Vietnam

After a long day of traveling, we finally arrived in Saigon, Vietnam on Wednesday night. In true backpacker fashion, we really had no plans and were hoping we could catch a bus to a beach town called Nha Trang. Not only did we catch a bus, but it was a sleeper bus- probably the best mode of transportation we have taken in our lives. Picture a slumber party on wheels

Arielle and Sophie's Guide to Thailand's Transportation System

Hello from Thailand! We know you're jealous, but hey we've been living in mud huts/crazy cities in Nepal for 4 months. Welcome to this special edition of Arielle and Sophie's blog. We figured since we're living the same life at the moment we might as well just write one post :)

Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen a lot, learned a lot, sweat a lot, and eaten a lot. But most importantly, we have ridden on ever single mode of transportation Thailand has to offer.

Lives on Stage

Tomorrow is the last day of the program! Its crazy to think that I started here 4 months ago and now its over. on Sunday  I'm going to Pohkara (a touristy village about 6 hours from Kathmandu) for a week with 2 of my Israeli friends. Then I'm meeting Sophie in Thailand and then we're off to Vietnam!

Top 10 things I learned about myself while living in a developing country:

1. I can wear the same thing everyday for a week and not care
2. I could actually be a vegetarian for the rest of my life (haha...jokes)
3. Bungee jumping off a 565ft bridge is something I only need to do once, but it was AWESOME

Photography and Gardening

Not too much to write about this week- I am starting to feel the pressure of finishing up my projects and to start saying goodbye to the people I work with in Kalimati. This past Monday I spent the day at the garbage school with the other Kalimati volunteers and my friends volunteering in Sundarwoti planting a garden.It was a really powerful experience. I spent a few minutes by the river looking at the garbage and the people picking through it and thought how amazing it was to plant a garden at such a place. We were joined by some 4th and 5th graders from the school who eagerly helped us pick up garbage, build a fence, paint rocks, and plant in the dirt.

Ke Garne

sunset from our roof

Ke Garne- Nepali for cest la vie, that's life, what can you do, etc... Ke garne has basically dictated my life here for the past 3 months- you can't get by here without an attitude like that.

Chanukah

While talking to a friend last night, I had a thoughtI would like to share on this last day of Chanukah. One of the themes of Chanukah is identity.

Bandhs and Buddahs

Last Monday us bideshis (foreigners) got to experience a Nepali bandh. A bandh is a protest, usually political, that shuts down the entire city. Like most things related to Nepali politics I didn't really understand what it was for, but basically an important politician was killed while he was in jail and the political party he was associated with issued the bandh.

Namaste!

Finally back on the internet after a couple of weeks so this will be a longer post. I also put up a bunch of pics on the other page so check those out :)

Our volunteering really began after the work seminar and I have been pretty busy. On a typical day I go to the local school, Koleswore, (or as I like to call it "The Garbage School) and play with the younger kids who get there an hour early. There are 2 shifts at most schools in Nepal -the older grades meet from 6am-11am and the younger from 11am-3pm. When we first visited I noticed a lot of little kids running around, climbing fences, gambling, and doing other unsafe things with no supervision. I thought it would be a good idea if a few of us would go to the school everyday at 10 and play with them for a while- at least we knew they would be safe for a little while. Playing duck duck goose for an hour is pretty amusing...

Random thoughts

Taking the day off because I'm working this weekend. Decided to write down some random stuff going on in my head :)

City Livin

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

The past two weeks have been very intense and very informative. We moved into our Kalimati apartment which is on the roof of a building. The roof is awesome- you can see the whole city and on clear days a glimpse of the Himalayas. Downstairs there is a little shop called Gupta Sweets and of course we have befriended the owner (Gupta)  and he always provides us with dudh (milk) and chipati (pita). All of the neighbors (there are a ton of them- we're on the roof...) always say namaste and laugh at us because apparently we are just really funny.

Peace out! (for now)

Tomorrow morning I am of to Kalimati! We will be meeting up as a group again next Wednesday for our work seminar to talk about our goals after observing the different communities. Can't wait to decorate the apartment and to live without internet for a week and a half (seriously, no sarcasm there)

Living in a Mud House

Sorry it has been so long since I have been able to write. We spent the past week in a village without internet and when we got back I spent 5 days in bed getting over something i caught in the village....It has been quite the party!

We just found out where we will be volunteering and I will be in Kalimati (in the capital)! Its a great group and I'm really excited
Anyway, the village we went to is called Sundarwati and it is about a 10 hour bus ride from Kathmandu. Technically it should only take 8 hours to get there but crazy bus drivers, insane roads, and a ton of roadblocks can add a good 2-4 hours to the trip. Sundarwati itself is stunning- its high up in the mountains and there are waterfalls and streams running throughout the area. At points it just didn't seem real.

Kalamati and jumping off of bridges

Namaste and chag sameach! its so nice only celebrating one day of chag with the Israelis

On Monday, we went on a day trip to a neighborhood in Kathmandu called Kalimati. It is the location of one of our volunteering sites. Its hard for me to write about it because words and even pictures don't really do it justice. I also wouldn't necessarily call it a neighborhood- it is more of a huge city within a city complete with 'nicer' apartments and slums on the river.

Crazy times in Kathmandu

Namaste!

view from our porch

 This week has been very intense, fun, and just crazy. On Monday the whole group met in the Thamel and walked to Swayambu where our house is. Swayambu is a Buddhist neighborhood that is a bit more upscale then the rest of Kathmandu. The main attraction of the town is the Buddhist Temple that everyone just calls "The Monkey Temple". There are monkeys everywhere its nuts. So far they haven't really bothered us but I've heard stories of them stealing cameras, food, and even breaking into houses....they are cute though.

First few days in Israel.... I mean Nepal

monkey!!

Landing in the airport in Kathmandu is a very funny and interesting experience. After discovering that everyone on my flight was from Israel (a theme that will be brought up many times in this entry), I made a few friends as we waited for an hour and a half to get our visas. Once i got my bags and waded through huge crowds trying to get a taxi, i found my free ride provided by the hostel. let me tell you, if you think that New Yorkers are crazy drivers, you need to go to Nepal. there are absolutely NO rules here. no traffic lights, traffic signs, lanes, anything! i was laughing the entire ride as we passed cows walking down the streets, monkeys hanging from wires, and cars coming straight at us. I didn't actually fear for my life because I thought that it was just too funny.

Newark, Brussels, and Mumbai!

Hello from the Mumbai Airport!! (never thought I would be saying that)

I'm not sure what day of my trip this is. All I know is that I have been traveling since 6:40pm on Wednesday in NY, took a 2 hour nap in Brussels, and will be landing in 8 hours on Friday in Nepal after a 33 hour trip. So if this entry is a bit all over the place, you'll know why.