Archive for March, 2010

From Lou:

hello to you all,

well today we had mo mo party with the girls, oh wow is my belly so full and i know that some of theirs will be too. up until today i hadn’t attempted to make these delicious little morsels but after creating all sorts of shapes i reckon i could have a go when i get back home.

It has been a great week, 7 of the group headed to Chitwan on Tuesday, we had a quite leisurely drift down for our rafting adventure before getting back on our bus for a somewhat interesting rest of the journey to our destination. The highlight for me was definetly on Wednesday getting the chance along with Ari to get out in the river for a ride and swim with one of the elephants. It all happened so quickly that i don’t think i had the chance to get terrified of what i was doing! Ending the day with drinks by the river was beautiful, pure magic watching the sun set and seeing the colours wash across the sky and water. Thursday morning our group boarded our bus for quite a long trip back to Thamel, it was certainly nice to see the familiarity of the guesthouse.

We have 2 more nights here before we head back to Hervey Bay, in ways i am looking forward to getting back home to the clean air that up until now have taken for granted. on the other hand i feel a sense of sadness to be leaving this place. something though that occurred to me is that i do not feel sadness about saying goodbye to the girls at the orphanage, they have such a lovely home there, with people who love and take the best care of them. they are in a very good place and their futures’ are so bright thanks to the Forget Me Not family and those who sponser them. There is such a postive cloud surrounding them all and i do believe that these girls will going on to do some very special things in their lives due to the strong foundations that are being put in place everyday.

To end this journal, i am going to list some of the highlights of my first trip to Nepal-
flying in to Kathmandu seeing the magnificient Himalayas
my first experience of being in a vehicle on the streets here, not for the faint hearted!
meeting and spending the time with 21 special little girls and the people who look after them
watching the girls dance, boy have they got the moves going on!
walking the land on which the new project is about to get started on
being here for Holi
elephants @ Chitwan
making and eating mo mo’s til i felt i could burst
this list could go on and on trust me and these points are in no specific order either

i hope so much to you out there who are considering doing a trip here in the future that you get your flights booked, just do it! Its been one of the best decisions i’ve made in my life. i knew i was in for a culture shock when i came here but i reckon i’m about to get another coming back home. What a magic couple of weeks i’ve had.

Namaste

Louise

From Ari:

Namaste all.

We left for Chitwan about 8:30-9:00am-ish on Tuesday morning. Our driver couldnt speak english at all- lucky us! We left Thamel and headed out past the centre of Kathmandu and we stopped at a petrol station. The fuel tank on the car was on the left hand side and the bowser was on the right, so our driver proceeded to mount the gutter and then ended up getting the end of car stuck in the gutter. The wheels were spinning and we were omg-ing. Finally we got out of the gutter and left again to embark on what was an eventful trip. From that point on everyone was slightly skeptical of our driver (Sham or Sam or something) after his shaky start, but i tried to remain optimistic. That was until we got out in the country where he began making random stops to ask direction to the rafting place. We all knew, esp Katy who has been a few times, that he had to keep going but, but Sha-sam kept on stopping. We could deal with that, but then we all noticed his particular style of driving. It was just so great going up hills in 4th gear. Maybe it was because he had already killed 2nd and was making an effort on 3rd gear. Dad i discussed how the teeth in the cogs were stuffed etc etc. Jase was on the wall without his regulation 3 cups of coffee. Dad told me to change gears for him, as it seemed he was the only one who couldnt hear the engine labouring. We finally arrived at the rafting place after no pee stops along the way. The rafting was awesome and the water was freezing!! It was good, but Louise and i agreed that bigger would be better and next time we go it will be after monsoon so it will be wild!! We met Sha-sam at the end of our rafting and apprehensively boarded the van.

You know when something really annoys you and you try do something else to take your mind off it. Well it seemed that rafting only took our minds of Sha-sam’s bad driving momentarily because about 1 min up the road i could hear Jase laughing in the back and dad saying, ‘change now.’ Katy and Andrea were attempting to put some music on to ease our troubles, but Sha-sam had that covered too, and replied by blasting bollywood music. I had my head on my travel pillow and i held up my fingers to indicate what gear we were in, followed by what gear we should have been in, followed by a prediction of what he was going to do next (i was in the passengers seat). This continued until we reached the outskirts of Chitwan, then the stops for direction became more frequent, even though Katy was saying, ‘No Di (older brother), i think we are going the wrong way’, and ‘excuse me Di, i think we should have turned there.’ We went up bumpy roads that was obviously the wrong way, and somehow we ended up at a hotel called Sapana Lodge. They directed us and after another few roads we finally got there at 5:30pm. Needless to say we were all glad to be out of that van. Jase had moved on from his lack of coffee and was now craving a cold beer. We went down to the river to a restaurant bar and ordered drinks and just sat about until dinner at 6:30 which was followed by a cultural dance at the hotel.

The next day we went along the river in dugout canoes which was beautiful. Only problem is that every time you turn your body, the canoe rocks to the side. Dad and Jase wouldnt go with the natural flow and were fighting it, causing it to rock even more. Our guide Vishie thought it would be funny to rock it even more considering there were crocs in the river After the canoe ride we went for a jungle walk followed by a visit to the Elephant breeding centre where we fed them pre-approved biscuits. We then travelled back to our little restaurant bar by the river and watched as the trainers brought their elephants down to wash them. Vishie told us that a couple of days earlier 4 tourists had been hurt badly by one of the elephants and that if we were to get on it would be a little on the hush hush. So he asked a trainer and then Louise and I waded in and got on its back. We splashed and played and had the best time, an absolutely amazing experience everyone should have. We all went back and had some lunch at the hotel and Louise and i sunned ourselves until we were dry and at about 3pm we went on an elephant jungle walk. That was crazy awesome! Louise, Jase and i rode together on ‘Beauty’, the youngest and silliest elephant. We saw rhinos, deer, crocs and monkeys After that fun we went back to our river bar to have some snacks and drinks etc as we had to leave the next morning.
Well the trip back was another adventure. Before we had even gotten onto the main road we had pulled over and asked several people to put air in the back tyre (probably a result of the fuel station fiasco). Once we got onto the highway we didnt stop, but we were going about 50km/ph. We couldnt believe it. On the way to Chitwan is was bewildering and a bit funny, but on the way back it was, ‘far out, this is bull***t. I am not going into detail because my eye twitches when i think about it! Let me just say that we left at about 9am and didnt get back til after 4pm.

Louise and i did some hardcore shopping on Friday and we visited the girls in the afternoon and just sat around and played and had fun.
Saturday was Mo-mo party and dancing and sari’s and everything pretty! It was a good day and you will see by the photos!
Sunday is the last full day so we are really living it up Saturday night and Sunday night trying to eat as much as we can

This trip has been such an amazing experience and i am going to work extra hard so i can come back in November!
You dont have any idea how much you impact the girls lives just by sending letters and speaking to them on the phone, so to meet everyone of them and see their little spirits and personalities shine is just beautiful. Everyone should be saving!

Ciao Nepal

See everyone soon!

Namaste- Ari

Annie’s Coming of Age

Namaste

I guess I shall start from our leaving Australia, which proved to be slightly eventful with Arielle getting car sick and us not being able to find due to road works the place we were leaving our car. Thankfully we sorted that out and arrived at the airport just before Lars, Carla and Louise.

The flight over was really smooth. We were on a new plane with all the modern technology arriving in Singapore on time. George made, as Arielle would say, a “bestie”, a really nice man called Ben, who’s company is “Maui-Jim Sunglasses”. As we parted at Singapore, he gave us $150 for the orphanage. We had a few hours at Singapore airport to look around then back on the smaller plane to Nepal. There wasn’t many on the plane so we were able to spread out and sleep etc. I was lucky enough to have a window seat and the view was so interesting all the way. The islands, then the constant change in the terrain, then all of a sudden, the breathtaking view of the Himalaya’s came into my view with the sun shining on the snow covered peak all so huge. It’s just like I’ve seen in Lars’ postcards but in real life so so much more.

As we flew through the gap of the mountains you get an idea of what Nepal is like. Beauty beyond belief an poverty like you have never experienced. Yet, all blending together and creating intoxicating , rich and diverse experience. We arrived at Kathmandu airport, no dramas, had Prem and Manjit (hotel man) waiting for us and we had our beautiful marigold leis draped around our necks and away we went to our private bus transfer.

It was quite busy but not as crazy as I expected with only a couple of beggars following us, it was quite funny as Lars had said not to give them money but just as we were about to get in the bus, I did notice Lars do a quick magician like transfer of money to the poor beggar man with only one leg. It was all done without fuss and no one else noticing. It made me realise that wherever Lars is, he will always be doing things for the goodness of others, not wanting any recognition, just doing it because it’s the right thing to do at that moment.

The traffic was pretty crazy but they are such seriously skilled drivers with horns being the most essential item. E settled into our humble abode, then over to see the girls, only to discover that Lars hadn’t read his latest email and in fact they were at the Police Academy with their school doing a massive song and dance concert day. So we unpacked our cases of items for the girls then went over. It was just like our school concerts only four times as big. The hall was huge and full of parents and family all proudly watching on. We got to see some of our girls dancing, met Barme who was so excited an gave us lots of cuddles. I couldn’t help but think, as we sat there proudly, where would our girls be now if not for Lars and Forget Me Not and its humble beginnings to where it is now with so many people all working together to one goal.

So, the plan was we would go over on Saturday morning to meet everyone. Saturday arrived, we were so excited!! We knocked and sung out at the gate and then some of the girls came racing out so happy to see us taking us inside and the rest of the girls came tumbling noisily down the stairs so happy to see us.

I was three quarters of the way up when Anita launched herself at me, hugging me and kissing me. I thought I was prepared for it however I found myself bawling my eyes out with the emotion of it all. Anita then took me by the hand, up the rest of the stairs, where she had waiting for me all the rest of the photos and albums we had previously sent. She showed me all of the people in them, naming them one by one. It just goes to show the value of these simple little albums is a life line of “family” to the children that they talk about all the time.

All our staff are so nice and welcoming and all the girls are so open, loving, giving and trusting in you. They are credit to their house mums. They put on dance shows for us and of course, we had to dance as well! All good fun! We enjoyed a meal together and got to know each other. The older girls are real teenagers – knowing what type of clothing they like, and certain types of hair styles etc. Lovely young ladies and so responsible with the younger ones

Finally we left with a promise of returning the next day. That proved to be a little more difficult as there was a strike with no transport. So we just had to walk back which was quite an interesting couple of hours dodging water bombers getting target practice ready for Sunday’s Holi festival. All good fun.

Tuesday we were guests at Serene Valley School where the girls attend. First we had to teach a class, then we were guests at a special awards parade ceremony. Once again we were the proud parents watching our girls get their awards for many and varied things. It was also great for them to have us there as you could tell they loved it and we got lots of great photos. We were also impressed with the school awards and the caring environment. The older girls told me how much they love this school, much better than the other one they went to. We walked back home for afternoon tea and my craft day. All in all, it was very fulfilling. The girls knew they wouldn’t be seeing us for a couple of days while we visited the land so after many questions of hen we will see them again, we left with all of the them waving us off, looking forward to Saturday when we would return to take them to the movies. Then of course, Holi was Sunday – what an exciting weekend ahead!!

For me personally, I’m loving every second. I feel at home in Nepal like I’ve been here before. I’ve had no culture shock, no adjustment problems and the food here is the best- so fresh and so tasty! The country may be poor but it supplies such a huge array of top quality fruit and vegetables, it never ceases to amaze me.

Then, of course, there are our 21 beautiful girls. I know you’ve all read it all before, but you can’t begin to imagine the pure love, care and concern they have for you. Trust me, until you experience it physically, you never will quite understand it. We all should be very, very proud of everything we have done towards this home and our future projects. My wish is that everyone of you could at some stage in your life come here and see that just by giving a little time, a little money and a little love, you can make a huge difference to children across the other side of the world. I guarantee you that the little bit you have given is nothing compared to what you get back.

Love Annie (Mum/Grandma)

PS The girls send their love to Freja Aunty and Molli-Anne

From the world our Forget Me Not Girls – Carla Thomas

Horns, foreign language, the cooler air of winter, strange but familiar smells, dust, smog, children at the taxi windows tapping away wanting you to buy a card or give money, and the colorful shops filled with pashminas, clothes, paintings, ornaments and so much more.
As it is my 6th visit to Nepal this in some ways feels normal like I have returned to my other part of the world, in my heart I feel at ease and at peace with this land.
Well it is already our 12th day on our journey and so much has happened. From seeing our beautiful girls and being showered with hugs and kisses to visiting the land at Rani Pauwa and making friends with Ajita and Samitra from the local school to the Festival of Holi plus yoga sessions in-between. We have been on the move since arriving.

A few of my reflective moments:
As a lot of you know my heart sings when I see the girls. With their big brown eyes that shine, their long dark hair that glistens in the sun and their smiles that go from ear to ear, I feel such warmth and openness each time I see all 21 girls.
My body dissolves when the littlest of the girls Junu calls out Aunty, Carla Aunty from the top of the stairs, waving her little hand towards me beckoning me to come an talk, to watch her dance, to show me something or to play games. As I sit down her cold fingertips wrap around my eyes and she says “Guess Who” and she giggles and giggles as we play the game.
As we sat down in one of the English lessons and some of the girls stand up to welcome us, tell us about Holi or school. Sneha our eldest girl that is now attending nursing college tells us what she has been learning and how she can take someone’s blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and that she is also doing practicum at the hospital. This sends goose bumps through my body, “how good is this”. We had Basundhara explain what was going to happen during the festival of Holi and that we were celebrating hope and unity, and that they were very excited, as this is one of the best festivals. At this point my joyous emotions were surfacing as I kept reflecting on when I first meet each girl to now. The Forget Me Not Girls have gone from quiet, shy introverted mice to individuals with personality and charisma plus. Tears started to gently flow as Junu (my extra soft spot) stood up and started singing the butterfly song in English. This little girl came to the Children’s Home two years ago, frightened, withdrawn and vulnerable (not speaking). That day she stood before us with shinning eyes a cheeky smile and a big open heart, what a moment.
The Forget Me Not team in Nepal including the house mothers Janu and Madavi deserve much credit as this home is ALIVE with love and a nurturing environment.

Red, Purple, Green, Blue, Gold, Silver, Pink plus many other colours were showered upon us during the festival of Holi. The festival of Holi or the festival of colours is a day of much celebration as it helps to bring the society together and strengthen the secular fabric of the country. In many legends the underlying truth of the day is the ultimate victory of good over evil. All over the streets people can be watched having fun, throwing colours and water-balloons, locally called ‘lolas’ on each other. Everyone becomes drenched in the coloured water. The girls were given white skirts and tops (thanks to Fraser Shores Retirement Village and Mel & Craig) so that by the end of the day they would all look like rainbows. As we entered the gates that morning it was one for all. Water bombs, buckets of coloured water, powered dye smothered over our faces in our hair and many greetings of Happy Holi. Smiles, laughter, shrieks and shrills filled the air as well as goose bumps on the skin as it is still the end of winter. So much fun was had by all. Deviki was the queen of the bucket, tipping cold water on everyone J
Sponsor presents were received with much pleasure. Photo albums and letters always a winner. Many of you will receive phone calls over the next few days so please be on alert.

Well it is a fine sunny day here in Thamel, Kathmandu. I must head out onto the streets of the hustle and bustle of bikes, taxi’s and people to buy some merchandise.

Much love from the world of Nepal

Namaste

Carla xox

Hi- you beautiful, where you from?

Namaste and Happy Holi everyone!
The last few days have gone so fast! On Saturday we took the girls to go see ‘My Name is Kahn’- a 3hr movie with an intermission! It was a true story, very interesting and somewhat hard hitting. It was about an Austistic man named Kahn and his quest to meet the president after 9/11. We were thinking that it was going to be a traditional Bollywood movie- dancing and pretty sari’s and love, but no- in this movie there was death, love, violence and comedy all rolled into one. There was even a cyclone to top it all off! Strangely though, it seemed to gel quite well. By the end all the Aussies were crying- Lars and Craig included We thought that it was perhaps a bit too full on- but the girls English teacher chose it because of the underlying moral. The younger girls did very well to sit through it, considering how long it was. We did keep them entertained with chips, lollies, drinks and biscuits, which may have helped. And afterwards they were treated a little bit more with some ice cream

Oh i almost forgot- the girls were slightly apprehensive and also excited about leaving for the movies as it was the day before Holi. On the way tot he movies Louise and Kabita (Anita) were sitting with the window open on the bus, then all of a sudden we hear a ’splat’. They had copped a water bomb to the chest and head. It was awesome. We couldnt believe what a good aim the boy was, especially since we wer moving at a decent speed. If i we had stopped i would have definitely given him a Hi-5

On Sunday we Happy Holi-ed!!
What a fun, tiring day. We went and had breakfast which we didnt get bombed at thankfully as it was still a bit cool. We arrived at the orphanage to the girls all ready and waiting. From that point on it was a see of red, which later turned into orange colour, then purple, then pink, then yellow, then green, then gold. Hectic times let me tell you. The neighbours 2 boys even joined in from over the fence and didnt the girls let them have it! We all got soaked, especially when Devaki came out with 20 litre buckets of water! Everyone looked great by the end of it all. It slowed down by the afternoon though, as the water was cut off in that suburb to conserve it! It came back on around 5-6pm. Most of the girls got cleaned up after that point, especially the younger girls as it was quite chilly when the sun went behind the clouds. They all had lunch after that, which we got to enjoy too! We did find out later that the Holi powder (the red most of all) is carsonogenic, and we were smothered in it til that afternoon! Lucky us! It took a lot of time and effort to clean it all off. Mel’s hair now has a strange pinky-red tinge to it and my scalp has a layer of powder still, which im sure the lady washing my hair this afternoon will just love. Just lucky that Holi is only once a year!!

We went to dinner with Prem and Shova after we all got cleaned up. We went to Oriental Kitchen- a place they go often. It was a lovely dinner and mum and i celebrated with a Baileys afterwards! Holi is such a lovely celebration of colour, happiness and most of all, family. I feel very honoured to have been part of such a tradition. Louise and i decided that if we’re not in Nepal for Holi next year, then we are going to get together and have a Holi day ourselves! :D

Louise and i went shopping yesterday morning. I think we were very productive and we have spent our money well. This was the first day that we have had a proper chance to actually shop- so it has been a lot of fun!

We leave for Chitwan today- which is going to be so much fun! I cant wait! Craig and Mel cant come with us though, as they leave on Wednesday, which is a shame. They are such beautiful kind hearted people and i think everyone has enjoyed their company so much. I have no doubt that they will be back- if not for the girl, for the food!

I nearly forgot- the other night we were about to leave for Oriental Kitchen when who should be waiting out the front talking to everyone, but Jason Wall!!!!!!! I was so shocked to see him! He has been working on a CSIRO boat as the cook and he decided to come over to Nepal and spend the rest of the trip with us! Awesome hey! It was so good to see him after so long!

Off to Chitwannnnn! Hellllooooo baby elephants!

Namaste, Ari

Happy Holi!!

Namaste everyone

It is Monday 1st March and we are on a free day which has so far involved breakfast with the group & then going our separate ways to wander the streets doing a little shopping or power shopping as one young salesman called it.

Yesterday was Holi Festival here. This involved the wearing of white clothes and throwing coloured water at one another and also being painted up with specific coloured powdered, you will no doubt get to see some extremely colourful photos from our fun day out. We spent the day at the orphanage with the girls, they were fitted out in their white outfits the day before and you could sense the excitement and happiness in anticipation of what was to come. As soon as we were inside the gate oh my goodness did the fun begin. There is nothing like having a whole bucket of cold water tipped down ones back in the morning, having powder paint scubbed into ones face and being pelted with coloured water balloons all the while listening to the yelling and squealing of 21 girls & their house Mothers & Guard. The yard at the orphange turned into a mud pit, all through the building it was wet and muddy, not to mention all of us being soaked to the skin, cold and looking like walking pieces of art.

Upstairs to the outside balcony for the warmth of the sun but having to dodge more water balloons being thrown from some young boys on a neighbouring building, they definetly have the potential to make the Nepali cricket team with skill like theirs, put them out on the boundary would make any batsman think twice about taking that extra run. Lunch was prepared by Prem & Shova’s cook for us all, so delicious to fill up our bellies after the morning’s rowdy activities. After our meal it was just some nice relaxing time with the girls, bit of playtime then we braved the outside world to catch a taxi back to the guesthouse. We were invited to have dinner with Prem & Shova out at a lovely restaurant not too far from where we are staying & then it was well deserved bedtime after a very energetic day out, i can so imagine the the whole orphanage slept like logs last night too.

I am finding that the Nepali people are all so generous and warm, the girls at the Forget Me Not are such sweet little treasures and those who care for them there also. In 2 of the shops that Ari and I spent time in this morning we were offered cups of tea whilst we browsed for gifts, now thats what i call good service! Already i am planning to return to this country for countless reasons.

Tomorrow we travel to Chitwan National Park so when we return i will write again, it is now time to go have cheese cake and coffee for lunch.

Louise

Friday 26/02/10

From Ari:

Namaste to all!

So much has passed since i wrote my last journal.. so i will backtrack to what i remember!

A couple of days ago we visited the girls at their school- Serene Valley. We were supposed to teach in a few of the classes for about 30-45 min each, but there was a surprise! Due to the police club singing and dancing (a few days ago) going a lot later than expected (8am-7pm) not all of the medals, certificates and awards were handed out, so we got to sit up the front of parade while all the awards were handed out. It was very special to see our girls receive awards in all areas. And when i say all areas, i mean ALL AREAS. Musical chairs, Arm wrestling (yes, i said arm wrestling. Believe it or not, a girl won first prize!) Egg and spoon races. Every single skill you can think of, they had. All the girls were so excited to have us there, being proud aunties and uncles, taking lots of photos and fussing about with them. After all the awards were handed out we got to go back to a classroom and teach for a bit. Louise and i were together and we went to Anita (Kabita) and Alisha’s classroom. We read stories about Koala’s and Wombats and handed out Australian pencils and imitation $50 and $100 bills. We also showed them some shells and let them hold them to their ears to hear the ocean. We heard lots of ‘TEACHER, TEACHER’! Needless to say we were a BIG HIT! I felt like i had imparted some Australian knowledge on that small class

3 days ago we left our hotel to go the land that the orphanage is to be built on, a place called Rani Pawa (excuse the spelling- Lars told us wrong). The scenery on the way up was just beautiful. Leaving Kathmandu and going up and breathing such clean, crisp, air was uplifting! Very windy roads, just lucky we had a good driver The higher we got the more mountains and ranges we could see. Arriving at our hotel was just amazing. Around the back was the beautiful Annapurna mountain Ranges. Wow, just a spectacular sight. I felt as though i could just reach out and touch them. We took many glorious photos, and we all concluded that we could easily spend a week, just reading, eating and chilling out doing nothing. By the afternoon i was unfortunately feeling a bit unwell, so i opted to stay back and rest while the others went on the short drive to see the land. I can’t remember much as i was dozing on and off- but i did have a very diligent house-keeper man, who kept on popping into my room offering me things and saying his catch phrase after everything – ‘Please Mam’. Louise and i thought he was great! He even sprayed Dad’s underarms with Apple air freshener!

Might i add that dad has had quite the few experiences himself. For anyone that knows him, you will already know that he doesnt really ever drink and he doesnt really get sick. hahah.. well i dont think we all have ever laughed so much. While i was laying in bed, Prem took Dad and Louise to the local pub for some ‘hooch’. Overall dad has had- wait for it- Rice Wine, locally brewed whiskey and my favourite- moonshine. Then the day after i got sick- he got sick. Lars thought it was simply hilarious. During the few days spent at the land, A LOT of ‘inside jokes’ were made and Mel is very close to writing a series of childrens books called ‘The adventures of Ravenous George’ featuring characters such as ‘Piro Prem’ and ‘Hoochy Lou’. Those few days i dont think i have ever laughed so hard :)

2 days ago we spent a whole day at the land, where Lars and Prem and the surveyor went off and did things while i slept on the surveyors jacket on the land mum continued writing her 100 page journal while Mel, Carla and Louise attempted to clean out a very old historical building that will probably be used for storing hay, and a place where some animals can sleep at night. We heard many ‘heads’! as they threw out big pieces of timber. I did remind them that ‘heads’! probably isn’t in the Nepali slang vocabulary, like it is ours. It was all going well until i heard ‘thats it’! Yes, Carla had found a dead mouse, which she was not particularly impressed about. Then Mel came out, followed by Louise. So then Carla took it upon herself to write a list of everything the RAWQS group would need to clean everything out, fix stuff etc etc- which of course we didnt have. On the way back up to the car mum and i did indulge in some lovely bangles and by the very end of the trip lots of Sari material had been bought. It was a lot cheaper than all the new areas in Kathmandu, but just as beautiful.

We had the last day at the land yesterday where Lars was supposed to measure everything and we were going to go shopping! Somehow Louise and i got roped into ‘helping’ Lars because he needed 2 people to measure and 1 to take photos. Prem couldnt do it, because quote, ‘it would take twice as long’. The first part was ok, good even. Then we started rock climbing and then mudsliding and then Everest climbing. Looking down i was sure i was going to fall to my death, but then i had Lars at the top, saying lovely things as all brothers do- ‘c’monnn, use those little goat legs- but dont put your hand on the spikes’- then i would squeal when i touched them, and he would laugh. We heard lots of ‘Lars’ comments during our adventure. Things like, ‘oh, i didnt see that barbed wire yesterday’, and ‘just jump’.
Problem is that 3/4 of the land that is now ours hasnt been worked in probably over 40 years and it is so overgrown. Months and months would be needed alone to just clean up the area. It is so beautiful up in Rani Pawa that im sure when it is all completed the girls are going to just love it. It so peaceful and serene- i just love the good energy and vibe it brings, even when talking about it i get goosebumps! Even though it is all overgrown, i can picture where things are going to be built and how amazing everything is going to look. It would take years and years for it to be completed but with the help of everyone coming over and working the land it is going to be 10x faster. i will never underestimate the value of a farmer or a fencer or a bricklayer ever again- especially in a place like Nepal. Overall it was absolutely fantastic- cant wait to share all the photos!

Today we are going with the girls to see a movie- a Hindi love story! They are so very excited and have been talking about it for days. I am, as well as the girls will in their new clothes, attempt to look nice but it will be difficult as it is the day before Holi- a public holiday where everyone throws balloons filled with colour at each other. Yesterday we saw girls get buckets of water tipped on them- which they were very upset about. And of course, because we’re Westerners its ‘who can hit the white people’. The tradition is that if the person sees you, then you cant throw it at them, but of course, who really cares about tradition when there are foreigners around. We all have white pants and shirts ready for tommorrow and we have all the girls and house mums sorted. It should be a lot of fun

That should be it for a few days- we leave on Tuesday to go to Chitwan to go white water rafting and feed and ride the baby elephants. We have the whole of Monday to do as we please so i will try to do a short journal telling you of the adventures of the movies and Holi! It will be hard though, as Louise and i have booked ourselves in for lovely things such as thai massage, foot reflexology, head massage, hot stone therapy.. so we may be a bit tired from that to write a journal- hehe

Hope everyone is doing well at home- hope some of you (you know who you are) are maintaining that exercise regime!!

Namaste- Ari

From Lou:

i will call this entry “Moonshine under the Moonlight”

our group has just returned this afternoon from the newly acquired land, we have just had 3 days up in the mountains @ Ranipawa (i have spelt this incorrectly i apologise). yet again i have so much to share but not quite sure where to begin.

The land on which the new orphange will be eventually built on is simply beautiful with the most amazing outlook across to the Anapurnna Ranges, for those who will be coming here after us to work here let me tell you that whilst you carry out the tasks ahead you get the most awesome views when you’ll need to stretch out your hard working bodies. This part of the country has a very peaceful feeling and the air is so clean and refreshing, it will make a wonderful home for the children. We spent the first afternoon simply walking the land before heading back to our very comfortable guest house @ Kakani for a nice hot shower and scrumptious dinner, before hitting the sack a few of us had a quite magical walk out in the very crisp and cold night air with one of the guest house employees.

Yesterday started with breakky overlooking the snow capped mountains, how different i thought from having a breakky out in Hervey Bay by the water, totally different aspect. We set off to spend time again on the land for the day then an early dinner @ one of the trout farm restaurants in the area, yep those views got me yet again! We shared a lot of laughs while we waited for our food and just to be able to sit back and absorb the sounds and sights makes me very happy to be over here.

Now we get to why i gave this story the title that it has, when we returned to the guest house last night, had our showers and got settled around the fire outside ( i love the old cut down 44 gallon drum for some fire time), the lovely Prem made sure that i had a glass of nice warm Nepali moonshine (i’m really not sure what this stuff is but it certainly warms one up when up in those mountains!) So sitting out in the cold night air, crackling fire, full belly beneath the glorious moon gave me the inspiration for this journal.

This morning was spent with Lars and Ari taking some measurements of the land, my goodness did we cover some interesting terrain, yeah Lars i don’t know about your interpretation of the easy way down. In between measuring and trying to manouvere up and down the hillside i was just about in hysterics watching us and listening to little Ari trying to get those legs to reach just another foot higher. After this job was done we hopped on our bus and headed back to Anapurnna Guest House where 3 others were waiting to join the group then off we set to visit the girls. We are about to head off to dinner now so i will bid you good night. i am tired, need a shower yet very happy, i am finding myself laughing til i cry. i love this place and the people here

Namaste

Louise