For those of you who operate under the faith business, here is some uplifting news.
For a year now I have been struggling with trying to get the Tax exemption form filled out correctly. Well this morning I had had enough and I rang the Tax office and wanted someone to help me. 1 Hour late and the form was completed and is on its way back to the Lawyers for the last check before it goes in. Now heres the blessing, the guy that helped me complete the form and answer all the question to comfirm that we should get the Tax exemption was a guy called Sushi, who hails from Kathmandu.
Thank you Lord.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Thursday 08/01/2009
Today Rajesh (civil engineer), Himal (President of Muscular Dystrophy Centre Bhaktapur), Narayan (Muscular Dystrophy Association Nepal member), and myself had a meeting today in Darbar Square, Kathmandu over lunch in order to bring each other up-to-date with the going-on’s surrounding the plans for the Respite Centre, and also to introduce Rajesh and Narayan as they had not met prior to the meeting. The meeting was a great success as we put our heads together and collaborated ideas and necessities with regards to the land needed to be purchased by S.W.A.P. After the meeting was over, I arranged another time to meet with Narayan with the purpose of finding out what, if any, government policies we need to run under, what administrative forms are required by the government, what M.D.A.N’s (Muscular Dystrophy Association Nepal) role will be regarding the centre, and if there is anything else I need to organise before heading back to Australia.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saturday 03/01/2009
Steph and Monique’s last day! Noooooo! We woke up and Steph and Monique finished packing the last of their things while I pitched in one last attempt to convince them to stay, haha failed =[ After they’d finished we met Rajesh (the Nepalese engineer helping S.W.A.P. with the Respite Centre) for breakfast at Java. He arrived on Nepali time and was full of smiles as always. He told the girls that it was too soon for them to be leaving to Australia, and that his wife had said that it’s too soon as she wanted to have us all over for dinner one last time. This brought tears to mine and Steph’s eyes! I resisted the urge to bring up the Respite Centre but was stoked when Rajesh started talking about it. Between him and Rei, whenever I talk with those two I always get incredibly excited as to what 2009 has to come! After their final goodbye’s to Rajesh, us three girls jumped in a cab and headed off to the airport. Since I was getting the same cab back to Thamel after dropping them off, we had to make our goodbye’s extremely quick as we were worried he might drive off with my bags still in the car haha. Tonight is the quietest our house has ever been! I miss the girls already!
Friday 02/01/2009
Today we all woke up with a tinge of sadness in the air, it’s Stephanie and Monique’s last day in Banepa as we’re staying in Kathmandu the night in order to not have to rush to get to the airport tomorrow. After packing their last bits of luggage, and me pleading with them to stay till February with me, we wandered up to the canteen for breakfast and for the girls to say their last goodbyes to our friends in Banepa. Steph and I started crying at breakfast, she didn’t want to leave as much as I didn’t want them to leave! The girls had formed many great friendships here in Nepal, not only with the Nepali people but so too within our group. We three girls came to grow and share such amazing and strong friendships with each other, and it was so hard to think that it would be at least a month before we came together again to share more good times. We decided to go to dinner at Or2K in Thamel then head out after for one last game of pool. We retired to bed pretty early so we wouldn’t have to struggle to get up in the morning.
Wednesday 31/12/2008 New Years Eve!
New Years Eve is here yeah! After contemplating whether or not to go to Kathmandu to celebrate, or stay in Banepa, our Nepali mates in Banepa told us they were organising a bonfire on the hospital grounds so that made our minds up for us, Banepa it is! The evening started off with us S.W.A.P. girls helping Yvonne prepare the food for everyone; mushroom soup (seriously Yvonne makes the BEST mushroom soup I have ever tasted! Sorry mum..haha), egg rolls, banana cake, fruit salad, and hot chocolate! Talk about a feast! Once it was all prepared we rounded up some of the guys to help us carry the food over to the bonfire. When we got there we were surprised at how many people had arrived. All together there was roughly 40 people, nearly all hospital staff, it was great to see! Charlie, Brandon and Shree had mixed together some cd’s and after we ate, they chucked them in the cd player and everyone was up dancing round, it was so much fun! Slowly people started to sit down as we were all getting tired from dancing haha once that happened, Charlie grabbed the guitar and everyone sat around the fire singing a mix of Nepalese and western songs. When the clock hit midnight everyone jumped up and down, running round to their friends giving them hugs and wishing them a happy New Year! It was such an amazing night! What better way to bring in the New Year than with your good friends around a bonfire?
Tuesday 30/12/2008
We’re definitely making the most of our time off while it lasts! This morning we were able to sleep in again, though after all the walking we’ve been doing the past few days I think it’s definitely needed. Today we headed off to Nama Buddha, which we found out is 2 bus rides away from Banepa. The first bus we caught from Banepa took us to Punouti, the village which MDAN (the Muscular Dystrophy centre S.W.A.P. funds) is located. Then from Punouti we caught another bus which was meant to take us to the base of the mountain Nama Buddha is on top of. On our second bus Monique befriended an old Nepali man who told her he was also going to Nama Buddha. So we opted to hop off at his stop and follow him to Nama Buddha. Sounds like the perfect plan right? Wrong haha! After following the old man through 2 villages he disappeared. So with my basic, VERY basic Nepalese, I kept asking locals we came across on our path what the way was to Nama Buddha. We came across one man who spoke basic English (4 kms after hoping of the bus mind you), so between his basic English, and my basic Nepali, we had a general understanding that Nama Buddha was right around the corner. After saying goodbye and rounding the corner we discovered 2 things. Firstly the bus we had been on ends around that corner, and secondly we were now standing at the base of the mountain which Nama Buddha is on top of, and might I add that this was no little mountain either! So we decided to take a vote, majority wins, as to whether or not we attempt the mountain. Today we attempted Nama Buddha, but after a 5km walk due to us getting off the bus far too early, we did not make it up the mountain to the monastery haha! Oh well, at least we tried, right?
Monday 29/12/2008
Monique caught the bus into Banepa this afternoon and we met up with her at the Scheer canteen, our usual meeting place. Brandon took us girls for a walk up to a lookout tower situated on a mountaintop behind the hospital. The walk was really nice! Once again we had beautiful views of countryside’s and villages on the way to the tower, oh and not to mention the public bathing spot we caught a glimpse of on the way. It took us about an hour to reach 
the tower and once we did the views were amazing! Nepal never seizes to amaze me at just how much natural beauty it has to offer. Monique decided to stay the next few nights in Banepa with us as we’ve got a few things on our sight-seeing to-do list we want to tick off. Tomorrow its off to Nama Buddha, a Buddhist monastery located out past Punouti.
the tower and once we did the views were amazing! Nepal never seizes to amaze me at just how much natural beauty it has to offer. Monique decided to stay the next few nights in Banepa with us as we’ve got a few things on our sight-seeing to-do list we want to tick off. Tomorrow its off to Nama Buddha, a Buddhist monastery located out past Punouti. 
Today Stephanie and I set out for a massive walk to Sanga, the next town over from Banepa, in order to see the new Shiva statue Indian investors are creating. Little did we realise, what seemed like not so far on the bus between the towns turned into an 8km walk for us! The views on the way were refreshing though. Still tired from the day of travels yesterday, we appreciated the natural beauties surrounding us on our walk to the statue; hillsides, extremely old buildings 
(which really seemed only to be held up by something no shorter than a miracle haha work place health and safety?), and very friendly villagers. Once we had reached Sanga, Steph told me she was positive she’d seen whilst on the bus a path just past Sanga which led to the statue (which was on top of a mountain). So we decided to search out the path in order to reach the statue. After finding what appeared to be the path we were searching for we began to climb up and round and round the mountain. After a few rock-climbing manoeuvres we reached the top! YEAH! Then as we 
started to walk further on top of the mountain we looked to our left to see the statue, on top of an even BIGGER mountain next to us! Haha AHHHH! So after seeking out another path in order to reach the other mountain and finally the Shiva statue, we were on our way. We passed a few terraces which a man was burning the grass and realised that we had to climb up those terraces because the path we were on came to an end! Talk about an adventure! When we finally reached the statue the sight was breath-taking! Not only was the craftsmanship of the Shiva amazing, but so too the views of the surrounding valleys. If the weather was clearer, we would have been able to see all the way to Kathmandu! Once we left we realised that there was one straight path that went through the town Sanga and straight up to the statue, STEPHANIE! Her response? Whoops! Haha ah well I’m sure not many ‘tourists’ had the chance to experience a mini adventure before reaching Shiva. Needless to say we opted to catch the local bus back rather than walking.
(which really seemed only to be held up by something no shorter than a miracle haha work place health and safety?), and very friendly villagers. Once we had reached Sanga, Steph told me she was positive she’d seen whilst on the bus a path just past Sanga which led to the statue (which was on top of a mountain). So we decided to search out the path in order to reach the statue. After finding what appeared to be the path we were searching for we began to climb up and round and round the mountain. After a few rock-climbing manoeuvres we reached the top! YEAH! Then as we 
started to walk further on top of the mountain we looked to our left to see the statue, on top of an even BIGGER mountain next to us! Haha AHHHH! So after seeking out another path in order to reach the other mountain and finally the Shiva statue, we were on our way. We passed a few terraces which a man was burning the grass and realised that we had to climb up those terraces because the path we were on came to an end! Talk about an adventure! When we finally reached the statue the sight was breath-taking! Not only was the craftsmanship of the Shiva amazing, but so too the views of the surrounding valleys. If the weather was clearer, we would have been able to see all the way to Kathmandu! Once we left we realised that there was one straight path that went through the town Sanga and straight up to the statue, STEPHANIE! Her response? Whoops! Haha ah well I’m sure not many ‘tourists’ had the chance to experience a mini adventure before reaching Shiva. Needless to say we opted to catch the local bus back rather than walking.Saturday 27/12/2008
Ahhhh! 6:00am our alarm went off; an attempt to peel us from our beds and get us to our 7am bus heading back to Kathmandu on time. First attempt, fail. Haha snooze button it is! Actually to be quite honest I think I may have hit the snooze button more than once, none of us wanted to leave Pokhara and the 7am bus was like rubbing salt into the wound of having to leave such an amazing place! The first bus back to Kathmandu took 7 hours, then after a quick bite to eat and picture gazing at Java, Thamel, Steph, Brandon and I were on our final bus back home to Banepa. Monique stayed in Kathmandu as she was planning to soak up what the city has to offer. 2 hours later we arrived in Banepa absolutely exhausted and well and truly ready for bed! Aiming for an early night, Steph and I jumped into bed around 8pm but after chatting away we didn’t end up nodding off till after 10pm. What can I say, get us together and we love a chat!
25/12/2008 Christmas Day
Christmas Day! Well what can I say, we had the most eventful day filled with its highs and lows haha. The morning started off great; we all enjoyed our first sleep in, went to a lovely cafe for a big breakfast, and then headed off to find a place to hire bikes and scooters. After finding a place that hired out both, us S.W.A.P. girls jumped on a scooter each and Brandon a motorbike and we set off for Sarangkot, a mountain which is 
well-known in Pokhara for its spectacular views of the Himalaya’s. After 15-20 minutes into our trip, we looked back to find Steph missing. After pulling over Brandon offered to turn around and go find her whilst Monique and I waited on the side of the road. About 20 minutes after Brandon turned around to track Steph down, he returned saying her bike had broken down. Ke garne? (What to do?) So the three of us went back to where Steph was stranded to see if we could get her bike started. At first we thought she’d had run out of petrol as even though we had paid for petrol at the place we hired the scooters from, we didn’t see the man actually put it in, and let’s face it, this IS Nepal and these things definitely do happen! So after we all decided it must be the fuel, Brandon and Monique rode off to the nearest petrol station to buy petrol. Once they’d gotten there the guy refused to sell them petrol in a bottle, even after they’d explained we had broken down and that’s why we needed it! So after that failed attempt to get fuel, a taxi driver pulled over and asked us if we needed help. YAY! After screaming YES he pulled over and showed us how to drain fuel from Brandon’s bike and put it into Steph’s. Once he’d driven off we gave it ago, and after opening Steph’s fuel tank realised her tank was already full of petrol! We obviously should’ve checked that in the first place haha but when you’re stuck on the side of the road with a broken down scooter on Christmas day, your mind can forget about simple things like that! So after the failed fuel efforts, two Nepali gentlemen were walking past and offered to help (we were coming across very friendly Nepalese people out in Pokhara!). After they had checked over the scooter they called the local mechanic to come and have a look for us. Once he’d arrived and tampered around with it for another 20 minutes and finally he got it started! YAY! We were back on the road, 2 hours later haha. After all the drama we thought it’d be best to take the bikes back, talk to the guy, and try and get our money back. We reached the hire place and after explaining to the guy what had happened, he simply said it wasn’t his problem the scooter had broken down as he’d actually gotten the scooter off another hire place. And since it wasn’t his problem, he wasn’t willing to give us any of our money back! Ah only in Nepal...haha. So we left the hire place and decided to put the day’s events behind us, it’s Christmas after all and we still had all evening to celebrate! We went back to the guest house, freshened up, and then headed out for another night of good food and great live music. So all in all we had an eventful day and a great night, what an awesome way to spend Christmas!
well-known in Pokhara for its spectacular views of the Himalaya’s. After 15-20 minutes into our trip, we looked back to find Steph missing. After pulling over Brandon offered to turn around and go find her whilst Monique and I waited on the side of the road. About 20 minutes after Brandon turned around to track Steph down, he returned saying her bike had broken down. Ke garne? (What to do?) So the three of us went back to where Steph was stranded to see if we could get her bike started. At first we thought she’d had run out of petrol as even though we had paid for petrol at the place we hired the scooters from, we didn’t see the man actually put it in, and let’s face it, this IS Nepal and these things definitely do happen! So after we all decided it must be the fuel, Brandon and Monique rode off to the nearest petrol station to buy petrol. Once they’d gotten there the guy refused to sell them petrol in a bottle, even after they’d explained we had broken down and that’s why we needed it! So after that failed attempt to get fuel, a taxi driver pulled over and asked us if we needed help. YAY! After screaming YES he pulled over and showed us how to drain fuel from Brandon’s bike and put it into Steph’s. Once he’d driven off we gave it ago, and after opening Steph’s fuel tank realised her tank was already full of petrol! We obviously should’ve checked that in the first place haha but when you’re stuck on the side of the road with a broken down scooter on Christmas day, your mind can forget about simple things like that! So after the failed fuel efforts, two Nepali gentlemen were walking past and offered to help (we were coming across very friendly Nepalese people out in Pokhara!). After they had checked over the scooter they called the local mechanic to come and have a look for us. Once he’d arrived and tampered around with it for another 20 minutes and finally he got it started! YAY! We were back on the road, 2 hours later haha. After all the drama we thought it’d be best to take the bikes back, talk to the guy, and try and get our money back. We reached the hire place and after explaining to the guy what had happened, he simply said it wasn’t his problem the scooter had broken down as he’d actually gotten the scooter off another hire place. And since it wasn’t his problem, he wasn’t willing to give us any of our money back! Ah only in Nepal...haha. So we left the hire place and decided to put the day’s events behind us, it’s Christmas after all and we still had all evening to celebrate! We went back to the guest house, freshened up, and then headed out for another night of good food and great live music. So all in all we had an eventful day and a great night, what an awesome way to spend Christmas!Wednesday 24/12/2008 Christmas Eve =]
Christmas Eve and wow what a day! This morning the S.W.A.P. girls plus Brandon (the Canadian volunteer teacher at Scheer), woke up at a chilly 6am to get ready and catch the 7am bus to Pokhara, the ideal destination for relaxation with breath-taking views of the Himalayan mountains. The bus ride to Pokhara seemed surprisingly quick as we only stopped twice, once for 
breakfast and then for lunch. After a very near miss head-on accident with an ambulance, sore bums, and beautiful views of the mountains and rivers Nepal is notorious for, we arrived at our guest house Gauri Shanker in Pokhara at around 3pm. Ah it felt good to be in Pokhara! Stephanie and Monique were amazed at just how clean Pokhara is in comparison to Kathmandu and Banepa. The streets are well maintained, almost litter free, and for the first time in Nepal we seen litter bins in the streets! We were really amazed and happy to see that people were implementing 
litter bins in the streets and people were using them, rather than discarding their rubbish on the ground or in the drains which is the most common case. Could this be a sign of the ‘new Nepal’? This evening we had dinner and found a restaurant with a pool table, much to Monique’s delight haha. After a few games of pool we headed to our next destination, a restaurant with live music! We were all shocked to find a restaurant with a local Nepalese girl singing and playing guitar. The Nepalese acoustic was absolutely amazing! The young lady performed cover songs from various artists and the restaurant quickly filled out. So our Christmas Eve was filled with good food, good pool, good music, and last but not least, good friends.
breakfast and then for lunch. After a very near miss head-on accident with an ambulance, sore bums, and beautiful views of the mountains and rivers Nepal is notorious for, we arrived at our guest house Gauri Shanker in Pokhara at around 3pm. Ah it felt good to be in Pokhara! Stephanie and Monique were amazed at just how clean Pokhara is in comparison to Kathmandu and Banepa. The streets are well maintained, almost litter free, and for the first time in Nepal we seen litter bins in the streets! We were really amazed and happy to see that people were implementing litter bins in the streets and people were using them, rather than discarding their rubbish on the ground or in the drains which is the most common case. Could this be a sign of the ‘new Nepal’? This evening we had dinner and found a restaurant with a pool table, much to Monique’s delight haha. After a few games of pool we headed to our next destination, a restaurant with live music! We were all shocked to find a restaurant with a local Nepalese girl singing and playing guitar. The Nepalese acoustic was absolutely amazing! The young lady performed cover songs from various artists and the restaurant quickly filled out. So our Christmas Eve was filled with good food, good pool, good music, and last but not least, good friends. Tuesday 23/12/2008
This time it was the hospital staff’s turn to present a Christmas program today and boy did they ever! The hospital administrator’s wife, Drusilla, took charge of producing the Scheer staffs’ Christmas program and the outcome was amazing! The program took place in the hospital’s courtyard for all to see; staff that had avoided roles, patients and guests, and the told the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Yet again the costumes were made with such perfection and the atmosphere throughout the hospital was nothing less of Christmas love and delight. It was incredible to see the patients and their families sitting in on the Christmas program and hearing the story of the birth of Jesus Christ for the very first time. After the Christmas drama the S.W.A.P. girls took part in Christmas carols alongside hospital staff. Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas... This evening we caught a taxi in Kathmandu and enjoyed the tasty food OR2k has to offer before heading to bed early in order to drag ourselves out of bed at 6am tomorrow for our long bus ride to Pokhara. Bring on Pokhara! 
Monday 22/12/2008
The primary school on Scheer Memorial Hospital’s grounds today had their annual Christmas program and we had the privilege of being among the audience of excited parents and relatives! As the classes went through their well-rehearsed performances; dances, songs and drama’s, we sat there watching the parents beam with pride. It was great to see that majority of parents had come along to watch their children take part in the performances. The 
costumes were made with such detail and it was so lovely to see the children wearing their costumes with utter delight! This evening after the school Christmas program the S.W.A.P. girls headed to the hospital canteen to sip chai and enjoy the feeling of not having appointment after appointment to rush off to. Christmas joy was in the air and we were making the most out of our relaxation time!
costumes were made with such detail and it was so lovely to see the children wearing their costumes with utter delight! This evening after the school Christmas program the S.W.A.P. girls headed to the hospital canteen to sip chai and enjoy the feeling of not having appointment after appointment to rush off to. Christmas joy was in the air and we were making the most out of our relaxation time! Sunday 21/12/2008
Today seen the very sad departure of Rei from Nepal and back to life in Australia. As sad as I’m sure he was to leave us, he couldn’t hide his excitement of getting back to Aus to see Jenny (his wife) and their little babu (their son Tahne). Our dear Nepalese friend Rajesh (the engineer helping S.W.A.P. Inc with the Respite Centre) came to the airport to say good bye and wished Rei the best of luck in Australia with fundraising for the Respite Centre. We left the airport with the feeling of one team member down, but we were really looking forward to some much needed girl down-time! When us girls arrived back in Banepa we found ourselves in the canteen counting down Rei’s arrival to Aus. “Ah Rei’s only 4 hours away, whooo....Ah Rei’s only 1 hour away, whooo....WOW Rei would be home right now!”.
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