MOVING ON FROM CHAUKATI

Written by Kilani and Samantha’s Instructors

At the end a wonderful stay in the village of Chaukati that went by very quickly, the group was sent off with blessings, flower mala, and some tears of love, and opted to hike several hours downhill to a nearby roadhead.

After a well-earned night of rest in Dhulikhel, we will be shifting to the next phase of the course, a retreat at Namo Buddha monastery, an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists perched atop a beautiful forested ridge outside of the Kathmandu Valley. We will stay there for a week, taking a deep dive into the Buddhist teachings and philosophy, as well as following an intensive daily meditation practice with our khenpo, a senior monk and teacher. Namo Buddha also offers us the rare opportunity to participate in aspects of the monks’ lives, including shared meals and prayer ceremonies.

CHOKATI HOMESTAY UPDATE

Written By Kilani and Samantha’s Instructors

Namaste Everyone,

It’s been a week since we have reached chaukati village and stayed with homestay families. Students have been very engaged with their language class and respective homestay families. They help out in the farms and the kitchen as well. This week, we visited a Blacksmith in the village who mainly works with making tools such as spade, axe, knife etc for the farm works. Then, we went to help clear a field for future agricultural use. We visited a Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva and learned about the rituals and sought blessings.

The group has done so well adapting into the village life here. They are enjoying the nature and the farm animals that their homestay families take care of. They have been playing volleyball with the local kids and there have been matches too! They enjoy their free time having tea at a local shop and talking with the shopkeeper in Nepali.

Here are some photos! Please enjoy them!

RURAL HOMESTAY IN CHAUKATI

Written By Kilani and Samatha’s Instructors

We’re writing from the beginning of our rural homestay in the village of Chaukati, nestled deep in the Himalayan foothills north of Kathmandu. Getting here involved a winding and bumpy five hour bus ride from Dhulikhel, and we are very happy to be here in this amazing new place.

This time will be filled with learning about the farming/agriculture that is the main occupation here, with hands on work like some small construction projects, carrying firewood and fodder, and taking care of farm animals. We are also continuing our daily Nepali language classes, which will come in very handy with the homestay families, few of whose members speak English. Students have already gotten busy exploring the surrounding countryside, playing a very competitive game of volleyball with some village kids, and eating lots and lots of daal bhaat!

MOVING TOWARDS MID COURSE

Written by Samantha and Kilani’s Instructors

After 3 weeks of Urban Homestay at Patan where the students did their ISPs now we are moving to Dhulikhel for midcourse.

In Patan they learnt Nepali language, which helped them a lot and now they can speak basic Nepali which would be a good way to initiate a conversation with locals. They were able to navigate in the alleys of Patan areas and even though they got lost they were able to find the way asking locals. They led the excursions on Sundays: they learnt about permaculture, pottery, botanical garden etc.

It was very difficult to say goodbye to their homestay families since they all had made deep connection with them. It was very nostalgic.

Now in Dhulikhel, we are celebrating the mid point of our course. We will explore the Dhulikhel in the afternoon. Everyone is excited to start a new phase.

TRYING NEW ETHNIC CUISINES IN NEPAL

Written by Samantha and Kilani’s Instructors

Namaste Everyone,

Yesterday, the group went to Raithaane restaurant a local eatery where we got to try a variety of cuisines from different Ethnic groups. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-language, and multi-cultural country. There are more than 100+ ethnic groups who live in Nepal.

We tried Rikikur(potato pancake) Kanchemba(Buckwheat fries) – food from the mountains people – Sherpas, Batuk (lentil doughnut), and Chukauni (potato salad) from the hills – Magars, Faksa (a dish related to Pork) from Rai and Limbu communities. We had a dessert called foxtail millet pudding and Foxtail millet salad too!
Hope you all are doing well! And Happy Women’s Day!  🙂

BHAKTAPUR EXCURSION

Written by Kilani and Samantha’s Instructors

This Sunday the group went on a student-led excursion to the ancient city of Bhaktapur, which is famous for its tradition of pottery work among other things. The students arranged a class from a local master potter, who shared some of the history of Nepali pottery and the state of the industry, as well as helping us to get our hands muddy making some of our own pieces – photos attached! We are looking forward to seeing the finished pieces next week.