Laxmi

Today’s blog post is about one of my favorite people here at Kopila.  While I’ve been here I have been blessed to meet some amazing children that have battled through lots of adversity in order to get to where they are today.  One of those kids is a beautiful 13 year old girl named Laxmi, who I’ve become very close with over the past 8 months. From the get go I knew she was someone that needed a friend, and someone to lean on.   She is so special in so many ways; however, unfortunately she was picked up late by Kopila and is only in the third grade.  As a result of this, she does not have too many friends in her class and his separated by the children her age most of the time.  She’ll frequently come up to me and explain how I’m her best friend, and that she doesn’t have very many friends in her class.  This is both heartbreaking and humbling.  We’ve developed quite a friendship, walking to the temple together, working on English and math, going out to lunch occasionally, and simply spending a few moments here and there together.  Until recently, I’ve loved Laxmi, but I haven’t know too much about her life outside of Kopila.  That changed abruptly when I took the time to walk home with her and Pabitra a couple of weeks ago.  During this trip, I learned how much she deals with outside of school, she has no father, her mother is mentally handicapped, and her brother is away for work most of the time (he is a long haul driver).  Additionally, her brother’s wife passed away recently leaving behind an infant child.  These realities have left Laxmi as the 13 year old head of the household.  She takes care of her mother and her niece while her brother is away, which is most of the time.  While visiting the Sunar house I saw the single room where the 4 family members, eat, sleep, and live.  Despite these nearly impossible circumstances Laxmi still comes to school most days with a huge smile on her face.  Recently she’s been coming to the hostel to meet me in the morning, and we’ve been walking to school together.  Just like when I wrote about Sunita, it is stories like this and the strength of my relationships with many of the other children that has solidified my resolve and my desire to continue working in this country and in this field.  While I’m not sure exactly what this will look like yet, my priorities have certainly shifted, and my desire to help Laxmi, and others in her shoes has never been stronger.

Pabitra, me, and Laxmi @ Laxmi's house

Pooja, Me, and Laxmi @ The Temple

So Long...

Today’s blog post marks the beginning of the end for our original group of fellows.  Last week Mallory left, and just two days ago Ben departed.  It’s definitely been an adjustment, getting used to life without the “OG”.   As I told Ben, I view my relationship with the other fellows as for more than just “housemates”, and am confident I’ve made friends that will remain in my life forever.  We’ve had our fair share of ups and downs, but I couldn’t feel more blessed to have met Safira, Ben, Kelly, Nena, and Mallory who have been constants throughout my time in Nepal.  It is due in no small part to them that this experience has made such a profound change in my life…and I credit these people for helping me keep my sanity and positive disposition throughout my first year in Nepal.  As I’ve mentioned in past posts, living, eating, and playing with the same people for nearly a year can really take its toll, however, Maggie constructed a wonderful group and thankfully we all meshed from the get go(more or less!).  Next up in the line of people leaving is Safira (the one westerner I have not spent a day in Nepal without)…not sure I’m ready for that challenge quite yet.

Happy Memorial Day weekend back home!  Hope everyone is having great lake weekends, beach weekends, and BBQ’s!

So Long Benji...We'll miss you!

Final Fellows Dance!

Field Day!

Hi All...below is a blog post I typed up for Maggie's blog, figured I'd post here as well!


Hi everyone, this is John guest blogging for Maggie once again! While Maggie was back home at the Forbes Women’s Summit we’ve had some exciting things going on back here at Kopila, including our first Annual Kopila Field Day. Field Day kicked off our Inter-House competition between Sun, Moon, Star, and Sky house and this year the stakes have been raised. In addition to competing for the house trophy, we’ve also promised the winning house a year end MoMo party. For those of you who were not following last year, the inter-house competition is a year round event, with points awarded for excellent behavior and achievements. As for Field Day, the morning started off with lots of energy, and the enthusiasm lasted throughout the day. Whether it was the Sun House and their award winning house cheer, or the oldest kids rooting for the nursery and KG students the day surpassed even our most optimistic expectations. Some highlights were the Donut eating challenge, which involved seeing which student could eat a donut hanging from the ceiling the fastest, an epic tug of war tournament, a nursery fruit & vegetable themed relay race, and last but certainly not least a Sari wrapping competition, where 4 Sr. Boys dressed up their house teachers. When all was said and done the Star house emerged victorious, and the day concluded with a school wide dance party up on stage. Next up for the inter-house competition is art month, which kicks off this Friday!

Back in Nepal

Per Usual its been too long since I last posted…Things have been hectic here, and I’ve been getting back into my Kopila Routine.  That said, the transition was much easier than my first trip over, and in many ways I feel like I’m home.  From the moment I stepped off the plane in Kathmandu, things just went so much better than my first trip, and felt natural.  After landing in Kathmandu, the driver from our go to hotel in Kathmandu (hotel courtyard) was waiting for me.  He drove me through the city, which rather than feeling overwhelming and slummy, felt familiar.  Upon arriving at the hotel, I was met with a hug and a drink from Pujan and Michelle (the hotels owners), and sat with them to catch up on the last two months of my life.  As always they were amazing hosts, and we had a wonderful conversation to catch up.  Additionally, during my first night in Kathmandu I was able to catch up with our travel agent Rijen who is one of my favorite people in all of Nepal.  As with anything in life, it is amazing how far a few friends can take you and how much of a difference those relationships can make.  The difference between my first trip, and the feeling of being alone and uncomfortable to the second trip cannot be understated.

After just one night in Kathmandu I jumped on an early flight to Nepalgunj to begin my second tour of duty in Surkhet.  During the flight and 2.5 hour car ride, I felt a huge mix of anxiety and excitement.  I was beyond excited to see everyone, but anxious about the homecoming I would receive.  Turns out there was nothing to be anxious about, and it was one of the warmest welcomes I’ve ever received.  The kids were amazing, and it was so good to see them all again.  It is times like that where I know I’m in the right place, and doing the right thing.  The warmth and enthusiasm on their faces propelled me through the day, and we had a great time catching up.  In addition to the very warm welcome, other exciting things have been happening here at Kopila.  We’ve kicked off the spring/summer sports season, working with the girls of soccer and the boys on volleyball.  I will be sure to update everyone on our progress, and post results about the upcoming games.  Additionally, we recently celebrated my 26^th birthday, which was a blast. From the moment I woke up the kids were showering me with flowers, hugs, kisses, and birthday wishes.  While booking my flight, I was unsure about whether to celebrate my birthday in the States or in Nepal, and in retrospect am so happy I was able to spend it with the kids.  The birthday celebration culminated in a big dance party at the hostel and a freshly baked cake from our newest volunteer alli. One last bit of exciting news, I have been working on my Nepali for 3 hours a day, and have learned the alphabet, how to read, and write, and have been working with a tutor to hone my skills!  One of my big regrets from my first trip was my rather limited efforts to learn the language, thankfully I don’t think I’ll be making that mistake twice.

Ok…that’s all for now, from this post on I will be sure to post more often, so if you’re still reading be sure to check back soon!

 

Back to Nepal!

As I write this, I am standing at a charging station in the Doha Transfer Terminal.  On a brief aside, this is arguably the worst airport ever, and being stuck here for 14 hours after a 15 hour flight Houston is not the greatest thing in the world.  That said, I’m in a surprisingly good mood, and am getting increasingly excited for my return to Surkhet!  The past two months have been a whirlwind, but an absolute blast.  I think the grand finale might have been the highlight of the trip as I was honored to be a groomsman in my great friend Andrew Haas’ wedding.  We had a wonderful weekend, and it was such a great way to end my 2 month “vacation” from Nepal.  For those of you who don’t know Andrew he is one of the more thoughtful people I’ve ever met, and for his groomsman gift he decided to sponsor Monica from Kopila valley!  I was extremely touched by this incredible gesture.

In other news, I will be getting into Nepal at 435 today, and then jump on the first flight out of Kathmandu Thursday morning!  Between the kids, staff, and volunteers I am ecstatic to see everyone’s faces.  After living with people for 6 months its amazing how close you get.  I view the fellows as some of my best friends in the world, the staff as family, and the kids as some of the most amazing young people I’ve ever met.  While I was home, I was able to show off pictures and stories of my time in Nepal and was giddy each time I had the chance to talk about it…alright, maybe not EVERY time (it can get tedious saying the same story a million times!), but I certainly could never get sick of saying how much I love the kids and the people at Kopila Valley. 

I will be sure to update the blog with increasing frequency now that I’m getting back!  Hope everyone is doing great.

Catching up!

Well its forever since my last blog post, so I figured I’d catch up on everything that has gone on during the past month.  Since we left India my brother and I visited Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Hong Kong.  The trip was amazing, and we got lucky at a few stops away including in Phuket, when the hotel upgraded us to an ocean front suite, with our own private pool!  We also got bumped up to business class on our way from Hong Kong to San Francisco, so I think we really had some great Karma during the last leg of the trip.  During our adventures, I would say my favorite stop along the way was the Taj Majal in Agra, India.  That said, India was easily the most challenging country we visited and I would suggest going elsewhere if you’re wanting to have a “relaxed” trip.  Beyond the Taj Majal, the temples of Angkor were amazing, along with Ha Long bay in Northern Vietnam.  Beyond the site seeing we had some great times in Phuket , Singapore, and Hong Kong.  The highlight of the tail end of our trip was meeting up with some of my friends from the States in Hong Kong for Easter weekend.  We had a blast, and it was great catching up with everything.

 

Angkor Wat

Halong Bay

After saying goodbye to those friends, Bobby and I took the flight to San Francisco to meet up with my Dad and Sister.  As you can imagine, we were tremendously jet lagged by the time in, and the 15 hour time difference certainly took a toll.  Despite the jet lag, we enjoyed a wonderful day in San Francisco, and spent some time at the Golden Gate Bridge, Union Square, and other notable San Francisco destinations.  Following our day in San Francisco we worked our way up the cost stopping off in Napa, Eureka, Eugene, Portland, and ultimately in San Francisco where we dropped off Bobby.  After saying goodbye to Bobby I took the cross country trip back to DC, where my sister picked me up from the airport.  The first night back in DC was surreal to say the least.  I think the biggest change was not the city but my perspective.  While nothing has changed, and I went with Mary to one of my favorite restaurants (Cactus Cantina), I have changed and it took me a little while to put a finger on what was making me feel a little off.  The following day I had a tour DE force of sorts, going to work in the morning, to lunch with friends, getting my suits ready, and then dinner with some other people before heading to the airport.  Which brings me to now, I am currently in Louisville Kentucky where I’ve been working since Monday!  While it was probably a bit too quick of a turnaround, I’m happy to report my skills have not completely left me, and I was able to jump back into a project in stride.  My old company has been tremendously helpful with regards to giving the chance to get some work in, which is wonderful with respects to the bank account!  I even wore my Nepali made suit on my first day back to work.

 

Golden Gate Bridge

As for the rest of my trip back to the states, I will be in Kentucky again next week, then DC for a few days before heading to Houston for one of my best friends weddings.  Following the wedding I will be jumping on a plane to Doha and headed back to Nepal!  Lots more updates and Blogs to come!

Friends!