I finished my exam this morning at 9:30 and walked on over to the International Department and picked up my passport, which has a visa fixed inside of it now. I am now officially (legally) allowed to go to Nepal and be a student! Excellent. I hopped on the bus, came home and started cleaning my apartment, don't want to come back to a gross apartment. I repacked my backpack, pulling out a shirt and pair of pants that I don't think I will need. I also was able to condense my carryon to a rather small bag. This way when I get to Hong Kong I won't be dragging around a huge bag with me!
On Wednesday, Tina, Amanda, and I went to Tim Hortons and had a good chat about what we had packed, what we needed to buy still, and calm some nerves before our big departure day! Afterwards, Amanda and I went downtown to buy a few things including spider deterring bug nets and potato chips. Fabulous!
With everything finally packed, I am ready to relax and hang out with Margaret (Margaret Dawg Yung Thug) and Liz for a night/day of madness before my trip. We have great plans such as going out for breakfast and getting Fro Yo... most of them are food related plans.
I just checked-in for my flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong online and switched my seat so that now I'm sitting between Tina and Isha for our long haul flight. I think they will be fabulous seat companions. So much crib, cards, and good chat!
Here's a few links that I thought I would share with all of you, this song by Bob Seger is a great soundtrack to my trip - thank you Graham Henry for sharing it with me. And, this is where I will be spending my first nights in Nepal!
So here I go off off and away! I hope to update my blog often and share my exciting adventures with you all. If I happen to not do so well at this endeavour then I will be sure to share my successes and stories upon my return.
With that I will leave you with my mantra for the trip, written by a great doctor:
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Oh awkward....
So I was packing/organizing the other day while listening to my music on shuffle. We all know the dangers of that. The song Friday by Rebecca Black popped up and I was singing along when I started to change the lyrics. And what came from that was a beautiful song that I wrote, sorry for the poor singing skills and lack of proper editing. I did a few runs of it and this is the best one so enjoy My Field School Song !!!
Also, just learned today that we will be able to take the 1/2 hour train ride into Hong Kong and explore! I'm quite excited to see Hong Kong, even if it's only for a few hours.
7 days 21 hours and 35 min
Here are the lyrics if you need to decipher some of my "singing":
7:00 am waking up in a bug net
Gotta be fresh, gotta wake em all up
Gotta have my rice gotta have my lentil
Seein everything, the time is goin
Tickin on and on trip is flying by
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see chickens
Clucking in the front seat,
Clucking under that seat
Gotta make my mind up,
Which chicken should I befriend?
It’s field school, field school
Gotta experience my field school
Everybody’s workin in Kathmandu, Nepal
Field school field school
Working hard in field school
Everybody’s lookin forward to the weekend
Boilin and boilin that water
Treating and treating that water
Runs runs runs runs
Was that dukarol worth it?
Late at night were sittin in our big house
Chattin so much about how field school is fly
Home home think about home
You know where that is
I got this, you got this,
My friends are all around me
I got this you got this
Now we know it
Chickens in the front seat,
Chickens in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which chicken to befriend?
It’s field school, field school
Gotta experience ma field school
Everybody’s workin in Kathmandu, Nepal
Field school field school
Workin hard in field school
Everybody’s lookin forward to the weekend
Sleepin and sleepin (NAH)
Drinking and drinking (NAH)
Explore plore plore plore
Havin fun on the weekend
Yesterday we’re in Canada
Today we’re in hong kong
We we we so excited
We so excited
To fly all the way to Nepal
Tomorrow is Nepal,
Nepal comes after….hong kong
I don’t want this field school to end
It’s field school, field school
Gotta experience my field school
Everybody’s workin in Kathmandu, Nepal
Field school field school
Workin hard in field school
Everybody’s lookin forward to the weekend
Blisters and blisters, yeah
Sweatin and sweatin yeah
Fun fun fun fun
Havin fun at field school
It’s field school, field school
Gotta experience my field school
Everybody’s workin in Kathmandu, Nepal
Field school field school
Workin hard in field school
Everybody’s lookin forward to the weekend
Learning and learning yeah
Blogging and blogging yeah
Fun fun fun fun
Looking forward to my field school
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Dukarol? More like Pukearol
So today was the day I had to take my first of two Dukarol vaccines. These vaccines are taken orally. You mix a packet of raspberry sodium bicarbonate with a vial of inactive traveller's diarrhea and cholera vaccine, and 150mL of water then you're good to go. I was really nervous leading up to it, and then I caught a whiff of its delectable aroma. It smelled exactly like Raspberry Ice Crystal Light (one of my faves)! So I was like "Yeah! Let's get this Dukarol party started." So, then I took a big gulp. BLEH! It tasted what I would imagine that the drool of someone who just drank Raspberry Ice Crystal Light, and then added a bunch of salt. I stared down the glass for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do next. I then distracted myself by reading the rather large information sheet that it comes with. Apparently to prevent traveller's diarrhea you may be so lucky to enjoy the same symptoms back at home from taking the vaccine. Iroooonnnny. I then had this not so fabulous idea, where I try to do Dukarol shots. Definitely not as enjoyable as Tequila. I settled on the straw method. So I choked down my Dukarol through a straw standing in my kitchen. I also whined to myself out loud, and now I'm whining on the interweb. I don't feel bad about this whining though, because you guys chose to read it!
Super stoked to take my second dose next week......NAWT! Ke garne.
*Ke garne Is the Nepali phrase that means "what to do?" in a "it happens" sort of way. *
The main food I'll be eating in Nepal is daal bhaat. That is rice and lentils with lightly curried veggies. Utensils are not used, but instead, you roll the mixture into small lumps with your right hand. Then you feed yourself by pushing the ball of food off of your fingers with your thumb. I plan on drinking lots of chiya (the nepali equivalent of Chai tea) and staying away from maasu (meat). In northern Nepal they drink their tea with yak butter and salt. Peculiar.
Nepal runs on a lunar calendar, their new years is mid-April. So I will be there during Baisakh (April-May) and Jestha (May-June). So I guess my 20th birthday will be happening on Jestha 7 in the year 2068. That sounds pretty cool.
11 days 22 hours and 37 minutes.
Super stoked to take my second dose next week......NAWT! Ke garne.
*Ke garne Is the Nepali phrase that means "what to do?" in a "it happens" sort of way. *
The main food I'll be eating in Nepal is daal bhaat. That is rice and lentils with lightly curried veggies. Utensils are not used, but instead, you roll the mixture into small lumps with your right hand. Then you feed yourself by pushing the ball of food off of your fingers with your thumb. I plan on drinking lots of chiya (the nepali equivalent of Chai tea) and staying away from maasu (meat). In northern Nepal they drink their tea with yak butter and salt. Peculiar.
Nepal runs on a lunar calendar, their new years is mid-April. So I will be there during Baisakh (April-May) and Jestha (May-June). So I guess my 20th birthday will be happening on Jestha 7 in the year 2068. That sounds pretty cool.
11 days 22 hours and 37 minutes.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Our final meeting.
On Thursday we had our final group meeting before we head off to Nepal for 6 weeks. Amanda and I slid in a little late, but I brought cookies so it was all good. We had some issues bringing in Garrit via video conferencing, but in the end we got it working!
The main topic of conversation was what we should wear while we are there. The Nepali culture emphasizes modesty, so high neck shirts, pants no shorter than capri length. I checked the weather this week, and the low was 23 degrees someday, with the high being 38 degrees. Hot hot hot! I went to Old Navy and found some amazingly comfortable capris and a couple shirts. I think I have my clothing all sorted, and can finally stop the hunt for appropriate shirts and long, comfy pants. I think I still need a hat, but I've never really been able to rock the whole hat thing. I think it'll be a sweaty 6 weeks :)
Along with our discussion of appropriate clothing, we talked about ethical practice in volunteering. Apparently, people from Nepal tend to ask lots of questions of westerners. The questioning is not out of judgement, but out of curiosity for our culture. I was reading the Culture Smart guide to Nepal customs and culture (our mandatory reading for the trip), and I learned that people don't say thank you and please. Apparently, thank you and please are only really used by tourists, not locals. Also, people don't wear shoes in the house, except for in the bathroom and shower where they wear indoor shoes like flip flops. Also, Nepali people consider saying no to be quite rude. Instead, they reluctantly say yes.
The Nepal society is patrilocal, so the new wives move in with their husband's family. A dowry is given to the husband's family. If a woman is not married by the time she is 35 she is given the equivalent of the dowry to herself. Divorce is frowned upon, the only excuse for leaving someone is if they are unable to have children. It is more desirable to have a son as it is less expensive in the long run, and infanticide, although illegal and culturally unacceptable, does occur.
I think it will be really interesting learning about the Nepali childcare techniques. They use corporal punishment in many families to punish children. I believe that it is also used in schools, orphanages, and other childcare locations. According to our instructors, there are "winds of change". Around Nepal there are signs that this is changing. There are literally signs that proclaim that love teaches children more than the stick does.
The main idea of the meeting was to have a sense of cultural humility. Expect to make many mistakes, and expect to learn a lot. The most important thing, is to realize that you're going to learn a lot, but it's only a little bit of what there is to learn about that culture.
I started organizing/light packing today. My apartment went from being nice and clean, to looking like a drugstore and clothing store exploded inside of it!
17 more days!
The main topic of conversation was what we should wear while we are there. The Nepali culture emphasizes modesty, so high neck shirts, pants no shorter than capri length. I checked the weather this week, and the low was 23 degrees someday, with the high being 38 degrees. Hot hot hot! I went to Old Navy and found some amazingly comfortable capris and a couple shirts. I think I have my clothing all sorted, and can finally stop the hunt for appropriate shirts and long, comfy pants. I think I still need a hat, but I've never really been able to rock the whole hat thing. I think it'll be a sweaty 6 weeks :)
Along with our discussion of appropriate clothing, we talked about ethical practice in volunteering. Apparently, people from Nepal tend to ask lots of questions of westerners. The questioning is not out of judgement, but out of curiosity for our culture. I was reading the Culture Smart guide to Nepal customs and culture (our mandatory reading for the trip), and I learned that people don't say thank you and please. Apparently, thank you and please are only really used by tourists, not locals. Also, people don't wear shoes in the house, except for in the bathroom and shower where they wear indoor shoes like flip flops. Also, Nepali people consider saying no to be quite rude. Instead, they reluctantly say yes.
The Nepal society is patrilocal, so the new wives move in with their husband's family. A dowry is given to the husband's family. If a woman is not married by the time she is 35 she is given the equivalent of the dowry to herself. Divorce is frowned upon, the only excuse for leaving someone is if they are unable to have children. It is more desirable to have a son as it is less expensive in the long run, and infanticide, although illegal and culturally unacceptable, does occur.
I think it will be really interesting learning about the Nepali childcare techniques. They use corporal punishment in many families to punish children. I believe that it is also used in schools, orphanages, and other childcare locations. According to our instructors, there are "winds of change". Around Nepal there are signs that this is changing. There are literally signs that proclaim that love teaches children more than the stick does.
The main idea of the meeting was to have a sense of cultural humility. Expect to make many mistakes, and expect to learn a lot. The most important thing, is to realize that you're going to learn a lot, but it's only a little bit of what there is to learn about that culture.
I started organizing/light packing today. My apartment went from being nice and clean, to looking like a drugstore and clothing store exploded inside of it!
17 more days!
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