September 16, 2006
For People Who Don't Hate Children
I’m moving to Nepal! Tomorrow! This means you’re about to go back to reading about life in Nepal, which means fewer storylines revolving around me in my boxer shorts running away from mice. It also means that this particular blog...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 08:29 AM |
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January 19, 2005
Photos: Orphanage, Part 4
Here we are, the last photos of the orphanage. These are just a few that did not fit into another category, but are some of my favorites from the time spent in Godawari. Again, by what I will assume to...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 04:32 PM |
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January 18, 2005
Photos: Orphanage, Part 3
These are some photos of daily life in the orphanage, the second to last of the Godawari collection. Unfortunately, after posting all of these and writing about them, the entry was somehow deleted, and alas, I don't really have time...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 03:46 PM |
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January 17, 2005
Patan: Return to the Nepalese Hospital
Before I left on this round the world trip, I read several posts on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree site about what to pack, what turned out to be useful and what did not. Far and away the most useful...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 09:01 AM |
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January 15, 2005
Matha Tirtha: Double Header
New volunteers come to Nepal at the beginning of every month, first landing in Bistachhap for their week-long training. We had thought that we had the next couple of months all set - two young women, Kate and Sam, had...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 09:35 PM |
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January 13, 2005
Patan: Nepalese Hospitals
I was reading Snow White to some of the kids one evening, and they suddenly started chattering together as I was at the part describing Snow White herself. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but did hear the word...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 05:26 PM |
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January 09, 2005
Godawari: Drinking Jelly
Chris left a few days ago to fly back to Dublin, where he lives (he is German himself). We had the traditional leaving ceremony here at the orphanage: the two “didi’s” (young women who are responsible for cooking and washing...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 03:42 PM |
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January 05, 2005
Photos: Bistachhap
If Judgement Day came tomorrow, and God was checking out his personal files on Conor Grennan, I have to believe that he would take the time to dig through all the bad stuff to come across three notable life achievements:...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 02:48 PM |
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January 03, 2005
Kathmandu: On the 45
Everything is different in Nepal; that includes the calendar. After evening daal bhat the other night, we asked the kids when they had to go back to school (they are in the middle of a long holiday at the moment)....Read this update
Posted by Conor at 01:51 PM |
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December 31, 2004
Photos: Orphanage, Part 2
As promised/threatened, here are more pictures from the orphanage. As I think I indicated earlier, I am acutely aware that these will hold more interest for me than for you guys. When we are sitting around drinking tea after putting...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 03:17 AM |
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December 27, 2004
Godawari: Three Days of Christmas
If you happen to walk into the Little Princes Orphanage, especially around 6 p.m. or so when the kids have free time and are at the zenith of hyper-activity, it looks like madness. It’s unlikely that you would even see...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 04:23 PM |
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December 22, 2004
Godawari: So This is Christmas
It is tough out here in Godawari to remember that much of the Western world is in a Christmas frenzy at the moment. I have not lived in the U.S. for about eight years now, but this is the one...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 04:59 PM |
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December 20, 2004
Godawari: Stuffed.
My friend Rachel recently asked me in an email if I ever got an answer as to what happened to the chicken bones that mysteriously disappeared off the kids’ plates on the first day I arrived. (If you have no...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 02:34 PM |
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December 17, 2004
Godawari: To Pee or Not to Pee
It never really occurred to me that you could actually get better at working with kids. But in fact, like anything else, practice makes...well not perfect, but certainly less horrible. I have found that I have been doing fewer things...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 06:47 AM |
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December 14, 2004
Godawari: The Godfather
All eighteen kids at the Little Princes orphanage have distinct personalities. You probably already guessed that. I myself had never worked with children before, so my only real experience was in noting the differences between me and my sister Kate...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 02:52 PM |
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December 11, 2004
Photos: The Orphanage, Part I
My friend Jen is a bright woman. She recently made an astute comment under the Everest photos entry: if you're in a place like the Solu-Khumbu region, which is home to Mt. Everest, and you manage to get anything in...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 12:45 PM |
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December 10, 2004
Godawari: The Security Situation
I really love Nepal. It is a beautiful country, I like the people, and I am personally having a great experience here: first with the trek and especially now with our kids here in Godawari. Working in an orphanage, one...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 01:24 PM |
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December 06, 2004
Photos: Everest Trek
Ok, amigos, I'm trying something new here, so bear with me. I am about as technically capable as a bag of groceries, and for a while I have wanted to post some photos, but have had neither the chance nor...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 01:28 PM |
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Godawari: Le Pique-Nique
There are certain times when the kids at the Little Princes orphanage seem so self-sufficient that I wonder if they need any supervision at all. Bedtime is not one of those times. And last Friday's bedtime, the night before our...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 12:54 PM |
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December 05, 2004
Godawari: Home-schooled
There are times when the entire day passes and I find I haven't even left the orphanage, especially on the days when the kids have no school (for whatever reason). On one such holiday a few days ago, some of...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 01:14 PM |
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December 02, 2004
Godawari: Book Learnin'
I've always loved hearing stories from people who teach little kids. My sister Kate, her boyfriend Jim, my friend Nicole - all of them are naturals when it comes to working with children; their stories are simultaneously hilarious and moving....Read this update
Posted by Conor at 12:38 PM |
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November 29, 2004
Godawari: Welcome to the Orphanage
On my first morning at The Little Princes orphanage in the village of Godawari, I wandered out of my room at about 7.30 a.m., having been woken by the kids counting in english at the top of their lungs: "One!....Two!....Three!..."....Read this update
Posted by Conor at 05:23 AM |
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November 23, 2004
Everest Trek: 3 Days to Lukla
Pheriche - Phortse - Namche - Lukla - Kathmandu Before I conclude the Everest Trek saga, let me just mention something that may be of interest to you: I recently picked up a copy of "Into Thin Air" for my...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 11:55 PM |
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November 19, 2004
Everest Trek: The Descent
Trekking guide books tend to devote a lot of space to Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), and with good reason. One out of eight trekkers can't complete their trek because of it, almost everybody is affected by it, and the one...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 07:38 AM |
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November 18, 2004
Everest Trek: Kala Pattar Summit, 5550 m./18,200 ft.
We left Lobuche at 6.30 a.m on Nov. 17 for our final ascent. It was going to be a long day, probably about eight hours at what is considered extreme altitude. Chris and I had decided, as most do at...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 05:13 AM |
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November 17, 2004
Everest Trek: Lobuche, 4930 m./16,200 ft.
Sunblock should work in good faith. I did my part: I was well-informed that the sun at altitude was up to 70% stronger, I had brought along a strong, proven sunscreen, I had it in my daypack at the ready....Read this update
Posted by Conor at 03:15 AM |
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November 15, 2004
Everest Trek: Pheriche, 4240 m./13,900 ft.
After a few hours climbing the steep trail from Tengbouche to Pheriche with our three UK friends, Andy commented, "Jesus, what just happened? It looks like we landed on the fekkin' moon!" What had just happened was that the tree...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 01:52 AM |
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November 13, 2004
Everest Trek: Tengbouche, 3870 m./12,700 ft.
Namche Bazaar - Tengbouche Our third day was a mandatory acclimatization day in Namche Bazaar before we could continue up to Tengbouche - above 3300 meters or so the body needs time to adjust its breathing and build new red...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 11:47 AM |
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November 11, 2004
Everest Trek: Namche Bazaar, 3420 m./11,200 ft.
Phakding - Namche Bazaar I found that there are two basic rules on high altitude treks: don't ascend too quickly, and make sure yaks pass you on the cliff side of the narrow trails. They're called 'rules', because you can...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 05:55 AM |
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November 10, 2004
Everest Trek: Lukla, 2800 m./9200 ft.
Kathmandu - Lukla - Phakding In the early evening of Nov. 9, the day before Chris (my trekking partner) and I set off for Everest Base Camp, we went to a place in Kathmandu called Shona's, run by a grizzled...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 03:22 AM |
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November 09, 2004
Bistachhap: Maoists and Leopards
Before I start with another riveting tale of how much rice I ate and whether it was served with lentils or spinach, there's something I have to tell you. Are you sitting down? I'm glad. You see, I will not...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 07:09 AM |
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November 08, 2004
Bistachhap: The Daily Show
Like many of you, I was in the tea house of a remote Nepalese village listening to the BBC World Service on shortwave radio when the election results of the U.S. presidential election came in. I was personally crushed by...Read this update
Posted by Conor at 06:41 AM |
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November 02, 2004
Kathmandu: Playing with Your Food
There are really two Kathmandus, as far as I can tell - Thamel and the rest. The Thamel neighourhood is where all the tourists, trekkers, rafters, mountaineers, and general white people hang out and mix with the locals/other white people....Read this update
Posted by Conor at 05:14 AM |
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