Two weeks and no update . . . well, where to start? Hmm, got scabies for the second time (see photo) but luckily none of the children seemed to pick it up. I’ve got less than a week and I’m feeling ready to change pace again. The past two weeks have been busy due to the holidays (meaning: no school; meaning: 10 hours of keeping the kids entertained) and a few trips to the clinic to spice things up. I was lucky to catch a Newari festival in Kokana. The main event involved about 30 young Newari men swimming around in a pool the looked and smelled suspiciously like a cesspool; with the goal of tossing a drowned (but initially alive) goat out of the pool onto the bank without any of the other men dragging it back into the water. The winner got to keep the goat. It was quite a spectacle and it looked like there where about 400 people crowding in to cheer along. I also happened upon anther festival of some sort the involved a long parade of folks all dressed up in traditional clothes. Still haven’t gotten sick and I’m hoping that my luck doesn’t run out in the last week. The orphanage manager has been terrible the past few weeks. His latest and continuing gig is to not pay for anything at all with the intent of forcing the volunteers to foot the bill (as we’re already paying for clothes, shoes, food, rent, and toys). Fortunately VSN has been thinking about taking the whole operation over and getting rid of the manager; however we still need his cooperation in the matter and he’s been expectantly hesitant because he makes so much money off these children. What to do? I renewed my visa today USD $30 for an extra 6 days – very steep, but there’s no way around it. The whole thing is a masterpiece of Nepali bureaucracy. The office opens and 9:30, which really means 10:00 to 10:30 depending on when the staff gets there. You fill your form out and crowd up to the counter because there are no lines, the staff checks that you’ve filled the form out right, then takes 20 minutes to calculate the number of days you’ve been there and when your new visa will expire; then you get shipped of to the cashier counter where you pay $30 – but there’s a catch, you have to pay in rupees and this means that the amount of rupees you pay varies with the days’ exchange rate because it has to be equivalent to $30 even though you’re paying in rupees. That’s not all. You’ve got to come back at noon to pick your visa and passport up, but it’s actually never ready until 1:00ish – and by then you’re just happy to get out of there. On the up side I’ve been able to continue my walkabouts a couple of times a week. I’ve been spending quite a lot of time in Patan and enjoy the slower and less touristy atmosphere there. I’ve come across some wonderful and cheep Indian food and made a dozen new and random Nepali acquaintances. I’ve got five days left at the orphanage, then I’m going to spend three days in Kathmandu without any sort of responsibilities; which means I’ll be spending lots of time hanging out with other volunteers drinking beer, eating out, and seeing the sites. Anyway, I’ll surely post again before I leave. - tanner
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