Midsummer Update - "Can't believe we're halfway there..."

I can't believe I'm halfway through this project.  It seems like we've been here for MONTHS, because we've been so busy... teaching, preparing, working, visiting, editing videos, blogging, etc...  When I first arrived, I was surprised to feel a bit homesick, and I was overwhelmed by all the earthquake carnage, beggers, and depressing stories.  But now, after a few weeks, I am fully immersed in the school and the culture, and understand why I love Nepal so much.  I've become so attached to these wonderful students, both the primary kids at Manasarovar, and my teenage peers out at the Kailash Home.  It will be really difficult to leave in August...

Here are a few highlights from the past week:

Monkey Saliva Sampling at Swoyumbunath - We were invited to join a research team who is doing DNA analysis of "temple monkeys" in Kathmandu. They are part of the USAID - PREDICT project from UC Davis Veterinary School, trying to identify potential pandemic viral diseases before they jump from primates to humans. Brilliant scientists and researchers, doing fascinating important work.  Thanks Dibesh, Tierra, and everyone at the CMDN - Center for Molecular Dynamics, Nepal.

Friendship Bracelets - I wanted to share an arts & crafts project with the students, but knew it was difficult to gather lots of materials such as poster paper, paint, scissors, etc...  So I decided to teach them "friendship bracelets" that only require thin string for weaving.  We searched around Boudhanath at all the sewing shops and Tibetan beading & weaving stores, until we found spools of colorful string. I was mostly thinking to do this as a fun activity with the older Kailash teens, but already the office staff at Manasarovar is asking to learn...  When I pulled out the string at Kailash, the students went bonkers!  They crowded around, each cutting multi-color lengths of string, some waiting for guidance, others just knotting randomly.  A few of them picked it up quickly. Everyone loves making bracelets! 

"Rabbits, Foxes, Leaves" - This is a well-known ecology game that teaches habitat requirements, predator-prey relationships, population changes, and carrying capacity. It's also really fun, loud and crazy!!!  The students LOVE running around outside, chasing & screaming, and they're actually learning too.  We connected it to our oceans, coral reefs & marine biodiversity lessons, by changing it to "Sharks, Plankton, Fishies."  We keep track of each round, or "year," and the populations changes.  Next week we will graph the population ups and downs, and talk about the "balance of nature."  The only problem is that 40 of these kids are REALLY loud. It is so difficult to quiet them down & get their attention after each round of the game... We need a bullhorn!  

Swoyumbunath Quake Damage - When we were going out to work with the primate researchers, we also explored the famous hilltop "monkey temple." The main stupa and tower are fairly intact, but some surrounding pillars, monuments, and buildings were totally destroyed. There are lots of workers busting up broken buildings, and hauling away the debris in baskets. Wooden and metal supports prop up ancient temples and structures.  But in a few areas, workers are already rebuilding brick walls, and starting the reconstruction.  It will probably take many years...  The peaceful and spiritual ambience, however, is still intact. It can never be destroyed.  The hilltop has great views over the Kathmandu Valley, and Hindu religious singers provide constant background music. There is such an interesting mix of religions as well... Hindu temples surround the famous Buddhist stupa. Some of the Hindu shrines actually have Tibetan style Buddhist prayer wheels mounted into their outer walls.  Hindus believe that Buddha was a Hindu, and the reincarnation of Vishnu, so in Nepal there is a lot of overlap among these groups. It's great to see such religious tolerance and respect!

Oceans! - We've been teaching about oceans, coral reefs, & biodiversity this week.  The students are SO excited by sea creatures, because none of them has ever seen the ocean.  I think just one boy out of our total of ~100 students has been to a beach, on the coast in India. We've shared slide shows with them, and some great BBC film clips too. Everything, from plankton to whale sharks, blows them away!  Many kids stay after class begging for more information.... "Please Sir, what is starfish and can it eat sea urchin?"  "Miss Miss, do sea urchin have brain?"  "Why is hammer-shark having eyes so far away?"  "Sir! Miss! How can whale catch oxygen if under water? Is it using gill or lung?"  They are SO Hungry to learn!!!  It's been really fun... and also exhausting....