KATRINA ORCINO, PERSONAL PASSAGE 2008
KATRINA ORCINO, PERSONAL PASSAGE 2008
“For the past two-and-a-half weeks, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help restore and preserve one of the last remaining traditional Sherpa homes in the Khumjung village of the Everest region. I cleaned layers and layers of dust off of many of the home’s household goods, tools, and art, such as wall paintings, statues, and woodcarvings. It was interesting to imagine how these items were used hundreds of years ago, and yet still retain their traditional charm. It was an honor and privilege for me to work on this particular home because it belongs to the noted Sherpa mountaineer, Pertemba Sherpa, who summited Mt. Everest three times and has led numerous expeditions in the Himalayas. With continued work on the house, Pertemba proposes to turn it into a center for preservation of Sherpa culture. It will open to visitors as a museum and give locals a medium to gain insight into their own culture. I had a really great time in Khumjung–living with my home stay family, working on the Sherpa Heritage House, going around the village and experiencing local culture–but the trek up and back was an equally great experience. Although the trails were rough on my feet, passing through the most picturesque villages and meeting the friendliest people along the way was all worth it.
Since coming back from the trek, I have resumed my language classes with my teacher Manjul, as well as my architecture internship with my mentor Siddarth that I started a few days after I arrived in Nepal. I’m learning so much from each of them. I’ve been learning Nepali with Manjul one-on-one, which I think has really been beneficial for me as compared to the usual classroom setting I’m used to back in the U.S. Manjul makes learning Nepali a lot of fun because he always has so many stories and life experiences to share and is very charismatic by nature.
With Siddarth, I’m learning about the architecture of Nepal in context with people’s psychology. We go on site visits, I make observations, we have in-depth discussions about why people in Nepal are the way they are and how it has affected local architecture and the urban landscape. One would never think that something like a round-shaped soap or a rug with “low self-esteem” would have anything to do with architecture, but interestingly enough, things like that do. It’s an interesting aspect of environmental psychology that few people have explored, so I’m sure that what I’m learning will have many implications for whatever direction I decide to take with my career in the future.
Along with my language classes and internship, I am living with a home stay family in Kumaripati. I really couldn’t ask for a better family to not only live with, but also experience traditional Nepalese culture at home. Fufu is a fantastic cook and takes such good care of me. The kids Kavita and Krishna are always so much fun to be around, whether they’re helping me with my Nepali or just hanging out with me and playing games. I really do feel as if they are my second family because they have made me feel so at home. So far everyone I’ve met here has been nothing but nice to me and for that I couldn’t be more grateful. I’m really enjoying myself here so I just hope the next five weeks don’t fly by as fast as the first! Either way, I definitely plan to come back.”
