stumbled across a brand new BOSS shirt for less than $9 USD and i got ripped off apparently because usually you can get it for $3 USD. the same shirt in the States would easily cost over $40.
• it's summer here now and the weather constantly swings from high 60s and cloudy to pushing 90 in a matter of minutes, followed by rain and back to 60s and then maybe 80s again later. i guess this is called a monsoon.
• pollution and all the sprawl of Kathmandu isn't as rampant out here. it's been a relief to see it wasn't like that everywhere.
• there have been riots in Kathmandu lately. i guess they're pretty upset the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup too.
• from reading the newspaper lately and other stuff before i got here, it sounds like everyone is pretty pleased with the political stability but with an outsiders perspective it looks like they're one car bomb away from complete political upheaval again.
• Nepali people are incredibly loyal to their town and country. i ask some students and people if they'd ever leave the country for a job or more opportunity and they confidently reply no because they want to develop Nepal.
• my first day in Panauti, there was a religious festival. walking around town i walked past several people carrying freshly sacrificed goat heads to the temple with some of the goat blood on their faces.
• butchers do their work out in the open. you ask for a 1kg of chicken and they grab a freshly slaughtered whole chicken and take about 6 whacks through it and hand it over in a bag, bones and all. you don't ask for chicken breasts, thighs, wings, anything. instead you get a little bit of everything mixed together including chicken heart and liver.
• the city cuts the electricity to certain parts of the town randomly. the first couple days, power all the time. the last couple days, no power from 6 or 7pm until maybe 1pm the next day. sometimes they'd cut it at 7pm, turn it on at 9pm and shut it back off at 3am. no announcement, no schedule, no consistency. i'm guessing that's not really good for business but maybe they want to keep us on our toes.
• the tallest person i've seen in Panauti was maybe 5'10.
• i taught everyone at the house how to play spoons. you remember spoons, the card game, right? it's been a sort of family tradition for me back home and now a huge hit in Nepal.
• i don't think i want to be a teacher. you spend all day trying to make other people's kids better and by the time you're done for the day, you're so tired you can barely muster the same energy for the one's you're living with.
• i took a walk through the city, down to the river the other day and stumbled across a funeral at the river. funerals here consist of taking the body down to the river, burning it, a ceremony and then pushing the remains into the river. the first thing i thought was, "2 days ago we had local caught fish for dinner."
• there's a bakery that makes donuts. really good ones. hallelujah.

welcome to Panauti

freshly shaved. i know many of you are disappointed i won't be walking off the airplane with a 6-month beard and dreadlocks but you should also be glad i won't be giving you a hug with 6 months of insects and nasty stuff growing in my hair and on my face.

a volkswagon rabbit with a  big suzuki sticker across the top of the windshield. i counted 12 people that rode in (and on) the car, including 3 guys on the top. so far this is my favorite picture of Nepal.

my favorite vehicle so far. it's like a tractor mixed with a car mixed with a motorcycle.

spoons except we don't play with spoons because they eat with their hands so we played with pencils

the childrens home is borders by rice fields. during many days of rain, the walkway on the side of the building started to break apart. the fix was digging a trench about 8 feet deep and filling it with big rocks and cement. i pitched in for a couple hours. it felt good to do a little yard work. 

rice fields next to the house

this river is relatively clean in comparison to what I've seen in Kathmandu

another view of Panauti

Johnny and James

Johnny and James cruising the streets

SCHOOL

first day of school (for me) picture. bottom row (left to right): Louisa, Maria, Clara, Johnny and James top row (left to right): me, Brian, Rachel and Christina

welcoming party. lively bunch.

they gave me flowers, this scarf thing and even ticka (the red stuff on the forehead)

making my welcoming speech.

some of the staff, they've been great to get to know and all tremendous teachers.

Arunodaya Private School

home court. the rim is maybe 8 ft high. notice anything weird? yea, the backboard is upside down. i can't wait for  the first game though, it's going to feel like i'm playing NBA JAM.