Don't Insist on English!

Check out this new TED talk by Patricia Ryan who has spent the last 40 years teaching English in the Arabian Gulf.  More on Patricia Ryan.

"At TEDxDubai, longtime English teacher Patricia Ryan asks a provocative question: Is the world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? (For instance: what if Einstein had to pass the TOEFL?) It's a passionate defense of translating and sharing ideas."

The Nepali Brick Industry

Kathmandu was a stronghold of the national government during the civil war of the late 90's and early 2000's.  Because the Valley was significantly safer than outlying areas many people moved for security reasons.  The population of the Kathmandu Valley has, according to some estimates, doubled in the past 20 years (from 2 to 4 million).  A consequence of this population growth is an ongoing boom in residential construction.  Many of the buildings in urban and semi-urban Nepal are built predominantly of brick.  Much of the Valley's bricks come from Lalitpur district, which lies just south of Kathmandu proper, and happens to be where I live with my family. 

The fields surrounding my village are strewn with brick factory smoke stacks such as this one.  

Bricks are made by mixing water with the top couple meters of soil and clay from fields.

A close up of the bricks in a stack as they dry.  Notice the swastika imprinted on the bricks.  In Hindu culture, the swastika is an auspicious symbol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika).

After bricks are formed they are piled up to dry.

People carry amazingly heavy loads of bricks on their backs.

Stacking bricks in a truck for transport.

Bricks are moved to construction sites.

A view of Kathmandu proper over a pile of drying bricks.  The brick structure on the left is a temporary home constructed by migrant workers.

Another Fulbright grantee, Taylor Weidman, has some outstanding shots (click here) from a nearby brick kiln.

Tribhuvan University: The Gem of Nepali Higher Education

Tribhuvan University (TU), established in 1959, is the oldest university in Nepal.  Including its many affiliates TU has a student body of about 300,000 students.  The University has an impressive offering of different courses and programs.  I visited the main campus in Kathmandu to check out the campus life. 

Students sitting on top of some academic building.  The combination of roaming students, scorched ground, and trash piles reminded me of a fraternity house on a spring afternoon.

The volleyball match between the Library Science and Education departments was well attended.

Students watch the match.

Nyaya Health Country Director Position Available

An interesting job posting in public health in Nepal.
Job Posting

About Nyaya: Nyaya Health operates a hospital and mobile medical care services in Achham, a large district in Nepal. Achham is one of the poorest regions in South Asia, and shoulders some of the world’s highest mortality rates, particularly among women. Following a decade-long civil conflict, the health infrastructure of the region has been ravaged. Nyaya provides essential primary care to the region, as requested and directed by community members. We work in partnership with local government officials as part of an initiative to rebuild the public sector health system. We construct healthcare infrastructure, train local health workers, and provide direct medical services. Our organization employs an all-Nepali staff with supervision and training from volunteer public health experts. We maintain an “open source” approach involving complete transparency in our expenditures, operations protocols, and clinical outcomes, which are detailed on this website.

About the position: The Country Director (CD) plays a critical role in the administration of the organization through the oversight of Nyaya’s work in Nepal. The CD will work full-time in Achham and coordinate closely with Nyaya team members in Kathmandu and outside of Nepal, helping to manage and respond to daily operational needs of the organization. This position will include elements of team management, strategic planning, program management and research coordination, as well as support for critical development, networking and fundraising activities. The role requires a commitment to social justice work and an excitement to work in a dynamic and challenging personal and professional environment.

Job Posting

Keeping Girls in School

The Asia Society is hosting an event in Washington, DC to discuss the topic of "Keeping Girls in School." From the Asia Society Website:

"The issue of gender-based educational rights remains a challenge for many Asian countries, particularly in rural areas. There are many reasons why girls have no access to basic education or drop out from schools. These include economic considerations, gender bias, safety, lack of adequate school facilities within their neighborhoods, and absence of female role models in schools.  Girls' education is vital to a country's development because it promotes investment in human resources and is capable of raising living standards and encouraging social stability if managed well." 

This topic is germane to Nepal's educational system.  At my school, which is semi-rural, about 70% of the students are girls.  In Nepal there is a huge private school industry where the private schools' main difference from public schools is the use of English as the sole medium for teaching.   A good English background is a top educational objective for many families. So, if families have enough money to afford private school they will choose to send a boy leaving the girls to go to the public schools.  Granted there are lots of boys and girls who do not attend school at all, this sexual bias creates an interesting dynamic in the classroom and school.

Hello Again! and some photos from my village

My next door neighbor working on some bikes.

My homestay pops stretching it out in front of our house.