The following is a summary of Jan. 20th thru Jan. 24th....
Jan. 20th I wake up and study some Nepali vocab. After tea I talk with Suman (my faux bro) about cars and motorcycles. I tell him I sold my car to come to Nepal and he thinks I'm crazy. He tells me about wanting a fast Japanese motorcycle of which are hard to find in Nepal. And, if he were to buy one outside of Nepal he would have to pay a 100% tax to import it, plus shipping and handling. As if the Nepali government doesn't screw them over enough daily. He also told me about a Nepalese restaurant in Washington D.C. that a friend of the family owns. It's called "Mt Everest". Go there and eat some daal bhat with your hands. Do it. Do it.
After my daalbhat and language class, my host mom took me behind the house to help someone cut down a tree. I think she expected me to be reluctant to do some manual labor, but I jumped at the chance to get my hands dirty. It was fun and I got blisters.
In the afternoon I had a class on the caste system here in Nepal. I'm not going to go on about what's bad and good about the system. It's really interesting stuff though. After class I walked my teacher to the bus stop and she talked about how lazy most of the Nepalese men are and how difficult it is to be an independant woman.
Near the bus stop is an internet cafe which I have been utilizing. Checking email, along with everything else, is extremely cheap. Thirty rupees per hour, which converts to about 45 cents in the US. I love cheap stuff.
Later that night I sat around a small fire with my host dad and one of his friends. A simple fire made in a broken flower pot with dried corn cobs. Not many words were uttered between the three of us. We just sat around enjoying the warmth of the fire on a cold night. Silences are not awkward here. Sitting there with those two men was my favorite moment since arriving here.
Jan. 21st. After my normal morning routine, and some more wood chopping, I took a day trip with an Australian volunteer named Julia and two Nepal Reliance representatives, Sovita and Reecha. (Nepal Reliance is the organization I'm volunteering with) The four of us hopped in a local minibus, which was crammed with 22 people counting us, and went to the buddhist stupa called Bodhanath. It is the religious center for Nepal's considerable population of Tibetans. Afterwards we went to the Hindu temple of Pashupatinah where cremations are a daily occurrence. On this afternoon, 6 dead people were being burned and their ashes thrown into the river, all in plain view. There were many spectators for this Hinudu practice and I scooted in to get a look with the crowd. I watched the bodies burn, and then I walked away. No serious contemplation of life and death. No feelings of disgust. I just watched and walked away. The end is the only certainty in life, so this scene didn't affect me really. Just an everyday occurrence. Interesting none the less.
There are a couple of other very interesting things about this temple. It is home to the Milk Baba, some cave dwelling holymen, and a man who lifts great amounts of weight with his penis. The milk Baba is a holy man that has drunk only milk for the past 25 years or so. No food or water, just milk. He apparently has thousands of worldwide fans and faithful followers for who knows what reason. He wasn't around this afternoon, he was in Hawaii. No joke. I guess a group of his followers took him on a vacation. At least that's what the guy at the gate said. The fake holymen are a few hermits that dress up in religious garb and come down from their caves and charge outrageous amounts to have your picture taken with them. The locals call them commercial priests. The man with the super penis has become quite the celebrity around the world. Some of you may have seen him on a video clip circulating through the internet. He's so popular that he'll charge as much as $100.00 US to perform and be videotaped. It sounded like an interesting performance, but not one worth that kind of money. I decided to pass.
It was getting dark, so we got on a minibus and headed back to our respective parts of town. The public transportation is surprisingly simple to use and understand. I walked home, had some daalbhat, read a bit, then went to bed. The days at this point were starting to pass very quickly.
Jan. 22 I walked to Patan Durbar Square today. I had gone once before but it was a rainy day then so I looked forward to visiting on this beautiful sunny day. Durbar Square is a section of town with many beautiful Hindu temples. The architecture and size of the temples is amazing. I will post pictures in the future, so you can know what I mean.
A tibetan bhuddist started talking to me and eventually invited me for tea at a nearby hole in the wall. We drank tea and talked about the eternal search for peace of mind and body. After our tea, he took me to his shop where he sells bhuddist art. His work is quite stunning. I asked if I could come by another day and watch him work and he excitedly replied yes.
I spent another hour or so walking around the square and the area surrounding it. Some of the places have entrance fees, but I can show my Nepal Reliance volunteer card and get in for free. When I felt like I'd gotten my fill of Hindu architecture for the day I took an aimless walk through the streets and got lost. Getting lost is one of the best ways to acquaint yourself with a city and I do it on purpose once in a while. At times you need to discard that Lonely Planet map and just start walking. Eventually found my way back to my area of the city. In all I probably spent about 2 hours walking around with barely a clue of where I was or where I was headed. It was a great afternoon.
After my evening helping of rice and part of a Bond film (in English none the less) I was off to my room to read some then go to sleep. A quick note on the room I am staying in: The daughter is currently away living in a boarding school so I'm sleeping in her room which is adorned with pictures of a bunch of hinky Indian actors and singers. I think that's funny.
Jan. 23rd Other than learning how to make Nepali tea, and eating my first meat since arriving in Nepal, there wasn't much on this day to write about. Most of the day was a rainy mess and I just sat around and chatted with my host mom. Well, I at least attempted to chat. My limited Nepali vocabulary prevents actual conversations from taking place. Overall, a very simple, enjoyable day.
Jan. 24th Today I went to work with my host dad. The ride across town on the back of his motorcycle was fantastic. There are basically no traffic rules, or at least none are enforced. It's an exciting free for all everytime you hit the streets. I'm not sure how it's possible, but there are very few accidents. There are probably more daily collisions back in Albany, OR.
Laxman (that's my host dad's name) seems to be some sort of accountant at some sort of theatre company in Kathmandu. I'm really not sure. Throughout the day I was introduced to numerous Nepali actors, singers, and dancers.
Tea time was a big part of the day and it occurred about 7 times. There was morning tea, mid-morning tea, end of morning tea, before-lunch tea, afterlunch tea, afternoon tea, and then a cup to celebrate a hard day's work. Good thing I love the tea here.
For lunch, Laxman's brother took me to a great Nepali Restaurant. It was nice to eat something other than daalbhat. Really great food. The restaurant itself was not near any tourist areas and the menus were all written in Nepali. Many of the people there looked at me like I was the first westerner to enter the place and there's a good chance I was. Definitely not a place mentioned in any travel books, and I loved it for that.
My day at the office started at 9 am and ended promptly at 4 pm. All day I looked forward to another exciting motorcycle commute back home and I wasn't dissapointed. Just as fun as my morning ride, weaving through people, minibuses, big buses, taxis, tuk tuks, and what seemed like a river of other motorcycles flowing through the streets. It's complete madness, yet very smooth.
When we got back to the house, we sat around and relaxed with what else? A nice warm cup of tea.
I must quit for the time being. The cyber cafe I am in has been playing 3 Guns and Roses songs repeatedly and I can't take it any longer. I'll continue later.
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