Good morning Nepal

Yesterday morning I woke up to a knock on my door and Khim calling to me from the other side, "Rita baby, its time please wake up." (Rita is the name I have adopted since everyone struggles to pronounce Rachel) It was 5 am and the weather was perfect for viewing the Annapurna range from the World Peace stupa in Damside; in the monsoon season it is difficult to get a clear view of the Annapurna range. I dressed quickly and met Khim downstairs where he was waiting with a bottle of water for me. First we took a small boat (more like a canoe) across Fewa lake, on the other side was the beginning of the trail. My knowledge of this hike was limited to what I have read in my Nepal trekking guide, and I wasn't really expecting such an incline. Khim explained to me that we were taking a different route than most people, a faster route. Faster means straight up the mountain! It felt a lot like the first 1/2 mile of the trail head from Teton Canyon, except for it was about 6 times as long. It was a great way to wake up, that is for sure! We reached the stupa around 8 am. The view was incredible, the entire range was visible and we had the whole place to ourselves.



View from the top



World Peace Stupa




I am so fortunate to be staying with a Nepalese family. Khim is a highly sought after trekking guide in the tourist season and he knows all the secrets and tricks to enjoying this beautiful area. We are planning on doing a five day trek in two weeks; either to the Annapuran Base Camp or Jomsom, depending on the rain.

Also, a few days ago Abiskar (my host brother) took me to a Buddhist monastery that is situated on the top of a hill, just on the outskirts of Pokhara. I was just in time for the 5:00 prayers (?) It started to rain while we were inside listening to the chanting. This was such a beautiful experience, I could have stayed here all day.





I am loving all the colors and patterns... just so much visual stimulation. My eyes are seeing so many new things. I am having a hard time recording it all. I wish I had more time to sketch. I was able to find some simple watercolors in the market yesterday with the help of Abiskar. I messed around with them for a little while last night.


I caught this little one playing hooky with his cats.


Also, I am addicted to this food. What it is, I do not know. All I know is that it is really spicy, cheap and NOT Dal Bhat :) I buy it from a man who comes by the shop every afternoon with his food cart. Delicious.

Im HERE!

After three days of travel I have made it to Pokhara. Whew...its good to finally be here. My 12 hour wait in the Delhi airport was one of the most painful waits of my entire life. Flying from Kathmandu International to the small airport in Pokhara gave me an unbelievable view of the Himalayas. I cannot believe how high up some of those remote villages are. They seem to just be built on the very edge of cliffs.

I was met in Pokhara by Khim, Tara's husband. I jumped on the back of his Kawasaki with my big pack and we were off, weaving through crowded streets of cattle, food sellers and school children. The home where I am staying is nice and secure. I have a private room and bathroom with electricity and running water.

After passing out for a few hours I woke up and organized my things. Dinner was so wonderful... Dal Bhaat. From what I understand, this is what I will be eating everyday for 2 meals a day. Rice, lentils and curried veggies. We ate dinner on the second floor deck, there was a breeze and the company was wonderful. A young Japanese couple joined us. Apparently Yuki and Maehway were traveling through Pokhara, stopped by Tara's shop and were very impressed by the project and her products. They posted a few picture on their travel blog and soon they had an order of over 100 items from friends viewing the blog. So the shop has been working overtime to fill the order. The couple is great, very kind and wants to help the CWSDP in any way possible. Despite the language barrier, we were all able to communicate quite well and enjoyed learning and teaching phrases and expressions in English, Japanese and Nepali.

I woke up this morning to delicious mint tea picked fresh from Khim's tea garden. I also had time to sit and sketch some of the plants on the veranda. It felt so good to wake up slowly, sketch, drink tea and enjoy the sun.



I just visited the weaving studio. What an exciting space: Freshly dyed skeins hang from the ceiling, six women weave in the back and four sew in the middle room, the storefront is full of light and beautiful products. It sits right on the lakeside...a great location for tourist traffic.I have many ideas for the project, my head is buzzing... that will have to be my next post.

Well, I'm going to Nepal

My next adventure is taking me to Nepal!


I will be living in a town called Pokhara. It's west of the capital city Kathmandu.




I'm working as a volunteer at the Chetana Women's Skill Development Program (CWSDP). This is a weaving co-op that is ran by a Nepalese woman. Around twenty women are at the CWSDP at this point. All of them are learning weaving and design skills. With the skills learned at the CWSDP these women are able to be self-sufficient in a largely male dominated society. My purpose in working at the co-op is to teach the women dyeing and design skills. Pokhara serves as a hub for many trekkers who are embarking on various Himalayan trek's and rafting trips, so there is a lot of tourist traffic. My goal is to help the women develop products and color stories that will be more marketable to these tourists.

I've been sent a PDF of the products produced at the CWSDP. Many of their products have very garish color stories. Hopefully I can teach a little bit of color theory in the dyeing workshop. By adding a few neutral threads to their cloth, I think we could get a really different look. Teaching the dyeing workshop is going to be my biggest challenge however because I am unsure of what kind of dye they use, at what quantity they dye the raw fiber...cost...etc.

I don't quite know what my internet situation will be like in Pokhara. I feel like my attempt to blog from Ghana was a major fail. Hopefully this time around I will be able to update more often.


I leave tomorrow evening. Wish me luck.

Bon Voyage!