1. Stayed at my post during school vacations and the monsoon. Some six months into my service, when I attended a volunteer conference in Pokhara, I was surprised to learn that some volunteers spent a lot of time traveling around visiting each other or hanging out in Kathmandu. There was a big intra-volunteer party scene which I could not participate in because my village was so isolated. On the one hand, this was demoralizing for me, as I felt left out of volunteer culture and a big support network they had for one another. On the other hand, every time that I stayed at my post when I could have left, something very important or significant happened there. During the monsoon in 1997, I got so bored in my village with no class to teach and rain every day, I decided to see if Nari and Isari Karki could learn to read English better. These two girls were my neighbors. They were cousins and had been two of my worst students in their regular English class. They were real troublemakers. I didn't like them very much. But I was very bored and I had some children's books in English my mother had sent me from America. So I walked down the muddy path to Isari's house one afternoon and we sat down on a wet log under the mango tree and she fell in love with a Dr.Suess book called "Hop on Pop." She asked if Nari could come and read too, and of course she could, and the three of us sat down every afternoon for the rest of the rainy season with Dr. Suess and other books on our laps. By the time school started again, they were by far the best English students in the fourth grade and maybe the whole school. It gave me a real sense of accomplishment to see them improve. Plus, they began to do little favors for me like fetching water from the well and giving me fruit. I remember one evening after teaching them at Nari's house, when it was getting dark and I was dreading going back to my hut to cook by myself, I said, "Nari, tell your mother to feed me supper." After teaching the two girls for months, I felt like it was the least they could do for me. Their family seemed delighted that I had asked, but a kind of nervous panic broke out. They were very poor, and they did not think that the food they had would be good enough for an American. Their older sister explained to me that all they had was wheat flour and water to make roti with, which I assured her was my favorite thing in the world all by itself. I climbed up the stone steps into their kitchen. This was a real privlege because the brahmins never let me into their kitchen for religious reasons. The Karkis were not brahmins so I could sit on the floor watching them cook over the fire. They had a simple stone house with dirt floors. At night the fire and a kerosene lantern gave the only light. Nari made the dough. Her older sister cooked. Their mother sat with them talking. They had a beautiful way of being together in their kitchen, sitting, saying little, feeding the fire. I felt full of peace. Anyway, none of this would have happened if I hadn't stayed at my post during the monsoon with nothing to do. I could have gone to Kathmandu and drank beer and played softball at Phora Durbar. Many volunteers did. I am glad that I didn't.

2. Accepted all invitations. After swearing in and traveling to my village, I learned the house where I was supposed to live was not ready for me. One of the teachers, Parmananda Joshi, suggested that I go visit him at his house in Gokule until my house would be finished. I just picked up and left with him. He lived three hours away, walking. It seems a bit risky maybe to walk away with a perfect stranger for an unknown place, but I did this kind of thing quite a lot, and it usually worked out. Word got around that if you stopped me on the path and invited me to eat supper or sleep overnight, that I would. Once a couple people had done this, everyone wanted me to stay overnight at their house. It got kind of tiring for me. Other people's houses were not as comfortable as mine. Bed bugs bit me all night long. Bowel movements were a problem. Nobody had toilets or outhouses or anything, and it could be tricky finding a private place in the jungle away from home. But overall, it was good for me and good for them that I made all these excursions and met so many folks.

3. Finished the two years. By the end I was emotionally and physically exhausted. More than a third of the volunteers in my group had chosen to early terminate (leave before completing service) and you couldn't really blame them. People asked me when I got back, "What was Nepal like?" and I told them, "It was really hard." If I had known beforehand how hard it would be, I might never have applied. But once you're in, you're in, and it really is an accomplishment to finish. Every volunteer in Nepal thinks to himself sometimes, perhaps many times, "This is a waste of my time." Even if you're a wizard and miracle-worker, it is impossible to be as productive there as you would be in the United States, surrounded by other wizards who share your same culture. How important is time to you? If you stick it out, you will see at the end that all that marginally productive time left a deep mark on your soul.

1. Taught like crazy. I ignored everything Peace Corps told me about laying low for the first three months to scope things out. I started teaching computer classes for youth as soon as I could. By the end of my service I had taught hundreds of people, youth and adults, and some of them found employment thanks to their improved computer literacy. People would literally stop me on the street to ask when the next class was starting which they could enroll in.

2. Wrote a journal. Writing stuff down turned out to be a good way to release anger and frustration (or mourn unrequieted love). I had never been much of a journal writer before, but a friend gave me a journal as a going-away present and after filling it I bought and filled another. I am glad that I have this written record of the two years, and regretful of not having kept a journal in Nepal.

3. Became part of a family. Although I didn't sleep there, I spent more time at Daisy and Alejandro's house in my second year than I did at my own. I was able to get to know their family in a very deep and meaningful way which I will always remember.