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 classes 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

Update from Sudeep

September 15,2007

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

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

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

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.

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