Joy Cometh in the Morning

weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. -psalm 30:5 I was holding my grandfather’s hand when he died. To this day, I can remember exactly what it felt like. His skin was warm and slick. His pulse had been getting weaker throughout the day, his breathing more shallow, and I […]

And then Continue Onward: Part 1

Terminology in this post: High school=9-10th grades; College=11-12; University=our college 8% of Nepali girls will graduate from 10th grade (which is graduating from high school). Of those, less than 1% will score high enough on the national high school graduation exam to qualify for scholarship for university. In the history of the village where I […]

A story of time

My grandparents, like all old people, owned four hundred and seventy three clocks. There were clocks made of wood, clocks with dainty flowers around the edges, clocks imbedded in plaques, and my personal favorite, a clock of the shiniest gold-plated metal that had two columns that spun. My grandmother always had the TV on to […]

A patch of green grass.

It’s been a while since I’ve written. Part of that was that med school keeps me busy. Part of it was that I couldn’t think of what I could write about that would be anywhere near as interesting as my past. Part of it was that once I stopped, it was hard to start again. […]

An(other) election

On our election day, I wanted to write about my experience witnessing Nepal’s first general/local election after the long civil war. The civil war was in some part a fight to hold local elections for all citizens. In the days leading up the election, various political parties (at the time there were 57!) would go […]

Live from (Syracuse) New York

Check out the photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EkavMyVktWcaN89n9 (I can’t post the photos here because they’re higher resolution than my hosting site allows, and I can’t be bothered to resize all of them.) Notes: I would like to thank the South Side Innovation Center and the residents of Syracuse’s South Side for their hospitality. I obtained consent […]

Three Shadows in Unfamiliar Hills

There is a pressing issue facing Nepali society, but I was never really that interested in it: Over 10% of Nepalis (and over 50% of young men) are currently working abroad. In addition to the “brain drain”, where Nepal’s brightest minds go to live permanently in other countries, many low skilled workers are attracted to […]

Tales from the Front of the Class, Part 3

Four-Year-Olds are (not) so Cute I had secretly always wanted to teach little kids, just a few times, but I didn’t have time to add another class onto my teaching schedule when I lived there. So last week, when a primary-level teacher asked me to fill in for their first grade class of 45 four […]

I’m back.

As I was saying my goodbyes to everyone in Nepal, I was always asked one question, “when are you coming back?” And my answer was always the same: I’ll be back in two or three years. My sister was with me when I was saying goodbye to the village, and as we drove away, she […]

Where to Now?

I majored in employment practices and theories, yet I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when I graduated. There were many different ideas and visions for what I could do: teacher, musician, corporate HR, lawyer, diplomat; I heard it all. I studied for the LSAT, GRE, and (a few years […]

Something Like This

The scheduled post for today was about some of the challenges I’ve been facing. I’m in such good spirits though, that I wanted to talk about that instead. This week, my girls’ empowerment program has been going exceptionally well, all thanks to the girls and the enthusiasm and curiosity they bring to everything they do. I’m […]

A Day in the Life

Every day is different, especially in regards to the challenges and successes, but here’s a glimpse at today 4am: Get woken up by the rest of the family starting work. The women start each morning by wiping the floors with cow manure (since cows are gods in their religion) to welcome the gods into our home. […]

Hospitals: A Saga in Three Parts

In this week’s edition of “Katie does extreme things to entertain her friends,” I visit three hospitals in a 5 day period for you. You’re welcome. Let’s begin. Part one: the Health Post The first one was the local health post. It’s a beautiful building- the original health post was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, […]

Day Two and Dog Bites

My second day in the village, I decided to go for a hike up to the next hill. The Himalayas were very clear that day, and I was eager to view them from a different perspective. I laced up my hiking boots and walked for around an hour until I reached the next peak over […]

My first day

When I arrived with the Fulbright program team in my new village, there was little fanfare. The village leaders and school staff expecting me had waited from 1pm, but at around 7:30, when the sun set, they gave up and went home. When we finally arrived at 8, I stood in front of the locked gates. […]