Where I Actually Am

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A slight correction from my last posting about my location. I have come to learn (thanks Dad), that there are actually three cities in the valley, and while Kathmandu is one, that is not where I am staying. The camp in which I'm living is in one of the municipalities of the City of Patan. I've been into Kathmandu several times as it is not very far away. I don't think I've yet been to the the third city, which I think is on the other side of Patan, but I'm not positive as its hard for me to keep track of the names of everywhere. (This is what happens when I go somewhere without a guidebook - the only one I have for Nepal is about trekking only. On the one hand, it is a little frustrating since I don't know everything that is "out" there that I could/should be visiting, on the other hand, it alleviates any pressure to check places/sites off of a "to do" list.) I am, however, learning a lot about the current politics, etc. in Nepal from reading the daily English paper, although by Sunday I pay less attention to the news as the day's sudoku puzzle, which gets harder throughout the week, is a 15 x 15 cell square that consumes much time and frustration. (I'm still saving the puzzles I brought from home in case of dire need.) There are practically daily protests, strikes and demonstrations about various issues (in one area, commuters, including busloads of tourists, were stranded on the road for several days as those on strike prevented any vehicle movement - these folks were all finally able to move after the government imposed a curfew and had teh vehicles drive away during the night.). Another issue, which is also being addressed in the courts, is whether the Maoist party, which controls the government, can recruit soldiers into its own army or, whether certain agreements require that any military recruitment be into the country's army only, not those of various parties. Interestingly, since Nepal has become a democracy, many statutes of the king have been removed and events, such as the King's Football Tournament, have been renamed the Prime Minister's Tournament.

But speaking of the guidebook that I do have, I would strongly urge anyone travelling not to read their guidebooks when suffering from a cold or flu. I made the mistake of doing so and got bogged down in the chapter on illnesses - during the afternoon my self-diagnosis evolved from cold/flu to malaria, infected blisters, bizarre stomach infestations, various things with long latin names that I can't remember and, finally, back to the reality of a cold. Having finished this very lengthy section of the book, I would also recommend against buying guidebooks written by doctors. I would recommend, however, eating spicy foods, as they do wonders for clearing the head. I'm slowly building my tolerance level for spicy foods, although sometimes I still cannot stop my eyes from watering at the first few bites. And this isn't even really spicy food - in Bhutan, everything is cooked with chilies. (We're still waiting to hear back about the Bhutan visas, but once that is resolved, I'll be able to start scheduling some treks.)

My pace of life in Kathmandu continues at a nice leisurely rate. While traffic is hectic, and people work long days, often starting at 6-7 in the morning, the pace of life does seem to be a bit more relaxed than at home. (An example that I love is from a construction sight that I saw, where sand was being shoveled back and forth into various piles and mixed with water and other substances to create concrete. The shovel, which was not particularly large, was manned by two people, one at the handle, and a second assisting in the movement of the shovel by pulling a long string that was attached to the pole of the shovel.) Of course, it helps that my perspective is one of no work, no chores, etc. The other day, other than an excursion to the monkey temple in the morning, I spent most of the day sitting on the house's roof, moving from the sun to shade as needed, reading 2.5 books - pretty much a perfect day. While I try to help with some of the daily tasks, such as the several hours a day spent collecting water, I'm not really able to play a significant role as I'm treated like a VIP. (An unexpected downside of the VIP treatment relates to the water shortage and the resulting fact that the western style toilet generally does not flush. I understand how to make the situation work in most cases, either don't use TP or dispose of it separately, but there are other times where I'm less certain how it is done - my instinct of taking off the top of the tank and pouring in water, even if bottled, doesn't work since the top doesn't come off. There is a local bathroom, which I expect is not western style so doesn't have this problem, but no one will show me where it is since I'm a guest and should use the one at the house. I'm going to have to go scouting at some point as my current strategy, of going to the upscale internet cafe at strategic times, likely will not be sustainable forever.) I'm becoming recognized in the village and can nod/say hello to lots of people on my way in and out (I think I'm still a bit of a question mark for the police who sit near the entrance most days). A few times, when I've gone out on my own, elders have asked me where I'm going/if I know the way, etc., probably there is a little concern about losing the visitor. (Although someone today asked me if I was Nepali!)

Twice now I have gotten up at 5:30 (yes, a.m.), hence ruining my streak of nights of sleep of at least 10 hours, so that we could go to what is known as the monkey temple early in the morning. Many Tibetans go there before the day starts/the roads get crowded to walk several times around the complex. Each circuit takes 30-40 minutes. Each time we did 2 rounds and, as the title suggests, saw many monkeys in addition to religious items. (Most of the statutes, etc. in the complex were donated by private parties, as opposed to belonging to the government.) It seemed to be the time of year for young monkeys, as we saw many and their antics are quite fun to watch - but when they hiss, or start shaking in a tree directly above you, its time to move on!

Several days ago I went with Jampa and his sister-in-law to a convent where they paid for prayers to be said for the well-being of the family. After that, we walked over to a celebration, a Jubilee Celebration for one of the highest lamas. On the way in, we were all given a "guest" pass to wear - like the only white person there really needed to be labelled as a guest! We stayed about 40 minutes - I have no idea if it was interesting or not, since it was in Tibetan, but the number of people I saw nodding off might be a suggestion, albeit many of them were older. Speaking of older people, I visited the elder's community in the Tibetan camp today. It is a place where older Tibetans, who have no family with whom they can live, reside. The "government," meaning the Tibetan hierarchy in Nepal, not the Nepalese government, provides the housing, care and food. We went over today at lunch so that Jampa could give a donation to each of the residents, money that they can use for pilgrimages or whatever else they choose.

Another recent outing was to visit the high lama of a nearby monastery, one that Jampa's family has know for many years. (We went after stopping at a relative's house to mark the one year anniversay of her husband's death. Similar to the unveiling of the gravestone in Judaism, the event was a family gathering/luncheon, with monks coming to the house to pray for the day.) While at the monastery, I as well as Jampa received a blessing from the lama. As we sat in front of the lama, with him holding my hand for close to 5 minutes while he spoke with Jampa, I was thinking about what an amazing experience this was, and, because practicalities are rarely forgotten, even in spiritual settings, I was also thinking how relieved I was that my nose was no longer running nonstop. But in all seriousness, it was an impressive experience and I'm now wearing the amulet, if that is the right word, that we were given for protection from accidents, illnesses, etc.

On a final note, there was an article in the paper a few days ago about the need to promote energy efficiency and conservation. Given that the article came out on a day with only 8 hours of power - between midnight and 4 a.m. and noon and 4 p.m., the piece seemed slightly ironic. While there is of course a difference between energy efficiency/conservation and power alternatives, the timing of the discussion just seemed a bit off. And speaking of irony, the interet cafe manager just came over to tell us that the power goes off in 10 minutes, so that's it for now.

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Comments

[Bob Cammett]

March 8 posting
Your guide book,should not be used for a medical journal. Stick with NEJM or JAMA. Stay well.

[Emily James]

Lama Visit
Keep the amulet on

[bridget]

we're not gonna recognize u by the time u return if u continue to sit on rooftops, lolling about all day reading books, you'll be as brown as a nut. i'm now willing to lay good money down on the bet that you bought stock in suntan lotion before leaving the US. (sorry, is my jealousy showing?) u are not only edumacating me about a part of the world i have never and probably WILL never see but you write a damn good story girl!! was quite disappointed that the power was about to go down, i could read more, can't wait for the next installment. hope the cold is all better now. B

[Hanh]

re: toilets
you can manually flush with very little water (depending, of course, on the size of your turds, etc.) western-style flushing toilets basically use water and gravity to flush. you can accomplish the same with a small bucket/large can of water poured from a decent height. be careful of backsplash.