Langtang Trek - Day 1

It's time for the main adventure event; our feature presentation! If you're in Nepal, you have to go on a trek. That's just what you do. We had been given a tip from two separate sources on a great guide who worked out of Kathmandu, Bishnu Rai of Himalayan Sunrise Ltd. We wanted to put in a solid week of trekking that didn't kill us. We hadn't done any training before hand and the Himalayas are high! Bishnu suggested Langtang Park. It was the perfect fit. The trek would involve bussing to Syabru and hiking up the river valley and back with a summit hike in the middle.

Day 1 involved getting there and putting in a good warm up hike. Syabru is due north of Kathmandu and just a few kilometres below the Tibet border. Bussing to Syrabru was more of an adventure than the first day's hike. We left our hotel around 5:30am and loaded onto the bus which surprisingly left on time. Pulling into traffic was a feat unto itself. With some LA wedge and lots of horn we eventually got going and were on our way. The quarters were very cramped. They say everything in Nepal is made for the average height of 5'6". Being 6'2" did not work well. I had to either sit spread eagle or with both knees to one side. It was a crazy, twisty, stop and go 6 hour ride through the mountains. There were sheer drops to one side and mountain cliffs to the other. The driver was contantly honking to warn oncoming traffic of our presence. Half the road was paved and half was gravel. The bus seemed to picking up more and more people, not to mention all the stuff they were bringing with them, which included several bags or rice, beds and goats. Some of which would end up on the roof, including the goats after they spent some time huffing and puffing in my lap.

The bus spat us out at a shack on a stream that powered a small mill for milling flour. We changed into our hikers, were introduced to our porters and were off. We were surprised that there were only two porters for our collective 4 backpacks. No problem! They happily carried two a piece which we sheepishly left with them. We told Bishnu how we felt and he said that if we carried all of our own stuff then the porters wouldn't have jobs.

We started off into the mountains full of pine trees and incredible mountain vistas. We ran into a few tea houses and farming settlements. We stopped for tea half way and were able to duck out of the rain as we were invited in.

At the end of the day, coming into Upper Syabru, we were greeted by a jubilent guest house keeper who was very happy to have some customers. She chuckled the entire way as she and Bishnu chatted and brought us to our resting place at the Yeti Motel. The views from the rooms were spectacular. We all filled up on some hearty Sherpa food, including buckwheat chipatis, and laid down for a great nights rest.

GPS Path for Langtang Trek - Day 1
Best viewed in full screen mode

The Monkey Temple

We decided to take in some of the local culture. We were able to take in wild life and religion in one fell swoop. The Monkey Temple known as the Swayambhunath Stupa is a Buddhist Temple located in the West of Kathmandu. We jumped in a taxi and headed for the hill temple. We were dropped off at the bottom. We jumped out and started spotting monkeys. Right away we were surrounded, by monkeys and vendors peddling their souvenirs. After several photos we started our way up the steep 365 steps. At the top we saw a great temple surrounded by several mani wheels (prayer wheels that you spin). There were also several other buildings and other monuments and idols of worship. We spent the next couple hours just wandering and snapping photos. The major temple was being fixed up for May 27, the Buddha Purnima which celebrates Buddha's Enlightenment.

We wandered down to the lower area where we found another stupa (temple) and of course lots more monkeys. We snapped a few more shots and enjoyed the view of the entire Kathmandu Valley before heading home.

Sonrisa Orphanage, Nepal

As Yarrow and Lauren are working at the hospitals in Kathmandu (details here), I have been volunteering at an orphanage. The orphanage is located in the Northeast corner of Kathmandu in a suburb called Chandole. The nearest landmark is Chappal Karkanna (sandal factory).

At the beginning of our trip there was a Maoist strike and there was no public transportation so I had to walk. It was about 5km each way and my soft feet soon fell victim to blisters. The days were hot and I garnered a lot of looks as I wandered my way through the suburbs. What the heck was a kuirey (koo-ee-ray - slang for white guy) doing in the neighbourhood?! The best reaction I got was when I ran into the Maoist march parading through the city.

After just a couple days I then fell victim to a local gut bug and was out with a fever and GI issues and had to take a few days off. After I came out of bed rest I was back at it and by that time the strike was over and I was able to take public transport... once I figured out which bus to take, which proved to be quite difficult.

I usually arrived at the orphanage around 8:00am as the kids were finishing music lessons (bamboo flute and violin) or were coming home from traditional Nepali dance lessons. I was usually greeted at the gate by Phula. I was given the name 'Brother Matthew' which was quickly shortened to 'Brother'. 'Brother, brother, look'. 'Brother, brother, this'. 'Brother, brother, me'. I would join them for a dal-bhat breakfast served by one of the live-in care-takers, Auntie Gange. After breakfast all 15 kids brush their teeth and get ready for school. They wear a formal get up and put on their collared shirts, dress pants, skirts, ties and polished shoes. I would then walk the kids to school. It's a windy 1km path through Chandole. Most of the kids made their way on auto pilot but a few trouble makers got their little hands into everything and I had my hands full keep track of all the munchkins. I would then make my way back, trying not get get lost. The first couple of times I took my GPS. Below you can see a track of the path from our Hotel to the Orphanage and then to the school.

Once back at the orphanage I would help out with the odd chore and building maintenance and work on homework. Around 3 o'clock I made my way back to the school and picked up the 12 younger kids. We'd snake our way home in the narrow streets of traffic, heat and pollution and settle down for a snack of watermelon, juice and cookies. After snack it was homework time. Two tutors helped out the kids. I gave tutoring a try but when you don't speak their first language it is quite difficult to be effective. Homework time quickly degrades to reading books time.

I had a great time making 15+ new friends and all the children are very special. It is sad to hear their past stories but they have been given a great new chance at Sonrisa Orphanage. You can find out more information on their great website here: www.sonrisanepal.org

They depend solely on donations to operate and do not receive any funding from the government. Sonrisa elected not to give the kids up for adoption, raising them and taking responsibility for them until the age of 21. If you feel moved to donate and support this excellent organization please find more information here: http://www.sonrisanepal.org/get-involved/make-a-donation.php

I am also working with Sonrisa to get an online donation system operating so if you wish to donate that way please keep in touch.

Commuting to Sonrisa Orphanage then to Shivapuir School from Thamel

First Impressions of Nepal

After a rousing visit in Hong Kong we were ready for the main event. Unfortunately we didn't organize our seats well and I ended up meeting a nice woman from Beijing who worked in foreign policy in developing countries for the 4 hours flight from Hong Kong to Kathmandu. Yarrow and Lauren made the most of the flight and tried to catch some Zs, but their necks ended up in similar shape to the letter Z.

After a sunset stopover in Dhaka, Bangladesh we touched down in Kathmandu. We spent the next hour filling out customs forms and visa applications. We collected our checked baggage while warding off 'volunteers'. As we poked our heads out at the arrival gates we were met with a crowd of strangers, all of which were offering some kind of service except for one. A familiar smile in the crowd was holding a hand made sign with our names on it. It was Bishnu our trek guide. Bishnu helped us with a few bags and helped ward off the other many 'volunteers'.

We loaded into the Suzuki micro van and headed under the cover of night to the Happy Home Guest House on the left side of the road... usually. The traffic was calm but the road was not. I was impressed at the Suzuki's structural integrity. We didn't take Bishnu's advice and thought we could make do with the Happy Home Guest House. Bishnu helped us get settled and made us feel very welcome. He even helped us patch up the holes in the mosquito screens. The room we ended up with was not the one in the picture in the internet! It was in pretty rough shape and hadn't been used or cleaned in a while. We tried not to touch anything and were able to catch a few winks before heading out the next day (which included finding a new place to stay). We ended up taking Bishnu's advice and settling at the Tibet Guest House which is a night and day comparison.

The next morning I woke up early beside my wife in our single bed and crept out to get a look around. I made small talk with the keeper and found out that there was a 'strike' going on. The word strike has a lot more impact in Nepal, especially when it is organized by the Maoist party. I returned to the room and stuck my head out the window to see a long parade of Maoists filling the streets chanting, flying hammer and scythe flags and holding hands in rows that reached from one side of the street to the other. There was a strong comradery between them and they seemed bent on change.

A Maoist 'strike' in Nepal means, in this case, masses gather into the big cities from the countryside and the city to protest about the political situation. It also means that ALL non-emergency businesses and vehicles are forbidden to operate except between certain hours. In this case the curfew was lifted between 6-8am and 6-8pm, which was later revised to 6-10pm. This makes doing anything difficult! If shop keepers or drivers disobey the curfew then they would be met with angry protesters either asking for 'donations', vandalizing their shops or vehicles and in some case vandalizing the shop keepers and drivers themselves! Trying to get 6km across town transforms into a bit of trek. Trying to get shaving cream turns into a carefully scheduled trip to the shops. The streets are still full of people, just people walking and people on bicycles. All the shops that line every square foot of the streets are locked up tight behind the roll down security doors which gives the feel that a bull run might start at any time. The Maoists want the current prime minister to resign and he isn't budging. It's called an 'indefinite' strike but we and the people of Nepal hope it will all be over soon.

Despite the strike I was still able to get out to the orphanage on foot and the girls were able to make new arrangements to work in a hospital closer to town. We've all had the pleasure of wrestling with stomach bugs and both Lauren and I have fought off fevers. I've also ran into a Maoist parade on my way to the orphanage. I ducked into a laneway and tried to make myself inconspicuous. That didn't happen. Almost every parader that passed had to have a look at the 'kuirey' (white guy). I was told later that some may have never seen a white person before.

NEPAL!!!

Hello family and friends,

It has been way too long since I last wrote - so much has happened since then...including buying and renovating our cute little Vancouver East Side condo, moving to Kelowna for 8 months and catching lots of adorable babies. Just wanted to update you on the next exciting adventure Matthew and I have signed ourselves up for - in 2 weeks we are headed to Nepal for 2 months!

This opportunity came through the UBC Midwifery Program, which offers students the opportunity to do an international placement in the summer between third and fourth year. I will be going with one of my classmates Lauren to work in two maternity hospitals (in Kathmadu and Bharatpur) and Matthew has taken a leave of absence from work to join us. You can follow Lauren and me on our blog: himalayanbirth.blogspot.com, which will be devoted to posts about our placement/midwifery related work. Of course, still follow along here too for the adventure side of things, including stories about our trekking and Matthew's volunteer work :)

Ok - now it is time to go get my pack on...so much to do and so little time! And somewhere in the midst of everything I should be learning some Nepali...hmm, we'll see how that goes!

Namaste,

Yarrow

My First Midwifery Placement

It has been announced! My first midwifery placement will be at Bloom Community Midwives from February to April, 2009. I am thrilled with the placement and my preceptor, Chloe. In fact, Chloe was a 4th year midwifery student at Cook St. Community Midwives in Victoria when I worked there 2 years ago, so we already know each other!

Bloom Community Midwives is on Davies St. in downtown Vancouver, 2 blocks away from Saint Paul's Hospital and 6 blocks from where Matthew works in Yaletown. I am pleased as punch that we don't have to make our first "midwifery placement relocation" move just yet and that Bloom is about 15 minutes from our house. From what I have heard Bloom is a very socially aware and environmentally active practice which is soooo fabulous - here is the website if you want to check it out! http://www.bloommidwives.com/ I am really looking forward to not only honing my midwifery skills but also to see how a practice runs and how it fits into the community that surrounds it.

Finally having a placement to look forward too has really been a reality check for me - I am a MIDWIFERY student! Up until this point it hasn't felt like midwifery school was real. Last year felt like any other undergrad year - microbiology, anatomy, anthropology...but now it finally feels like my dream is becoming a reality. Starting in February I will be catching babies!!!

For the mean time, it's back to the books. This semester I am in pharmacology, a research methods course called Critical Appraisal of the Literature, Midwifery Ethics, and Birth and Its Meaning. In my spare time, which I thought I would have a lot more of, Matthew and I are taking Spanish class in preparation for Mexico at Christmas, I am taking a silver smithing course to take Kaya Island Designs' jewellery making to the next level and Matthew and I are a part of a wonderful small group at our church. It's a busy semester and already flying by, which just means that in no time it will be February!

To say good bye, I will leave you with a new favorite quote from the book I am currently reading, Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck.

"you'll never be hurt as much by being open as you have been hurt by remaining closed"

New Job!

Matthew here. I've made the move to join my wife and I've finally found a job! The company is FCV Technologies. FCV addresses "complex business issues with web-based technologies specializing in creative marketing solutions, social networking and online community tools, web application development, business strategy and customer insight". They make $200-500K websites for their clients. Some of their clients are Expedia, Act Now BC, Telus, and Travelocity. It's a good fit for both parties. The atmosphere is great and the boss is chill. I have no idea what the projects will be like. The office is located downtown in Yaletown. I'll be acting as a senior developer and it could lead into a project management role. The compensation is quite good. I have been holding out for a job that I'm keen about. I've run around town doing interviews with recruitment agencies and firms for the past two months. I'm hoping that it will be worth it for holding out. It's all a bit anti-climatic. I signed the papers today and I will start a month from today after our three week trip to France. The big search is over after two months of hitting my head against the job board.
Finding a job in Vancouver was not as easy as I had thought it might be. There are a lot of firms looking for a lot of people but they expect you to know how to the job as soon as you start. Very little firms are willing to invest the time training employees. They expect employees to just magically have everything that's needed to accomplish the position. There is a real black hole when it comes to applying for jobs online. You put your blood sweat and tears into a cover letter and resume and send it off. All you get back is a automated confirmation notice, if that. This is very discouraging and frustrating. Some jobs that are posted online are already filled and some don't even exist.
Most firms cannot handle the volume of applicants and some deal with this by using recruitment firms. I like to call them head hunters. A lot of positions are advertised under the recruitment company with a vague job description. As soon as the recruitment companies get a hold of your resume and they like what they see. They will invite you downtown for an interview. I personally worked hand-in-hand with many recruitment agencies. The top agencies that brought results I found was P3 Resources (small but good), Procom and Annex Consulting (they mean business and got me my current job). Don't forget to post your resume on Monster.ca. You will get a lot of attention from that.