The Hash… or ex-pats unite.

Yesterday, in an effort to be social, I joined my roommates on the Hash. What is the hash? Apparently, they happen all over the world in all the ex-pat communities. It’s like a group run/hike on a course set by the Hares (or Hairs) through the landscape of whatever country they are in. They went over some rules I didn’t understand, something about x’s and checkpoints, circles, and false trails but I think that just applies to the runners. I was on the walking team… I’m not about to look like a crazy person running around with white people and other foreigners. The Himalayan Hash here in Kathmandu is the highest hash and pretty much goes through the hills of Kathmandu Valley. By far, it’s the strangest thing I’ve been participated in… at least in a long while.

Picture this… 70 or so foreigners running/hiking through the rice paddies and poor living areas of Kathmandu leaving small heaps of shredded paper (to mark the way, of course) every few feet and making a lot of noise along the way (even at the gate of a monastery). Then picture at the end of the course, those same 70 foreigners standing in a circle in someone’s ex-pat yard forcing newcomers to chug a beer while everyone else sings the “official” hash song. That would be the hash.

The walking was nice (albeit weird to just be traipsing through Nepali neighborhoods and rice paddies) because I’m glad I got see a different part of KTM and got to hike some. It’s supposed to be a chance for people to meet other ex-pats and chat. I spent my hike talking to my Californian roommate and discussing how absurd the Hash concept is. I got some great pictures and avoided falling or leeches. So that part was nice.

The ridiculous frat party games after, I was not into. I’m not a joiner to begin with and I’m definitely not into being told what to do. So when it came to the forced drinking games, I did not participate. My Cali roomie and I stood and observed the other foreigners. The Hash crowd is a little older, I’d say maybe most of them are 30-50 years old. They come from all over. There was a bunch of Canadian pilots/flight attendants, some Filipinos (none of which approached me of course), some Irish, and of course, Americans. Doesn’t the whole thing seem very American?

I have to say the whole thing freaked me out. If I were to get married and live abroad (whether in Nepal or some other place where they have the Hash), is that what all my Saturdays would be like? They do it EVERY Saturday. They even have a Grandmaster. Yeah, I know. Gordon, is this what we have to look forward to?

Needs to Be Said

So like Peter writes in his blog... I'm starting to get the feeling that there are people reading this blog that aren't participating. Just saying. The few times I get online (my access is a little sketchy right now in the beginning), I like to check out the comments on my blog. Write to me about what's new at home or I don't know... ask me questions about Kathmandu (no, I cannot see Everest from my house). It'd be cool to hear from you. :)

Photo Break

As promised... pictures!

Here's the mountains from the plane.



Here's the view from my room in my house.


Oh! Here's the cute water (Himalayan, it's called) they give out on Jet Airways flights. It reads:

I look back on life - it's funny how things turn out. You, a connoisseur of fast food, now gaze at water that took years to make. And I, some of the purest water in the world, stand here, trapped in a bottle. Come, enjoy the irony. Live Natural.

It was great water, too. :)



more coming... promise!

Another Birthday with Strangers and looking ahead a bit… (28/08/08)

No, really, it’s cool. I don’t mind spending another birthday with strangers (last year the day fell in the middle of orientation at Heller, so a bunch of new friends went out to dinner with me). I’m not really into birthdays anyway. Sure, I like presents (who doesn’t?), but I don’t need everyone and their mother to know it’s my birthday. I’d much rather spend it quietly. So I’m not telling people here that I’m 27 now. It’s probably better that way… I’m not sure yet how Nepalis like to celebrate birthdays. In Uzbekistan, it was a lot of food I didn’t want to eat and talking to people I didn’t know.

I almost forgot that it was my birthday. With all the traveling, jetlag and time changes, I really thought it was next week. But no, it’s today. Well today, here, tomorrow for you back in the states. I think. I’m still a little fuzzy on the details of how many hours and minutes I am ahead. Yeah, that’s right. Minutes. For some reason, Nepal is however many hours and like 20 minutes (maybe?) ahead. Not sure where the extra 20 minutes comes in, but there you have it. So it’s 9:57am here and where you are, my little east coasters, it is 12:12am. I guess I could count how many hours that is, but if you know me – you know I don’t like to do math of any sort. Time zones and changes are the worst, so I’ve added a gadget on my sidebar (the only cool thing about Vista) that gives me the US Eastern Time.

The weird part of living all the way over here (and there’s many, this is just one) is that while all of you are sleeping back in states, I’ve just gotten to work and will still be here once the sun rises where you are. Crazy. More crazy? It’s raining again. Gotta love monsoon season. I’ve been promised that after the rainy season it’s nothing but beautiful. I’ll keep you posted. 

I’m supposed to go trekking in October (festival month here in Nepal) with my roommate and her friends, so it should be pretty freakin’ beautiful then. Not sure where we’re going yet, but I’m pretty excited to get out there and hike. I don’t even mind if it’s from tea shop to tea shop. While I was pretty over tea since being forced to drink the stuff nonstop in Uzbekistan, I really like the tea here in Nepal. They take it with milk… so that means they give it to you with milk whether you want it or not. So it’s like a chai tea minus a little bit of the spicy thanksgiving flavor. Plus a little a bit of the milk skin which I try to avoid. Developing country or not, I don’t do milk skin. I haven’t yet figured out what type of milk it is, but I like it.

Food-wise, I haven’t really gone out on a limb and eaten anything super crazy. I actually haven’t been eating much of anything. My stomach’s not sure when to be hungry (stupid jetlag) so I’m hungry at odd times (3am!). All I’ve had so far are momos, but that’s nothing new. I’d eat a million of them if I could. No really, I would! Don’t know momos? Think dumplings from any Asian restaurant and add a little Indian spice to it and there you have it. Because of Ujwal and his momo parties, I was a huge fan of these little food wonders before I even arrived. Yum.

Oh… since I haven’t had internet access at home or at work (yeah, I don’t want to talk about it), I’ve got more to add. My roommates were super nice and made me ice cream sandwiches for my b-day! With a candle, too! And I met one of their neighbor friends.

Ugh!

What good is having tv shows and movies online... if you can't watch them in Nepal!? I'm looking at you Netflix online and veoh. Jerks.

Send me dvds or tv episodes on dvd, please. thanks! :)

A Weird Exchange (26/08/08)

So I was in my room reading and I heard this weird sound and a lot of groaning going on in the street outside my window. I thought that it must be a cow or something (we’ve got some pretty moo-y and forlorn looking cows wandering around my neighborhood), but it wasn’t!

There were these two men getting whipped by two policemen outside my window! I saw these two guys when I walked into my house. They were sitting up on an old abandoned structure outside my front gate. They weren’t doing anything, just sitting there. I have no idea what they did, but quite a crowd was gathered on the street (I use that term loosely as it’s more of a path than a street, but cars still drive on it) as they all watched these two guys getting beaten by the cops. The cops were smacking them with two sticks… not like two twigs, but like the poles that are used to make shovels. No wonder I heard a lot of groaning! That had to hurt!
So then I watched as the cops herded them out of the area, but then they were laughing like they were all old friends. Very odd.

In other news, first day at work was fine. Met everyone and am now tasked with memorizing all their names. Luckily, I have 7 months to learn. And I need to learn some Nepali soon… everyone keeps mistaking me for a Nepali citizen and speaking to me like I should understand. Only one person I met yesterday guessed right off the bat that I am Filipino.

Not What I was Expecting (25/08/08)

So I’m finally here – Kathmandu. Saw the Himalayas from the plane and was completely awestruck. My airport Nepali friend was laughing at how much of a dork I am. First impressions of the area (mind you, based on the airport and the ride to my new house) remind me of so many other places.

I’ve found that airports (not in the US) are always crazy. Inside the airport, everything is always fine. It’s quiet but bustling with activity as everyone’s trying to find their bags. Outside is where crazy ensues. In Uzbekistan it was just constant yelling from taxi drivers just trying to get you in their car – in Uzbek and Russian. In the Philippines, it was just gross because not only were people pawing at you, it was hot and sticky. In Nepal, it’s a little bit of both.
After I got my visa (so easy!) and claimed my bags (why did I pack SO much!), I walked outside to where someone from my org was meeting me. Nepali taxi drivers, as soon as they see a backpack, are all over you. Speaking English and asking what hotel or guest house you’re staying at. Once they realized I was waiting for someone, they kind of left me alone. But then you have the other taxi drivers that slyly come up to you and ask if you’re waiting for someone and then ask if you will both need a taxi (whenever that person comes). One of them was nice enough to feel sorry for me waiting there and said I should go call whoever was picking me up.

Once Achala came to the airport, she secured a taxi and we went off to my house and into the traffic. The traffic reminds me of the Philippines with motorbikes, mini buses, pedestrians, bikes, taxis, and buses all on the road swerving around each other and honking. I’m considering buying a bike, but… I want to see how many accidents I see on the road beforehand. Everyone is rushing to get somewhere, but I’m not sure where.

And then we get to my house. Seriously. If Real World came to Kathmandu, they would come to this house. Okay, maybe not… but I was expecting housing much like my apartment in Jizzakh where the water only came on a good day (and even then either scalding hot or freezing cold) and the electricity was on only if the government said “okay, let’s give the people electricity to watch soap operas”. I was NOT expecting a real house (3 floors!) with actual toilets, a shower, a fridge, internet, and tv. This place is amazing and even has a cute garden that gives us vegetables. Perhaps Peace Corps lowered my expectations about what it’s like to living in a developing country. I’ll happily take it, but I’m guessing this must be what development workers get around here. Since development is a major industry here (we passed by lots of NGOs and UNICEF SUVs), the ex-pats are living like freakin’ kings here.

Pictures are coming soon.

The Trip So Far… (24/08/08)

I’ve got a long(ish) layover in New Delhi, India before I finish out the last leg of my trip to Kathmandu. So I’m just hanging out at the airport… in their “transit lounge.” Whatever that means. Basically, it’s a holding area for everyone that is here hours before their flights (mine is at 6:15am and I got here at 10:50pm). Jen wouldn’t like it because there’s a bird flying around in here. Yeah, I don’t know what that’s about either.

But so far, the trip has been fine. Everyone from Jet Airways keeps asking me if I’m flying alone. Seriously, I’m not an unattended kid. They mean well, though. And they give me extra blankets and pillows too.  The flight to Brussels seemed to take forever, but it could be because my seat mate was not getting up at any cost. And thanks for wearing that overpowering cologne, too, dude. I usually like long flights. I like the individual tv screens and movies on demand and food brought to you at even intervals. Jet Airways passes out hot and cold towels, too, so that’s a nice touch. It’s no Cathay Pacific and the yummy sweet buns, but it’ll do.

I watched a few movies that I had either missed or didn’t want to pay $9 to see. The Other Boleyn Girl, 21, parts of Vantage Point, and the first half of Definitely, Maybe. I don’t like to sleep on planes usually unless it’s sleep time in wherever my destination is, just so the jet lag isn’t that bad upon arrival. There goes that bird again… But now I’m here at the Delhi airport and I don’t want to sleep. Since I am by myself, who knows what could happen to my stuff if I sleep. I made friends with a nice Nepali guy from Pokhara and he offered to help me with ground transportation at KTM airport. Luckily, my org is sending someone to meet me at the airport. I have no idea how I would have negotiated a taxi without knowing any Nepali.

At this point, I’m pretty tired… excited (finally), but tired. I’m interested to see what my daily life will be like in Kat. The people I’m living with are all westerners, so I guess that’ll be nice to come home to. There’s lots of westerners here at the Delhi airport too… each with their own copy of Lonely Planet’s guidebook on Nepal. I own one too (I even have it in my carryon), but I’m not busting it out here. The Jet Airways people here at the airport thought that I was Nepali and so did my new Nepali friend. I guess I’m pretty lucky for being able to pass as a lot of different ethnicities.

Things I'll Miss

This isn't a post about the things that I'll miss while I'm away. I've been away from home before and I'm not really one to get homesick. Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with homesickness. You work with kids a lot and you really (REALLY) get to know homesickness.

This is a post about things that are going to happen while I'm away. I won't cry that I'm not going to be here for them... it's not like anyone is having a baby while I'm gone and no one I know is getting married (you better not, Katie!). At least I'm here in the states for the Olympics. The Athens Olympics I missed because I was in Uzbekistan and only got to see wrestling and shooting (and only because there were Russians competing). See the list below. And let me know if I'm missing any other cool things. I leave for Nepal next Saturday! Can't believe it's here!

The World Series (and baseball in general) - While the Cardinals are currently 7.5 games back from the Cubs, maybe there's still a chance they'll get there. Even if they do make it, I still won't get to watch. And from what Peter says, keeping track of baseball overseas is frustrating. What I won't miss? Dane Cook telling me there's only one October. Why, yes... there is only one October. Thanks, Dane Cook, but I don't buy it that you're a huge baseball fan.

Joshua Radin's new CD comes out August 26 - I'm happy that my last concert in the DC-metro area was Joshua Radin. He's great. Maybe you know him from the soundtrack's Zach Braff movies (they are BFF)... or quite possibly you don't know him. But you should. He puts on an unexpectedly great show... and at the show I went to, he announced that his new album comes out just 3 days after I leave... and 1 day after I get to Nepal. Hopefully someone will send me the CD when it comes out. :)

A new season of Lost - Yes... I love this show and at the same time I hate it (but mostly, I love it). It's hard to keep up with tv shows while away. I remember seeing previews for Lost right before I left for Uzbekistan and thinking, dude, I'm SO not going to like that show. And here I am, leaving again, missing the show and I (meaning all of us who watch the show) have no answers! :) Isn't it great? Maybe abc.com will work overseas, but I doubt it.

National Cherry Blossom Festival - I missed it this year too because I was up at school, but I really love this festival in DC. It's a great time of year... a little crazy with all the tourists, but still super pretty and fun. And the best shumai (aside from Mom's of course).

Movies - I've tried to see as many movies as I can while I've been home in DC, but I know I'll be missing some big movies. Luckily, the one big movie I thought I was going to miss Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince just pushed back the release date until mid-July 2009. So I'll get to see it. Yay! But all the smaller movies, the cute movies that most likely win Oscars, the funny and gross movies Gordon and I watch all the time? Those ones I won't get to see.

Anything else I'm missing?