Around Town

Trying to get money and not disturb His Highness during his nap.



Clearly not bothered.



Chillin' again.



Lunchtime. Piles of refuse are everywhere around the city because the government no longer lets them dump in municipal waste areas (in certain areas).. so people do the next best thing, and at least put it in a pile... this one is strategically placed near a UN compound, hahaha.




The bougainvillea grows like weeds.



Luxury UN vehicles.






"Public transportation." The Microbus.



Western marketing everywhere, and see the saris the ladies wear... now imagine my American self running around... sore thumb monkey.



Oh, and the people here are fascinated by cowboys, even my more modern friends. Half the time I get tired and just let them think my Dad and brother are obviously "out on the range" while mom cooks cornbread. They say "oooh texAS, texAS, ooh, ok ok texAS."




My local pile of refuse.. getting a little rank in the warm weather.



My room. Home. Total mess, sorry.



Luxury mattresses....



And I had no idea what a pomegranate was, it's delicious! It reminds me of corn and grapes. Size of corn, and you eat it kind of like corn, but tastes sweet and fruity like grapes. Ahh I miss grapes.


Another sunset from the balcony.. seriously like this every night. I think all the particles in the air from the monsoon makes it so vivid.


My balcony.



Office friend, informing me about the relevance of social marketing in making youth aware of climate change.



Soldiers everywhere.


This is Kathmandu's "trucking industry." Right now the item of choice is surprisingly waste from somewhere.




Oh my GOD no more climate change. And, I'm not even hungover...


So, Happy Fourth of July! Light a sparkler for me!

Yak Cheese and the World Health Organization

About the protein thing, I think I have definitely been eating too much tuna, it's getting really gross. HOWEVER, I am going to try yak cheese this afternoon.. I can get plenty of that from this Government Dairy Development Center near where I live, but the I have not thus far because the place looks pretty sketch, with flies everywhere...

I hear it's totally clean though, but that yak cheese might make me "yack," so to be super careful with how much I eat. Sounds kind of gross anyways, but always an adventure.



I had several more meetings today, one of the least inspirational was my last this afternoon. The Nepal Environment Commissioner for the World Health Organization and I finally made connections. He was not as helpful as I had hoped for my project specifically, but I think he made some very very good assertions about the problem or issue of the environment impacting people.

One of his many points was that any environmental issue, by nature, is entirely too complex to separate from any other. So, in approaching the environment plus people, he said that the relationship is entirely dualistic and mutually enforcing. Thus, people affect the environment, and the changed environment affects them back.

He went on to point out, sort of on a different note, that the only way to protect people from climate change is to preemptively increase their self-reliance. This is where it gets interesting. In the case of Nepal, or other many other developing countries, the people used to be entirely self-reliant, obviously, they survived long before we got here. He says that the introduction of many types of humanitarian aid has made them less independent. For example, community members no longer think holistically about the ways in which they are ill, as in food allergies, or blood types. Instead, they view doctors as "car repairmen," light on the diagnosis and heavy on the shots, or pills that will hopefully, and usually make them better in the short-term. These people no longer look to the root of their medical problem, which could be allergies or whatever, they look to the quick-cure that lots of western aid provides.

(Jimmy please pipe in whenever, this is obviously not my expertise, and I'm sure you have come across this in much more detail and depth)

Thus, getting back to the point, to enable people at the local level to have a higher resilience to things like climate change, or environmental factors in general, you must increase their resistance, by increasing self-reliance (quite the ring-around-the-rosy to end up with such a mouthful).

So, have we (as good-intentioned westerners) unwittingly lowered the resistance of men and women in developing countries to those same negative externalities which we cause? We cause problems for them - like global pollution- then introduce non-sustainable fixes to those problems, which then increases their reliance on us to desperate extremes to continue these quick-fixes. (again, ring-around-the-rosy)

Well, at least that is what this Danish man from World Health Organization seems to think. I guess in any case, increased self-reliance is a great route. Please tell me your thoughts. (especially Jimmy)


And, now to yak cheese.....

Sick and No pics

No pictures for now, they were all erased when someone accidentally reformatted my memory card... But luckily most of them were on my computer.

The weekend was pretty fun, with the Euro cup - big event here.. but again no pics. And I was really sick towards the end of the week. My friends almost took me to the hospital, but I think they were overreacting a little. I was super faint and dizzy for 3 or 4 days, and I was so so exhausted that I couldn't stay out of bed for more than 4 hours at a time without feeling like I was seriously going to pass out.

I think the problem was that I have not eaten any protein - or very little - since I've been here. Most of the dishes are just rice and vegetables, or fruits like mangoes or bananas. They don't even really have cheese.. it's hard to find.

So, now I've been living with cans of tunafish and I feel quite a bit better (I even had a steak a few days ago... rare for them to cook cows in this hindu country, but I was desperate, and my "nurses" prescribed it). I think the same thing happened towards the end of high school... they told me I was anemic - I am sure it was just slightly anemic - at the time.

Mr. President, why?

For a few years I have craved -and dreaded - the answer to the question of, WHY if the technology to reduce poverty is there, is cheap, is practical, is SIMPLE, is able to bolster the GLOBAL economy, W-H-Y do we not use it? Why, instead, do we follow and advocate subsidies (even if they are "well-intentioned" by some standards) that

1. devastate the global economy in the long-term (although admittedly in the short-term they can seem attractive)
and 2. DEVASTATE those fellow human beings, who the same "Christians" - making all these big policies (yes, face it, America runs the world, especially apparent from outside her glowing walls) claim to advocate.

For example, we have the technology that will allow us to alleviate technology and infrastructure that require the burning of fossil fuels ("UUggghh," I know you groan, but keep going, it gets better). I KNOW we have it, I mean if we had the nuclear bomb 60 years ago, are you kidding? So, the next question is, what is the nature of these technologies.. well think of the most cheap and available resources, obviously those that are readily renewable, free, and easily accessible. Obviously, sunlight, water, etc etc. I am not going to bore you with the details of renewable energy that you probably already know. But my point is, they are cheap and readily available to the lowest bidder, right? (I mean sunlight is not exactly taxable or anything) Next question, what is wrong with them? (this is besides the assertion that the "technology is not there," we already solved that one) Well, they produce no pollution.... oh, I remembered they require capital to build.

So, now explain why EVERY house in Kathmandu (country of annual GDP being about 200 USD) has a solar water heater on the roof. Certainly this cannot be explained by their high development status in the world market, the posh way of life, or the generosity of their monarchy government turned Maoist communist. So, why?

Maybe the Nepali likes the way they look, or maybe it is cheap, accessible, self-renewing, and causes no negative externalities (such as carbon emissions).

Soo... (getting warmer) WHY is this not used, advocated, or CHAMPIONED by the same world power who is considered the most progressive, developed, democratic, and human-rights (war on iraq ding ding ding) nation in the world? Why?

We now know it is not the expense, nor is it the technology, or availability, or the negative externalities, so why? Lobbying? Exxon Mobile? Perhaps. But it seems the American People, "with liberty and justice for all" and all the power and money in the world could overWHELM the wealthy executives at Exxon Mobile.


Almost every semi-educated person here has pointed out to me, "You know America is only 5 % of the world's population, but emits 20% of the world's carbon emissions? And nepal emits less than 1%, but takes the full brunt of it."

If we were not able to export our emissions overseas to these poor countries, they would be thriving - I know you could also argue that they would not have our positive benefits like medicines and blue-jeans - but, at least not suffering from sky-rocketing deaths from famine and diahhreal diseases caused by climate change.

What would happen if (and when, actually) we are forced to take a dose of our own medicine and digest our negative externalities? If all the pollution we produced was not able to leave the nation's borders? (which are super-strong now, thank you Georgy B.) Would we then allow and champion these sustainable technological advancements? If WE AMERICANS were faced with the environmental problems we export overseas, would we change (obviously so)? Or would we let our own people suffer? (obviously not)

So, in the name of the Lord our God who protects Mr. President so well, why are we letting our fellow lambs suffer overseas for no reason other than, "we like our big AC units and don't want no big solar thing or 'nother on top of the new ruuf?"

pre-22 birthday

5 DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!


I am so excited!!

My friend's birthday is July 7th, and as per their religion (everyone here is Hindu) he must spend that day in worship all day. He has to go to the family Guru, somthing like 12 different temples, and some other stuff. BUT, on Saturday, he was like, we will celebrate your birthday like you are supposed to both here and in America. So, we are waking up really early in the morning Saturday and traveling to a Hindu temple high in the mountain jungle,then worshipping, "Pujah" (I keep on saying, that I am a Christian, and I really don't want to be disrespectful of your practices... but they always say, "Kathleen, our gods are one in the same, silly.") Then we must give offerings to different Gods that seem to be important in the past year as well as the upcoming year - mine will obviously have to do with saving from tremendous depression upon graduating Sewanee.

Next, back into the city and feeding families that would otherwise go hungry on my birthday. I thought this sounds like a really cool idea.. so he explained that first, with Karma this would come back around, but also, and more importantly, that on THIS day, on my birthday, that not just "me" would be happy, that 20 other people would be happy and not hungry also. I am really impressed by that thought. That definitely never occurred to me.



So, then after all this, to Thamel for a few drinks, and then another friend is having a huge house party Saturday night for mine and my friend's birthday on the 7th. Lots of glow-sticks, was my request.

Oh, and on the 4th, there is a huge party at the American Embassy.. which should be cool, at least for a little while. I need to work that day, and I think the embassy crowd could be a little ostentatious.


So, then on Sunday we have planned to go "Canyoning" which is repelling down waterfalls and cascades. I think in total it's something like 7 different drops each more than 100 ft. This is also the place with the second highest bungee junping in the world (the first in Switzerland or Austria or something)... NOT doing that though. So good weekend ahead.

--- Sorry this entry is something like a list. Bad form on my part.

Bloody busy

I haven't written in awhile, mostly because I have been so bloody busy. I am finishing up my report in the next week and a half, and then heading to Dhankuta.. well flying to Biratnagar (yuck) then turning north and riding hours and hours into the mountains. So, Dhankuta is a hill / mountain region in which BNMT has many program districts. I have seen and examined the districts in the Terai region, now, obviously, I must travel to the other component of their targeted program districts, the hills / mountains. For example, I have seen what increased floods or change in precipitation patterns can do to a topographic plain, but now I must go see what this climate change phenomena will do to high elevation hills (we're not talking Mt. Everest high, but high enough for substantial human population). So I expect this to be change in patterns of artesian wells, timing of ephemeral natural springs, and lots of LANDSLIDES!!

Lately, in these meetings with different INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations) in the development sector, they have basically said that no one, absolutely no one in Nepal looks at climate change and health. Organizations focus on more funneled aspects such as climate change and water quality, or climate change and agriculture, or rural health and disaster management, but none with the focus that I would like to take. In one way this is sick, because my proposal will definitely be able to get BNMT funds to take the approach of health in terms of climate change (because it provides this organization with a unique niche in the development sector), but at the same time, I feel like Christopher Columbus, a little (understatement) blindly plowing through untamed waters.

Oh, yea, by the time I am finished, I will have a grant proposal written for BNMT to submit to USAID and other international agencies for funding to approach climate change and health in BNMT's program districts.

Busy busy busy.

I think I am going to stay for a week longer than I originally expected, mainly because this project is taking so much longer than I intended. I am going to finish this next week and a half with interviews and meetings, and hopefully write a good deal of it. Then, to Dhankuta - for almost a week because it is so remote and takes so long to get there - Then, back to KTM finish up, take a break and go to the mountains, "El Himal" for some exploring and head home! (so that's my next month in a nutshell)

No more UN

I talked to Robel for quite awhile the other day about International organizations and their effectiveness against global problems like poverty, or hunger, or other "development issues."

I don't really know what to make of it. This afternoon I had a meeting with an INGO who specializes in water quality and sanitation. Peace corps-like providing rural marginalized communities with access to water and education about basic health issues. This meeting followed close on the heels of another meeting with one of Nepal's government ministries, their Ministry of Health and Population's Health Research Council. Yesterday I met with a woman who works as a professor / researcher for Nepal's Institute of Medicine. So, in the past 24 hours I have talked to people from 3 sectors of international development - and it would seem that these three sectors together could solve any international problem, right?

I don't know. That sounds awfully idealistic, and not really what I was trying to say at all.

Robel's point was that he rarely admits what he is doing in Nepal when he meets people. I asked why, I mean, I think the UN is the shit. He shook his head, "no mon, no" (he looks and talks like Bob Marley, seriously). He said when you are out of America or Europe (basically the "developed countries") never admit if you are working for an international organization, or any non-profit in general. Again, why? "Because they don't do shit mon. Not really. Naathing. And the people know it."

Well hell.

I walked a couple of miles back to BNMT from this water policy group this afternoon. Strikes are in full force, so no cars. Or, I didn't want to ride in one because of the dangers of rocks or guns fired at them. My walk went past the American Embassy - you remember my thoughts on that one - as well as the Japanese embassy, the Indian Embassy, and one of the UN office buildings. So, tons of official cars zooming around.

(and they are all WAY nicer than the average car here - but in prospective really bad cars at home)

Since we had that conversation, I have noticed that Robel is right about people not admitting what they do, if indeed they work for any non-profit, INGOs especially. He is also right about the people thinking INGOs are useless. If I introduce myself as a student people react very differently than if I introduce myself as "working for an INGO." Even Arya's fellow caste members who think themselves way above the development sector react very favorably if I say "student" as opposed to "INGO." So, the people must know it.


View of KTM exactly how it looks, I took this early in the morning before the city woke up.


I don't know what this means, but I guess it points to something being very wrong with the application of the international development sector. And, I really hope this doesn't offend anyone, that was not my intention. I only meant to speculate.