Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I think I am going to have to skip going to Chitwan, which sucks, but it would be a logistical nightmare. The strikes and monsoon complicate the matter alot. So, I am definitely going to the Zoo, or somewhere so that I can get on an elephant and ride around. Seriously.



I leave the day after tomorrow, around 10:30 pm. Leaving will be strange, but I feel like it is time.

I don't have very much to write, I have just been hanging out with friends, and doing a lot of shopping for the past few days. They are having a going away party tonight in one of their restaurants, which sounds like some fun.

OH, actually, one interesting thing is that today on this side of the world is a solar eclipse. I do not know if it is at home also, but apparently this is the first time in 95 years that a solar eclipse has happened here. There is a national holiday here, so no offices are open. I actually wanted to go to the zoo today, to try to get on an elephant, but it also is closed for the day. I have gathered that eclipses are very sacred in the hindu religion. They do not allow themselves to work today, nor are they allowed to eat from, 4:30 to 6 pm... the height of the eclipse. The digestive system will go totally wrong. And, you must stay inside during those hours, and do "pujah" or worship. Some of my friends are actually very concerned about my American self not correctly observing the eclipse that they have mandated that I meet them during those times (Jill, are you laughing.. can't you just hear it? hahaha) to ensure that I am properly equipped to deal with this holy astronomical happening.

Actually, I have not looked it up on the internet, but is this the same kind of eclipse that we had at home about 15 years ago? I remember being at grandma grace's...

So, for now, lunch and a nap. Maybe some cool pics tomorrow from the eclipse and the party tonight.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Riots Escalate in Response to New Vice President

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I wish I had my camera.

The country has gone into rigors over a speech the Vice President made four days ago. While we were in Jomsom, the Constituent Assembly elected a new president and vice president. The Vice President gave his acceptance speech in Hindi, the language of the Indians, and not in Nepali. Nepali people see this as a huge insult because the person chosen to lead them does not acknowledge their nationality. The situation becomes more interesting in that Nepal is a geographically trapped between these two up-and-coming world giants, without the population or developing industry of either of them. Thus, Nepal is forced to depend either on itself for products, or turn to India or China, as Nepal cannot import items by sea (landlocked) or air (yea right, too expensive). As the Himalayas lay between China and Nepal, the only option for imports is to traffic them across the Indian border - through places like Biratnangar.

In their legislative branch - the Constituent Assembly - the two main parties are the Maoists and the Nepal Party of Congress. As the Maoists have links with China from communism and Mao Ze Dong, India has jumped to support the NPC to keep their foothold in Nepal, especially since the Maoists won the general election in April.

SO, apparently, the president was supposed to be the leader of the Maoists, "Prachendra," but at the last minute, in a very lose race, votes changes to tip the scale and elect representatives from the NPC into office. THEN the vice president gave his acceptance speech in the language of the Indians, Hindi, making the situation of their Indian backing even more apparent to the public. (idiot) But, I think he did this to appease and impress the Indian government. Like us and Mexico, sort of. They should make sure they are on good terms with us, or we could potentially make their lives miserable, but we do not necessarily neeed to show them that same respect.

One specific instance of Indian control is the petrol situation. There is literally NOT ENOUGH fuel in Nepal for the demand. This is not like at home where fuel just gets really expensive. Yes, it's expensive, but nonetheless, it is there. In Nepal people simply cannot get petroleum unless India supplies it. This means that the infrastructure reaches a standstill at times. I mean, try to imagine going to the Exxon station and there not being fuel in the pumps... forget the high prices it is NOT AVAILABLE.



So, in protest of the Nepali government admitting to being stooges of India, the students and youth have risen up. The riots have very noticeably escalated. I cannot wait to show you pictures. Jill got caught up in them yesterday, a really big riot in Ratnapark, thousands of people. I am heartbroken I missed it. Luckily, I am sure there will be others.


Anyways, the students have gone up into riots, chanting in the streets, burning tires, burning effigies of the Vie President, and the rocks they throw at everything is amazing. There are broken glass and burned tires and brokwn bricks littering the streets. My neighborhood is a hotbed for this activism because there are several Colleges in the area... which house and produce the instigators and participants in these Les Miserables -like rallies. It's like in Sewanee if Lainchour Marg was University Avenue, I would be living at SAE or Fowler. Impressive.

It is really like a scene out of Les Miserables. I know saying that highly romanticizes the situation, but I am really intrigued just the same. These young boy students fighting the government for causes like patriotism and justice and liberty. It really really gives me goosebumps. I guess it just goes along with my serious desire to be a hero, and jealousy that these boys get to do things like that.

- Robel laughed pretty hard at that one -

I am awed, but Arya and Vivek are only marginally impressed. They, along with many Nepalis see these rioters as immature and unprepared. They point out that these people want a new and better government, a new and better Nepal, yet they use destruction to achieve their ends. They are physically damaging the same infrastructure they are asking the government to build. So, I don't know. I guess they could learn better activism tactics, but they look heroic from a distance.

Robel is interested from the standpoint of his job, but he talks about how blase even these are in comparison with the Maoist rebellions just 9 months ago - before they were disarmed. It makes me sad that I missed everything before, but I know that probably would not have been an ideal situation in which to be.




I found my camera charger finally, so I am going to try to get pictures in the next few days. I might go to Chitwan tomorrow for a day or two though. It is a huge tropical Terai jungle, part of which is a national park, in southern Nepal, on the Indian border. I am determined to ride an elephant before I leave, and hopefully see some tigers or rhinos or something too. I think Chitwan is famous for giant leeches in this season. Well, bring it on, I am DETERMINED to ride an elephant before I leave Nepal!

Oh, and I turned in the final draft of my project yesterday. Done!

Mom left two nights ago, and Jill just left today, so I am alone again with my thoughts in this strange land with these strange people. Such fun though.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang

My mom and Jill arrived Sunday, and it's been quite a mix of stuff I have already done, with stuff that's pretty new. We left for Pokhara on Tuesday, watching the sunrise at Sarangkot - the famous overlook to the Annapurnas. Unfortunately the monsoon was too heavy this time to get a view of them.

Sunrise from Sarangkot



Limestone cave in Pokhara

Buddhist monastery in Pokhara. Lots of Tibetan refugees.


Thursday morning we flew to Jomsom, which is on the other side of the Himalayan belt, the Tibetan side. That afternoon Mom and I and our guide hiked to Kagbeni, then the next day, Wednesday, we continued on to Muktinath - an elevation gain of over 3,000 ft in one day. Intense. Muktinath is a little over 11,000 ft in elevation. One impressive aspect of Muktinath is that even at 11,000 ft (which is a very good-sized Rocky Mountain summit) we were still only in the "hills." The "mountains" here are not even considered "mountains" until they pass 17,000 ft (which is higher than the Grand Teton in Wyoming).

Muktinath also has one of the most sacred Hindu / Buddhist temples in Asia, apparently. Many Indians were there on a pilgrimage for somehow we visited on the same day as some very sacred holiday. Indians say: "Bambuleyy," Nepalis say: "Namaste," Tibetans say "Thasitire," and I say: "Heeyyyy." Again, quite the ethnic mix.



Sacred yak-butter candles.



Tibetan yaks

So, while we were in Jomsom and above we were in Mustang (pronounced Moose-taaang, not like the horse mustang), which is technically the "Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang" - a portion of Tibet absorbed by Nepal but that still has its own Tibetan King. As Mustang is on the other side of the Himalayas, it looks a lot like Tibet, and is populated by Tibetan people with Tibetan cultures, etc. Very different than the Nepali Kathmandu / Pokara or the Indian - like Biratnagar.

But, since we were on the other side of the Himalayas we were in the "raincloud." The moutains block all moisture coming north from India, thus as much as lower Nepal is a tropical jungle, Mustang is a veritable desert, convenient for Himalayan travel at this time of year.

Mom's shoes fell apart about an hour outside of Jomsom, so I gave her my boots and I went the whole way in Chacos (sandals). It was fine because we did not get up into snow, but I tore up my foot pretty badly as we were approaching Jomsom again on the last day. We had to cross this raging torrent of a river that was completely black water from the shaley soil. I mean, the water was black from the soil, not pollution as is the case here in KTM. Anyways, the water was frigid and I think my muscles cramped and when forced to stretch, they just tore.



Entrance to Muktinath, in which a natural gas flame burns constantly "straight from the earth." I was skeptical at first, but geologically it makes sense that there is till outgassing in this geologically young area. We saw the flame, which was neat, but I was much more impressed by the plethora of natural springs.


Not to be heady, but crazy sick geological folding revealed in Mustang from the great Himalayan deformation. This cliff is about 500 ft tall, half the size of the Cumberland Plateau in one sheer cliff. Seriously sick.



View of Jharkot, the town in the foreground, from Muktinath above. I was worn out by the time we reached Jharkot. Seriously. I did not realize then that we still had more than 600 ft to climb to get to Muktinath, the town, and then another 100 or so to get up to the temple!


Arid Moose-tang.



After a shower in Kagbeni playing with a Tibetan kitten. And, you would just never guess that they even act the same here as they do at home... (constantly reminded here that people are just people no matter where they are from, just as cats are cats no matter where they are from)


Intimate Buddhist monastery in Kagbeni, you can see their prayer Thangka in the background.


Buddhist prayers carved into rocks. Very large in scale.


Dhauligiri earlier in the day


Nilgiri at sunset from Muktinath


At our highest, around 11,100 we were coming out of the rainshadow and beginning to see more vegetation.


On the way from Muktinath back to Jomsom. Whole descent in one day. Pre-messed up foot, but check out my chacos.


Tibetan weaver


We ended up getting stuck in Jomsom for another few days because the monsoon was making travel through the mountain pass impossible. After possibly facing a forced extended stay in Jomsom from no flights, I was brutally bored and thoroughly sad. We finally chartered a helicopter, which came through the weather on Tuesday, after 2 days delay that seemed like weeks. Jomsom, with probably no more than 200 permanent residents, most of which are Tibetan is not exactly a hip destination. It was breathtaking and wonderful, I was just ready to get home. There are no western tourists at this time of year because of the heavy monsoon so the town was like one of those old western movies in which the dust rolling through is the only thing that happens from day to day. We sat for like 8 hours each day on the steps of our hotel - waiting for something to happen with the weather - and watched processions of yaks and donkeys.


Our hostess drying apricots in Jomsom.


Literally, documented in the "Eco-Museum" in Jomsom.



Traffic in Jomsom


View of KTM and Bagmati River from the helicopter.

I am not working that much right now, almost done with my project so I have some time to spend with friends here and mom before I leave. She was supposed to leave tomorrow, but extended the stay until Sunday to finish some things she wanted to do, shopping for a museum, etc. It has been fun for her to meet some of my Nepali buddies, and obviously they were very excited also.

I graciously volunteered to guide her to the Cathay Pacific airline office yesterday to change her ticket... obviously my hidden agenda was on the way home, shopping!! I have finally found the "Park Avenue" of KTM, which has lots of western-looking clothes, "Durbar Marg." I got a huge gold purse, and gold-beaded shoes. I think I have become somewhat gaudy in my old age... or maybe it's just the asian influence (one too many bowls of noodles and women in saris).

One really cool thing about my mom and Jill being here is that in showing them around, I realize that I know this area much better than I thought. They have provided - among lots of things - a mirror in which I can see a reflection of myself as I am in this place. I don't really know how to say this in a way that makes sense, I mean I am the same person pretty much, but it's like looking at myself as I am after 2 months here from the eyes of how I was before I traveled here and had these experiences.

Friday, July 11, 2008

From Town to the Mountains

More in picasa web



Mexican food!




It took all three of us almost 8 hours to plan Mom's and my trip into the mountains to trek.



Buddhist flag high above the valley. Jungle in the background.




View south as the late-afternoon monsoon rolls into the valley.



Solar water heaters. Self-sustaining. They work as well as those at home, and once they are installed there is no extra cost for rest of their lifetime.



In the queue to get yak cheese from the Government Dairy Development Center. the "DDC". The yak cheese was pretty foul by the way, but the chocolate ice cream from the same place was good - I guess it also came from yak milk though?





Before we left earlier yesterday afternoon. Some Nepali call Kathmandu the "zoo." They say, why should you visit the zoo, when you can just walk around the streets? Soccer enthusiasts came to watch a game on this field (to the right) and brought their dinner while it was still alive. Goats, sheep, cows, a few dogs...




We drove into the mountains from Kathmandu. It takes a long time to get out of the city, but once we did it was like another world. Went way up to Kokenai. It was so green, split between wild jungle and terraced agriculture, like rice or lentils.



Geometric rice paddies. They hug the contours of the terrain.. super utilitarian.



They call these the "hills." Such a serious understatement, but I can't convey their sheer size in a picture. Imagine British Columbia, then think bigger, then covered with agriculture or tropical jungle. Shrouded in fog.





Land dissappearing into jungle... I really really want to see one of these tigers.









Fog



Cottage up in the jungle, right above where we stopped to eat. Cut from local stone, thatched roof.



This picture would have been amazing if the resolution was a little better. The big bulky thing in the middle is actually a farmer carrying down a huge load of rice, corn, and some other green stuff that blends in perfectly with the vegetation on the hill. It looked like the walking trees in the Chronicles of Narnia.



Dinner. Fresh rainbow trout from this fishery on the side of the mountain. These people found a way for about no cost to raise really rare trout... Trout require fast running cold water all the time, or they die. So these people built 4 or 5 tiered holding pools through which part of the fast, cold mountain stream runs. Impressed.



Built into the side of the mountain.


Fish! They caught one and cooked it - whole - right in front of us. Then served it in sections.. tail, head, body. I opted for the body, the part without eyes or other appendages. It was great fish though.




Waterfall



Moon in Kokenai

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Some from the 5th.



Why are you fools taking pictures of me?





Cool bar.



Paper, Rock, Scissors about who has a cooler country, Eritrea, Germany, US, Russia, or Nepal. (Still in my very patriotic stage from the night before)



I explained how, really, even though Eritrea had to deal with Ethiopia's next door problems, seriously, did you hear and the French and Indian War?



Beautiful. Reminds me of our house on Melissa. I decided it will be the flower for year 22.

Night of the 4th of July

Ok, so birthday continued. The night of the 4th I went to Thamel to meet up with friends, armed with glowsticks and high hopes for the evening (I worked all day during the 4th). I learned there was some sort of surprise planned... kind of being a wet rag, I insisted to know where we were going because who knows what sort of things a Nepali "surprise" could be. Nothing worked, so I ended up hopping in a car going "somewhere fun." We ended up at the Phillip Morris Country Director for Nepal's intimate evening dinner party (needless to say, had a few Marlboros). Sounds pretty cool, right?

I was SO nervous about being just a "white girl," though. Nepali ladies can be very wary of western women, and as a whole, they are a very frank people. I just KNEW I was going to say something, or be too forward, or upset something, or eat too much, or too little... I was terribly nervous.

One thing I keep feeling here though, is that after all these outrageous and sometimes incredibly intimidating experiences, what could possibly seem worse or more uncomfortable by the time I get back to America?... I mean walking into the Phi House at Sewanee too early on Thursday night will never quite seem the same.

Anyways, I think my only faux pas - as far as I could figure out later, I am sure I committed several more - was drinking whisky instead of wine (whisky = man drink, wine = lady drink) and smoking cigarettes (again, cigarette = man smoke, and black-n-mild things with tips -hahaha, seriously, = lady smoke). In my defense, this was what I was served.


I ended up talking with the head of the household, the Phillip Morris man for most of the evening. He spoke wonderful English explaining fascinating perspectives on world trade, the economies of US and China, the status of their international aid, India as a population giant, the carbon emissions of Berlin, and on and on.. A highly educated individual, he even knew about Texas' position as the Lone Star State and the choice to join the US voluntarily. After that, I became so interested in the US' position in world trade, it sort of became the topic of my birthday for the next 24 hours... Although I still basically know nothing. It seems super interesting though. So, with this small amount of information, I think I have completely reversed my position. I may yet become conservative in my old age... (naw)

We learned in Contemporary Social Movements class that basically the WTO is a Reaganomics function to open up global free trade markets and bolster the world economy. This allows the US to buy cheap products from poor countries, which could lean towards exploitation, as the US does not pay the same price as they would for the same product manufactured at home. (Right Mr. Rogers....? I don't know) Our teacher taught that people in developing countries do not want to be exploited, nor are they fans of the WTO. Here, many many people champion the WTO, advocating opening their borders. Even business magazines I picked up, Indian business magazines, have articles written by Indians and Nepalis strongly demanding their governments to open their borders to free world trade. They see this as the only way to ever have a place in the global economy. I feel like I sound seriously silly, I mean I am talking about something way out of my intellectual sphere.

I don't know what to think... I know nothing about economics. But, it seems to me that these countries will not be able to compete with a power like the US, especially if they open their borders. Won't this drive their prices down? To the point where they fall into economic demise?... (Again, Mr. Rogers....?)

I guess either way, it is the choice of these countrymen, and not us. Perhaps this is the only way for them to compete at any point in the future.




One other thing, I was told several several times to be proud of the country from which I come. We give the most aid worldwide. Certainly not Russia, China, Japan, England, Germany, even the Swiss with their impressive wealth. I thought that was cool. Maybe my most patriotic 4th of July yet. Certainly the most thoughtful of my homeland and her policies.


No pics from that night, unfortunately all erased from my camera stupidity. I posted more from the 5th on picasaweb though. - After my camera was fixed - Take a look.


Oh, one more thing.. when it turned midnight they had a cake and candles, apparently someone told the hostess it was my birthday. They sort of sang happy birthday, the tune was there, but I was not so sure about the pronunciation... "kaTHY yes yes yes kaTHY, kaTHY." I felt mortified with all the attention. But, admittedly, I had never thought Mr. Nepal Phillip Morris would sing me happy birthday over the WTO, whisky and the South Asian monsoon.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Hahaha, well I am an idiot. I've been in a pretty sad mood because most of my birthday was dreadful. One of my friends just became unglued for some reason, and caused the greater Thamel area an enormous headache. So, I decided "I have had enough, I am going to figure out how to get around completely on my own. (This city still confuses me so much). That is a good, mature 22 year old thing to do. I will be really grown up now. So, what better way to start than to go on a long, cool, relaxing walk after work? I could probably find my way to the river in the middle of the city, and even though it's polluted and terribly disgusting, at least it's nature, right? It will be the first I see with this new, 22 year old self."


Ridiculous.


I mean, I was not in real danger or anything, it's daylight and I stuck to main roads. That was part of the problem too, though. I unwittingly went during absolute rush hour on some of the biggest streets in Kathmandu (remember the zero traffic laws, and no yielding to pedestrians). There were packed people, 3 riots broke out, the cars constantly honk - it's like their turning signal - everyone yells in a language that still more or less sounds like absolute twangy jibberish, the policemen (who look like special forces troops in Iraq) run at vendors with shields and batons, small street kids incessantly grab your clothes to ask for money,religious men smoke, snake charmers sing, old men roll on the ground, exhausted babies lick the dirt off their mother's faces, UN drive their big cars, and I am like a walking archery target because of the way I look.

No, I complain, but it was only for an hour or so. I am covered in mud, but other than that, relatively unscathed. But, many times I find this city very overwhelming when I am alone.. Sometimes it gets to be too much for me, it seems filthy and grotesque and disrespectful and horrendous and old and so so strange and far away. I think that my exhaustion with Kathmandu probably is a large result of my "monkey syndrome." It's pretty draining to walk in a huge crowd of people who all stare at you like I have a flower pot for a head or something. Oh well, now I have learned: no walks down Kantipath alone during the evening. Not quite the peaceful stroll down University Avenue that I envisioned.

More tomorrow.

Birthday

4th of July party at the "American Club." This is not in the Embassy itself, I am sure because the security is too tight. The American Club occupies a very large central space downtown, and has security checks almost to rival TSA. So, the only non-Americans allowed into the compound are on diplomatic missions. This is my friend in the foreground, she actually goes to Duke in North Carolina. I had Gatorade and Cheetos and Oreos and Cracker Jacks for the first time since I left, I had almost forgotten how much I love Gatorade. The snacks here are Indian curry things, like dried noodles, or fried peas, or yak jerky, so these (the Gatorade and Cheetos) were a great taste of home.




New Road, Kathmandu. I wanted to go there to get fresh mango juice, as well as to go to the big KODAK store to ask what was wrong with my camera and the reformatting business. Apparently, I had accidentally set the memory to some temporary format or something, but they reversed my mistake. Unfortunately, all of my photos from the last few nights are lost. I am especially sad about the ones from the night of the 4th, when I actually turned 22.




I found myself staunchly advocating WTO and USAID.











This is much later, friends celebrating, friends from all over, seriously all over. That has been cool in Kathmandu, meeting people from around the world, so different but kind of the same.





22!



This is kind of an awful post, but I think the internet is about to go down for the day. It's almost 5 here, around the time when the electricity blacks out anyways. I will have to wait to tell you what happened tomorrow.