Marybeth Bond’s Blog

What small town recently won the “Great American Main Street Award” from the National Trust for Historic Preservation? I visited it last week….yes it’s picturesque Greenville, located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountain, in northwestern South Carolina. This charming Southern town vibrates with energy and Southern charm.  I strolled up Main Street past fountains and historic statues and discovered crashing waterfalls, concert halls, art galleries, warm hospitality and tempting restaurants.

Maple and oak trees form a leafy canopy over North Main Street, which is lined with small stores, coffee shops, eateries, the Performing Arts Center and at the end of the street is the crown jewel; the historic, elegant, Four Diamond,  Poinsett Hotel.  A half block from the hotel you’ll find Liberty Bridge and a park with waterfalls! Yes! That’s right, waterfalls right in the middle of town.

High Cotton, an upscale seafood and Southern cuisine is perched above the falls. (Perhaps you’ve dined at High Cotton, the famous sister restaurant in Charleston). Too bad I wasn’t in town for the Sunday Brunch to listen to live Jazz and watch people promenade through Falls Park and the Reedy River splash over the rocks and cascade below the windows. Oh well, next time.  My next time should be May-October when there is a Shakespeare Festival in the park. 

For New Orleans BBQ shrimp or green fried tomatoes dine at Soby’s with New South Cuisine, housed in a renovated 1884 bicycle shop. Save room for the sinful white chocolate banana cream pie.

The crown jewel of the downtown area is Falls Park, with a long suspension bridge, gardens and 60′ waterfall.

Next blog: Where can you visit the largest single collection of Andrew Wyeth and Jackson Pollack paintings?   

In January my daughter and I visited Olga Murray in Kathmandu. Her story helps us all see that “ONE WOMAN CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE”. We met her kids and saw first-hand the work she’s done at the homes for children.

It all started in 1984 when, on her first trip to Asia, Olga found herself captivated by the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. “I got off the plane in Kathmandu and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the land, the exotic surroundings, but most of all by the children. They were poor beyond anything I had ever experienced – dressed in rags and dirt, malnourished, mostly unschooled, but with an amazing capacity for joy. I thought that for the price of a good haircut, I could make a huge difference in their lives.’” So she returned to the USA determined, somehow, to do just that.

By raiding her own savings, and securing donations from friends, she returned to Kathmandu with the wherewithal to establish a home for the country’s throwaway children – street urchins, handicapped kids, orphans, or children who had been abandoned - often by parents too poor to feed them.

As word spread about her work, generous people worldwide wanted to help. In 1990, two years before she retired, Olga founded a non-profit organization, Nepal Youth Opportunity Foundation (www.nyof.org) NYOF, and just in time. The children’s home, originally for boys, had of necessity become coed, and was full to overflowing. NYOF rented another house, and a home for girls was born. Both homes provide children with warm beds, hot meals, a safe haven and security. NYOF provides these kids not only private education, living and medical expenses, but love and personal attention—just as a good parent would do. And the kids will be taken care of from childhood through college.

Since her retirement in 1992, Olga has divided her time between her home in Sausalito, California, and a new home in Kathmandu, devoting all her energy and ability to help her children. Olga is living proof that getting older does not mean slowing down. “I’m not that different than I was 25 years ago,” Olga says. “I’ve stayed active and interested in life. Regular exercise - walking, going to the gym, lifting weights for my knees and back - has helped me stay healthy. I haven’t had a cold in fifteen years. Also, I’m more positive and more confident. I know where I’m going and what I want to do, so I don’t get so involved in my own problems.”

READ MORE in my next blog about buying girls out of bondage: Indentured Daughters Programs.

No one taking a daytime flight into Nepal should miss the jaw-dropping sight of the Himalayas along the northern horizon. In the Bangkok Airport my daughter and I requested window seats on the right side of the plane in hopes of seeing the massive peaks.

TIP: Arrive at the airport early to snag a window seat. Pre-assigned seats are not given before the day of departure for many short flights in Asia.

JC, my 19-year-old daughter, and I flew over the flat, checkered plains of the lowland Teri area, then over the ochre-red farmlands that melted into the plunging flanks of the first mountain range, sliced by deep gorges of turbulent Himalayan rivers. In the distance the snow-capped Himalayas soared to unbelievable heights. As we approached Kathmandu Valley tiny terraced fields blazing with yellow mustard ringed the steep hills. And nowhere did we see roads!!!

For me, that’s part of Nepal’s charm; it is largely without roads. Access to the interior – its villages and valleys, its mountains and hills – is by ancient foot trails on old trade routes, filled with villagers going about their daily life. Kathmandu is another scenario – crowded roads, twisted lanes, chaos, traffic jams, and choking pollution. And we did suffer from the air pollution in Kathmandu.

TIP: To soothe your dry, irritated eyes, always pack a small bottle of liquid tears or saline solution in your carry-on bag. The dry air during long plane flights as well as the smoky pollution in Asian cities is tough on your eyes. Lemon drops or hard candies soothe irritated throats.

Why would we go to the Himalayas in January when it’s cold and it’s not trekking season? (March-April and October-December are the best months for hiking). But the purpose of our trip wasn’t long hikes. We came to Nepal to visit a friend, and learn about her work with impoverished Nepalese children. We planned to visit children’s homes and a nutritional center and getting to know the kids personally in addition to seeing the sights around the Kathmandu Valley. And we hoped to take a short trip to the rim of the valley to see sunrise over the mountains and trek for two days.

Since my first trip to Nepal in 1983, when I spent 5 months trekking the most popular trails in the Everest, Annapurna and Langtang areas, I have been lucky enough to returned to Nepal 7 times. As the wheels of the Thai airplane touched down at the Kathmandu Airport, my arms were tingling with excitement and my heart was pacing. I wanted to squeal with excitement but I contained my enthusiasm to avoid embarrassing my teenage daughter. My dream was coming true — to return to Nepal with one of my daughters. I hoped she would love Nepal as much as I love this tiny Himalayan Kingdom. She has read my stories about meeting my husband (her dad) at the Kathmandu Guest House, climbing Island Peak (20,000’ in the Everest Area), and engaging with the open-hearted warmth of the people. During her childhood several Sherpa friends have stayed with us in California.

Welcome to Nepal! The electricity in the Arrival Hall of the airport was off for a few hours (every neighborhood in the city has fixed times, several days each week, when the power is turned off). As we waited for our luggage JC tracked down the unheated ladies restroom, but decided to pass, since it was pitch black and less than inviting.

TIP: Always use the airplane bathroom before landing and stuff some tissues in your pocket for the next toilet break. You never know what lies ahead.

As we descended from the cold, gloomy terminal, we caught a glimpse of our white-haired friend Olga, bundled in a puffy indigo-blue parka waving to us. Olga, who has been a girlfriend for many years, was the inspiration for our trip halfway across the globe. After retirement from the legal profession working for the State Supreme Court, Olga fell in love with the children of Nepal and founded NYOF (Nepal Youth Opportunity Foundation, www.nyof.org ), a non-profit to help educate, feed, house and liberate Nepalese children. My next blog entry will tell more about her efforts to free girls from bondage and tales of our experiences in Kathmandu and beyond.

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!