NAMASTE dear readers,

to a place where to share our thoughts about nepali culture and specially about women in Nepal. A little diary about my experiences, my work, my feelings, my travels, and other thinkings that might come on the way. Thanks to a grant than the Omprakash foundation (www.omprakash.org) gave to me, I arrived ten days ago to Nepal, the country where the ice-cold Himalaya meets the hot rice-crop plains, the land of temples, architectural heritage and religious festivals, a mystic territory where to learn about oneself and where to integrate mind and body, both as a single.

For nine months I will be working with Raksha Nepal (Protection Nepal) an NGO dedicated to women who have been exploited into sex work (www.rakshanepal.org.np). They dedicate themselves “to those women whom circumstances have forced to support themselves and their children through painful and life-threatening prostitution”. Have a look at their webpage to learn more!

We will little by little understand what reasons lead these women to begin prostitution, we will learn more about the conflict that took place in the country, which is one main reason for the society to leave the countryside and start a new live (most of the times: much harder and worse) in the capital, Kathmandu; we will learn more about many other traditions and day to day life in this patriarchal society, and about who, why and how did Raksha started.

As for now, just tell you that I wake up every day with my Nepali phrasebook and dictionary under my arm, trying to learn more about their language. It is actually the first time I travel to somewhere where I don’t speak the language, and I can tell you is pretty difficult to undergo 24 hours a day with no clue of external conversations and what people are really saying…

I don’t really know yet if time here flies or flows slowly...

I will find out, and let you know!

Sending big warm hugs to all of you from this chaotic city,

i say goodbye for now,

till next entry!

TAKE CARE!

:)