From Corn Fields to Rice Paddies

Nepal. It is a land of many things… good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, tolerable and ….well… I guess I have no choice but to tolerate certain things (things that are not in my power to change). I can now say, however, that since being in Gorkha, these terms are all quite relative.

I have recently passed the two-month mark for time in Nepal with this last month being spent entirely in Gorkha at my teaching placement and homestay (which means my time here is 25% over). And yes, I know, this blog post is long overdue. Since I have not had the chance (or reliable internet) to blog for quite some time, I would like to give you a little taste of what Nepal has to offer….

The Mountains: A little too obvious? I do believe that without living in them, it is difficult to get a sense of just how “mountainous” they are. I, of course, am using the term mountain very loosely here, as Nepalis refer to all mountain-like objects, other than the Himalayas, as mere “hills”. My homestay is the furthest up the “hill” of all ETA’s (English Teaching Assistants) living in Gorkha. This has its pros and cons. For starters, to get to the bazaar (the main hub of Gorkha in which ‘shopping’ is done) it is about a twenty minute brisk walk downhill from my home. On the flipside, you had better allow a good 30-35 minutes for the return trip. The time difference alone should be a good indication of just how steep the slope is. Let’s just say my calves are loving and hating me simultaneously. The altitude, however, does provide for some remarkable views. In fact, from my very own bedroom, I have a breathtaking view of the Himalayas now that monsoon season is ending. Think about waking up to that sight every day! If I go up to the third floor roof or the upper landing, the view only gets better. On other days when it has rained (like it has been doing lately), clouds form in the valley that my house overlooks… hence I am literally living above the clouds. Crazy huh!? Overall, I would say that the landscape is about as drastic of a change from Iowa that one can find.

The view from my third floor porch. And yes, those are the Himilayas that you see in the background.

I promise there was no photoshopping done.

And here it is... living in the land of the clouds.

You can imagine how surreal this is to see when you wake up in the morning. On days like these the clouds literally come through my windows into my room.

The Sense of Time: Time – such a difficult thing to explain in Nepal. I have no better way to explain it other than extremely lax. In fact, it is so difficult to explain fully that we (the ETA’s) have created an entirely new system known as “Nepali time”. According to Nepali time, if you were told to be somewhere at 3pm, it is entirely acceptable to show up at 3:30, 3:45, even 4:00! If you show up at 3:30, chances are you will be early. According to Nepali time, if you ask a family member ‘What time are we leaving?’ and they respond with ‘Now’, you might as well take off your shoes, get comfortable, and curl up with a good book. This sounds relaxing, right? In a sense, it is quite nice. Worrying about being late is never an issue. You can take your time. There is never a need to be in any sort of hurry or rush. The same sense of time transfers over into my school. There is no automatic bell system, as there is no electricity at the school. It is up to the staff person or another teacher to pound on a metal hanging plate when it is time for classes to start or end. Some days, school and classes will start on time while on other days teachers will wander into their classes 10-15 minutes late. Coming from a girl who preferred to color code her planner in college, though, this sense of time is a constant struggle. It is something that I am working on every day.

[No pictures for this one... I told you the sense of time was hard to capture!]

The Schools: The schools in Nepal can be divided into 2 groups: government schools and private boarding schools. In Nepal, as soon as a family can afford it, they will send their child to a boarding school. If they cannot afford to send all of their children, it is not uncommon for them to send only the boy of the family. I cannot vouch for the quality of the boarding schools, but I can say that, in general, the quality of government schools tends to be very poor. The school week runs from Sunday to Friday 10am – 4pm, with a half day on Friday. Between holidays, festivals, and bandhs (citywide/countrywide closure due to political protests), the chance of having a full week of school, however, is very slim. In fact, I have now been in Gorkha for a little over six weeks and have only had one truly FULL week of classes. Frustrating to say the least when you are trying to get to know your students or develop a routine. Furthermore, it is very common for teachers and students alike not to show up to school. There have been days when only 6 of my 16 sixth graders have been in class and 3 or more teachers have been MIA. This makes progress in the classroom a slow going process, and makes planning of any sort near impossible. It has taught me, however, to take one day at a time, to be creative, and to always be ready to think on my feet.

From my house, my school, Gorakhali Swara Lower Secondary School, is about a 30-minute walk around the mountain on a precarious torn up road. From forests to rice paddies to mountains, however, there is no shortage of views along the way! It does not serve the students of Gorkha township itself, but rather those of a neighboring village called Swara, from grades 1 to 8. There are ten teachers at Gorakhali Swara Lower Secondary School, the headmaster and myself included, and one staff person. The school itself has the least amount of resources of all ETA’s schools in Gorkha, a fact I was well aware of before taking on the challenge, or rather opportunity.

Teaching in the Nepali classroom is challenging on an entirely new level. The overall English level is very poor, with students school-wide unable to form a simple sentence. The Nepali school system in itself has many flaws. Students are taught to memorize and regurgitate straight from their textbook. Teachers are taught to teach by reading from the book and having the students repeat what they say verbatim. If they don’t repeat it or write it exactly as it is said or written in the textbook, it is wrong. There is no creativity. There is no critical thinking. Students are not learning how to think, they are learning how to copy. Combating this structure is difficult, especially as it has been drilled into the students, and teachers, since grade 1. For the first two weeks, I could barely get two words out before the students would start to repeat what I was saying. I could barely write one word on the chalkboard before their heads were down scribbling away in their own notebook. I am happy to say that I can now get a few more sentences out and write a few more words on the board before the copying begins. It has been a slow going process, but already I have seen improvement, from learning how to write the letter ‘r’ correctly to being able to pronounce the word ‘school’ (something very hard for Nepalis to do). Just think of all that can be done in six (short) months!

I have to say that in recent weeks I have fallen in love with my students. Sure, you never know what to expect from them and there are constant discipline problems that have to be addressed (difficult when your Nepali is very limited), but they never cease to amaze me. Although refusing to hit your students takes away a lot of the bargaining power when it comes to discipline, I believe that it also leads to a friendly trusting relationship in the classroom, which in turn makes learning fun! Currently, I teach grades 2, 3, 5, and 6. The students are enthusiastic. They are bright. They are comedians. They want to succeed and make me proud. And no matter how bad the day has been, they are still able to make me smile.

The same can be said of my co-teacher. In the school environment described above, she is one-of-a-kind, nothing short of inspiring. She is talented. She is creative. She is eager to learn. She has already expressed the want to improve her English and teaching techniques (both of which are already very good). Not only does she ask me questions, but she takes what I do in the classroom and implements it herself the very same day! Furthermore, when I ask her questions, she takes the time to find the answers (including the hours of the post office). I do believe that when we are both in the classroom together, our co-teaching is pretty spot on, with my responsibilities being pronunciation and grammar and hers being classroom discipline and translation. Although she insists that I have helped her learn so much already, I believe that she has taught me just as much. Did I mention that she is seven months pregnant and walks over an hour to school every day just to teach her classes?! I told you that she was amazing!

My co-teacher and another teacher walking home from school. This took a little while longer due to the road conditions.

A view of rice paddies on the way to school.

The assembly held at school every morning. In this picture only half of the students are present... which goes to show you how many student absences there can be in one day.

My co-teacher Sunita and me

My grade three class on my very first day of school. I am happy to say that their room is much cleaner now.

Grades two and three in a joint class... playing games and learning at the same time!

Prakrita, a student in grade 2, and Hem, a student in grade 6. How couldn't you love faces like those?

Ramaya (grade 3), Prakriti (grade 2), and myself hanging out after school one day.

A group of students from grades two and three showing off their true personalities!

The two Sarita's from grade 6! :)

The People: When reading up on Nepal before embarking on this journey, all references said that Nepali people were some of the friendliest and most welcoming people you would ever meet. ……They weren’t lying. When walking down the street, you are sure to be greeted by folded hands and a ‘Namaste’ greeting every few steps. When entering someone’s home, within a few minutes you have a cup of tea and snack in front of you no matter how hungry you really are. When attempting to speak a few words in Nepali, they insist that your Nepali is perfect (although secretly you know otherwise). When having gone four days without washing your hair, they insist that you are looking your most beautiful yet. It is a caring culture. Everyone looks out for everyone. If you are sick, within a matter of hours, there will be phone calls and visits from teachers, friends across town, and family members asking if you are okay (trust me I know). All the while you’re left thinking, “How did they possibly find out?”.

The same came be said of my homestay family. My homestay family is a little different from others due to their size. The parents of the family have ten children, with the oldest daughter having a seventeen-year-old daughter herself and the youngest children being sixteen-year-old fraternal twins. Not all of the family lives in the parent’s house, yet several do as Nepal is centered on a familial style of living. I have yet to get an exact count, but at meal times there averages around 11-15 people in the kitchen at one time, with family members coming and going from various villages and communities for weeks at a time. Coming from a family of four, it has been an interesting dynamic to witness, take part in, and adjust to. Having so many family members makes it hard to get to know each of them, yet the process of doing so has been very enjoyable and exciting. Although the only true English speakers are a pair of sixteen-year-old girls (who are my saviors!), I have been able to form my own relationship which each member of the family. They each have their own quirks, their own sense of humor, and are constantly looking out for me. Being in a large family has taught me many things: Privacy and alone time is no longer a feasible option. Sharing is caring. It is wise to only hold the baby when it has pants on (unless you need an excuse for an extra shower). For each additional family member, the volume in the room and the number of dishes at meal times increase exponentially. Worrying about finding someone to serve you tea is never an issue. There is always a friend to talk to or sit next to (once you’ve run out of things to say in Nepali).

Some family members during a trip to the Durbar (Palace).

Celebrating Father's Day the Nepali way. I am feeding my buwaa some oreos dipped in milk in this picture - my contribution to the worshipping feast.

My aamaa (homestay mother), my bohini Ganga (little sister and English savior!), and buwaa (homestay father).

Prasun... always able to make me smile!

My bhai Santos (little brother) and nephew Bishal... did I mention you eat everything with your hands here?

The Food: Saving the best for last. FOOD. Hmmm… where to start? Although ‘Nepali time’ was difficult to explain earlier, I can easily sum up Nepali food in one word….Rice.

From here, I think it is best to give you a typical day’s schedule of food intake. After awaking at 5:30, I make my way up stairs around 6-6:30 for Nepali tea and biscuits (an entire package). The tea in Nepal is unlike any tea I have ever had before, with the key ingredient being 7 (or was it 8?) handfuls of sugar. Before departing for school, I have my first meal of the day around 8:30. This consists of rice, dal (a lentil soup to pour over the rice), thakari (a fried vegetable mixture of sorts), and either a fried egg or meat, with the amount of rice being equivalent to at least 4-5 cups. I am still amazed as to how my twig of a little sister can eat her four cups rice serving and have seconds, whereas I struggle to finish my 3-cup portion. At school, then, the teachers and students take a break for tiffin around 1:00pm. For this, I either take a little something to eat (because let’s be honest how can I be hungry after eating a feast for breakfast!?), or I pay 15 rupees to eat a snack made at the nearby shack, usually consisting of beans, noodles, fried vegetables, or momos. When I return from school, I am greeted by another cup of sugar (tea) and kaja (snack of some sort) at my house. The day wraps up with another meal of rice, dal, thakari, and meat at 8:00pm, before going to bed on a full stomach.

This daily schedule of food has its pros and cons. On the down side, whereas my calves have transformed due to the terrain, the same can be said of my stomach due to the amount of rice, sugar, and biscuits. Thank god, I’ve started running recently (after finding out if it was culturally acceptable to do so). Mealtime can also make for a stressful time of sorts. Oftentimes, you are not hungry due to the many other snacks you have consumed during the day. Mealtime has become a time for bargaining, for staying firm, and for sticking to your guns. No matter how many times each member of the family insists that you have one more cup of rice, you continue to repeat “pugyo” (enough) and cover your plate with your hands. Be careful though, because as soon as you turn your head or go to take a drink of water, your aamaa (mother) will sneakily plop one more scoop of rice on your plate!

There are upsides to the food here as well. For starters, you know that you will never have to worry about going hungry. Nepal truly is a culture that shows love through the amount of food they give you. Also, you know exactly what you are going to get at each meal. Sure, the type of biscuit may change from butter biscuits to glucose biscuits, but you always know that there will be biscuits to eat with your tea. Although having little variety was difficult for me at first, I have actually grown quite accustomed to eating the same thing at the same time every day. It provides a schedule of sorts that is otherwise lacking in day-to-day Nepali life. Not to mention my body now craves the sugary tea and biscuits and the amazing spices that are used in all of the other savory dishes! Lastly, the ingredients are FRESH! In a country that goes hours a day without electricity, refrigeration is not an option. Each family grows their own produce, which they then use to make all of their own meals. Seeing the process from farm to table has been remarkable and makes you never want to buy produce from the grocery store again! In fact, my family goes one step further and raises their own chickens as well. At any one time, you can find, on average, 20-30 chickens living in a back room attached to the house, with a noisy rooster and natural chickens living out front on the porch for eggs (and also meat). Although my family does eat quite a few of these chickens, they also slaughter and sell the meat at the shop they operate in the first floor of the house. They don’t stop here though… because sadly, goats are also on the menu. Words to the wise: If a goat randomly shows up on your porch one morning, it probably won’t be there by the time you return to school and you had better make yourself scarce during the butchering process or you just might get a goat’s head shoved in your face. Just another interesting dynamic to family living in Nepal!

THE rooster! My 5am wake up call EVERY morning. It's huge!

Pumpkin blossoms and firewood up on the fourth floor roof. This is where most of our producce comes from.

The roof from where I see all the great views! Here, one of the many goats that appear at my house, along with a few of the chickens.

The back room where masses of chickens are kept (upper right corner). Here, you can see my Dhai Amar (older brother) de-feathering chickens along with the wood fireplace over which some of our meals are cooked.