India & Nepal: History & Culture Through Service Learning

I write this in an internet cafe in Delhi, a city that once scared the bejesus out of me, a city I now find pretty easy to navigate.  The city moves slower now, being on the road for the past six weeks.  I remember I called Delhi, “a cess-pit of dirt and grime, a melting pot of all that is unholy…”  which is incorrect.  It is grimy and dirty, but certainly not unholy.  In fact, holiness pervades nearly every action undertaken by every man, woman, and child.  It is a very religious, holy country.  It is just crowded.  And quite so.

Now, my biggest fear is being culture shocked upon returning to the United States.

There is sadness to this departure, but yes, it is time to leave.  The next time I come abroad I would like to have my college degree, so that perhaps my next adventure could be longer, and contain a paying job.  They need teachers everywhere, and I would be happy to oblige a worthy country in need.

We have seen what poverty is, and what defines it.  What can define it, perhaps, is the eternal human spirit that is able to endure, able to overcome adversity, and smile.  We have seen people that have much less material possessions than Ian or I, but their smiles told us that they contained inside them a happiness I could not begin to imagine.  That is the human spirit.  To be driven by love and not money.  To be spun by the wheels of goodwill rather than of capital.  A smile is a currency all of its own, and to that end, Nepal and India are very rich countries.

This is farewell.  Thank you India, Nepal, and your people.  Thank you to all who have helped us along the way.  A very special thank you to every single member of the Parajuli family, who opened their hearts and homes to us, and who made this experience everything that it was or ever could be.  Thank you for reading.  Namaste.

I…. am at a loss for words.  What to type to reflect on this grand experience of ours?  Here goes…

Since our homestay we have been traveling with modesty and humility, living with a family has deeply tied us to the customs and culture of Nepal, and we love it.  We have worked in the schools, we have plowed the fields of this country, and when we talk about that to the locals it affords us much credit.  They are impressed that we have not followed the traditional tourist trail, and they appreciate that our experience has been authentic and meaningful.

We stayed in Pokhara for a week, the evening we departed our home and our farm.  We arrived at 12:30 at night, to empty streets and barricaded shops.  Luckily we woke the manager the first hotel we stumbled upon, and were fortunate to find a bed after a long evening of travel.

Pokhara is a dream.  The tourist center is on one side of a large lake, nestled peacefully among green mountains.  It is the Lake Cuomo of Nepal, with less wine.  We relaxed, studies, and made friends with the locals, and had a great week on the lake.  We went rafting down the mighty Seti river, and traversed the scenery on motorbikes.  It was comfortable and beautiful, and it was not easy to leave.

From there we went to Chitwan National Park, enjoying safaris on the back of elephants, in boats, and on an ox cart. We saw many Rhinos, birds, and grazing water buffalo and cow.  Tiger prints, but no tigers.  We wanted that tiger!

Today we traveled by bus away from the heat and bugs of the Terai Plain, and have gallantly returned back to Kathmandu.  This was the first time we have returned to the same hotel, so this place feels the most like home of any city we’ve been to.  We are going Bungee-Jumping tomorrow, and plan to book a flight that circles the peak of Mount Everest, and the mighty Himalayas.

This signifies the beginning of the end.  We have five nights in Kathmandu before we hop on successive mini-vans, taxis, trains and rickshaws and arrive in Delhi before our flight to the United States on the 22cd.  We arrive in New Jersey at 4:30am on the 23rd.

We shall see you all soon, thanks for reading.

Namaste.

The week it was! One week in Gunjanagar, a small village in the Terai Plain of Nepal, in what we thought was a homestay centered around working on a farm. ... [Continue reading this entry]