my cup runneth over

My heart is overcome with gratitude. My body literally cannot contain it.

2011 has been good to me. SO good.

The first half of this year, I worked hard to figure out my dream.

The second half of this year, I lived my dream.

...

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

...

one of my favorite shots of the year

caught up.

First things first:

Nepal. My life.

How did you two get mixed together? I still can’t believe I get to live here. How blessed is my life.

And now I will admit what you all already know—I am really lame and never update this blog! I do have some excuses though. First, we had a Choice expedition (so fun) AND my sister flew to Nepal AND Christmas of course! Plus, I’ve spent the majority of this month out in some rad remote villages with no access to internet. Hence the lame blogging (or lack of).

AH I have so many stories. I have so much HAPPINESS in my SOUL! An uninhibited and adventurous sort of happiness.

Because I have so many stories I will break them into different posts. This specific post is dedicated to the CHOICE Expedition and all the stories, friends and pictures that were experienced!

It is truly amazing to meet a group of people, young and old, who will not only save money to fly here, but take a week out of their lives to volunteer! I had no doubt that everyone coming would be awesome, and they absolutely were.

Aaaand…it was so great to have people who speak my native tongue to laugh and talk with. I’m sure they got sick of little chatty Kathy, but eh…ke garne!

The whole experience did make me wonder how I will re-adjust back into America. I’ve determined that I will either be really comfortable with Americans or reaaaally awkward and uncomfortable. If you see me walking down the street wearing long socks, slippers, hippie pants and a big yak wool sweater, singing some Nepali song to myself, please give me a hug and talk to me--even if I respond in Nepali. Haha.

Here are some pictures from the week.

I think my favorite from the trip:

"America"

what a rebel

My new camera, Brooney, would like to show off. Enjoy :)

Sahara

Sariah

kooks that i love

Ama

Kathmandu Branch Primary

L O V E

xoxo,

Kate

nosrep yzarc a ma i

Sometimes (most of the time)

I look like a completely ridiculous person.

....Proooobably because I am a completely ridiculous person.

No matter what country I live in, this is generally true. But in Nepal - where I stick out like an American in Nepal...oh wait - it is especially true.

Don't believe me? Doubt it. But I'll give you some real life examples anyways.

Example #1: The Bus

Yes, I know, I have mentioned how ridiculous I am on the bus before. But it is seriously so hilarious that I am writing about it again. Now, besides the huge american body that gets in the way and the priceless looks I get, there is a whole nother (WHAT? IS NOTHER A WORD???) ridiculous aspect of me riding the bus.

Finding and flagging down the RIGHT bus.

Imagine 50 buses flying past you with only Nepali writing on them, and you are supposed to find the one going to New Baneshwor. Not as easy as it sounds...cause it sounds so easy right?

I have adopted a strategy. And it is very smart and tricky, if I do say so myself.

I stand on the side of the road and whenever a bus passes, I flag them down like I know with all my heart that it is MY bus. Then when they pull up I ask them "New Baneshwor, New Baneshwor???"

They proceed to say no and drive on, very angry with the stupid (genius) white girl who slowed them down.

and BOOYAH! Eventually I always find one going home!

Then there is the challenge of getting the bus to stop at my corner. When I am sitting in the seat in the far back corner, no one can hear my pleas for help! So I have to get over my embarrassment, and just scream "BHAI! RATNARAJYA!!" (that translates to: Hey dude, drop me off at my corner called Ratnarajya)

then everyone stares at me and moves for me to get out. I politely say thank you and jump off (8/10 times smacking my head on the way out).

Nepal Microbus (BFF).

18 people can be crammed in one of these. Without counting the driver and money boy.

Example #2: Grocery Shopping

I am slowly learning that I need to accept the fact that I have no privacy here. Especially in the grocery store. While on my monthly excursion to the grocery store, people seriously FOLLOW me around the store, wondering what-in-ganesh's-name a foreigner would buy at a grocery store. Um....food?

My favorite is when I get to the shampoo aisle and a flock of teenage girls follow my every move, wondering what shampoo I will buy. Sometimes I linger and then quickly rush back and forth between Garnier Fructis to Loreal in a frenzy, just to add some excitement to their lives (and mine).

I don't even attempt to buy rice. With so many different kinds, I can only imagine how much laughter that would bring.

In other news, I found NESTLE HOT CHOCOLATE. thazwazzzup. It is also mandarin season here. It won't be hard to guess what Kate's ENTIRE diet consists of.

Back to how much of a fool I look like constantly.

Example #3: My attempts at playing Cricket.

I am pretty embarrassed - but not enough to not post it on the world wide web - that I had no idea what cricket was when I moved here.

I honestly thought it was the game you played in the grass with the upside down hammer and the little metal things stuck in the grass. I don't even know what that game is called, now that I know it's definitely not Cricket.

GAH my stupidity amazes me sometimes.

For the last 5 minutes I have tried to find out what that game is called (with the upside down hammers) and I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT. whoever tells me wins one of these:

Boy or Girl? No one will ever know...

Back to cricket (with bats and ballers).

There is a court close to my house, and when the kids play, I convince them to let me bat. The only rule is that they have to throw the ball softly. I play with them until I hit the ball, which is when I proceed to throw the bat and run home yelling "HOME RUN!!!"

....I totally don't annoy them AT ALL.

So, my case is closed. I am a crazy person.

Next thing you know, I'll be doing something insane like moving to Nepal.

xoxo,

Kate

(Oh, and I'm totally listening to Justin Bieber right now)

worm before the butterfly

Yesterday I was thinking. About myself.

Haha. self centered much?

But seriously.

I was thinking about who I am.

What does that even mean?

I was asking, how did I get where I am right now?

When I was a child,

who told me that I was courageous enough?

Because I had to be, coming on this journey.

who taught me that I am a daughter of God?

Because I know that with all of my heart.

who secured the belief in me that my family loves me?

Because I know that they do.

who taught me to never stop exploring?

who taught me to love my neighbor?

who told me that I was enough?

Dear mom&dad,

Mrs. Hamasaki,

Sharon H,

Ms. Banker,

Kristin H,

Nikki S,

Mr. Jones,

Sarah P,

Mr. Herzog,

Bishop Merrill,

Gma+Gpa Hargadon/Madsen

Steve C,

Linda F,

Diana T,

Anna, David & Caroline

+ all my friends(maaaajor kooks. haha),

teachers and mentors,

and most of all, my Heavenly Father

...Thank You.

It was you that prepared me for this journey. In every way that I needed.

Every day that I am here, and every day for the rest of my life,

I hope to make YOU proud.

And someday I hope to instill the same

courage, faith, boldness, love, hope, joy, worth and strength

that you gave to me, in my own children.

Love,

Kate/Katiebaby/Katiebird

Ps, if you have not read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, go buy it NOW and read it in the parking lot. Don't let the fact that you will probably find it in the children's section deter you from your mission of purchase.

Here is one of my favorite quotes of the book:

“You know, there’s a place we all inhabit, but we don’t much think about it, we’re scarcely conscious of it, and it lasts for less than a minute a day….It’s in the morning, for most of us. It’s that time, those few seconds when we’re coming out of sleep but we’re not really awake yet. For those few seconds we’re something more primitive than what we are about to become. We have just slept the sleep of our most distant ancestors, and something of them and their world still clings to us. For those few moments we are unformed, uncivilized. We are not the people we know as ourselves, but creatures more in tune with a tree than a keyboard. We are untitled, unnamed, natural, suspended between was and will be, the tadpole before the frog, the worm before the butterfly. We are, for a few brief moments, anything and everything we could be. And then… and then–ah–we open our eyes and the days is before us, and–we become ourselves.”

Photo Credit: Kushal Bista

(the bum photographer who came along on our village trip in August)

Now, go hug your mom and eat some cheezits-white cheddar specifically.

(what I would do if I were home)

Love you allllllllllllllll

-Keti bainey

you can't trust em all

Sometimes

we know the answer

before we even ask the question.

PS, I got to climb this amazing rock wall in a village called Puranokot. Thanks to a previous intern here, three village boys have been trained and can earn money in this business. Oh, and it totally is harder than the picture shows. Yes, I'm sups hardcore.