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 […]

The 45-Day School Break

“Rice” is one of the most common words I speak every day. Whenever two people meet, the proper greeting is to ask each other if they’ve eaten rice yet. “Tapaailaai bhat khanubhyo?” The richest families in the village own rice paddies and the other families work in them. We have a 45-day rice planting break […]

Photos: Girls’ Club

Pictures of my incredible students when we worked with a local NGO to create reusable sanitary pads and talk about women’s health. Every day with them is an awesome day.  

Teeth, Monkeys, and Soap

Can you imagine growing up in one room with eleven other kids? Spending 24 hours every day with each other, sharing a bed, and looking out for each other? Every day, I spend time with my province’s students with disabilities, who are based at my school. There are twelve students that live full-time in a […]

Another Unexpected Post

I’m back! Just when you thought you could get rid of me, I’m sneaking another guest blog post in. That’s right, Katie’s dad here to rob you of a few more precious minutes of your time. Think of me as a bad rash—I may go away for a while, but I always return. When you […]

For Others

Remember the post about some difficult decisions I make each day? Well, that was a bit of a cop-out. There are real problems with major life impact that don’t have easy solutions. Here are some really challenging situations that have come up (as always, details have been changed): 1. I was sitting in the school’s […]