Attending boarding school

I’ll admit, I’m not man enough.

The biggest uncertainty going into my boarding school stay: How am I going to take my dumps? Unfortunately, I’m not accustomed to squat style toilets. Add on top of that damage done by 78 students sharing 2 toilets. I held onto a faint hope that I could wing it. At least grin and bear it.

Here I’ll detail a typical day at school. My goal was to personally experience the daily lives of the students. Looking back to my 2 week stay, it really was comfortable and simple living. The kids there are all troopers who helped ease me into the new environment.

This was the room I shared with 3 teachers, the buffalo caretaker, and 4 students. Props to the kid that shared a bed with the buffalo man. Let’s just say handling 4 animals throughout the day isn’t like working the assembly line at a perfume factory.

I’ve never slept with the lights on, but this was their custom. Luckily, it was cold enough to require sleeping with a cap on that conveniently covered my eyes. Additionally, a teacher would blast the TV deep into the night, so I was also armed with earplugs. I slept with my sleeping bag but started getting bed bug bites a week in. I know you won’t believe me, but my sleep quality was very good! How often in your life do you get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and wake up naturally?

My top bunk mates were this motley crew: Binud, Dorje, and Bishal. Dorje is the one pictured and was studious as hell – he borrowed my headlamp to complete homework during power outages. How they can sleep piled on top of each other befuddles me.

In a typical school day, I would get out of the sleeping bag, put on a warm jacket, climb down, and go to forest for the number 2 ritual. The fact that the teachers also did not use the toilets conveniently gave me license to relieve myself outdoors. The game each morning was to select a new distant and unique place to deposit my load. I’d then catch the stunning sunrise with snow-capped mountains as the backdrop, and subsequently join a decidedly militaristic teacher for a brief trail run and exercise. This teacher was sadistically fond of kicks and punches.

After lifting our heart rates, we’d have tea, which is generously defined as “breakfast.” Lunch of lentils, rice, and curry (daal, bhaat, tarkari) was a mere hour later at 9am. Around this time, the kids would wash their feet, clean their dishes, wash their faces and brush their teeth in freezing water. Mad props.

Morning assembly would consist of the national anthem, trivia (“Where is Shakira from?”), and marching. Class starts at 10. I’d take this golden opportunity to enjoy some privacy, do some non-profit work, and write. After 4 class periods, we’d have “tiffin,” a British term for a midday snack break, then we’d finish the school day around 4 with an afternoon assembly.

Another round of tea ensued, and occasionally we played energetic games of soccer or cricket.

Dinner of – you guessed it! – daal, bhaat, and tarkari, with the added bonus of boiled buffalo milk, completed our dietary consumption of the day.

The students are on a strict schedule of study after dinner, and I found a niche in going room to room tutoring for a couple hours.

Upon reaching my bed, I’d read, now it’s a soccer classic “Inverting the Pyramid” and fall into a deep, uninterrupted asleep.

The kids played a critical role in my survival. I’d be hard pressed to find a better mannered bunch. They pro-actively ask if they could help me clean my dishes, automatically folded my sleeping bag, and helped me get food. The militaristic teacher also made sure my needs were met.

In the end, I circumvented the crapping issue by taking it outside. I guess I still have a ways to go in my flexibility. Damn new toilets still aren’t done! But perhaps perversely, I like shitting in the woods.

Having demonstrable skills

Climbing at a wall in Kathmandu. Wait, I don't lead climb.

What skills can you readily show someone? Or even teach someone? As tomorrow is the start of a one month stay at the rural Nurbuling School dormitory, I’ve challenged myself to reflect upon what I actually comprehend and can pass on to others. How can the children benefit from my presence?

Adding structure
Soccer – on our high school team, we practiced many drills – keep away, efficient first touch, positional roles, and offside trap. Additionally, before each kickoff, we performed warmups in a certain sequence. Perhaps this structure will add some discipline, connect these kids to the matches they see on TV, and strike fear in opposing schools.
Setting goals – I’m attempting my third 100 pushup challenge. I’m taping up a calendar and holding myself accountable with the students. I’ll establish a routine – wake up, meditate, brew coffee, then 100 pushup challenge. I’d better succeed!
Perhaps this touches on being a role model? I feel woefully ill equipped.

The arts
Guitar – I’m donating two “Givsun” guitars to the school. At least one teacher there plays, and I can strum a few chords. Some of the older kids might take an interest. And hopefully I get somewhere in the next month!
Singing – I’ll karaoke there! No room for shame. I’ll require them to teach me a few Nepali songs too.
Dancing – They’ll teach me. They’ve got an arsenal of serious moves.
Art – Unfortunately I’ve got no skills.

Using technology
The extent of technology most of the kids have seen and used is limited. Cell phones are probably the most common. I’ll use a computer for simple word processing, my mobile phone for internet, and I’m also bringing a portable 3-bulb solar panel system to have a little lighting at night! Hopefully they will benefit from this exposure.

Teaching classes
Rock climbing – this is the only certification I’ve got! While we won’t be climbing there, at least the enthusiastic teaching attitude may translate across other classes I teach.
Outdoor skills – The boys captured a pheasant and ate it for crying out loud. What can I teach them??
Yoga class – They’ll get a kick out of doing handstands!
Martial arts – They’ve asked twice if I know any TKD or Kung Fu. Sorry to disappoint!

The forecast
We’ll see what really happens over the next month. I’m grateful I’ve tried new things and more recently reflected upon them. It does underscore the value of seriously cultivating your real interests. What can you take with you, always?

The world isn’t flat

Thomas Friedman popular book “The World is Flat” argued that the interconnectedness of the world has enabled the disadvantaged to catch up to the global level playing field. For most of the children at the schools we visited, this statement is far from the truth. They are simply not privy to the opportunities that you and I take for granted.
In the last couple weeks, we visited schools displaying varying degrees of disrepair. They lacked proper toilets; the classrooms were in need of better seats and tables, and most kids did not even have playgrounds.
On display were the “hardware” deficits – problems of infrastructure that could be readily solved with funding. However, with the children at stake, the “software” deficiencies are the most critical. Each school administrator demanded more qualified teachers. After all, education starts with teachers. Only they can pave a brighter future for these children.
It’s an uphill battle for these rural schools. Even if a school has a state of the art library, health clinic, and strong science program, as in the case of the Phalewas school, the government still questions their ability to produce competitive students on par with those in urban areas. Along with this doubt comes underfunding; the government simply doesn’t believe these rural schools can provide a quality education and subsequently cut their funding. Furthermore, the schools are unable to attract good teachers to the farflung countryside. Once hired, retention becomes a problem.
These immediate problems aside, deeper underlying issues remain. The economic livelihood of these rural families must be raised to give these children a chance.
Optimistically speaking, the children are in a good spot – they possess rudimentary English, are extremely well-behaved and disciplined in their learning. They just lack opportunity.
Encouragingly, bridging the digital divide may be a viable solution. This environment demands students to be willing to learn on their own. And the internet is the best platform for that. And soon they are coming online, with increased internet access across these schools. Joining the global stage may happen quite quickly. Optimism may be our best bet. The world may be flatter than I predict.

Singhadevi school

Singhadevi is a small agriculturally-dominated village located a mere 4hr bumpy jeep ride in the neighboring valley east of Kathmandu. We delivered medical supplies, construction materials for an Early Childhood Development (ECD) room, photos from the previous volunteer group, and held a town meeting to discuss their immediate school development needs.
The energy for educational improvement was palpable here; the entire village trekked steep terrain to attend the meeting. And the villagers are providing all the labor for the ECD implementation. We really hope our pilot funds for the ECD room are put to good use, so our organization can continue to support the village for additional infrastructure.
Remarkably, we completed the proposal, got board approval, and purchased all the supplies within 24hrs! How quickly a small organization can take action.
Rarely in my life have I felt like I was directly contributing to a community. How lucky we are to take part in this delivery.

This is one of 8 classes we will be interacting with in rural Nepal. What a wonderful, inquisitive, and well-behaved group of kids. In the first day we passed out candy canes, erasers, pencils, pens, notebooks, toothpaste, and delivered soccer balls, basketballs, and some medicine. Many more updates to come!

What we’ll be doing first in Nepal

The non-profit

Nepal Education Initiative Organization (NEIO) is a non-profit organization that works to create sustainable educational environments in rural Nepal. The organization, with strong local support, spent a number of years rebuilding a school called Nakote after a landslide eliminated part of its pre-existing infrastructure. Nakote is now healthily operational. Based on this success, NEIO has turned its focus on servicing a neighboring village called Nurbuling.

The school

The Nurbuling school has 9 teachers that educate about 100 students, aged 4-15 in subjects such as English, Nepali, math, and science. Most students stay at the school during the week and hike home to neighboring villages on the weekends. The school has many basic amenities, including classrooms, a kitchen, and hostel, but is still in need of better toilets, consistent lighting and electricity, among others. Hence, NEIO’s broad goals are to holistically improve the schooling conditions, and hopefully the kids will benefit from a better environment.

Nurbuling is about 8 hrs by jeep-ride north of Kathmandu. Keep zooming in to see its location relative to Kathmandu and the Himalayas. Armchair Google-mapping makes everything seem as if a stone’s throw away!

What we’ll do Dec-Jan

In the first 3 weeks in Nepal, Winnie and I will be going to Nurbuling to meet our local staff, Chiring Lama, who supervises the school’s development. He’ll be our point person there, and we’ll also be staying at his mom’s place, which is a 45 min hike away from the school. We’ll be interacting with the kids, and I’ll try to mercilessly beat them in soccer.

We’ll also visit various schools within day-hike’s distance. These visits will enable us to better understand the range of what has been possible in the area. We’ll interact with many teachers and headmasters along the way to pick their brains.

Additionally, we’ll visit another village (Sinhadevi) that requested medical and educational supplies.

Finally, we’ll visit the orphanage that Winnie had volunteered at last year. Hopefully things have gone well for the kids. I’m sure it’ll be a joyous reunion!

Our vision

While our immediate goals will address the students’ critical needs, Winnie and I really think the sky’s the limit at Nurbuling. We’re studying model schools elsewhere, TED talks such as this one, and seeking other sources of inspiration. We’re feeding off of each other’s energy to do the best we can. Let me know if you have any other recommendations!

Photo credit: neio.org and the amazing photographer and NEIO volunteer Sarah Twitchell.

Also, I don’t officially speak for NEIO. These are all my personal views, and I just hope to share my volunteering experiences in Nepal.