And so it begins...

(originally written on Thursday, July 24)

I have not written for the last few days because our schedules have been so full with ETA training and orientation. We have been all over the city, from a bank to open accounts to the US Embassy, but for the most part, our time has been spent in the resource room of the Fulbright building. Our days are busy: orientation fills the 9 to 5 slot, but we also tack on at least an hour per trip between office and apartment.

We have some amazing teachers. Christine Stone is a sprightly, passionate woman of about 85 who bikes to the Fulbright office for our lessons on teaching English in Nepali schools. Prava Khadka is our elegant and patient Nepali language and culture instructor. Both of them will be accompanying us on our trip to Gorkha next week, which is very exciting. 

Some of this week’s interesting experiences:

-          - At one point, we had to make a small detour around a cow lying in the middle of the sidewalk.   (When I told my mom about this, she asked: “What’s a cow doing in the middle of Kathmandu?” to which I answered: “Sleeping.”

-          - While enjoying a relaxing dinner of Vietnamese food on the balcony of a restaurant near our apartment, we watched a monkey cross the street via the power lines. 

-          - Our orientation at the Embassy was sensitive, not classified, but I think I’ll keep it to myself all the same.