I never thought I would miss dust. But when I remember my last day in Kathmandu, racing down the streets on the back of a motorcycle with dust in my mouth, I miss everything about Nepal. Yes, even the dust. I remember the times riding in the back of a van, on roads so bumpy that my head would hit the ceiling and my stomach would be doing somersaults even after my feet were back on solid, not moving ground. And yes, I miss that too. I miss the mountains that reached impossibly high into the heavens- with their peaks covered in fresh quilts of snow. I love that what we call mountains, they call hills. When we take an hour and a half to climb up only 50% of a hill (mountain), they take one hour. I miss standing in the middle of a busy highway, cars and motorcycles going every each way, and thinking this is chaos.
There were lots of times in Nepal where I wasn’t sure that we would make it. We probably climbed a zillion steps at the Swayambunath temple. I would look up, and lo and behold, there would be even more stairs. But we made it to the top, and the views of the Kathmandu valley were incredible. This city seemed to stretch on forever, until the hills rushed in and stopped it from going any further. On our bus ride to Pokhara, it had been an eight hour long, super bumpy, super cold ride, and we didn’t even know where we were getting off. It was four in the morning and we were the last ones on the bus. But we made it, we always made it. On our ride in a little van from Chitwan to Kathmandu, the transmission was shot around three quarters of the way there. Sometimes we’d be stuck in neutral for awhile, unable to go anywhere. But we made it. Of course we made it.
I hope that our efforts in conjunction with the Rotaract clubs in Nepal to help out schools and orphanages make them smile as much as all of Nepal has made me smile. We painted several murals in schools in Kathmandu and Chitwan. The murals are bright and colorful, with animals and inspiring quotes, and I hope that whenever the children look at these, they smile. Even if they have no idea that a ragtag team of five Americans came across the globe to splatter paint on their walls, I hope that these paintings make them
happy. I hope that the students at the school on top of the hill in Chitwan laugh from time to time when they look at the blankets that we had distributed to them- because those five Americans couldn’t even reach the top of the hill to give them out. Because
whenever I think about anything from my Nepal trip, I can’t help but to smile. If you like to know more about the project or like to donate for this project, please visit http://www.theashaproject.org.
During my 2014 visit to Nepal to attend my high school friend PDG Dilendra Shrestha’s District Conference in Pokhara, I had an opportunity to meet with the Rotaract club of Newroad Pokhara members and we discussed about starting an exchange program to unlock their true potential to:
took care of us in whichever way they could. In Pokhara we did a lot; for example, the first two days we went to the 9th Rotaract Conference which was full of very talented young adults who are very willing to help the community. The next few days we went sightseeing, painting and delivered school supplies to a few schools. I remember giving the students the school supplies and the smile that came to their face really made me happy in the inside. I remember a quote I heard in Parbat by Antim Gurung and it stated, “You could go to a movie and have 3 hours of joy, but helping others is a happiness that will last a lifetime” and I truly believed those words. I also remember Hiking to the top of hill and seeing a big Buddha statue and then going up the stairs and seeing the whole city of Pokhara and my breath being taken away by the beauty of what I was seeing. Pokhara had so much to offer from a Five Star hotel to camping. The people that hosted us really did a great job of showing us what the city Pokhara really has to offer.
The last two days we stayed In Kathmandu with the Rotaract club of Rudramati. They also hosted us very good. I remember when we got there they took us to eat at a place where they order MoMo’s for us and they tasted very good and also sausage which was very good as well. They also took us to the Asha Project of the constructions of apartments and the painting of a park where many people go to hangout and have fun. I also remember eating where the construction site was and just seeing all the people there helping and doing a small part to help a city devastated by an earthquake two years ago. I also remember going to two schools and giving them schools supplies and they both received them with open arms. Kathmandu really showed me how close people get when there is devastation and no matter how bad the situation is life still goes on.
My experience in Nepal has been far more amazing than I could have imagined. My first few days here was spent with the Rotaract member of Newroad Pokhara. In Pokhara I had a really great time seeing the beauty of the Himalayan mountains as we went boating and had a picnic on the top of a hill where the view was unlike anything I have ever seen. I really enjoyed learning about the culture of Nepal at the picnic with the Rotoract members in Pokhara. At the picnic we learned how to dance in Nepal as well as played games that were a lot of fun that we have never played in our country .
I have really enjoyed the impact that the service projects we do have on the people here in Nepal. For example, we joined with the Rotaract club of Ratnanagar to paint the walls of an…
The Asha Project 