It is getting late here, but I just got back from dinner with a Nepalese family amd early tomorrow I am heading to Pokhara at the base of the Annapurna range to meet Dr. Subedi. He's the CEO of BNMT and taking a few days leave in his house in Pokhara. Even though it is about a 6 hour bus ride through the mountains from here, he insisted that I meet him in Pokhara immediately. Dr. Subedi is starting to become sort of a Dumbledore figure to me, elusively all-knowing.
Dharma drove me around all day, again, to get my luggage from the airport, and then later by motorcycle, we rode all around the Kathmandu valley. As crazy as the traffic is, only motorist drivers wear helmets.. so we were flying through the valley without protection or traffic lights all day, very strange and exhilarating. At one point, we were by the King's Palace- tons of guards in uniform with huge guns, batons, and shields- and a fight broke out right above the shop from which I was purchasing my ticket to Pokhara. As strange as this sounds, I trust Dharma completely.
Reena was absolutely beautiful, very young and very nice. Everyone in the office was amazing.. there is also this James Dean character who studied in Florida at one point. He is the PR man for the BNMT and has quite the silver tongue, in a very nice way though. He's the most fluent english-speaking Nepalese I have met thus far.
The family I had dinner with I was not so sure about. I welcomed the chance to go to the ATM to try to get out of their intense patriarchal dinner, even though I found myself, again, on the back of a motorcycle without a helmet or traffic laws. This time I was not as sure about the driver, as he seems to be the family's sort of indentured, lower-caste slave. Kathmandu is not as safe at night, but I began to trust this man, as he skillfully navigated through traffic in the dark with soldiers everywhere. The family ended up being lovely, offering lessons in Nepalese -because NO ONE speaks english- as well as a birthday party for my birthday, with other Americans they knew so I could be conversant.
I don't know if any of that made sense, but I am so tired. Tomorrow to Pokhara!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sibling Worship and Maoist Strikes
I just ate dinner with people from Holland- a mother and a daughter. The daughter works in Nepal 5 to 7 out of 12 months. She is a designer and works for/ with a textile factory here. She has been staying in my hotel because her mother is visiting and her apartment is "bad, not like the luxury hotel here." I feel terribly snobby talking about the hotel, but I don't know... it's very Nepalese? I guess?? Anyways, she also stays here because she is friends with the manager/ owner who is from Belgium, but went to school here from 12-16 years old. They are both around Talbot's age, maybe a bit younger, but nice as hell. The Belguim guy, Felippe, also runs a paper company in Kathmandu. Apparently, and I thought this really interesting, he co-owns both businesses with a very nice nepalese man, Najendra- who set up my internet- because Nepal doesn't allow anyone who is not Nepalese to own land. This keeps multi-national corporations from taking hold in Nepal.. Very interesting and cool in light of rampant globalization.
Also, this is an aside, but have to mention it, Nepal is a Hindu country. Unlike us with Christianity, they endorse the Hindu religion, and I think around 80+% of people are Hindu. Rupa told me that they celebrate a festival in October that siblings celebrate each other. So, the brothers worship their sisters, and the sisters worship their brothers... (Talbot.. loving it yet??) From what she said the girls do all these crazy things with cracking walnuts, they practice for hours until they do it right, in honor of their brothers. And the brothers give them cash.
Anyways, I might not be able to go to work tomorrow either. The congress has to approve their constitution- for Nepal this is their Thomas Jefferson times- and this could take days. Until it is approved the Maoists are holding the country on strike - the Nepalese news is predicting 3 or so days. So, today was apparently a modest-strike day where traffic was alowed on the streets, but still with some bombs around convention centers. Tomorrow could be a full strike day called "banda" in Nepali, which means: shut down.
I'm going to try to go to work tomorrow at 9. This should be safe because none of the action is in my district, and the BNMT is very close by. Rajendra- man from treking company suggested by Jason Jones, is meeting me here at the hotel tomorrow at 8 am so I have to go to bed. Also, Najendra and Felippe both assured me that they could get the desk boys to escort me to the BNMT if there was a problem.
Also, this is an aside, but have to mention it, Nepal is a Hindu country. Unlike us with Christianity, they endorse the Hindu religion, and I think around 80+% of people are Hindu. Rupa told me that they celebrate a festival in October that siblings celebrate each other. So, the brothers worship their sisters, and the sisters worship their brothers... (Talbot.. loving it yet??) From what she said the girls do all these crazy things with cracking walnuts, they practice for hours until they do it right, in honor of their brothers. And the brothers give them cash.
Anyways, I might not be able to go to work tomorrow either. The congress has to approve their constitution- for Nepal this is their Thomas Jefferson times- and this could take days. Until it is approved the Maoists are holding the country on strike - the Nepalese news is predicting 3 or so days. So, today was apparently a modest-strike day where traffic was alowed on the streets, but still with some bombs around convention centers. Tomorrow could be a full strike day called "banda" in Nepali, which means: shut down.
I'm going to try to go to work tomorrow at 9. This should be safe because none of the action is in my district, and the BNMT is very close by. Rajendra- man from treking company suggested by Jason Jones, is meeting me here at the hotel tomorrow at 8 am so I have to go to bed. Also, Najendra and Felippe both assured me that they could get the desk boys to escort me to the BNMT if there was a problem.
Kathmandu
First day in Kathmandu has been a little uneventful, so far. A national haliday was declared- as I have learned- because the King today is ousted from his royal palace. (it’s actually really close to me, we drove by it last night on the way from the airport) Following the elections, the King was allowed to remain in the country, provided he could no power or authority. So, a political faction decided to day is the day to inform the King that he has 15 days in which to evacuate the country. All this is to say that the streets in the city are deemed very unsafe today, due to rebel groups potentially becoming too enthusiastic or angry.
Getting to Kathmandu was another story, entirely. I think I began to feel really intimidated... the phrase, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore," ran circles in my head. The flight from LA to Hong Kong was really long, 15 hours. I did not sleep much, from nerves, and partly because the man next to me was diabetic and kept on having to get up to use the restroom. We also had a flight with about 25 children around the stroller age. They made themselves quite audible. But, Cathay Pacific has really cool interactive TV screens on the backs of every chair.. lots of movies, etc. I had a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong. I learned that Chinese people are not very friendly, or at least not in airports. I found them to be quite abrupt, and a little intimidating. Again this is probably a partial product of my own insecurity.
The flight from Hong Kong to Kathmandu was awesome. I was exhausted by then, but the flight was full of young people. There was a HUGE group of Spanish-speaking kids who must have been a little older than me: 24-26ish. They held a straight-up party on the plane... no ibiding by the seat-belt sign, they hung out in the aisles drinking beers and spiking their drinks with 3 oz bottles of some spanish liquor that they were able to smuggle on the plane. Clearly, some of my new heroes. Joke, but one of them "Felipe" sat by Rupa (the Nepalese girl) and me. Apparently they are students from Uruguay on an AWESOME architectural program in which they travel around the world for 9 months studying international architecture. I also met a few other kids on the flight who are Nepalese, or staying in Nepal for awhile. We have plans to meet up in a few days...
A really pretty Nepalese girl was about my age, and is coming home for a month as a break from her film school in LA. We talked to another Nepalese boy- also in college in the US, Hanover College- who actually lives in Lazimpat also. (Lazimpat is where my hotel, and the BNMT are located). They were both SO very helpful with navigating around the airport, trying to locate my luggage (which is presently stuck in Hong Kong) and get a visa. Another older boy from Alabama is visiting Nepal with his mother. They have come to see one of the boy’s friend’s marriage ceremonies, which are Hindu and last for 3 to 4 days. They were also all so nice and interested in what I was doing.. ready to give any advice that would help. By the time we got off the plane, they had become sort of protective, trying to scope out the people who were picking me up to make sure I would get home safely, etc.
All of our luggage was left in Hong Kong… and the Nepalese boy laughed, pointing out that this instance illustrated how as a people, the Nepalese are incredibly laid back.. that in some ways they run on a different schedule. I think they just forgot our luggage- or so he says, I don't know if they luggage people in Hong Kong are really Nepalese... Hopefully my luggage will get here soon so I can give the gifts I brought from home to the people for whom I will be working at the BNMT (Britain-Nepal Medical Trust).
Dharma, the driver for the BNMT picked me up from the airport. We couldn’t really communicate- as he only spoke Nepali, and I do not speak Nepali, but I showed him my visa and we laughed about how it was “number 1!” – the first visa in my new passport. Ok, so I say “driver,” but really fearless navigator of Kathmandu streets. From my drive last night, Kathmandu seems has no traffic laws, or few that are observed: no street lights, no stop signs (as far as I could tell). They DO drive on one side of the road, but other than that, the only other rule seems to be “honk.” He gave me a note from Reena, secretary from the BNMT, instructing me to call her cell the moment I got safely to my hotel. She called me actually before I got the chance and she sounds extremely warm on the phone. She, too, advised me to stay inside the grounds of my hotel today.
When I first got into my room last night I was really upset at not being able to call home at all. My calling cards didn’t work, and I realized that I was half the world, and a 36+ hour plane ride from anyone I knew. Shit. I think the sleep deprivation from the past few days of flying also hit. I took a few advil PM and prayed to just pass out. I am about 10 hours ahead of U.S. central time, so my body clock feels really strange these days.
Today I have explored all over the grounds of the hotel, and made friends with the desk-boys. They are really friendly- again a bit of a language barrier- but I get the impression that they might not see many girls with my hair color running around, or something. I want to know how old they are. The hotel is not that big, but it winds around in sort of labyrinthine passages that end in either rooms or rooftop gardens. This seems to be the case with most buildings in Kathmandu. I found a way to the very top, about 5 or 6 stories up, the top of the hotel is a platform that looks over the entire Kathmandu valley- very cool.
My room is on the 2nd floor. The entrance to my room is inside the main building- which has the front desk, the restaurant and bar (yeeeah) and a few other rooms. The restaurant and bar are both very small, and they seem to extend from any of the rooftop gardens to the main garden on the ground, to the main restaurant. The only people who can come onto the grounds of the hotel are guests, or friends of guests. I do have my own small balcony, which is sick. And I’m on a corner so two whole walls are windows.
The weather is amazing. Warm, sunny, perfect. I can see the foothills of the Himalayas from my room, kind of. You can see them surrounding the Kathmandu valley in 360 degrees from the platform at the top of the hotel. I am definitely in the city though. All around, everywhere I can see besides the steep rises of the foothills, houses pile on top of each other with only alley ways in between. They are all at least 4 stories it seems. I think this hotel is really lucky to have the garden that it does.
The garden is another thing- they have a lot of the same “porch” flowers that we do. Bouganvillas, roses, hibiscuses and others I recognize, but have no idea the names.
People here do not really speak English, as I naively thought they would. Their “English” is for the most part as good as my Spanish.. Slow, broken and with pronunciation that makes it almost indecipherable. By that same token, I know 2 Nepalese words, “hello/ goodbye/ god bless you” and “thank you” that Dharma taught me last night. This means, that the burden definitely lies with me to learn some Nepali.
Getting to Kathmandu was another story, entirely. I think I began to feel really intimidated... the phrase, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore," ran circles in my head. The flight from LA to Hong Kong was really long, 15 hours. I did not sleep much, from nerves, and partly because the man next to me was diabetic and kept on having to get up to use the restroom. We also had a flight with about 25 children around the stroller age. They made themselves quite audible. But, Cathay Pacific has really cool interactive TV screens on the backs of every chair.. lots of movies, etc. I had a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong. I learned that Chinese people are not very friendly, or at least not in airports. I found them to be quite abrupt, and a little intimidating. Again this is probably a partial product of my own insecurity.
The flight from Hong Kong to Kathmandu was awesome. I was exhausted by then, but the flight was full of young people. There was a HUGE group of Spanish-speaking kids who must have been a little older than me: 24-26ish. They held a straight-up party on the plane... no ibiding by the seat-belt sign, they hung out in the aisles drinking beers and spiking their drinks with 3 oz bottles of some spanish liquor that they were able to smuggle on the plane. Clearly, some of my new heroes. Joke, but one of them "Felipe" sat by Rupa (the Nepalese girl) and me. Apparently they are students from Uruguay on an AWESOME architectural program in which they travel around the world for 9 months studying international architecture. I also met a few other kids on the flight who are Nepalese, or staying in Nepal for awhile. We have plans to meet up in a few days...
A really pretty Nepalese girl was about my age, and is coming home for a month as a break from her film school in LA. We talked to another Nepalese boy- also in college in the US, Hanover College- who actually lives in Lazimpat also. (Lazimpat is where my hotel, and the BNMT are located). They were both SO very helpful with navigating around the airport, trying to locate my luggage (which is presently stuck in Hong Kong) and get a visa. Another older boy from Alabama is visiting Nepal with his mother. They have come to see one of the boy’s friend’s marriage ceremonies, which are Hindu and last for 3 to 4 days. They were also all so nice and interested in what I was doing.. ready to give any advice that would help. By the time we got off the plane, they had become sort of protective, trying to scope out the people who were picking me up to make sure I would get home safely, etc.
All of our luggage was left in Hong Kong… and the Nepalese boy laughed, pointing out that this instance illustrated how as a people, the Nepalese are incredibly laid back.. that in some ways they run on a different schedule. I think they just forgot our luggage- or so he says, I don't know if they luggage people in Hong Kong are really Nepalese... Hopefully my luggage will get here soon so I can give the gifts I brought from home to the people for whom I will be working at the BNMT (Britain-Nepal Medical Trust).
Dharma, the driver for the BNMT picked me up from the airport. We couldn’t really communicate- as he only spoke Nepali, and I do not speak Nepali, but I showed him my visa and we laughed about how it was “number 1!” – the first visa in my new passport. Ok, so I say “driver,” but really fearless navigator of Kathmandu streets. From my drive last night, Kathmandu seems has no traffic laws, or few that are observed: no street lights, no stop signs (as far as I could tell). They DO drive on one side of the road, but other than that, the only other rule seems to be “honk.” He gave me a note from Reena, secretary from the BNMT, instructing me to call her cell the moment I got safely to my hotel. She called me actually before I got the chance and she sounds extremely warm on the phone. She, too, advised me to stay inside the grounds of my hotel today.
When I first got into my room last night I was really upset at not being able to call home at all. My calling cards didn’t work, and I realized that I was half the world, and a 36+ hour plane ride from anyone I knew. Shit. I think the sleep deprivation from the past few days of flying also hit. I took a few advil PM and prayed to just pass out. I am about 10 hours ahead of U.S. central time, so my body clock feels really strange these days.
Today I have explored all over the grounds of the hotel, and made friends with the desk-boys. They are really friendly- again a bit of a language barrier- but I get the impression that they might not see many girls with my hair color running around, or something. I want to know how old they are. The hotel is not that big, but it winds around in sort of labyrinthine passages that end in either rooms or rooftop gardens. This seems to be the case with most buildings in Kathmandu. I found a way to the very top, about 5 or 6 stories up, the top of the hotel is a platform that looks over the entire Kathmandu valley- very cool.
My room is on the 2nd floor. The entrance to my room is inside the main building- which has the front desk, the restaurant and bar (yeeeah) and a few other rooms. The restaurant and bar are both very small, and they seem to extend from any of the rooftop gardens to the main garden on the ground, to the main restaurant. The only people who can come onto the grounds of the hotel are guests, or friends of guests. I do have my own small balcony, which is sick. And I’m on a corner so two whole walls are windows.
The weather is amazing. Warm, sunny, perfect. I can see the foothills of the Himalayas from my room, kind of. You can see them surrounding the Kathmandu valley in 360 degrees from the platform at the top of the hotel. I am definitely in the city though. All around, everywhere I can see besides the steep rises of the foothills, houses pile on top of each other with only alley ways in between. They are all at least 4 stories it seems. I think this hotel is really lucky to have the garden that it does.
The garden is another thing- they have a lot of the same “porch” flowers that we do. Bouganvillas, roses, hibiscuses and others I recognize, but have no idea the names.
People here do not really speak English, as I naively thought they would. Their “English” is for the most part as good as my Spanish.. Slow, broken and with pronunciation that makes it almost indecipherable. By that same token, I know 2 Nepalese words, “hello/ goodbye/ god bless you” and “thank you” that Dharma taught me last night. This means, that the burden definitely lies with me to learn some Nepali.
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