Just wanted to let everyone know that we are safe in Kathmandu. I can't say that the rest of the trip was uneventful, but you know how it goes. We found a cheap hoteland are poking around Kathmandu today. Tomorrow we will meet with Sudeep for a farewell meal and then depart for the Airport.
Also, this is actually our second accident that we have been on in Nepal. The first was when a Taxi cab hit our bus on the educational tour. It was pretty minor,although not for the taxi cab's body. It's hood was fairly mangled. Lol. It was very interesting to watch the resolution of that one. Everyone gathered round and cheered once a suitable agreement had been reached. Anyway, we will see people soon.All the best,David
Sarkuwa School
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Zack and David are in Kathmandu
Greetings everyone! I hope this message finds everyone well. We reached Kathmandu yesterday. I actually tried to send this from Pokhara, but it did not go through. One more full day in Nepal- what a mixture of emotions. See you soon! Here is the message I tried to send on Monday:
We had our farewell ceremony at the school yesterday. It was a very memorable experience. Several teachers gave speeches, we were presented with certificates and shiny Nepali drinking pitchers, and we received tika and flower garlands from the staff and students. It was a bit overwhelming to be given so many flowers and garlands. By the end of the ceremony, I had something akin to a floral lion's mane draped upon my neck and my face was red(der) with tika. It was a very moving experience. Here is the speech I gave: "Greetings my friends! Our time in Nepal is coming to an end. This makes me sad. People from different nations can learn much from one another. I have learned that many of you want Nepal to change; to become more developed. However, sometimes it takes a great deal of effort to create even a small change. So change is difficult, but it is still very important. Nepal has faced many hardships and difficulties recently. Difficulty can make a nation weak, but it can also make a nation strong. I hope our work here has made Nepal a better and stronger country. Ultimately though, for Nepal to become better and stronger, the work must be accomplished by Nepalis. This is your country. You should be proud of your country, and you should be proud to be Nepali. There are some parts of Nepal that I hope never change. Nepal is a beautiful country. Nepali khana deri deri mito cha (Nepali food tastes very, very good). Most importantly, Nepali people have good hearts. I believe this is more important than money, or material wealth. In some ways, since Nepali people have such good heart, Nepal is already a very developed country. You have shared your homes with us. Dhanyabad (thank you). We will always remember our Nepali friends. Namaskar." We rose early today and finished packing our things for our departure. It was a very sad and somber time as we prepared to leave the Dhakal house. Before we left, Megh's wife, Manikala, gave us tika and red flowers behind our ears for a safe journey. I sweated off the tika on the hike to Kushma and dropped the two red flowers- luckily I picked them up. This retrieval proved most fortuitous, as later in the day our bus swerved on a slick road to avoid an oncoming truck, flew into a ditch, and smashed into a tree. We are unhurt (repeat, no injuries), although some of the other passengers were a bit banged up. I am happy to be alive and everything, but I felt I was entitled to at least a partial refund. This proved impossible because the bus driver and conductor sprinted away immediately after the crash. While admittedly they did get us about halfway to Pokhara, they certainly did not fully render the agreed upon services. I would have liked at least fifty out of one hundred rupees back- sixty would have been nice, as our travel plans were delayed finding another bus. Regardless, I am very grateful for the flowers Manikala gave us- it seems they did indeed assure our safety.
Here is an e-mail I wrote about (five, six, ?) days ago but was unable to send due to connection problems at Sarkuwa (and Pokhara). Take a look....
Unfortunately, there is a problem concerning the school that I have been investigating. We were told earlier during our stay that Janata had given funds to an organization to provide a computer lab for the school. However, this has not materialized. Today Megh and I found and reviewed the school’s folder about this matter. Its contents are described below. I will qualify this in advance by saying 1) all documents were written in Devanagari (Nepali script), so all of the information here was translated to me by Megh and Krishna Icharya (10+ 2 English teacher). Furthermore, the teacher who is most directly involved in this matter is away from the school due to a family illness. I also have trouble communicating with him since we do not share a mutually intelligible language.
We were told that Janata gave app. 60,000 rupees to an American NGO for five computers last year. The staff informed us these computers have never been delivered, nor has an explanation been given by this organization. Here is the information about the organization/s involved:
Committee for the Promotion of Public Awareness and Development Studies (COPPADES) [I was told this is actually a Nepali organization/company]
Supposedly this organization is working in some relation with Nepal ICT Project (I was unable to discern what this acronym represents). The telephone number provided for COPPADES is 01-4355873
The address provided for Nepal ICT Project is: G.P.O. Box No. 5926 (or possibly 5928, 5826, or 5828- I took this information from a grainy, photocopied sheet), Kathmandu, Nepal. Telephone no. 977- 1- 353573
Internet info:e-mail- coppades@ntc.net.npURL http://www.interconnection.org/coppades
When I was asking Megh about this matter yesterday, I specifically asked if there were any written documents that people had signed. There is in fact a contract/ agreement between the school and the aforementioned organization. I think this may be the most important document in this twisted tale. Its contents are divided into two sections: the obligations of Janata School, and the reciprocal obligations of COPPADES.School’s obligations (I have added parenthesis to certain points):
1) Must have electrical supply.
2) Must possess minimum 1 telephone line.
3) Must possess suitable area for computer lab, including appropriate furniture (i.e. chairs, desks, etc.)
4) Must submit a letter from the district education office (in Janata’s case, this office is located in Baglung). This letter must certify that 1) school meets physical prerequisites for a computer lab and 2) the school needs a computer lab.
5) The company to provide the computers is World Computer Exchange, USA (“World Computer Exchange, USA” is written in English). The monetary amount required is 58,500 rupees, with the conditional statement that that price is variable 2,000 rupees (dependent upon ?). Janata submitted 59,500 rupees to COPPADES. The stated fees of 58,500 rupees was to pay for:
Sourcing cost [administrative]
Ocean shipping
Land Shipping [including customs tax and commercial tax]
Administrative and computer installation costs
6) One teacher will travel (somewhere) for computer training. The school is responsible for paying this teacher’s room and board during training.
7) If a computer is damaged, it must be stored in an environment where it will not incur further damage.
COPPADES obligations (parenthesis added again):
1) The organization will send a representative to observe the school’s infrastructure. A school will be selected on the basis of this observation (this is first mention of “selection”).
2) The organization will provide training for one instructor from the school. This includes training instruction, instruments, and fees.
3) The organization will provide the school with:
5 computers
1 printer
instruments needed for network, network cord, etc.
cables
minimum 1 modem
software CDs, according to necessity
4)Within 3 months of computer installation, the organization will provide a representative for supervision, observation, and repair. Representatives will then visit the school a minimum of once a year afterwards.
Signed: Prakash Nepali Narayan Paudel
School supervisor (COPPADES) Head teacher(JanataHSS)
63- 06- 07 (Nepali date) 63- 06- 07
Apparently, the company did send a representative to observe Janata for selection. One instructor, Prem Thapa, also received approximately three months of computer training in Pokhara (training began early December ’06, possibly at NITT in Pokhara [once again, unsure what this acronym [NITT] represents]). COPPADES has not delivered any hardware or software to the school. So, the organization has fulfilled its first two obligations. It has not fulfilled the third, and therefore obviously not the fourth. Janata has documents (from COPPADES) certifying that COPPADES has received all necessary forms and fees from the school. Janata also has photocopies of forms they sent describing:
Janata School’s physical infrastructure
Demographic information: student info (age, sex), instructor info (names, addresses, subjects taught), and school management committee info (names, addresses).
I did not see a copy of the recommendation letter from Baglung, though this does not mean it was not sent.
As I said earlier, all of these forms were written in Devanagiri. Megh also told me that Mr. Thapa phoned the organization approximately a month and a half ago. Megh says they informed him that the organization had no materials for Janata School. As I said before, Mr. Thapa is out of town due to a family illness.
So what does this all amount to? I was considering some possibilities. My first question was whether the money Janata gave COPPADES covered only the expenses of computer instruction in Pokhara. The contract states otherwise. David noted that the school had neither consistent electrical supply nor telephone line (or a very safe area for a lab) upon our arrival. Perhaps this negated any COPPADES obligations? However, if the fees submitted by the school were for computer delivery charges, Janata’s money should have been refunded. Instead, they have received no refund nor any computers. From what I was told, nothing was said about non- refundable fees. Another thought is that something was lost in the translation I was given, or that there was some informal personal communication that abrogated the agreement (would such an exchange be legally binding?) There was also a mention of “selection”- perhaps another school was chosen instead, but Janata was neither informed nor recompensated? Though I am far from expert in these matters, it seems like this entity may be trying to take advantage of the school. An isolated school in a developing country (struggling to modernize) seems like an appealing target for a technology scam. While 59,500 rupees is not a gargantuan monetary amount, it could be used to provide many materials for the school. It is also distressing to think that this organization (if in fact it is predatory) takes advantage of vulnerable, underprivileged schools. Unfortunately, we have little time left here, and I am not sure what can be done from outside Nepal (or inside Nepal for that matter). Maybe some of the other members of the Sarkuwa Project could check out the web listings this organization/s, and see if they seem legitimate. Please share your thoughts on this situation. From my experience, analysis from a single perspective is often deficient.
Much love, Zack
We had our farewell ceremony at the school yesterday. It was a very memorable experience. Several teachers gave speeches, we were presented with certificates and shiny Nepali drinking pitchers, and we received tika and flower garlands from the staff and students. It was a bit overwhelming to be given so many flowers and garlands. By the end of the ceremony, I had something akin to a floral lion's mane draped upon my neck and my face was red(der) with tika. It was a very moving experience. Here is the speech I gave: "Greetings my friends! Our time in Nepal is coming to an end. This makes me sad. People from different nations can learn much from one another. I have learned that many of you want Nepal to change; to become more developed. However, sometimes it takes a great deal of effort to create even a small change. So change is difficult, but it is still very important. Nepal has faced many hardships and difficulties recently. Difficulty can make a nation weak, but it can also make a nation strong. I hope our work here has made Nepal a better and stronger country. Ultimately though, for Nepal to become better and stronger, the work must be accomplished by Nepalis. This is your country. You should be proud of your country, and you should be proud to be Nepali. There are some parts of Nepal that I hope never change. Nepal is a beautiful country. Nepali khana deri deri mito cha (Nepali food tastes very, very good). Most importantly, Nepali people have good hearts. I believe this is more important than money, or material wealth. In some ways, since Nepali people have such good heart, Nepal is already a very developed country. You have shared your homes with us. Dhanyabad (thank you). We will always remember our Nepali friends. Namaskar." We rose early today and finished packing our things for our departure. It was a very sad and somber time as we prepared to leave the Dhakal house. Before we left, Megh's wife, Manikala, gave us tika and red flowers behind our ears for a safe journey. I sweated off the tika on the hike to Kushma and dropped the two red flowers- luckily I picked them up. This retrieval proved most fortuitous, as later in the day our bus swerved on a slick road to avoid an oncoming truck, flew into a ditch, and smashed into a tree. We are unhurt (repeat, no injuries), although some of the other passengers were a bit banged up. I am happy to be alive and everything, but I felt I was entitled to at least a partial refund. This proved impossible because the bus driver and conductor sprinted away immediately after the crash. While admittedly they did get us about halfway to Pokhara, they certainly did not fully render the agreed upon services. I would have liked at least fifty out of one hundred rupees back- sixty would have been nice, as our travel plans were delayed finding another bus. Regardless, I am very grateful for the flowers Manikala gave us- it seems they did indeed assure our safety.
Here is an e-mail I wrote about (five, six, ?) days ago but was unable to send due to connection problems at Sarkuwa (and Pokhara). Take a look....
Unfortunately, there is a problem concerning the school that I have been investigating. We were told earlier during our stay that Janata had given funds to an organization to provide a computer lab for the school. However, this has not materialized. Today Megh and I found and reviewed the school’s folder about this matter. Its contents are described below. I will qualify this in advance by saying 1) all documents were written in Devanagari (Nepali script), so all of the information here was translated to me by Megh and Krishna Icharya (10+ 2 English teacher). Furthermore, the teacher who is most directly involved in this matter is away from the school due to a family illness. I also have trouble communicating with him since we do not share a mutually intelligible language.
We were told that Janata gave app. 60,000 rupees to an American NGO for five computers last year. The staff informed us these computers have never been delivered, nor has an explanation been given by this organization. Here is the information about the organization/s involved:
Committee for the Promotion of Public Awareness and Development Studies (COPPADES) [I was told this is actually a Nepali organization/company]
Supposedly this organization is working in some relation with Nepal ICT Project (I was unable to discern what this acronym represents). The telephone number provided for COPPADES is 01-4355873
The address provided for Nepal ICT Project is: G.P.O. Box No. 5926 (or possibly 5928, 5826, or 5828- I took this information from a grainy, photocopied sheet), Kathmandu, Nepal. Telephone no. 977- 1- 353573
Internet info:e-mail- coppades@ntc.net.npURL http://www.interconnection.org/coppades
When I was asking Megh about this matter yesterday, I specifically asked if there were any written documents that people had signed. There is in fact a contract/ agreement between the school and the aforementioned organization. I think this may be the most important document in this twisted tale. Its contents are divided into two sections: the obligations of Janata School, and the reciprocal obligations of COPPADES.School’s obligations (I have added parenthesis to certain points):
1) Must have electrical supply.
2) Must possess minimum 1 telephone line.
3) Must possess suitable area for computer lab, including appropriate furniture (i.e. chairs, desks, etc.)
4) Must submit a letter from the district education office (in Janata’s case, this office is located in Baglung). This letter must certify that 1) school meets physical prerequisites for a computer lab and 2) the school needs a computer lab.
5) The company to provide the computers is World Computer Exchange, USA (“World Computer Exchange, USA” is written in English). The monetary amount required is 58,500 rupees, with the conditional statement that that price is variable 2,000 rupees (dependent upon ?). Janata submitted 59,500 rupees to COPPADES. The stated fees of 58,500 rupees was to pay for:
Sourcing cost [administrative]
Ocean shipping
Land Shipping [including customs tax and commercial tax]
Administrative and computer installation costs
6) One teacher will travel (somewhere) for computer training. The school is responsible for paying this teacher’s room and board during training.
7) If a computer is damaged, it must be stored in an environment where it will not incur further damage.
COPPADES obligations (parenthesis added again):
1) The organization will send a representative to observe the school’s infrastructure. A school will be selected on the basis of this observation (this is first mention of “selection”).
2) The organization will provide training for one instructor from the school. This includes training instruction, instruments, and fees.
3) The organization will provide the school with:
5 computers
1 printer
instruments needed for network, network cord, etc.
cables
minimum 1 modem
software CDs, according to necessity
4)Within 3 months of computer installation, the organization will provide a representative for supervision, observation, and repair. Representatives will then visit the school a minimum of once a year afterwards.
Signed: Prakash Nepali Narayan Paudel
School supervisor (COPPADES) Head teacher(JanataHSS)
63- 06- 07 (Nepali date) 63- 06- 07
Apparently, the company did send a representative to observe Janata for selection. One instructor, Prem Thapa, also received approximately three months of computer training in Pokhara (training began early December ’06, possibly at NITT in Pokhara [once again, unsure what this acronym [NITT] represents]). COPPADES has not delivered any hardware or software to the school. So, the organization has fulfilled its first two obligations. It has not fulfilled the third, and therefore obviously not the fourth. Janata has documents (from COPPADES) certifying that COPPADES has received all necessary forms and fees from the school. Janata also has photocopies of forms they sent describing:
Janata School’s physical infrastructure
Demographic information: student info (age, sex), instructor info (names, addresses, subjects taught), and school management committee info (names, addresses).
I did not see a copy of the recommendation letter from Baglung, though this does not mean it was not sent.
As I said earlier, all of these forms were written in Devanagiri. Megh also told me that Mr. Thapa phoned the organization approximately a month and a half ago. Megh says they informed him that the organization had no materials for Janata School. As I said before, Mr. Thapa is out of town due to a family illness.
So what does this all amount to? I was considering some possibilities. My first question was whether the money Janata gave COPPADES covered only the expenses of computer instruction in Pokhara. The contract states otherwise. David noted that the school had neither consistent electrical supply nor telephone line (or a very safe area for a lab) upon our arrival. Perhaps this negated any COPPADES obligations? However, if the fees submitted by the school were for computer delivery charges, Janata’s money should have been refunded. Instead, they have received no refund nor any computers. From what I was told, nothing was said about non- refundable fees. Another thought is that something was lost in the translation I was given, or that there was some informal personal communication that abrogated the agreement (would such an exchange be legally binding?) There was also a mention of “selection”- perhaps another school was chosen instead, but Janata was neither informed nor recompensated? Though I am far from expert in these matters, it seems like this entity may be trying to take advantage of the school. An isolated school in a developing country (struggling to modernize) seems like an appealing target for a technology scam. While 59,500 rupees is not a gargantuan monetary amount, it could be used to provide many materials for the school. It is also distressing to think that this organization (if in fact it is predatory) takes advantage of vulnerable, underprivileged schools. Unfortunately, we have little time left here, and I am not sure what can be done from outside Nepal (or inside Nepal for that matter). Maybe some of the other members of the Sarkuwa Project could check out the web listings this organization/s, and see if they seem legitimate. Please share your thoughts on this situation. From my experience, analysis from a single perspective is often deficient.
Much love, Zack
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Greetings from Megh Raj Dhakal
Greetings friends of Sarkuwa,
I thank Mr. Pramod, Mrs. Donna & Mr. Tom for the managing of volunteer teachers in Sarkuwa. Your initiation towards Sarkuwa is appreciated and I am grateful to you & for your efforts. I also thank all those who have concern for Sarkuwa.
I am enjoying here with David & Zack receiving as teachers and friends. I am happy to receive them as a family member. All of our school family and my family are also happy. They are becoming close friends for me, my family, and our school.
Now Internet system is connected in my house and it is going to connect in our school also. Our newly constructed school building is going to be plastered by cement tomorrow. Due to the lack of classroom for grade 11 and 12 class we are not able to manage a separate computer lab. After about one month we will shift our class to new building and we will manage a computer lab.
Everything is good.
Cordially,
Megh Raj Dhakal
I thank Mr. Pramod, Mrs. Donna & Mr. Tom for the managing of volunteer teachers in Sarkuwa. Your initiation towards Sarkuwa is appreciated and I am grateful to you & for your efforts. I also thank all those who have concern for Sarkuwa.
I am enjoying here with David & Zack receiving as teachers and friends. I am happy to receive them as a family member. All of our school family and my family are also happy. They are becoming close friends for me, my family, and our school.
Now Internet system is connected in my house and it is going to connect in our school also. Our newly constructed school building is going to be plastered by cement tomorrow. Due to the lack of classroom for grade 11 and 12 class we are not able to manage a separate computer lab. After about one month we will shift our class to new building and we will manage a computer lab.
Everything is good.
Cordially,
Megh Raj Dhakal
Challenges for the English Curriculum
As you know, Grades 11 and 12 were founded at Janata Higher Secondary School on the basis of the support of Tom and Donna. This program has been very beneficial for the school in some aspects. Many students who were too poor to study away from home at a private school or boarding school were enabled to receive a higher level of education. I will now outline the situation as I see because there is a crisis with Grade 12.
After the Tiffin interval yesterday, AKA lunch, I walked outside of the teachers lounge after losing a match of chess to get some sun and warmth. The bell had just rung, and so the students were expected to go back to class. A bunch of my 12th graders were hanging around and lingering in a large group outside the school. I walked up to them and asked why they weren’t going to class, and one of the students said in a defeated tone, “We all failed sir.”
This was shocking to hear of course. Of the 21 currently enrolled students in 12th grade, only 2 have passed the requisite nationwide standardized test they must take in April to carry on from Grade 11 to 12. So in effect, they were not eligible to be in 12 at all…
However, there is some good news regarding this. 11 of the students only failed in one exam. They must take 5 exams, of which they must score 35 out of 100 to pass. The 5 exams cover subjects such as compulsory English, compulsory Nepali, Economics, Sociology, Introduction to Education, Educational Pedagogy, Mathematics, optional English, and optional Nepali. Those are all courses they may take. The course every student that failed was compulsary English.
So, 11 students may be able to stay within the 12th grade by taking a supplementary exam. Hopefully a few of them may pass this exam, but the odds are slim. The score of the highest failing student was a 22, 13 below the required 35. Too many of the students did not even have scores in the double digits. This obviously highlights a central problem that is afflicting Janata, that is how can you offer successful Higher Secondary Schooling if the students cannot pass the national examination?
This Grade 12 is the first class of HSS at Janata. Obviously you would expect problems with the first class, but this situation seems fairly severe. Here are a few of the troubles facing the school:
· Students failing one or even two subjects may still carry on to the next grade. In this way, a student may never catch up once they fall behind in a given subject. This carries on up until Grade 10, when they may officially graduate.
· The school is a government school. The difference is that parents are willing to pay more money when they send their child to boarding school, but not so for government schools. A boarding school student may receive 900 Rs of textbooks and workbooks, whereas a government school student may receive 200-300 Rs of textbooks and workbooks.
· The English teachers may not be fulfilling the needs of the children to prepare them for the road ahead. English is taught in English and Nepali. However, very little spoken English is actually used in the classroom, and nearly everything is explained in Nepali.
· There are no media outlets here that provide English media such as magazines, newspapers, books, TV, or what have you. There is a 15-minute English news segment on Radio Nepal. There are few people who speak passable conversational English and little opportunity to practice, imitate, or model speech.
· In Grade 12 I have a student that is 23, and students that are 16. A seven- year age gap seems quite significant.
I may have missed some other elements but I think you will get the idea of why 19 out of 21 failed. It is fairly discouraging but there are several ways of addressing the issue. This most likely involves changing the way that English is taught and convincing the headmaster that this is necessary. If they must pass compulsory English in Higher Secondary School, the problem is not just within the HSS curriculum but within the secondary curriculum and perhaps even primary too.
It takes many years to acquire and master a language, and after looking at a study guide for an SLC exam for 9th and 10th grade I can safely say that the current 10th graders are nowhere near the level of comprehension required to successfully complete the test. During our travels we would encounter many young persons in cities who would come up to us and start talking to us. Generally their English was much better than the students at Sarkuwa. There is a nationwide standard but I have a feeling that the standard for English is unfair for the rural areas.
They suffer from a poverty of information in English and a lack of English speakers, which is more prevalent in the developed areas. I get the feeling most volunteer English teachers, of which there are a lot, teach in the cities such as Pokhara or Kathmandu. So how can we attempt to remedy the situation? English speakers obviously help, but the length of our stay and the month long vacation add up to a small change.
Supplemental materials such as audio books or perhaps educational DVD movies could greatly benefit the students if they were used. Of course proper textbooks would go a long way towards advancing them towards their goal, but the trouble here is that a lot of books are required and they must match up with nationwide course expectations. Students that fail English should not be passed onto the next grade if the school is serious about preparing students properly for HSS and university or college. As much as I hate to say it, a certain amount of teaching the exams wouldn’t hurt either. The students must be fully prepared for what will be on the test.
Anyhow, this is my feeling at the near end of our time here. It came as quite a shock when we learned of this yesterday, and had we known some of the problems facing Janata perhaps we could have come better prepared.
Now onto some much lighter news. Today there was a wedding near the school and one of the teachers, Tila, was the bride! We were invited by a gift of a packet of sweets that is the customary individual invitation. The wedding began at 11:00 AM although I am not sure what this actually entailed besides loud music drifting into the classrooms. Then, near Tiffin interval, the sound of a rampaging pack of elephants could be heard coming down the mountain! Ok, it was not in fact a rampaging pack of elephants but the groom’s procession, accompanied by a traditional Nepali wedding band.
A long line of men in Topis streamed down the mountain to the bride’s families’ house. Zach and I followed them down with the other teachers and watched as the arriving men from the groom’s side received a special Tika upon entering a banana leaf gate. Everyone clustered around the Bride and Groom and red rice was passed around. Some rite was performed and then everyone threw the red rice into the air as a celebration. Then they were taken away, the music started and an older man began to dance, looking graceful at times and like his legs were about to buckle at others.
We were taken down past the party to eat which is a customary requirement of participating in the wedding. So all the teachers sat down and dined on straw mats. They served us Dalbhat with some curried goat meat and curried vegetables. For desert there were little balls of millet that were very sweet and tasted like Raxi, sort of like those brandy candies.
After eating we went and looked at the Bride and Groom for a while. She looked beautiful and was wearing exquisite clothes laced with gold thread and had her hair done up. She did not look up though. I guess the bride is not allowed to do so. The groom was looking pretty spiffy as well in a fancy Topi, suit, and sunglasses. There were many bowls of spices and brightly colored mixtures laying around. Opposite them were the brides parents and perhaps the grooms parents. It wasn’t explained and everything happened very quickly.
We were then taken back to the main party where small groups of people would take turns dancing. Of course, everyone upon seeing us immediately insisted that we dance to honor the newlyweds. So Zach and I danced to the rampaging elephant music, complete with atonal trumpeting, and then the music became faster and faster so we danced faster and crazier, and then it slowed to a halt as did we. Everyone was cheering, and feeling like we had done our part, we tried slinking back into the crowd but the initial older dancer insisted that we dance a second time. So we did! After we had honored the wedding in such a manner it was time to get back to school, although the whole way we were accompanied by swathes of our screaming students requesting that we dance more. Apparently we were a hit.
We finished up the day at school as the wedding continued below. All the students and teachers were complimenting our dancing and requesting more. I danced for the 12th grade after they got a hard question right. After school we were summoned backed down to the wedding, where immediately they wanted us to dance some more. So we danced three more dances in front of the band and crowd to much cheering and revelry.
Everyone wanted to shake our hands, and then the band got up and everyone began moving towards where the Bride and Groom were. The band played and lots of people were dancing now, and then we saw the Groom carrying the Bride on his back. He led the procession up the mountain, and most of the wedding-goers followed them up the mountain, with the Brides family remaining. He took her to his house somewhere up Sarkuwa, where she will now live. Probably there will be much revelry tonight.
That’s all I have for today. THAT’S ALL? You say. Yes. It is. One more computer is on it’s way out so we are back down to two in term of functionality. I am trying to fix this computer but so far cannot figure out what is wrong with it. It has no CD drive so I can’t use the repair tools. Disk Check has been performed successfully. It blue screens after 5-10 minutes of use or sometimes gives a blue screen on startup that says that the BIOS software is incompatible with the . It may have a virus, as foreign software has been installed but it has no virus protection. Probably fixable if Windows is replaced with Linux. Ok That’s All Folks!
David
PS Prem Thapa at Sarkuwa has the most computer training and seems most able. However he speaks little English. Next up is Tek Thapa. His English is better, but not by much. He does not have training but is learning quite fast and is very enthusiastic. Also, if it could be arranged for Hari Paudel to be there when they arrive, I am sure that it would be extremely beneficial for both the Janata staff and the GCI and Shanti. He is very knowledgable about computers and speaks decent English, two qualities that are not shared in any other person I’ve met in this area.
PSS Hopefully when I send this I will have remembered to actually attach the Google Earth locations. I didn’t last time, which is why it didn’t work. As always, this is a prerecorded message and will be sent in a blitz of internet usage to reduce modem time. Sayanara.
After the Tiffin interval yesterday, AKA lunch, I walked outside of the teachers lounge after losing a match of chess to get some sun and warmth. The bell had just rung, and so the students were expected to go back to class. A bunch of my 12th graders were hanging around and lingering in a large group outside the school. I walked up to them and asked why they weren’t going to class, and one of the students said in a defeated tone, “We all failed sir.”
This was shocking to hear of course. Of the 21 currently enrolled students in 12th grade, only 2 have passed the requisite nationwide standardized test they must take in April to carry on from Grade 11 to 12. So in effect, they were not eligible to be in 12 at all…
However, there is some good news regarding this. 11 of the students only failed in one exam. They must take 5 exams, of which they must score 35 out of 100 to pass. The 5 exams cover subjects such as compulsory English, compulsory Nepali, Economics, Sociology, Introduction to Education, Educational Pedagogy, Mathematics, optional English, and optional Nepali. Those are all courses they may take. The course every student that failed was compulsary English.
So, 11 students may be able to stay within the 12th grade by taking a supplementary exam. Hopefully a few of them may pass this exam, but the odds are slim. The score of the highest failing student was a 22, 13 below the required 35. Too many of the students did not even have scores in the double digits. This obviously highlights a central problem that is afflicting Janata, that is how can you offer successful Higher Secondary Schooling if the students cannot pass the national examination?
This Grade 12 is the first class of HSS at Janata. Obviously you would expect problems with the first class, but this situation seems fairly severe. Here are a few of the troubles facing the school:
· Students failing one or even two subjects may still carry on to the next grade. In this way, a student may never catch up once they fall behind in a given subject. This carries on up until Grade 10, when they may officially graduate.
· The school is a government school. The difference is that parents are willing to pay more money when they send their child to boarding school, but not so for government schools. A boarding school student may receive 900 Rs of textbooks and workbooks, whereas a government school student may receive 200-300 Rs of textbooks and workbooks.
· The English teachers may not be fulfilling the needs of the children to prepare them for the road ahead. English is taught in English and Nepali. However, very little spoken English is actually used in the classroom, and nearly everything is explained in Nepali.
· There are no media outlets here that provide English media such as magazines, newspapers, books, TV, or what have you. There is a 15-minute English news segment on Radio Nepal. There are few people who speak passable conversational English and little opportunity to practice, imitate, or model speech.
· In Grade 12 I have a student that is 23, and students that are 16. A seven- year age gap seems quite significant.
I may have missed some other elements but I think you will get the idea of why 19 out of 21 failed. It is fairly discouraging but there are several ways of addressing the issue. This most likely involves changing the way that English is taught and convincing the headmaster that this is necessary. If they must pass compulsory English in Higher Secondary School, the problem is not just within the HSS curriculum but within the secondary curriculum and perhaps even primary too.
It takes many years to acquire and master a language, and after looking at a study guide for an SLC exam for 9th and 10th grade I can safely say that the current 10th graders are nowhere near the level of comprehension required to successfully complete the test. During our travels we would encounter many young persons in cities who would come up to us and start talking to us. Generally their English was much better than the students at Sarkuwa. There is a nationwide standard but I have a feeling that the standard for English is unfair for the rural areas.
They suffer from a poverty of information in English and a lack of English speakers, which is more prevalent in the developed areas. I get the feeling most volunteer English teachers, of which there are a lot, teach in the cities such as Pokhara or Kathmandu. So how can we attempt to remedy the situation? English speakers obviously help, but the length of our stay and the month long vacation add up to a small change.
Supplemental materials such as audio books or perhaps educational DVD movies could greatly benefit the students if they were used. Of course proper textbooks would go a long way towards advancing them towards their goal, but the trouble here is that a lot of books are required and they must match up with nationwide course expectations. Students that fail English should not be passed onto the next grade if the school is serious about preparing students properly for HSS and university or college. As much as I hate to say it, a certain amount of teaching the exams wouldn’t hurt either. The students must be fully prepared for what will be on the test.
Anyhow, this is my feeling at the near end of our time here. It came as quite a shock when we learned of this yesterday, and had we known some of the problems facing Janata perhaps we could have come better prepared.
Now onto some much lighter news. Today there was a wedding near the school and one of the teachers, Tila, was the bride! We were invited by a gift of a packet of sweets that is the customary individual invitation. The wedding began at 11:00 AM although I am not sure what this actually entailed besides loud music drifting into the classrooms. Then, near Tiffin interval, the sound of a rampaging pack of elephants could be heard coming down the mountain! Ok, it was not in fact a rampaging pack of elephants but the groom’s procession, accompanied by a traditional Nepali wedding band.
A long line of men in Topis streamed down the mountain to the bride’s families’ house. Zach and I followed them down with the other teachers and watched as the arriving men from the groom’s side received a special Tika upon entering a banana leaf gate. Everyone clustered around the Bride and Groom and red rice was passed around. Some rite was performed and then everyone threw the red rice into the air as a celebration. Then they were taken away, the music started and an older man began to dance, looking graceful at times and like his legs were about to buckle at others.
We were taken down past the party to eat which is a customary requirement of participating in the wedding. So all the teachers sat down and dined on straw mats. They served us Dalbhat with some curried goat meat and curried vegetables. For desert there were little balls of millet that were very sweet and tasted like Raxi, sort of like those brandy candies.
After eating we went and looked at the Bride and Groom for a while. She looked beautiful and was wearing exquisite clothes laced with gold thread and had her hair done up. She did not look up though. I guess the bride is not allowed to do so. The groom was looking pretty spiffy as well in a fancy Topi, suit, and sunglasses. There were many bowls of spices and brightly colored mixtures laying around. Opposite them were the brides parents and perhaps the grooms parents. It wasn’t explained and everything happened very quickly.
We were then taken back to the main party where small groups of people would take turns dancing. Of course, everyone upon seeing us immediately insisted that we dance to honor the newlyweds. So Zach and I danced to the rampaging elephant music, complete with atonal trumpeting, and then the music became faster and faster so we danced faster and crazier, and then it slowed to a halt as did we. Everyone was cheering, and feeling like we had done our part, we tried slinking back into the crowd but the initial older dancer insisted that we dance a second time. So we did! After we had honored the wedding in such a manner it was time to get back to school, although the whole way we were accompanied by swathes of our screaming students requesting that we dance more. Apparently we were a hit.
We finished up the day at school as the wedding continued below. All the students and teachers were complimenting our dancing and requesting more. I danced for the 12th grade after they got a hard question right. After school we were summoned backed down to the wedding, where immediately they wanted us to dance some more. So we danced three more dances in front of the band and crowd to much cheering and revelry.
Everyone wanted to shake our hands, and then the band got up and everyone began moving towards where the Bride and Groom were. The band played and lots of people were dancing now, and then we saw the Groom carrying the Bride on his back. He led the procession up the mountain, and most of the wedding-goers followed them up the mountain, with the Brides family remaining. He took her to his house somewhere up Sarkuwa, where she will now live. Probably there will be much revelry tonight.
That’s all I have for today. THAT’S ALL? You say. Yes. It is. One more computer is on it’s way out so we are back down to two in term of functionality. I am trying to fix this computer but so far cannot figure out what is wrong with it. It has no CD drive so I can’t use the repair tools. Disk Check has been performed successfully. It blue screens after 5-10 minutes of use or sometimes gives a blue screen on startup that says that the BIOS software is incompatible with the . It may have a virus, as foreign software has been installed but it has no virus protection. Probably fixable if Windows is replaced with Linux. Ok That’s All Folks!
David
PS Prem Thapa at Sarkuwa has the most computer training and seems most able. However he speaks little English. Next up is Tek Thapa. His English is better, but not by much. He does not have training but is learning quite fast and is very enthusiastic. Also, if it could be arranged for Hari Paudel to be there when they arrive, I am sure that it would be extremely beneficial for both the Janata staff and the GCI and Shanti. He is very knowledgable about computers and speaks decent English, two qualities that are not shared in any other person I’ve met in this area.
PSS Hopefully when I send this I will have remembered to actually attach the Google Earth locations. I didn’t last time, which is why it didn’t work. As always, this is a prerecorded message and will be sent in a blitz of internet usage to reduce modem time. Sayanara.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Full Moon
Update 11-23-07
The antenna has not yet been properly installed in a suitable location, but hopefully this will be taken care of soon. It’s starting to sink in that we only have a week and a bit left here and it’s an odd feeling. Megh’s buffalo just had a calf, it is very cute but very awkward. As a celebration we have been having coagulated milk from the new mother. It is very tasty, although a bit filling. It is also orange season, and I have learned the hard way that the sweet sweet fruit is protected by sharp pointy thorns.
At this point all of the rice and millet has been harvested and the women have been busy planting the winter crop of potatoes. The land is looking somewhat bare without the rice paddies, and many of the trees have had branches cut off to feed the buffalos. It is quite a different landscape than when we arrived. Zach and I were marveling earlier how the change happened incredibly quickly, as for the first month and a half nothing really seemed to change. The river Taoli, which we cross to go to Ghari Bazaar, at times had been so swollen that it was too dangerous to attempt. Now the water is so low it seems more like a small stream or brook passing through mounds of rocks.
Tonight there is a nearly full moon, which is casting tons of light upon the land. It is possible to navigate most of the trails here by the full moon, although if there is too much canopy overhead it becomes difficult. It is much brighter than in Illinois though, this much is certain. Zach is convinced that it also looks different than back home. The ascendant moon has religious connotations as according to tradition the people are not supposed to are not supposed to eat meat or drink during the waning moon. Also ancestor worship is practiced at the beginning of the waxing moon.
That’s all for now!
David
The antenna has not yet been properly installed in a suitable location, but hopefully this will be taken care of soon. It’s starting to sink in that we only have a week and a bit left here and it’s an odd feeling. Megh’s buffalo just had a calf, it is very cute but very awkward. As a celebration we have been having coagulated milk from the new mother. It is very tasty, although a bit filling. It is also orange season, and I have learned the hard way that the sweet sweet fruit is protected by sharp pointy thorns.
At this point all of the rice and millet has been harvested and the women have been busy planting the winter crop of potatoes. The land is looking somewhat bare without the rice paddies, and many of the trees have had branches cut off to feed the buffalos. It is quite a different landscape than when we arrived. Zach and I were marveling earlier how the change happened incredibly quickly, as for the first month and a half nothing really seemed to change. The river Taoli, which we cross to go to Ghari Bazaar, at times had been so swollen that it was too dangerous to attempt. Now the water is so low it seems more like a small stream or brook passing through mounds of rocks.
Tonight there is a nearly full moon, which is casting tons of light upon the land. It is possible to navigate most of the trails here by the full moon, although if there is too much canopy overhead it becomes difficult. It is much brighter than in Illinois though, this much is certain. Zach is convinced that it also looks different than back home. The ascendant moon has religious connotations as according to tradition the people are not supposed to are not supposed to eat meat or drink during the waning moon. Also ancestor worship is practiced at the beginning of the waxing moon.
That’s all for now!
David
Antenna has arrived
Update 11-21-07
Hey folks,
Ok, New positive development! The antenna finally arrived at the school today. After some initial confusion about the cabling and the Chinese manual, we finally got it to work. A suitable location for the antenna has not yet been found, as the location where it does work is too close to the students. The teachers are worried they will try to damage it. Hopefully a favorable location will be found tomorrow, and then we shall try to send a message out from Janata.
I think we may have a few teachers who are beginning to take to the computers. Luckily one of the teachers has had some computer training, and even though at first he claimed that he had forgotten most of it, he is getting along pretty well with excel. Also the teachers who have figured some things out are helping to show the others how to operate the computers. So things are moving along. It would help of course if the electricity came on before 2:30 PM, but hey, what can you do?
Getting back into the swing of teaching has been a bit difficult after a months break, but we’re managing. We’ve had to do quite a bit of review, as the students have had a lot of time to forget what we taught them beforehand. It is starting to get fairly cold here, especially during the nights, but on the plus side the air has been very crisp and clear. For the last week or so the Annapurnas have been visible in their full majestic glory. For much of our time here clouds have obscured them.
Will hopefully send out a message from Janata tomorrow!
David
Hey folks,
Ok, New positive development! The antenna finally arrived at the school today. After some initial confusion about the cabling and the Chinese manual, we finally got it to work. A suitable location for the antenna has not yet been found, as the location where it does work is too close to the students. The teachers are worried they will try to damage it. Hopefully a favorable location will be found tomorrow, and then we shall try to send a message out from Janata.
I think we may have a few teachers who are beginning to take to the computers. Luckily one of the teachers has had some computer training, and even though at first he claimed that he had forgotten most of it, he is getting along pretty well with excel. Also the teachers who have figured some things out are helping to show the others how to operate the computers. So things are moving along. It would help of course if the electricity came on before 2:30 PM, but hey, what can you do?
Getting back into the swing of teaching has been a bit difficult after a months break, but we’re managing. We’ve had to do quite a bit of review, as the students have had a lot of time to forget what we taught them beforehand. It is starting to get fairly cold here, especially during the nights, but on the plus side the air has been very crisp and clear. For the last week or so the Annapurnas have been visible in their full majestic glory. For much of our time here clouds have obscured them.
Will hopefully send out a message from Janata tomorrow!
David
Monday, November 19, 2007
Brief note from David - November 17
The seasons are changing here and today we harvested the ricefield next to Megh Raj Dhakals house. It was shorter rice than the rice we harvested on Monday. It was a lot of fun, we got to bundle it all together and beat it against rocks. School is going decently, although progress in the computer lab is somewhat lacking right now. Hopefully it will all come together. We are looking for Larry Wood's Champion.
On Thursday we hiked up to the top of Sarkuwa, the hill, and watched the sunset over the Himalayas or more specifically, the Annapurnas. It was very beautiful as they turned from golden yellow to red to bluish purple. Hope everyone is doing well, David
On Thursday we hiked up to the top of Sarkuwa, the hill, and watched the sunset over the Himalayas or more specifically, the Annapurnas. It was very beautiful as they turned from golden yellow to red to bluish purple. Hope everyone is doing well, David
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Travels around Nepal
Zach and I are currently in Pokhara after a three day jaunt to Chitawan National Park. We stayed at a nice little lodge with a man a named Anil serving as our host and guide. We met some nice people from Ireland and Israel, and had a fun evening sampling the local spirit and viewing the Tharu Cultural program. It was nice and refreshing to hang out with other English speakers for a while.
Chittawan is a very beautiful place. It is very flat and was formerly covered in jungle, although much of this has been chopped down. There is a nice beach that overlooks the river and the jungle in the town, and there were restaurants and deck chairs there. Good spot to have a beer. As we sat down we noticed a crocodile resting on a rock in the river basking in the warm glow of the red sun.
We took a nice tour our first evening around the Tharu village and they are in the process of harvesting their wheat fields. The architecture is slightly different than at Madhi. There were elephants ev
erywhere. We walked to the elephant stables and saw some of the working Pachyderms, and then did a short walk through the jungle.
The next day was action packed. We took a dugout canoe ride down the river and saw many beautiful birds, such as the intermediate Egrit and the Greater Hornbill, a rare bird. There were also two crocodiles, a marshmugger that looked like a nasty piece of work, and a Gharial, which is a vegetarian crocodile that eats algae and moss. It had a very long thin snout and sharp pointy teeth!
We went for a jungle walk through huge tall grass and forests. Two yellow breasted martins were scampering through the trees in search of bird eggs to snatch. They were very long and thin with a big v shaped patch of yellow fur on their breasts. As we came to a little stream that winded its way in between the tall grass and forest we saw our first rhinoceros, submerged in the water. I think we were less than 15 feet away from it, but a bit higher up. He didn't really seem to care about our presence, and just sat there in water blowing bubbles.
After we finished our marveling at the rhino we journeyed on to the Elephant Breeding Centre. Along the way we saw some peacocks, deer, ox, and Tharu herdsmen. The Breeding Centre was very cool, although the process of training the young elephants is somewhat cruel. They start training at the age of 3-4 and it involves establishing the relationship of the mahout to the elephant as master. This involves physical abuse and month long starvation and deprivation of water.
The baby elephants were incredibly cute, and they liked the attention of people. Surprisingly they are very solid and muscular. They also like water bottles and biscuits! My water bottle became a target for them and wandering trunks and expectant mouths came towards me. So I gave them some water with some difficulty, which they sucked up and then blew into their mouth. They have very rigid hairs on their backs, it is odd. Many of the younger elephants were dancing, which apparently is some way to keep insects away. It was quite a funny site though.
We then went back to the beach by jeep, where we bathed with the elephants. They would never let you do this in the States! We got to climb up onto the elephants in the water, and then the handler would give a command to the elephant to throw you off like a bucking bronco! Oh it was fantastic! Sitting right by its head it's nearly impossible to stay on. I managed a longer time slightly farther back. We'd do this two people at a time. It was incredibly weird to be thrown off into the water, be caught by the current and drift, catch yourself, and be right next to another enormous elephant laying sideways in the water, with it's huge trunk and legs feet from you.
Then we had lunch.
That afternoon we went on an elephant jungle safari, where you ride the elephants through the jungle. This was pretty spectacular and bizarre. Elephants are perhaps the best all-terrain vehicles ever. I was riding backwards for part of it, and when we would go uphill it felt as if I would fall right down if i let go of the guard rails. We would stop every so often to feed him some bananas. His name was Anogile. Namaste Anogile! We saw some deer, lots of birds, monkeys, lots of elephants with people on them, and another Rhino! He was a big one and we were able to get quite close on the elephants. He looked really fierce but docile, and not in any way shape or form capable of traveling the apparent 45 kilometers per hour he is alleged to perform.
Finally that night we had dalbaat for dinner to our amusement and then saw the Tharu Cultural program, which featured a man in a peacock costume dancing, firedancing, and then us dancing with a bunch of Nepali's and other tourists to a Nepali band. It was a good laugh.
Unfortunately, I have no photographs of all of this as my camera fell out my pocket in
to the river on the dugout canoe ride. Whoops. I have the camera as a Nepali retrieved it for me, but I am waiting to see if it works after drying out. Sorry mum. 
Welcome to the group Larry Wood! Any improvement in the current situation regarding the internet would be vastly beneficial to the school.
All the best,
David
Chittawan is a very beautiful place. It is very flat and was formerly covered in jungle, although much of this has been chopped down. There is a nice beach that overlooks the river and the jungle in the town, and there were restaurants and deck chairs there. Good spot to have a beer. As we sat down we noticed a crocodile resting on a rock in the river basking in the warm glow of the red sun.
We took a nice tour our first evening around the Tharu village and they are in the process of harvesting their wheat fields. The architecture is slightly different than at Madhi. There were elephants ev
erywhere. We walked to the elephant stables and saw some of the working Pachyderms, and then did a short walk through the jungle.The next day was action packed. We took a dugout canoe ride down the river and saw many beautiful birds, such as the intermediate Egrit and the Greater Hornbill, a rare bird. There were also two crocodiles, a marshmugger that looked like a nasty piece of work, and a Gharial, which is a vegetarian crocodile that eats algae and moss. It had a very long thin snout and sharp pointy teeth!
We went for a jungle walk through huge tall grass and forests. Two yellow breasted martins were scampering through the trees in search of bird eggs to snatch. They were very long and thin with a big v shaped patch of yellow fur on their breasts. As we came to a little stream that winded its way in between the tall grass and forest we saw our first rhinoceros, submerged in the water. I think we were less than 15 feet away from it, but a bit higher up. He didn't really seem to care about our presence, and just sat there in water blowing bubbles.
After we finished our marveling at the rhino we journeyed on to the Elephant Breeding Centre. Along the way we saw some peacocks, deer, ox, and Tharu herdsmen. The Breeding Centre was very cool, although the process of training the young elephants is somewhat cruel. They start training at the age of 3-4 and it involves establishing the relationship of the mahout to the elephant as master. This involves physical abuse and month long starvation and deprivation of water.
The baby elephants were incredibly cute, and they liked the attention of people. Surprisingly they are very solid and muscular. They also like water bottles and biscuits! My water bottle became a target for them and wandering trunks and expectant mouths came towards me. So I gave them some water with some difficulty, which they sucked up and then blew into their mouth. They have very rigid hairs on their backs, it is odd. Many of the younger elephants were dancing, which apparently is some way to keep insects away. It was quite a funny site though.
We then went back to the beach by jeep, where we bathed with the elephants. They would never let you do this in the States! We got to climb up onto the elephants in the water, and then the handler would give a command to the elephant to throw you off like a bucking bronco! Oh it was fantastic! Sitting right by its head it's nearly impossible to stay on. I managed a longer time slightly farther back. We'd do this two people at a time. It was incredibly weird to be thrown off into the water, be caught by the current and drift, catch yourself, and be right next to another enormous elephant laying sideways in the water, with it's huge trunk and legs feet from you.
Then we had lunch.
That afternoon we went on an elephant jungle safari, where you ride the elephants through the jungle. This was pretty spectacular and bizarre. Elephants are perhaps the best all-terrain vehicles ever. I was riding backwards for part of it, and when we would go uphill it felt as if I would fall right down if i let go of the guard rails. We would stop every so often to feed him some bananas. His name was Anogile. Namaste Anogile! We saw some deer, lots of birds, monkeys, lots of elephants with people on them, and another Rhino! He was a big one and we were able to get quite close on the elephants. He looked really fierce but docile, and not in any way shape or form capable of traveling the apparent 45 kilometers per hour he is alleged to perform.
Finally that night we had dalbaat for dinner to our amusement and then saw the Tharu Cultural program, which featured a man in a peacock costume dancing, firedancing, and then us dancing with a bunch of Nepali's and other tourists to a Nepali band. It was a good laugh.
Unfortunately, I have no photographs of all of this as my camera fell out my pocket in
to the river on the dugout canoe ride. Whoops. I have the camera as a Nepali retrieved it for me, but I am waiting to see if it works after drying out. Sorry mum. Welcome to the group Larry Wood! Any improvement in the current situation regarding the internet would be vastly beneficial to the school.All the best,
David
Computers and Internet
Greetings Pramod and friends of Sarkuwa!
I will begin by addressing the issue of Internet connectivity here, as I think you may have the wrong impression of the situation here. Janata Higher Secondary School does not in fact have any Internet capability. Only recently have they even gained access to electricity, and this is not solidly available on a regular basis. Over the 15-day break of Dashain, we have been conducting computer classes for the teaching staff. Several days classes have had to be abandoned however, due to a lack of electricity. Although the operators know that the school has requested the electricity, for some reason they do not provide any on certain days.
This has been somewhat frustrating, as well as the fact that we only have two functional computers right now to teach with. I will briefly list the problems facing us.
1. HP Windows ME – BIOS password has been set and we’re not sure how this happened or what the password is. This is a huge problem as this is the second best computer in terms of capabilities and age.
2. Dell Latitude Windows 2000 – Hard drive is not found upon booting up, possibly due to the drive having a loose connection. At this point we do not have an appropriate screwdriver to open the casing.
3. Dell Latitude Windows 98 and Toshiba Windows 98 – Hard drives have fatal disk errors and cannot be recovered through reformatting, disk checking, or erasing.
4. Dell Something Windows 95? – Has no operating system and only a floppy disk drive for input.
These are the problems facing us currently in terms of computer hardware. Apparently Megh Raj Dhakal has ordered an appropriate modern antenna for the school’s CDMA phone that will hopefully provide reliable connectivity. Currently the phone has to be walked up to a higher point on the hill to receive a signal. The antenna that Megh has ordered is similar to the one he has at his house, so you may assume that the connectivity and reliability will be roughly on par with his house, although this of course is not a given due to the difference in location and topology of the school. Previously a more basic antenna has been tried with no success, although it seemed like a home built type of device.
Our communications have all been conducted at Megh Raj Dhakal’s house. We have streamlined the process as much as possible to reduce Internet usage, so it usually takes at least a day to respond to any message in detail. The Internet connection is through the CDMA phone, which has a built-in modem that connects to the COM port on the computer. It offers speeds of up to 115 kb/s, which is excruciatingly slow when connecting to broadband dependent websites. Primarily we have resorted to only using this for email and communication. We apologize for not touching the blog site set up, but due to the fact that it takes around 8-10 minutes to access our e-mail which usually must go through 2-3 pages of loading to check, we have neglected the blog.
The rate that the Internet is charged at is 8 rupees a minute, which is very reasonable given the phone rates here. I believe it is 25 rs/m to call Kathmandu. The CDMA phone operates on a charge card, so it is similar to a pay-as-you-go phone. As you may know, the CDMA phone operates via Nepal Telecom broadcasting towers and has no direct line. This means that frequently due to weather or equipment the connection is not available at all, both for phone calls and Internet. The phone runs on a battery that is charged when there is electricity, and the electricity usually only runs from 6-12 pm.
The hydroelectric generator that powers Mahdi seems to be having problems as well, as during the last few weeks power has been infrequent and inconsistent. The problem seems to have been fixed in the last few days, but its reliability leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you are powering computers.
We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new antenna for the school, but we have no idea when this will happen. It is a source of some frustration that we have not been able to set up an Internet email account for the school or teach the teachers how to use the Internet. The antenna was ordered around a month ago perhaps, the actual time is unclear.
I am glad the Himalayan Heartbeat event went well, and that Tom and Donna made an excellent presentation! Everyone here asks after you and wants to know when Donna Lea is coming to Sarkuwa. We have tried to explain that it may not be possible but they all want to see you anyway! The people here are also very interested in the next set of teachers to come, whom we have told them are of Nepali descent. This is correct right?
We will try to provide some of the statistics you asked for at a later date. We hope everyone is well and happy.
David
I will begin by addressing the issue of Internet connectivity here, as I think you may have the wrong impression of the situation here. Janata Higher Secondary School does not in fact have any Internet capability. Only recently have they even gained access to electricity, and this is not solidly available on a regular basis. Over the 15-day break of Dashain, we have been conducting computer classes for the teaching staff. Several days classes have had to be abandoned however, due to a lack of electricity. Although the operators know that the school has requested the electricity, for some reason they do not provide any on certain days.
This has been somewhat frustrating, as well as the fact that we only have two functional computers right now to teach with. I will briefly list the problems facing us.
1. HP Windows ME – BIOS password has been set and we’re not sure how this happened or what the password is. This is a huge problem as this is the second best computer in terms of capabilities and age.
2. Dell Latitude Windows 2000 – Hard drive is not found upon booting up, possibly due to the drive having a loose connection. At this point we do not have an appropriate screwdriver to open the casing.
3. Dell Latitude Windows 98 and Toshiba Windows 98 – Hard drives have fatal disk errors and cannot be recovered through reformatting, disk checking, or erasing.
4. Dell Something Windows 95? – Has no operating system and only a floppy disk drive for input.
These are the problems facing us currently in terms of computer hardware. Apparently Megh Raj Dhakal has ordered an appropriate modern antenna for the school’s CDMA phone that will hopefully provide reliable connectivity. Currently the phone has to be walked up to a higher point on the hill to receive a signal. The antenna that Megh has ordered is similar to the one he has at his house, so you may assume that the connectivity and reliability will be roughly on par with his house, although this of course is not a given due to the difference in location and topology of the school. Previously a more basic antenna has been tried with no success, although it seemed like a home built type of device.
Our communications have all been conducted at Megh Raj Dhakal’s house. We have streamlined the process as much as possible to reduce Internet usage, so it usually takes at least a day to respond to any message in detail. The Internet connection is through the CDMA phone, which has a built-in modem that connects to the COM port on the computer. It offers speeds of up to 115 kb/s, which is excruciatingly slow when connecting to broadband dependent websites. Primarily we have resorted to only using this for email and communication. We apologize for not touching the blog site set up, but due to the fact that it takes around 8-10 minutes to access our e-mail which usually must go through 2-3 pages of loading to check, we have neglected the blog.
The rate that the Internet is charged at is 8 rupees a minute, which is very reasonable given the phone rates here. I believe it is 25 rs/m to call Kathmandu. The CDMA phone operates on a charge card, so it is similar to a pay-as-you-go phone. As you may know, the CDMA phone operates via Nepal Telecom broadcasting towers and has no direct line. This means that frequently due to weather or equipment the connection is not available at all, both for phone calls and Internet. The phone runs on a battery that is charged when there is electricity, and the electricity usually only runs from 6-12 pm.
The hydroelectric generator that powers Mahdi seems to be having problems as well, as during the last few weeks power has been infrequent and inconsistent. The problem seems to have been fixed in the last few days, but its reliability leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you are powering computers.
We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new antenna for the school, but we have no idea when this will happen. It is a source of some frustration that we have not been able to set up an Internet email account for the school or teach the teachers how to use the Internet. The antenna was ordered around a month ago perhaps, the actual time is unclear.
I am glad the Himalayan Heartbeat event went well, and that Tom and Donna made an excellent presentation! Everyone here asks after you and wants to know when Donna Lea is coming to Sarkuwa. We have tried to explain that it may not be possible but they all want to see you anyway! The people here are also very interested in the next set of teachers to come, whom we have told them are of Nepali descent. This is correct right?
We will try to provide some of the statistics you asked for at a later date. We hope everyone is well and happy.
David
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Pramod writes
Dear David, Zach and the family and friend of Sarkuwa:It was most wonderful to hear from you on the occasion of Dashain. ISince yesterday, I had tried a number of times to call there but I could not get through. However, it was reassuring to receive your email. We would like to see such messages regularly so that we could inspire many more people towards the cause of people of Sarkuwa. We had a very good program organized in Ottawa named Himalayan Heartbeat. Donna and Tom came all the way from White Heath, Illinois and gave a great presentation that has inspired people here. We are preparing a small documentary revolving around that presentation. This will be released within a month and be taken to schools around. We will also do a news release when the documentary is prepared and the website is updated. Thanks Tom and Dona! We would like to know the status of Internet connectivity, its speed, reliability, and status of networking in the school. Also, how easy or difficult it was to make it work and what technology and cost it required. I would love if David and Zach could have some tours of the Dalit (Sarki, Kami) villages in Madi, Barsira, Sisnera, Ganwa and take lots of pictures. SImilarly some Magar villages also. Also, we would like to have statistics on youth population, dropout rates, success rate is SLC, trends and so on (as much as possible). Happy Dashain to all. Special Greetings to all Dhakals and relatives on the occasion of Dashain.Congratulations and appreciation to David and Zach for your excellent service to Sarkuwa. Please accept my salutes! Sincerely,PramodOttawa, Canada
NEWS from David and Zack
Namaste!
We recently departed on a lovely educational tour of Nepal on a bus with 38 something seats and nearly 60 people crammed in. It was something else. There was much singing and playing the modal (a kind of drum) on the bus and even some dancing, and the buses here aren’t very large. I tried to dance, but my 6’ frame was just a tad too big and I had to kind of squat dance, which was very difficult especially considering the bus was moving.
On the tour we were introduced to joys such as riding on top of bus, which I’m pretty sure if you tried on a greyhound would result in death or a heavy heavy fine. The buses don’t really go much faster than 40 km/hr, or ~30 mph. Going uphill reduces this speed greatly; so riding on top of the bus is great fun as it is not to fast. The vistas that can be seen from the top are much better than from inside the bus as the windows are tinted and there are metal bars on them.
We visited a lot of places, but we probably spent more time on the bus than anything. We went to a hydroelectric dam in Mirmi that is the biggest dam in all of Nepal and pumps out 144 mW. The Japanese, Italians, Germans, and Indians built it. A few dozen Nepalis were killed in the process of construction. We spent the night in a town called Tansen in the district of Palpa and in the morning visited a nice Buddhist stupa and temple on the top of Srinagar hill after a very long walk up tons of stairs.
That afternoon we drove to Lumbini, and visited the Mayadevi temple that is the birthplace of Lord Siddharta Gautam, aka Buddha. The government of Nepal had also leased land nearby to foreign countries to build their own monasteries and temples there. We visited the Chinese monastery, which was beautiful, and the monks there performed a very nice song, and then we visited the German monastery. Oddly enough the German temple was lavishly decorated in authentic looking Buddhist art but ended up seeming a bit like a Buddhist Disneyland.
We stayed that night in Gaindakot and the next day we set off for Gorkha, the capital of Gorkha district. It was here that King Pirthwi Narayan Shah ruled 250 years ago and from this location went and conquered the rest of the small kingdoms to unify Nepal into one country. He had a large palace on the top of a hill with an endless amount of stairs so I guess his troops must have been in very good shape. The exterior of the palace was very beautiful with ornate woodcarvings and metal works aplenty. There were lots of bells that people could ring as well. Unfortunately Zach and I were not allowed inside because they be hating on whities. Ok, it was really because we were not of the Hindu faith. They could have said it nicer though. King Pirthwi Narayan Shah must have had some foresight as well, because to one side of his palace there was a conveniently located stone helipad, an essential feature of any pre-modern palace for heroic conquerors.
That night we stayed in Pokhara. The next day we saw Fewa Lake, which Pokhara is next to, that was beautiful. We took some small boats out to a little island were there was Barahi temple which is devoted to Durgas who is a goddess that is a symbol of power. The island was very serene and there were many pigeons that took up residence there, as well as some fish that you could feed. The boatmen became somewhat upset when Zach and I were included with the schoolchildren; I guess they figured that they were going to charge us exorbitant foreigner fees. We showed them. We went to a power station that I assume provided power for Pokhara and the surrounding villages. Our final stop in Pokhara was Mahendra Gupha (Cave), which was a neat little cave.
Zach and I were able to take lots of good pictures that I will share with all of you at some later date. The trip was a lot of fun, and it was a great experience to spend some time with the students outside of the classroom. Today was Dashain, and we both took Tika’s and Jamarra. This is red rice applied to the forehead and yellow plant stems put behind the ears. The purpose is to provide happiness.
We ate much food today, including banana’s, kurownie (a milk item), cell roti, many vegetables, goat, pickles, and lots of rice. We are stuffed silly and quite happy, as today has been very relaxing. Many relatives of the Dhakals came and visited as is their tradition and took tika and food items. We played a lot with a newborn goat kid, and Zach looks very cute when he is cradling the kid in his arms.
Hope everyone else is well, Happy Dashain! May you be happy.
Saba Tikh
David and Zach
We recently departed on a lovely educational tour of Nepal on a bus with 38 something seats and nearly 60 people crammed in. It was something else. There was much singing and playing the modal (a kind of drum) on the bus and even some dancing, and the buses here aren’t very large. I tried to dance, but my 6’ frame was just a tad too big and I had to kind of squat dance, which was very difficult especially considering the bus was moving.
On the tour we were introduced to joys such as riding on top of bus, which I’m pretty sure if you tried on a greyhound would result in death or a heavy heavy fine. The buses don’t really go much faster than 40 km/hr, or ~30 mph. Going uphill reduces this speed greatly; so riding on top of the bus is great fun as it is not to fast. The vistas that can be seen from the top are much better than from inside the bus as the windows are tinted and there are metal bars on them.
We visited a lot of places, but we probably spent more time on the bus than anything. We went to a hydroelectric dam in Mirmi that is the biggest dam in all of Nepal and pumps out 144 mW. The Japanese, Italians, Germans, and Indians built it. A few dozen Nepalis were killed in the process of construction. We spent the night in a town called Tansen in the district of Palpa and in the morning visited a nice Buddhist stupa and temple on the top of Srinagar hill after a very long walk up tons of stairs.
That afternoon we drove to Lumbini, and visited the Mayadevi temple that is the birthplace of Lord Siddharta Gautam, aka Buddha. The government of Nepal had also leased land nearby to foreign countries to build their own monasteries and temples there. We visited the Chinese monastery, which was beautiful, and the monks there performed a very nice song, and then we visited the German monastery. Oddly enough the German temple was lavishly decorated in authentic looking Buddhist art but ended up seeming a bit like a Buddhist Disneyland.
We stayed that night in Gaindakot and the next day we set off for Gorkha, the capital of Gorkha district. It was here that King Pirthwi Narayan Shah ruled 250 years ago and from this location went and conquered the rest of the small kingdoms to unify Nepal into one country. He had a large palace on the top of a hill with an endless amount of stairs so I guess his troops must have been in very good shape. The exterior of the palace was very beautiful with ornate woodcarvings and metal works aplenty. There were lots of bells that people could ring as well. Unfortunately Zach and I were not allowed inside because they be hating on whities. Ok, it was really because we were not of the Hindu faith. They could have said it nicer though. King Pirthwi Narayan Shah must have had some foresight as well, because to one side of his palace there was a conveniently located stone helipad, an essential feature of any pre-modern palace for heroic conquerors.
That night we stayed in Pokhara. The next day we saw Fewa Lake, which Pokhara is next to, that was beautiful. We took some small boats out to a little island were there was Barahi temple which is devoted to Durgas who is a goddess that is a symbol of power. The island was very serene and there were many pigeons that took up residence there, as well as some fish that you could feed. The boatmen became somewhat upset when Zach and I were included with the schoolchildren; I guess they figured that they were going to charge us exorbitant foreigner fees. We showed them. We went to a power station that I assume provided power for Pokhara and the surrounding villages. Our final stop in Pokhara was Mahendra Gupha (Cave), which was a neat little cave.
Zach and I were able to take lots of good pictures that I will share with all of you at some later date. The trip was a lot of fun, and it was a great experience to spend some time with the students outside of the classroom. Today was Dashain, and we both took Tika’s and Jamarra. This is red rice applied to the forehead and yellow plant stems put behind the ears. The purpose is to provide happiness.
We ate much food today, including banana’s, kurownie (a milk item), cell roti, many vegetables, goat, pickles, and lots of rice. We are stuffed silly and quite happy, as today has been very relaxing. Many relatives of the Dhakals came and visited as is their tradition and took tika and food items. We played a lot with a newborn goat kid, and Zach looks very cute when he is cradling the kid in his arms.
Hope everyone else is well, Happy Dashain! May you be happy.
Saba Tikh
David and Zach
Sunday, September 23, 2007
News from Zach via Internet
Greetings from Nepal!
I hope everyone is doing well back in the States. We have finally established a successful internet connection.
Things have been going smoothly up here on the mountain. We have just begun our fourth week of instruction at Janata. As expected there have been some communication challenges. However, we have built a good rapport with our students and our curriculum and methods have been evolving rapidly. Although it rained for our first week in Nepal, the weather has been much more favorable recently. Last week, the clouds parted one afternoon and we realized we could see Annapurna from Megh's yard. Quite an impressive sight! We have a relatively stable routine and have a much greater awareness of the surrounding area.
We were able to obtain CIPRO shortly before our journey, though we have encountered no gastrointestinal problems so far. I have actually grown quite fond of Nepali cuisine.
Although the political situation is tumultuous right now, we have had no problems here.
Last week the Janata teachers had a "picinic program" which we celebrated with fresh goat, singing, and dancing all night long. Dashain fast approaches, and we recently found out that there is an additional two weeks of vacation following the festival. This means we will not be teaching for an entire month, not including any time off for the October educational tour or the Novemeber elections (if they occur). We have been planning our cl
asses accordingly and are going to instruct the teachers about computer usage over the vacation.
I look forward to Dashain, as Sudip will be returning to Sarkuwa. Besides, it is not everyday that one gets to celebrate Durgas' triumphant slaying of the demons. Vive Nepal! Megh and his wife have been most gracious and welcoming hosts; we are deeply indebted. Anyway, I must go now as I still have homework tonight.
Sabai thik, Zack
I hope everyone is doing well back in the States. We have finally established a successful internet connection.
Things have been going smoothly up here on the mountain. We have just begun our fourth week of instruction at Janata. As expected there have been some communication challenges. However, we have built a good rapport with our students and our curriculum and methods have been evolving rapidly. Although it rained for our first week in Nepal, the weather has been much more favorable recently. Last week, the clouds parted one afternoon and we realized we could see Annapurna from Megh's yard. Quite an impressive sight! We have a relatively stable routine and have a much greater awareness of the surrounding area.
We were able to obtain CIPRO shortly before our journey, though we have encountered no gastrointestinal problems so far. I have actually grown quite fond of Nepali cuisine.
Although the political situation is tumultuous right now, we have had no problems here.
Last week the Janata teachers had a "picinic program" which we celebrated with fresh goat, singing, and dancing all night long. Dashain fast approaches, and we recently found out that there is an additional two weeks of vacation following the festival. This means we will not be teaching for an entire month, not including any time off for the October educational tour or the Novemeber elections (if they occur). We have been planning our cl
asses accordingly and are going to instruct the teachers about computer usage over the vacation.I look forward to Dashain, as Sudip will be returning to Sarkuwa. Besides, it is not everyday that one gets to celebrate Durgas' triumphant slaying of the demons. Vive Nepal! Megh and his wife have been most gracious and welcoming hosts; we are deeply indebted. Anyway, I must go now as I still have homework tonight.
Sabai thik, Zack
News from David via Internet
Hello everybody,We finally got the internet to work properly. Both Zach and I are safe and of good heart, we have been made to feel at home, and are very comfortable. Don't worry about the violence that occurred the day we left Kathmandu, it will not affect us here.
It seems a lot longer than three weeks that we've been gone, in fact every day seems at least like two or three! Teaching is going well and the students are very responsive and eager to learn from us. We are trying to work them to the level that they can speak English properly as they can already read and write very well.
There have been many fun activities and festivals here since our arrival, including Teej, a woman's festival, and a welcoming night party thrown by the school's staff. There was much singing and dancing, a very popular phrase and pasttime here.
On Saturday our friend Mr. Chandra Chhetri took us swimming in a fantastic pool that was fed by a waterfall and we had a picnic there. The view was breathtaking and very nice. The water was really cold but we had lots of fun jumping in it despite cries of "Hoina!" or No! We are mischevious Americans really.
The food has been very good and we have not suffered from a lack of food. If anything, there is quite often too much! At least for me. Zach has no problem. We have had the delight of eating goat a few times, which is very tasty, especially curried. The intestine is a bit chewy though.
We have found many interesting places to retreat to when we need time alone, and the other day we made the fascinating discovery that you can see the Himalayas from Megh Raj Dhukal's house! Usually it's cloudy by the BiG mountains and they are obscured. From his house you can see Annapurna and Fishtail and some others. Sometimes at night here the sky is full of stars in a way I have not seen for some time, although often parts of the sky are obscured by the clouds.
We are true celebrities here, as many people we encounter stop to stare at us for a while, although many are now getting over the fact that we are westerners and opening up. Today we were chased down the mountain from school by a gang of three preschoolers and we had them sing the ABC's as we hiked down. Apparantly they already knew them, but amazingly they are able to pronounce F's much better the older students.
I could write a lot more but i'm not going to so Zach has a chance. Hope everyone in the States is doing well and I miss everyone! Lots of love from NepalShanti shanti shantiDavid
It seems a lot longer than three weeks that we've been gone, in fact every day seems at least like two or three! Teaching is going well and the students are very responsive and eager to learn from us. We are trying to work them to the level that they can speak English properly as they can already read and write very well.
There have been many fun activities and festivals here since our arrival, including Teej, a woman's festival, and a welcoming night party thrown by the school's staff. There was much singing and dancing, a very popular phrase and pasttime here.
On Saturday our friend Mr. Chandra Chhetri took us swimming in a fantastic pool that was fed by a waterfall and we had a picnic there. The view was breathtaking and very nice. The water was really cold but we had lots of fun jumping in it despite cries of "Hoina!" or No! We are mischevious Americans really.
The food has been very good and we have not suffered from a lack of food. If anything, there is quite often too much! At least for me. Zach has no problem. We have had the delight of eating goat a few times, which is very tasty, especially curried. The intestine is a bit chewy though.
We have found many interesting places to retreat to when we need time alone, and the other day we made the fascinating discovery that you can see the Himalayas from Megh Raj Dhukal's house! Usually it's cloudy by the BiG mountains and they are obscured. From his house you can see Annapurna and Fishtail and some others. Sometimes at night here the sky is full of stars in a way I have not seen for some time, although often parts of the sky are obscured by the clouds.
We are true celebrities here, as many people we encounter stop to stare at us for a while, although many are now getting over the fact that we are westerners and opening up. Today we were chased down the mountain from school by a gang of three preschoolers and we had them sing the ABC's as we hiked down. Apparantly they already knew them, but amazingly they are able to pronounce F's much better the older students.
I could write a lot more but i'm not going to so Zach has a chance. Hope everyone in the States is doing well and I miss everyone! Lots of love from NepalShanti shanti shantiDavid
Internet coming
Donna and friends:Most wonderful news you have brought. It will only be a matter of time that we will have an Internet connection in Sarkuwa. Narayan's Internet connection is over CDMA and he is able to fulfill his needs. We will surely succeed in having "a connection", however slow it may be. I wanted to leave Sarkuwa with live Internet connection but when I obtained the required equipment, it came with terribly written instructions, which did not lead me to the finish line. Cheers!Sincerely,Pramod
Good news from Donna's friend Bijaya
This from Donna's friend BJ, Bijaya Shrestha is his name:
Got through to Sudeep.
Had to get the CDMA phone out of Prabhu's room and eventually got through to Sarkuwa.
The mom there picked up the phone and wanted to know who I was!
Talked to David first and then to Zach.
They have an internet connection but haven't been able to get through yet and are still going through teething problems.
I have suggested that they can send written notes to Kathmandu contacts like Sudeep and me who can them email them onwards.
Or they can phone me if they want to pass any message.
I specifically asked if they had any tummy problems and they said none so far, they have been lucky.
They also reported no political disturbances where they are.
Sounds like Ktm people should move to Sarkuwa!
They are going to Pokhara Oct 6-11, and so will definitely be able to phone and email then.
Sudeep did report that he could not always catch what the two were saying for three reasons - they spoke faster than he could understand, he could not understand slang, and third, the phone connection is itself not clear at times
Got through to Sudeep.
Had to get the CDMA phone out of Prabhu's room and eventually got through to Sarkuwa.
The mom there picked up the phone and wanted to know who I was!
Talked to David first and then to Zach.
They have an internet connection but haven't been able to get through yet and are still going through teething problems.
I have suggested that they can send written notes to Kathmandu contacts like Sudeep and me who can them email them onwards.
Or they can phone me if they want to pass any message.
I specifically asked if they had any tummy problems and they said none so far, they have been lucky.
They also reported no political disturbances where they are.
Sounds like Ktm people should move to Sarkuwa!
They are going to Pokhara Oct 6-11, and so will definitely be able to phone and email then.
Sudeep did report that he could not always catch what the two were saying for three reasons - they spoke faster than he could understand, he could not understand slang, and third, the phone connection is itself not clear at times
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Note for David
Dear David,
We think about you often and wonder what great adventures you and Zack are having. The support from the friends in Nepal and Canada is fantastic. It is wonderful to know you are being helped by such a great team. We look forward to hearing wonderful descriptions of the school, the students, the teachers, the area, and everything. I really enjoyed your impressions of Kathmandu and the photos. I have set up a blog called David and Zach in Nepal. It’s at sarkuwa.blogspot.com. I wanted to consolidate many of the e-mails which have been going back and forth, so you will have an easy to find “journal” on your return or when you get internet access. You and Zach can make posts to the blog when you get a chance to use the internet.
John arrives September 28 from Edinburgh for a couple of week’s holiday. Elizabeth is picking him up in Chicago where they will spend a couple of days. We have shared the blog address with him, so he knows how things are going with you. Ben is in Madison this weekend visiting college friends. He’s enjoying classes at parkland and has just started delivering for Jimmy Johns!!
Dad and I are well and enjoying late summer weather. Autumn starts tomorrow.
All our love,
Mum
We think about you often and wonder what great adventures you and Zack are having. The support from the friends in Nepal and Canada is fantastic. It is wonderful to know you are being helped by such a great team. We look forward to hearing wonderful descriptions of the school, the students, the teachers, the area, and everything. I really enjoyed your impressions of Kathmandu and the photos. I have set up a blog called David and Zach in Nepal. It’s at sarkuwa.blogspot.com. I wanted to consolidate many of the e-mails which have been going back and forth, so you will have an easy to find “journal” on your return or when you get internet access. You and Zach can make posts to the blog when you get a chance to use the internet.
John arrives September 28 from Edinburgh for a couple of week’s holiday. Elizabeth is picking him up in Chicago where they will spend a couple of days. We have shared the blog address with him, so he knows how things are going with you. Ben is in Madison this weekend visiting college friends. He’s enjoying classes at parkland and has just started delivering for Jimmy Johns!!
Dad and I are well and enjoying late summer weather. Autumn starts tomorrow.
All our love,
Mum
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Note from Donna
September 20, 2007
HI Zach and David,
We are just dying to hear all about your adventures and your responses to your new environment. I'm betting, that by now, you have made many new friends among the students. David, have you found the keyboard yet? Oh, Tom and I are so anxious to hear everything in minutia, so hope you can get some word to us in October. You have nearly a month gone already!
We think of you daily and have just the highest hopes that this experience will prove to be a high water mark of your lives. Continue to be good ambassadors and keep those great smiles going!
Have you had any of the heavenly oranges yet? What I wouldn't give for one of those right now.
Please give Tom's and my greeting to Megh and his wife and the headmaster and everyone else!
Thanks, so much, for doing this, boys! You are much on our minds...
Donna
HI Zach and David,
We are just dying to hear all about your adventures and your responses to your new environment. I'm betting, that by now, you have made many new friends among the students. David, have you found the keyboard yet? Oh, Tom and I are so anxious to hear everything in minutia, so hope you can get some word to us in October. You have nearly a month gone already!
We think of you daily and have just the highest hopes that this experience will prove to be a high water mark of your lives. Continue to be good ambassadors and keep those great smiles going!
Have you had any of the heavenly oranges yet? What I wouldn't give for one of those right now.
Please give Tom's and my greeting to Megh and his wife and the headmaster and everyone else!
Thanks, so much, for doing this, boys! You are much on our minds...
Donna
Note for Zack from Mom
September 20, 2007
Note for Zack
Dear Zack
I hope you and David are well and experiencing all that Nepal offers. I think about what you guys might be doing everyday, as Jake and I do "the usual " around here. Jake is working a lot at Gumby's Pizza. Apparently your brother is good at making pizzas, because they call him all the time to come in. Rosie is forlorn and looks for you everytime the door opens. Kahn is fine,and his blasted crickets are noisy! My students in Geography class love hearing about Nepal. They ask about you everyday. I have shown them Nepal on the globe, and taught them how to say Namaste and Subai thik. We looked up the festival of Teej on the internet. I forwarded the pictures that David put up on the Picasa sight to many of the people who donated to the trip. I had the picture of you standing next to the monkey blown up for myself , because I got such a kick out of that. ( great pictures , David!) I look forward to hearing from you- maybe in October, when the school holiday happens. Hope you can get your camera problem straightened out in October too, Z-man. Be safe, learn lots. Write it all down!! Miss you and yet I am so glad you are there. I can't wait to hear all about your adventure.
Love, Mom
Note for Zack
Dear Zack
I hope you and David are well and experiencing all that Nepal offers. I think about what you guys might be doing everyday, as Jake and I do "the usual " around here. Jake is working a lot at Gumby's Pizza. Apparently your brother is good at making pizzas, because they call him all the time to come in. Rosie is forlorn and looks for you everytime the door opens. Kahn is fine,and his blasted crickets are noisy! My students in Geography class love hearing about Nepal. They ask about you everyday. I have shown them Nepal on the globe, and taught them how to say Namaste and Subai thik. We looked up the festival of Teej on the internet. I forwarded the pictures that David put up on the Picasa sight to many of the people who donated to the trip. I had the picture of you standing next to the monkey blown up for myself , because I got such a kick out of that. ( great pictures , David!) I look forward to hearing from you- maybe in October, when the school holiday happens. Hope you can get your camera problem straightened out in October too, Z-man. Be safe, learn lots. Write it all down!! Miss you and yet I am so glad you are there. I can't wait to hear all about your adventure.
Love, Mom
Yes -everything OK!
September 20, 2007
Dear Pat:Mountain's spring water is drinkable straight as is by anyone in the world. People should not be too-too adventurous to drink river water even when it looks clean. Kathmandu's water is improperly treated river water full of bacteria. I fall sick in Kathmandu evry time I go to Kathmandu not when in the village. I am sure that intelligent fellows like Zachary and David will take cautions. But even if they did not, they will get treatment. Dr. Balakrishna is reading all these emails that we are floating and he is there for us. If will himself go to the village if he needs to. It is the simplicity of lifestyle without much conveniences of life, absence of Internet and language barrier and cultural barriers that are the most important ones. But that is how we grow. "No pain, No gain." People develop vision and wisdom as aftermath of facing circumstances that they were unprepared for. Please be proud of them and be happy for them. Now, all the parents, Tom and Donna should write message to David and Zachary. Sudeep will print those messages and take the printed copies to David and Zach.Sincerely,Pramod
Dear Pat:Mountain's spring water is drinkable straight as is by anyone in the world. People should not be too-too adventurous to drink river water even when it looks clean. Kathmandu's water is improperly treated river water full of bacteria. I fall sick in Kathmandu evry time I go to Kathmandu not when in the village. I am sure that intelligent fellows like Zachary and David will take cautions. But even if they did not, they will get treatment. Dr. Balakrishna is reading all these emails that we are floating and he is there for us. If will himself go to the village if he needs to. It is the simplicity of lifestyle without much conveniences of life, absence of Internet and language barrier and cultural barriers that are the most important ones. But that is how we grow. "No pain, No gain." People develop vision and wisdom as aftermath of facing circumstances that they were unprepared for. Please be proud of them and be happy for them. Now, all the parents, Tom and Donna should write message to David and Zachary. Sudeep will print those messages and take the printed copies to David and Zach.Sincerely,Pramod
Everything will be OK - Subai Thik
September 20, 2007
Hello everyone
I hope subai thik is correct. ("everything will be ok") When Zack and David first reached Kathmandu and were faced with lost luggage and an American Embassy that was closed, they faced some difficulty. And Sudeep told them "subai thik"-everything will be OK!! I hope the computers can be fixed. I appreciate the hospitality from Megh Dhakal and his family so much. If the guys cannot get Cipro until the school holiday in October, I feel everything will be ok with the water in the mountain area. I most worried about drinking water in Kathmandu. (weak western constitutions, perhaps) Since communication is difficult right now, if someone does contact Zack, tell him his family is missing him, but proud of his adventure. On a scale of 1 to 10, I hope David and Zack are a 10 for being helpful at Sarkuwa school.
Pat
Hello everyone
I hope subai thik is correct. ("everything will be ok") When Zack and David first reached Kathmandu and were faced with lost luggage and an American Embassy that was closed, they faced some difficulty. And Sudeep told them "subai thik"-everything will be OK!! I hope the computers can be fixed. I appreciate the hospitality from Megh Dhakal and his family so much. If the guys cannot get Cipro until the school holiday in October, I feel everything will be ok with the water in the mountain area. I most worried about drinking water in Kathmandu. (weak western constitutions, perhaps) Since communication is difficult right now, if someone does contact Zack, tell him his family is missing him, but proud of his adventure. On a scale of 1 to 10, I hope David and Zack are a 10 for being helpful at Sarkuwa school.
Pat
Roy offers long distance computer help
September 17, 2007
Pramod, Narayan, Anup:
I loaded the software on the laptops David and Zach carried and they didn’t have passwords either. They were working when they left here, but who knows... They may have problems with power if the electricity in Sarkuwa isn’t on for enough time to charge the batteries. Perhaps I can help debugging things too once we know what is wrong.
Looking forward to hearing what their reactions are to teaching and living in Nepal….
Tell them that their parents send them their love and best wishes.
Roy
Pramod, Narayan, Anup:
I loaded the software on the laptops David and Zach carried and they didn’t have passwords either. They were working when they left here, but who knows... They may have problems with power if the electricity in Sarkuwa isn’t on for enough time to charge the batteries. Perhaps I can help debugging things too once we know what is wrong.
Looking forward to hearing what their reactions are to teaching and living in Nepal….
Tell them that their parents send them their love and best wishes.
Roy
Pramod gets through on the phone
September 17, 2007
Dear All:I had talked to David two days ago on the phone. He said that they are getting used to. However, there was some problem in making the Laptops work. However, the phone line was bad and it got cut. All the parents, Tom and Donna, please remain calm - things are fine. I request that Narayan goes to Sarkuwa one of these days and asks David and Zach to write about their experiences. Please tell David and Zack that the computers do not need any password and ask to simply hit enter when they ask for password. If that does not work please tell us. I will send instruction on how to overcome that. I will add Anup Pradhanang, a bright young Electrical Engineer from Kathmandu who works with me here in Canada. He will be able to come up with solutions to technical problems much better than myself. [Note to Anup: When you send email to sarkuwa@cffn.ca, you will be able to send email to everyone in this group.]Narayan, it would also be highly appreciated if you could ask any other needs they have and what is their degree of comfort (ask them to answer in the scale of 1 to 10, where 10 being at home with Mom when they were babies and 1 the worst there can be!) .Let them write all in a computer then copy their writing from their computer to a USB Drive (pen drive). Then kindly send that through email. That will be highly appreciated. Please tell Megh and all helpful people of Sarkuwa that I will pay through my genuine deeds for the villagers for all the kindness and friendship and warmth they provide to David and Zachary. It became hard to connect on the phone as too many trials makes one brief connection. Sincerely,Pramod
Dear All:I had talked to David two days ago on the phone. He said that they are getting used to. However, there was some problem in making the Laptops work. However, the phone line was bad and it got cut. All the parents, Tom and Donna, please remain calm - things are fine. I request that Narayan goes to Sarkuwa one of these days and asks David and Zach to write about their experiences. Please tell David and Zack that the computers do not need any password and ask to simply hit enter when they ask for password. If that does not work please tell us. I will send instruction on how to overcome that. I will add Anup Pradhanang, a bright young Electrical Engineer from Kathmandu who works with me here in Canada. He will be able to come up with solutions to technical problems much better than myself. [Note to Anup: When you send email to sarkuwa@cffn.ca, you will be able to send email to everyone in this group.]Narayan, it would also be highly appreciated if you could ask any other needs they have and what is their degree of comfort (ask them to answer in the scale of 1 to 10, where 10 being at home with Mom when they were babies and 1 the worst there can be!) .Let them write all in a computer then copy their writing from their computer to a USB Drive (pen drive). Then kindly send that through email. That will be highly appreciated. Please tell Megh and all helpful people of Sarkuwa that I will pay through my genuine deeds for the villagers for all the kindness and friendship and warmth they provide to David and Zachary. It became hard to connect on the phone as too many trials makes one brief connection. Sincerely,Pramod
SuDeep explains phone technical difficulties
September 17, 2007
Dear all;
However it is being difficult to contact with them or by them, I will certainly convey the message as can as possible. Due to the tehnical problem in communication mecdia, It has been difficcult to them to send any message. Let's hope we will be certainly come in contact after a time. They indeed taking new experience day by day there in Sarkuwa.
Sudeep
Dear all;
However it is being difficult to contact with them or by them, I will certainly convey the message as can as possible. Due to the tehnical problem in communication mecdia, It has been difficcult to them to send any message. Let's hope we will be certainly come in contact after a time. They indeed taking new experience day by day there in Sarkuwa.
Sudeep
Pat says it's good to hear the news
September 15, 2007
Thank you for the update , Sudeep. I am grateful for all of the wonderful experiences Zack and David are having in Nepal. I hope they have begun to adjust and are able to contribute help to the teachers and students at the school at Saruwa. I know that communicating with them is quite difficult now, so I hope they are taking many pictures for us all to see, as well as writing about their experiences to share with all of us in the future. Thanks to everyone for the work that made this possible.
Namaste
Pat
Thank you for the update , Sudeep. I am grateful for all of the wonderful experiences Zack and David are having in Nepal. I hope they have begun to adjust and are able to contribute help to the teachers and students at the school at Saruwa. I know that communicating with them is quite difficult now, so I hope they are taking many pictures for us all to see, as well as writing about their experiences to share with all of us in the future. Thanks to everyone for the work that made this possible.
Namaste
Pat
Update from Sudeep
September 15,2007
Dear all:
Zach and David are enjoying with the Nepalese festival 'Teej' right now.
Sudeep
Dear all:
Zach and David are enjoying with the Nepalese festival 'Teej' right now.
Sudeep
Pramod Dhakal
September 6, 2007
Dear All:I am thankful to everyone involved in making David and Zachary's trip a success. And, the most enduring help has come from Tom and Donna and we recognize your wonderful work and for convincing David and Zachary for this great and adventurous mission. Donna, it was you who built the foundation for all of this and dedicated yourself for the project. Thanks Donna and Tom.Sincerely,Pramod
Dear All:I am thankful to everyone involved in making David and Zachary's trip a success. And, the most enduring help has come from Tom and Donna and we recognize your wonderful work and for convincing David and Zachary for this great and adventurous mission. Donna, it was you who built the foundation for all of this and dedicated yourself for the project. Thanks Donna and Tom.Sincerely,Pramod
Message from Donna Lea
September 6, 2007
Thanks to everyone who have helped guide David and Zach safely to Sarkuwa. If the opportunity arises, please give them our congratulations upon the completion of the first leg of their journey. I'm sure their minds and hearts are already filled with memories of all their new adventures and that they are eagerly anticipating the new ones ahead.
Donna
Thanks to everyone who have helped guide David and Zach safely to Sarkuwa. If the opportunity arises, please give them our congratulations upon the completion of the first leg of their journey. I'm sure their minds and hearts are already filled with memories of all their new adventures and that they are eagerly anticipating the new ones ahead.
Donna
Pat Gaydos Writes
September 6, 2007
I am glad to hear they have arrived. I am sure it will take some time for them to get used to walking uphill, but they are young and happy to be there, so it will be fine. I hope all is going well. I thank you for the update.
Pat
I am glad to hear they have arrived. I am sure it will take some time for them to get used to walking uphill, but they are young and happy to be there, so it will be fine. I hope all is going well. I thank you for the update.
Pat
update from Narayan Acharya
September 4, 2007
Our volentairs David and Zuch arrived here in Sarkuwa this afternoon quite safely. Although they felt much tired of their foot journey on the way to Sarkuwa,they forgot their tiredness when they reached Megharaj Dhakal's house who is trying his best to provide them every possible facilities like lodging and especially fooding because foodings which are available in European countries are rarely find in Nepal(and much so rarely in Sarkuwa).I think it takes few days for them to adapt themselves in this place. Anyway we are so much happy and they too are also happy, enthusiastic, curious and excited.
We are excited that our dreams are facing a great opportunities to become real.
With love,
Narayan Acharya.
Our volentairs David and Zuch arrived here in Sarkuwa this afternoon quite safely. Although they felt much tired of their foot journey on the way to Sarkuwa,they forgot their tiredness when they reached Megharaj Dhakal's house who is trying his best to provide them every possible facilities like lodging and especially fooding because foodings which are available in European countries are rarely find in Nepal(and much so rarely in Sarkuwa).I think it takes few days for them to adapt themselves in this place. Anyway we are so much happy and they too are also happy, enthusiastic, curious and excited.
We are excited that our dreams are facing a great opportunities to become real.
With love,
Narayan Acharya.
Kathmandu impressions
August 31, 2007.
Hi everyone, Everything is going great! As you know we arrived safely, and have now recovered my lost luggage which apart from being a bit dusty is in great shape. It has been a hectic few days and it seems strange that it was only five days ago that we left. We managed to explore a bit of London during our layover there and saw some of the sights surrounding Westminster hall and Buckingham palace. Zach also had his first fish and chip supper! The flights went relatively well, with Jet Airlines being very pleasant to fly on. They provided excellent food and entertainment, and put American Airlines to shame. The airport in Delhi was a bit of a nightmare, and it was there that we first discovered the missing luggage. It was in Delhi that we first felt that certain elements of our journey were out of our hands. (Not that this is a bad thing, but it was apparent.) It was a huge relief when we finally landed at Tribhuvan airport, although to be fair I suddenly was awakened by Zach with "Hey dude, we're here!", much to my sleepy surprise. What can I say? Lack of sleep made it possible! Since we arrived we have had many experiences which are new and foreign to us, perhaps the most startling being the roller coaster taxi ride from the airport. Neither Zach or I were prepared for the taxi's here, nor were we ready for the frenetic and chaotic rules of the road! Su Deep has been an amazing host as we have been in Kathmandu, I don't know what we would have done without him. I really can't thank him enough for all he has done for us. Su Deep and his friend Pravash showed us around Kathmandu yesturday, which was quite a trip! We saw many of the temples and palaces here and they explained the history and significance behind them. The architecture is stunning and the craftmanship on display at the temples is simply mindblowing. There is so much detail and history etched into the structures it is hard to take in as a whole, instead the mind wanders across a sea of details with new surprises constantly catching the eye. There is so much life here in Kathmandu, it is so vibrant and jam packed with energy and people. Yesturday we met Narayan Paudel, the headmaster of Sarkuwa, and he seemed enthusiastic about our arrival. I guess there is going to be some sort of trip around Nepal for the kids that we may get to tag along with! Tomorrow we depart from Kathmandu and the the next leg of journey begins. We are anticipating it greatly and are excited to get to the country and out of the smoggy loud city. We will be traveling by bus and it promises to be an exciting journey. We'll be sad to part ways with Su Deep, but can't wait to get started teaching. I have uploaded some photos to my G-mail account so you may look at a few of the places we have been. Unfortunately we have not found a solution to transferring Zach's pictures to a computer so for the moment his photos are unavailable, and he has taken a lot of good ones! Hopefully we will find a way to remedy this situation. You may access the photos I have taken at http://picasaweb.google.com/d.cam09 Feel free to share them with everyone who has been involved or has an interest in our journey. I wish everyone the best and send my regards, this will be our last point of contact by ways of email for the foreseeable future until we can access the internet again. Namaste,David Campbell
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