What a fun time I've had recently!
Coming home from a conference in NYC back in mid-September, I shared a row on the plane with some scared and very out-of-place looking people. Any of you who know me very well, will know that I love most foreigners (almost to a fault) and I love talking to strangers. So, I struck up a conversation with them. In broken english, they explained to me that they were from the very distant country of Bhutan, which neighbors Nepal. They became refugees living for 17 years in a camp in Nepal due to religious and ethnic cleansing in Bhutan. (that is the short story of it...for more info, google "Bhutanese refugees in Nepal")
Coming home from a conference in NYC back in mid-September, I shared a row on the plane with some scared and very out-of-place looking people. Any of you who know me very well, will know that I love most foreigners (almost to a fault) and I love talking to strangers. So, I struck up a conversation with them. In broken english, they explained to me that they were from the very distant country of Bhutan, which neighbors Nepal. They became refugees living for 17 years in a camp in Nepal due to religious and ethnic cleansing in Bhutan. (that is the short story of it...for more info, google "Bhutanese refugees in Nepal")
Anyways, through great international effort, many Bhutanese are now being resettled all over the world.
Somehow, I have been blessed to be on the receiving end now, of a very special friendship. Below are two of my friends Kumari in orange and Maya in white both about age 20.
(note the colorful Nepalese scarf they draped over me as a token of their friendship ;))
Below are three of the four young guys who have been also very special to me. Narayan, 17 years old, is on the left in the gray sweatshirt, Bikash, 16, is in the middle and Narayan's younger brother Pashu Pati, 16 is on the right.
Here they are again, all excited about their new computer!
Below was a very special day when some family members of the above friends arrived. Maya, Narayan and Pashu Pati's aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparents arrived. They invited me to come to their new home to welcome them. In the photo below, they are searching frantically for their I- 94 forms which allow them to stay in the US.
(thankfully they did find them, after a short scare)
Below is Gopi Neopane, the mother of the three Neopane kids I've mentioned earlier, with Asmitah, her 5 year old neice on her first day arriving in the U.S.
Still not used to the coooold Syracuse weather, the Bhutanese often sport coats and hats indoors. But they are also great hosts, always serving tea, milk and ethnic food to their guests.
Gopi Neopane's Grandparents on the day they arrived...so tired.
Maya and her cousin Asmitah.
Vegetables are always on the menu at the Neopane home.
Being treated as a welcome new part of the family. They call me DiDi (which means sister)
We had a blast at the Museum of Science and Technology and then watched the Majestic India movie and Ring of fire about Earthquakes.
Rock wall climbing at the MOST.
Below was a very special day when some family members of the above friends arrived. Maya, Narayan and Pashu Pati's aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparents arrived. They invited me to come to their new home to welcome them. In the photo below, they are searching frantically for their I- 94 forms which allow them to stay in the US.
(thankfully they did find them, after a short scare)
Below is Gopi Neopane, the mother of the three Neopane kids I've mentioned earlier, with Asmitah, her 5 year old neice on her first day arriving in the U.S.
Still not used to the coooold Syracuse weather, the Bhutanese often sport coats and hats indoors. But they are also great hosts, always serving tea, milk and ethnic food to their guests.
Gopi Neopane's Grandparents on the day they arrived...so tired.
Maya and her cousin Asmitah.
Vegetables are always on the menu at the Neopane home.
Being treated as a welcome new part of the family. They call me DiDi (which means sister)
We had a blast at the Museum of Science and Technology and then watched the Majestic India movie and Ring of fire about Earthquakes.
Rock wall climbing at the MOST.
Stay tuned for more great photos to come! (Lord Willing)
