Chitwan National Park Part II (the Elephant Ride):

So, I must first apologize to all of my readers as time has escaped me after I promised a part II to my journey to Chitwan.  That, and load shedding has really frequented power and Wi- Fi loss.  So, here it is.  I hope you're ready.  

As soon as we got out of our micro-bus, we were met by the guides that orchestrated our one night, two-day stay at Chitwan.  We stayed at the Rhino Resort and set our bags down and headed to lunch.  Following lunch, and many cups of Nepali tea for me, some of us ventured further on the grounds of the resort, observing some of the largest water buffalo, appearing so docile, but natural instincts told me to keep my distance anyway.  It was so incredibly humid, even from the moment we opened up the bus door, that it almost steals your breath until you adjust.  We had some time to burn before our elephant ride through the jungle, so we continued to explore through the humid outskirts of the jungle, just along the river, where we saw docked canoes, tiki bars, many water buffalo and small bird fowl that coexist symbiotically.  The buffalo let them perch on their backs, or heads, to pick bugs, ticks, etc while the birds receive their nutritional supply.  We took many pictures of exotic insects, beautiful butterflies, two wild elephants in the distance, and the VERY COOL Touch-me-Nots, which are jungle flora that, when lightly touched, shrivel up, then later open up again into its beautiful form.

When we returned to the resort, after a long time of sweating through many layers, not even noticing the sweat dripping from our entire beings, it was time to head to the elephant ride.  We hopped in the back of a truck that had benches for sitting and we took our rickety ride to the elephants.  As this was my first time seeing an Asian elephant in person, I had so much excitement and anticipation, remembering their very unique markings on their ears, faces, and trunks.  Perhaps it was because of my encounter of a 60-African elephant herd while in South Africa, being charged by the matriarch while in a tiny Toyota Camry that made me stare at the elephants and think, "wow, how small!"  That impression was short-lived as we climbed steps to get leverage on our elephant (only 3-4 passengers per elephant) and quickly placed ourselves in the wooden crate/box-like platform.  I had the back left corner of the elephant, so as soon as her hind leg moved, climbed upward, dipping downward into the river, I moved as well, so I wrapped my legs around the corner wooden pieces and stayed like that for a good two hours through the jungle.  It was no wonder I had bruising on my thighs upon our return.

Everything seemed so surreal; were we really on top of an elephant?  And this one wasn't angry at me?  I couldn't see much of the elephant as I faced backwards, but I was able to see everyone else on their elephants.  It was so peaceful so high up as the elephants quietly, and cautiously, continued on our journey.  Even now and then, the elephants were stopped because the passengers, leaning more one way or the other, started to look a bit lopsided and the elephant mahout would stand on top of the elephant and re-adjust the fixings to straighten out the platform for the passengers' safety and the comfort of the elephant.  

And that's when it happened.  I heard the crack!  Our elephant mahouts, those that direct and ride the elephant, typically given that elephant at a very young age and bonded to it for quite some time, kept these elephants under tight, and, what I perceived to be, abusive scrutiny.  Never did I feel like our elephant was going to veer off into her own direction, or buck us off, or even drown us all, but I still heard the crack of a stick that the mahout uses to whack on their head.  As we ventured further into the jungle and some groups took different routes, you could still hear the crack on their skulls.  They also had the Ankusa, which is the metal training tool with the hook, which they may use to stab in the head, ears, and mouth (the most sensitive areas of the elephant).  Most mahouts had ankusas with them, but they just used the sticks through the duration of our ride. 

When I heard the crack on other elephants and my own, I had a gut-sickness as that method of controlling the elephant went right through me and I began to regret that my money sponsored this kind of behavior.  Not all mahouts were abusive and some more than others, but nevertheless, as cool as the ride had been, seeing the depths of the jungle at a safe height, even seeing the endangered Nepali rhino and her calf, and feeling so charmed by the unique beauty and grace these elephants exhibited, all I wanted to do was free them and let them roam in the wild for the rest of their lives.  It hurt me to witness this cracking on the skull.  I wondered if it even hurt the elephant as their skulls are so thick and massive, but abuse is abuse is abuse!!!!  Had I know that kind of treatment would be administered, I know I wouldn't have opted to ride an elephant.  

One of our mahouts was especially skilled in tracking animals, taking us through the jungle to see them, one being the two rhinos and a calf at the tail-end of our ride (no pun intended)! We came across three species of deer, including the barking deer, a family of wild boars, and sitting nice and tall, my face caught a lot of spider webs, leaves, some tree branches, and one branch almost stripped my shoe right off my foot.  It's no wonder that one of the Hindus' favorite deity is Ganesha (elephant-headed god), son of Lord Shiva and his wife, Parvati.  Ganesha is known for many types of blessings and gifts, but is commonly known as the "remover of obstacles". Think about it!  How can one tell where an elephant has been in a jungle?  You follow the trail of broken branches and clearings made by their massive girths and weight.  So, for a Hindu, they may pray to Ganesha to remove obstacles, burdens, temptations from one's life.  It all came to mind while we trudged through the jungle, quite graciously I might add.  I found a peace within just by staring and really watching the faces of the beautiful giants behind us.  There's such a peace found within their beauty, their unique markings, the way they move, and the only time I fell out of that stupor of awe was when I heard the 'CRACK!', again...

As one of the mahouts located rhinos, all mahouts have a unified holler to communicate with each other, the elephants picking up their paces, and as we came out of the jungle and into the clearing, there they were, a mother rhino and her calf.  I've never seen anything like them!  I've seen the rhinos in Africa, but the rhinos in Nepal reminded me of some prehistoric dinosaur, like the Stegosaurus, or even the Triceratops (to a degree).  These rhinos looked like they had plates of armor fitted around their enormous bodies.  They were absolutely gorgeous and quiet in their eating and maneuvering around the grasses.  It was like I couldn't take enough pictures.  They were too magnificent to take my eyes off of them.  It was absolutely incredible!  This experience was unforgettable for many reasons, but also because these sightings are rare and although the rhino population is starting to climb again due to conservation efforts, one is not guaranteed to see one, even on a two-hour elephant ride.  

As our elephants ventured forward, we came across one more rhino and as the sun caught the top of his head, the tufts of hair on his ears reflected red through the sunlight.  What spectacular features!

As our ride came to a close, and at least ten elephants with passengers lingered behind us, we disembarked from our wooden platform with careful steadiness and climbed back down the stairs.  Our mahout directed our elephant over to us and that was the first time I saw her gorgeous markings and serene face.  She brought her trunk over the fencing and that was the first time I touched an elephant's face, trunk, and ears.  I felt like I needed to thank her for dealing with us as passengers and putting up with, what I perceived to be, needless cracks of the stick.  Her eyes were so calm and she stuck around for us to each take pictures with her, pet her trunk, which was so much rougher than I thought, and hairy!  But she was beautiful, hair and all!  

So, for those of you who were so enthralled by my opportunity and want to know, "how was it"?  Honestly, my answer is bittersweet.  It's obvious of the bitter part of that sentence, but the sweet experience was my seeing a certain natural serenity in the danger and the ecosystem that exists within the depths of the jungle, but I also feel so touched to have witnessed and felt the grace and beauty of an elegant animal, so intelligent, so unique, and so gentle in its purest form.  A disposition I will never forget for as long as I live!

Our Journey to Chitwan National Park!

To say that our drive to Chitwan National Park was very scenic and serene is an understatement.  In fact, there are no words to describe the depths of the majestic mountains that we drove alongside of, climbing, descending, never fully able to capture the moment in a photo, not because we couldn't find the right shot, but, simply, it was very difficult to take a steady picture as our driver wove in and out of traffic, passing large transport trucks along the way and creeping along hairpin bends of the mountain's side. 

When I first went hiking with one of my best friends in the Catskills, he told me that if I wanted to get out, take a picture, look at something and explore, just shout out.  I could only wish that our driver had the same conditions.  I would probably never arrive in Chitwan because I would have pulled over so many times because the beauty is so overwhelming!  I couldn't fathom how many pristine photos I would have to choose from, but nevertheless, we took various shots of rice fields, the terraced mountains, the raging river alongside of our travels, muddied by the constant rains, and temples we saw along our way.  One of our travelers asked how many temples we thought Nepal has and from the looks of it, big or small, the temples are endless and I just don't think I can count that high!!  They are all unique, adorned, and sacred in their own way, but I never feel like I'm looking at the same temple twice!

Prior to my departure from the states, I spoke with one of my colleagues and we were talking about my levels of excitement and I shared with him that I wondered if the mountains were so high I would have to throw my neck back and stare straight up to try to see the peaks.  Well, my curiosity was answered today and yes, the mountains are so high they will even extend into the clouds and you cannot even witness the tops of their peaks.  We even passed our equivalency of a ski lift and it extended over the river, up alongside the mountains, and into the clouds.  I couldn't even take a picture because the people looked so small against the mighty cliffs that the camera couldn't capture such minute detail.  I totally think Jurassic Park could have been filmed here as the scenery looked the same as the helicopters arrived on the isolated island.  

There were various walking bridges that extended across the river, which also served the residents of the mountain, allowing them to reach civilization.  I'm not quite sure how they traveled to the bridge, which looked flimsy by nature, but a father and son crossing disproved my premonition as I watched them travel across safely.  There was also a huge pipe that bridged the gap between the mountains and there were leaks springing from various angles.  The solution?  A man sat atop of this pipe working on it nonchalantly as the river raged beneath him.  One wrong step, loss of balance and concentration would send him helplessly into the river's mouth.  What a sight to see!

We arrived in Chitwan within approximately 4.5 hours and it is very humid here.  I've sweated through two and three layers this afternoon already.  Sweating happens so consistently that I almost don't even notice it.  It drips down my face, it drips down my back and all I can do is get wrapped up in the beauty and the stimulation and the communities that surround me!  

One of our volunteer's birthday is on Sunday and I hope she has had the time of her life for her 21st!  I think the elephant ride was a really cool way to spend her birthday weekend and I'm so glad we could all share a wonderful day together!  Happy Birthday, Sam! I know there was no cooler place to celebrate your day than here in Nepal!!

Well, more later on Chitwan.  There's much more to share about today's adventures!    Until then, shubharahrti!

Deer Farm, Botanical Gardens, & Shanti Ban...

Today, Sunil (Dai), Heather and I went to see the deer farm, the botanical gardens, and then Sunil and I ventured further and trekked to visit the Shanti Ban Buddha temple.  En route to the deer farm, we passed a Buddhist monastery and were allowed to go inside to the main campus, where young Buddhist monks-to-be were playing soccer with a ball about the size of a tennis ball.  We took some pictures, walked around a bit, smiling and saying hello to the young monks-to-be and ventured further on to the deer farm.  After trekking through the open greens, listening to the sounds of nature, passing a few homes and many chickens along the way, we had to stoop and pass through a very small door- I felt like Alice in Wonderland- and onward we went.  The entrance to the deer farm was locked, so we walked alongside of the electric fencing and our journey was abruptly ended when we were invaded by leeches.  Watching Sunil and Heather pull them from their toes, ankles, feet, legs, I thought I was safe as I wore my hiking boots and my long, athletic pants.  I saw one on my boot and I just could not pull him off my boot!!  We turned around, started heading back when I felt this numbing, pinching sensation right behind my ankle.  I pulled up my pant legs and I must have had at least five small leeches around my ankles, at the bottom of my legs and Sunil helped me pull them off.  We walked another 15-20 minutes and I felt the same pain again, so I pulled up my pant leg and I had two more, one really fat one just behind my ankle.  My first experience with leeches and they loved my blood!!

We ventured further down the hill, making a right and heading to the botanical gardens.  A very serene and beautifully decorated place with flowers and trees, and greenhouses!  Many people come from different places to visit these gardens and have their pictures taken, all dressed up, and there was even a film shooting at the tail end of the gardens in the lily gardens.  Very peaceful with little running brooks and streams- so serene!

We continued moving to the end of the gardens and made our way uphill, through a tiny village that was gathering for a wedding ceremony.  The woman was beautifully adorned and the man was accessorized as well and it was so amazing to see how this event draws in the entire community!  As we made it to the top, Heather took a micro-bus home since she has been to the Shanti Ban a couple of times and Dai and I continued on our way.  It was like trekking around the mountain, climbing higher with each turn, through muddy sections, rocky and stoney sections, and if I wasn't cognizant about looking out from where I was, I would have missed the plethora of breath-taking views of the Himalayas and of Nepal!

After climbing upwards for quite some time, passing very poor villages, many religious coming down from the Shanti Ban, we arrived.  The steps to climb were almost straight up, meant for smaller shoe sizes, and as I tried to climb and take a picture at the same time, I almost fell back!  It's amazing what that steepness can do to one's spatial awareness!  When we reached the top, I was breathing quite heavy, sweating so much, but it was totally worth the effort of reaching the top!  The Shanti Ban is incredible and I couldn't help but find myself staring at it for such a long time.  You hear of these temples and how elaborately adorned they are, but until you stand before its monstrosity, you never really have an idea!  They had just lit a candle, which you can see in the front of the statue and laid flowers before Buddha as an offering.  Once I stopped taking multiple pictures and fully letting myself behold what sat before me, I turned around to face Nepal and, although pictures can tell a thousand words, I still don't feel like the picture truly captures what its view is conveying to its beholder, but a photo is the closest we'll get until you actually come!  It started to rain again, so we started to descend and head for home.

In total, we trekked about three hours and forty minutes and the sweat was just pouring off of me.  We crossed through little alleyways, walked through a home after its hosts invited us to pass through, and as we continued to descend, we passed the materials that mold multiple Buddha statues.  The body piece was about as big as a standard above-ground pool, perhaps deeper.  As we came to the end of our trekking journey and walked through the door, I pulled up my pants and I already had my boots off, and my sock was drenched in blood from that fat leech, and, apparently, a leech crawled up my pant leg and had a feast on my knee.  I couldn't find the leech, but my knee showed he was there and I couldn't get it to stop bleeding.  It was another perfect little circle from where the leech attached itself.  Good stuff!

After showering and receiving much needed roti bread and tarkahri (vegetables) and washing it down with the most delicious chai tea, I feel like I am ready for bed.  It's only 4:30 pm.  The little girls next door want me to put 'medicine' on their cuts on their hands and put a Band-aid on so they can do their homework, so I may play doctor and then finish up my lesson plans for our return to school tomorrow.  Until then, 'shubharahtri', which is Nepali for goodnight~

Our 4th of July Celebration...

I'll bet many of my readers were thinking that I wasn't going to celebrate the 4th of July here in Nepal, right?  Well, on the contrare!  Ganga, our field director, has graciously opened his home with the assistance of his family, friends, and the hostess with the mostest, Mary.  We all came from our respective homes, some bringing additional foods, American-style, such as pastas, watermelon, Pringles, Oreo cookies, s'mores!, and the rest of us came to partake in the festivities.  

Traveling by micro-bus, it was completely empty upon my getting in and within a few stops, I think my face was pressed up against the window and I had two children half sitting on my lap as we had to continue to squeeze like sardines.  When it came time for my stop, the bus was so packed that I could barely squeeze out of the micro-bus, so how did EVERYONE help me?  They all "gave me a hand" hoisting me out, multiple hands cupping my behind.  Any other time, I would have probably turned around and slugged someone for doing so, but in this modest country, everyone throws in a helping hand and has no additional agenda.  

It was so nice to reconvene again with our volunteer friends and those we lean on when times can be confusing, challenging, even frustrating.  Knowing they are there by our side just makes the experience even more encouraging for all of us!  Many of us sat in different rooms, as our group is rather large in numbers for one room, eating, drinking, laughing hysterically, and just sharing, even playing the "fan game"!  It's amazing how close we have become already and how easily we have gelled since our first week in Thamel.  But nevertheless, our 4th of July was a way of enjoying each other's company, decompressing, letting our guard down and just being ourselves and we all know that there is no better way to embrace those experiences around you!

I'll admit, we did not have fireworks, but we did have camera flashes in the pitch black of the night, taking pictures of our group on the multi-level rooftops!  Some arrived in festive, Uncle Sam colors and we had a very welcoming 4th of July poster!  Alright, so you might be saying that that was not a true 4th of July celebration!  No fireworks??  No grilling of hot dogs and hamburgers??  No patriotic songs?? I completely disagree.  The 4th of July is about being with family and friends, sharing an appreciation for our country and the sacrifices made to establish the kinds of freedoms we enjoy.  It's remembering 'back home' when, in fact, you may be far away in a distant land called...Nepal??  No matter where you are, no matter who you're with, the 4th of July can always be celebrated from within one's heart!  

Being in Nepal and having traveled to Africa continues to reinforce my appreciation of the gifts and the freedoms and luxuries we have in the United States of America.  They are not to be abused nor taken advantage of, nor used as bragging rights, putting other international communities down in a condescending manner, but, rather, they should be appropriately expressed, embraced, maintained, and shared with those around us, always remembering those who made incredible sacrifices, those who laid down their lives, those who are courageously serving now.  

I hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday!

My first invite for tea...

A very kind and genuine teacher has invited me and a volunteer from Milan, Italy to her home for tea this afternoon.  In Nepali culture, it is an ultimate gesture of kindness and hospitality to be invited into someone else's home.  Tomorrow is also Irene's (Italian volunteer) last day in the schools before she departs for home on Sunday.  Irene is a volunteer from EVS (European Volunteer Services), which is akin to the U.S.'s Fulbright program, so she has been in Nepal for 5 months with three other volunteers (one from Italy and two from Spain) and is very sad her journey has come to an end here in Nepal.  She will venture next to Paris, France, where she will study for a two-year Master's degree in Human Rights and may begin one of her first courageous internships in the Middle East.  I have worked with Irene in the classroom with my level 3s and she has been nothing but kind and caring.  She is not a teacher, but has come to work in the orphanages, which are so plentiful here in Nepal, especially since the Maoist insurgency era.  So not only has she touched my life and the children with which she has worked, but also Sangheeta's, who is very sad that she will be leaving soon.

Sangheeta is a teacher and teaches English at the 7th grade level amongst other courses and has been doing so for 25 years, exhibiting such care for children with very difficult home situations, mental anguish, embracing the innocence of young children.  She has hosted Western volunteers before and embraces them as her own children, as she had done with us this very afternoon.  We were invited for tea and she prepared a smorgasbord of food and drinks, finishing with hot tea.  (Tato chia!)

We met her husband, who is also a teacher at the school down the road, her two daughters, her daughter's childhood friend (who is applying to study abroad in the U.S.) and her son.  What a lovely family and her children have such a great sense of humor and zest for life!

They mentioned how everything is so much bigger in the. U.S., including the people, the food portions, the size of toothpaste!, the size of sodas, etc. and just how expensive the states are in general.  They said when they visit the states, they are told that they look like malnourished children who have not eaten much in their lifetime.  They said most Americans look older than they really are and it's so deceiving because of how large they are in size!

I couldn't help but agree with most of what they were saying and always wondered what impressions other cultures have had of America.  However, and I'm not sure how much I believe this, they said I look much younger than I am and I don't look like many of the Americans they have seen. I'm pretty tall for a female and built kind of broad and don't think I look that young.  My level 12 class concurred that I don't look OR act my age, but I'll just take that as a compliment of someone who embraces youth.  That's what I'm going with anyway!

What a most enjoyable visit with Sangheeta's family and a time in which I've really enjoyed myself and the people around me.  When you can let your guard down in another country, in a very different culture, you are able to just embrace the purity and sincerity of the human connection.  What an incredible experience to feel, observe, and be a part of!

A change in the tide...

I am so edified by today's progress at school.  Yesterday I felt like I struck out with all of my classes and that we, sort of, hit a brick wall.  However, what I perceived to be a misunderstanding, perhaps, needed further practice at home for the students because when they brought their homework in today, they nailed the assignment!  When you put anywhere from 5-6 hours of lesson planning for four very different levels of English Language Learners, you can't help but pray that it at least makes sense.  Well, today, not only did I score 4/4, but I could just see the elation and excitement and pride in my students' smiles!  Today was the first time that in every class, I felt like I was in the right place at the right time!!  What a feeling!  When teaching is your passion and you want students to succeed and do their best and see how their hard work pays off, and it ACTUALLY happens, there's no greater feeling in the world for me!

In addition, not only have I felt really good about today's lessons and interactions, but I feel like the teachers and assistant headmaster have really rallied behind me!  I had such a congenial conversation with the assistant headmaster, Siraj, and we both ended up laughing, so hard, out loud!  Today, like every day, I sit in a room and hear the Nepalese carry on their conversations in a completely foreign language.  I can pick out familiar words, but, eventually, you just focus on what you have to do and it simply becomes background noise.  However, today, Siraj translated what they were talking about.  The topic?  How to make their meals more delicious at home!!  So we started talking about housewives (not the reality show) and stay-at-home dads.  This made Siraj laugh because that is an unseen reality in Nepal.  He asked if they were called house husbands and started laughing again.  I told him that that fact, indeed, is increasing in our country and it's no longer considered taboo.

We continued to hold a conversation and he asked how my trip went in Thamel and I told him how I became very ill from whatever I ate.  Well, apparently, that word spread fast and the teachers seemed to really show compassion and made sure they helped me out in the classroom.  Even Gokul Sir, my level 4 co-teacher, told Munu Miss, my level 2 teacher that my stomach was upset to which she also told her students.  I am really starting to see the kind of caring and compassionate Nepalese communities in which I've read about.  Truly amazing!

Munu Miss might one of the most beautiful  Nepali women I have met and she wears the most beautiful, colorful saris and shalwar kameezes and so I told her I thought she was wore such beautiful clothes.  So modest in her natural beauty, she giggled, shaking her head 'no' and told me that my clothes were beautiful and that I had a nice body shape.  This Amazonian woman!!??  Really?  Oh my goodness.  I guess I responded the same way, but nevertheless, I was so happy we engaged in our first real conversation.  Although their English is limited, they have been so sweet to me and make the attempt to tell me something in their broken English and I'll take that any day because it is from the heart, it is genuine, and has touched my life indefinitely.

What's in a Name?

After speaking with many of the Nepalese communities, I have come to understand that there are careful decisions when naming a child.  The child cannot be named until an astrologer sees the order of the planets and constellations and then they will give the parents the first letter of the name to which the parents then decide what name their child will have.  This is a very serious and careful process as every name has a very significant meaning.  

After speaking with my level 12 students today, I told them to ask me any questions; nothing is too personal for me.  I will not be offended by their curiosity.  So we started talking about family and questions like 'are you married? Are you dating? Are all of your siblings married? Do they have any children?' came along, which made me very delighted to speak of my lovely niece and nephew.  I told them their names and they asked what the names mean.  So, I told them I would need to look them up and share with them tomorrow.  So I did some research and to my pleasant surprise, my niece's name, in Greek, means "helper and defender" and my nephew's English name means "God has been gracious" and it made me smile because, not only do they exhibit those meanings and so much more, but the naming of a child is so important, no matter the culture, no matter the location.  He/she is a child and we shall always raise them up to become and to share their significance with all they meet along their journey called life!