Enjoy!
Also, I've found Penny's Nepal Blog (which is slow on updating due to various problems) but here is the link, check it out!
http://www.kirotv.com/station/18724775/detail.html
-Carey
Saturday, February 28, 2009
For those that are interested
Here's the good photos of the Himalayas that I got on our way out of Pokhara. They are better than the ones in the Picasa Web Album because I figured out how gradient masks work in Photoshop after I uploaded those. These are from my Flickr, and rather than re-upload them to Picasa, here they are.
Enjoy!
Also, I've found Penny's Nepal Blog (which is slow on updating due to various problems) but here is the link, check it out!
http://www.kirotv.com/station/18724775/detail.html
-Carey
Enjoy!
Also, I've found Penny's Nepal Blog (which is slow on updating due to various problems) but here is the link, check it out!
http://www.kirotv.com/station/18724775/detail.html
-Carey
Friday, February 27, 2009
Pokhara Post
At last! We've returned from Pokhara after a grueling 8-hour bus trip. I'll do my best to recount this two-night, three-day trip as briefly yet interestingly as possible.
The trip began early in the day, with one bus of Rotarians and one bus of DNC kids and Rotaractors. We were all headed to Manakamana, home of an enormous cable car ride. The cable car was, thankfully, engineered by Austrians and not, say, the Chinese. I should mention that that comment does not stem from racism, but merely from the fact that the Chinese imports Nepal receives are of an infinitely more questionable quality than those that the United States receives. And a questionable cable car is not an encouraging thought.
Anywho. The cable car is reached via stairs. Many of them. Prior to exiting the cable car at the top, there are also more stairs. There were kids with us from DNC who are unable to negotiate stairs, and that's where the Rotaractors come in. They are invaluable. This trip truly could not have happened without them. I was in charge of filming on the way up in light of Len's absence, and in spite of the difficult time the children were clearly having, it was also clear that they were having the time of their lives. They had gotten to ride on a nice tour bus and then a cable car up to a highly significant Hindu temple at the top of a mountain. Not a bad outing by any standards, but for these kids, it was truly magical.
We had a lovely lunch at the top and hung out for a bit, but the time eventually came to head back down and to send the children back to DNC, while the rest of the group and I pressed on to Pokhara. It had taken roughly 3 hours to reach Manakamana, and it was going to take at least 3 more before the journey was done.
I feel I should describe the road to Pokhara a bit. For those that have driven on Chuckanut Drive up to Bellingham, this is an easy task. The Pokhara Highway is to Chuckanut Drive as gorillas are to infants - rougher, smellier, generally more unpleasant to spend time with, and far more likely to kill you. It was apparent early on that I needed a seat at the front of the bus, and once I had gotten my seat with little argument from my fellow passengers, the drive passed smoothly for my stomach, at least, and when we arrived, we checked into our hotel (the Hotel Trek-O-Tel), wandered up the street for dinner, and then turned in after that. I should note, however, that our dinner came with live music, and Namrata knew a member of the band, and blessed us all with singing on stage with the group. It was wonderful!
The next day, the group arose bright and early to go on a boating adventure, followed by an hour-and-a-half hike up to Peace Stupa, led by Mitralal. I, however, had other plans. Instead of doing this whole 'boating' thing, I promptly hopped into a Jeep, drove to the top of a mountain, and jumped off a cliff.
I went paragliding, of course.
Paragliding was an absolutely tremendous experience. For those that have even the slightest inkling to do it, I highly recommend it. The height isn't frightening at all - indeed, I never felt in any real danger, either. The harnesses were chair-like, so it was really more like being driven around in a La-Z-Boy at 2,500 meters (I was riding tandem). In fact, the thermals were so good when I went, that shortly after we took off, we were climbing past our take off point.
Then, I started to feel airsick. Ugh. I can't do anything fun.
We landed a few minutes earlier than normal, and with me dangerously close to hurling. However, I had an AMAZING time, and would like to try it again sometime, or maybe learn how to pilot myself, as I feel that might help with the motion sickness.
Break time! Go look at pictures!
Okay. We're back.
The Rotary meeting that evening was excellent. It was not a usual meeting, and there were guests from Rotary and Rotaract clubs from all over the Pokhara area, and it had all been arranged only the night before. Amazing! My dad gave his talk, RR Pandey gave a talk, Jamuna gave a talk, and, well, so did everyone else.
The next day led off with a lovely bout of bus riding to Bandipur, which is on top of what the Nepali people would call a hill, but what most other sane people would call a mountain. There was a Rotary meeting there, and we had a lovely lunch sponsored by a Rotarian Santa Kumar who owns a resort up there, but what is by far most the most impressive thing about Bandipur is its cleanliness. It's almost an anthithesis to Kathmandu in this regard. In fact, the city prides itself on its lack of litter. I was quite taken aback.
Following Bandipur was a rather uneventful ride back, save for some lovely singing by Namrata, followed by a number of sing-alongs led by various people on the bus.
Anywho. That is all! Also, there are a few photos up on my Flickr that I did NOT post in the album here, and in addition, I've edited and adjusted the mountain pictures, and the ones on my Flickr look far better. Check them out if you like.
Til later,
Carey
The trip began early in the day, with one bus of Rotarians and one bus of DNC kids and Rotaractors. We were all headed to Manakamana, home of an enormous cable car ride. The cable car was, thankfully, engineered by Austrians and not, say, the Chinese. I should mention that that comment does not stem from racism, but merely from the fact that the Chinese imports Nepal receives are of an infinitely more questionable quality than those that the United States receives. And a questionable cable car is not an encouraging thought.
Anywho. The cable car is reached via stairs. Many of them. Prior to exiting the cable car at the top, there are also more stairs. There were kids with us from DNC who are unable to negotiate stairs, and that's where the Rotaractors come in. They are invaluable. This trip truly could not have happened without them. I was in charge of filming on the way up in light of Len's absence, and in spite of the difficult time the children were clearly having, it was also clear that they were having the time of their lives. They had gotten to ride on a nice tour bus and then a cable car up to a highly significant Hindu temple at the top of a mountain. Not a bad outing by any standards, but for these kids, it was truly magical.
We had a lovely lunch at the top and hung out for a bit, but the time eventually came to head back down and to send the children back to DNC, while the rest of the group and I pressed on to Pokhara. It had taken roughly 3 hours to reach Manakamana, and it was going to take at least 3 more before the journey was done.
I feel I should describe the road to Pokhara a bit. For those that have driven on Chuckanut Drive up to Bellingham, this is an easy task. The Pokhara Highway is to Chuckanut Drive as gorillas are to infants - rougher, smellier, generally more unpleasant to spend time with, and far more likely to kill you. It was apparent early on that I needed a seat at the front of the bus, and once I had gotten my seat with little argument from my fellow passengers, the drive passed smoothly for my stomach, at least, and when we arrived, we checked into our hotel (the Hotel Trek-O-Tel), wandered up the street for dinner, and then turned in after that. I should note, however, that our dinner came with live music, and Namrata knew a member of the band, and blessed us all with singing on stage with the group. It was wonderful!
The next day, the group arose bright and early to go on a boating adventure, followed by an hour-and-a-half hike up to Peace Stupa, led by Mitralal. I, however, had other plans. Instead of doing this whole 'boating' thing, I promptly hopped into a Jeep, drove to the top of a mountain, and jumped off a cliff.
I went paragliding, of course.
Paragliding was an absolutely tremendous experience. For those that have even the slightest inkling to do it, I highly recommend it. The height isn't frightening at all - indeed, I never felt in any real danger, either. The harnesses were chair-like, so it was really more like being driven around in a La-Z-Boy at 2,500 meters (I was riding tandem). In fact, the thermals were so good when I went, that shortly after we took off, we were climbing past our take off point.
Then, I started to feel airsick. Ugh. I can't do anything fun.
We landed a few minutes earlier than normal, and with me dangerously close to hurling. However, I had an AMAZING time, and would like to try it again sometime, or maybe learn how to pilot myself, as I feel that might help with the motion sickness.
Break time! Go look at pictures!
 |
| Pokhara in 34 Images |
Okay. We're back.
The Rotary meeting that evening was excellent. It was not a usual meeting, and there were guests from Rotary and Rotaract clubs from all over the Pokhara area, and it had all been arranged only the night before. Amazing! My dad gave his talk, RR Pandey gave a talk, Jamuna gave a talk, and, well, so did everyone else.
The next day led off with a lovely bout of bus riding to Bandipur, which is on top of what the Nepali people would call a hill, but what most other sane people would call a mountain. There was a Rotary meeting there, and we had a lovely lunch sponsored by a Rotarian Santa Kumar who owns a resort up there, but what is by far most the most impressive thing about Bandipur is its cleanliness. It's almost an anthithesis to Kathmandu in this regard. In fact, the city prides itself on its lack of litter. I was quite taken aback.
Following Bandipur was a rather uneventful ride back, save for some lovely singing by Namrata, followed by a number of sing-alongs led by various people on the bus.
Anywho. That is all! Also, there are a few photos up on my Flickr that I did NOT post in the album here, and in addition, I've edited and adjusted the mountain pictures, and the ones on my Flickr look far better. Check them out if you like.
Til later,
Carey
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Two birds and a stone
Hey everyone, we're getting off to an early start to Manakamana with the DNC kids tomorrow, so I'm going to do two quick updates in one...update. But I do have pictures! The internet has been kind to me tonight.
Our Shivaratri Day at DNC was a momentous success. Ruth Moen carried out the same art project that we did with the kids at Kavre School for the Deaf, and the kids loved it at DNC as well. In addition, we had the Nepali Blues Society band (several members are Rotaractors) come and perform for the kids as well, and I was priveledged enough to sit in on drums for a few songs. Overall, the kids had a wonderful time, I KNOW the adults had a wonderful time, and the whole day was just a triumph.
Today, we attended Swayambunath and Kathmandu Durbar Square. I took some notes during Mitralal's speech on the bus, so now for some fun facts!
Swayambunath
-Swayambunath Stupa is approximately 2500 years old, and is one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in the world
-It is locally known as "The Monkey Temple" for obvious reasons
-The stairs leading down to Kathmandu are 365 in number, representing 1 year.
-The tourist way up is 100 steps.
Kathmandu Durbar Square
-Most famous for being the location of the Kumari, or Living Goddess. This is a very young Buddhist girl, who is selected to be Kumari and then becomes Hindu. She is (obviously) a virgin, and when she reaches menstration age, she is replaced by a new girl.
-There is the Caste Mordab Temple (No idea about spelling) that was built in the 16th century from the wood from a single tree.
After our events, everyone went and had a nice Chinese food lunch, and visited the U.S. Embassy and got to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal! She seems a very nice lady, and has had much prior experience in Nepal.
Following this, the group went back to the hotel to freshen up, and then to a large Rotary dinner hosted at the President of the Rotary Club of Patan's house. I missed this dinner, but I heard that a Nepali film star has agreed to help be a spokesperson for the NDACP! Wonderful news!
-Carey
P.S. I thought I'd also mention that I have a Flickr page where I do some post-processing to some of my very favorite shots, and upload them there. If you're interested, the site is:
www.flickr.com/photos/carey_rose
Our Shivaratri Day at DNC was a momentous success. Ruth Moen carried out the same art project that we did with the kids at Kavre School for the Deaf, and the kids loved it at DNC as well. In addition, we had the Nepali Blues Society band (several members are Rotaractors) come and perform for the kids as well, and I was priveledged enough to sit in on drums for a few songs. Overall, the kids had a wonderful time, I KNOW the adults had a wonderful time, and the whole day was just a triumph.
 |
| DNC Painting Day |
Today, we attended Swayambunath and Kathmandu Durbar Square. I took some notes during Mitralal's speech on the bus, so now for some fun facts!
Swayambunath
-Swayambunath Stupa is approximately 2500 years old, and is one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in the world
-It is locally known as "The Monkey Temple" for obvious reasons
-The stairs leading down to Kathmandu are 365 in number, representing 1 year.
-The tourist way up is 100 steps.
Kathmandu Durbar Square
-Most famous for being the location of the Kumari, or Living Goddess. This is a very young Buddhist girl, who is selected to be Kumari and then becomes Hindu. She is (obviously) a virgin, and when she reaches menstration age, she is replaced by a new girl.
-There is the Caste Mordab Temple (No idea about spelling) that was built in the 16th century from the wood from a single tree.
After our events, everyone went and had a nice Chinese food lunch, and visited the U.S. Embassy and got to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal! She seems a very nice lady, and has had much prior experience in Nepal.
 |
| Swayambunath pt. 2 |
Following this, the group went back to the hotel to freshen up, and then to a large Rotary dinner hosted at the President of the Rotary Club of Patan's house. I missed this dinner, but I heard that a Nepali film star has agreed to help be a spokesperson for the NDACP! Wonderful news!
-Carey
P.S. I thought I'd also mention that I have a Flickr page where I do some post-processing to some of my very favorite shots, and upload them there. If you're interested, the site is:
www.flickr.com/photos/carey_rose
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thoughts
Today was Shivaratri day, a festival celebrating the Lord Shiva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Shivaratri
However, a more interesting fact that goes unmentioned in that Wikipedia article is that in Nepal at least, Shivaratri Day is the only day of the year on which it is acceptable (not sure about legal?) to smoke pot, and apparently, it's quite popular. Fortunately, for the sake of myself and my various lung conditions, we spent the day at DNC, where such heinous acts do not occur. I shall be posting up pictures again tomorrow when I have steeled myself to once again perform this task whose completion is often, to say the least, illusive.
In addition, there seems to be a great and intangible force that is working in stout opposition to my having a nice, hot shower. It comes in many shapes and forms. We may be out of water. The electricity may be off, so we cannot run the pump. The sun may not have been hitting the panels on the roof long enough to produce hot water. The shower may be cursed. All the water may have turned to blood. The water tank may be filled with dead pigeons, and so all that comes out of the tap are feathers. I cannot know for certain. All I know, as I'm sure you're all tired of hearing by now because you're so jealous, is that I'm becoming quite good at bucket baths.
-Carey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Shivaratri
However, a more interesting fact that goes unmentioned in that Wikipedia article is that in Nepal at least, Shivaratri Day is the only day of the year on which it is acceptable (not sure about legal?) to smoke pot, and apparently, it's quite popular. Fortunately, for the sake of myself and my various lung conditions, we spent the day at DNC, where such heinous acts do not occur. I shall be posting up pictures again tomorrow when I have steeled myself to once again perform this task whose completion is often, to say the least, illusive.
In addition, there seems to be a great and intangible force that is working in stout opposition to my having a nice, hot shower. It comes in many shapes and forms. We may be out of water. The electricity may be off, so we cannot run the pump. The sun may not have been hitting the panels on the roof long enough to produce hot water. The shower may be cursed. All the water may have turned to blood. The water tank may be filled with dead pigeons, and so all that comes out of the tap are feathers. I cannot know for certain. All I know, as I'm sure you're all tired of hearing by now because you're so jealous, is that I'm becoming quite good at bucket baths.
-Carey
Dhulikhel Trip Day 3 + Bhaktapur
Hi Everyone,
Still playing catch-up. I'll be quick about our last day around Dhulikhel, and may or may not get photos uploaded.
The day began with breakfast, and then a walk to downtown Dhulikhel, led by Mitralal. I didn't go. I don't remember why. But my dad took some great photos!
After this event, much of the group went straight to a Rotary meeting, and everyone else had a nice, relaxing afternoon.
When everyone had returned, we went to Sanjewani School and distributed talking watches to the blind students there, and were treated with singing performances by Namrata and a blind student at the school. Photos included!
Following this, we visited scenic (and touristy) Bhaktapur, City of Devotees. I've posted some photos of this as well, and they are far more interesting than anything I might describe in words here, especially given my current state of fatigue.
We then began the half hour bus ride back to Kathmandu, where each member of the group went to a different Nepali Rotarian's house for a traditional dinner, and I attended a jam session.
That's about it!
-Carey
Still playing catch-up. I'll be quick about our last day around Dhulikhel, and may or may not get photos uploaded.
The day began with breakfast, and then a walk to downtown Dhulikhel, led by Mitralal. I didn't go. I don't remember why. But my dad took some great photos!
After this event, much of the group went straight to a Rotary meeting, and everyone else had a nice, relaxing afternoon.
When everyone had returned, we went to Sanjewani School and distributed talking watches to the blind students there, and were treated with singing performances by Namrata and a blind student at the school. Photos included!
Following this, we visited scenic (and touristy) Bhaktapur, City of Devotees. I've posted some photos of this as well, and they are far more interesting than anything I might describe in words here, especially given my current state of fatigue.
We then began the half hour bus ride back to Kathmandu, where each member of the group went to a different Nepali Rotarian's house for a traditional dinner, and I attended a jam session.
That's about it!
 |
| Dhulikhel Trip Day 3 + Bhaktapur |
-Carey
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Ups and downs
Today hasn't been the best day. I've had on and off stomach pain and nausea since this morning, with occasional headaches and chills mixed in as well. I've spent much of the day sleeping, and much more of it attempting to upload photos from our second day at Dhulikhel, which have only just completed (perhaps ten hours after I first tried to upload them).
The group had a full program today, which I've quite obviously missed. However, I lent the camera to my dad, who will perhaps provide me with something to post up here, so keep an eye out for that.
Before I go any further, it occurs to me that some people may be somewhat hazy on the subject of Rotary International. Rotary International is a worldwide volunteer organization with massive philanthropic impact. And when I say worldwide, I mean it. Here in Nepal, there are over 70 Rotary clubs. Worldwide, there are 1.2 million Rotarians. Their motto is Service Above Self, and it shows. The men and women on this trip with my dad and I are paying their own way to be here and volunteer their help. Rotary International does not endorse a particular religion, nor is religion a guiding factor. The guiding factor is simply the will to make the world a better place, whether through selling ice cream at fairs to fund projects, tireless efforts made in the name of eradicating polio, or flying to Nepal to help a man on his mission to help those whom society will not allow to help themselves.
The less poetic and more information rich version:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
Which brings me to the final point of 'what are we doing here,' which may or may not be apparent by now. People who are disabled in any way in Nepal must live with a stigma attached to their existence, the stigma that they are suffering from a past life sin or curse. They constitute the lowest rung on the societal ladder. My dad is interested in changing this perception. It is not about changing the entire belief system of the country or changing religion in any way. It is about showing the people of this nation that those are believed to be useless may be an asset to society, and not a burden. It's about showing the people who are put down that they can make something of themselves. It's about going to the remotest of villages and helping those who may not understand what disability is to realize that their child may amount to great things someday. It's about getting the people of this country emotionally involved in this effort, and with the help of Rotary, giving hope.
Enough of my spiel. www.trifc.org
ON TO THE EVENTS OF DHULIKHEL DAY 2
We visited the Kavre School for the Deaf and got to work. There was a wonderful tent provided so that we could paint in the shade outdoors. Ruth, one of our volunteers, helped to describe the day's activity. She is a firm believer in the idea that "everyone can paint," and, though she is without formal training herself, creates wonderful works of art. Many (if not all) of the children had never painted before, at least not painted on something physical besides paper. In Nepal, if you want something painted, you generally hire a painter, and that's the end of that. It was immediately clear that these children had found a wonderful avenue for personal expression, and once they started painting, it was difficult for them to stop.
Following the painting session, my dad had hired a magician, who rather mundanely introduced himself as Adarsha. His last name is Limbu, and I'm fairly certain that his business would triple if he would simply change the name of his act to "Limbu the Great," or "Limbu the Magnificent," or even "Limbu the Somewhat Okay and Mediocre." The name Limbu speaks for itself.
With Balram translating into Nepali sign language, the children got another wonderful visual treat, and the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. Yes, I've posted photos of that.
Following Limbu, there was lunch, which we ate in the traditional Newari style. Translation: We sat on the ground with woven leaves as plates and ate with our hand (the right one). It would take some getting used to, but really, your hand works just as well if not better than a fork.
Last on our program for the day at Kavre School for the Deaf was a number of dance and martial arts performances done by the children, which were fantastic. Remember these children are deaf, and cannot hear the music and beat, and yet, moved with remarkable unity.
After finishing up at Kavre School for the Deaf, the group attended a meeting of the Banepa-Kavre Rotary club, and was treated by the club to a wonderful dinner afterwards.
That's about it! Whew.
-Carey
The group had a full program today, which I've quite obviously missed. However, I lent the camera to my dad, who will perhaps provide me with something to post up here, so keep an eye out for that.
Before I go any further, it occurs to me that some people may be somewhat hazy on the subject of Rotary International. Rotary International is a worldwide volunteer organization with massive philanthropic impact. And when I say worldwide, I mean it. Here in Nepal, there are over 70 Rotary clubs. Worldwide, there are 1.2 million Rotarians. Their motto is Service Above Self, and it shows. The men and women on this trip with my dad and I are paying their own way to be here and volunteer their help. Rotary International does not endorse a particular religion, nor is religion a guiding factor. The guiding factor is simply the will to make the world a better place, whether through selling ice cream at fairs to fund projects, tireless efforts made in the name of eradicating polio, or flying to Nepal to help a man on his mission to help those whom society will not allow to help themselves.
The less poetic and more information rich version:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
Which brings me to the final point of 'what are we doing here,' which may or may not be apparent by now. People who are disabled in any way in Nepal must live with a stigma attached to their existence, the stigma that they are suffering from a past life sin or curse. They constitute the lowest rung on the societal ladder. My dad is interested in changing this perception. It is not about changing the entire belief system of the country or changing religion in any way. It is about showing the people of this nation that those are believed to be useless may be an asset to society, and not a burden. It's about showing the people who are put down that they can make something of themselves. It's about going to the remotest of villages and helping those who may not understand what disability is to realize that their child may amount to great things someday. It's about getting the people of this country emotionally involved in this effort, and with the help of Rotary, giving hope.
Enough of my spiel. www.trifc.org
ON TO THE EVENTS OF DHULIKHEL DAY 2
We visited the Kavre School for the Deaf and got to work. There was a wonderful tent provided so that we could paint in the shade outdoors. Ruth, one of our volunteers, helped to describe the day's activity. She is a firm believer in the idea that "everyone can paint," and, though she is without formal training herself, creates wonderful works of art. Many (if not all) of the children had never painted before, at least not painted on something physical besides paper. In Nepal, if you want something painted, you generally hire a painter, and that's the end of that. It was immediately clear that these children had found a wonderful avenue for personal expression, and once they started painting, it was difficult for them to stop.
Following the painting session, my dad had hired a magician, who rather mundanely introduced himself as Adarsha. His last name is Limbu, and I'm fairly certain that his business would triple if he would simply change the name of his act to "Limbu the Great," or "Limbu the Magnificent," or even "Limbu the Somewhat Okay and Mediocre." The name Limbu speaks for itself.
With Balram translating into Nepali sign language, the children got another wonderful visual treat, and the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. Yes, I've posted photos of that.
Following Limbu, there was lunch, which we ate in the traditional Newari style. Translation: We sat on the ground with woven leaves as plates and ate with our hand (the right one). It would take some getting used to, but really, your hand works just as well if not better than a fork.
Last on our program for the day at Kavre School for the Deaf was a number of dance and martial arts performances done by the children, which were fantastic. Remember these children are deaf, and cannot hear the music and beat, and yet, moved with remarkable unity.
After finishing up at Kavre School for the Deaf, the group attended a meeting of the Banepa-Kavre Rotary club, and was treated by the club to a wonderful dinner afterwards.
That's about it! Whew.
 |
| Dhuikhel Day 2 - Kavre School for the Deaf |
-Carey
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Return to Kathmandu
As I might have predicted, our trip to Dhulikhel was not blessed with internet access, and so, as we've returned to Kathmandu, I'm faced with a backlog of information and pictures to post. I'll do so one day at a time.
Also, please do your best to forgive any typos. I will proofread, but it's about 12:15am (the lights came on at 12am) and I wanted to get a head start on uploading these photos.
Also, I spent such a vast amount of time photographing that these posts will be short on writing but complete with copious photographs.
Day 1 to Dhulikhel
Our trip started out well enough, with the usual minor chaos associated with organizing people in any way in a foreign country. We were headed to Dhulikhel, and first stop on our trip was HRDC Hospital.
HRDC Hospital (I don't know what HRDC stands for...sorry) is a hospital and rehabilitation center for children and individuals with physical disabilities. They perform corrective surgeries, and many children from DNC have been sent there to have operations funded by TRIFC and Rotary over the years.
HRDC has a wonderful positive feel about it. One can tell easily from this positive energy that lives change here. Many children who crawl in to HRDC are able to walk out under their own power.
After HRDC, we visited the Kavre School for the Deaf nearby, which was the location for the next day's program. That will be covered in a subsequent post.
Lunch that day, while delicious, was unsurprisingly a source of delay. It seems standard fare throughout Nepal for restaurants to be slightly understaffed and ill-equipped to deal with teams of hungry Rotarians, but I suppose we don't constitute their usual target market.
After this, we returned to the hotel and had some down time, during which I wished I had brought my guitar instead of leaving it, and then we had a wonderful dinner, and everyone turned in around 9pm so that they could see the sunrise in the morning. Photos of this to follow in the next post as well.
Also, I have more pictures showing members of the group doing random things, but they're not that interesting as, well, pictures. But if any of you readers are interested in seeing those, just let me know. The next post with the Kavre School has more photos that include the team.
-Carey
Also, please do your best to forgive any typos. I will proofread, but it's about 12:15am (the lights came on at 12am) and I wanted to get a head start on uploading these photos.
Also, I spent such a vast amount of time photographing that these posts will be short on writing but complete with copious photographs.
Day 1 to Dhulikhel
Our trip started out well enough, with the usual minor chaos associated with organizing people in any way in a foreign country. We were headed to Dhulikhel, and first stop on our trip was HRDC Hospital.
HRDC Hospital (I don't know what HRDC stands for...sorry) is a hospital and rehabilitation center for children and individuals with physical disabilities. They perform corrective surgeries, and many children from DNC have been sent there to have operations funded by TRIFC and Rotary over the years.
HRDC has a wonderful positive feel about it. One can tell easily from this positive energy that lives change here. Many children who crawl in to HRDC are able to walk out under their own power.
After HRDC, we visited the Kavre School for the Deaf nearby, which was the location for the next day's program. That will be covered in a subsequent post.
Lunch that day, while delicious, was unsurprisingly a source of delay. It seems standard fare throughout Nepal for restaurants to be slightly understaffed and ill-equipped to deal with teams of hungry Rotarians, but I suppose we don't constitute their usual target market.
After this, we returned to the hotel and had some down time, during which I wished I had brought my guitar instead of leaving it, and then we had a wonderful dinner, and everyone turned in around 9pm so that they could see the sunrise in the morning. Photos of this to follow in the next post as well.
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| Dhulikhel Day 1: HRDC Hospital |
Also, I have more pictures showing members of the group doing random things, but they're not that interesting as, well, pictures. But if any of you readers are interested in seeing those, just let me know. The next post with the Kavre School has more photos that include the team.
-Carey
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