Knitting lessons and the shower incident

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11-18-JAN-2008

I planned out Round Three of the vaccinations and managed health fun day preparations. Our first health fun day of the month went well with the children coloring in their renditions of healthy and unhealthy people. There was also a hygene and layering talk, and duck duck goose and pin the tail on the goat (regardless of the relatively insignificant goat tails). The difference between the kids in VSN vs. non-VSN homes is astounding in terms of their personal contact, discipline and overall personalities. At Charity, a case of lip impetigo completely cleared in response to oral antibiotics and large leg burn evaded infection a la moi!

It seems very strange when electricity is on in Thamel in the evenings. Power cuts are now up to 36hr/wk, 30% of the time including most evenings when it's obviously needed most. So the chances of the power being on and the printer functioning for health checks is subsequently slim to none. Why I even try to turn the light switches on anymore is beyond me. I cannot remember the last time I did not have evening daal bhaat (DB) by candlelight. In consequence, I have been sleeping 11 hours a night. The combination of evening power cuts and morning frigidness makes it irresistably easy. And one can only read in the dark under the covers to keep warm for so long before giving into sleep.

I got the throw-up burps once more, but it is no one's fault but my own for being a bit too ambitious with the good ol DB. I've been treated to increasingly impressive khaajas (mid-day snacks in lieu of lunch). In the same day I was served puffed rice spiced with curry and chili powder with onions and peppers, and beaten rice with savory boiled potatoes seasoned with chili, scallion, and oil served with a bit of tomato achar (a spicy paste consisting of mashed tomato, onion, and chili) and pieces of some kind of root (tasting very similar to potato). I'd also been given lots and lots of chaccu, dark brown sugar cane chunks that turn your teeth yellow (immediate teeth brushing required). My favorite are the kind with sesame seeds in them because it offsets the richness. But they also tried to make me eat a bite of this stuff that tasted remarkably similar to butter. I spit it out immediately, but couldn't help but be reminded of when I used to eat it off the stick when I was little. What on earth was I thinking? And yes, I did give in and have a beer with my baa the evening of a festival (holiday). It would be like turning it down at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner; a major no-no. But in the midst of all these new foods, I cannot help but miss my fried egg whites I used to cook up every morning before work. I manage to communicate this at a restaurant in town and am able to get 4 fried egg whites for the equivalent of 50 cents... in the tourist district nonetheless. I may have to turn this into a new weekly tradition.

There are more evenings of hanging out bus door. And why there has to be two bus 23's with red signs headed to different destinations baffles me. So I end up paying double the bus fare- 33 cents instead of 17 cents. I'm also treated to another motorbike ride at full speed on the major roads- exhilarating!

I found the perfect description of Kathmandu in The Kite Runner of Peshawar. Seems that most major third world Asian cities are remarkably similar. "The streets were clogged with bicycle riders, milling pedestrians and rickshaws... all weaving through a maze of narrow lanes and alleys... vendors draped in thin blankets...rows of small, tightly jammed stalls. The city was bursting with sounds; the shouts of vendors rang in my ears mingled with the blare of Hindi music... rich scents, both pleasant and not so pleasant drifted to me...spicy aroma... blended with the sting of diesel fumes, the stench of rot, garbage and feces." Just add the buses, taxis and jeeps to the congestion and the description becomes amazingly accurate.

I had two more kurtas made and offered to have the kids come along with me ahead of time- my mistake. They were so eager they asked every 5 minutes when I was planning on going, though I told them the precise time I'd be going at the forefront. Guess the smallest of outings seems exciting during winter break. However, my entourage of four kids did forge quite the amazing bargain so I cannot complain too much.

I gave into shopping for new sleeping pants because my banana pants (yellow sweatpants) haven't been washed in about two months, and I cannot exactly go without sleeping pants for an evening or I'll freeze to death, as well as shock my family. Hunting for pants that are both long and wide enough for me is quite the task, since I am ginormous in comparison to a typical Nepali. But I must admit that have a problem with wearing clothes that are labeled L and XL out here- it makes me feel like such a cow. So I am looking forward to getting a bit of perspective on my size once I return home. There are women selling clothes on tarps on the side of the road who try to get me to try on pants in the middle of the street, much to their entertainment. Mmm, let's not.

My hair needs a desperate change, and despite my initial attempt, I will not let this go. So I put my locks into the hands of a Nepali barber and have the back part of it temporarily dyed red... like a fire engine. Though he seemed to turn it into a contest of how much hair he could rip from my scalp. Yes, my hair is knotty when it's wet- it takes finesse. If I went through it like he did every time I showered I would have been bald LONG ago.

Knitting is frustrating. I am now taking knitting lessons from this woman at the Tibetan Woolen Goods shop, and it is not exactly my cup of tea. It takes a ridiculous amout of patience and you have to be sedintary for long periods of time. I will continue for now, but I really would rather just buy the socks. I need to be more physically active than this.

I have the sheer and complete joy of treating myself to a shower once a week now, every Wednesday. I look forward to it all week. So when I waltz into my hotel room Wednesday morning, it's the first thing I do. I'm convinced I had finally gotten the hang of which handle is hot and which is cold, and the directions for on and off. I turn on the shower and it's blazing hot so I attempt to turn it down in the opposite direction, but to no avail. The shower is the bathroom (the size of a small closet) and has turned into a sauna within 20 seconds. It is becoming difficult to breathe because of the heat and humidity. But the handle just keeps getting looser and looser, no matter which direction I turn it. Soon, I notice water leaking from the handle and grab the extra towel to turn it to avoid burning myself. And then all of a sudden, the handle shoots off, the scalding hot water is diverted from the shower head to where the handle had been. Extremely pressurized water is shooting out of the handle hole at an alarming rate and I instantly realize that 1. I am trapped on the far side of the bathroom, opposite the door, and 2. I need to find a way out without scalding myself as soon as possible because the water is now pouring out beneath the door. I manage to duck beneath the scalding stream and situate myself against the door. Unfortunately, the bathroom is very small and the door grazes the stream of water when it is opened, trapping me behind it. But I manage to manuever myself under the stream of boiling water once again, fiddle with the jammed room door lock, run out into the hall and yell down the stairwell that there is an emergency. Lucky I am on the first floor. I am soaking wet and am only in my towel. Water has now saturated the floor of my room and is rushing out into the hallway and under the doors of the two adjacent rooms. Luckily, my neighbor notices my situation and lets me take refuge in her room while the housekeepers manage the situation. I still haven't showered so I use hers for about 20s until the water has completely run out. My fault. I ask for another room.

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Photos

The chickens
They have room to run around!

The puppy
It IS kind of cute