Nepal

Reflections on Nepal 

I spent Thanksgiving week in Nepal as part of an expedition with CHOICE Humanitarian. We stayed in a remote village in the Gorkha district helping with important development projects after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015. Our group hosted workshops for education, hygiene, and business and we helped in the ongoing reconstruction of the school’s classroom building.

The people in the Harmi village, and all across Nepal, lost many structures including homes, businesses, and schools. This loss hasn’t dampened their spirits and locals all over Nepal have been pushing through ever since. Organizations like CHOICE have been instrumental in helping to recover and develop these rural areas.

My group was put together by Singular Humanitarian, a volunteer organization made up primarily of single young professionals of my faith. This group added to the experience in allowing me to make personal connections not only with fellow expeditioners and members of the CHOICE Nepal team out of Kathmandu, but more importantly the local villagers.

Here are a handful of the many highlights from my experience.

Music and Dancing

Almost every night was a party. Sometimes it was in the dining area and started by the cooking staff where they switched off Nepali and American tunes (Night at the Roxbury was a favorite). Sometimes the kids in the village stopped us on the trail or after the construction project was finished to have a quick dance party before they made the walk home (some up to an hour away).

The week even started with music and dancing from the moment we got off the local bus near the center of the village and walked together to the school’s campus, pausing for more dance breaks. On Wednesday night, locals from the village joined us and shared some local favorite tunes and dances. We shared some of ours as well (even a mini hoe-down). At the opening and closing ceremonies, some of the school children sang and/or danced. 

At the close, the CHOICE Nepal staff shared the sweet gift of a beautiful folk song as a farewell.

 

I’ve sure always liked music and dancing, and it was a pleasure to connect with others in a different way than what I’m used to.

What Are You Going to Be? 

One day was spent at the home of a family in the village. The Headmaster, Krishna, walked us up the hill (the daily commute, he called it) past his house (destroyed in the earthquake) and his family’s temporary living quarters. When they are able to, they will rebuild their home – for now, they are happy and healthy.

We continued on to the home of one of the local businessmen. He grew tomatoes and other produce to sell across the village. He and his wife have four daughters and a seven-month old named Sayel. Sayel and I became fast friends – partially because he’s a baby and partially because I’m an uncle to 24, so I’m familiar with how babies think and act. His dad even said I could stay to help take care of him – a tempting offer.

At one point, I looked in that little guy’s eyes and asked him, “What are you going to be?” I thought about the great support he has in his parents and sisters. He also will have access to one of the best schools in rural Nepal – I was even helping to make sure they had a great new classroom building that would last! Perhaps Sayel will take over his father’s farm and business. Maybe he’ll go on to school in Kathmandu like some of the other local kids. 

Whatever it is, he has some great paths to take. And don’t we all? Some are more privileged with more opportunities, but much of what happens to us is influenced by the decisions we make. I wish Sayel the absolute best as he experiences life.

Peaks and Valleys 

Near to the Harmi village is a peak that was used to decide who would be king (two centuries ago, mind you). Each year there was a race – whoever made it to the top first became the king for the year. This may have encouraged me to run cross country had I lived at that time, but a group hike to the top the day after Thanksgiving was sufficient.

At the top, one of the trip leaders invited us to participate in a “peaks and valleys” activity. Because of my time in graduate school and development seminars at work, I have done this activity three times in the last year. This doesn’t mean I don’t still enjoy it – it gives a great chance to reflect and share. How can you go wrong with that?

The activity is to identify and describe three high points and three low points in your life and how they have affected you. The visual of seeing several village communities below and towering Himalayan peaks above added to the experience. One realization I had is that valleys and low times in your life prep you for the peaks. Also, you can’t reach the next high point without going through some kind of lower path. Whatever our experiences are, they define us. As we share about who we are, relying on some level of vulnerability, we connect all the better with others – I know I did with my fellow expeditioners.

Empower and Inspire Each Other 

Bishnu Adhikari is the co-founder of CHOICE Nepal. He grew up in a small village and went on to become a civil engineer and humanitarian. He joined our group at the end of the week to help build connections with the team and the village. As soon as he arrived, he jumped in to the construction work and started digging with us. Bishnu’s example was inspiring as someone willing to do hard work for a greater cause.

The CHOICE Nepal team was also very empowering as their approach was not to take over anything, but let locals grow their schools, businesses, and families. It was a participative process and almost everyone was involved. Our expedition group came up with many parts of the workshops and how to present them, so we felt empowered to offer our physical labor and more. We made an impact on individuals throughout our activities and they made an impact on us. The village is in good hands and set to continue to develop and be successful.

We also made a difference on each other as expeditioners – my newfound friends were inspirations to me of how profound it can be to put a premium on connecting with people and maintaining those relationships.

Khushee (Happy) 

Overall, I felt as our in-country director felt: Happy. He enjoyed our group’s expedition and was overwhelmed with joy and could only describe the experience as happy. I am stealing his word for the week. I was happy to be in this group, to meet those villagers, and to work with and for them. I am happy. When the kids would gather for photos, they’d often say “Khushee, khushee” instead of “cheese”. That’s how you say happy in Nepali. How fitting a word to describe the trek.

"Outside Breathing" 

Almost every morning, our group was lead in morning mountain yoga. It was a great experience to enjoy the sunrise through yoga (I can’t say I got up early enough every day for it…). We were led through various poses like the butterfly (and he would say to “fly your butter”) and focused on our breathing (outside and inside). At the end of the sessions, our yoga leader would give us an invitation about something for the day. The first day he encouraged us to let go of ill feelings or animosity and let things slide away from us. The next day he shared something similar and invited us to “give it all to the God” by not harboring our troubles or distracting thoughts. His other intentions focused on us finding a way to smile and be happy. These were helpful reminders to center ourselves and get the most out of our experience.

Giving Thanks

The Nepal team was very aware that we were all away from home for a strongly traditional holiday. They made a special effort to help us feel welcome and enjoy the holiday with them. They even carved a chicken so we could feel more at home. Enjoying the holiday with new friends gave a special meaning, especially as we interacted with those of a different land and culture. This added to the special feeling found in Harmi.

Hold Your Breath

When some of the Nepali drew lines in the dirt with flour and wrote the word “Kabaddi” on the ground, we all knew something amazing was about to happen. The following scene was absolutely confusing, but I had every desire to join in. They were in two teams facing each other with a line separating their sides. In turn, someone from each team would cross the line into enemy territory and let out a constant stream of “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” and try to tag people on the other team. If they weren’t fast enough, the opposing team would grab them and hold them so they couldn’t make it back to their side before taking a breath and breaking the chant. If they were kept behind enemy lines, they were out. If they made it across to safety after touching an opponent, then that opponent was out and the first team regained a fallen player.

I caught on as quick as I could and immensely enjoyed this capture the flag/dodgeball/freeze tag crossover. It may be a good thing we learned this on the last night, because it is full contact and you fight for your life to get back to safety (there’s a life lesson in there somewhere, I’m sure of it). I only regret that I don’t have a picture to capture how fun this was. USA vs. Nepal. Even though we were newbies, we were still able to win a few rounds and we even mixed the teams a little later. I’m glad that the Nepali people like to play. I do, too.

Waiting for Visibility

After our week in the village, many of our expedition group decided to take a mountain flight to see Mt. Everest (Sagarmāthā in Nepali). Our morning started early, but we had to wait due to limited visibility. Waiting around in an airport isn’t typically the most exciting thing, but having made friendships like we did, we passed the time well. After a two hour delay, we boarded the plane and flew to Everest. What a majestic sight and an incredible view! Major props to those willing to hike for that view. I’ll never forget the sights, sounds, and feelings of Nepal, from the top of Everest to the middle of Harmi.