Chitwan National Park

My second weekend in Nepal I was very lucky to take a trip to Chitwan National Park. Through a friend of a friend of the JVs...something like that...I met a woman who works at a travel agency and was headed to the park to check out a lodge. I was invited to tag along!! The park is in south central Nepal on the border with India and even though I only got to go for one night...it was AMAZING!

Why am I making this face????

Because I'm was riding this elephant....AND.....

....watching this rhino!!!

On Sunday morning in Chitwan, we took canoes to check out the crocodiles in the river...and saw lots of wild birds like peacocks in the trees.

Then we got to walk to an elephant breeding ground and check out some babies. The picture on the right is a set of twins...the first at the this breeding ground, which is supposed to be very auspicious, and the picture on the left is a 7-month old that was getting brave enough to wander away from his mother. I tried to feed it grass but he threw is on the ground:)

Even though we didn't have much time to venture far into the park, it was a great outing for the weekend! I got to see lots of the Nepal countryside and the big difference between the hill region where I live, which runs through the center of Nepal and the Terai or plains region which is in the south. And, I got to see lots of elephants and a few other exotic animals. The elephants really were cool. They were walking around town, carrying big loads, and we even saw people washing their elephants in the river!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Take care back home and feel free to drop me a note anytime:)

Starting Life in Nepal

Namaste from Nepal! I have officially been in the country 16 days and am going to make my first attempt to get some thoughts and pictures out to everyone back home! As you can imagine, a lot has happened over the past couple of weeks, so I will try to organize my thoughts and update you along the way with what I have forgotten:)

The trip over went great, and I made it with no major mishaps...quite the accomplishment if you know my track record with flights and airports. Over the course of my first week, I was introduced to my house, roommates, Godavari (our town), St. Xavier's (our school), and lots and lots of Nepali culture.


Our house is a mixture of blessings and frustrations. I will make sure to get pictures up on another post. The house is big, especially for Godavari...but cold. We have running water, but only in the bathroom and shower...not in kitchen. (I never thought a kitchen sink could be such a wonderful sight.) The neighbors are great! Two Nepali families live on the first floor of the house and we have the second floor. My roommates have also been wonderful and I am excited to be sharing this experience with people who have already made me feel at home. The school is a very short walk from our house, and my few short visits have already made me love the students. They are full of smiles, Hello Misses, and candies for your pocket even if they don't know you. The food is also good...yummy, spicy, and filling...I just don't know how to cook any of it yet. One major accomplishment was also taking my first try at washing clothes...we have to do it by hand and hang it out to dry, but overall it was a successfull attmept.


Two of the only negative parts of living in Godavari right now are 1) we have major hours of load shedding right now, which are power outages and means we only have power about 4-6 hours a day and 2) our phone line has been cut...literally the physical line in the village was cut and stolen and there has not been very promising news about it getting replaced.


My first weekend, we got to hike to the next village over and spend a night in Lamatar. One of the in-country Jestuits has helped establish a guest house in Lamatar and it is a great treat when we get to be the guests! Fr. Greg has been here for years and filled me full of lots of Nepali history and the food cooked up by Chundra was amazing! I also got my first decent view of the Himals from Lamatar. They are usually hidden from view in Godavari by a massive cloud of dusty, smoggy, hazy, polluted air that hangs over Kathmandu.





THE HIMALS!!!



I have also started language training which has been good because language is a major barrier for me right now, but it is also difficult. The Nepali language has a different alphabet and script which I am trying to learn on top of conversation. It is slow going!



Godavari is about a 30 mintues bus ride south of Kathmandu and it is great to live outside of the city, which can be pretty loud and crazy. Our house is surrounded by a big open lot where the local animals have free run. The only horse in the area tends to just wander to the field eat and wander home each night...we don't really know where he comes from but he lets me pet him. The goats are also quite entertaining at times...getting heads stuck in buckets, climbing through gates, jumping up trees. And, the horse and goats are joined by numerous cows and dogs on any given day. We also have some pretty but very loud green parrots that like to visit our trees during the day.

Overall, things have been going great! With the power outages and lack of computer access, my blog posts and emails may be sporadic but I will do my best. As I get more settled and comfortable, I will also take more pictures and get them posted so you can see the house, school, and village.

You are in my thoughts!
Emily

The Things I Will Miss

As my bags are packed and my plane ticket is in hand, I can't help but think of the things to which I am saying goodbye. I thought I would share with you a little taste of the home I will miss on those rough days.

Family. My mom and dad have always been the incredible support that holds me up through good times, tough times, big decisions, and life changes.

My brother has always been someone I look up to, and he has now started his own beautiful family with his wife Becky and brand new baby Riley.

My Dogs. I love animals and these pooches are perfect to keep me company during a day at home or to go outside and play...and they are AWESOME bird hunters.

Montana. I am more and more awed every time I come home to Montana. The mountains, the sky, the people, and the places are one of a kind. I love the big outdoors here and will miss everything from riding horses and helping my dad with cows to camping and hiking.

The little collection of buildings to the right is my hometown of Moore.

A gorgeous sunset just outside of town. And...I'm not a very good photographer so imagine in person!

Turning the horses out into a new pasture. The sky is hazy in the summer during harvest when a lot of dust gets in the air.

Friends. I will also miss all of my close friends from high school, Gonzaga, my year in Bridgeport, and new ones I have made being back home. I love you all and am thankful for your friendship and support. I will save pictures for another time, but you all know who you are!

Thanks for checking out my pictures. I love coming home to such an incredible place and such amazing people. Even though it's hard to say goodbye, I'm happy to have such great people to miss while I am gone. I am very excited to get to Nepal and will do my best to post some very different pictures in the near future!