Rotary Foundation District 5030 - Group Study Exchange 2011 - Seattle - Nepal

Rotary Foundation District 5030 - GSE Completes Visit To Nepal

2012-01-08T09:09:00.005-08:00

Day 29-30 - January 7-8, 2012 - Rotary Foundation District 5030 - GSE Completes Visit To Nepal

Following 48 hours of air and airport travel, the 5 member Seattle, WA GSE Team returned home on January 9, 2012, in completion to the 4 week Rotary Foundation GSE Program to the country of Nepal.

Following the GSE Team's digital presentation at Rotary District 3292's 4th annual conference, we boarded Buddha Air and flew from Biratnagar in SE Nepal to central region Kathmandu on a Canadair turboprop. A smooth and enjoyable 40 minute flight versus a potentially exciting and adventurous 12 hour road trip. Accompanied by D3292 GSE Chair Sanjay Giri, Team Lead Pramod Pradhan, and various members of the Nepal GSE Team.

In Kathmandu, spent a day visiting friends and touring sites of historical and architectural interest, including now public areas of historic Durbar Square, Patan. One of three Hindu Kingdoms in Nepal, Patan was built in the third century BC. Past residence of the royal family, most architecture in the Square dates back to the 15th century, if not earlier. Further details tbd.

Including a fascinating discovery of inner neighborhoods, communities, private courtyards, and personal spaces, courtesy of D3292 GSE Team Lead Pramod Pradhan.

The Team flew to New Delhi, India on a 2 hour Air India flight, 8 hour layover, 8 hour Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany, 4 hour layover, and 10 hour Lufthansa flight to Seattle, USA.

We were met at the airport by representatives of Rotary District 5030, including District Governor Ann Liberato, GSE Chair Stan Minor, and GSE aficionado Danner Graves and Warren Hall Crain, along with friends and family.

THANK YOU to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, Rotary Club members of Rotary District 5030, and Rotary Club members, hosts, and new friends of Rotary District 3292.

This particular GSE Team will continue to present their insight to District 5030 Rotary Clubs. If you would like to schedule a Group Study Exchange Nepal 2011 visit to a D5030 Rotary Club, contact Steve Fuller, GSE Nepal 2011 Team Leader at fuller_steve@yahoo.com

The Nepali reciprocal GSE team will visit Seattle through the month of April. If you would like to host or share Seattle, WA business practices, vocation, places of interest and culture, please contact Stan Miner at stanley.miner@comcast.net

Biratnagar - Rotary District Conference

2012-01-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Day 26-27-28 - January 4-5-6, 2012 - Biratnagar - Rotary District Conference

Since Nepal and Calcutta split into 2 Rotary Districts 5 years ago, Nepal has hosted its annual District Conference in Kathmandu each year until now. The 4th District Conference, first DC outside of Kathmandu, is in Biratnagar, an industrial city in the southeast corner of Nepal neighboring the tea district of Elam and Darjeeling. Biratnagar is also residence and home club to current District Governor, Basu Dev Golyan.

The District Conference was a grand reunion for us as many of our Rotarian hosts, host families and friends from around Nepal convened to celebrate the gathering. Friends and acquaintances were excited to hear of our travels and to give us updates on their own lives. Visiting a Rotary District Conference is a fantastic way to wrap up or culminate a Group Study Exchange.

The Conference highlighted presentation from both Nepali and Indian non- and Rotarian nationals, including discussion from Rotary International Director Rtn. Shekhar Mehta, Rtn. Dr. Jayant Kulkarni, Rtn Basu Dev Golyan, Rtn. Dr. Ravi Vadlamani, Anil Chitrakar, Rtn. Kul Chandra Gautam, Rtn Ratna Man Sakya, and Malina Joshi, to name a few.

The Team attended a Rotary Foundation dinner and learned much more about the Foundation which supports the Group Study Exchange Program.

Some memorable notes included the following topics and phrases:

"Service is the rent I pay for the space I occupy on this earth."

Q: What is the difference between a member of a Rotary Club and a true Rotarian?
A: Attitude

The 20th Century will be remembered for:
Not wars
Not technological change,
but daring to think of all human welfare together

The Balance Sheet of Life
Left side (Assets): What I've Received in Life
Right side (Liabilities + Equity): What I've given in Life

We learned that the way numbers are discussed is different in South Asia:
10,000 = one lakh (rather than saying 100,000 lahks are used to describe large numbers
10 million - one crore (this is used more than saying 1 million)

Humans have a hierarchy of needs when donating. When you donate, you donate because:
1. a cause (religion, political, ending Polio, etc.)
2. credibility
3. recognition
4. pleasure

"Don't boast of your own accomplishments, for doing so is like lighting a lamp against the sun."

Q: What do parachutes and minds have in common?
A: They only work when open.

We participated in a wonderful Rotary D3292 Peace March through the streets of Biratnagar

We visited a few Rotary sponsored projects:

Biratnagar Orthopedic Shoes
Neuro Hospital

Thank you to the Rotary Clubs of Biratnagar, Biratnagar Downtown, and Biratnagar Midtown. Thank you to the District Governor and his Team, along with the District 3292 Conference Committee, 2012.

Dharan - Nirvana Country Club

2012-01-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

Day 23-24-25 - January 1-2-3, 2012 - Dharan - Nirvana Country Club

En route via jeep 7+ long hours (slow
but safe), we stopped for tea, lunch, tea, snacks, tea, and brief walks. Finished the evening with New Year's Day dinner celebration among welcoming host Dharan area Rotary Clubs.

Our last few days in the mountains were spent in Dharan, a pleasant hill town on the edge of the Himalaya. Once the recruitment center for Brigade of Gurkhas until 1953, Dharan is now the home of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, and the Nirvana Country Club, among others. A very pleasant and well-managed melting-pot type of town just above the flat Terai plain stretching south into India.

We enjoyed our 3 day stay here with:

hikes up into the cloud forests
motorcycle rides (watch out for flat motorcycle tires!)
badminton challenge cups
meetings with the local construction association
Rotary meetings and presentation
relaxing time with host families
visits to local schools
"Software Design in the 21st Century" presentation to the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences
quiet time at the Nirvana Country Club
long walks through the town on the strike day
Starbucks Via coffee and enriching conversation with new friends

Bandh, Strike Day - this region of Nepal would like to create its own state within the new in-formation Nepali government. Regional flags can be seen flying in the hills. A regional strike took place to show support for this initative.

Favorite saying from this city: "If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together."

Thank you to the Rotary Clubs of Dharan and Dharan Ghopa

Birgunj - New Year's Eve Celebration

2011-12-31T08:33:00.000-08:00

Day 21-22 - December 30-31, 2011 - Birgunj - New Year's Eve Celebration

After a short drive past Nepal's only road tunnel (Nepal could use many more tunnels and an improved transportation system, in our humble opinion), we arrived in the bustling industrial city of Birgunj. Most notable to us at the time as hometown to our vivacious director, esteemed leader, and most deserved contact--on speed dial:

Rotary District 3292 GSE Chair Sanjay Giri.

In Birgunj, we visited:

A Rotary sponsored regional medical center and blood testing center

A Nepali Military Camp focused on protection of national irrigation points where Rotary and Rotaract Clubs donate necessary medicines. We received a fantastic tour and welcome from the Major in charge.

A Hindu temple where occur perhaps the nation's largest amount of god-pleasing animal sacrifices per annum.

Rich works of artisanship and reverence

A historic Buddhist temple and renowned resting point on the Buddha's journey south toward India

Varied and interesting culture

Visual compilation and friendly merchants

Bountiful feast

We celebrated a wonderful New Year's Eve with Rotarians and friends of the Rotary Clubs of Birgunj and Birgunj Metropolis!

Live band, outdoor dancing, great food, and welcoming friends.

Rotarian kids popped red and white balloons with makeshift blow-darts made from straws and toothpicks.

We enjoyed fantastic hospitality at the Hotel Vishuwa

Excellent grounds and location, strong management and friendly staff, very pleasant rooms. Highly recommended during your next visit to Birgunj.

Bandh. Strike Day. We wished upon New Year's Eve midnight stars for a full-day strike. A full day of rest and relaxation on the table.

Nonetheless, half-day bandh put us back on the roads early afternoon.

Thank you to the Rotary Clubs of Birgunj and Birgunj Metropolis

Hetuada - Terai Industry, Clean Green

2011-12-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

Day 20 - December 29, 2011 - Hetuada - Terai Industry, Clean Green

After 4 hours on the road (the Mahendra Highway built by the Soviets in the '60s), we arrived tired, exhausted and ready to eat at Hetuada. We were greeted by friends from Rotary Club of Hetuada

We enjoyed a pleasant lunch buffet, fellowship, and then learned about:

various educational facilities
rehabilitation center for women and children
microcredit and training program for single women
microcredit Pigery

We discussed how to fund worthy Rotary projects using Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/
which allows "crowd funding" = many small donations to support a few projects.

We completed our day with a Club presentation and well enjoyed dinner, fellowship, and conversation with members of the Rotary Club of Hetuada

Thank you Rotary Club of Hetuada

Lumbini - Birthplace of Lord Buddha

2011-12-28T07:57:00.000-08:00

Day 19 - December 28, 2011 - Lumbini - Birthplace of Lord Buddha

In Lumbini we visited the Rotary Club of Lumbini Siddharthnagar and then toured the very interesting region. One particular Rotary Club of Lumbini project, includes classroom support for a Tharu village school.

We also toured the Lumbini World Heritage Site
and learned about past, present, and future development plans led by the
Lumbini Development Trust

including visits to the following temples:

Sri Lankan Temple
German Temple
Korean Temple
Chinese Temple
Japanese Temple
Thai Temple

We visited Reliance Paper Mill and were amazed at the access we were given to the facility by the owner and CEO. This Paper mill is entirely powered by rice husk fuel! Rice husk was a waste by-product until just a few years ago,but now is used by a few industrialists as fuel. It doesnt pack many BTUs, but it is better than importing oil from India. Reliance is also reducing its water consumption from 50,000 litres per ton of paper to 15,000 litres per ton of paper.

How long does it take a human to count 500 pieces of paper?
About 5 seconds! We learned how, but their team there had an accuracy of 99.9% - wow!

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Lumbini Siddharthnagar

Butwal - Stopped At The Wall

2011-12-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

Day 17-18 - December 26-27, 2011 - Butwal - Stopped At The Wall

Butwal was named by the British as the "bottom of a wall" that the Gurka soldiers held against the British and Indian armies at the base of the Himalaya. The town of Butwal was the first of many industrial towns that we visited along the third phase of our journey - in the flat tropical Terai region. Departed Palpa Tanzen late morning by jeep, arrived in Butwal for a Rotary Club presentation.

We visited and learned about:

Rotary supported schools for disabled children,
New Horizon college, where we taught and interacted with the students
Deep Boarding High School, where we had a wonderful experience working with their Interact club,
Butwal Industrial Fair
Butwal Chamber of Commerce
free weekly health clinic
microcredit programme
winter clothes donation
student tuition scholarships
pollution abatement
school for blind children
ambulance service program
braille-type computer program for school for the blind

A fantastic visit to a Butwal Industrial Estate and private company tour of Agro FRP Industries (P.) Ltd. A multi-product concern involved in metal, plastic, and concrete production, among others.

Thank you to new friend Rtn. Vivek Pradhan.

At the Butwal Industrial Fair, we were greeted with video cameras as we entered VIP style and toured various technology, industrial, and agriculture exhibits. We were even invited to get on stage in front of about 3,000 fair attendees to dance and talk about our experience in Nepal..."Heeeelllllloooooo Buuuuuutttttwwwwaaaaallll!" We enjoyed sharing some of our American culture on the cultural stage, and believe we came across as above average touring professionals. We made it offstage before the groupies formed, and managed to vacate the fairgrounds before too much fanfare.

Later we found ourselves guests of the TV network where out dancing was broadcast as was a detailed interview of our team on Lumbini Community Television.

Thank you to the Rotary Clubs of Butwal, Butwal South, and Butwal Downtown.

Chitwan - To Palpa Tansen - Mountain Fortress

2011-12-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

Day 16 - December 25, 2011 - Chitwan - To Palpa Tansen - Mountain Fortress

On Christmas Day, we drove northwest back up into the mountains via the famous Gandaki River Gorge into the hilly districtcalled Palpa Tansen.

Palpa was one of our shortest stops- just one overnight - but we were busy!

After an evening presentation to thevery friendly RC Tansen Palpa, we checked in with our hostfamilies following an evening stroll through a naturally protected and historically proud town built on the edge of a verysteep valley. We saw:

· the government building that had been firebombed by theMaoists in the last decade,

· visited ancient downtown Palpa buildings on narrow streets,

· Palpa has at least 3 universities, so most of the peoplewalking around are students, which gives this town a wonderfully young andactive feeling.

Our hosts held an outdoor BBQ in ourhonor and we were excited to celebrate Michael's birthday with a Nepali birthday cake, blindfold, candles and, about 45 new friends and "happy birthday"singers.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Palpa Tansen.

Chitwan - Sauraha - Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

Day 15 - December 24, 2011 - Chitwan - Sauraha - Christmas Eve

A new way to celebrate Christmas Eve. In Sauraha at the entrance to Chitwan National Park.

On the backs of elephants swimming across rivers with nearby crocodiles.

We had the pleasure of visiting Sauraha in Chitwan National Park for Christmas Eve where we:

had a large Christmas feast at KC's restaurant with new Rotarian friends
met with new friends from the Rotary Club of Ratnanagar, the Rotary Club of Bharatpur, and associated Rotaract Clubs.
washed elephants in the river
tried to ride elephants in search of Rhinos
visited the new Rotary Park in the village square
watched narrow dugout canoes ply the river across the border into India

Merry Christmas from Sauraha

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Chitwan, Rotary Club of Bharatpur, and Rotary Club of Ratnanagar.

Chitwan - The Terai

2011-12-23T05:32:00.000-08:00

Day 13-14 - December 22-23, 2011 - Chitwan - The Terai

Howdy Yall! (This statement to be justified later)

This is my first blog post for the team, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

To summarize some of the events so far...

--Any flight into India has NO plane boarding protocol. Its like a flash mob without the dancing. Just lots of shoving.

--Stay away from the less than fully cooked chicken. Himalayan revenge is no fun

--Kathmandu was noisy, Pokhara beautiful, and everywhere we go we have a good time.

So on to Chitwan...

We arrived in Chitwan after a long and cramped drive in a jeep, with a few welcome breaks along the way.

On all these trips we have been tying everything on the roof with some thin twine, and cramming in ourselves,
our driver, and anywhere between 1-3 extra escort Rotarians or Rotaract members.

Chitwan is in the Terai area of Nepal, close to the Indian border. It is warmer and generally more humid. Also, this is our first experience with mosquitoes in Nepal. Our first two days were filled with Rotary events:

--an old folks village ideally situated adjacent to a holy river

--a school for blind children

--visiting a women's empowerment village (Mahila Jagrity Community House). We also presented to two
Rotary Clubs in the Chitwan area.

For our last day in Chitwan we traveled a few km into the park area to stay in a hotel and see the wildlife of the park. Some exploration by Chris led us to helping wash the elephants in the river. Later we go for an elephant ride through Chitwan National Park. We didn't manage to see any rhinos, but we did see crocs, deer, birds, and other tourists (including, coincidentally, our Norwegian friends!).

We spent Christmas Eve dinner with fellow Rotarians
with a delicious meal at KC's restaurant. We got a great night sleep and then its packing up and off to Palpa!

It's been a great trip so far, and there are lots more posts to come soon, as we are in limbo today because of the day of bandh (nation-wide strike). The stories you'll hear from the next week start to get VERY interesting.

Pokhara - To Chitwan - Into The Terai

2011-12-22T07:27:00.000-08:00

Day 12 – December 22, 2011 - Pokhara - To Chitwan - Into The Terai

Pokhara - To Chitwan - Into the Terai

We spent the morning getting ready to depart Pokhara. Some of us visited the International Mountaineering Museum, others spent time with the Pokhara host families one last morning. One fortunate individual hiked at sunrise with friend to Sarangkot: a mountain lookout view and paragliding origin point, followed by a nourishing continental-style breakfast at the Shangri-La Village, Pokhara.

After spending much of a week under the eye of Annapurna, it was educational to learn of the first ascent in 1953 by Maurice Herzog and a French Expedition of Annapurna by reading the book Annaupurna which details the physical and emotional challenges of the first 8,000meter ascent. It was fascinating to compare his impressions of this region then to ours 68 years later.

We loaded up into 2 cars for the 6 hour drive south out of the mountains to Chitwan, in the Terai (Southern Semi-Tropical region). We arrived for a presentation at:

RC Chitwan and later at
RC Bharatpur.

We visited Rotary funded projects engaged in serving:

the elderly,
a school for blind children,
a community village for displaced (Tharu people recently held in servitude)

We saw the largest office plants ever! Ficus plants that were the size of American Oaks!

Breakfast at the Shangri-la Village, Pokhara.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Pokhara, Rotary Club of Pokhara Fishtail, Rotary Club of Pokhara Midtown, and Rotary Club of Pokhara Newroad.

Pokhara - Annapurna Circuit Trek - Dhampus

2011-12-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Day 10-11 – December 20-21, 2011 - Pokhara - Annapurna Circuit Trek - Dhampus

A few of us started the day with a visit to private school:

We afternoon drove out of Pokhara in the direction of Annapurna and hiked for approximately 3 hours along the Annapurna Circuit trail up continuous rock staircases and down a few valleys until we reached the rural mountain village of Dhampus, childhood home to our new friend and host, Rtn. Gurung. We proudly hiked in a selected portion of the Annapurna Conservation Area Programme* (ACAP)

We had a wonderful village-style meal (3.5 hrs long!) sitting on the floor eating local-style water buffalo, mutton and very tasty and nourishing dal bhaat, to name a few dishes. Complemented with local millet wine Roxi, and a no-name special course. Goat is called mutton in Nepal.

After overnighting at the mountainside lodge, our host summoned us before dawn for one of the most spectacular sunrises we had ever seen. Quite welcome hot shower and breakfast to follow. We could see Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Fishtail mountains bathed in orange sunlight. We spent the rest of the day hiking down, en route to a Tibetan Refugee camp and Gompa (monestary).

*Itappears older generations use British spellings, but younger generations use American ("more efficient and shorter words") English in Nepal.

We finished the day with a team presentation at Rotary Club of Pokhara New Road and returned to our hosts' homes for a final night.

Thank you to Rtn. Gurung, family, and friends, along with the Rotary Club of Pokhara, Rotary Club of Pokhara Fishtail, Rotary Club of Pokhara Midtown, and Rotary Club of Pokhara Newroad.

Pokhara - Lakeside - National Day of Bandh

2011-12-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

Day 9 - December 19, 2011 - Pokhara - Lakeside - National Day of Bandh

Nepali Bandh. Strike Day. Since all roads and businesses are closed today because of the UML political party flexing it's power, we decided to modify our plans and rent mountain bicycles. What a wonderful day for us to bike the roads of Pokhara without any car, truck, or motorcycle traffic and the noise, smog and danger that accompany them! Due to the Bandh, the Team was re-located from host families to two comfortable and friendly hotels in the Pokhara Lakeside District to maximize the pedestrian nature of the day.

Hotel Lovely Mount is in fantastic location, with good accomodations, and friendly staff. Thank you Santosh and Narayan for your hospitality. Second property to be added in near future.

Since nearly all of the business and schools were closed, many people were strolling the streets or:

playing soccer
badminton
cricket
selling roasted peanuts

We took the bikes up to the top of the neighboring Parbat "hill" to the Buddhist Peace Stupa. We climbed up through the jungle (all forests are called jungle here) and enjoyed the warm sunshine and views of 3 of the world's tallest mountains. We met friends along the way who offered to ride our bikes for us when we wanted to climb. They were excellent forest trail riders for young ones, 10-12 years of age. Excellent guides and companions along the journey climb. We coasted down alone along the trail.

Enjoyed an afternoon lunch with Rtn. Narayan and friends at the Fishtail Lodge

Beautifully landscaped grounds, quiet lakeside location, highly recommended.

We finished our day in a wonderful way with Rtn. Narayan and friends dancing and dining Nepali style.

Thank you to Rtn, Narayan and friends, the Rotary Club of Pokhara, Rotary Club of Pokhara Fishtail, Rotary Club of Pokhara Midtown, and Rotary Club of Pokhara Newroad.

Pokhara - Gateway to Annapurna

2011-12-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

Day 8 - December 18, 2011 - Pokhara - Gateway to Annapurna

Pokhara is a mountain town located next to a beautiful lake and surrounded by mountains which include:

Dhaulagiri,
Annapurna I, II, III (there are multiple Annapurna peaks),
Manaslu and
Machchhapuchhre

Early morning start, we visited a variety of Pokhara area Rotary Club-sponsored projects, including:

Rotary Dialysis Center in the private Manipul Teaching Hospital. Rotarians contribute to significantly reduce the cost of dialysis, approximately 1/3 of cost. One of the only hospitals in the Western Region to treat HIV-positive dialysis patients.
Drinking Water Drill Project for the public Western Regional Hospital. Gravity fed water storage tower under construction, approximately 2 construction time. Current well supplies this particular public medical facility with first and sole source of clean drinking water.
Pokhara Rotary Street. Approximately 100 Palms imported from West Bengal. Fenced to protect from free-range, hungry cows.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Pokhara, Rotary Club of Pokhara Fishtail, Rotary Club of Pokhara Midtown, and Rotary Club of Pokhara Newroad.

Kathmandu - To Pokhara - To The Himalaya

2011-12-17T00:13:00.000-08:00

Day 7 - Saturday, December 17, 2011 - Kathmandu - To Pokhara - To The Himalaya

We left the Kathmandu Valley today in an extended jeep, with luggage tied to the top, that threaded its way through the always active and entertaining roads of Nepal. Within an average kilometer, we would see about 500 pedestrians of all ages (crossing whenever they wanted - even in front of the large Indo-Nepali Tata trucks that make our Kenworth & Peterbuilt trucks look small), 200 motorbikes and scooters, 30 tiny taxis (smaller than mini Coopers), 100 cars, usually Toyota or Hyundai models, cows, goats, and dogs.

The scenic road, one of the most dangerous roads in the world--by the way, took us straight West into the region of Gorka (where the original unifier of Nepal came from). The country could have been named Gorka (and the famous British, Indian, and now UN Gurka fighting force came from here), but the country is called Nepal after the Newar people living around the Kathmandu Valley. Our trip down the Prithvi Highway was not a quick one. The old-ruling political party, UML, decided to block the road in 3 places to all except tourist traffic as a way of showing the power they could command even though the Maoist party is currently in power and in response to the prison death of one of their leaders.

What did we do? We got out of the bus and took to the Trisuli River. We spent 3 hours floating down class III rapids through a gorgeous steep mountain valley.

We saw:

Bouncing suspension bridges every kilometer which carried villagers across the river. Each bridge was much more impressive than Vancouver's Capilano suspension bridge in its length and height. One of the bridges snapped a cable in October which resulted in the loss of lives (we were imagining the scene from Indiana Jones)

Many people chipping rocks with ball pin hammers (still not sure why - maybe to help supply the frenetic pace of building houses in this country with rocks for cement)

Water Buffalo

Monkey Packs

Firewood gathering - people climbing high up in trees to chop off branches to burn so the tree can continue to grow - do we do that in the US? Or just cut the whole tree down?

What would have been a 30 min airplane flight was a 9 hour journey via very crooked, bumpy and slow roads to an evening arrival in our mountain and tourist destination of Pokhara (sounds like Poke-ara).

The Nepali's use a different calendar system than we are used to. The current year is 2068. The 12+ months are also on a different cycle.

The work week is Sunday - Friday in most of the country (though many businesses in the southern part of the country are also closed on Monday instead of Saturday if they sell goods to customers able to shop on their Saturday day off).

The work and school days generally start at 10am and run longer than those in the US.

Night life after 9pm is non-existent and the roads are generally quite by then too. A typical meal involves dal (lentil soup), bhat (rice) and tarkari (vegetable curry). Often enjoyed twice or thrice per day.

A great program that we learned of is the School Hostel system where parents drop their kids off any time before school and pick them up anytime after school. The Hostel is a form of before and after school day-care so that the parents can get other things (like work) done before the kids get to or after they finish school. I like this system and each hostel has a name that the kids associate with (may of their friends are at the Hostel too).

We completed the day through a Rotary Club of Pokhara meeting and dinner at the Kantipur Hotel.

Greeting and conversation with new Rotarians, friends, and host families.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Pokhara, Rotary Club of Pokhara Fishtail, Rotary Club of Pokhara Midtown, and Rotary Club of Pokhara Newroad.

Kathmandu - Boudhanath Stupa

2011-12-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

Day 6 – December 16, 2011 - Kathmandu - Boudhanath Stupa

The day began with visits to retail establishments in search of haute couture, Kashmere-imported fine embroidery, hiking shoes, and various sundries.

Discovery and perusal of fresh ingredients for the evening meal.

Tour of neighboring Boudhanath Stupa

Funeral pyres along the Bagmati River

Durbar Square Patan

A Rotary Club of Yala service project presentation and reciprocal Rotary District 5030 presentation completed
the evening. Followed by dinner and celebration of new friends.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Yala, Rotary Club of Baneshwor, Rotary Club of Bagmati, Rotary Club of Chandragiri, Rotary Club of Nagarjun, and Rotary Club of Durbarmarg.

Kathmandu - Bagmati

2011-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Day 5 – December 15, 2011 - Kathmandu - Bagmati

This morning started before dawn again forvarious activities with our host families including:

·     Morning jog on the Rotary funded running path
    (the only one we could find in the city) through
    thick air

·      Walk along the Bagmati River to see the
    preparation of today’s funeral fire pyres being built
    at the water’s edge

· Meeting with a minister from the Nepali Department
of Tourism

· Visit to a Science and Technology University

·      Visit with the Secretary of the Department ofEnvironment to discuss environmental issues specifically climate change policy,interaction
      with the major donor countries and NGOs like
      ICIMOD, WWF,USAID, KOICA, Chinese and JapaneseAid Orgs.

· Industrial and Artisan Estate

·     One of the country’s top Pashmina Factories thatcustom makes pashmina shawls for European and American designers with a 2-3week turnaround
      time from order to delivery. These factories use
      no electricity (except for lighting) and usetraditional hand-looms.

In the afternoon, we had a scheduled discussion at the US Embassy Nepal where we had a frank discussion for 2 hours with the Public AffairsOfficer, Political and Economic Officer, two Environmental Officers and a USAIDrepresentative about various issues from domestic, international, historical,political, cultural, aid policy, recent challenges around the drafting of thenew Nepali Constitution, and consular activity. Thank you to the US Embassy Nepal; quite informative.

We finished the evening with a presentation and dinner with the Rotary Club of Bagmati.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Baneshwor, Rotary Club of Bagmati, Rotary Club of Chandragiri, Rotary Club of Nagarjun, and Rotary Club of Durbarmarg.

Kathmandu - Swayambhunath Stupa

2011-12-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

Day 4 – December 14, 2011 - Kathmandu - Swayambhunath Stupa

The 5 of us are staying with 5 different Rotarian hostfamilies, therefore, each have different experiences. First Vocational visit day; we visited organizationsrelated to our vocations in the morning, some went to:

· National Association of Science and Technology,

· Nepali Ministry of Forests,

· Fire Department,

· State Silkworm Plantation (which had beenfirebombed during the insurgency 5 years ago),

· Organic farm that will soon open to World WideOpportunities on Organic Farms (aka WWOOFing),

· NGOs like the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP), and

· Electrical company. We’ve been surprised at
the number of phone and power lines strung
togetheron the telephone poles here.

We toured famous sights in the valley andgave a presentation to the RotaryClub of Durbar Marg (King’s Way) near the old palace, recently opened asa museum. The hereditary monarchy was abolished in the last 5 years.

Tour of neighboring Swayambhunath Stupa

Followed by a wonderful well-attended dinner in New Baneshwor opposite the Everest Hotel: Rtn Vishnu Karkee's The Beijing Garden. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Baneshwor, Rotary Club of Bagmati, Rotary Club of Chandragiri, Rotary Club of Nagarjun, and Rotary Club of Durbarmarg.

Dhulikhel - Gateway To Bhatedada

2011-12-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

Day 3 – December 13, 2011 - Dhulikhel - Gateway To Bhatedada

We awoke to a gorgeous sunrise overlooking the LangTangsection of the Himalayan Mountains which dwarf both our Cascade and Olympicmountain range views in Seattle. After a rooftop sunrise breakfast, we took a morning hike through the jungle, learning about the Tamang people in the village of Bhatedada,
with stops at:

· chicken farms (in multi-storied chickenbuildings resembling the old military barracks at Sandpoint)

· the local village milk purchaser who used ahand-cranked centrifuge to determine the fat content (and price) to give thedairy farmers within walking distance who carried their daily goat, cow andbuffalo milk to him.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel, and in particular, Rtn. Ashok Shrestha,

GuariShankar Mountain View Hotel, and friends. Highly Recommended to contact Ashok next time you
are in the Dhulikhel area.

Afternoon Return to Kathmandu

We returned that afternoon to Kathmandu via the one and only road fromIndia to Tibet,
the Araniko Highway, a two-lane road full of every manner of conveyance imaginable.
Our favorite being the novel [to us] tractor engine cart.

\

Following an introduction with host families,
we had a great meeting and networking session with
a vibrant Rotaract Club of Nepal (18-30 yr olds) in
Kumaripati, Lalitpur (across the river fromKathmandu)
at one of our favorite new hotspot locations:
Rtn Vishnu Karkee's Italcaffe. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Baneshwor, Rotary Club of Bagmati, Rotary Club of Chandragiri, Rotary Club of Nagarjun, and Rotary Club of Durbarmarg.

Dhulikhel - Gateway To Tibet

2011-12-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

Day 2 - December 12, 2011 - Dhulikhel - Gateway To Tibet

Our first full day was spent adjusting to the time zone (13 hrs, 45minutes ahead of Seattle time) and taking in new scenery, led by Rtn. Ashok Shrestha, with a trip northeast out of the Kathmandu Valley to thehilltop town of Dhulikhel where we visited:

· Hospitaland Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled
Children (HRDC).

· Kavre-Banepa School for deaf children. Local Rotary Clubs are currently raising money for avariety of resource procurements, including a school bus. Kavre is one of Nepal's 75 districts = US states.

· Portage Program Nepal - aschool for developmentally disabled children

· DhulikhelHospital - a model community hospital.

· Sanjivani Higher Secondary School for the blind

We met with Lindsey Youngquist, Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar from San Juan Island, WA.

We followed her through a tour of the Dhulikhel Hospital and evening flashlight-led visit to Dhulikhel's rich and historical center. In Lindsey's words, Dhulikhel Hospital "was the first community hospital in Nepal, they take no money from the government, charge very little from patients (1/20th the price of the same treatments in Kathmandu hospitals), and prioritize holistic healing of the community with micro-finance and school health programs along side clinical and public health services"

We spent a short but enjoyable evening at our new
friend Ranjeev's GuariShankar Mountain View Hotel engaged in an excellent and informative dinner discussion and digital review of the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel's service projects, courtesy of Rtn. Ashok Shrestha and friends.

We were also able to share our first
Rotary D5030 digital presentation. One member of
our Team spent a fitful night and remained bed-ridden
throughout the following day. His flatmate was happy to be out exploring the beautiful, quiet countryside.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel, and in particular, Rtn. Ashok Shrestha and friends.

Rotary Foundation District 5030 - GSE Commences Visit To Nepal

2011-12-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Day 2 - December 11, 2011 - Rotary Foundation District 5030 GSE Commences Visit To Nepal

Seattle Departure December 9, 2011
Kathmandu Arrival December 11, 2011

For many of us, the reality of traveling to Nepal had notsunk in until we arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport (named for the 1950s eraNepali King). The sights, sounds, and smells informed us that we werein a different world. Arriving after our 30+ hour journey via Frankfurt,Germany and New Delhi, India, we were warmly greeted with flower bouquets,orange marigold leis and welcoming scarves as we made our exit through a gathering ofvendors, hawkers, crowds, and police in uniform.

Our first day involved a car trip throughvery crowded roads shared with motorcycles, Tuk-Tuks, bikes, cows, stray dogs,many people crossing in the middle of speeding traffic. We were introduced to our new home for the night, a welcome hotel room, before we set out for a stroll on the town. Stopped for momos and beer at a courtyard restaurant as a chanting demonstrating crowd passed down the main avenue.

A very welcomingevening reception and dinner at the Summit Hotel with Rotary District 3292 District Governor Basu Dev Golyan, Rotary District leadership, present and past, and new Rotarian friends of The Rotary Club of Patan West.

Briefed by Rtn. District 3292 GSE Chair Sanjay Giri

Now comfortably in the hands of Nepali Rotarians. We turned down a few invitations for further nightlife.

Off to tour Dhulikhel the next morning.

Thank you to The Rotary Club of Patan West and the approximate 76 Rotary Clubs of Rotary District 3292.