It's been quiet here on the blog. I've got some BIG dreams brewing. Can everyone do me a favor and put some positivity vibes out into the stratosphere for me? Or cross your fingers? Or say some prayers? Whatever you think might work. I've been doing all of the above this week. I will share when I can.

Here's a short update on things at Kopila:

Construction is moving along fast. Here's a picture or two of our expansion and garden shift. There's a reason why I put the kids to work moving dirt and bricks like construction workers. I'll have to explain later.

The children are doing great, thanks to the entire team. On top of the always stellar Nepali staff it's made such a difference at our school having a professional principal, (Jeff) and a professional nurse, (Emily) and a professional ESL teacher (Libby) and Lexi working away with 1st and 2nd grade. We've got our heads down. We're working hard and making real significant progress.  Occasionally the kids get sent to me when they're in trouble for acting out in class, or not doing their homework, or fighting, (you know, the usual stuff that warrants being sent to the principal's office) and my first reaction when I should be disciplining them is "wow, you just explained that whole story to me in English." I'm sort of blown away at how fast the kids are growing up and improving each day. Don't get me wrong things are not all rainbows and butterflies, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that there are numerous times a day when we are all challenged or frustrated or moved to tears.  I'm just proud of all of us right now and I'm proud of my children and the adversities that they continue to over come.

It's SABITA'S Birthday tomorrow.  I've never known a child who has anticipated her birthday more than this little one. She's been counting down for months and months and the day has finally arrived. My little girl is turning seven. 

I'm going to be gone for a few days in Kathmandu. (Work + Play) I'm showing my cousin Julia around the city, and then seeing her back off to Seattle. The kids all said goodbye tonight. The girls put together a skit that they've been working on for weeks and Karma sang a song. Tears. Thankful to have a last couple days together though. I'm bringing some samples of our well water to be tested in Kathmandu and a few kids for Operation Smile's inaugural medical mission in Nepal.  

LAST but not least a big warm thanks for following our journey on this blog. It's a gift that so many people out there love my children as much as I do. Thank you all for your support.

Goodnight and love from sleepy-eyed me.

More from Kathmandu I hope!

Today was a great day at Kopila Valley.  We invited children from the local deaf school, Siddha Bahira, over for some special Friday activities.  Siddha Bahira is a small government funded school for the deaf, founded by Peace Corps volunteers some 20 years ago (although I'm not exactly sure of the exact timing.)  There are currently a total of 35 students mostly ages 6-17 who are hearing impaired. We decided for community service month it would be nice to have an exchange and host the Siddha Bhaira kids at our school for a day.

When I was a little girl I went to George C. Baker Elementary School in Moorestown, NJ.  Baker was a really great school that gave me some good memories.  I am a product of free public school education and truly believe that good teachers and good schools make all the difference in the world.  More than anything, I remember Dr. Bucco, our school's principal and how he drilled the school motto "Learning is caring" over and over again into our heads each month at school assemblies.  "The golden rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated," he used to say every month.  That saying has stuck with me my entire life.  

One of my most vivid memories from my early education was learning sign language.  Baker School had a special program for kids who were deaf and my classrooms in first and second grade were right across the hall from the classrooms for the deaf.  Libby and I both took sign language classes and became friends with two girls our age who were hearing impaired.  Their names were Danielle and Brianna and it was through them that we were really able to pick up on a lot of sign language.  We left Baker School and lost touch with Brianna and Danielle but I think I can speak for Lib when I say that they both made a distinct impression on our childhoods.  In fact, there was a long period of time when all I wanted to be when I grew up was a sign language teacher.

This is the story I told during our assembly today along with all the sign language I could remember.  "I love you."  "What is your name?"  "friends," "mother and father" and how to clap by raising your hands in the air and shaking them.  The chairman of the deaf school got up and talked about ways to talk and communicate with people who can't hear.  He taught us the numbers and the alphabet and the importance of friendship and acceptance for kids who can not hear or speak.  All of our students really got to imagine what it would be like living in a world without sound.   

After the assembly, we split up into different classrooms and learned sign language from the students themselves. It was absolutely amazing to see the kids learn how to communicate without being able to speak. They wrote things on paper and passed them back and forth and gave introductions and sign language lessons on the white board.  For the first time walking through the halls of Kopila Valley, filled with 300 children, you could not hear a single sound, not a peep.  It was as if no one was there. By the end of the day there were a lot of new friendships made.  We concluded with some group activities, lunch, and a big soccer match. Our guests from Siddha Bahira beat the Kopila boys team 2-1 in a really good game.

Tope our project's chairman, passed me in the hall as we were each going room to room observing the kids.  He was speechless and could only look at me with tears in his eyes. After a long extremely stressful week I finally felt hit with a wave of gratitude because all of this is what it's really about. Mostly, I couldn't get over how quiet it was and how seriously the Kopila kids took the no talking rule and how genuinely happy everyone was today.

"It is really they who came to serve us today, not the other way around," principal Jeff said at the end of the day during our staff meeting. I couldn't agree more. We really hope to meet with our friends again soon.  In the meantime, we'll all be brushing up on our sign language over here.  Special thanks to the Siddha Bahira school.

Bindu and Suray comforting an old man at the hospital

I am so proud of our students and what they've done so far for community service month. We kicked things off on Friday with the trash pick up where our school collected nearly 600 KG of garbage around our local school community. The Surkhet City Planning committee kindly agreed to come and load all of it into a big truck to be taken to a dumping site this morning. The really exciting thing is that they've also agreed to do the same for any other schools who decide to partake in similar projects. The kids and I were talking about how cool it would be if we could get other nearby schools involved in this!    

The 6th graders went to the hospital this weekend and visited with patients. They gave out bananas and apples and spent time with over 70 sick patients there.  Our local newspaper even covered a small story on the front page!

The seventh graders decided for their project to organize a clean-up of our city's most famous temple Deuti Bajay and spent a few hours this weekend cleaning up the entire temple grounds where thousands of people go to worship each month. It also just so happened that a national television news crew was there simultaneously and covered the kids story, interviewing them on what they were doing and why.  I couldn't believe it when the kids told me. What a sweet little coincidence. The Kopila kids got their first debut on Nepali national television doing something good. 

This is only the begining and I'm curious to see how the rest of the month goes but I really think that one of the most empowering feelings in the world is realizing that you can make a difference. Even I've been surprised to see the little ripple effects of change this week.  There are many moments when I feel scared, and unsure, and severely anxious about what the future has in store but these kids continue to fill me with all the hope in the world.  

sign at kopila valley

Before

After

In the Hindu religion, Saraswati is the Goddess of Learning.  The kids celebrate with a puja each year and bring flowers and fruit to offer for their education.  

Our community service project this Friday was a neighborhood garbage pick-up.  The kids split up into teams and collected heaps and heaps of garbage.  

Construction is moving a long just fine.  Most of the framing is up.  (Namraj is standing on a window frame above.)  The kids have been helping move stone in for the flooring.

We kicked off our weekend with a Friday night movie showing of The Wizard of Oz.  It took grandfather (my dad) 17 hours to download it off of i-tunes but it was well worth the wait!  Today is report card day and Saraswati pooja at school.  More on that soon. Have a great weekend where ever you are.

xo