I have been in Nepal for almost two months now, and so far I have lived on a farm, visited schools to play music with kids, trekked in the Himalayas, learned traditional mat weaving and so much more.

I spent about 10 days living on a rural farm just outside of Kathmandu, and I got to learn about Nepali farming practices and try all kinds of foods. After spending the first couple weeks there and adjusting to being in Nepal again, I met up with a group of musicians from the US to learn about music and arts in Nepal.

We visited the three ancient Kingdoms of Nepal and jammed with lots of different musicians. I even taught some Nepali kids a bit of Appalachian clogging! We then hopped on a plane and headed into the Himalayas to trek. We brought our instruments, and after hiking for about 6 hours each day, we stopped at a trekking lodge to jam and play music all afternoon. People from all over the world joined us in the evenings.

This week, I am doing an apprenticeship with the only woman recognized as a woodcarving master, and learning to do some traditional woodcarving. I have about a month left in Nepal before heading to Ladakh, India, near Pakistan, to teach English.

Tiv’s proud parents are Jennifer Hay and Josh Rubin who are part of the Canaan community.