COUNTRY: Nepal
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Breana Macpherson-Rice & Ellen Burke
Pheri betoūla! (We'll get to the meaning of that later)
Although we can hardly believe it, we thirteen have reached the end of our placement here in Nepal after nearly three months of teaching, learning and living. It seems strange to think that the streets which are now so familiar and full of faces we recognise once seemed so foreign and daunting. It will be sad to leave, there is no doubt about that, but at the same time we are aware of the incredible time we have spent here and grateful for it. It is with trepidation that we approach, for some of us, our homecoming and for some of us the next leg of our travels. Either way, it is with fond memories that we will depart (as well as slightly too many pairs of pants), and with many more friendships we hope to keep for years to come.
To mark the end of our teaching time, two Mondays ago Jitpur Secondary School held a program in our name, where all three of our schools came together in what was essentially a Nepali-style school assembly. And by Nepali-style, we mean a few speeches competing with the chatter and pushing of the three lots of school students, who were only drowned out by the blast of Nepali music that accompanied the showcase of young dancers. It was especially nice to see dances by some students belonging to the two guest schools, and it was not without pride that we watched "our kids" swing their hips in time to the crooning of traditional Nepali tunes. We squeezed into Jitpur's already heaving school hall in our just-bestowed parting gift - beautiful tailor-made matching saris for the girls and smart, traditional doura surayas for the boys. We don't mean to boast, but by the end of the day we had definitely figured out how to wear them with style, as Jess and Bre's closing dance with two of our cousins firmly demonstrated. The song, they only discovered a few days prior, roughly translates to 'I'm a black beauty', and so it was with a good sense of humour and some well-rehearsed moves they performed to the masses. Smiles were fixed to our faces that afternoon, as it seemed like a culmination of our time here. Our schools were together, our teachers and students, and a few of our homestay families were present too, their faces a welcome sight among the crowds. It was strange to think that all of these people were there for us and that we were the guests in a school assembly, whereas a year ago we were the students. To have all of the people that we have come to love in the same place was overwhelming in such a way that made us feel so privileged to have met them, and devastated that we had to say goodbye. And say goodbye we did, as with heavy hearts we watched our teachers and students walk away for the final time, hoping that their future holds happiness and many opportunities, even though we will not be there to witness it.
And so, we left, on a tearful Tuesday morning, boarding the same four wheel drives which we now know to be a very rare sight in our part of town. After living in quiet little Kisandol for over two months, we realise what a dramatic entrance we made in the beginning, which matched our dramatic exit. After a lot of potholes and bumps in the road we arrived at our orphanages, all of us getting the chance to see each of the three before we said our goodbyes and split into groups. These have been our temporary houses for the past ten days, in which we have been grateful to be welcomed into the homes of many unique and wonderful children. A few of us were unsure what placement in an orphanage would involve, and so the first few days were quite daunting as we all tried to find where to fit in these new environments.
The reality we have found is that we were essentially staying for a while in the day-to-day homes of these children, and instead of saving the world, we could use this as an opportunity to simply make the kids laugh, get to know them, and try to offer whatever help around the house possible. Each of us have had a different experience in the last week - not only because we were at different orphanages, but as we have all been a little bit tested in moving from a comfortable existence into an entirely new one. We have had to figure out new methods of communication as the levels of English differ from the village, and we have definitely learnt to adapt our attitudes, expectations and ways of teaching our favorite childhood games so that Nepali kids can understand. It has been an absolute delight to get to know each of the children, and we have even begun picking imaginary future careers to suit their array of skills in the case of Nat, Ruby, Camilla, Bre and Ellie. For example, Ramesh will definitely become a Bollywood Prince with the smooth dancing moves he has up his sleeve, and the accurately named Himal (mountain), is sure to become champion wrestler or champion speller, perhaps both. After spending a week in these houses, we could start to see areas that needed a bit of a helping hand, and were ecstatic to find that our fundraising dollars could be put to good use once again. Each orphanage had different needs due to different stages of development, but one thing we were all happy to give on behalf of our donors were some brand new clothes to coincide with Dashain festival. The biggest festival of the Nepali calendar, part of the celebration is the ritual of buying a new outfit, an opportunity which we were glad could be extended to all the children. Seeing the excitement and shy delight on the faces of all the kids, and the exclamations of "dere rambro" as they tried on the array of colourful clean clothes was a very special moment. We would like to take this chance to thank every one of our generous donors - in a country like Nepal each dollar goes a long way.
Today, then, marks the end of our placement here in Nepal, and time to say goodbye to people and the way of life we have grown to love so much. It's the small things that we'll miss - a cup of dudh chia (milk tea) on the rooftop of a morning watching the mist rise over the Kathmandu valley, the smiles of students and children having learnt something new, the hug of a host-mother after a long day. The village will probably miss us too, we think. Bhairav will certainly miss the toothpaste Jess leaves on her windowsill, Pabitra won't know what to do with all the milk now Usha isn't there for her customary four cups a day, and Samir and Sanjook will miss Hannah's extreme chocolatey dessert ideas. The kids at Saraswoti will miss Ama's ninja moves, Cam's inexhaustible supply of stickers, and Bre's ever present enthusiasm for games both English and Nepali. Gabe's students will miss their whiteboard tikkas, and Jess' students won't know what to do without a new carefully handprinted and marked worksheet to complete each day. The people on the road to Mankhal will wonder what happened to Ruby, Amanda, Rowena and Ellie, who won't be there to cry 'Namaste' as they walk by every morning.
Class one will certainly miss Amanda's games of duck duck goose, and class three won't know what to do without hangman. The entire village will probably be lost without Claire to herald news between houses, and someone will have to replace Nat to climb the escous trees. No doubt the cow will go hungry without Ruby's leftovers, but there will probably be a lot of rice pudding spare without Milly and Hannah to go for thirds. Shakti will have to do her homework without the help of Roo, and Sundeyah will no longer have to explain each recipe step by step to Ellie. Actually, departing will just be incredibly difficult for everyone involved, which is why we began this blog with 'pheri betoūla', a Nepali farewell - it translates to 'see you again!'. And we hope this is the case, especially after all of the friendships we have made, the myriad of things we've learnt, and the rich experiences that seem to be unavoidable whilst living in Nepal. Many of us feel that we'd be crazy not to come back in future, and are already planning our emergency someone-in-Nepal-is-having-a-wedding savings account should the opportunity arise.
We'd like to thank all the truly incredible people who have made us feel so welcomed and loved on our placements; our families, our schools, the various people we've met along the way, and especially Kabita, our in country partner, who has been there to help us every step of the way. Without her we wouldn't have achieved or seen so much, and we are immensely grateful for her support.
Farewell Nepal - thanks for being such an incredible destination. Until we're back, Namaste for the last time!
Bre and Ellie.
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