it's all nepalese* to me

Trekking Makes Me Love Nepal (all over again)

2009-03-13T12:34:00.044+05:30

So my family, and I’m sure all of you, think all I do is trek… but REALLY, if you look back, I’ve only been trekking twice (this last time included)! What can I say? Nepal is made for trekking (sorry, Peter, that's just what they call it here!). So when Sam said, “Hey, want to go trekking?” I had to say yes! I saw the trip as a way for me to clear my head before really digging in and writing up this thesis (I know, my REAL reason for being here). At least that was my rationalization for taking another week off from work to go have some fun. I AM in Nepal, people. ;)

Sam and I trekked in the Annapurnas before (the Poon Hill – Ghandruk loop), but this time we thought we’d check out the other side of the mountains – the Jomsom – Mukintinath – Tatopani trek. All in all about 103km (that’s like 64 miles, apparently). All of our friends had already been on the trek and from their pictures it looked amazing. Sam and I were both running out of time in Nepal (SAD! :( ), so we decided to venture back to the Annapurnas in the offseason… and oh yeah, it’s winter.

Much like last time, we took an early bus out to Pokhara. This time we had Isa and Camille with us as they were headed up on a short weekend trip to Bandipur. We saw a crazy jeep accident on the road that stopped traffic for a bit and drew a lot of attention from all the tourists and motorists. It freaks me out to ride on the roads here, but there's not much I can do for people driving crazy on the scary roads here. Once in PKH, Sam and I decided to forgo the carbo-loading at our favorite Italian coffee bar and restaurant Café Concerto (actually, Sam and I only know 2 restaurants in PKH) and went all in for Korean barbeque (Natsuil or something – the other restaurant we know). I still don’t get the whole “oooh… Pokhara!” thing. Sam and I both are just underwhelmed with the place (Can you ever just be “whelmed”? hahahha). So pretty much for us, Pokhara means barbeque pork… which isn’t a bad thing. :) After eating, we went to back to our hotel because we had an early flight to Jomsom the next morning.

Sam, Camille, Isabelle and me on the early morning bus. (Photo by Sam)

This is what we do in Pokhara - eat pork like we've never seen it before.

Day 1: Pokhara – Jomsom – Kagbeni

The flight to Jomsom from PKH is short – maybe 20 minutes, but it’s a beautiful flight since it goes right through the Annapurnas. That means you get to see all the mountains from above before hiking past them on the trek. It was my first time flying within Nepal and seeing that tiny, tiny plane was a little unnerving, but it was fine. I think I trust the pilots more than some of the drivers I've seen on the roads. It's cute though, because they give you cotton to put in your ears because its so loud and some little candies to get you through the flight.

The tiny plane that carried us.

Me in the tiny plane... I was a little worried. Tiny planes and big mountains would scare anyone, right?

The rest of the survivors.

Mountains from above... and still they are big. I THINK this is Dhaulagiri.

Once we landed, we realized that Jomsom was kind of like a ghost town… little did we know that’s how most of the towns would be like on this trek since it’s the off season. Everything was closed... and there were barely any people around. We were also freezing cold… I even put on gloves and my scarf while we were hiking to Kagbeni. I usually never get cold while hiking, but there we were, dressed out in winter wear, ready to get trekking.

Checking in at the permit and registration office. (Photo by Sam)

On the way... at least we know we're headed in the right direction. (Photo by Sam)

It's like walking through a desert... of rocks. (Photo by Sam)

The way to Kagbeni is pretty straightforward. You head out of Jomsom and you can see Kagbeni after some time. Kagbeni is my FAVORITE place in all of Nepal (seriously). The place is just so beautiful and the people are so interesting. Sam and I were walking through town and maybe about 10 people (mostly men) were playing some game by the river. I wanted to join, but boys never let me play here. :( It was also an interesting time for us to be there as it was Lhosar (or Tibetan New Year) and so the whole town had pretty much disappeared to the community meeting hall for drinking and gambling. Another ghost town, but this one's pretttttty.

The view of Kagbeni from a cliff behind the town.

Sam and I stayed in this amazing lodge – The Red House which is owned and operated by some close friends of my next door neighbor here Hari. The Red House is a converted 400-year-old monastery at the edge of town. It has some of the original structure… and it even has a massive golden Buddha tucked away in one of the family’s rooms. Like, seriously... massive. The place is just great… the food is really good… and the owners are SOOO nice! Sam and I had a good time just hanging out in Kagbeni and at the Red House, which is good since we decided to stay there 2 nights!

We also considered hiking into Upper Mustang (which is a restricted area - we heard permits go for like $700 or something) but we hiked up to this cliff behind Kagbeni that was past the restricted area checkpost and got a great view of Kagbeni from there. On our way back in, we found out the area's not restricted until past the next town. :( And we thought we were all cool like that.

The Red House in Kagbeni - the best lodge EVER.

The view of Kagbeni from the Red House roof-top.

Day 2: Kagbeni – Muktinath – Kagbeni (or running down the mountain)

Muktinath is at 3700m (the highest I’ve been) and this part of the trek is known for some altitude sickness problems. I was unsure if I wanted to go… but because it’s one of the major points on the trek, I felt like I should (even though both Sam and I were lethargic and headachey – early signs of altitude sickness). The hike there is along a road (no, we didn’t take the special underused trail that everyone told us about) through the desert-y like landscape. It’s uphill (which I don’t really like) but it wasn’t actually that bad… but you can definitely feel the altitude. Or at least, I could. Sam even made me take the altitude tablets because I was unable to concentrate on anything for more than a second and wasn’t feeling right.

Looking back towards Kagbeni on the way to Muktinath. Look at that sky!?

Sam and his fancy camera - I'm jealous.

Yay - we made it! Do I look slightly out of it? It's totally the altitude sickness. (Photo by Sam)

So we get to Muktinath, thinking, cool, we’ll get a jeep back to Kagbeni – easy. We talk to the jeep guy and he says oh, the jeep will leave when we’ve got enough people… probably 2 or 3pm. Sam and I keep walking up to the actual temple. I’ll admit I was cranky… from the hunger (nothing was really open except for one restaurant/hotel which was full of women doing a special puja for something so the owners couldn't feed us too… again ghost town) and the altitude.

The town of Muktinath from the temple... mostly closed except the massive amount of women gathered for a special puja ceremony.

But the temple was really cool. There’s 108 water spouts which you’re supposed to run through and wash your face with each for good fortune or something. Keep in mind… it was winter and at 3700m, there was a bit of snow. The water spouts were freezing cold, but after the hike, we’ll just say it was refreshing and jarred me into a better mood (which I'm sure Sam was grateful for). After checking out the temple a little more, Sam and I headed back into town to search for food… and catch our jeep.

Part of the 108 water spouts - yes, that's snow there.

The food search was successful… but the jeep catching was not. It left half an hour before we got back to the jeep counter. So our plans were foiled and we had to run back down to Kagbeni before dark (as neither of us wanted to or were prepared for night hiking). I like the downhill, but Sam does not. We made it back to our lodge with plenty of time for the sun to set. We even stopped along the way to buy some handmade scarves from a nice old lady. I'm a sucker for talking to old Nepali ladies. I want a Nepali grandmother! Hiking up to Muktinath and back was tiring, for sure, so sleeping that night wasn’t a problem.

The jeep that wouldn't be ours. Jerks. (Photo by Sam)

Heading back down to Kagbeni before the sun goes down. (Photo by Sam)

Day 3: Kagbeni – Marpha (or dust storm and wind burn)

I’d heard about the gale force winds on the way to Marpha… it’s true. Walking from Kagbeni to Jomsom and then Jomsom to Marpha is like walking through a wind tunnel of stone-filled desert. Sam and I were completed rugged up… and still I end up with wind burn. Walking was difficult as I was being constantly pushed by the wind - we were walking directly into the wind. We made friends with a cute couple – an Australian and a Japanese with a cute girl guide from Three Sisters (we called them The Japanese Couple). Gotta say, I’m pretty jealous of the girl guide… I would LOVE to guide treks, but with as slow as I am, I could probably only guide the oldies. :) We made it to Marpha (the apple capital of Nepal!), which is a cute village with cobble stone streets and apple brandy by the gallon. I’ve had the apple brandy before… it’s good, but Sam and I didn’t partake while we were in town. Inspired by the town, I’ve named my sleeping bag (finally!) Marpha.

This is me... maybe you can't tell because I could barely see. Crazy wind. (Photo by Sam)

Sam's self portrait (also dressed up to protect himself from the wind and dust). (Photo by Sam)

Alas, we made it to the apple capital of Nepal. (Photo by Sam)

The pretty monastery in Marpha.

We got up early (well, Sam earlier… I couldn’t seem to pull myself out of bed on the trek) and walked around Marpha before heading out for our next stop - Ghasa. There was a really pretty monastery at the top of town. And Marpha is just a cute town. I love Kagbeni, but Marpha is also cool. Apparently there is a movie called ‘Kagbeni’ but instead of being filmed in Kagbeni was filmed in Marpha. Two completely different towns (there’s not much similar about them)… so the people of Kagbeni are supposedly pretty pissed that this movie with their name was never even filmed in their town.

Day 4: Marpha – Ghasa (or we’ll get there before puja)

Sam and I had originally planned to hike from Marpha to Tukuche (but that was only like a 2 hour walk), so we changed it up and pushed on to Ghasa (based on the map, supposedly a bigger town – but not really). During the hike, Sam and I were both pretty tired… and hungry. We didn’t stop for lunch because there was NO place to stop. Seriously. The hike that day felt incredibly long and we had no idea why! Both of us were struggling that day (probably from the not eating). Eventually we stopped in Kalopani for tea at this great lodge where the lodge owner’s son served us tea and talked with us the whole time. He didn’t even charge us for tea because he was so happy to meet us. He was a great kid! We wished we could stay, but we had to push on.

Early in the day's hike... the way to Ghasa.

Later on during the day, looking back on the way to Ghasa.

We still needed to reach Ghasa and it was starting to get late. Along the way, I asked a couple of old ladies how many hours to Ghasa (in Nepali) and they assumed I was Nepali and told me I’d make it in time for puja (blessing ceremony which is done at sunrise and sunset). They were super cute old ladies - again, a sucker for talking to oldies. We did make it to Ghasa (and in time for puja if I did that kind of thing). And we found out that Sam was reading the scale wrong on the map… and we were actually walking double the amount of kilometers as we originally thought. Totally explains why were exhausted… we thought we were hiking 12km but instead it was like 24km.

The lodge kid at our place in Ghasa was also super nice. Found out that he was from Chitwan and was living in Ghasa because there was work there and not in Chitwan. Kind of odd since Chitwan is another big tourist-y area and there should be plenty of work there. I really like talking to the kids that work at the lodges because they’re interesting – leaving their homes to find work somewhere else and trying to get into the tourism industry. It's a little sad. The lodge wasn't so nice. However, we did get a chance to do some sightseeing of the Taj Mahal from our room since there was a big poster of it on the wall!

Sam and the Taj Mahal... who knew it was Ghasa, Nepal! :)

Day 5: Ghasa – Tatopani (or Hot Springs, here we come…)

The second major point of our trip was the hot springs at Tatopani (literally, hot water). We decided the day before that we would stay in Tatopani for two nights because we hiked longer during the days and had some extra time. Sam and I were pretty stoked that we hiked so far and in a short time (for us). We had planned for the trek to be about 6 days or so… and we cut off a whole day and that's without realizing the map's scale. The way to Tatopani again was ghost town-y and so for the second day in a row, Sam and I hiked on without lunch.

The town of Tatopani from the Hotel Himalaya's roof-top.

The great staff at Hotel Himalaya. These guys were so nice to us! (Photo by Sam).

Tatopani itself was pretty nice – we stayed at a cool hotel (The Hotel Himalaya) where the lodge kids were super nice and loved talking to us (so I got to use my Nepali). We even sat and watched some soccer with them. How is it that I always end up watching sports with the guys?? The food was good. And it was close to the hot springs. We went to the hot springs soon after our arrival and met up with Team ABBA (our name for this annoying couple or brother/sister – difficult to tell – with a matching annoying guide/boyfriend - again, difficult to tell) who were annoyed we beat them to Tatopani after they caught up with us with an hour later start. Once we were all in the springs, though, Team ABBA definitely drew in the stares as the girl was in a bikini (hello, scandalous!) and getting massaged by both her brother/boyfriend and her guide/boyfriend. I was happy to have the local men’s attention diverted to Team ABBA instead of on me. The subsequent times Sam and I went to the hot springs, it was a little uncomfortable as I was the only girl and looking Nepali, I confuse everyone. We met some great Nepalis (one was a helicopter pilot!) and just had a good time hanging out. Our two days in Tatopani were great – soaking in the hot springs and just relaxing. Getting back to reality was going to be a challenge.

Enjoying the time off... relaxing in Tatopani. Look how brown I've become (and windburned)!

Day 6: Tatopani – Pokhara (or a day full of travel)

Sam and I decided to forgo the boring and dusty hike from Tatopani to Beni and opted for getting a jeep and then a bus. This day started Sam’s 3 full days of travel to get back to HTD. Our bus back to Pokhara was stopped for a bit because of a bandh but what can we do? We were back on the road after some time and we picked up some young Buddhist monks who decided to play like ninja fighters on the roof of the bus. Seeing their shadows as we were driving was so funny! We ended our trek as we began with a pork feast at Natsuil (again, highly recommend it).

The trek was great… seeing a different side of Nepal. It’s alien and not what you expect when you think of Nepal and it made it that much better. I love Nepal and trekking has made it more so. Amazing how the Annapurna region can look completely different on either side of the mountains. My next trek will be Mount Everest Base Camp (hopefully… if the weather is good), but I’ll be doing that one without Sam. He’s back in Australia now so I'm in seach of someone to continue my adventures with...

Another Break from KTM - Visiting Hetauda

2009-02-16T21:15:00.045+05:30

So a few weekends ago, I went to Hetauda – and seriously, I really like the place. I’ve been before, but this time I did a lot more and hung out with great friends instead of attending focus group discussions. My housemate, Isabelle and I had been trying to make it to HTD for awhile (she’d never been) to visit with Sam and Nat (our Australian friends). It was a great chance for me to also meet up with my friend Jiwan (he does M&E for Equal Access out in the field). It was a great weekend… I definitely needed a break from KTM. Sometimes I forget how exhausting it is to live in KTM and then I go somewhere else and realize how nice it is outside of the valley.

our jeep before it broke. (photo by Isa)

Isa and I left on Saturday morning and had a pretty uneventful trip… except for our jeep breaking an hour and half outside of Hetauda. I had never actually seen a wheel break off of an axle until that day. I felt bad for the driver, because he was being SO careful the whole trip. Usually drivers around here are speeding around corners, honking way in advance to let everyone within range know to clear the way. Also they tend to look suspiciously young (like 12… but all Nepalis look really young, I guess). But our driver was nice to Isa and me, seemed a normal driving age and drove at an appropriate speed. And then there was a horrible noise and it was like one corner of the jeep just fell. So there we were, stopped in the middle of the road (keep in mind, it’s what we in the states would deem a one way road), with the driver jacking up the car under the running board. Makes no sense at all… but maybe he knows something I don’t. Like he’d listen to a girl tell him how to change a tire… or just how to jack a car. (I'm missing some photos... but there is one where you can totally see the bigriyo jeep!)

Luckily, jeeps were aplenty on Saturday heading towards HTD, so Isa and I had no trouble hopping into another one and finishing out our curvy, uphill/downhill, bumpy 4-5 hour journey to Hetauda. Once we finally made it into town, Nat and Jiwan came to meet us at the Motel Avocado, where Isa and I were staying – Lonely Planet says that the Motel Avocado is a quirky resort, but then again they also say there’s no reason to stop in Hetauda except to change buses. (Sam was out riding around on a 200 cc Pulsar motorbike for his friend’s birthday.) It was SOOO nice to see everyone. We walked a bit around HTD (there’s not a whole lot of town compared to KTM of course) and then went over to Nat’s house to make a Nepali dinner of daal bhat, tarkari, saag, etc. Nat and Sam are great cooks and together they would make a really good Nepali girl ;) Jiwan is also a great cook… and he surprised me by actually knowing how to cook! The food was great and it was just a lot of fun to hang out.

Cooking Nepali food at Nat and Sam's - Nat's manning the daal and Jiwan's got the saag covered... me, I'm not sure. (photo by Isa)

A typical Nepali meal (cooked with only 2 Nepalis present). (Photo by Isa)

Nat says (and like I said, Lonely Planet agrees) there’s not much to do in HTD, but there’s at least enough to get us through a weekend in town. Sunday morning, after a late(ish) breakfast at the Avocado (yum, banana porridge!), Nat, Sam, Isa, Jiwan and I went for a short hike up to Manakamana temple. All steps. Seriously, you all know how I feel about steps. It wasn’t that bad, though. And the view of Hetauda from the temple was nice… except for the foggy haze covering most of town. I’m not really much for temples (being a non-Hindu and pretty much just not being religious), but I do like a good hike. Jiwan never admits that he’s tired or needs water. The rest of us were happy to reach the top and sit for a bit. :) I like that I’ve been getting some chances to walk and hike the past few weekends. Gives me the chance to think and just not do work and enjoy Nepal more. And get ready for my upcoming trek with Sam!

Manakaman Temple - it was closed, but its not like we could go in anyway (well, I guess Jiwan could)

After the hike up, Sam and Jiwan resting for some minutes.

Enjoying snacks at the temple. (Photo by Sam)

Back in town... Isa and Nat taking a rickshaw to the hotel.

Me and a bangle cart... seriously, it's like a sickness for me. (Photo by Isa)

After getting back into town, we went around HTD again to see the market and get some snacks for lunch. Then I headed over to Jiwan’s house for tea and to meet his family. I really like meeting Nepali people and the families of my Nepali friends. I just wish I could do more talking with them. I should really practice my Nepali more, I know… It’s just so hard for me to formulate what I want to say quickly. Besides, my Nepali is bad and I hate to disappoint people that think I’m Nepali anyway. Jiwan’s family was super nice and I got see all of his photos. He’s been ALL over Nepal, so seeing his photos only made me want to stay in Nepal longer to explore all the districts. We talked a lot about Nepal and about Equal Access and SSMK. So I actually got some work done while hanging out which looks like the trip was actually thesis-related. Yay!

After a couple of cups of tea (Jiwan drinks a lot of tea… he is Nepali after all ;) ), he took me for a motorbike tour of Hetauda. He’d been telling me about all the cool things to see in Hetauda and Makawanpur district, so it was nice to get the Jiwan tour. Even though it was getting dark, he drove me up to the Martyr Memorial Park just outside of town. I just read about the park in the English social studies textbooks I’m freelance editing here, so it was cool to get to see the park. The funny thing about parks here, and also in Uzbekistan, is that they tend to be THE place to go for boys and girls to hang out alone. The park was pretty clean, though (as Martyr’s Day was coming up) and cute. At the park there’s a big rock inscribed with the faces of 12 martyrs from the conflict time. The park also a has a zoo, where Jiwan and I went back and forth on one animal that looked very much like a guinea pig to me, but which they just call a bigger rodent. I think they were guinea pigs which I LOVE, but even now, people in my office don’t know what they are called in Nepali.

It was nice to ride around with Jiwan on his fancy new bike – a 150 cc Pulsar. Nat has named it Prerana which means inspire. She’s named her bike, too – Sriste which means universe in Nepali. Gotta say, I wasn’t into motorcycles before (since Jen’s friend Carl had his accident in the states awhile ago), but seeing as it’s the fastest mode of transport around here… I’ve grown to like them. I feel a hell of a lot safer on a motorbike than I do in any car, taxi or bus I’ve ridden in here. And it is WAY safer than riding on top of a bus or microbus, for sure. Besides, I check with anyone that offers me a lift to see if they’ve had any accidents. If I was staying around Nepal longer than my 7 months, I’d probably take up learning how to drive a motorbike. For now, though, it’s just fun to ride on the back of them and see cool things.

The bikes - Sriste in front and Prerana in the back. (Photo by Isa)

And Jiwan is a great tour guide in Hetauda. Having grown up there, he knows everything about the place and he’s seen a lot of change happen. I asked him about the conflict time and what it was like. He opened up a little bit about it. I don’t really expect many people to just start talking about that part of Nepali history, but I am incredibly curious about it. I just can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to grow up in such a crazy time – bomb blasts, abductions, and curfews. As an American, we have no idea what it’s like to constantly worry about what’s going to happen next. From what I’ve heard from Jiwan and from others it sounds terribly scary. Coming out of those dark times, it’s no wonder that Nepalis have such great hope resting on this new government (even though it’s the Maoists in control).

While I was excited to spend some time with Jiwan and to get his thoughts about life in Nepal, it was also super awesome to hang out with Nat and Sam. They spent the holidays with me in KTM and I’ve missed them a lot since they went back to HTD. Nat and Sam are so much fun to hang out with. Monday was Australia Day (think July 4th for the US, but with Australian football and less of the sparklers), so we spent the morning before Isa and I had to leave eating vegemite on toast (it makes you as bright as bright can be!) and playing Australian football. It was fun to just play… made me miss playing catch at home or throwing the football (the American one). The vegemite I could do without… but I’m not Australian, so it’s not like I’ll ever really have it. :), It’s sad to think that Sam and Nat will be leaving Nepal soon. Nat’s been here living here for the past year for research for her PhD in anthropology and Sam came for the last 5 months to provide moral support. I’ll be sad to see them leave as they are SO my favorite Australians. Both are them are super sweet and just so fun to be around. I don’t think I would have gone on as many adventures as I have here if it hadn’t been for Sam.

Vegemite... yum. I think they use the stuff to brainwash Australians. ;) (Photo by Isa)

All of us after some Australian football. (Photo by Sam)

Nat and Isa on Sriste. (Photo by Sam)

Our trip to Hetauda was just a nice time to get out of the city and relax for a bit. I’ve been feeling a bit stressed lately about the thesis. I just can’t seem to concentrate enough to sit down and write the damn thing. And things at Equal Access have been hectic as well. It’s been months full of proposal writing for me, which isn’t really what I was hoping to get out of my time here, but I’ll take it. It’s definitely a good skill to have and one that all NGOs and development orgs need, so maybe someone will give me a job.

Jiwan and me waiting for the jeep to KTM to leave. (Photo by Isa)

Sushil Villa girls before Isa and I leave HTD! All that's missing is Sam (our Sushil Villa guy!). (Photo by Jiwan)

Living in the Dark

2009-01-23T14:53:00.016+05:30

I’d heard about load shedding before coming to Nepal, but I didn’t think it’d become such a big deal since I dealt with no power situations in Uzbekistan. I thought, hey, that’s cool… at least Nepal gives out a schedule of when the power cuts will happen. Now, with Nepal facing 16 hours a day without power in KTM (and up to 20 in Hetauda, I hear), looking at the load shedding schedule is actually a little depressing. Seeing how many hours without light (and internet) is nothing to look forward to. We’d be better off if they just showed us the hours when there will be electricity.

Load shedding, or constant blackouts due to insufficient electricity supply, has been changing lives here in Nepal. In my house Sushil Villa, we’re considering a mini generator to power our once fancy and now pointless wireless internet. We’re also considering solar panels, inverters, and UPS back up systems. My work, which is running over 40 computers including the recording studio, is also considering a generator… however, it’s a little late in the game, isn’t it? Considering we knew 16 hours of power cuts a day were staring us in the face a couple months ago.

So what do people do during load shedding?

If you’re at my house, we plan on watching A LOT of DVDs. I will probably watch all of my movies at least 3 times over (on top of the numerous times I’ve already watched them). My roommate Isa and I have been watching Men in Trees, a recently cancelled ABC tv series which will at least take us through the next week or so before we have to find a new series to entertain us during the dark times at Sushil Villa. We just bought these rechargeable LED emergency lanterns and are excited like little kids on Christmas when we stare into the bright, bright lights. The lanterns shine SO bright and are able to light up a whole room (not like regular electricity, mind you, but we’ll take it)… plus it’ll take us off candles – which we seem to go through at least 10 a week. And since Kirill came to visit us last week all the way from Darjeeling, we've now started to use our fireplace. Spasibo, Kirill!

making the best of load shedding with wine, real swiss cheese, and good company. Isabelle, Kirill, Camille, and me. (photo by Kirill)

If you’re at my work, it’s a little more ridiculous. As I’ve mentioned before, I work at an NGO that designs and produces social development radio programming for underserved minority and disadvantaged groups. All of our work is done on computers as we use Adobe Cool Edit software to mix and edit our radio shows. Our recording studio needs electricity for our voice talents to read the dramas our staff writes (on computers) and for our recorded interviews to take place. All the proposals we write are all written on desktop computers (except for me and the Country Director) that need power. So what happens during load shedding hours? A whole lot of nothing. People go to the roof to enjoy the sunshine, have some content meetings, and then just hang out and chat for a good long while. We've had to change our production schedules to coordinate with when there will be power at the office. Some production teams are working on Sundays and are off on Tuesday, while others are coming after lunch and working until dark. I think the most ridiculous thing for me was staying at the office until 7:30pm and sitting in a completely dark room with only 2 faces illuminated by dying laptops and others using their cell phones to read or write notes for the meeting.

But load shedding is affecting all of Nepal... so take my personal examples and multiply it by 29 million (the estimated population of Nepal in July 2008). For having the 2nd highest potential in hydropower, Nepal doesn't seem to be producing as much as it can. In fact, Nepal seems to be forgetting about its hydro potential and turning to burning fossil fuels as a quick fix for the power crisis.

I thought for sure that there would be nationwide strikes when we got put up to 16 hours of load shedding a day... but was surprised that for once, people didn't stage super huge protests. Why not? Instead, Kathmandu has a trash problem (like seriously, trash overflowing and taking up more than half of the road) because a Maoist cut off the leg of someone, so trash wasn't being collected for awhile.

I read in the paper today that the NEA (the state electricity agency) has cut back the load shedding hours to 14. That means TWO extra hours of light! Of course one of those hours is probably in the wee hours of the morning when no one is awake, but I guess we'll take what we can get.

I'm ending this post now, because the electricity is about to go off. Enjoy your electricity, wherever you may be! ;)

The Adventures of Julie and Sam Continue…

2009-01-12T19:11:00.014+05:30

So I love kayaking. I hate swimming, but love being on the river. With all the whitewater rafting there is to do in the US (and even in my home state of NC), I’ve never been rafting. So I’ve traveled all the way around the world to go rafting in Nepal. :)

Sam (my trekking buddy) and I went rafting in November, a couple of weeks after we got back from trekking. My Nepali friend Raj said, hey, do you want to go rafting and I gave an immediate yes and thought Sam would like to join as well because he’d never gone rafting before either. So a few days later, we were on the bus to go rafting on the Trisuli river. A couple hours outside of Kathmandu, we got off the bus a few hundred meters from our put in spot. We were going rafting with Adrift Adventures (the owner is of course a friend of Raj’s – the guy knows everyone). While Milan, our rafting guide was getting our rafts and paddles and PFDs (personal flotation devices or… lifejackets) together, Sam, Raj and I were packing up our stuff as our bags were going to be shuttled to our take out.

Sam and I – pre-raft.

Raj getting ready for the trip.

Sharing our raft were two Swiss ladies (neither of which had been paddling before), me, Sam, Raj, Milan, and his guide assistant whose name I don’t remember, but I’m pretty sure he was either high or drunk. Milan gave us the basic spiel about how to paddle and how important it is to listen to him and what to do if we flip or fall out of the boat. While still on the shore, I test the waters and Sam pushes me into the river. Keep in mind that it was November, folks. So the water was quite chilly. So of course I pull Sam into the river as well (you get what you deserve). Meanwhile the Swiss ladies are looking at us like we’re going to be heaps of trouble on the raft. (Aren’t Swiss people supposed to be fun? All the Swiss I’ve met here have been…)

Sam, me and Raj at the put in.

After getting settled in the boat, Sam and I go for a quick swim. Again, the Swiss ladies were silently appalled that we would even venture into the chilly waters, but it is the river after all and you don’t expect to stay dry, right? Did they realize they signed up for a whitewater rafting trip??? They weren’t very strong paddlers and Milan had to ask the one in the front of the boat to move back because we didn’t have enough power at the front of the raft. And she was complaining for the most part about getting wet. Yeah.

me on the raft... you can only take pictures when not in the rapids (obviously). :)

Me and Sam on the raft after some good rapids.

Sam, Raj and I had a great time on the river, though. The rapids weren’t big (probably Class II and III) but they were still fun. Sam was at the front of the raft as well and so he got a lot of the water. On one of the big rapids, Sam almost lost his paddle and just held on to the dry barrel in our raft. I wish I had one photo of Sam clutching the dry barrel and yelling for his mum. :)
We stopped at a small beach for lunch which Milan and his assistant prepared for us. We all soaked up the warm sun and played around on the beach. Raj and I thought it’d be fun to play shotput with the small boulders on the beach. Needless to say, Raj being as fit as he is can throw rocks farther than me. It was a lot of fun just being on a river again. And a clean river at that (hard to find in the Kathmandu valley)! Running around the beach playing was also a good time that the Swiss ladies didn’t take part in. They didn’t seem to enjoy the rafting trip as much as us, but what can you do?

Lunch on the beach.

Hanging out with Raj on the beach at lunch.

Sam and I on the beach.
The river.
The way to our campsite.

We got back on the river for the last couple of hours of rafting. Our rafting trip coincided with the whitewater river festival, so we passed through a kayaking tournament which made me miss kayaking even more (not that I could EVER compete). Our take out spot was a huge beach where all the kayaking and rafting competitors were camped out. We staked out a tent and unloaded our stuff.

That night there was a rave on the beach. Very unexpected for me, but I guess you take a huge open area and throw in a massive amount of westerners who just happen to be hardcore kayakers and you’re bound to have a rave. I skipped out on the rave (sorry, it would’ve made for an interesting post) because I wasn’t feeling well, but Sam and Raj went and said it was a little crazy. I guess some foreigners were caught having sex behind the DJ area. Thanks, guys. All the Nepalis will think that what all foreigners do. Sam came back to our tent a couple of hours later because he was worried about me being alone in a tent while a rave was going on with crazy foreigners not more than 100m away. Despite the craziness and the not feeling well, it was great to be back in a tent and camping out on a beach. It’s definitely made me want to start kayaking again.

The next day we were supposed to go rafting some more, but like I said, I wasn’t feeling well and we heard the upcoming rapids weren’t that great, so we decided to catch a bus back to KTM. The river festival was still going on, so all the now hungover and embarrassed kayakers were trying to get to the competition site with their boats and gear. I’m sure we were a site to see – all these foreigners with bright colored kayaks and dressed out in their paddling gear on the side of the road? If I were Nepali, I’d stop and stare too.

The kayakers were an embarrassment, though. The van Sam, Raj and I caught a ride on, a bunch of the kayakers threw their boats and gear on and climbed up on top. That’s not a problem, I mean you can hitchhike away in Nepal. But when we got to the competition site, they got off and took their stuff and didn’t even pay the driver! Their excuse? “We’re KAYAKING, we don’t have ANY money!” Seriously. WTF. Did they just expect the locals to happily cart them wherever they needed to go? Is it the locals fault that those kayakers missed the official shuttle to the comp site? And again, thanks. The driver kept trying to make the three of us pay upfront because he thought we were going to try to bail without paying as well.
Because I was feeling sick and the van was already crowded (even after the kayakers got off), the three of us decided to ride on top of the van. I thought riding on top of a bus was scary… but the little microbus is scarier. It’s smaller and goes faster, and the roof is not made to be ridden. The three of us laid down on top of the van, though and just slept. It was fun. Scary… but fun. I don’t think I’ll ever do it again.

The rafting trip was awesome, though. Sam and I are trying to figure out what’s next for the adventures of Julie and Sam. He’s already rejected my idea of bungie jumping. Something about “It’s Nepal and I don’t need to jump off something high on gear I don’t trust.” Maybe I’ll go on my own, we’ll see.

I’m so glad that Raj called me up and said let’s go rafting. I would love to go again, but I’m thinking my next trip on a river in Nepal will be kayaking. I like it being just me in a boat and in complete control. I totally love Nepal, though, if I can keep having adventures like this!

More of Sam and Raj and me.

More Travels with Seth: Mali

2009-01-05T20:23:00.016+05:30

Well, Julie is either very kind or very lazy, but she has offered me some space to write about the other interesting trip I took here in West Africa. I interned in Bamako over the summer, which was simply pretext for exploring the country. I began with what was supposed to be a weekend trip to Djenne, a short distance from the capital. I figured, I am so close to the world’s largest mud structure, I’ve gotta go see it, right? Well, the bus, after arriving in the middle of nowhere, promptly broke down. The driver set off for parts. The parts never arrived. Nor did the driver. Until the following morning.

The thirty some-odd people stuck on the bus along with me hunkered down for the night. I was prepared to sleep outside until I was warned about snakes…so I made myself as comfortable as I could on the bus. Then it rained. And the bus leaked. Ahhh, travel in Africa.

Arriving in Djenne the next evening made it all worth it. Crossing the Niger River at sunset and then entering the tiny island city was magical. I slept on a rooftop and so I got to see the mosque at sunrise. The mosque itself was impressive, but other than that, there was not much to see.

Crossing the Niger River at sunset to Djenne.

The world’s largest mud structure – the mosque at Djenne.

Mali’s true beauty lies further north. I took a public pinasse, a term for grossly overladen boat, from Mopti to Timbuktu. The journey took 3 nights and two days on a cramped deck of corrugated iron. Before boarding I grabbed a bag of little candies and that was the best decision I could have made. I used these treats to befriend my neighbors and their children. Its nice to be popular – for whatever reason, when in such tight conditions for so long!

Large blocks of salt at the port of Mopti. These are the blocks of salt that formed the foundation of trade with Timbuktu via long-distance camel caravans.

Public pinasse, much like the one taken to TB2. Three nights sleeping on corrugated iron…

Upon arrival at TB2’s port (the city is 18km north of the river), a fierce sandstorm hit. It was quite an introduction to the mystical city and I couldn’t have been happier with it. The storm ended up knocking out the city’s power for the duration of my stay, thereby making it a much better experience, if only for the brighter night sky! I hate to admit it, but I did in fact do the touristy camel-ride thing, but the desert was too beautiful to pass up. TB2 itself has nothing to offer outside of the desert, Tauregs hounding you to buy their leather and silver goods, and people wanting to drink tea and 'exchange ideas' [read: shake you down for cash.]

The Sahara desert outside of TB2.

Streets of TB2. Don’t take the fact that there is only one Tuareg in this picture to mean that they aren’t EVERYWHERE – all with things to sell.

One night I found myself at a bar run by an eccentric, music-loving French couple. Plugged into the surprisingly vibrant music scene, their bar/hotel is the locus for local musicians to come, hang out, and ‘jam.’ This night was no different, so I spent hours listening to some incredible music under the stars with some lukewarm beers…not too shabby in my opinion.

My favorite picture taken thusfar in Africa. The 4x4 took a brief stop during our 8 hour journey from TB2 to fix a flat tire. This stone marker was innocuous, thereby making it that much more beautiful.

After returning to Mopti by 4x4, I set off for the famed Dogon Country that runs along the country’s eastern escarpment. I took another traveler’s recommendation for a guide, and set off for 4 days of trekking. The Dogon people have been studied intensely by anthropologists because of their interesting history and even more fascinating dwellings built into the cliff face. Even higher than these homes are those of the Tellem, a pygmy people that some say have their origins in the Congo but no longer live in Mali. Today, the Dogon live at the base of the cliffs and have generated additional income by promoting the area to hikers.

Traditional meeting house. The low ceiling serves a dual purpose – it both keeps the structure cool and prevents any heated arguments from getting out of hand, as one cannot stand up inside.

One of several waterfalls.

Dogon and Tellem villages in the cliff-face.

Tellem village, close up.

Red Sox Nation takes hold in Mali.

Aside from the vast amount of history and fascinating anthropological information that I will not include here, the scenery was simply stunning. I spent my days clambering up steep inclines, exploring isolated villages, and soaking in my surroundings. After two months in the busy city of Bamako, this escape was much needed and much appreciated! Definitely the best thing I've done here in West Africa!

More from Seth...

2009-01-02T15:45:00.008+05:30

Glad everyone enjoyed Seth's post! Thanks again to Seth for some great guest blogging!!

For those of you wanting to see the suspension bridge Seth mentioned in his last post, he sent in this picture from the Kakum National Park Canopy Walk.

Seth has also happily agreed to blog some more about his travels in Mali, so stay tuned... :)

Trying to Remember Trekking...

2009-01-01T14:03:00.029+05:30

*unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken by me before my camera battery ran out on day 3. enjoy Sam's photos, though, as he is also a great photographer!* :)

Okay, so FINALLY I will post about trekking in the Annapurnas with my friend Sam. Hopefully everyone’s heard my PSA/commercial and I hope everyone REALLY enjoyed Seth’s guest blogging about Ghana. I’ve gotten some requests from other people that want to guest blog. Totally let me know if you want to post! :) Nepal’s not always fun and adventure… though this trek definitely was!

So back in November, my friend Sam (from Adelaide, Australia) and I went for a week long trek near the Annapurnas. We went without a guide or porter, but looking like a Nepali, everyone on the trail thought that I was Sam’s guide/porter. I spoke SO much Nepali that week and was even told that I speak better Nepali than some chick we met on the trail that was Nepali but grew up in the states. Ha! :)

Sam and I took the tourist bus to Pokhara from Kathmandu, leaving at 7am and getting into PKH by the afternoon. Raj set us up with a new hotel close to Fewa Lake. PKH seems like a cool city… I didn’t do any research about the place, so I have no idea what there is do there. Which also means I have to go back, just to cover the things I had no idea about. All I know about Pokhara is that it has great views everywhere you go… even at the bus park!

Views of the Annapurnas from the bus park!
Kids in playing on Fewa Lake.

After a local bus ride to Nayapul, Sam and I started on our trek.

Day 1: Nayapul to Ulleri – or 3,280 steps from hell.
That’s right. 3,280 wide stone steps the map said. As we started our hike and came across steps along the way, we thought, oh, the steps aren’t so bad. The way was good - nice and easy. Nayapul is at pretty low elevation (1010m). What we didn’t realize is that those 3,280 steps only covered the elevation gained from Tikhedunga (1570m) to Ulleri (2070 m). So by the time we reached Tikhedunga, I was unmotivated to climb steps up to our first stop on our trek, Ulleri. Let’s just say that Ulleri was not my favorite place just because of those damn stairs. Why steps on the trail? Good question, since I would take a million switchbacks over taking 3,280 steps. Turns out steps were put in because the area is at high risk of landslides (the remains of a huge one we saw on our next to last day of hiking). We also got to cross some high steel suspension bridges which I really like to jump on and Sam doesn’t. The climbing of the stairs also meant we got great views of the valley with its terraced farming, seeing the river run its course through the valley, and waterfalls along the trail.

Suspension bridge on the way to Tikhedunga and Ulleri.
Terraced farming on the way up to Ulleri.

Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani – the day of the donkeys.
After going to sleep early (Sam and I kept pushing us to top our early night records… I think the earliest we went to bed was something like 6:55pm) and having breakfast with Raj (who was guiding 2 Irishman up to Annapurna Base Camp and sharing the trail with us for a couple of days), Sam and I set off for Ghorepani (2810m). The hike was great… we met a few herds of donkeys along the way and Sam almost got run over as they came through the trail. Hiking into lower Ghorepani, the place was like a ghost town with a herd of donkeys running through it. Where we stayed in Ghorepani (thanks to Raj for running ahead and getting us a room and then meeting us down in lower Ghorepani to greet us with key in hand!), it was like a ski town with tons of trekkers/tourists roaming the small town, cute lodges, warm desserts at every lodge, and amazing views to give us a sense of what sunrise on nearby Poon Hill would look like the next day. There was even a pool table which was trekked up to town in pieces by porters, taking three days! Ghorepani was also freezing cold. Luckily I had enough layers and Sam had his down jacket. I was glad to hang out in the room and surround myself with my sleeping bag.

Incoming! Donkeys about to run over Sam. (Photo by Sam)

More donkeys in lower Ghorepani. (photo by Sam)

Cloud cover over the Annapurnas.

I heart my sleeping bag. (Photo by Sam)

Day 3: Poon Hill for sunrise and down to Tadapani – or hiking with 150 of our closest friends.
Again after a good night’s sleep (hey… we NEEDED to go to sleep early this time!), we got an early start at 4:30am to hike up to Poon Hill for what we heard is an amazing sunrise. 4:30am is a lot early, but Sam and I are slow hikers (we LIKE to take our time and see things) and hiking in the dark with a headlamp is never an easy thing. It was definitely worth it, though. Poon Hill is 3210m and you have amazing views of the Annapurnas – you can see the whole range! If you’re looking for a quiet sunrise to yourself… good luck. Poon Hill was CROWDED with everyone else who reached Ghorepani the day before. It’s THE thing to do for anyone coming through. That also means those same 150 people you didn’t know were staying in Ghorepani? Yup, they’re coming with you on the trail to wherever your next stop is. Ours was Tadapani (not the famous Tatopani, but the one on the way to Ghandruk). So after a quick breakfast back in Ghorepani, we left with everyone else to Tadapani. One of the best days of the trek for scenery alone. Hiking through the forest and getting glimpses of Machhapuchhre (or Fishtail Mountain). The scenery changed so much from when we were climbing out of the valley.

Mountain views from Poon Hill during sunrise.

Me and the mountains. (Photo by Sam)

Sunrise from Poon Hill. (Photo by Sam)

Hiking down from Poon Hill, cloud cover over the valley. (Photo by Sam)

Day 4: Tadapani to Sayauli Bazaar – or of course this is the day I fall.
It was super cold in Tadapani (1190m) as the fog came in and we were happy to jump into our warm sleeping bags after a realllly good dinner at the Hotel Panaroma Point (which had great views – if you could see through the fog). Running out of time (grrr, I only had 1 week off from work and that included our travel to and from PKH), Sam and I took advantage of the downhill bits of the trek and decided to skip Ghandruk (a beautiful town with great views, I would recommend staying there instead of running out of time) and hike all the way down to Sayauli Bazaar. On the way to Sayauli Bazaar, we saw this HUGE landslide area, cute kids having the time of their lives with homemade paper windmills, and a funeral. We were tired (hiking from Tadapani took us about 6-7 hours) and I was distracted by the funeral. This is when I fell. Was it on wide stone steps from hell or a particularly tricky part of the trail? NO. It was while we were stopped (yes, standing still!) and on a flat part in town. I turned and my ankle didn’t come with me. And there I was on the ground with Sam and me both freaking out that the fall was worse than it was. I was fine, no worries. Just another clumsy Julie moment. More embarrassed than anything (the lodge owner saw our overreaction), Sam and I decided to stop at the Honest Lodge (not more than 25m from where I fell). The lodge owner was GREAT – so happy with my Nepali and probably being nice because he saw me fall and gave us a great deal on a room with a private hot shower and toilet. Word. The room wasn’t the best… it was almost like a jail cell with its horrible bare lightbulb and Sam scared the crap out of me with his talk about Blair Witch Project (I HATE the image of the guy standing in the corner) and Hostel. Thanks, Sam. Not to mention that the funeral that distracted me before, made its procession right by our lodge on the way down to the river to burn the body.

Trekking buddies… even after 5 days together! (Photo by Sam)

Hiking through the forest and seeing the mountains still. (Photo by Sam)

Landslide area… yeah, that’s the trail going right through it. (Photo by Sam)

Day 5: Sayauli Bazaar to Nayapull – or yay for flat bits!
Sam and I, along with a stray dog that decided to guide us back to Nayapull, hiked alongside the river. We were joined by a couple of Aussies (they seem to just FIND each other wherever they are). :) The hike was short (maybe 2 hours) and completely flat. A great way to end the trek! And what better way to get back to PKH? Riding on top of a local bus as it careens around corners to reach Pokhara. It was Sam’s idea, Mom, but don’t worry. I was holding on the ENTIRE time! And I was probably loads safer than if I were riding inside the bus where the diesel fumes just fill the whole bus and people are throwing up all the time.

Signing us out of the Annapurna Conservation Area – we made it! (Photo by Sam)

View from the top of the bus… luckily nothing coming our way.

We got back to PKH safely and were so tired that we couldn’t be bothered to really explore the city. Instead we went out for Korean barbecue – the BEST pork I’ve eaten in a long time (can you believe it!? Pork! Haha) and then went back to the hotel to watch crap movies on TV. The ride back to KTM the next day was pretty uneventful, but Sam and I were pretty restless and annoyed to be coming back. It’s hard to be trekking in amazing places with fresh clean air and then coming back to KTM where there’s nothing but smog, noise, and a ton of people.
Sam and I have already decided we need to go trekking again… we just need to figure out where. The adventures of Sam and Julie continued a couple weeks later (again, my next post will be a flashback) as we went rafting on the Trisuli river.

Special Guest Star: Seth in Ghana

2009-01-01T10:02:00.010+05:30

After many months hounding Julie for blog posts on her various Nepali adventures, it was suggested that perhaps I would submit an entry myself. While I cannot hope to compete with images of the Himalayas, I’ll recount a bit of my recent trip to Ghana.

I am conducting my internship in the land-locked country of Burkina Faso. Given the fact that all my time in Africa has been spent in the Sahel and my craving to see the ocean for the first time in 7 months, I decided to head south to Ghana for Christmas. Landing in Accra, I quickly escaped the big city (though not before seeing Baba!) for the relative calm of Cape Coast, a couple hours west of the capital. For several days I indulged in early morning basketball games with local kids, followed by late afternoon football matches on the stunning beach, all taking place in the shadow of the famed Cape Coast Castle.

Cape Coast Castle

Ocean!

I had always wanted to see the slave forts of the Gold Coast, as it was through these structures that the vast majority of slaves headed for the New World passed. Touring the dark dungeons envisioning one thousand people crammed into the small space with the stifling air reminded me of seeing concentration camps in Europe. It was a powerful experience to run my hands along the same stones that witnessed so much misery, and walking through the Door of No Return brought goosebumps despite the day’s heat and humidity.

Male Dungeon

After getting my fill of history, I could feel more justified in playing the role of dumb American tourist enjoying the beach and visiting nearby Kakum National Park. This park, 35km north of Cape Coast is famous for having constructed Africa’s first canopy walkway – a string of 7 bridges 85 meters off the jungle floor.

Kakum Ntl Park

This was a bit of a personal challenge, as I am not one that does well with heights and upon seeing the walkway, I could not help but think of the rope bridge scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...The canopy walk went off without a hitch as there were so many things to distract me from the fact that I was so far above the ground – the early morning mist rising off the trees, the calls of monkeys echoing through the air, and the incredible diversity of greenery (lush vegetation is something my eyes craved as much as the ocean after so much time in the red-brown Sahel!). I enjoyed my time in the rainforest so much, I arranged for a ranger to take me on a hike a few hours deep into the forest, a bit off the beaten trail. During this time we were able to see some wildlife, including a sizeable green mamba on the trail!

Our intrepid explorer…

Leaving Cape Coast I headed northward by bush taxi (tro-tros), through Kumasi and Tamale, towards Mole National Park. The change in vegetation was striking, as the tropics steadily gave way to the more desiccated Sahel. Along the way I encountered several other travelers – one was a clingy American woman, the rest being largely from Holland and therefore quite a bit of fun – headed in the same direction. I spent Christmas day trekking through the park for hours on end, seeing all sorts of antelope, monkeys, baboons, crocodiles, birds, warthogs, and the tracks of leopards and hyenas.

Baboons

Mole is unique in that its one of the few parks where one can walk amongst the animals. My hope was to encounter the elephants for which Mole is famous, but none were willing to accommodate my wishes. Despite this, the experience was incredible.

Kob

Christmas dinner was one of the more genuinely enjoyable and memorable holiday meals. It began with a run-in with a brazen baboon intent on winning some easy calories from the table and ended at around 4:30am after a lot of beers (tends to happen when drinking with an Irishman and a number of Dutch people) and even more laughs. In between was a truly great dinner with a wide range of people, wide-ranging conversations, and a simple but satisfying meal. All in all, a great Christmas!

Heading back to Ouagadougou I was informed that the border was closed – for those both wishing to enter and exit Ghana – because of the elections. Luckily, I was able to stay with a very sweet English girl who was volunteering not 10km from the border and the aforementioned Irishman for a relaxing two days. This was a welcome pause, as overland travel in Africa is always an adventure; ‘schedules’ are often non-existent, and hugely unreliable if they are, buses and tro-tros break down constantly. I read a book recounting Stanley’s Congo exploration during my trip, and while nothing can compare to that, it is easy to feel like an explorer as you navigate the country by land.

After crossing into Burkina, my Christmas wish of spotting an elephant was suddenly fulfilled as a large grey mass was spotted crossing the road. I implored the tro-tro to stop, apologizing to the 25 or so people crammed inside, but the crazy white guy just needed to hop out and snap a few shots of the elephant.

My elephant, finally!

A wonderful cap to a tiring but very rewarding trip.

Hopefully this wasn’t too painful of a departure from Julie’s posts, but something is better than nothing…ahem, ahem! Julie’s turn now!

Excuses, excuses.

2008-12-15T13:25:00.003+05:30

I *WILL* post about my trek... and my rafting trip. My computer crashed and my drafts got lost. Stay tuned. :)

Here's a couple of pictures to get you geared up...

And this one from Sam...

We Interrupt Our Regular Programming… Julie on the Radio!

2008-11-28T10:09:00.008+05:30

I'm still working on my post about my trek in Nepal... but since I'm back at work a lot of cool things have been happening. I've been writing proposals for the past 2 weeks and going back and forth with UNICEF staff over the sports project. In the meantime, Equal Access, my organizaiton has thrown together an exciting charity event for this weekend - a football match to benefit children living with HIV and AIDS. This is also a great way to gear up our listeners for our new sports development project. To get the word out about the match, the SSMK team recorded a PSA/event announcement to be broadcast on FM radio here in Nepal. They recorded an English and Nepali version and asked ME (!!) to record a couple of lines for the English version!! :)

It was my first time in a recording studio (we have one here in-house) and to be honest, I was a bit nervous as I don't like my voice in real life and didn't want to hear it on playback. It took all of about 20 minutes to record... most of which was spent with me messing up and being asked to deliver "more energy". These guys are complete pros, though, and I'm happy they asked me to be a part of it. Thanks to Binayak (the ultimate and coolest radio techie), Kaustuv, Ayush, and Rabindra and the rest of the SSMK team for letting me play!! :) And thanks to Equal Access and the SSMK team for letting me post it... if you're in the KTM area this Saturday (29 Nov 2008), come to the match!

English.mp3

Yes that's me saying "Teaming up to fight AIDS!" and "Tickets available at all..."

One month of Catch Up… sort of.

2008-11-26T20:43:00.016+05:30

I’m sure all 3 of you that check my blog have been on the edge of your seat waiting to see what I post next. Apologies for neglecting the blog… how Joy posts EVERY day, I have NO idea. The end of October/beginning of November proved to be super busy, which is great, but left me no time to blog. So here’s my post to catch you up on my life in Nepal so far… but I’m posting about my trek separately because you should have a choice on if you want to read more about how much I love this place.

Where did we leave off? Ah yes… Tihar. October’s second holiday/festival. Tihar was the last week of October and gave me 3 days off from the office (Tuesday – Thursday… yeah, you read right – Monday and Friday I had to go to work. Nothing like mid-week holidays to throw you way off track!). I spent the days off seeing little puppies and street dogs get garlands of bright flowers and tika, gawking at cows with receiving tika and having hundreds of strings tied onto their tails, watching the sky light up with fireworks and hearing screams and laughter on Laxmi Puja and experiencing Bhai Tika (more on this in a bit) with my office friend Rashmi at her family’s home.

Tihar is all about worshipping. One day they worship dogs by giving them tika and throwing garlands of flowers (malla) around their necks… even the mangy street dogs! It’s the one day a year people actually do something nice for the dogs. Even the little puppy that survived the horrible mom dog and all of his other siblings dying out in front of my house got some love. He disappeared soon after that… but maybe someone took him in (that’s what I’m going to continue to think anyway).

My little puppy (I wish!) which I named Chijbij (things in Nepali).

On Laxmi puja, Hindus worship cows by giving them tika and malla as well, so riding around town you see the random cows being attended to by passersby. Tradition goes that string that Hindus wear on their wrists are supposed to be tied to a cow on Laxmi Puja to expedite their journey to nirvana. My friends Natalie and Sam were in Darjeeling during Laxmi Puja and Nat was determined to tie her string bracelet onto a cow… so they had their taxi stop on the side of the road when they saw a cow! Laxmi Puja is also to worship the goddess of wealth – Laxmi. Businesses, offices, shops and homes decorate with malla and lights to bring Laxmi to their place. This is also the day the firecrackers, fireworks and sparklers reach their height. EVERYONE is out celebrating, it’s almost like new year’s.

Bhai Tika is the day that Hindus worship their brothers by giving them blessings with tika (which I mentioned before) and gifts. Oh yeah, the sisters get money. Gotta love these holidays with gift and money giving! Luckily, I got to experience the holiday with my friend Rashmi’s family in Kirtipur (just outside of KTM) which means I got to see how Nepalis celebrate the day and I get adopted by a Nepali family for the day. :) Rashmi, her nieces and nephews, and I were given the task to prepare the ceremony location… which meant using flour and colored powders to create an area with religious symbols. I drew an elephant (to represent Ganesh), the sun and lots of flowers (not sure what the flowers mean, but I draw a pretty mean flower sometimes). Rashmi’s mom started getting the tika ready which for Bhai Tika includes different colored powders. As the ceremony began, boys sat facing the girls and the blessings were given. After gifts and money were exchanged and all of our foreheads were given pretty, pretty multicolored tika, we ate a LOT of food. Then Rashmi and I headed to a community talent show to see young people sing and dance to hindi music and perform skits.

Drawings we made for the tika ceremony.

Me giving tika to my adopted for the day brother.

Rashmi and I during the ceremony.

My adopted for the day mom and I (thanks Rashmi for letting me borrow her for the festivities!).

After that holiday… everything at work started to get hectic. I love it, though… I’m finally doing stuff that seems important and my team is starting to really think of me as on their team. I went with the SSMK team to Nagarkot (remember… known for its beautiful sunrises) to participate in a planning workshop with UNICEF and my org. We’re developing a new project for SSMK that deals with increasing youth participation in sports and using sports as a vehicle to teach life skills. You know what I’m talking about… leadership, team-building, fair play, etc.? Those are all life skills that are important for youth in Nepal to learn to build character and become successful. And… sports kids are healthy kids who perform better academically. Interesting how my parents didn’t let me play sports… but I guess I still turned out okay! :)

Remember that Nike campaign back in middle school (well, for me anyway) that showed little girls staring directly into the camera and saying “if you let me play sports…” Yeah, that’s kind of what we’re going for in phase one of our project. Convince the parents that sports during development is a good thing. Parents and teachers around here have pretty negative perceptions and attitudes about sports, so we’re going to have really try to change their minds for this sports project to take off.

But… anyway, so the planning workshop was REALLY productive and very cool. It’s like fitting everything my P&I (planning & implementation) group did over a whole semester into 3 days. I much prefer it this way. And I got to make some contacts at UNICEF here in Nepal and from the UK. Not to mention… I got to meet Deepak Bista (a 2008 Olympian for Nepal) and Paras Khadka (winner of the Emerging Young Cricketer of South Asia award… and very cute!). I also got to finally see a beautiful sunrise in Nagarkot after seeing a foggy one with Raj earlier in the week. Yay!

My team leader Binita and I at one of the best hotels I've had a conference at (the views definitely put it up at the top).

That weekend was the EA International Directors’ Meeting in KTM, so I attended that as well and got to meet with all the country directors from my org. It was a great time for me to meet them and find out more about what types of projects they are doing in their own countries. It looks like video might be our next big step so that will be very interesting.

So that was my crazy October/November. After the Directors’ Meeting, I went on a week long trek with Sam (an Australian that’s come to live here for the next 5 months). This post is *already* way too long, so I’ll post separately about the trek. And congrats if you read all the way down to here!

October is for exploring...

2008-10-29T15:03:00.014+05:30

So... as I mentioned before, October is THE month for holidays/festivals in Nepal. Something else I noticed? October is high season for the tourists. Which means they are everywhere. Having spent the last week going back and forth between Patan and Thamel (not that close of a distance, but when you've got friends either staying there or working there or meeting up for dinner there, it's hard to say no), I'm definitely over the tourists overrunning the city and the country.

It's been a busy time here in KTM for me lately. Work has definitely picked up, which I'm very excited about. It looks like November could be just as busy, but with no holidays. :) Aside from work, I've been having a lot of fun seeing a little more of the KTM valley area.

Yogi, a coworker of mine, took a bunch of us on a great day hike near his hometown of Bhaktapur (you might have heard about this town in the news because of the recently picked Living Goddess). It was a fun, easy hike with great views of the valley and yay - mountain views! It was nice to get outside and hike and not breathe in KTM air. Whenever I leave KTM, I'm always amazed by how noticeable the difference is in the air. KTM is so polluted and everyone's constantly coughing and spitting (ew). You leave KTM and it's like all of a sudden you can breathe easy. It was nice to go with Yogi, though. He's named the hike Hanging Valley, but it's somewhere between Sangaa and Bhaktapur. He's a great guide and I'm trying to convince him to join me on my Mt Everest Base Camp trek in April (as well as you, Seth!). Here's some pics from the hike.

View of the mountains from our snack spot. Look there! In the clouds... those are mountains!

A Nepali woman harvesting.

Rice and the tiered paddies.

Tiered farming.

The valley we hiked through.

I explored Bhaktapur and Bhaktapur Durbar Square a different day with Natalie, Sam, and Luke (3 Australian friends - Nat and Sam are in Hetauda and Luke was visiting them and came for a trek). Now that I've seen all 3 Durbar Squares (Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur), I have to say that Bhaktapur's is very nice. It's really clean and quiet (or at least more quiet). I love Patan Durbar Square just because it's always bustling with people and it's fun to just people watch there. The four of us were undecided on if we should pay the 750 NRS (approx. $10) or sneak in, but then our crazy taxi driver dropped us right in front of the gate and so there was no chance to sneak in. However, I did get a marriage proposal. A guide who wanted us to use him told me I look Nepali (never gets old, does it?) and that I should "make Nepalese marriage". Luke, being the funny guy he is, asked the guy if he meant I should marry him. Thanks, Luke. And the guide said that he would, but he is too poor to offer me anything... implying that if we paid him to be our guide he'd have enough to marry me. Awesome. Sadly, I am unable to "make Nepalese marriage" since I've already got Gordon back home. Obviously, we chose to do without a guide and left my Nepali would-be fiance back at the main gate. :)

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is a great place for photos. Lots of really cool architecture and locals running around doing their thing. Since it's so frequented by tourists (told you... high season, folks), the locals now charge 2 NRS if they see you taking pictures of them. Sam and I discussed the fairness of this and I guess he's right. Would I want randoms taking pictures of me everyday and all day long? I'd probably ask for cash money, too, if people wanted to take pictures of me all the time while I'm just trying to work or something. Or... you can take photos of people while they aren't paying attention, which is what I chose to do because I don't want them to pose or smile at me. So here's some photos of Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

A woman organizing her pottery to sell.

View of Taumadhi Tole with the tallest temple in Nepal - Nyatapola Temple (left).

I think this might be the Siddhi Laxmi Temple with statues of animals along the steps.

A building along Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

A cool statue outside of the National Art Gallery.

Pottery in Potter's Square - these are actually piggy banks.

Women in Potter's Square.

Enjoy... next post will be about Tihar or 3 days of lights and fireworks. :)

Check Rhino Off the List… But Still in Search of That Tiger

2008-10-15T14:19:00.008+05:30

So also over Dashain because we were already in the neighborhood, Raj suggested I head over to Chitwan National Park. The park is a major tourist attraction in Nepal (coming after Everest and the other big mountains of course) and apparently THE thing to do in the park is an elephant ride through the jungle. Because I’m technically still a tourist (though don’t tell people… I’d rather they all think I’m Nepali!), of course I would go to the park and ride an elephant.

Without sounding like a guide book, Chitwan has lots of good wildlife-seeing. It’s one of the last refuges for the endangered one-horned Indian rhinoceros. And… it supposedly has tigers, leopards, and other big game animals like sloth bears. I say supposedly because it’s very rare to see any of those animals… which means of course I want to see them. My friend Seth who’s interning in Burkina Faso and I have spent a lot of time discussing the possibility of seeing a tiger (I’ve promised to name the first tiger I see after him). I REALLY want to see a tiger much like my sister Joy REALLY wants to see a bear. So off I went, into the jungle (seriously… it’s a jungle) atop a sad elephant with 3 other people and the mahout (elephant driver) in search of a tiger named Seth.

The elephant ride was jostling 2.5 hour experience through the jungle. I saw deer, peacocks (not sure where they came from), and yay! Rhinos! And… more points because I saw a baby rhino, too! I’m pretty sure the rhinos I saw were the same two throughout the ride, but I’m okay with that. Have you seen a one-horned Indian rhino in the wild? Alright then. :) I’m pretty happy with my elephant ride experience. I would recommend it to all of you who come to Nepal (and visit me… who’s up for it?). Sadly, I did not see a tiger… but I’ve already decided that I’m going back to Chitwan before I leave and I will stay the night in the jungle (it’s like 500 NRS to stay in a wildlife viewing tower overnight) so I can find a tiger. I just want to see one… it’s not like I’ll take it home. This must be what Joy feels like. Grrr.

My rhino sighting(s)

The night before the elephant ride, Raj’s teenage nephew and I took in the Tharu cultural programme. I’m usually not into cultural programmes for tourists as it brings to mind the Growing Pains episodes where they vacationed in Maui and went to that just-for-the-mainlanders-luau. However, the Tharu cultural programme was pretty cool. I’m a sucker for stick dances (tininkling anyone?) and drum beats… and I was taking in by this as well. I think it’s great that the Tharu people are striving to preserve their culture. Sure they are dancing for the tourists, but… the performers are doing traditional dances that might’ve been forgotten otherwise. And come on… a guy was twirling fire! And the crowd was full of mostly Nepali tourists. So again, I’ve rationalized it and I’m okay with it. I'll post videos from the show soon.

Sunset over the Rapti River by the park. Nothing like a cup of tea and a sunset.

Stick Dancing at the Tharu Cultural Programme... they move SO fast!

Let the Festival Begin…

2008-10-15T13:51:00.007+05:30

This month has two major Nepali holidays (at the beginning and end of October)… which means the office is closed and I get the chance to get out and explore more of Nepal and learn more about the culture. Last week was Dashain – THE holiday for Nepali people. I was told that it’s comparable to Christmas… but I don’t think so. It’s so much more… but maybe because my family’s Christmas is more about staying up after midnight mass and tearing through presents and sleeping at dawn.

Dashain is a 15-day holiday in late September/early October that celebrates the goddess Durga’s victory over a buffalo demon. So what does that translate into celebration-wise? Animal sacrifices and going home and visiting every relative you have to receive their blessings (with a little cash on the side as well). Most offices and businesses close for the last 7 days of the festival… and that meant one whole week off!

So for Dashain I headed to Chitwan region with my friend Raj to see how Nepalis celebrate Dashain in his hometown of Narayangarh. It’s a 4-hour motorbike ride from KTM to Narayangarh on one of the major highways of Nepal. Raj put his wife and baby on the bus and we headed out on the motorbike in what seemed like a mass exodus from KTM as everyone was heading to their village to celebrate Dashain. The highway was full of buses packed with people headed to the terai (the southern flat plains of Nepal) as most people aren’t from KTM, they just live there to make money. Lucky for Raj and I had the motorbike to speed past (safely, of course) all the buses with the puking-out-the-window women and children, peeing-into-water-source pit stops for men, and broken down buses with stranded travelers alongside the road.

Dashain is a big family affair… so we just hung out at Raj’s house for the most part. They slaughtered a goat (not Raj… he has no desire to do it himself) as a sacrifice… and because Dashain is also a holiday of excess, there’s enough meat for every meal for the week. We watched a lot of television and played with a lot of children (as his family has sprouted kids while still in their late twenties/early thirties). Kids love Dashain because you get new clothes, money, and there’s giant bamboo swings set up all over the place to play on. Seriously… giant.

kids at the swing by the Narayani River

Raj enjoying the swing.

The main event of Dashain, though, is the 10th day – Vijaya Dashami – which begins the marathon family visiting rounds. Everyone goes to visit their elders to receive tika on their forehead – a blessing symbolizing the third and all-seeing/all-knowing eye – which is a mixture of red powder, rice, and yogurt (to make it stick of course). When you receive tika, money is also exchanged (which I didn’t really get, but found very interesting). Sometimes you give money to the elder giving you tika, but then a lot of them gave me money and I didn’t even do anything. I felt bad taking their money… I mean, it’s not my religion, culture, or even my holiday! I was told to just take the money or they would take offense. So I got about 400 NRS (around $5). We started at Raj’s parents’ house and then motorbiked all over Narayangarh and the surrounding villages to sit and chat with his relatives and receive tika. Raj was telling me that on tika day it’s customary to visit all your relatives and accumulate tika by midnight, however because he has so many relatives, he gets 4 days to finish the marathon. That’s 4 days of family time, folks. Plus the 3 days before hanging out with the immediate family. It’s exhausting… and it wasn’t even my family! Can you imagine celebrating Dashain in the US?? It already takes like 14 hours from Boston to my hometown in North Carolina! Not to mention all the relatives out in California! No way.

Me getting tika from Raj's dad.

I was really happy that Raj invited me to his family’s home in Narayangahr. It was great to really get to experience Dashain with Nepalis. His family was so nice to me and so welcoming. They seemed happy to share their culture with me. Kind of makes me regret not living with a Nepali family back here in KTM… then I remember the pros and cons of living with a host family in Uzbekistan.

The ride to and from Narayangahr once again made me so happy to be living here. It was so beautiful. The highway travels alongside a river through the hills back to KTM valley. Here’s some pictures that don’t even do this place justice. You really have to see this place to believe it.

Me, Raj, and his little nephew riding around Narayangahr on Raj's bike.

Morning view from the temple on a hill above Narayangahr

The temple with a queue of all the folks who also hiked up... but for obvious better reasons than mine.

Views from the back of the motorbike on the highway.

Out of the Valley

2008-10-15T13:46:00.002+05:30

So a few weeks ago (I know… I haven’t posted in a long time) I had my first real chance to get out of Kathmandu Valley and see the real Nepal. I don’t consider Kathmandu to be “real” Nepal because as it’s the capital it’s already different from the rest of the country and it’s crazy. And you don’t really have to speak Nepali here because most everyone knows enough English to get by. So my first real chance to see Nepal was this trip to Hetauda. I spent a week in Hetauda (Makwanpur district) attending focus groups and meeting up with local producers and listeners of SSMK and Naya Nepal (another EA Nepal radio program that focuses on the political situation of Nepal and how youth can get involved).

First of all… I loved Hetauda. Since it is out of the valley, it already wins major points with me, but there’s just something about the small town feel to it that I really liked. I liked how everything was centralized and easily findable. There was one or two major crossroads… and all shops, markets, internet cafes, and restaurants were along those main roads. In the Lonely Planet guide for Nepal it says that there’s not much to see in Hetauda (true) and that most people only stop there to change buses (also true). But that can be said for any small town in the states. There’s not a lot of foreigners in Hetauda… you could probably count the number on one hand. And I think that’s another reason why I liked it so much there.

Hetauda was just Nepalis living their lives and going about their daily routine. There’s not a pack of tourists roaming the streets looking for western food. Kathmandu is full of places trying to accommodate the westerners because every tourist comes through. Hetauda’s not looking to impress the tourists because there aren’t really any.

The trip really drove home the fact that everyone thinks I’m Nepali. Every local I met in Hetauda automatically assumed I was Nepali… and would speak to me instead of to the other girls with me (an Australian who lives in Hetauda and my French roommate… both of whom speak Nepali well). So I spent a lot of the time having other people or myself explaining that I’m not Nepali (Ma Nepali hoina.). It’s kind of cool, though, you know? I don’t really get harassed as much as I did in Uzbekistan. A few Uzbeks mistook me for Uzbek… but my American clothes definitely gave me away. Here, I’ve started a small collection of kurtas (long, light, dress-like shirts) so what gives me away is my lack of Nepali skills… or at least my embarrassment of how little Nepali I know after 1 month or so of living here.

The best part about the trip? The drive to and from Hetauda. From Kathmandu, it is a 4-hour jeep ride driving on curvy, curvy bumpy roads up and down hills. But it’s all through beautiful hills (what we would call mountains… but since they’ve got the Himalayas which they call mountains, you can see why you’d call these mini-mountains hills!). If I was into the whole religion and god thing I would say that this place is God’s country. I mean everywhere you look is just so beautiful and amazing. Unfortunately… I didn’t take many pictures (or any really at all). I went back to Kathmandu alone… in a jeep full of Nepali men. After living in Uzbekistan and suffering through some roadtrips with sketchy Uzbek men, I’m wary of traveling with all men and drawing more attention to myself by breaking out my camera and acting like a tourist. So I didn’t take out my camera (sorry… but I’m already planning another trip to Hetauda anyway, so I’ll get pictures from that trip).

The trip to Hetauda was just what I needed. After a month of settling in to my new life here and getting over jet lag, sickness (stomach and flu/cold), and just getting used to Kathmandu, a trip out of the valley completely rejuvenated me. I’m much happier (which my roommates have noticed) and am finally ready to enjoy my time here. I’ve been promised at work that I’ll have more field visits… if it’s anything like this trip to Hetauda, I already love my job and my life here. :)

To Tide You Over...

2008-09-29T16:04:00.011+05:30

So I just got back from the field (Hetauda) and am working on my post about it... until then, here's some pictures to look at from around KTM. :)

Patan Durbar Square (about a 10 minute walk from my house)

My new room (Libby's old room - THANKS!)

My pets: Everest and Annapurna

Swayambunath - the Monkey Temple

A monkey at Swayambunath

Views of KTM valley from Swayambunath (it must look awesome on a sunny day!)

Sleeping God Statue in Balaju Park

Bandh - This is when you run the other way.

2008-09-20T20:05:00.000+05:30

So today I had my first Nepali lesson. Yes, a lot later than I thought I would start, but I have high hopes with my teacher. He’s pretty good so I should know basic stuff within a few weeks. I’m going to start with 3 hours a week and see whether I should add more or take less.

After my lesson, my friend Raj and I decided to go to Swayambuhnath – which you might hear as the Monkey Temple. Yup, heading back into monkey territory. What it is about temples that monkeys like I have no idea, but as long as the monkeys stay back, I’m okay with them hanging about. Raj and I were on our way on his motorbike when we hit the New Road area (seriously, it is called New Road) and heard a big commotion. Lots of yelling on the big road and a whole bunch of people walking/running towards us. Raj pulled off onto a side road and walked back to see what the big deal was. Sure enough… it was a bandh (or strike)/protest.

Bandhs are pretty commonplace here, but usually people know about them in advance and just stay at home. Raj and I weren’t among the people who knew about this one in advance. There were a lot of people walking very quickly away from the strikers. And I figured maybe we should head away from them, too? So Raj and I got back on the motorbike and found an alternative route to Swayambuhnath. We found out along the way that the bandh was happening because the President has not visited the important temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square. Apparently, the people are quite pissed about this… so much so that New Road (a huge shopping area) and even Thamel was pretty much shut down for most of the day. We saw the protesters again in Thamel… which kind of freaked out all the tourists, but still they just sit and enjoy their coffee. They probably think it’s a parade. Except the people are breaking things and destroying atms and starting fires in the street.

Swayambuhnath was very cool. Another stupa (like the one in Boudha) but this one is crawling with monkeys. The monkeys here, I had heard, are more likely to jump you and grab at you… but they were pretty calm when I was there. Swayambunath is interesting because the hill it sits upon is supposedly “self-risen” from the lake which was supposed to have covered Kathmandu Valley (just letting you know what Lonely Planet says…). There’s a statue in a fountain at the entrance where you’re supposed to toss a coin and depending on where it lands it’s good luck (only if it lands on the platform at the statue’s feet). Neither Raj nor I could make it… but this young girl got it almost every time! She must’ve been standing there tossing coins – at least 50 rupees! – for awhile. Everywhere you look there are prayer flags hanging all over the place. I wish it had been sunny so that the colors were brighter than they were, but I’m sure I’ll make it to the Monkey Temple again. I’ve also found that temples are crawling with young couples… all looking for a quiet place to hold hands and be all lovey-dovey. Really. It seemed like the only people visiting the temple were couples. In every dark corner or semi-secluded area, there’s a young Nepali couple probably forced to meet secretly because they are promised to marry someone else.

It was the same at Balaju Park – where we went after Swayambuhnath and Thamel. The park is just outside of Ring Road (which encircles all of Kathmandu) and is quite small, but nice with small ponds with fish, walking paths up the hill, and a sleeping Vishnu statue. It was nice to hang out with Raj and see stuff around Kathmandu. I haven’t been traveling around much… especially this week since I was sick. Plus, it’s better to see stuff with a local than with other foreigners.

My Pets

2008-09-17T20:54:00.004+05:30

So in my new room (pictures coming soon) I discovered Annapurna and Everest... two geckos that live in my room. Don't get me wrong, I like geckos. I'm actually fine with most creepy crawlies and bugs and animals. Okay, maybe not cockroaches, but who likes them anyway. Geckos, though? Eat all the mosquitoes you want. I'm happy to have you! We've got this unsaid agreement (well, maybe I said it out loud, but it looked like they understood)... geckos stay on the walls and not on my bed. Or in my clothes.

I mean, really, do you want to wake up in the middle of the night staring into a beady pair of gecko eyes? No thanks. So hopefully, Annapurna (she's the smaller of the two) and Everest (obviously, the bigger one) will stick to the agreement. Otherwise... maybe you'll hear me screaming wherever you may be. :)

I'll try to post a pic of my new friends once I see them again. I guess it's better than me petting the mangy street dogs.

My Night as an American (13/09/08)

2008-09-14T06:53:00.002+05:30

So last night was my roommate Libby’s last night in Nepal. I really like Libby and will definitely miss her in the house. Last night was almost my second experience in Thamel. Still crazy (if not crazier than the last time I went) and still crowded with foreigners, street kids, and aggressive shopkeepers who think a “Hello American!” is enough to get you to buy things from them.

We ate at Or2K for dinner with my classmate and only other Heller person in Nepal Elle. Or2K (I have no clue as to what the name is for or means) is a popular Israeli restaurant with the local foreigner crowd. The place is very hippie with low tables and floor pillows and cushions to sit on. You’re always bound to see at least 3 people with dreads, 1 Che shirt, 1 Bob Marley shirt, and the other person is probably wearing something light and flow-y in linen. The food’s good and at least gives me a place to get pretty good hummus and pita, baba ganoush, and falafel.

After dinner, the three of us went to Tomaz to meet up with the other roomies, Tom (the neighbor), and some other friends. Tomaz. How to describe this place. It’s got a South Beach-y feel with neon, long billowy bright white curtains, dim (I mean, DIM) lighting, and loud music playing (anything from Fergie to techno/house and we even heard The Offspring’s “Pretty Fly for a White Guy”… yup, anything.). So with the South Beach-y feel, throw in some random Hindu religious art and sculpture, some jewel tone interiors, and you’ve got a pseudo-swanky bar for the young hipster Nepali crowd to mix with the foreigners that are bound to find their way there.

What did we find out? Their long island iced teas are strong, their other drinks taste like a juice box, and they don’t understand the concept of straight liquor shots. They have shooters (kamikaze and other girly like shots), but ask for Smirnoff Red vodka shots and they bring it to you in big tumbler glasses and ask you if you want ice. Also, when you order a drink, say you order the long island iced tea… they say, “how many?” Not “how many” like how many does your party want… but how many do you think you can hold right now at this very second. Our waiter didn’t really quite understand that we only wanted one drink at a time. Then again he asked me a couple of times why I don’t want to order snacks (though other people in the party did).

And then the impromptu dancing started. So there’s a new minister in power in KTM who has decided that places need to shut down at 10. So this includes the shower bars (actual bars where showers set up and girls dressed in bikinis dance around… though not always IN the shower. Obviously these places are also fronts for prostitution rings – keep in mind, I’ve only heard about shower bars from locals and other westerners and never want to experience them for myself), bars, dance clubs, and regular restaurants. So we decided that Tomaz needed a dance floor… as we proceeded to dance in the little space by the DJ.

So there’s like what, 7 girls? Plus Tom. Of course some random guy from Oregon who just finished law school and is on his last hurrah until joining the wonderously boring and long hour days and weeks at the public defender’s office would join us. Weird. Luckily, maybe he got the hint from Libby and me… or it could have been the constant elbow in the side from Tom, but the random guy from Oregon left without a word.

Anyway, this morning, Libby, Tom and I ate breakfast overlooking Patan Durbar Square (very cool, quiet, and not like the rest of KTM). And then Libby left this afternoon for Dhaka. :( I spent the rest of the day moving into her room… there’s always turnover at Sushil Villa they say. Still it’s kind of sad. It was great hanging out with Libby and finding out we’re alike in some ways. Wonder how much Dhaka flights are? I’ve never been to Bangladesh.

Photos around the house and KTM

2008-09-06T16:48:00.006+05:30

Sushil Villa (seriously, that's the name of the place... it even says so on the house!)

The living room and breakfast table.

The back garden. This place is seriously unbelievable. It's way different from my great apartment in Jizzakh.

A view of KTM from the Hash hike.

The hills surrounding KTM.

Saw this kid sitting in the window of his house. The other picture I took of this is at the top of my blog.

Time for another break...

2008-09-05T09:16:00.007+05:30

Photos from Teej and Boudha

The line of red saris into the temple at Pashupati.

A little boy taking in all the red.

Crazy monkeys.

On the way out of Pashupati and to Boudha.

Another temple (with another line).

Boudhanath in Boudha (you've probably seen the eyes other places).

Religious men back at Pashupati (taken from very far away... they make you give them money if they see you take their picture).

Field Trip! (040908)

2008-09-05T09:09:00.001+05:30

So today at work, I thought I was going to be reading through journal articles and program materials, but then my colleague Yogi invited me to come along to some focus groups in a village outside Kathmandu. Of course I wanted to go… KTM is really noisy, crowded, and kind of dirty so I wanted to see if other places in the valley are the same. So we headed to Thankot, probably 10-15km outside of Kathmandu.

The focus groups consisted of local women’s groups (also participating in a Heifer International project) so I got to meet a lot of really interesting women. We were asking for feedback from them about 4 PSAs my organization has produced concerning pre-natal and maternal care (part of our Early Child Development program). The ladies were so excited to have us (giving us gifts – it’s what they do) and to talk about the PSAs. Of course we gave them some program swag from our most popular show (SSMK, which I’m going to be working on as well).

It was SO nice up in Thankot. It’s up in the hills (KTM is in a valley) and so it’s less hot, less crowded, and less polluted. The ladies were telling me that they’ve even had freakin’ tigers roaming around the villages at night. Seriously. TIGERS. :) It was really fun and nice to hang out with the local women and see how important their feedback is to our broadcasts and PSAs. Of course, I got the “She’s not Nepali?” but I think I’m starting to get used to it. Once I speak Nepali (I’m learning a little bit here and there and still looking for a private tutor), I’ll be able to blend in much better.

We got back from Thankot a little late, so Yogi gave me a ride home on his motorbike. Have to say, I was a little concerned getting on a motorbike here of all places (I really need to post a picture of a street scene so you’ll get just how crowded and congested this place is!), but it wasn’t so bad. Still a little wary of motorcycles in general, but not super afraid anymore. Don’t worry, I’m safe, mom (if you’re reading this finally!) and I probably won’t do it again.

Unless someone else offers me a ride home. :)

We Sing. We Dance. We Fast and Faint.

2008-09-04T10:22:00.000+05:30

So a couple of days ago, I experienced my first festival/holiday here in Nepal. It was Teej celebrated by all Hindu women (except for a few select groups like the Newari and Gurung – I think). I’m used to holidays in Uzbekistan where there’s a big program or show and flowers given to everyone. Here… it’s a little different. Teej is kind of like International Women’s Day in that it’s a woman’s holiday… but instead of celebrating women, it’s for praying for the long life of their husbands. Awesome.

My roommates and I headed out to Pashupati (it’s a big temple here in KTM) early on Tuesday morning (yup, a mid-week holiday has definitely thrown me off for the rest of the week) with the promise that we would see amazing singing and dancing from the women of KTM. So we go and are met with a very, very… very long line of women dressed in red saris from head-to-toe. They’re all supposed to be fasting, and I must say, I was a little worried for their health and safety as Tuesday proved to be an amazingly clear and hot day. Who really want to not eat and then sing and dance all day? In the heat? Well, that’s what these women came to do. It was really cool to see everyone decked out in red. I even went out a couple of nights before and bought something red just so I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb and I don’t even wear red.

So Pashupati apparently means “lord of the cattle” so it’s a major temple here in KTM. While we were there we also go to see a Hindu funeral and the burning of the dead. A little disturbing for me, but the Hindu faith deals with death differently than the Judeo-Christian ways. The funeral was very colorful, with the body of the dead wrapped in vibrant orange and red cloth and flowers. We watched as the men (as they can only perform funeral rites) washed the body in the Bagmati River and then carried it over to be burned. All the while, the women in red are standing in line waiting to get into the temple. There was water available and even some little Nepali Red Cross volunteers to make sure that the women weren’t passing out while waiting in line. We saw a few ambulances carrying off women who had fainted and then later there were reports that 15 women fainted (not a bad ratio once you saw how many people were there). We didn’t see any dancing though… and that was a big disappointment. Wouldn’t it have been so cool (imagine the pictures!) to see thousands of red sari’d women dancing around hoping their husbands live a long time?

Also at Pashupati, there’s a ton of monkeys. And not your average zoo monkeys, but staring you down, ready to take your food and bag, and probably raging rabid monkeys! They circle you like they’re seriously stalking you and are ready to take you away. Also, random fact, did you know that a gang of monkeys is actually called a cartload or a troop? We had no idea! At the time, though, they act like more of a gang. Sure… they look cute when they’ve got their little baby monkeys hanging onto their stomachs or backs, but then you see that crazy look in their eye. I’ve decided to treat all animals I see here in Nepal as rabid. So that means no petting the street dogs, too (which look surprisingly mangier than the ones in Uzbekistan). Fine.

Then my roommates and I headed to Boudha, another little area of KTM. It's the Tibetan community here in Kat. I've got some good pics of the Boudhanath Stupa - one of THE holiest Buddhist spots (and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site). You might recognize it if you've looked at any travel guides or websites about Nepal. I'm pretty sure I'll head back there soon as it's a very laidback and quiet part of KTM (which is hard to find around Patan, where I live).

The next holiday is Dashain, but I heard there’s not so much of a big festival because it’s just when everyone returns home to their families for like a week. If you know any different, let me know. I’m supposed to go trekking then, but wouldn’t mind just a week to explore the valley a little more.

Happy Teej… hope your husbands appreciate the fainting.

I'll be having another photo break soon with some pictures from Pashupati.

The Love/Hate Relationship Begins…

2008-09-01T11:30:00.000+05:30

So I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Thamel, but if you’ve ever or will ever go backpacking, trekking, or climbing in Nepal, you’ll most likely end up in Thamel. It’s a small section of Kathmandu where the foreigners outnumber the locals. It’s very westernized with it’s Zara, Mac store, cute coffeeshops, and cheap outdoor gear shops. It’s the place you go to buy everything and anything you left at home from nalgenes (I forgot mine) to down sleeping bags. It’s also probably the highest hippie capital (in more ways than one) as well. So there’s a lot of dreadlocked, dirty hippie people (not that I judge) all running around in their Birkenstocks and linen tunics.
Okay, so that might be the hate part… well at least part of it. I’ll get to more of that later. I went into Thamel with my Cali roommate and her colleague/friend. I thought I should probably get it over with now so I can know where to go later on when no one’s around to show me. So we took a taxi to get out there because it’s pretty freakin’ far away and then as soon as you’re out of the taxi, you’re immediately hit with the sound of honking of taxis, motorbikes, and rickshaws. Throw into the mix, the constant calling of “Hello!” from all the Nepali sellers trying to make a rupee (or a thousand) off of the nearest westerner. Shoot… I meant to get to the love part of the relationship and I’ve immediately slipped back into the hate part.
The love part, here goes. I like Thamel because it’s the place I know I’ll probably go if I feel like I’m missing the states. As I said before, foreigners are a mainstay in this section of Kat. That means that things that foreigners like are available in Thamel. They have gifts and souvenirs, bars and restaurants and dance clubs and prostitutes. My roommate likened it to Bangkok, which I am not really interested in visiting. My roommate, her friend and I stopped at this café with its sleek leather chairs and western food and people watched as different foreigners and westernized Nepalis alike sat and chatted in their cute, trendy clothes. It’s nice to just sit and absorb the western-ness.
Plus, where there are tourists, there are touristy shops. So Joy, I’ve scoped out the place for magnets and know where to find them when I’m about to come home. I’ve already figured out a lot of the gifts I’ll be bringing home and by the time I leave, hopefully (big hopefully) I’ll know enough Nepali to bargain well.  I bought a few things for myself… I can’t help it and it will be a long 7 months. So I bought a warm hat (a little early, but it’s getting a little cooler in the evenings), a new bag for when I need to carry more stuff around town, a map of Nepal so I can orient myself, and season 1 of Mad Men (because I’ve heard a lot of good things about the series). So now I know where I can at least marginally keep up with American movies and television.
A little more on the bad part of Thamel (just a little). Another common occurrence in Thamel is seeing the street kids sniffing glue. I saw it a few times and was stunned. So the street kids asking for money from the tourists, I’m a little wary that that money isn’t going towards food, but towards more glue.

The Hash… or ex-pats unite.

2008-08-31T10:42:00.000+05:30

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

2008-08-29T21:35:00.002+05:30

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

2008-08-29T08:53:00.007+05:30

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)

2008-08-29T08:51:00.001+05:30

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!

2008-08-27T16:29:00.002+05:30

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)

2008-08-27T08:52:00.000+05:30

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)

2008-08-26T14:22:00.001+05:30

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)

2008-08-26T14:18:00.002+05:30

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

2008-08-15T06:55:00.005+05:30

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?

Should I start packing?

2008-07-17T08:10:00.004+05:30

My proposal got approved (yay!) by my school, so it looks like at least they are on board with my project and going to Nepal. Now I just have to do what I wrote. I've been keeping up with the news in Nepal as much as I can. Google alerts makes it a lot easier when the BBC doesn't report much on Nepal. I don't want this blog to get bogged down in political musings and reporting of the situation in country... mostly because I don't want it to get shut down or me getting caught by whoever monitors these things. Let's just hope that the parties can get it together and get a functioning government in place.

As for packing, I have no idea where to start. A classmate who is also going to Nepal gave me some really good tips, so I guess I'll start there. I'm going home in a couple of weekends to get my winter stuff together and send a box ahead of me. I figure it'll get to Nepal by at least October if I send it now. :) Packing means, though, that I have to figure out all sorts of good to know information... like climate, what the dress is like at the office, and what exactly I'm going to be doing outside of work (like trekking, traveling, etc.).

Only 30-some days left until I leave... that's enough time, right? To get ready to go... and plan a wedding?

From Heller to Kathmandu

2008-07-04T07:44:00.001+05:30

So now that I've finished my first year of grad school at Heller, it's on to my second year internship. After months (seriously... MONTHS) of looking for an internship in Nepal, I finally found one. :) I'll be in Kathmandu for 7 months working for an NGO that creates and broadcasts social development radio programming for children and youth in Nepal. Hopefully this will get me started towards creating children's media in the developing world. Secret dream (okay, maybe not so secret)... working at Sesame Workshop to bring Sesame Street to Uzbekistan and/or Nepal.

Anyway, I'll be using this blog to keep everyone up-to-date about my new life in Nepal. It'll be a lot easier to keep up with friends and family this time overseas now that I have my laptop and a better camera. So stay tuned and keep reading...