Namaste KRMEF

Where to begin, where to begin. The past weeks have truely flown past me.
Every day brought new experiences, people, things to do. For me its going to be a surprise to see how much of it I can share with you. Back to day 1. After a welldeserved long sleep I began to look around in a new home. It was quite a big house which hosted both the foundation's family as most of the volunteers. It has 3 floors and a rooftop. Pictures and/or video is to come. Unfortunately most of the internet connections dont allow much to be uploaded. After wandering around in the house I went outside into the village. Khahare isnt that big. It's mainly built near the only mainroad. I went up the road and I bought my first item. A mask to cover my mouth and noose.

When I arrived I was truely overwhelmed by the visible and smellable smoke exhaustion. Greenpeace can eat its heart out on that on. I notice that its so easily to compare with my homecountry but that doesnt do justice to the development (history) of Nepal. I try to see things in perspective. Try to understand it from the past and see the changing towards the future . For most of the Nepali this is how it is. They don't know any other way.

I dont wear the mask anymore. You get a costumed so easy to the traffic and you hardly take notice anymore. When I continued my walk up I got thirsty and bought myself a coke. I got a glass botlle and walked off. A guy followed me and shouted. Apparently its common to drink the cola and return the glass bottle to the seller. So I sat down enjoying my coke. I started to try my newly achieved Nepali language vocabulary. It's a challenge! I wanted to say I was from Holland but nobody seemed to get it. Getting out my dictionary I asked for the right pronunciation. Soon I was surrounded by 5 or 6 people who were arguing about what I asked and how it should be said. Maybe some of them couldnt ready either. Anyway a motor stopped in front of the shop and the guy riding it came in to the discussion. It was soon cleared up. Its pronounced Ha-la-de so.. Mero desh Ha-la-de ho (I from Holland) The guy knew my volunteringagency and was friends with somebody who works there. He asked me wheter I wanted to join him for a ride. With nothing else to do I went along. It was a pure joy to sit behind him on the motor and bike through the mountains. I had the most beautiful view on the deep valley next to us, while we were climbing upwards. At first I was tightly holding on to the bike but soon I was able to let go and fully live the ride. I was intensely smiling on the back pretty much the entire ride. The guy introduced himself as Ragu. He was an vetrinarian and was on the job. This aftertoon it ment going about to local farms and inseminating cows and buffalos. Apparently Dutch cows, Frisians to be more specific, are loved. There sperm is used to inseminate cows. They are much loved since they produce a lot of milk. Going through the hills I watched 2 cows getting inseminated on very remote places. I even assisted in the insemination of a buffalo! (okay I only held the light up since it was dark and 3 or 4 guys had to keep the buffalo in place, but it counts!) In the early evening I was dropped of at the foundation. The thought (' what possesses me to go to Nepal?!) that arose during the last night just received one (of many?) answers; Adventure, saying yes to adventure

Back to the foundation the second day of my stay, sunday, I started my voluntering. We worked out in the field. It is a newly acquired piece of land. It has to be prepared for farming and building. A little handtractor is digging through the earth to clean the soil. There arose loads and loads of rocks that had to, manually, be removed, Quite some work to be done and the sun was very warmly present too. After the work I didnt really feel okay. This wasnt what I wanted right now. I felt way more attracted by the thought of going out to travel the lands. I layed this down at the foundation and I got a carte blanche. This was my first of many encounters with the freedom and willingness to act and think along with your needs and whishes. The next day I just did nothing, which I really needed. I went up the hills for some hiking and just stayed there for a couple of hours. Just sitting, being, landing (that was probably a thing I really needed. The past days were very intense and I just needed some time) The day after I still felt the same. I felt like exploring so I planned to go to Swambu ( a very famous temple west of K'du which hosts a huge amount of monkeys) Another volunteer Valea from Switzerland, went along. It would be the first time I would use the public bus in Nepal and thats not your average ride.. It has a very structured system. It usually departs from the central bus station when its full. If its not then it will wait for more passengers quite long at certain places. The height inside of the bus is such that when I stand I have to bend my back. Im very happy when I can sit down. I was a little nervous on how it would go. I heard you have to pay a lot of attention to the conductor (usually a boy in his teens who collects the money and shouts the busstops. They seem to be the same when you first hear them)

(I notice its going to be way to much to tell in detail the things that I have experienced. I have to rethink the way im posting updates to this blog)
Ill fastforward till the present day for now. Despite having a truely great time I left earlier as planned. The desire to go out there in Nepal was just so powerful. Yesterday I extended my visa till the 28th of November and there is a good chance that another extention will follow. Since Monday Im in Pokhara. Today me Serena and Jan from the UK will go trekking o Poon Hill. Its a 6 day trek with altitude not going above 3200 meters. Its going to be my first trek and I didnt want to go crazy all the way just yet. We've got nothing arranged and we dont have a porter (carrier/guide) but we feel confident well make it. Its the most popular trek of the Annapurna Region, good chance its very crowded. Im really excited!