Sarah and I got picked up by Shiiva, "the director of the orphanage" in a Subaru taxi, and the taxi driver had a friend with him. So Sarah, Shiiva and I, including my sleeping bag, carry bag and Sarah's 2 bags of snacks all squeezed in the backseat and rode the 15km, to Bhaktapur. The roads are unpaved, so the 5 of us took a 45 min to 1 hr bumpy road, which really felt like just driving down a gravel driveway through construction and air pollution. In Nepal 5 to a car, plus luggage, isn't impressive as it's not uncommon to see families of 4 ride their mopeds along in the noisy and unregulated traffic.
When we got to the orphanage kids were peaking out the windows and one little girl ran up and grabbed one of our hands to lead us in. We removed our shoes and entered. The main room was kind of empty, no toys, or supplies, or games just some books on shelves.
the orphanageThe first challenge was the kids speak some English but I could not communicate with them and I hated that, I couldn't understand them, I couldn't even pick up their names. One kid spoke good english so I asked him what they did every day. Soccer. Then we went out to play. It was so good to play this with them. We'd been there less than 10 min, but if felt like so much longer b/c they had nothing and we couldn't talk with them. So soccer, sport was a great way for me to communicate with them. One boy was carrying around a cell phone and playing Justin Bieber's "Baby", on a break I ran and got my iphone and speakers... music was my 2
nd communication tool.
Sarah and I laughed because all the girls kept taking her hand and pulling her in the backyard and all the boys kept calling for me.
While Sarah and I were playing with some kids, there were others putting together our room. Shiiva came to get us to tell us our rooms were ready. He walked us up to our beds, which are a flat piece of wood with a lawn chair pad over and a comforter. With no fan and no power in our room we wont' need to cover up so we'll use that for more cushion.
our bed
Sarah and I laughed because all the girls kept taking her hand and pulling her in the backyard and all the boys kept calling for me.
While Sarah and I were playing with some kids, there were others putting together our room. Shiiva came to get us to tell us our rooms were ready. He walked us up to our beds, which are a flat piece of wood with a lawn chair pad over and a comforter. With no fan and no power in our room we wont' need to cover up so we'll use that for more cushion.
our bed Shiiva told us to leave our bags locked in the office because this is a new building and men are working up where we are and our room doesn't have a lock. Sarah and I explored a little and the building literally doesn't have a complete roof. This is where i had a little bit of culture shock and a "what did I sign up for?" feeling.
Sarah and I played with the kids a little longer but then we needed a walk. I wanted a cold drink from playing all the soccer and Sarah who had planned to stop smoking after Kathmandu needed a cigarette, so I had one too. With coca-colas and cigarettes we took our moment. At some point during the day Sarah asked me where I was a year ago... For me, well it's the 4th of July so a year ago actually is easy to put a finger on, Cape Fear. Interesting to trace how life played out over these 365 days and now here am I.
No lock on the door was the hardest issue for me. I didn't have a key to that office so never having the access to my stuff and having it all packed up the entire trip was overwhelming to me. Most everything i have is replaceable but my cameras, phone, passport, money and all the nice things I borrowed from friends that I want to return instead of replace.
When Sarah and I were out we saw "Gina" and her father who was out buying the food for dinner and we came back with them. We hung out with the kids some, then I wanted to empty out some of my bag so we carried our bags upstairs to find our door locked! While we were out they had put a lock on our door, this made everything seem more manageable.
We had dinner then we all watched the World Cup game. Everyone was cheering for Argentina but Germany won. The kids really are great, it's amazing how well behaved they are, how caring for one another, and how little they have.
Sarah and I played with the kids a little longer but then we needed a walk. I wanted a cold drink from playing all the soccer and Sarah who had planned to stop smoking after Kathmandu needed a cigarette, so I had one too. With coca-colas and cigarettes we took our moment. At some point during the day Sarah asked me where I was a year ago... For me, well it's the 4th of July so a year ago actually is easy to put a finger on, Cape Fear. Interesting to trace how life played out over these 365 days and now here am I.
No lock on the door was the hardest issue for me. I didn't have a key to that office so never having the access to my stuff and having it all packed up the entire trip was overwhelming to me. Most everything i have is replaceable but my cameras, phone, passport, money and all the nice things I borrowed from friends that I want to return instead of replace.
When Sarah and I were out we saw "Gina" and her father who was out buying the food for dinner and we came back with them. We hung out with the kids some, then I wanted to empty out some of my bag so we carried our bags upstairs to find our door locked! While we were out they had put a lock on our door, this made everything seem more manageable.
We had dinner then we all watched the World Cup game. Everyone was cheering for Argentina but Germany won. The kids really are great, it's amazing how well behaved they are, how caring for one another, and how little they have.
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