the many layers of troy

The morning sky was pale and edged with a heavy blue that promised rain. Though we knew it was inevitable, we continued to explore the layered ruins of Troy, hoping that those first drops we felt on our faces would be the last. What followed would send us running for cover, taking refuge under an awning built to protect one of the outer walls of the ancient city. It must have been about half an hour or so before the rain stopped, just enough time for a splotchy sketch.

worn stone

lest we forget

We passed through Gallipoli only days before the centennial, and the peninsula was full of visitors from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. As I watched the people who were so obviously not from around here, with their sunburned skin and khaki shorts, so far away from home, I felt a knot in my gut. I don't really know what it means to them, this history; how this piece of land and its blood-soaked soil can pull so many back to it, all the way from the far ends of the Earth— and all regions of Turkey. It is terrible and heart-breaking, and yet so wonderful— wonderful that the names carved into stone monuments and tomb markers will not be forgotten, that those whose names were lost to time, will be thought of.



I do not have much of a national identity nor a tie to specific histories, and there were many times throughout my life that I envied my friends who knew they were from somewhere— they knew what they belonged to. I can only imagine what it must feel like to buy that ticket and plan the trip to Gallipoli, to arrive under a clear blue sky and walk between the immaculate white stones, gazing at the bay...

It must be overwhelming.



Though I am not a Turk, an Australian, a New Zealander, or from anywhere connected to the history of this peninsula, I am always deeply moved when I visit Gallipoli.

sometimes i have to pinch myself

because it's just so beautiful, it can't be real...

we begin the journey with an old mosque

Our plan was to drive up through Edirne, down to Gallipoli, and cross the Dardanelles by ferry to Anatolia.

the pea soup syndrome

When I was a teenager, I vowed that my life would be in constant motion. I would be a river, or better yet, an ocean, and I would never, ever stagnate. I would never turn green and thick and slow, I would never succumb to what I called the "Pea Soup Syndrome". As I entered adulthood, I soon realised that it's quite easy to get stuck in a routine that becomes a rut, that inspiration becomes more and more evasive. What's great about blogs and diaries is that you can peer through a little window at yourself in various points in time, and one of the things I noticed when looking back is that somewhere along the way, I had come down with the dreaded Soup. Although I've been travelling a lot, I haven't been drawing much (as several of you have kindly pointed out), and for someone who took immense pleasure in drawing, someone who needed to draw— things were looking a little green. It was somewhere along The Great Anatolian Road Trip last summer, that Pedro and I decided we were going to move. In a very, very short amount of time, I will be leaving Turkey for a new home, a new adventure.

I won't tell you where we are heading yet— and if you already know, let's please keep it a secret for a little while longer... I'll be saying a slow farewell to Turkey over the next few weeks with posts from an Aegean road trip, and tales of the last ditch attempt to see those Caucasian Black Grouse in the Kaçkars. Yes, we returned to Sivrikaya.

Stay tuned for ancient ruins, fabulous kebabs, and fat birds!

dots of ink

a light in the dark

from one of my nepali sketchbooks

sketching ram prasad

On a pleasant February afternoon, Pedro and I were having coffee in Thamel when I spied a magnificent moustache out of the corner of my eye. This was a moustache I needed to draw. I tried my best to sketch the owner of the fine facial hair, a security guard for a nearby hotel, as he moved about quickly between guests and friends, but eventually realised this was a ridiculous tactic if I wanted to draw a portrait. Fuelled by caffeine and Pedro's encouragement, I gathered the guts to approach the man for a sit-down. Lucky for me, Ram Prasad was more than happy to oblige.



I think I drew him a little chubbier than he is, but still, his is one of my favourite portraits that I've drawn. When I finished pencilling him in, I ran off to a photocopier and made a copy to give him. Upon receiving it, his pale green eyes sparkled, and his moustache rose with the big smile beneath it. I thanked him, and shook his hand. I wonder how he is now, after the earthquake... how his family is... I hope they are all safe. 

shabaley

I haven't known what to write. It's been a month now since the earthquake, and though the kids and their families are alive and safe, they have lost so much. For most of them, their homes, and entire villages are gone. The school is so badly damaged, with 120 kids still living under a tarp, sleeping on the ground. With the monsoon season upon them, I don't know how they will cope. Aftershocks have become too many to count, and just when they feel the ground has finally stopped shaking, it begins again. I cannot imagine their fear, their anxiety.



Tsering Lama told me that something in his back was broken after that wall fell on him, but he assures me that he feels much better, and now he plans to trek to what is left of his village. Tsewang found out that Pemba Tsering is in his village and unharmed, and Pemba Gyaltsen managed to contact me to tell me he's ok too. The only one we still have no word on is Phurbu Nyima. I keep hoping that his phone just ran out of battery and he's safe with his loved ones, but how I worry...



These snapshots are from our week-long SMD After School Artists reunion this February. We dined on shabaley and momos, and I added some Turkish helva to the mix. Pedro sketched Tsewang, and Kiran drew a cup of tea on a square of tissue, which I then slipped between the pages of my sketchbook.

There go my eyes again. They keep getting all watery!



Please donate to the Himalayan Children's Fund if you can. The funds go directly to Shree Mangal Dvip School if you write "SMD School" in the designation box— any little bit helps!

hope

Sangita is one of the original Shree Mangal Dvip After School Artists. She was about thirteen when we first met, intensely staring at me with huge eyes from the back corner of a tiny, dark classroom. You could have heard a pin drop in the silence of the room, though it was full of kids. Over the years, she has grown out of her shyness into a bold, intelligent, and confident young woman with a fantastic sense of humour. I would never describe her as quiet now— hers is a voice that is always heard, a voice of support and kindness, a voice that stands up for the people who need it most.

Sketch of Boudhanath Stupa, by Sangita

When Sangita completed her 10th and final year at SMD, she was awarded a full scholarship to complete high school at International School of Asia, Karuizawa (ISAK), in Japan. I was so proud, so impressed with the little girl with the ponytail, who became my model of perseverance. Being a person who needs to get things done, she and the other Nepali students at ISAK, Karma and Himanshu, banded together and began a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the rural areas of Nepal devastated by the earthquake. With the students and staff of ISAK rallying behind them, and the help of Sherab Dolma Sherpa in Canada, these clever and compassionate students have created ISAK's ProjectNEPAL, where you can easily donate money to help. Please visit ISAK's ProjectNepal's GoFundMe page for more information.

an update, and a way to help

The week has been frustrating, with dropped calls and connections so bad that Tsewang's voice was chopped into nonsensical sounds. Nevertheless, we have managed to talk nearly every day since the earthquake, and this is what I know:

The 240 kids and staff at Shree Mangal Dvip School (SMD) are safe, though still sleeping outside under tarps. They have food and water so far, and they have opened the school grounds to others for shelter. Many of the children's villages are gone, and some still do not know if their families are alive and safe. Tsewang's family is safe, though their homes are gone. Most of his village in Nubri, which is in the hardest-hit district of Ghorka, has been destroyed. Like many of the remote villages in Nepal devastated by the earthquake, they are in desperate need of water, food, and shelter. I cannot imagine the stress and fear that the kids must be feeling— not knowing the status of their loved ones back home, and not knowing how to help them. The news from Nepal is that the government is not sending villages any help and support, and that most of the aid is being focused on the Kathmandu area. Survivors are essentially starving on the hillsides and mountains.



As for my dear artists, the original group whom I've been teaching for the past five years, news has been trickling in. Most are safe, though emotionally exhausted and fearful of more aftershocks. They are doing their best to support the littler ones, and to help out in any capacity they can (you can see Kiran, Tsewang, Nyima, and Tsering D. above). As several of the original group graduated (SMD only goes up to 10th grade), many of them are no longer at school. One of my boys, Tsering Lama, was hospitalised after a wall fell on him, and no one seems to know exactly where he is or how badly he is injured. No one has any news from Phurbu Nyima, or the two Pembas. Last I knew, they were in their villages.

I have had a difficult time sleeping and focusing, not knowing if they are safe, not knowing if the families of all the kids are safe, and knowing that they are afraid. I do not know yet how to get help to the villages, but I do know how to help the school.



The Himalayan Children's Fund (HCF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in the United States, dedicated to supporting SMD, along with the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and abbey founded by Thrangu Rinpoche. I fully trust HCF, as I have donated funds through them in the past, and know that they money does indeed reach the school. I also sponsor one of SMD's fine young artists through HCF.

One of the easiest ways to donate is through Network For Good. Follow this link to the HCF page:
https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/MakeDonation.aspx?ORGID2=954121177

To support Shree Mangal Dvip School, please type "Earthquake relief for SMD" in the designation box when you are making your donation. Your donation however, can be designated or undesignated— if it is undesignated, the money will be distributed where it is needed between SMD, SMD's clinic, the monasteries, and the abbey. For more information, please read the latest HCF newsletter.



I thank you for all the kind words of support that I have received, and hope that you will keep my dear ones and the people of Nepal in your hearts and thoughts.

All photos are from Shirley Blair and Tsering D.

nepal

I am left without words, with a terrible pain in my chest. Yesterday morning as I was walking through Taksim Square, I saw a plane with its right engine on fire streak across the sky, a ring of debris floating to the ground. I was filled with dread, and thought of the terror the passengers and crew must be feeling, and spent the day hoping for their safety. When I returned home, I learned that TK1878 had landed safely, no one was injured, and I breathed.

Then I heard about Nepal.

As I clicked through news story after news story, and the emails in my inbox— panic. I tried calling my loved ones in Kathmandu, and the phone just kept ringing. I couldn't breathe.

Finally, I got a hold of Tsewang, one of my students. He assured me that everyone was safe, though his home in his village had collapsed. His aunties in Swayambhunath are safe. It was the middle of the night for him, so I told him to try and get some rest, and that Pedro and I love him.

Today I managed to contact Tsewang again, who told me that he was trying to help manage the situation. Everyone slept outside, they had some tents. Everyone was still safe. Many villages were destroyed. He then passed me to Shirley, the director of Shree Mangal Dvip. The school was substantially damaged; it is now unusable, and they are in desperate need of water. There was another aftershock that registered 6.7.

As soon as I can find a way to help them, I will let you know. Until then, please keep my kids and the people of Nepal in your hearts and thoughts.