KVS Vs.Bulbule!

Hi Everyone!  Below is a post I just put together for Maggie's website a few days ago!  Hope all is well.
 
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is John Christopher and I’m the current Extra-Curricular Fellow at Kopila Valley! Over the past 6 months, I’ve been working with several of the other volunteers in an attempt to provide access to safe and supportive extracurricular activities to Kopila Valley Students.

As you might guess 1 person supervising 300 kids became an impossible task, so two other amazing fellows (Nena & Kelly) have taken on the huge task coaching the 32 girls on the volleyball team.  I have been inspired by their progress with the girls, and they will be writing about their experience with volleyball in the near future.

In addition to the girls, the boys have also made huge strides and I will use this space to focus on our progress with the boys’ soccer program.  Like the girls, the boys have also been an inspiration and a joy to watch and coach.  When I first arrived here the affinity, and love for soccer at Kopila Valley (and Nepal) was palpable.  I would walk on to the field every day and see the boys out there playing in the school yard.  That said, while the passion for the sport was undeniable, the organization and structure was suspect at best.  After school sports was a bit of a free for all, with no real rhyme or reason.  After conferring with Nena & Kelly, we decided to set up seasons for the boys and girls sports.  On January first, we announced a new system where the boy’s would play soccer for three months, while the girls played volleyball.  Practices are now held six days a week, for an hour and a half a day after school.  In addition to providing some much needed structure, it also helps out the girls tremendously by ensuring they have time on the field, and will not be ousted by the boys.

At the end of each “season”, our goal has been to set up games between our school and other local schools.  On Saturday, February 16^th, we had our first match against Bulbule Academy!   The process of organizing games can be described as glacial.  In Nepal, schools do not take the decision to participate lightly, for fear of the shame that would accompany a loss.  As a result of that mentality, it took some time and energy in order to set up our first game…but it finally happened!  Our boys came to school bright and early, and the field was marked and ready to go.  Due to resource constraints, we don’t have uniforms quite yet, however, we purchased matching socks for all the boys, and they all wore their Kopila Valley polo shirts.  After our warm-up, the opponent showed up equipped in their orange and yellow uniforms.  The initial intimidation was easy to read on our boy’s faces, however, I did my best to settle their nerves before the game.  I think this anxiety took center stage in the first half, and Bulbule got out to an early 1-0 lead.  Trailing at the half, myself and Ian (assistant coach), made some adjustments…and the boys came out on FIRE in the second half.  Despite a damp overcast day, we had lots of supports and the energy level was through the roof.  Not until we scored 4 unanswered goals was Bulbule able to get back on the board.  In addition to winning the match 4-2, we were also able to incorporate all 22 boys into the lineup to reward all of their hard work.  Needless to say it was a wonderful day for our boy’s, teachers, volunteers, and fans and I can’t wait for our next game against SOS School on Saturday.

Thank you everyone for your support.  Your positive energy is definitely appreciated, and I feel truly blessed to be over here with Maggie, Top, the Volunteers/Staff, and of course all of the kids!  I’ll be sure to have Maggie update everyone on future games!

Sunita

Name: Sunita BK

Age: 7 years old

Favorite subject: Nepali

Hobbies: Football and dancing

When she is older she wants to be a: Teacher

She lives with: Her mother, two older brothers, and two younger sisters

Sunita!

What you just read is Sunita in her own words. Like Kabita and Ramita, who I wrote about in my last blog, Sunita is a Kindergarten girl I got to meet on a walk home. This time, my walk wasn't planned, and I actually saw Sunita and her friend (and Nursery Student) Dourga on their walk home from school. Rather than just waving as I ran by they decided to come along for the run, and rather than continue running I decided to slow down to a walk and accompany these two precious little girls on their way home. They're both extremely young, so their English isn't quite top notch, but they're quickly improving and were delightful to spend time with. I've found that my one on one time with the kids tends to be the most fulfilling, which was certainly the case with Sunita, and just like Kabita and Ramita she became an instant Nepali Crush of mine after our walk. What made my walk with Sunita so unique was the conclusion. I thought I had seen the worst of things when I walked home with Kabita, however, in comparison to Sunita, she was living in a pleasant home. In addition to getting to know kids, I think my walks are so beneficial because you have the opportunity to see where the kids come from. I learn so much with every walk, and am continually astounded by what these children overcome to get to school. While walking home with Sunita, she motioned towards a house in the distance...I was actually surprised, as it looked very nice, and I exclaimed to her “Wow, Sunita your house is so beautiful”. To which she responded “Ni John Sir! Ni Ni, Sano house” ( No No John, Small House). After a few more steps, I saw what appeared to be a pile of sticks in the distance. Not until I got closer did I realize, that this was Sunita's home, which she shares with her aforementioned mother, brothers, and sisters. At no point in this trip, was I as taken aback as I was in that moment. This beautiful 5 year old girl, was living in a stick hut with 5 people, and walking an hour each way to school. For those of you who don't know, Nepal has a ferocious monsoon season, with rains so hard there is no way this house could stop them. After dropping Sunita off, all of this began to register. The initial joy of spending time with such a happy, adorable, bright little girl wore off, and the reality of the situation sunk in...

Sunita's Home - Mother & 2 Brothers

After my initial walk...I decided to show Safira & Nena Sunita's home on one of our runs!

For me, this trip to Nepal has been a fulfilling and eye opening experience...and experience which will soon end, and give way to a life of first world comforts back in the States. For Sunita, and other girls like her, this is life. This is the life they will grow up into if they are not helped along the way. This is why I chose to sponsor Sunita (along with one other girl, Bimala, who I will write about soon). For a mere $25 a month, I have the ability to provide the necessary funding for Sunita's education at Kopila Valley School. Not only does this provide for her education, it provides a daily meal, a loving support network, and most importantly the opportunity to escape the life of poverty she was born into. Despite my $0 a month salary I have made the choice to sponsor these girls, and I encourage anyone who is reading this to contact me with respects to sponsoring their own child. Not only will you have the satisfaction of helping one of these amazing children escape a viscous cycle of poverty, you will also receive updates, pictures, and stories from the children as they grow.

We are currently in the process of compiling a list of children in need of sponsorships. In addition to Kopila Valley Followers, Maggie has partnered with She's the First in order to match sponsors with children. She's the first was set up to link sponsors with girls who are the first in their family to receive an education...hence “She's the First”. Sunita is actually one of those girls, and I'm delighted to assist in her education, for this year and hopefully many years to come. While I'm not sure who exactly reads this blog every week, I urge anyone who feels inclined to contact me at John.Joseph.Christopher@gmail.com to find out more information about sponsoring a child.

Me and one of my many Nepali Crushes!

As always, hope all is well at home! Miss everyone.

February Thoughts!

Hello again...Wow, time really flies. I feel like every time I talk to one of my friends from home, I'm startled when I realize how long its been since we've last spoken. I constantly get asked, why its taken so long to call...to which I usually respond “but we just talked”. Not until really thinking about it do I realize that its been a month, two months, or even four to five! I think the same principle holds true on this blog...and not until I really think about it do I realize how much time has elapsed since my last post. I can't believe that its already February! Which means my brother's visits is just around the corner, and I leave soon! Granted, due to a recent change of plans that departure is not permanent, and I will be returning to Kopila Valley for May and June. Aside from traveling with Bobby, I'll also be returning to the States for a month, which should provide some much needed decompression and family/friend time.. I can't wait to see everyone, and catch up on everything I've missed since I've been gone. I also look forward to the perspective which will come from my trip home. Currently, I'm so entrenched in life here that it can challenging to reflect on my time. Ultimately, I think there are two potential outcomes. My trip back could renew my interest to continue down the path I was on prior to coming to Nepal, or I could walk away with it with a renewed vigor for what I’m doing here in Nepal. I don't think I will completely know until I've come back to the States though.

Beyond that brief update, things continue to go well over here. I was sending an email and proctoring an exam for one of my favorite classes earlier today. While sitting in class I realized, how much I enjoy walking into school each morning and getting greeted by 300 kids saying “Good Morning John Sir, how are you?” , that always puts a smile on my face. That in and of it self pulls me out of bed each morning, and I'm so happy with this moment in my life. There are so many amazing people that I interact with on a daily basis, and I am so appreciative for being so fully embraced by the community.

3 kids missing their two front teeth!!!

Another one of those “happy moments” happened today when I took two of my absolute favorite girls to celebrate the end of their exams. I've already told some of my friends about the two young Nepali's I've fallen in love with...but for the rest of you their names are Kabita and Ramita and they're in 1 class. Last Friday I walked home with them from school. One of the girls, has a 1.5 hour walk each way, battles a rare gene disorder, and lives in a one room mud hut in the mountains...yet still always has a HUGE smile on her face and is just unbelievable. The walk to their homes, really cemented my love and respect for both of them and I was so happy to bring them out today for some snacks and a new pair of chappals (sandals). In all honesty, walking home with some of the school children, and seeing where they come from was a real eye opener for me. While just about everyone over here has a tough situation, some of the kids living outside face huge obstacles with regards to their education. Yet, they continue to rise up overcome the challenges on a daily basis. For example, today and yesterday we experienced torrential downpours in Surkhet. Coincidentally, the Kids were all in exams and couldn't miss school. Well without fail, at 9am I saw 6 year old Kabita and Ramita walking in through the gates, with a huge smile...and some wet clothes!

Kabita & Ramita!

Turns out each experience and interaction like the one I mentioned above makes me love it more and more here. Not only has this experience continued to surpass all the expectations I had, I've also learned that I love working with Children. I'm not sure how this will fit in to the rest of my life, however, I am extremely happy that I learned sooner rather than later.

There is so much else I could update on, but I'll just do some quick hits... Since my last post we've had Safira's, Hansha's, Yagya's, and Rupa's Birthday! Construction has continued on the new third floor of the house, and it appears that the opening of our new woman’s center is right around the corner. Sports practices continue to go off extremely well, and we're close to finalizing some games for both our girls volleyball team, and the boys football team. Exams are coming to a close, and we've been spending some late nights and early mornings working with the kids to prepare. We've had ups and downs, punishments and parties, laughter and tears, along with everything else you'd expect in a house with 40 kids. That said, despite how chuck chucky (a Nepali expression for misbehaving) they can be some time I love them all. A sentiment which is true of everyone here, the staff, the aunties, the uncles, the kids, and the other volunteers. I couldn't have asked to be with a better group of people, and remain thankful for this amazing opportunity.

Just three of the people its easy to love..Amrika Auntie, Laxmi Uncle, and Safira!

Until next time...Cheers!

Kathmandu/Pokhara!

As always it has been a while since my last blog post. I can't believe it is nearing the end of January. Between our trip to Kathmandu and Pokhara, and the craziness of being back to school has been a bit overwhelming.

First of all our trip was great. We managed to get on one of the first ever flight to Kathmandu directly form Surkhet. Last year a plane crashed at our airport which resulted in a complete shutdown. Thankfully, just prior to our trip the airport reopened for domestic travel and we managed to snag one of the 18 seats on the plane. It was definitely a tough experience for some of the fellows, who had never been on such a small plane. Fortunately, for my job in the states I flew just about every week, and during one trip flew with my boss in his two seater to South Carolina so it wasn't a huge deal. That said, the flight was amazing (particularly) the flight back where we had some incredible views of the Himalayan. Upon reaching Kathmandu, things went much smoother than the first time around. I've learned a great deal over the past 5 months, and one of the biggest lessons has been how to deal with third world travel. Rather than getting bullied into paying porters and huge rates for taxi's I knew how to handle myself much better this time around.

Upon reaching Kathmandu, we stayed at an amazing hotel that is run by a lovely woman from Seattle and her Nepali Husband. They really rolled out the red carpet for us, and one of my favorite things about our entire trip was staying at the Hotel Courtyard in Kathmandu. The hotel was located in the heart of Thamel which is the tourist portion of Kathmandu, which meant we were conveniently located near lots of delicious restaurants. On our first night in the city, Michelle had welcome drinks at the hotel which was followed by a great (and very western) meal at Roadhouse Cafe located down the street. In addition to wonderful people, the hotel had heaters, hot water, and DVD players which was amazing, and just about every night in Kathmandu ended with the heat on and a DVD playing. Beyond the hotel we saw a great deal of sights while in Kathmandu, including the Monkey Temple, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and the Budha Stupa. We also met up with the Newest Fellow, Nena prior to heading out to Pokhara and at the last minute convinced her to join us on our adventure. On a more annoying note, Safira and I spent hours dealing with the Indian Visa Service Center in Kathmandu, trying to secure a tourist visa for our trips to India. This ordeal consisted of three visits to the service center, and hours of waiting in a huge holding area. To add insult to injury, we never actually received our Visa's, and were forced to have our travel agent in Kathmandu pick them up for us after we left.

Cruising the streets of Kathmandu

Monkey Temple with the Fellows and Maggie!

After a few days in Kathmandu we gathered our belongings and made our way to Pokhara. Despite only being 200 miles away the bus ride took 7 hours and really wiped us out for the first night. Additionally the #1 ranked hotel on trip adviser turned out to be an overpriced dud, which was pretty unfortunate. That said, Pokhara is a delightful little town, albeit a bit too touristy for my liking. Having grown up in Fort Lauderdale I've been exposed to a tourist town for much of my life, and I know that it can be a bit of a challenge to decipher between a legitimate restaurant and an overpriced tourist trap. Griping aside, the town was naturally beautiful and our hotel was located in just a block off of Phewa Lake which is Nepal's second largest lake. The weather wasn't extremely cooperative during our stay, however, we could still see the Annapurna mountain range popping out of the clouds with peaks exceeding 25,000 feet. During our stay we visited the World Peace Pagoda, Canoed on Phewa lake, and saw a sunrise at Sangrikot. Beyond the sights, we also paid a visit to a local massage parlor called “seeing hands”. While there we were treated to treatment, by blind employees who have been taught to make a living by giving massages. This was a huge treat for everyone, and especially enjoyable on a cloudy day in Pokhara. As a result of the weather and a need to get back to the Indian Visa office in Kathmandu I had to skip para-gliding which is the one thing I wanted to do and didn't. That said, due to our need to get back to Kathmandu quickly Safira and I took a 20 minute flight back to Kathmandu. This was a huge treat, especially after we found out that Nena, Ben, and Kelly were stuck on the bus for over 9 hours as a result of the weather.

At the World Peace Pagoda with our newest addition Nena!

Sunrise in Pokhara

Our final couple nights in Kathmandu were wonderful, granted I think we were all excited to get back to Surkhet and see the kids! One highlight from our final night was when Safira, Nena, and I went out on the town with our travel agent. It turns out his cousin is the lead guitarist for the number 1 cover band in the Kathmandu Valley and they were playing at a Hookah bar near the hotel. The band played hits from the last 30 years, which was a treat for our last night in Kathmandu.

Since we've been back things have been very busy, while we've been getting back up to speed. I think another highlight of our trip was the return. We got back to school during last period, and were greeted like conquering hero's. The kids came sprinting out of their classrooms to greet all of us, which was extremely special. As the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and leaving certainly helped put into perspective how fond I've grown of all the kids here at Kopila Valley. On a somber note, it also showed me how challenging leaving will be. 9 days was hard enough as is, I can't imagine how I feel when I leave for a month with my brother, or when I ultimately decide its time to go back to the states. Overall, I realized how fortunate I am to be here at this moment. I was blessed to get a great job out of college, which enabled me to save enough to live without a paycheck for a year...and blessed to have a wonderful sister who took care of all my DC/USA related issues while I've been gone. (Thanks Mary for getting my apartment successfully moved out and into storage!).

Hope all is well at home...Miss you all.

New Years

I feel like it was just yesterday when I typed up my last blog, but turns out its been a week!  Time continues to fly, and the past week has been really exciting.   Since I wrote last, we’ve had a big New Years Celebration with the Uncles and fellows.  That day also marked the arrival of our newest Fellow Mallory OT.  She is a pediatric Occupational Therapist, and has been a welcome addition to the crew.  Additionally, we’ve added Doctor Frank to the mix, which has been really good for the school…Its amazing how many medical problems go overlooked on a regular basis.  The clinic has been flooded since his arrival with some really bizarre ailments emerging.

Beyond our new friends, we’ve been very busy at school.  Kelly and I have been working with the boys and girls, and we officially have a Varsity Boys Soccer Team and a Varsity Girls Volleyball Team.  We’ve had some really good practices already, and are working with some of the other schools in Surkhet to play a few games with some of the other local schools.  Right now the top two teams are the Army School and SOS so we’ll see how it goes.  I’m working with the boys, and Kelly has been working with the girls.  The kids are super enthusiastic, and it’s been a wonderful addition to the school day.  As the boys football coach I’ve been trying to instill the values that helped me succeed in wrestling, which are Discipline and Conditioning.  We’ve been starting practice promptly at 4:30 and I’ve really been working hard to make sure everything is organized and running smoothly.  I’ve called upon many years of sports to establish a practice plan which is both fun, and demanding.  For the first week of practice we’ve been running sprints for the last ten minutes.  As an added bonus for the kids, I’ve been running with them every day…Thankfully my conditioning is still decent, and I’m still able to outlast the players (otherwise I don’t think I’d be taking part in the sprints).  In addition to sports, I’ve been teaching A LOT lately, which has been fun.  I really enjoy most of the classes, and I’m feeling more and more comfortable with everybody’s name.  One of my favorite girls in the entire school, Bipana shows up every morning and runs to give me a hug and give me a present.  Whether it’s a piece of fruit or a little note, I’ve been getting a little treat from my second grade all-star pretty much every day.   

Over the past couples days I’ve also tackled a topic that was very important to me in High School and in College, which is an Honor System.  As a result of their challenging home situations, ,any of the kids at Kopila Valley to not learn the difference between right and wrong and other moral lessons at home.  As a result of this, in addition to a propensity for the children to want to copy answers we’ve instituted the following Code:

Kopila Valley School Honor Code

The Kopila Valley Honor Code is clear

–

I will not lie, cheat, steal, or disrespect others.

Membership in our student body requires a commitment to the Honor Code of Kopila Valley School.

I’ve been going around to the classrooms for the past few days, explaining the importance of adhering to this code, and making them sign a slip consenting to our policy.  While this is over the head of some of our youngest students, we’ve all agreed that is never too early to start learning these fundamental life lessons.

On a more exciting note, Safira, Kelly, Ben and I are leaving for a weeklong vacation on Friday.  We’ll be flying directly from Surkhet to Kathmandu (this service is brand new and we’ll be on the second flight ever).  After spending a couple days in Kathmandu, we’re taking a bus to Pokhara which is viewed by many as the world’s most beautiful city.  We’ll be staying on Lake Phewa which is not only one of Nepal’s largest lakes, but the lake also bumps directly into the Himalaya’s.  During or trip we’ll be embarking on several treks, possibly some paragliding, and enjoying some much needed adult time after spending the past 4.5 months with children 24/7.  I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures from our trip, and post them in my next blog.

Pokhara here we come!

For my final comment…I continue to love life so much over here that I’ve decided to extend my Asian adventure for another month.  Originally I was planning to fly home on April 1, however, with nothing to do during April, and my furniture going into storage soon I’ve decided to stay until the end of April, which is my absolute drop dead date cut-off.  One of my best friends is getting married in Houston on April 27^th, which means I will be back in the states a few days before his big day.

Hope all is well at home…Miss everyone lots.

Merry Christmas & Annual Day!

I hope all of you back at home at a very merry Christmas back in the states.  Things have been very busy over here, with new guests, annual day, and of course Secret Santa with the kids and staff.  We had such a wonderful time, and despite some moderate food poisoning I managed to have a wonderful Kopila Christmas.  The annual day celebration was a huge hit, with 3 very special guests; the district police chief (fully equipped with his team of 10 armed body guards), the provincial minister of education, and the national minister of education’s daughter.  Although, the program was a bit speech heavy for my liking, that is how things operate in Nepal, and there are specific people that are pretty much required to speak.  After the program I learned that while there were lots of speeches, that Maggie has cut it down from years past when the talks simply got out of hand.  That said, beyond the speeches we had a great deal of fun, which included a number of songs, dances, and a drama performed by the students.  As one final surprise for the kids the 4 fellows and Maggie performed.  We’d been practicing for about 20 minutes a night, for less than a week in order to get ready for our big routine, I actually think we might have spent more time picking out our coordinating outfits than was spent practicing.  Needless to say, we were all a bit antsy to see how the actual performance would go (in addition to our limited practice time, we had never practiced on the stage at the school).  Well when the time came, the five of us got up in front of 1000+ people, and they went WILD.  It was great fun, and all of the faculty, students, and families loved it.   Thankfully we have lots of video’s and pictures and you can check out the dance on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-TEPbdWTJc&list=UU89ivMYS33cB0vC09nO-Ewg&index=1 .  The fellows have been talking about it since we performed, and I really think that was one of our fondest memories.

Fellows Dance

Special Guests

Lets Get It Started!

In addition to annual day, we had a very fun Christmas Day with the kids finally got around to our Secret Santa at about 7pm on Christmas day.  The kids were adorable in their new pajama’s and thanks to our guest from Dubai, we had a boatload of new gifts for everyone.  There were new soccer balls, volleyballs, badminton racquets, you name it.  It had been quite some time since I was around kids on Christmas morning (to be honest, I think the last time was when I was a kid), and it was great.  So much fun seeing their smiling faces opening gifts.  Amazing how far 200 ruppees ($2 US) can go in bringing a smile to their faces.  I just think about all the money spent on Christmas’s when I was growing up, and I’m not sure I was ever as happy as some of the kids were opening their 80 cent necklace, or 60 cent gloves.

Well, things are starting to get back to normal around here.  Dan headed, back to Dubai, however, Brittany and Brianne are visiting from “She’s the First” and we’re having a nice time with them.   

Secret Santa

Additionally, we just bought 15 tickets to Shani Villages New Years Eve event, which should be a blast.  Maggie bought tickets for all of the uncles to join, and they can get wild so I’m really looking forward to a fun night.

I’ll be sure to write again soon but in the meantime Happy New Years!