Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

 

 

Traveler am.

 

Twelve days and counting. Soon I will be leaving on my journey to do volunteer work in Nepal. I’m very excited and a bit nervous too. I’ve never traveled this far, and to such a different culture, by myself. My husband will be joining me later but for the first 3 weeks I’ll be on my own, on the loose in Kathmandu. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

 

By chance, I will be in Nepal for the biggest holiday of the year, Dasain. The whole country celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga over the forces of evil personified in the buffalo demon, Mahisasura. Everyone is off work and there are processions and family rituals to be performed. The caveat is that Durga is a bloodthirsty goddess, so this festival is celebrated with  blood-letting and animal sacrifice. My Lonely Planet guide says that 8 buffaloes and 108 goats are sacrificed, each with a single stroke of a sword. Temples are awash with blood and tools of a person’s trade and vehicles are sprinkled with blood for good luck. Even the aircraft of Nepal Airlines are blessed for safe travel. I hope I can bear the spectacle.

 

I will have to get up to speed quickly on social customs, such as using my fingers to eat (right hand only!), learning the body language for “yes” which is different than ours, dealing with the Nepali reluctance to say “no” to anything, accepting the caste system and the belief in dharma, remembering that feet and shoes are considered unclean, getting up before dawn and going to bed at 10:00, the lack of Nepali words for “please” or “thank you”. I am trying to study a bit of the Nepali language with a phrasebook. The structure of sentences is different: subject-object-verb. “Bob read the book.” would be “Bob book read.” In speaking, they often leave out subject pronouns, articles and information that’s clear from context or not considered relevant. So “I am a traveler.” would be “traveler am.” As part of my orientation with Volunteers Initiative Nepal (VIN), I will be taking some Nepali lessons when I arrive. Hopefully I will learn better from lessons than from a book. At this point, I would only feel comfortable saying “Namaste” (hello/goodbye).

 

Last week my husband and I had dinner with another volunteer for VIN. Maartje lives in Amsterdam and just returned from a summer of teaching English in a Buddhist monastery. She regaled us with stories about her experiences in Nepal and with the feisty young monks (many of them are children). We picked her brain for things to pack: DEET-yes; headlamp-yes, for using the outdoor toilet at night; raingear- no, only tourists wear them, locals use umbrellas; flip flops-no, buy them there for one euro; thermometer-yes, for when you get a fever; photos of your family-yes, people will be curious; ipod and speaker-yes, because music is universal. Now I have to see if everything I want to bring fits in my pack. It’s a safe bet that a revised packing list will be the next step.

 

Today I am boxing up all the donations I have received and getting them ready to ship. I have about 100kg of books and CDs for learning English and Business English, children’s books and games, paper, pens, pencils, erasers, watercolor paints, rubber stamps and toys. I got some sturdy boxes from a friend who works in a bookstore. I have to divide everything into small shipments to avoid customs charges at the other end. This stuff has been piling up in my study for weeks, I’ll be happy to finally send it all on its way. The cash we have collected (more than 1000 euros so far!) will be sent via bank transfer. I am bringing my old laptop and an external drive (loaded with teaching materials and music) that I will donate when I leave. My husband's Singapore office sent a laptop and four cameras direct to VIN. The support we have received from friends and colleagues has been really amazing. We are very lucky to know such generous and supportive people.

 

I have been asked to help write proposals for the funding of an education center in the community where I will be living and working. So I’ll be spending the next week or so doing internet research on organizations to approach for possible sponsorship. I have also been asked to conduct teacher training and share some of the techniques we use in Western teaching. It’s going to be a busy holiday; I may end up working harder than I do in my real job. But that’s okay. This work may not make me wealthy, but I am sure I will be richer for it. Namaste. (literal translation: I salute the god in you)

 

It’s not too late! Donations to Volunteers Initiative Nepal are welcome. You can make a donation using PayPal on the VIN website.

 

Volunteers Initiative Nepal

http://www.volunteeringnepal.org/index.php

 

Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

 

Summer in the Village

 

It is the vakantieperiode (vacation time) in the Netherlands. The schools are closed for 6 weeks, rush hour on the trains is less rushed, offices are running on skeleton crews and folks have taken their kids and caravans off to campgrounds in places like Germany, France or Sweden. Most of my students have planned their courses to be finished in July, so they can go on holiday with no homework and a clear conscience. After months of teaching, preparing lessons, writing reports and reviewing homework, my schedule has finally lightened up. Ahhh…August.

 

I’m still in town, though. I will be spending 6 weeks in Nepal teaching English as a volunteer, but I am not leaving until mid-September. Summer is monsoon season in Nepal. But we’ve got plenty to do this month to get ready for the big adventure. We have to go to the Nepali consulate in Amsterdam for visas, the doctor for a series of shots and the dentist for a check-up. I am shopping for a travel pack (a fancy hybrid of a backpack and a suitcase - the shoulder straps fit in a compartment for easy check-in on the plane), water filter, first aid kit (with sterile needles, just in case), hiking shoes (the old pair was so bad, I couldn’t even donate them to Amnesty) and good walking sandals.

 

My husband and I are fundraising for the organization we plan to work with, Volunteers Initiative Nepal (VIN). We are hoping to take a healthy donation with us to support some of their projects. My school has donated a huge pile of English grammar and vocabulary books from the school library and some of my colleagues have brought in children’s books. VIN is trying to get used laptop computers donated so teachers can use them to research teaching materials and the kids can learn some basic computer skills (computers and the internet are new and amazing to many Nepalese). My husband’s colleagues are being very generous. Everybody seems to want to help and it feels really good to have so much support. Several of my friends have admitted that they would rather give a bit of cash than go live in an impoverished village with no toilets for 6 weeks, but they think it’s cool that I am willing to do it.

 

Meanwhile, in July we had an Italian mini-holiday. On a Friday, we flew to Milan to visit our friend Alex. While she was at work, we spent the afternoon in a museum and doing a bit of shopping. Since Milan is a fashion capital, I think you may actually be required by law to go shopping. But I could be wrong. Then we met Alex for drinks. The display of food served at cocktail hour in Milan is amazing. Dozens of dishes with bite-size snacks cover the bar: pizza, artichokes, olives, tiny sandwiches with prosciutto or crab salad, sautéed mushrooms, grilled zucchini or aubergine, fried potatoes, tiny savory pastries, chorizo, rice or pasta salad, battered and fried squash blossoms. Since the Milanese don’t go to dinner until late in the evening, these snacks keep everyone from starving until then. At dinner, more plates of free food started to arrive before we even ordered our meals. By the time the main course was served, we could barely eat any more which was really a shame. Italy makes you wish you had eight stomachs like a cow.

 

On Saturday we drove to Verona (the setting for Romeo and Juliet) to meet my friend, Ilaria, who took the train up from Rome. We wandered around Verona, checked out Juliet’s balcony and Juliet’s tomb (which is funny because Juliet is a fictitious character). The museum above the tomb had a collection of Roman amphorae, ancient clay vessels used to store and transport things like olive oil and wine. Ilaria is from the south of Italy and she said that you find these all the time in the sea down south. Her family uses pieces of amphorae to hold open the doors! It’s always interesting what people in other cultures take for granted. When I lived in America, I used to take 24-hour grocery stores and shopping malls open until 9pm for granted.

 

Verona is known for its summer opera performances in the Roman amphitheatre and we had tickets to see “The Barber of Seville”. It was pretty darn amazing to sit in a Roman theatre watching opera, even though it was sticky hot and they packed us in like sardines. The folks in the know (Italian folks) came equipped with groceries and wine. Where they put the sacks of food in the crowded rows of stone seats, I’ll never know. On Sunday we drove back to Milan with a stop in Bergamo. Another charming Italian village, another cathedral, more cocktail snacks. We took back some of the little dome-shaped cakes that Bergamo is famous for. I think they are called marzipan-sugar-bomb-cakes but I’m not really sure. They tasted good, so I guess that’s what counts. We all had such a good time together that we are planning to vacation with Ilaria next summer all the way south in Calabria, down by the sea. I really don’t think it’s too far to travel to get a doorstop.

 

Donations to Volunteers Initiative Nepal are welcome! You can make a donation using PayPal on the VIN website.

 

Volunteers Initiative Nepal

http://www.volunteeringnepal.org/index.php

 

 

 

Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

 

Sacred and Profane

 

One of my husband’s American colleagues, Steve, considers Guinness stout beer sacred. When he utters the name of the brew, he gently places his hand on his heart, dips his head as if in prayer and reverently speaks the holy name…Guinness.

 

So when I went to Ireland for the first time, I was looking forward to having a proper pint of Guinness in the motherland. A group of us met for a weekend in Dublin late on a Friday afternoon…round about happy hour. It was the perfect time to embark on the Guinness experience. Except for me, the group members were all work colleagues. There was my husband from Holland, Alex from France (but living in Milan), Keith from Wales, four guys from England and Candy from Hong Kong (married to one of the English guys). The mission for the weekend was to enjoy Dublin’s pubs, and a pint or two or eight of Guinness.

 

Naturally, there are pubs all over town, but the part of town famous for its pubs is Temple Bar. We spent the evening on a pub crawl, a popular Irish pastime on Friday nights. We prowled the area, exploring the innards of various pubs and discussing the relative merits of one pub versus another. After a while we decided to order a pub dinner and got to sample Irish stew, chips with malt vinegar and various types of sausage (all good for soaking up the beer in your belly).

 

The next morning I was supposed to go to the National Gallery but decided to skip it in favor of doing a bit of shopping, then spent the midday hours relaxing with some of my companions in a lovely pub with wood-paneled walls, leather chairs and a charming, older gentleman behind the bar. In the afternoon, I took a well-deserved rest from the pub and visited the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle. For anyone with a passion for books, this is simply a must-see. The library houses a collection of manuscripts, prints, icons and early printed books from the great cultures and religions of the world. The Arts of the Book exhibit showcases Egyptian Books of the Dead, illuminated medieval manuscripts, Chinese jade books, Japanese picture scrolls and exquisitely bound Islamic manuscripts. The Sacred Traditions gallery is divided into sections dedicated to the great religions of the world. The exhibit text and timelines give you an overview of how these religions evolved, and the parallels and contrasts of the history and belief systems.

 

After all that contemplation of art and religion, it was time for more secular pursuits. We all walked across town to Shelbourne Park to watch the greyhound races. We sat in bleachers down by the track, near where the bookies were shouting out the odds for betting. I tried to take some photos of the dogs but they were so fast that most of the photos are blurred or the dogs flew out of the frame by the time I pressed the shutter. We ate dinner on paper plates (chicken and fries or rice and curry) and drank our beers from plastic cups. We all placed bets for 2 or 5 euros and a couple of us even left with a few extra euros in our pockets (that helped pay for the beer).

 

On Sunday, I was mesmerized again by the art of ancient bookmakers. Trinity College was founded in 1592 and its impressive library was built in the early 1700s. The Long Room is a bibliophile’s fantasy with its two floors of alcoves filled with old leather-bound books and the high wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling. It even smells wonderful - that smell of aged leather, parchment and wood. The Treasury downstairs holds the Book of Kells, reputed to be one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world. The exhibit explains some of the details that go into creating and binding an illuminated manuscript. The presentation really helps you appreciate the skill and devotion that went into producing even just one book.

 

After a visit to the gift shop and considering whether I want to try traditional book-binding as a hobby, there was just enough time left to meet with the rest of the group for one more round at the temple of Guinness.

 

How to pour a perfect Guinness (from the official Guinness website)

http://www2.guinness.com/en-row/Pages/thebeer-draught.aspx

 

Chester Beatty Library

www.cbl.ie

 

Trinity College Library

www.tcd.ie/Library

 

 

Lynelle Barrett lives in the Netherlands but her Dutch husband says that her Irish roots show up in her ability to talk on and on…

 

Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

 

Appropriate Attire Recommended

 

It’s cool to live in Europe and visit places like Paris, Milan and Prague, but sometimes a voyage to a different sort of land is on the itinerary. So along with over 24,000 other folks who wanted to escape reality, I headed for the Elf Fantasy Fair in Haarzuilens.

 

Haarzuilens is the site of the Kasteel De Haar, a 14^th century castle (rebuilt in the 19^th century) located in the middle of the Netherlands. The Elf Fantasy Fair is a medieval festival in the make-believe village of Elfia. On the morning of my journey, I picked some fun clothes and accessories from my closet. I wore a new peacock blue wig that I bought on ebay, along with a deep green goddess blouse, satin corset, long black skirt and violet tights. I decided not to wear my wings since it was drizzling and it’s hard to wear wings AND a rain jacket (you know what I mean). When I boarded the train, fellow voyagers were easy to spot by their costumes and make-up. The rest of the people on the train tried not to stare. And we pretended to be blasé. Oh, this old thing? Had it for ages…

 

When I arrived at the castle, it became increasingly obvious that I was seriously underdressed. Apparently, a quick shopping trip in your closet is not really sufficient to truly dress the part of a citizen of Elfia. The upper crust of Elfian society seems to invest considerable energy into looking the part. Even Elfian dogs were sporting the latest fashion in wings and unicorn horns. Elfia is a place to see and be seen. Not one to be discouraged, I didn’t let my simple garb spoil my fun. My friends and I drank mead (honey wine), ate candy apples, tried on armor, shopped for diadems and goddess jewelry, watched the battle between good and evil (evil won!), chatted with the locals and simply enjoyed people watching. It was like any holiday in a foreign town. I think I’d like to visit again, but next year I’ll dress like the locals.

 

Elf Fantasy Fair

http://haarzuilens.elffantasyfair.com/?langswitch_lang=en

 

Lynelle Barrett lives in the Netherlands but likes to travel to other places…whether they are real or not.  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

    

 

    

 

    

 

 

Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

 

Yes, but will squatting strengthen my character?

 

It all started with an itch. It’s that same gypsy-fever-ride-off-into-the-sunset itch I always get when I have been in the same place for a while. So when the language school that I work for merged with another large language school, then absorbed three more smaller schools and became a big monster company, I started to think it might be time to move on and broaden my intercultural experience. Technically I was still a newlywed, however, so it probably wasn’t such a good idea to start commuting across national borders so soon after the wedding. While I was mulling this over, things at school started to calm down. All the newsletters and meetings about ‘big improvements’ have settled back into the normal routine. Now things are happier at work, yet I still hear the road calling my name.

 

So I decided to take a short break to do something different. Since I don’t have a burning desire to work at a language summer camp in UK, I decided to look for a volunteer post. There are people all over the world that need to learn English. I could choose where I wanted to go and what sort of people I would like to help. Volunteers are needed for all types of work, not just teaching English. However, unlike volunteering for an organization in your own community, it will cost money to volunteer in a foreign country. Your local organizations do not have to pay to house or feed you. They don’t have to deal with visas, picking you up at the airport, transporting you to the project, acclimating you to the culture and local etiquette, getting you medical care if you get sick and dealing with any fallout your foreign ways may generate. If the organization doesn’t charge you anything, you may be taking food or jobs away from the needy people you are there to help.

 

There are basically three ways you can volunteer overseas:

 

1)      Voluntourism. This is when you want to combine a bit of volunteer work with your holiday. It is more expensive, you can potentially spend thousands of dollars with these types of organizations. However, they will arrange everything and take care of you like a vacation tour company. You will probably have a comfortable situation as far as housing and food.

2)      Volunteer with a governmental or non-governmental organization (NGO). These organizations are non-profit and a more affordable option. A good organization only charges you for the expenses they incur to have you there; such as processing your application, transportation, paying your host family for your housing and food.

3)      Organize it yourself. You don’t have to go through an organization in order to help people overseas. However, you will still have to arrange housing, food and transportation, without the security blanket of local support.

 

My husband and I were already planning to take our big holiday this fall in Asia.  Why not do something meaningful instead of just lounging at a beach resort in Malaysia? When I explored what type of opportunities for teaching English were available in Asia, I found the most need in India and Nepal. So I asked my husband if he would be willing to go to Kathmandu instead of Malaysia. I have chosen an organization that I feel good about, Volunteers Initiative Nepal (VIN), a Nepali grassroots organization that works in marginalized communities outside Kathmandu. They have a project in Jitpur to empower women by helping them become self-sufficient, as well as teaching opportunities in community schools and in Buddist monasteries.

 

I have already made contact with the Executive Director of VIN (who signed his email with “Much love from Kathmandu”) and submitted our applications. I have asked for opinions from my girlfriends on which program to request, whether it is possible for a “foodie” like me to live on the local diet of rice and lentil curry, the odds of surviving six weeks with squat toilets and no hot water, whether I will end up like a patient on the TV show “House”. I have emailed my mom who, like most moms, is worried about my safety. We booked our plane tickets today, Amsterdam-Munich-Doha-Kathmandu. Now I will be shopping for hiking shoes, applying for a visa at the Nepali consulate, reading up on Nepal, practising a bit of the language and getting a barrage of vaccinations (I hope Dutch doctors give lollipops). And I suppose I’d better start doing squat exercises.

 

“Wow!...

 

It makes my humble existence as a single mother seem somewhat ordinary…Oh, the places you go. I would probably choose the empowering women and children too as they, more than anyone, can use some empowering.

 

Good fortune on whatever endeavor you choose and I expect nothing less than spreading your “Lynelleness” among those less fortunate…

 

Remember this:

1. “Squatting” will improve the strength of your thighs;
2. Living amongst the natives will give you an appreciation for what you have; and, most importantly,
3. What does not kill you will make you stronger.

 

XOXO,

Kendra”

 

 

Search for Volunteer Opportunities:

http://www.idealist.org/en/ivrc/skilled.html

 

Volunteers Initiative Nepal:

http://www.volunteeringnepal.org/index.php

 

Learn the Nepali Language:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0qqHfqu3oA&feature=PlayList&p=76E92FF2187926F0&index=0&playnext=1

 

 

Lynelle Barrett lives in the Netherlands and is already thinking about what to pack for Nepal, even though it will be 4 months until she leaves.