So we spent the last two days in Pokhara, which was lots of fun. I will expand on that later, but for now I don't have much time. We leave for trekking tomorrow bright and early at 6 am! We will be gone for two weeks, so don't expect to hear from us until then. Other than that, computers are still in customs, but being worked on, and should be here when we return from trekking in theory. Nils and I are both alive and well, Nils is cleanshaven now, and both are excited for trekking tomorrow.
Cheers!
Nikki
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
we watch the sky, confusing stars for satellites
So the past two days have been slow - they're the peak of the festival weeks, so everything in the city shuts down as people go back to villages, and spend time with families. It's the equivalent of the the Thanksgiving-Christmas period for us. As a result it makes it difficult to get places or do things though. We were invited to a student's house for lunch yesterday, and we made it there, but it took us a good 15 minutes to catch a timpo, when it normally would've taken two. Lunch was delicious and well worth the difficulty of finding a ride though.
Everyone here is so hospitable. At lunch at Amar's (the student), his family is clearly not incredibly well off - it is him and his mother, who is a widow, and they live in a modest -but well-kept and clean- one room apartment. They are also a lower caste, which I will get into later. In spite of this though, she was incredibly hospitable and generous and insisted upon feeding us a very large lunch, when she could have just as easily given us a snack of tea and biscuits. What someone said in Tanzania rings true here also - those with the least to give are the most generous. Everyone here is so kind and welcoming. After lunch Amar showed us his kite flying skills, which were quite impressive. The minute I touched the kite string (he insisted we try flying it), it dropped a good 30 ft almost instantaneously, but he was immediately able to fix whatever error I had made. Kite flying is huge here during festival, and dozens of kites dot the sky. While we watched he engaged in battle with another kite, which culminated in his successfully cutting the line of the other kite and setting it loose. This is a common goal among the kids of the city, and you will occasionally see groups of kids running down stray kites that have been cut out of the sky.
For the evening we went out to dinner in Thamel with the other volunteers, as it is the only place in the city still open, being the tourist district. It's a weird place, filled with knock-off hiking gear and street vendors who offer, "hashish? magic mushroom?", and more white people than you will see anywhere else in the city. It's odd in a way to see so many white people in one place, since you rarely see them in such large numbers in other parts of the city. It's quite disconcerting. We found a nice rooftop restaurant to have dinner at though, where we were serenaded by Reggae from a club on one side, and a terrible rock cover band on the other. They served the most Western style food I've seen yet, which included such things as garlic bread. This turned out to be bread with butter and crushed (uncooked) garlic on top. Tongue tingling. After dinner we indulged in dessert at a nearby bakery, and then stopped at a pub for cocktails for those who desired more alcohol, before turning in. The taxi ride home was a cozy six people in a compact car. At least if we crashed there was no way anyone was getting flung out of the car.
This morning started off lazily again, being festival, but Lucy and John (two of the other volunteers) decided to make banana pancakes as a treat for everyone. Maple syrup is not available here, but Nutella and honey are great substitutes. The rest of the day was spent talking and eating, and various other lazy activities, and then of course, receiving blessings.
The big thing for today's festival I guess is blessings. You are given blessing by your elders. This is particularly enjoyed by the kids, as blessings from your elders are accompanied by small monetary gifts. We were all blessed by Mr. Patel's mother, who gave us tikka's, and sprinkled us with marigold petals and holy grass (grass grown on specially designated holy plots) as blessing. We also received blessing from Mr. Patel and Sudha, as they are both our elder's technically (Sudha is 24, and thus not really older than some of the volunteers, but being volunteers , she is our elder). My hands and jeans are now coated in a fine red powder, from when my tikka came off, but it will come out, and besides, it is bad luck to refuse blessing (unless you are in Thamel, then it's just a scam). We still have a large dinner to look forward to tonight, and probably blessings tomorrow.
Oh, and then caste system. This and women's role in society here was a big conversation topic at yesterday's dinner, and is something that is currently somewhat prominent in politics here. Tyler, who studied abroad for 4 months here, and is now back again on a grant, knows a fair bit about the issues, so we were asking about it. What I have come to understand, is that there is a very defined caste system here. Westerner's rarely see it because Nepali's can know what caste someone is by what their name is, so unless you know how to interpret the names of people, it is invisible to you. Mr. Patel wants to be addressed as that because it conceals what his caste is. Him and Sudha are different castes (he was of a lower caste) and her parents still do not give their blessing to the marriage, and so she visits her family alone, because they do not approve of him. Caste is becoming less of an issue in Kathmandu - you will see Brahmins in poverty and dahls (untouchables) who have risen out of it, but it is a big political issue here, because dahls have virtually no representation, and it is still very existent in rural areas from what I understand.
Womens role has also been changing - until fairly recently a womens role was only in the house, and for many women it is still that way. Again, in Kathmandu that is slowly beginning to change - some women hold jobs, and are well educated. Although as Sudha pointed out, the oldest class at the school is all male - they have a very high drop out rate for girls. And for instance, Mr. Patel will sometimes cook dinner, and that is considered a very big step because that is typically considered a female domain. However, as evidenced today, there are still steps to be taken - when Nils tried to wash the dishes today, he was strongly opposed by Sudha. He persisted but she was very unwilling to let him do so, and Mr. Patel never washes dishes. And again, the most liberal practices and ideas are found in Kathmandu - rural villages are less so. Both of these are things that are not very evident unless you know what you're looking for, or until you hear stories or it is pointed out by other people.
Anyway. Now that I have given you an overly lengthy post, I will go entertain myself with some reading until dinner.
Have a Happy Dasain!
Everyone here is so hospitable. At lunch at Amar's (the student), his family is clearly not incredibly well off - it is him and his mother, who is a widow, and they live in a modest -but well-kept and clean- one room apartment. They are also a lower caste, which I will get into later. In spite of this though, she was incredibly hospitable and generous and insisted upon feeding us a very large lunch, when she could have just as easily given us a snack of tea and biscuits. What someone said in Tanzania rings true here also - those with the least to give are the most generous. Everyone here is so kind and welcoming. After lunch Amar showed us his kite flying skills, which were quite impressive. The minute I touched the kite string (he insisted we try flying it), it dropped a good 30 ft almost instantaneously, but he was immediately able to fix whatever error I had made. Kite flying is huge here during festival, and dozens of kites dot the sky. While we watched he engaged in battle with another kite, which culminated in his successfully cutting the line of the other kite and setting it loose. This is a common goal among the kids of the city, and you will occasionally see groups of kids running down stray kites that have been cut out of the sky.
For the evening we went out to dinner in Thamel with the other volunteers, as it is the only place in the city still open, being the tourist district. It's a weird place, filled with knock-off hiking gear and street vendors who offer, "hashish? magic mushroom?", and more white people than you will see anywhere else in the city. It's odd in a way to see so many white people in one place, since you rarely see them in such large numbers in other parts of the city. It's quite disconcerting. We found a nice rooftop restaurant to have dinner at though, where we were serenaded by Reggae from a club on one side, and a terrible rock cover band on the other. They served the most Western style food I've seen yet, which included such things as garlic bread. This turned out to be bread with butter and crushed (uncooked) garlic on top. Tongue tingling. After dinner we indulged in dessert at a nearby bakery, and then stopped at a pub for cocktails for those who desired more alcohol, before turning in. The taxi ride home was a cozy six people in a compact car. At least if we crashed there was no way anyone was getting flung out of the car.
This morning started off lazily again, being festival, but Lucy and John (two of the other volunteers) decided to make banana pancakes as a treat for everyone. Maple syrup is not available here, but Nutella and honey are great substitutes. The rest of the day was spent talking and eating, and various other lazy activities, and then of course, receiving blessings.
The big thing for today's festival I guess is blessings. You are given blessing by your elders. This is particularly enjoyed by the kids, as blessings from your elders are accompanied by small monetary gifts. We were all blessed by Mr. Patel's mother, who gave us tikka's, and sprinkled us with marigold petals and holy grass (grass grown on specially designated holy plots) as blessing. We also received blessing from Mr. Patel and Sudha, as they are both our elder's technically (Sudha is 24, and thus not really older than some of the volunteers, but being volunteers , she is our elder). My hands and jeans are now coated in a fine red powder, from when my tikka came off, but it will come out, and besides, it is bad luck to refuse blessing (unless you are in Thamel, then it's just a scam). We still have a large dinner to look forward to tonight, and probably blessings tomorrow.
Oh, and then caste system. This and women's role in society here was a big conversation topic at yesterday's dinner, and is something that is currently somewhat prominent in politics here. Tyler, who studied abroad for 4 months here, and is now back again on a grant, knows a fair bit about the issues, so we were asking about it. What I have come to understand, is that there is a very defined caste system here. Westerner's rarely see it because Nepali's can know what caste someone is by what their name is, so unless you know how to interpret the names of people, it is invisible to you. Mr. Patel wants to be addressed as that because it conceals what his caste is. Him and Sudha are different castes (he was of a lower caste) and her parents still do not give their blessing to the marriage, and so she visits her family alone, because they do not approve of him. Caste is becoming less of an issue in Kathmandu - you will see Brahmins in poverty and dahls (untouchables) who have risen out of it, but it is a big political issue here, because dahls have virtually no representation, and it is still very existent in rural areas from what I understand.
Womens role has also been changing - until fairly recently a womens role was only in the house, and for many women it is still that way. Again, in Kathmandu that is slowly beginning to change - some women hold jobs, and are well educated. Although as Sudha pointed out, the oldest class at the school is all male - they have a very high drop out rate for girls. And for instance, Mr. Patel will sometimes cook dinner, and that is considered a very big step because that is typically considered a female domain. However, as evidenced today, there are still steps to be taken - when Nils tried to wash the dishes today, he was strongly opposed by Sudha. He persisted but she was very unwilling to let him do so, and Mr. Patel never washes dishes. And again, the most liberal practices and ideas are found in Kathmandu - rural villages are less so. Both of these are things that are not very evident unless you know what you're looking for, or until you hear stories or it is pointed out by other people.
Anyway. Now that I have given you an overly lengthy post, I will go entertain myself with some reading until dinner.
Have a Happy Dasain!
Friday, October 19, 2007
your sorry eyes; they cut through bone
Today was one of the biggest festival days of Dasain. We got up bright and early at 6 to go to the "goat shopping complex". Did I mention that the big part of todays celebration was animal sacrifices? Well it is. They sacrifice animals to the gods, and then also to most motor vehicles in the city. We had received one goat from the director's mother last night, but that was an offering to the gods, and we needed to purchase another to bless the school bus with before we went to the temple. After waiting two hours for the bus, we made it to the goat shopping complex, which is really just a roadside filled with hundreds of goats of all shapes, sizes, and colors. We selected our goat and packed him into the school bus with the other goat. There was pretty much every type of goat transport imaginable - goats strapped onto motorbikes, goats packed into timpos, goats packed into vans, or cars, in pick-up beds, or being walked on leashes.
Having secured our two goats, we took a twenty minute or so busride up to the temple, which had an amazing view. We were out of Kathmandu so we were in these beautiful terraced hills speckled with small villages. When we finally made it up to the temple, we strategically parked our bus in a small stream and then de-boarded to go see the sights at the temple. The goats had a small reprieve as we walked around and saw all of their relatives being butchered. The temple was the busiest I have ever seen it, with a massive line of people stretching up to the road, and completely filling the temple. There seemed to be an assembly line sort of process, where you took your chicken or goat and bathed him in the holy water, then took him into the center of the temple, where he was beheaded, and then over to the butchers, where they de-furred and feathered, and gutted them. The de-furring process seemed to consist of dipping them into a vat of hot water where the skin and fur was loosened, and then heaving them out onto the pavement, where the fur was stripped off using a knife, hands, and a hot spade to sear off any remaining bits. The goat was then moved down to the river where it was cleanly gutted. The goats were then packed in pieces into shopping bags, or various other packaging whereupon people took them home to eat.
After witnessing the mass livestock genocide occurring at the temple, we returned to the bus, where it was time for our two unfortunate goats to be beheaded. An overall unpleasant site, the two poor goats were decapitated :( and then the blood and scraps of fur, as well as marigolds, were used to bless the bus. The worst part of the sacrifice was how the goats, for a full five minutes after death, continued to twitch and move their legs as though they were trying to run away from fate. After watching this spectacle, we were all blessed with a necklace and a tikka (the red paste that is dotted on the forehead). Tikka's do not work exceptionally well with bangs I must say. We had another 30 minutes to kill while our goats were butchered, so to avoid watching this as well, we hiked up to a temple higher on the mountain. I had the presence of mind to not try jogging the few hundred steps this time.
After our goats were finally finished being butchered, they were loaded onto the bus, where we got to spend a twenty minute ride back to the city, trying to ignore the sloshing bucket of goat blood precariously placed in the front of the bus. Upon arriving back at our flat, food preparations immediately began, and did not cease until maybe 7 o clock, when all of the food that had been prepared from our recently deceased goat, began to get served to all guests (all volunteers and then some. Lots of people). We had mutton soup, skewers of mutton, mutton "mix" (this included lots of unidentifiable bits of goat - esophagus, liver, kidney, lung, etc), paneer, as well as rice and other veggies. I declined to partake of the goat, not feeling quite up to eating something that had until 6 hours ago, been quite alive, and quite cute in fact (our goat was adorable - all black with white stocking feet and an orange bandanna. Killing it was not top on my list of things to do). Most of the goat that had been cooked did get finished off however, and after everything was eaten, conversation and music filled the rest of the evening.
Anyway. Today has been a long day, having had to get up at 6 am to go "goat shopping", plus the shock of seeing animals beheaded in front of me, so it's time to turn in.
Night!
Having secured our two goats, we took a twenty minute or so busride up to the temple, which had an amazing view. We were out of Kathmandu so we were in these beautiful terraced hills speckled with small villages. When we finally made it up to the temple, we strategically parked our bus in a small stream and then de-boarded to go see the sights at the temple. The goats had a small reprieve as we walked around and saw all of their relatives being butchered. The temple was the busiest I have ever seen it, with a massive line of people stretching up to the road, and completely filling the temple. There seemed to be an assembly line sort of process, where you took your chicken or goat and bathed him in the holy water, then took him into the center of the temple, where he was beheaded, and then over to the butchers, where they de-furred and feathered, and gutted them. The de-furring process seemed to consist of dipping them into a vat of hot water where the skin and fur was loosened, and then heaving them out onto the pavement, where the fur was stripped off using a knife, hands, and a hot spade to sear off any remaining bits. The goat was then moved down to the river where it was cleanly gutted. The goats were then packed in pieces into shopping bags, or various other packaging whereupon people took them home to eat.
After witnessing the mass livestock genocide occurring at the temple, we returned to the bus, where it was time for our two unfortunate goats to be beheaded. An overall unpleasant site, the two poor goats were decapitated :( and then the blood and scraps of fur, as well as marigolds, were used to bless the bus. The worst part of the sacrifice was how the goats, for a full five minutes after death, continued to twitch and move their legs as though they were trying to run away from fate. After watching this spectacle, we were all blessed with a necklace and a tikka (the red paste that is dotted on the forehead). Tikka's do not work exceptionally well with bangs I must say. We had another 30 minutes to kill while our goats were butchered, so to avoid watching this as well, we hiked up to a temple higher on the mountain. I had the presence of mind to not try jogging the few hundred steps this time.
After our goats were finally finished being butchered, they were loaded onto the bus, where we got to spend a twenty minute ride back to the city, trying to ignore the sloshing bucket of goat blood precariously placed in the front of the bus. Upon arriving back at our flat, food preparations immediately began, and did not cease until maybe 7 o clock, when all of the food that had been prepared from our recently deceased goat, began to get served to all guests (all volunteers and then some. Lots of people). We had mutton soup, skewers of mutton, mutton "mix" (this included lots of unidentifiable bits of goat - esophagus, liver, kidney, lung, etc), paneer, as well as rice and other veggies. I declined to partake of the goat, not feeling quite up to eating something that had until 6 hours ago, been quite alive, and quite cute in fact (our goat was adorable - all black with white stocking feet and an orange bandanna. Killing it was not top on my list of things to do). Most of the goat that had been cooked did get finished off however, and after everything was eaten, conversation and music filled the rest of the evening.
Anyway. Today has been a long day, having had to get up at 6 am to go "goat shopping", plus the shock of seeing animals beheaded in front of me, so it's time to turn in.
Night!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
the heat was hot and the ground was dry but the air was full of sound
We got lost today. It was a nice change from the city, because we ended up on this winding road through the fields, where there was no pollution (in the city traffic cops wear masks because the pollution can get so bad), and the streets were free of garbage. We were surrounded by the green hills we had seen when we flew into Kathmandu. We spent a good hour or so following this road before it dropped us next to a temple where there was a wedding being held. The bride was dressed in traditional red sari, and both the bride and groom had on collars of peacock feathers. Admittedly, the bride looked not very happy. We slipped past them into the temple only to be ejected, as it was supposed to be Hindu’s only, but the guard had been preoccupied with the wedding when we entered. The temple was gorgeous, and it was too bad we got ejected before we got to get a really good look at it. It was covered with ornate metal work and art, and it was incredible. On the same note of amazing architecture, we also visited a Tibetan monastery, and the art and decoration on all the buildings was so vibrant and beautiful. It was all in bright reds, yellows, blues, greens, and white. It was so cheerful and striking.
We also wandered onto the cremation ghats, which had been our original destination before we got lost. We somehow ended up on the small trail the locals used though, which dropped us onto the terraces above the temple and cremation ghats, which afforded us a spectacular view of the river and the pyres and the inner part of the temple, which non-Hindu’s are not allowed to enter. The smell from the cremation ghats is indescribable and unique, unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. The smoke wafts upriver, presumably depositing some ash into the river. Many people swim and bathe in the river, in spite of this.
We managed to catch a micro back, which was quite crowded (public transportation vans) so as to not repeat our long walk in the sun,. Traffic was quite bad today, and it took us a while. We had attempted to catch a taxi, but they were all charging ridiculous prices, presumably because we look like easy targets, being white. Prices are tripled or even quadrupled automatically for a white face. Mzungu price they called it in Tanzania. White person price. Petrol here has been quite bad recently though – it is poor quality, and as such is bad for the engine, and getting petrol can be quite the challenge. The lines outside gas stations stretch for a good mile or more frequently. Hence why they pack 20 people onto micros. It’s more cost effective.
Anyway. Today was supposed to be a laundry day, but it turned into an adventure-and-learn-to-make-spring-rolls day. Maybe tomorrow. For now, there are spring rolls to attend to.
We also wandered onto the cremation ghats, which had been our original destination before we got lost. We somehow ended up on the small trail the locals used though, which dropped us onto the terraces above the temple and cremation ghats, which afforded us a spectacular view of the river and the pyres and the inner part of the temple, which non-Hindu’s are not allowed to enter. The smell from the cremation ghats is indescribable and unique, unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. The smoke wafts upriver, presumably depositing some ash into the river. Many people swim and bathe in the river, in spite of this.
We managed to catch a micro back, which was quite crowded (public transportation vans) so as to not repeat our long walk in the sun,. Traffic was quite bad today, and it took us a while. We had attempted to catch a taxi, but they were all charging ridiculous prices, presumably because we look like easy targets, being white. Prices are tripled or even quadrupled automatically for a white face. Mzungu price they called it in Tanzania. White person price. Petrol here has been quite bad recently though – it is poor quality, and as such is bad for the engine, and getting petrol can be quite the challenge. The lines outside gas stations stretch for a good mile or more frequently. Hence why they pack 20 people onto micros. It’s more cost effective.
Anyway. Today was supposed to be a laundry day, but it turned into an adventure-and-learn-to-make-spring-rolls day. Maybe tomorrow. For now, there are spring rolls to attend to.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
nothing in the past or future ever will feel like today
Today was a heavy pollution day. It started out smoggy and overcast and was then aided and abetted by the rain which churned the roadsides into a muddy pulp. The main roads here are paved, but none of the side streets are, or the roadsides, and only the ring road (the main road the encompasses the center of Kathmandu) is really very well paved. The mud puddles only contributed to the trash that already litters the roadsides.
Once the rain subsided to a light drizzle we headed for Durbar Square (palace square) which is home to many of the old temples, as well as Freak Street, so named for the hippies who congregated there in the 60's. It's a beautiful square, and the temples are amazing, but as one of the other volunteers put it, being white there is the equivalent of being a walking dollar sign. You get bombarded by street vendors and street kids who want money. It's the same problem as in Tanzania though, where money given to street kids only goes to their purchase of glue to use as inhalants.
After wandering around the square and inquiring about the trekking options available, we attempted to head back to our flat, but somehow ended up on a timpo going the wrong direction which meant we got home, but it took about 3 times as long, and circled a large part of the city we didn't need to. When we got back to our district, all the roads were shut down for a street festival, which was nice, because there was no traffic to compete with. Normally the streets here are a hazard, and the only thing truly safe on them are the cows, which are allowed to wander freely, and which carry a minimum two year prison sentence if you hit them. Crosswalks are a joke though, lane markings merely advisory, and street lights mostly suggestions. Crossing the street is the equivalent of playing Frogger.
Anyway. Time to go brave the streets again and hunt for hiking boots so we can actually go trekking, since we didn't have the foresight to bring them.
Once the rain subsided to a light drizzle we headed for Durbar Square (palace square) which is home to many of the old temples, as well as Freak Street, so named for the hippies who congregated there in the 60's. It's a beautiful square, and the temples are amazing, but as one of the other volunteers put it, being white there is the equivalent of being a walking dollar sign. You get bombarded by street vendors and street kids who want money. It's the same problem as in Tanzania though, where money given to street kids only goes to their purchase of glue to use as inhalants.
After wandering around the square and inquiring about the trekking options available, we attempted to head back to our flat, but somehow ended up on a timpo going the wrong direction which meant we got home, but it took about 3 times as long, and circled a large part of the city we didn't need to. When we got back to our district, all the roads were shut down for a street festival, which was nice, because there was no traffic to compete with. Normally the streets here are a hazard, and the only thing truly safe on them are the cows, which are allowed to wander freely, and which carry a minimum two year prison sentence if you hit them. Crosswalks are a joke though, lane markings merely advisory, and street lights mostly suggestions. Crossing the street is the equivalent of playing Frogger.
Anyway. Time to go brave the streets again and hunt for hiking boots so we can actually go trekking, since we didn't have the foresight to bring them.
Friday, October 12, 2007
baby, i'm in love with possibility
So! A few of you suggested I write a blog, and it's a lot easier than writing half a dozen lengthy e-mails a day detailing what I'm doing, so. Here's a blog. That being said, I LOVE getting emails so feel free to email me still about anything and everything. I will attempt to reply promptly.
Anyway. Also, for those who don't know, here's a little bit of the backstory. I am taking a semester off before going to college, and decided that I might as well do something with that time, so I decided to go to Nepal. Being borderline insane, I figured, well if I'm going, why not make it a personal GTA trip, bring some computers and volunteer at a school. Somehow, I roped Nils into this idea also. So, here we are in Kathmandu, volunteering with the Pragya English School, and installing a lab of 9 iMacs. Currently the iMacs are stuck in customs and we are working to get them out. We are here until November 30th, working with the school, at which point we are leaving to spend a month in India. SO. Now that all of that has been covered, here goes with the actual blogging.
Today is the first day of Dasain in Kathmandu. It goes for a few more weeks, and is one of the larger festivals of the year. I don't entirely understand what the significance of it is, and when I asked what is was celebrating today, the clearest answer I got was "celebrating the past". Anyway, almost all the shops in our district were closed this morning, which is very unusual. The only other time I've seen them all closed is during a strike, and that was short lived. To celebrate we went to one of the major temples in Kathmandu - it's the highest point in Kathmandu (~600 ft above the rest of the city), and it's also a monkey park. You have to be careful at the monkey park that you keep a good hold of anything you don't want to lose, because the monkey's will swoop down out of the trees on the prayer flags and steal stuff off of you, from sunglasses, to food, to cameras, to jewelry. The temple is on top of this gigantic hill, which you walk 200 steps to get up to. I made the mistake of attempting to jog up them - the fast altitude gain plus exertion ended up making me see spots. The view was entirely worth the climb up though. It's AMAZING and pretty much overlooks the entire city of Kathmandu. On a clear day you are supposed to be able to see the entire range of mountains surrounding the city, but unfortunately today was not a clear day. It was still an incredible view though, and the temple itself is gorgeous. There were huge prayer wheels which supposedly if you spin three times, you are blessed. We all spun the lines and lines of prayer wheels along the sides of the temple. Perhaps it will bring good luck with getting our computers out of customs.
Anyway, it's finally bedtime now, so more writing will have to wait til tomorrow.
Cheers!
Anyway. Also, for those who don't know, here's a little bit of the backstory. I am taking a semester off before going to college, and decided that I might as well do something with that time, so I decided to go to Nepal. Being borderline insane, I figured, well if I'm going, why not make it a personal GTA trip, bring some computers and volunteer at a school. Somehow, I roped Nils into this idea also. So, here we are in Kathmandu, volunteering with the Pragya English School, and installing a lab of 9 iMacs. Currently the iMacs are stuck in customs and we are working to get them out. We are here until November 30th, working with the school, at which point we are leaving to spend a month in India. SO. Now that all of that has been covered, here goes with the actual blogging.
Today is the first day of Dasain in Kathmandu. It goes for a few more weeks, and is one of the larger festivals of the year. I don't entirely understand what the significance of it is, and when I asked what is was celebrating today, the clearest answer I got was "celebrating the past". Anyway, almost all the shops in our district were closed this morning, which is very unusual. The only other time I've seen them all closed is during a strike, and that was short lived. To celebrate we went to one of the major temples in Kathmandu - it's the highest point in Kathmandu (~600 ft above the rest of the city), and it's also a monkey park. You have to be careful at the monkey park that you keep a good hold of anything you don't want to lose, because the monkey's will swoop down out of the trees on the prayer flags and steal stuff off of you, from sunglasses, to food, to cameras, to jewelry. The temple is on top of this gigantic hill, which you walk 200 steps to get up to. I made the mistake of attempting to jog up them - the fast altitude gain plus exertion ended up making me see spots. The view was entirely worth the climb up though. It's AMAZING and pretty much overlooks the entire city of Kathmandu. On a clear day you are supposed to be able to see the entire range of mountains surrounding the city, but unfortunately today was not a clear day. It was still an incredible view though, and the temple itself is gorgeous. There were huge prayer wheels which supposedly if you spin three times, you are blessed. We all spun the lines and lines of prayer wheels along the sides of the temple. Perhaps it will bring good luck with getting our computers out of customs.
Anyway, it's finally bedtime now, so more writing will have to wait til tomorrow.
Cheers!
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