International

For me, visiting Ditshwanelo was the highlight of the orientation week.  It is the Centre for Human Rights in Botswana, with the head office in Gaberone and satellite offices in Francistown and Kasane.  We had a very interesting and knowledgeable woman give us a presentation on the key human rights issues facing Botswana currently and I decided to post them here so others can learn more about the country.

Four issues were highlighted:

1.       Zimbabwean Stance on NGO’s:  the Zimbabwean government does not recognize, support, or allow NGOs to operate within the country.  Due to this many of the population do not have access to the type of help or care they need.  The result is an increased number of Zimbabweans coming to Botswana to seek help from the government or NGOs here. 

2.       Death Penalty:  Botswana still has the death penalty in effect, but this is a major point of contention.  It is mainly kept in effect due to pressure from South Africa, but many Batswana would not entertain the idea of removing it.  Despite this, it is an important issue at Ditshwanelo as they are strongly against the death penalty and are lobbying to have it removed.

3.        Child’s Rights: there is a cultural clash occurring where children’s rights are concerned.  Setswana culture emphasizes that children should be seen, not heard and are the parents property therefore they are free to treat them as they like.  Beating a child is common and children are expected to obey all rules and orders.  Current beliefs on the rights of the child disagree with this type of handling and thus Botswana is in limbo when it comes to the ‘proper’ way to raise a child. 

4.       Gay/Lesbian/Transgender/Bi-sexual etc Rights: In Botswana, it is not illegal to be gay, but the having sex with someone of the same gender is a criminal offence.  Many gays are discriminated against and as a result Ditshwanelo started a club so that gays can meet each other and discuss problems or just be themselves and feel comfortable.  Despite this, the presenter admitted they are still dealing with issues of the staff discriminating against the men and women who come to the club. 

The presenter also gave us a specific example of a case they were involved in currently.  This involved a group of teenagers that were asked to perform a skit as part of a cultural play.  The teenagers decided to depict what occurs at an initiation ceremony for their people.  This raised anger among their elders as the initiation ceremonies are meant to be kept secret.  The teenagers were taken to the local kgotla (customary law court) and were sentenced to lashing due to their ‘rebellious actions’.  Ditshwanelo is strongly against the verdict and is looking for intervention from the government as the lashings were seen as a violation of the teen’s human rights.

This leads to the next problem for human rights in Botswana.  There are two types of law here: Roman/Dutch Law and Customary Law.  The Roman/Dutch Law is pretty much the same as any other country, with regular courts and judges etc.  The Customary Law is very different and is carried out by Chiefs at local kgotlas.  There are distinctions as to what each court can deal with, but where they overlap some problems occur as to who should take the case.  Culturally, Batswana solve cases through kgotlas, but the reliance on corporal punishment has pushed more and more cases to the Roman/Dutch courts. 

I don’t pretend to know all the problems, but I felt that Ditshwanelo was very interesting and Botswana faced many challenging and different problems than would be found in any other country. 

“Welcome to Botswana”

As I stepped off the plane and onto African soil, those were the first words I heard.  Despite being half-asleep and unsure of what time of day I thought it was, I was comforted by those words.  To me they signify a sense of wholeness, of pride, and most importantly of hospitableness.  I have flown my fair share of times and I have never heard someone (other than the flight attendant who announces were landing) welcome me to their country. 

Orientation week began and I met the 8 other Canadians who will be working in Botswana as well.  WUSC had many activities planned and it was all go with no time to even think about jet lag.  The feeling of being welcome was a common thread throughout the orientation with every presenter delivering a cheery “Welcome to Botswana” before beginning the discussion.   We were able to learn so many fascinating things about Botswana and gain an understanding of the history of the country and the current state of important issues.   Each of the interns would be working in a different environment and the orientation was designed to give all of us further insight into our sector, as well as providing us with practical knowledge like how to take a combi and where to buy airtime for our phones.

I came to Botswana with virtually no expectations as I have never been to Africa and had no idea what to expect.  My initial thoughts were that it was not THAT hot, Gaberone was wayyy bigger and more built up than I expected, and there was a noticeable lack of two-story buildings.  It got hotter, Gabs seemed smaller as I got to know it, and I came to understand why most buildings are one-story!  All Batswana are entitled to a plot of land and almost all build their own houses.  Due to this, buildings tend to be only one-story, made from cement blocks and plaster for the structure and corrugated tin for the roof.  I was amazed at this as we just went through paying thousands for someone else to help build our house in Canada and most Canadians would never consider building their own home!

The orientations went by very quickly, but it was a much needed transition time between home and working alone in Maun, which is about 10 hours north of Gaberone.  Throughout the week I heard lots about Maun, but the most common phrase was “Oh, it’s hot up there!”  As the week came to an end and we all started to travel to our placements I became very apprehensive about being so far away from Gaberone and on my own.  Luckily, the first words I heard when I arrived at the WoMen Against Rape office were “Welcome to Maun, welcome to Botswana” and all my nerves went away.

The feeding program is something very unique to the Fountain of Hope. The idea for the program came from some fundamental basic human rights. Every child should have access to proper nutrition. Unlike in the government funded schools, the Fountain of Hope gives the children both breakfast and lunch. Keep in mind that the children do not have to pay any fees to attend the FOHCH, they simply need to register and show up. The feeding program is one of the most amazing but also challenging aspects of the Fountain of Hope. Since the centre is run completely on donor funds we never know if next week or next month there will be enough food. We are trying to put more of this into our hands, there is a full vegetable garden, chicken coup and cattle pen. But none of this can supply the massive amount of food we go through each and every week, but of course…every bit helps.

Déjà deux mois passés à Delhi et je me rends compte combien le temps passe vite ici entre le travail à l’ONG et les weekends-escapades à visiter les villes environnantes. Je commence à anticiper le retour au Canada et la nostalgie de quitter l’Inde; la «magie» de ce pays qui est bien difficile à exprimer en mots, venant effleurer tous les sens…

Mon stage a changé quelque peu en quelques semaines; passant d’un superviseur à une autre et de l’initiative (la justice des femmes) à celle sur le trafic des femmes et des enfants. Ce changement m’a lancée sur un nouveau chemin, permettant de découvrir un autre enjeu concernant les femmes en Inde. De plus, j’apprends énormément à travers mes recherches et la rédaction de courts rapports sur les aspects sociaux et juridiques concernant différents enjeux concernant les femmes. J’assiste également à des conférences reliées à mon initiative; la dernière portait sur des travailleuses du sexe ayant été secourues et réhabilitées après avoir été exploitées sexuellement par des trafiqueurs dans différents États de l’Inde. Il était particulièrement intéressant d’entendre les témoignages de ces femmes pour mieux comprendre les conséquences directes sur la vie de ces femmes ainsi que les enjeux entourant la prévention, la protection, les lois ainsi que la réhabilitation de ces femmes et enfants victimes de trafic.

Les semaines à venir seront particulièrement mouvementées avec la participation à un colloque sur la justice des femmes au Kerala ainsi qu’une conférence sur les droits des femmes et les discriminations qu’elles subissent concernant différents aspects tels que l’emploi, les droits de propriété, l’éducation, etc. J’attends également avec impatience la confirmation pour participer à une recherche terrain sur les femmes et l’emploi au Kerala. Je pense que ces courts séjours seront très enrichissants et ils me permettront d’être davantage sur le terrain et d’interagir avec la population, même s’il s’agit que d’une observation participative. Je suis convaincue qu’il s’agit de la meilleure façon de comprendre les normes socioculturelles qui prévalent dans la société indienne et pour cerner les enjeux décrits à travers la littérature.

Je profiterai du dernier mois qu’il me reste pour réfléchir sur ce que je retiens de mon stage au niveau personnel et professionnel et pour apprécier les odeurs, les épices, les couleurs, les bruits,… la magie de l’Inde.

Thus far, field research has been a great experience.  My objective during this internship is to measure the feasibility of small-scale agriculture in promoting rural development given the gravity of the climate change stressors in South Africa.  In academic literature, many authors argue that the Global South is undergoing a de-agrarianization process whereby urban migration, environmental impacts, changing social and cultural norms etc. are decreasing the amount of households dependent on farming incomes.  

I expected to see many of these trends unraveling in the small area of Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal (where I’m conducting my research); however, to my surprise, I’ve found that agriculture is still very much embedded in the Zulu culture, despite the hardships that are attached to the trade.  Nevertheless, I can only say that farming is still a passion for the older generations in the village.  The younger generation does not seem to want to get involved with agriculture.  Just like what is described in academic literature, the changing social and cultural norms are influencing younger generations to seek urban employment, a “modern” way of living rather than a “peasant” form a life.  Academics predict that the Global South will experience a “de-peasantization”. 

It was interesting to talk to mothers and fathers in the village.  It seems ironic that in many corners of the world, parents or older generations share the same views about youth today.  The parents claimed that their children are lazy, don’t want to get involved with agriculture and get their hands dirty, but are too willing to eat the produce once the hard work is done.  The parents recounted stories of their youth, and said that if they arrived late to school, they were made to clean the school during the afternoons.  Today, they say the children cannot even be bothered to pick up a piece of litter off the ground.  One parent told me that the children are too busy watching American soap operas that they’ve lost touch with reality.  They are no longer interested in learning about Zulu culture, instead they are interested in moving overseas and seeking a cushy lifestyle.  It should be interesting to interview some of the young rural residents in the village to get their opinions about agriculture and living in rural areas. 

Me voilà à la fin de cette expérience avec un sentiment de tristesse et de joie. Je suis très anxieuse de retourner à ma vie au Canada, de revoir les gens qui m’apportent beaucoup d’amour mais en même temps je suis triste de dire au revoir aux gens qui m’entourent, ici au Botswana.

Je ne regrette aucun moment de ce stage.  J’ai pu accomplir tellement plus que je ne m’attendais au départ de cette aventure.. Je suis contente d’avoir fait une petite différence dans la vie des élèves qui participent aux activités de Stepping Stones. Je suis fière d’avoir accompli ce stage avec succès, de m’être adaptée à ce pays et cette culture. Ceci m’a donné l’occasion de m’ouvrir les yeux sur de nouvelles traditions et de nouvelles habitudes de vie.  Cette expérience m’a aussi donné la chance de me découvrir comme individu et aussi de découvrir un nouveau pays. Comme il ne me reste plus qu’une semaine de travail, je me concentre sur mes projets à finaliser. Je peux constater que mes projets auront une continuation après mon départ, j’ai préparé des programmes, tels qu’un programme d’anglais et un groupe de lecture pour les adolescentes.  Mon plus gros projet consistait à organiser les documents des élèves, dans le but de leur apporter des ressources et leur faciliter la tâche. Je suis contente ‘de garder ma marque. à Stepping Stones. Puisque j’ai décidé de prolonger mon temps ici au Botswana, je vais avoir la chance de faire un petit séjour à Kasane pour voir la beauté de ce pays. Je profite à 100% de la chaleur parce que je suis consciente que je retournerai à la neige. Le matin, je marche avec une satisfaction complète et je profite des salutations des gens. Je peux dire, que ce séjour de trois mois, m’a aidé à dépasser mes limites et surtout d’apprécier l’amour que les gens me donnent ainsi que les petites choses banales. C’est une expérience que je n’oublierai jamais !

Two months have passed already! It feels like it’s been a couple weeks at most. I think the title says it all; these are some of my favourite experiences from my time here so far, in no particular order:

Visiting Pokhara during Dashain:
Dashain is the country’s largest holiday lasting a little over a week. It is a time for people to go home and visit their families. Most businesses close down for the week and everything’s quiet. We took this time to go to Pokhara, the country’s second largest tourist destination. It is on Phewa Tal, a beautiful lake, and rests near the Annapurna mountain range which you can see poke through the sky above the hills. We rented bicycles and biked around the lake through the mini villages that dotted the shore. We also woke up at 4am to grab a taxi up to Sarangkot which is at the top of a hill and offers amazing views of the Annapurna range. We watched the sunrise here with a hundred other people. We also got some hiking in and visited the World Peace Pagoda which is on the top of another hill. All in all, it was a very beautiful and relaxing week.

Being in Kathmandu for Tihar:
Tihar is another festival that follows Dashain. It is shorter in length but makes up for that in intensity. The children set off firecrackers and fireworks all weekend long and the streets of Old Kathmandu (between Thamel and New Road) were alive with lights (like Christmas lights). Sitting on the rooftop terrace of our building at night and watching random fireworks everywhere in the sky and enjoying all of the rooftops lit with lights and oil lamps was definitely a highlight! The jewellery shops on New Road are famous for competing with each other for the most outrageous decorations. Rajendra, a CECI Nepal employee, invited us to his home to see the Bhai Tikka ceremony which is a very intricate ceremony and is unlike anything we have in North America. We were so lucky to be invited into his home to witness something we never would have had a chance to see otherwise.

Meeting Ganga’s Family in Kavre:
Ganga, the girl I work with here, asked me to come to her village in the district of Kavre. Tessa came with me and we took the bus with Ganga to Nagarkot, a village at the top of a hill. From Nagarkot we did a 3 hour downhill hike through villages, forest, mountain ridges and more. At one point we emerged from the forest and are were greeted with the most amazing view of the Himalayas. How refreshing! Staying with a family for the weekend was also wonderful. We hung out with Ganga’s sisters and I photographed the entire village at their request. We enjoyed the freshest sugar cane ever while sitting on the ledge of a paddy and enjoyed the view of the sun setting behind the hills that surrounded the valley that laid below us. As if that wasn’t enough, we had to ride the roof of a bus to go back to Kathmandu because otherwise we would have been stuck in Kavre as busses were full. 270 degree views of the Himalayas are best enjoyed from the roof of a large bus barrelling down a mountain side road that runs along cliffs. This experience is enhanced further if you have a very cold Coca Cola to go with it, haha! I guess I should add that you should never, EVER try this yourself! Do as I say, not as I do!

The little joys of daily life here:
Chatting in Nepali with the CECI support staff, commuting to work, negotiating the price for a taxi ride, riding on the back of a motorbike through Kathmandu, the glorious post-monsoon weather (25 degrees, dry and sunny every day!!), hanging out at our favourite restaurant… little things like that.

Capacity Building with Ganga:
This is probably the most amazing experience of all. International development not being my area of study, this internship was a bit of a change of pace for me. I love to travel and have been to Nepal before which was why I wanted to return but I had no idea what to expect from my time here. When I first met Ganga, I had no idea what effect we would have on each other’s lives. At first, based on my first few weeks here, I was under the impression that I would go to work every day, complete the documents they wanted of me and then return to Canada with little long term improvements to show for my time here. I am the first volunteer to work with my organization and the success of my internship will determine if they will continue hosting volunteers. I figured that, at best, my internship would go well and they would then host other volunteers who would actually be able to have an impact. Luckily, because of Ganga’s initiative, reality couldn’t have been further from my expectations. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, Ganga had never turned on a computer in her life. In only a few weeks she went from knowing nothing to being able to create simple documents in Microsoft Word and Excel and update more complicated ones herself. She can play music, send e-mails, print things and play solitaire of course! Her prospects of getting another office job after I left for Canada were slim but now she has a good resume (that I helped her make) and very useful skills that will help her get a better job which she will use to pay for her university studies. If I had not come from Canada to Nepal for this internship, the federation never would have needed to hire Ganga (and they only did because she spoke English) and if Ganga was never hired into this position, she never would have had the opportunity to learn the things she has. It’s quite satisfying to know that I had a concrete positive effect on a person’s life here and in return she has provided me with wisdom I never would have gained otherwise. I had half-shown her how to send an e-mail ONCE weeks ago… but this weekend, while sitting at the kitchen table, I received an e-mail from Ganga! She went to an internet café near her house and figured out how to do it herself! Needless to say I was very proud of her. Anyway, all to say that this was probably the best experience of all.

Seeing the jungle in Chitwan and visiting successful farmers’ co-operatives:
First of all, elephants are such beautiful animals! The experience is certainly enhanced when you’re by the edge of a beautiful river, watching elephants bathe, basking in the sunlight and enjoying the epic view of the Himalayas made possible by the very flat terrain of the Terai region of Nepal. Riding through the jungle on elephant back, seeing crocodiles while canoeing on the Rapti River and seeing real tiger prints in the sand were some of the highlights of this fabulous voyage. After pleasure came business and I met up with the Federation’s General Secretary and Chairman who took me to visit a successful farmer, a successful primary-level cooperative and the district level cooperative federation. In two days, I got to see almost all of Chitwan and learned more in two days than I have in the last two months! And then I was fortunate enough to be able to contrast their success with that of another cooperative in the district of Dhading. I got to meet dozens of interesting people and see firsthand how local fruit and vegetable markets work as well as some tangible evidence of what these cooperatives have been working on for the last ten years or so. I can’t wait to write my case studies on this topic!

That’s it for now!

Hello everyone! I figured that the best way to tell you about my internship in Nepal would be to give you an example of a typical day for me. But first, some context:

I have been assigned an internship in Balkhu, Kathmandu, Nepal with the Shree Central Vegetable and Fruit Co-operative Federation Limited Nepal. It is an organization that functions as the central organizing body for primary level and district level co-operatives that deal with fruit and vegetable production. It is in a building located on the single busiest, loudest, dustiest road of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. I work with Ganga, a young girl who comes from a family of farmers in Kavre, a neighbouring district. She translates documents from Nepali to English for me, acts as my interpreter when I speak with the other members of the co-operative and helps me complete my work.

I am very fortunate to have been posted in Kathmandu with another University of Ottawa student. Her name is Tessa and we are lucky enough to get to live together in our own apartment, which is awesome. We live in a building inside the Canadian Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) Nepal compound. There are two buildings in the compound: one is the main CECI office building, and the other is a building that is currently empty save for the small apartment they set up on the 3rd floor for us. It’s very nice and has more than everything we need. We each get our own bedroom and we share the kitchen, bathroom, rooftop terrace and spare bedroom, which we use as a living room.

First, I wake up and prepare myself some breakfast. I generally eat a very Canadian breakfast: toast, muesli and yogurt with a cup of coffee. Then I get ready. When I first arrived, a light skirt and t-shirt was suitable for all-day wear. Now that it’s gotten chillier during the day, I typically wear jeans and a kurta, a type of top that many women wear here. Then I’m off to work!

My absolute favourite part of the day is walking through the main CECI building to leave for work. I’ve become very close with some of the employees there since I see them every day. This is when I try to practice my spoken Nepali with the support staff: “Namaste! Sanchai hunnahuncha? Sanchai cha. Pheri vetaula!” Translates into… “Hi! How are you? I’m fine. See you later!”

My commute to work is very interesting. We live in Baluwatar, which is more or less in the Northeast corner of Kathmandu. Balkhu, on the other hand, is in the Southwest. They are less than 10 kilometres apart but because of the high density of Kathmandu, it takes about an hour to commute by bus.

To bus to work, I must first take something called a “Safa Tempo”. They only have 3 wheels. You get in through a little door-less opening at the back of the tempo and they can accommodate about 10 people. I take the Safa Tempo downtown, where I then must switch to a microbus. Microbuses are like little 15-passenger mini vans with 30 people stuffed inside. They are often modified to accommodate more people than they should and often people stand inside too. I take a microbus from downtown to Balkhu. The microbuses usually have a young man that operates the sliding door (like a minivan) and collects the fare as people get off. Both methods of transportation cost 10 Rupees which is about 14 Canadian cents. My commute is often another one of my favourite times of day, especially when the radio is on, the windows are open and I’m fortunate enough to have a good seat. It is during these moments that I forget about North America completely and feel completely absorbed in my surroundings.

I usually pick up some pastries from the European bakery near my house then I commute to work. When I arrive, Ganga is usually already there working. We work alone in the office most of the time. There is one other staff member but she’s rarely at the office. Our boss, the Federation’s General Secretary, comes in on Fridays for our weekly status update meetings. Otherwise, it’s just Ganga and I.

I usually bring her my extra water bottle that I fill at home. I do this because there is no water at the office that is drinkable and purchasing plastic bottles of water is both wasteful and expensive. Water bottles (and most other garbage) are generally thrown into the river afterward so my extra reusable bottle is put to good use.

After catching up, Ganga and I usually get to work. I work on my laptop at the main desk and Ganga either works on the Federation’s computer or at the other desk.

When I first met Ganga, she had never turned on a computer. Now she knows not only how to turn one on, but she can play music, create and update Microsoft Word and Excel documents, send e-mail through a web-based account, print things and more. Watching her come so far in terms of computer knowledge is absolutely amazing. She is a very quick learner. Now that she has some computer experience, she brought a CD of Hindi Bollywood music for us to listen to during the day.

On a typical day, I format the documents that I’ve been asked to create and edit the English of these documents. I’ve been asked to make brochures, information booklets, organizational charts, a document of the federation’s bylaws, a website, and things like that. While I work on these documents, Ganga typically does data entry into the spreadsheets made for the Federation. This has been great typing practice for her!

Sometime between 11am and 1pm, we order tea from the little shop downstairs. A young man brings it up to us and we enjoy it with the pastries I bring. This is a typical lunch for us.

We continue working until 3pm or so, when Ganga needs to go pick up her younger brother from school. I take the bus home.

For the commute home, I must walk from Lazimpat, a main road in Kathmandu, to my home. The walk takes me through lovely streets which are more like alley ways by North American standards. I get to see children walk home from school, laughing in their uniforms as well as the fruit salesmen on their bikes, calling out to the open windows. Because the monsoon has passed, the trees are in bloom and the alleys are alive with splashes of colour.

Because of the extremely poor quality tap water— (which should never be consumed without being boiled or treated with iodine), cooking is very frustrating. Raw fruits and vegetables are unsafe for consumption without first being cooked or soaked in iodine. This makes eating healthily very difficult and laborious. We often eat cooked vegetables with paneer, a type of cheese produced here that you fry and serve in a way similar to tofu, and a yogurt/cream base curry sauce. Rice is a must, of course and we’ve eaten our fair share of Dal Bhat, a traditional Nepalese dish of rice and lentils. We have experimented with Nepalese versions of North American foods, like spaghetti, but it’s usually disappointing.

Another Canadian volunteer we met here suggested we hire a cook, which we did. Her name is Gita and she is amazing. The point of hiring a cook was more educational than practical. It gave us the opportunity to learn where to buy food that is safe and how to cook it safely so that we don’t get sick. So far so good! That and because our commute is SO long and draining, it’s nice to be able to come home to some food in the fridge every once in a while. It also creates another employment opportunity for Gita, who is paying for her daughter’s education by working for expats and volunteers.

In the evening, Tessa and I usually continue our work for our respective organizations. I work on things I that require the internet or peace and quiet and Tessa does the same. There is usually a daily two hour blackout between 5 and 10pm, depending on the day. This happens because Nepal cannot produce enough electricity to satisfy the demand, so they shut off power to certain parts of the city to save energy. During the load shedding, we either read or watch DVDs on my laptop when I have enough battery power. When we first arrived, the night time temperatures were warm enough to sleep in shorts and a t-shirt. Now that winter is approaching, we must wear several layers to keep warm indoors. Very, very few (if any) buildings have central heating and because the buildings are made of concrete, they barely ever warm up during the day. At night when the sun sets, and to bed, I typically wear thick wool socks, thick slippers, thick fleece pants (sometimes with wool longjohns underneath!) with a long-sleeve wool shirt, thick wool sweater and tuque. Sometimes I wear a scarf indoors. I generally sleep with the tuque on. Brrr.

Then it’s time for bed and it starts all over again in the next morning!

Namaste from Nepal!

So it’s already November (which I can’t believe) and I am really into my work here in Kathmandu now, with lots of work still ahead.  U of O and CECI have definitely placed me in a great internship and I am really happy with my host organization, my office and my work. 

I work for a small NGO called the Professional Development and Research Center (PDRC).  It works towards helping Dalit (those on the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system) youth acquire higher education.  It finds students from all over western Nepal, the most under-developed region, helps bring them to Kathmandu, find scholarships, get acceptance into colleges and universities, and find housing.  PDRC’s staff literally works 24/7 to help these students, and I am pretty sure that I have never really seen people work this hard for anything in my life.  They are an extremely dedicated, passionate and determined group of people that care very much for the Dalit community and for Nepal.  I have learned so much from being able to work with them and be in their office.  Both the President and Executive Director of the organization are always ready to discuss Dalit issues, their thoughts on Nepal, their goals for PDRC and their students’ stories with me.

 I have also been able to enjoy countless lunch time political discussions in the office with colleagues.  It’s been really interesting to hear their perspective of Nepal’s political situation, especially coming from a Dalit and NGO perspective.  I get to hear all about the Maoists and Nepal’s recent history over a bowl of beaten dried rice, or sometimes noodles, and a cup of black tea with more sugar than I’m use to (though recently the tea has turned into instant coffee, which makes me wonder that perhaps it is thought that the bideshi in their office prefers instant coffee to delicious tea? Instant coffee…*shudder*).

PDRC seems to have a continuous flow of work to get done, which means that I am always busy and get to contribute, even if only a little bit.  I have been doing a lot of documentation and communications work so far, meaning that I am helping to write reports, create a brochure and a newsletter.  I am also hoping to be able to help with some project proposal work, but time is running out so we’ll have to see what is possible.

It’s also been really great working at the center because I get to meet so many people.  I sit at my little desk in one of the office’s two small rooms on my computer, and get to talk to the constant flow of people coming in and out (and work on my Nepali!).  Sometimes I get to chat with the organization’s board members and hear about all the work that they are doing outside of PDRC at different NGOs and places like the Carter Center and UNICEF.  But most of the time I get to talk to students.  Even when the conversations are in both their broken English and my pretty much non-existent Nepali, I always learn so much from them.  They are a very inspiring group of students that I’m sure a lot of university students in Canada could learn a thing or two from.  Most come from rural Nepal, some from places where roads hardly exist, and are the students that still managed to pass entrance and high school exams with no resources and in many cases living in poverty.  The ones that decide to stay in Kathmandu for college or university are so dedicated.  It’s easy to see why PDRC staff work so hard.  I got to speak to one girl a few weeks ago who was telling me about her medical entrance exams that were coming up.  She said that she wanted to be a gynecologist and then continued to tell me about how the state of Nepal’s health, hygiene and sanitation are completely unacceptable.  When I asked her what she was going to do about it, she said that she was going to try to help and teach with her medical degree and then become a politician to change Nepal.  Coming from a 19 year old girl in developing and politically unstable Nepal, this was pretty impressive and definitely inspiring.

So, to sum up this blog entry: I love the organization I was sent here to work with and I feel so incredibly lucky to have been placed with them.  I will feel happy if I am able to leave them with even a fraction of what they’ve given me since I’ve been here.  This has definitely been an excellent introduction for me in really starting to understand what development in developing countries is all about.  Even after such a short time here, I’ve began to realize that real development doesn’t come from kids like me learning about International Development in school, it comes from inside a developing country.  Nepalis working towards development for Nepalis and Nepal, without Western leadership only support, is how countries like this one are truly going to grow.

I still cannot believe that I am in Kathmandu.  I have been in Nepal for over a month and half now and I am still shocked some days that I am actually here.

It has been absolutely incredible. These have been some of the most intense, exciting, terrifying and life changing weeks of my life (and I still have so many more to go!).  I can’t even begin to describe how much I have learned in this city and country so far. Every single day is a learning experience here as you talk to new people, see new things and try to figure out how to not get lost. The country itself is incredible. Kathmandu is insane, or more so an organized chaos. While the huge amounts of people, crazy traffic, air pollution, non-stop noise, (squatter toilets…), piles of garbage, and piles of burning garbage do take a while to adjust to, Kathmandu has turned out to be a really amazing city.  The people, food, saris, temperature, and mountains are fantastic.  The monsoon clouds have started to finally lift and we can now more clearly see the surrounding hills (which would definitely be classified as mountains in most of Canada) and the Himalayas. It’s a crazy view from my roof.  Kathmandu is such an interesting combination of old and new, ancient neighborhoods and new malls, Buddhism and Hinduism, crazy and peaceful, India and China, and extreme poverty and immense luxury.  It’s so different than anything I have ever lived.  Leaving the city though, everything changes. Things are calm, quiet, clean and so incredibly green. Everyone here has said that you haven’t seen the real Nepal until you leave Kathmandu, and so far I believe it. The countryside has proved to be like another world to me.  I was able to visit the village and farm of a friend here recently, and besides being able to breathe clean air again, I got to see what ‘rural’ really looks like.  Growing up in Canadian suburbs, it was incredible to see people living on the sides of remote hills surrounded by rice patties, a three hours hike from the nearest town.  Very eye-opening.

So it has taken a while but I finally feel like I have created a mini life for myself here, which seemed like a near impossible task upon arrival.  Once the confusion and disorientation passed and I started to understand what my life was going to be like here, things normalized.  Being able to find my way to work and home again, across the city in public transport was a huge life achievement for me.  It made me feel like I finally knew what I was doing.  Also, starting work at my organization really gave me a purpose and reminded me why I came to the other side of the world.  Actually living in a different country has been one of the coolest experiences so far. You are stuck in this weird in between area of not being a tourist but not being a local, it makes being in a foreign country completely different.  It’s been so interesting creating a life here. You get to learn so much more about a country this way. 

I feel lucky to be able to be here and live with another U of O student, Naomi.  It’s been really great being able to share the crazy day to day experiences with someone who’s in the same boat as me.  It’s definitely been nice having someone to get lost with.  And to live with! We both share an apartment provided to us by our Canadian host organization CECI and absolutely love it. CECI in general has been super fantastic to us since the day we arrived.  Our country and work orientation was really helpful, and the people are great.  They even set up a week of language training for us, which has certainly gone a long way.

So…so far so good!  Nepal is a pretty incredible place and I can’t wait to really get into my work here and start exploring the city and country more.