Namaste! - Nepali language class (Part 1)

Tapaai:ko naam ke ho?
Mero naam Hari ho. (For the duration of this trip to Nepal my name has changed from Hardy to Hari.)
Mero deshko naam Germany ho.

Our intensive (6 day per week) Nepali language class has commenced on Monday this week. Comfortably seated in the garden of our guesthouse the learnings of the first two days can be summarized as follows:

• Words: ~150
• Major concepts: pronunciation, pronouns, sentence structure, numbers 1-10, possessive pronouns and commands

Through homework we got to know most family members and friends of most of the guesthouse staff members (Subash, Ganesh, Sunsa and Bhupen) and our fellow students have been sent around in the garden practicing 'commands'. 

Most practically in many cases it is possible to slip in the English word if one does not know (yet) the Nepali vocable. The grammar seems to be quite regular although 'to be' (hunu) is highly irregular with two forms (ho/chha) depending on the context and a positive (e.g. I am) and negative (I am not) form. 

Let's see the coming lessons...

Nepal business and technology update

In one sentence:

• The fastest speed for broadband internet offered by Nepal Telecom at the moment is 256k.
• PM Bhattarai praised by media for choosing Nepal-assembled SUV 'Golchha Mustang'. (For details see BBC news.)
• Mobile payment is accepted in a shoe shop on Durbar Marg, Kathmandu's fanciest street.
• One minute talk time on Ncell's network, Nepal's first private sector mobile provider, to another Ncell mobile is 1.99 Rs. (~€0.02).  
• Currently a service charge of 10% and VAT of 13% is added to all restaurant bills.
• Nepal steps five ranks up to 125th in Global Competitiveness Index out of 142nd countries in 2011/12, according to Nepalnews.com. - If you continue on reading it says: Nepal is ranked at 141st in infrastructure, standing last at 142nd on quality electricity supply this year as well.

Sponsor us now - Click here!

From September this year we will spend 3 months in Nepal, volunteering for Foundation Nepal and delivering English training to teachers in the remote region of Humla to help improve education standards.

Foundation Nepal is doing some amazing work helping the Humla community to get out of the extreme poverty cycle and driving them towards self-sufficiency. You can read more below or on http://www.foundation-nepal.org/

As part of our fundraising efforts, Julie will run the Flora Mini-Marathon in Dublin on June 6th. For our Google friends, we will have a fundraising day on May 27th with Nepalese dance and yoga workshops and a Nepalese-themed TGIF including a raffle so you have a few options to choose from if you wish to help Foundation Nepal!

Supporting is easy: You can donate using the "sponsor me now" button below via credit or debit card. You can be assured that your transaction on the mycharity.ie website is very secure. You will automatically receive an e-mail from us thanking you for your support, and acknowledging the amount of your donation.

Please help us in our little effort with your donation! :-) Any donation no matter how small is hugely appreciated by the Nepalese children, Foundation Nepal and us. – You can find more information about Foundation Nepal below.

Dhanybhad (thank you),

Julie and Hardy

Foundation Nepal – Giving a hand up, not a hand out

Foundation Nepal (formerly The Nepalese Children’s Foundation) is an Irish registered charity that helps the most vulnerable in highly disadvantaged Nepali communities to work their way out of poverty. We operate in remote Himalayan villages in the most impoverished part of Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world. Chronic food shortages are common, with 65% of children under five suffering from malnutrition, and in some communities, only 70% of children living to see their fifth birthday. 


The empowerment of women and low caste families lies at the heart of our approach. We support local communities with food production, micro-finance and micro-business, healthcare and education. We’re not into short-term gain. Instead, we assist communities to lay the groundwork for a truly self-sufficient future.

Managed by successful senior business people, Foundation Nepal invests donor funds in the most efficient way possible to bring about lasting solutions to poverty. This business-like approach to the charity world permeates all aspects of our work, combining altruism with effectiveness.

(Source: http://www.foundation-nepal.org/)