a Nepali sexual revolution?

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I had 22 people show up for my program today. 22!! Clearly some just showed up without registering, which is fine. But so much for a small group intervention! I even had one woman who came to the last session show up with 2 friends and stay through the session again. My phone ran off the hook yesterday with people wanting to register, so now I actually have to turn people away. It costs me about $10 per person just to have them participate, so I don’t have it in my budget to run more than about 60 (my goal was 40 minimum). Why can’t I get such interest in my U.S. studies?

Clearly this is an indication of how desperate Nepali women are for information about their sexual health. I’ve even had women from the Family Planning Association and nurses from the teaching hospital show up—women who are probably the most educated on this topic in this country. But yet they tell me they came to clear up some misconceptions they have, and that already they are learning a lot.

Today the group asked just as many good questions as the last group, but different ones. They wanted to know about premature ejaculation and how to prevent it. They wanted to know about sadomasochism and what kind of people engage in it. They wanted to know all about anal and oral sex, if you can get diseases from masturbation, and how to have an orgasm.

So again, I drew my diagrams of the vagina and clitoris and the stages of an orgasm on the board. Most of them were young and unmarried and never had an orgasm. But I have a feeling this was the first time learning about orgasms even for the few married women.

What to do?! This program has taken on a life of its own, and even today I’m still getting phone calls. Yesterday I had a professor of population studies email me a list of 50 college women who want to participate!

I’m starting a sexual revolution! I love it!

I just wish I had the money to run more sessions. But, assuming the stats work out, I could possibly get big funding to run a full intervention trial here in the next year or 2. I’m already thinking I could come back for a month or 6 weeks, run several sessions, and then leave the follow-ups to research assistants. No more living in Kathmandu, but running an intervention here is proving to be far more feasible than I imagined. And the interest and need for it is dire.

In other news, I went to the movies last night to see 10,000 B.C. It was a B-grade movie, but it was nice to go to the movies for the first time in who knows how long. The seats were comfortable, the place was clean, and the only quirky Nepali thing about it was that they stopped the film mid-scene for an intermission (tea and popcorn break). But for just 200 Rs, it was a great night out. That’s the only English movie playing for a while though, so I guess I’ll have to see a Hindi movie next.

Now I’m sitting in the Roadhouse Café near Bhat Bhateni, my new favorite hangout. It’s a place frequented mostly by foreigners, so all of the veggies are soaked in iodine, which means I can have the salad (hurray!). And they play good music. Hanging out at places like this keep me happy. I also discovered a great restaurant in Thamel, called OR2K. Several people had recommended it to me, so Mari (my new friend who is Japanese, doing her master’s in sustainable development in Vermont, and is volunteering at ABC Nepal) and I had dinner there the other night. It’s owned by Israelis, so they have things like falafel and Middle Eastern salads. And because it’s all vegetarian, it’s very cheap. The seating is all on plush cushions on the floor, and they have these beautiful saris hanging from rods to decorate the walls. Even though it was load shedding when we went, I think they usually have the place mostly lit by candles, which really adds a nice ambiance. I love it! So I sat there for about an hour before Mari got there, drinking chai and munching on fried cauliflower, reading the Bangkok Lonely Planet I just bought. I’m stopping in Bangkok for 3 nights on my final journey back to the U.S., and I am so excited! Bangkok has been on my “to see” list for many years, and since Fulbright is making me fly through it anyway, I’m taking advantage and spending a few days.

Days like this I feel very lucky to be having this experience and to be doing work here.

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Comments

[Jim Blanchard]

Have you read this book?
Since your going to Thailand, and are in the buisness that your in, You may want to read the book Pat Pong Sisters by Clare Odzer.