Arrival at the Monastery

So today (Wednesday), Dennis and I arrived at the "Siddhartha Foundation" where we will both be spending a few weeks as "Teachers of English" to the monks at the monastery. This was NOT the original monastery that I was supposed to be volunteering at, but as my local guide (Sanju) says "Such is how things work @ Kathmandu"; things just change last minute; and one has to just go with the flow of such changes.

I'm at a new internet cafe, and there is no direct USB port for me to connect my camera to this computer, so I WON'T be posting pictures for this post, but hopefully I can figure something out in the near future (pictures do make a huge difference!).

Anyway, it's nice here at the monastery. It's in the Northern side of Kathmandu; which is a little more quiet; and it hugs closely to some of the hills/mountains. I may decide to do a little one day hike this weekend, we'll see! It is also different than what we Westerners have as an ideal of a monastery in Nepal/Tibet. It's still in parts of the city; yet it's NOT; since it's a monastery. So there's the bustling of the city; yet there is also the serenity of the monastery, all mixed in with sights of local poverty as well. Dennis and I explored some of this, by testing out some of the local foods from the street vendors. I had some roasted corn and some "momos", which are basically Nepali dumplings (beef). Pretty spicy, yet delicious.

Ironically, these locals DID NOT rip me off, unlike some individuals in the Thamel area (tourist zone). I was unable to speak Nepali to find the price, and each time they gave me back change; the local food, costing me only pennies in Canadian currency (well more towards 20-30 cents). I offered to give more money, but they refused. Interesting experience.

Oh yeah, before I forget, bumped into an interesting individual yesterday, Jenny, who quit her job and is travelling abroad for a year, creating a blog to help people find volunteer opportunities on their own as they travel abroad. It's pretty interesting, here's the link: I LOVE Travelling.

Till next time!

- Julius

Homesick, Training and Some Sightseeing

Yeah, I was a little homesick a few nights ago (AND jet-lagged). I was out with my volunteer friends and I was starting to miss home! And I just found out from my friend that the Canucks LOST in the Finals, (insert moment of silence! Sad news for Canadians, all over the world!).

Left to Right: Matt (Australia), Tom (Netherlands) , Me (Ju), Chantal (Netherlands), Dennis (UK)

All of our niceties, "Western Culture", friends and family! What triggered the homesickness was the common trappings of a Westerner of Asian descent travelling abroad in Asia. The realization of although on an external level I might fit in (I've been commented quite a few times already that I look Nepali, ha!!); on an internal level I'm a English-Speaking Western foreigners visiting an East Asian Nepali-Speaking developing country. And because of this paradox, it's just weird and it makes you miss home more than the average traveler I guess, since you belong but you DON'T belong.

Anyway, Monday-Tuesday has been pretty damn awesome! I went down to our local volunteer agency's office and started training with Dennis. It was a long morning/afternoon, but by the end of it, I was able to more understand the goals and mission of the agency and learn some basic Nepali as well.

We were also able to do some official sight-seeing as well, see below:

Steps leading up to Swayambhu Stupa

View from the Stupa

The Swayambhu Stupa

Monkeys playing by a pool near the Stupa. I had to take this picture, as they are known to cause a ruckus and steal cameras!

These two photos are from Kathmandu: Durbur Square. The architecture in the picture above was inspired from English/European architecture, from a visiting Nepali. Durbur Square also hosted the Kumari, which is generally a Virgin girl, pre-menstruation who is selected upon her qualities (ie. beauty, features, education, sturdiness of personality) to live in a building "as a goddess"; until she starts menstruation or is cut in a way that releases blood. I'm not sure if that's worth the trade, being labelled as a Goddess, but basically trapped in a "large jail cell" for a good portion of your youth. You tell me.

- Julius