Fuckin' birds

26 June 2010                      5:24pm                 Old Baneshwor

I’ve missed a lot of writing!  Anyway, Thursday was my first day at Martin Chautari.  I was a little nervous about getting there, as it requires 2 busses from my house, but luckily Kaka offered to drive me.  After facing the prospect of using public transportation, I gladly said yes.  I got there around 10am, which was actually a little early as very few people were there.  I was sent to the reading room until Dr. Tamang arrived, who got me all set up reading.  We decided that I should just look at front page articles, as 3 years for 3 newspapers is a lot to go through.  I agree, especially after I didn’t even finish April 2007 by the end of the day (at which I’m pretty sure I got kicked out- felt like it anyway).

After work I grabbed a cab to Bishal Bazar, as Dee had told me my outfit was ready.  When I got there the shop was closed, and when I called it turned out it wasn’t ready, she still had to finish the shirt.  I felt like I had wasted cab fare, but then again, I should have called first.  Oh well.  I looked around for shoes and found a pair I liked, and decided that I would buy them when I came back to actually pick up my stuff.

I walked from there to Thamel after, buying a really nice scarf along the way.  The guy selling it gave it to me cheap (-er, it was still Rs 1000) after I promised to bring my friends back.  No problem there, he really did have some nice scarves and was very friendly too.  I ended up at Café Kaldi, as it was the one place I know that had wi-fi and wasn’t all restaurant-y like Fire and Ice.  I worked there for a bit, then hitched a cab back home before it got too late.  That actually didn’t matter though, as neither Kaka nor Kaki were home.  It was just Prashant and I, eating dinner in awkward silence.

Yesterday was my second day at Martin Chautari, which went pretty well again.  Ashmina and Basant stopped by, as she and I had some things to go over.  As we were talking upstairs Seira walked by, and it turns out they know each other quite well.  I should have at least guessed after finding out Basant is a trustee there as well, but I can be pretty thick.  So anyway, that was an amusing experience.

After work I went back to Bishal Bazar, calling first to make sure that my things were indeed ready.  They were.  When I got there Bharati wasn’t there yet, but as I went to go get some shoes while I waited, she appeared.  She had me try the set on, and it feels so nice!  I was a little nervous about how the pants would come out, but they came out great!  It was perfect timing too, as I had to go to a wedding today, so I had something to wear.

Dee had told me that she got new fabric in, so I started looking at some of that.  I was very bad- I ended up getting two more sets made!  I didn’t feel too guilty, as her work is very good, and she’s just so incredibly nice!  I can’t wait to see how these new ones come out!

As it was nearly 6:00 and I was supposed to be meeting people at La Dolce Vita at 7, I left her shop, stopping on my way to buy my shoes.  Sad thing- the ones I had found the day before weren’t comfortable.  Sad face.  I decided on a whim to check the store next door, and found a pair there that were ridiculously comfortable, so I bought those instead.

Somehow on the walk I took a wrong turn and got a little lost.  I ended up walking down this huge road, not sure where I was until I realized I was on the road leading to the palace, which is quite close to Thamel.  It was 6:51, and I was lazy though, so I grabbed a cab.  The guy wanted Rs 100 initially, and I told him no way, it was too close.  He eventually accepted my offer of 50.

Dinner at La Dolce Vita was great.  It was just a small group of us, which was kind of relaxing.  It was hilarious, we kept going from topic to topic, joking around.  Poor Amy was a little lost with some of the GPIA talk, so we tried to change the subject for her.  The plan was to go to jazz after, but somehow we ended up trying to find a place to watch soccer.  I think we were trying to find the club we went to the first night, but we ended up at some other more casual place that had the game on.  As it turns out it was also a hookah bar, which is some place I’ve never been to.  I guess I can’t say that anymore.  It was still an awesome time, which we sadly had to cut short because we all have super-lame 10-11pm curfews.  We decided that for the following night we’d just get a hotel room so we can stay out until whenever.  I swear, I haven’t felt like this with a curfew and all since high school.  At least then I had a key to get in the house and could stay out till like midnight.  Oh well, I think I’ll be moving out soon anyway.

Today was an interesting day.  I went to my first Nepali wedding!  I was never told if Kaka or Kaki was related to the bride or groom, but I’ll assume it’s Kaka as his sister and her husband came with us.  I still never found out who of the couple is his relative.  Oh well.  The wedding was really great, right up until the moment when a bird pooped on me.  That sucked.  And whoever said that it’s good luck when a bird poops on you can suck it.  I bet he’s never had a bird poop on him before.

After awhile there we came back to the house, where I had chow-chow because I didn’t eat much at the wedding because it was too spicy.  I took a nap, which felt so nice, and didn’t wake up until not too long ago.  Our group agenda tonight is karaoke, so I’ll need my rest.  We have another wedding to go to soon, but I think I may skip out on it as everyone’s meeting at 7 for dinner, and I want some food!

Like breaking up with a clingy boyfriend

24 June 2010                      8:43am                 Old Baneshwor

Well, I’ve certainly had a very fully past couple of days.  Starting off from last time, the following morning we packed up the entire site to leave, as apparently things left behind usually aren’t there the next time.  While that was going on, Piero and I worked on taking pictures of all of the models, which was fairly time consuming.  For the main one, the big model, we took it down onto one of the other terraced levels and set it there to take pictures in a more ‘natural’ environment.  I tried to get pictures from every angle but I’m sure there’s a couple of angles I didn’t think to get.  We also went and took some more pictures of the other models, setting them upon the ledge to get good backgrounds.  Unfortunately, halfway through the photo session my camera died (oh no!), but luckily Sushma’s camera also uses the same memory card so I borrowed her camera and stuck my card in it.  I must say, my camera takes some pretty good pictures.

The Jyamirkot model

After that there was still a lot to pack up, so I helped do that and also started moving things to the other house to get ready to go.  Eventually we got everything to the truck- a quite small pick-up truck.  There was a car there and luckily another one at the bottom of the hill.  I was so relieved to get into the car, especially after riding in the truck on the way down and listening to the wheel bed make some terrifying noises.  The rest of the ride back into the city was fairly uneventful, except for when the tire blew out and we had to stop for a few minutes to change it.

Soon after arriving home I left again to meet with Kashish and discuss my internship, and also how the workshop went.  I had already come to the conclusion that Gurukul wasn’t working out, but I didn’t know what to do from there.  I knew that I wanted to do something media-related, but I was so frustrated and tired that I couldn’t think clearly to develop a new plan.  Eventually we came up with the idea to do some sort of newspaper analysis starting in April 2007.

After that he took me to Martin Chautari, one of the organizations he thought I could work at, to discuss my idea and see if it was a) feasible and b) useful to them.  I ended up meeting with Seira Tamang and the head of their research department, who thought that the idea was good but to further develop some research and methodology and send it to them for review, before they said yes or no to having me as an intern.  I was actually comforted by this, as it seemed like my current internship just accepted me without actually thinking about it beforehand.

After that, I grabbed a cab to Thamel, as I had a lot of work to do on my computer and I still feel weird about using the internet in Prashant’s room.  I was also waiting for an e-mail from Ashmina, to get the workshop notes so I can write the report for Fulbright.  I also had a lot of pictures and videos to transfer to my computer.  I still have to go through them all, despite my camera dying I still recorded a lot.

As it was getting dark, I grabbed a cab back home and arrived a little bit before dinner.  I also got a little bit of a ‘lecture’ from Kaki, as I had come in and then left but didn’t say anything to anyone.  That was a little awkward.

Yesterday I had what ended up being my last day at Gurukul.  It was good I had things set up with Martin Chautari, because I was ready to walk out anyway.  I got there at 10am, before Jeebesh arrived, which seems pretty usual.  I sat around and read the newspaper for awhile, but as I was done and everyone around was cleaning and I felt really lazy and unproductive, I went into the building to see if the office was open and maybe Jeebesh had snuck in past me.  He hadn’t, and the office was closed, so I just went to sit at the desk by the door to work.  This was 11:30am.

I worked on researching the grant, and found everything I needed to help them apply.  During that time, someone had walked by and said that Jeebesh wouldn’t be in as he wasn’t in Kathmandu today.  WTF.  In a good internship this wouldn’t matter as I would be working independently by now, but that definitely wasn’t the case there.  As they didn’t have much for me, and the stuff they had was half-formed, I needed someone there to get work from.  Eventually I started researching other grant possibilities for them, and dicking around on the internet for awhile.

My computer ended up dying, but luckily I still had a book with me and started reading that.  After the first time that I was told Jeebesh was out of town, the artistic director kept telling me, please wait, Jeebesh will be in soon.  I ended up finishing my book, and as there was literally nothing else for me to do, I packed up to leave.  This was around 3pm.  I got upstairs, and looked around one last time for Jeebesh.  The artistic director hurried over and said, don’t leave, Jeebesh is coming now!  Luckily, he was right as Jebeesh pulled up right then.

After the briefest of apologies (“I’m sorry.  Let’s go.”), we headed into the office to start working.  I showed him all of the information I had pulled up, and he sent me an e-mail with a document with what he said was info for the grant, or to help me with the grant.  Luckily in that time I had gotten a confirmation from Martin Chautari about my internship there, so I wasn’t as mad as possible over the fact that they didn’t really have anything useful to help with the grant application.

Soon after the night’s performance was about to start, so Jeebesh said that I could stay there and keep working, and he would be back (after reminding him that I’ve already seen a performance when he tried to get me to go).  I tried not to laugh or cry.  At this point I told him about my other internship, and that I would not be coming back to Gurukul.  I think it was worse than breaking up with a really clingy boyfriend.  He just refused to accept it, and asked when I would be back.  I tried saying I wouldn’t and then explained how I couldn’t do anything for Gurukul, and they couldn’t do anything for me.  He offered to take me to a street performance outside the city, but I tried to explain that one wouldn’t be enough.  He still didn’t get it, and basically said that we could all calm down and talk tomorrow.  He left, and then I started packing up (even though I wasn’t looking forward to a walk in the rain home).  I went outside and found Jeebesh, and said goodbye and that I wouldn’t be back.  Hopefully he’ll get it.

I walked home, which gave me enough time to get ready for going to Martin’s for dinner last night, as his host family had invited us all over.  Kashish had Ashok’s car and driver, so he came to pick Keesler and I up to take us over.  Especially since I’ve been gone for almost a whole week, it was great to relax and see everyone.  Everyone was asking about my field trip.  I told Dee I found a new boyfriend and I thought she was going to freak out until I told her the ‘boyfriend’ was a baby.  So that was pretty funny.

Martin’s host parents are great, his dad is hilarious.  They were a host family for one of last year’s students, so I’m sure they’re used to us by now.  Dinner was great, and I had a fantastic time catching up with everyone.  Martin’s host dad offered his driver to get us all home, which helped save on a) money for a taxi and b) actually dealing with the taxi.  Because I was in the closer group I went second, which also meant I had Kaka calling to find out where I was.  I eventually got home, a little later than planned, but it was still a good night.

Last day

21 June 2010                                                      Jyamirkot

Today was the last day of the workshop- sad face.  Breakfast this morning was a change; we had kheer (rice pudding).  I was a little apprehensive to eat it, but Piero let me try some of his first.  It was pretty good, very sweet.  So, a welcome change from all the spicy foods here.

This morning after breakfast we continued to work on models.  Before that, though, because Lok dai was leaving soon, we did a discussion on how everyone felt about the workshop.  As this was the first of its kind at LASANAA, it was really good to get feedback on the process, as well as the project itself.  The response was overwhelmingly positive.  In fact, I don’t think there were any major negative comments at all.  I was recording this, so along the way Ashmina would translate what was said.  It was great for me to really be involved in the process.  I also learned that I was one of a very few number of people “in the know,” as most people came to the workshop without knowing what was going to happen.

The responses were so great.  Everyone got to bond really well, which was good as everyone didn’t know each other beforehand.  Lok dai even said that through this, Piero and I became sort of ‘honorary’ Nepalis, which feels pretty cool.  Although< I guess if I’m Nepali now I should definitely learn the language better.  Also, artistically, it seemed through the comments that everyone has grown tremendously.

After that session we continued working on models, with the goal to finish them before the presentation.  For awhile I was feeling a little bored as there was just no room to work (plus I wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing with the model), but eventually I kept myself occupied by making leaves for the trees and attaching them, as well as cutting out tiles (cardboard) for the roof.  It was really enjoyable for me, and it seems like everyone else was having fun too.

Eventually the time came for presentations: one model for this location, one model for the Kathmandu location.  Both models were well-received, although the Kathmandu one got a little more criticism.  However, as Ashmina said, this is just the beginning of the process.  These models can be, and need to be, developed more over time.  In a couple of weeks Ashmina is going to invite an architect or two here to check out the model and the land available.  I’ve already decided that whenever this place opens, I will come back to Nepal to see it.

Once the presentations were finished, we went back to the small house for a small bit to eat before most people left.  After eating I was requested to dance, as during last night’s go-around I mentioned that I have been dancing for 18 years and people wanted to see it.  I did a couple of Irish pieces, which went over well.  I’m pretty sure for most everyone this was their first experience of it.  Some other people sang, a good time was had by all and then eventually people had to elave.

After they left, those of us still here went to the third floor to clean up and pack up everything.  Once that was done we went back to the small house, where Ashmina and I worked on translating/transcribing Lok dai’s comments, which were quite long (something over 8 minutes) but very interesting, as I have already referenced.  We all sat around for awhile after and I played with Aba a bit more (note: he loves water bottles).  He is just so absolutely adorable.  It’s great- he still gets a kick out of peek-a-boo, and I still get a kick out of playing it, so it works out great for everyone.  I also started singing the Shark Attack song, but only got to baby shark as he wanted to clap my hands together for me.

A little while later I went inside to help Piero cook diner- pasta and sauce.  I learned how to make real sauce, not from a jar!  I’m going to try to make some when I get home.  After dinner was pretty quiet, and now it’s just bedtime before we get up and pack to leave tomorrow.

Oh dear God it's more dal bhat

20 June 2010                      sometime after 10:00pm                              Jyamirkot

Another workshop day.  We started again by discussing yesterday’s work, which today were the interior models of everyone’s designs.  The models have been progressing very well; it was almost a shame to do what we did next.  That was, we split everyone into 3 groups and asked them to each start a model (2 for this location, one for Kathmandu).  After 2 hours, they would then switch and continue work on another group’s model.

Everyone started working in their groups, developing ideas for their collaborative models.  After awhile some people started drifting, apparently bored or something with what their group was doing.  After a couple of hours it was time for lunch, and after lunch we went back to review this morning’s work.  The overall reaction was pretty good, but things started going down when they were asked to switch models.  A lot of people didn’t understand what we were trying to do, but they seemed somewhat ok after it was explained again.  There were some others, however, that didn’t understand why we were doing it, which led me to defend my idea.  The few naysayers seemed ok (but not great) after that, but it ended up not mattering because about 10 minutes later everyone just decided to work in 2 big groups, each on a model for the different locations.

For Kathmandu, they combined the cup and saucer idea with the hand idea, so the hand comes over the top of the cup, forming the roof.  For this location, they had a very cool idea.  There are insects here similar to (or the same as?) cicadas, that make an almost overpowering noise.  As the building here will overlook the valley and everyone will be able to see it, it has to be something distinguishable and attention-grabbing.  So, they’re making a building using the shape of the insect.  I watched their model build up all day, and it looks so incredibly cool.  If this (actually both of them) gets done I’ll definitely have to come back to Nepal for their openings.

After a few more hours and a working tea ‘break’, we met up for another discussion and dinner.  After this trip, if I never see dal bhat again in my life it will still be too soon!

I don't do 6am temple

19 June 2010

Another long, exhausting day.  This morning I was woken up by Rajan at around 6 am with “Temple?  Go to temple?”  Ugh.  The Catholic Church invented noon mass for a reason- we’re not all crazy (or old) enough to go to 6am mass.  Needless to say I was not happy, but I ended up going anyway.  It was actually kind of nice to walk (it was about 20-30 minutes, by my terrible estimation and recollection), seeing as how I’ve been sitting in uncomfortable positions all week.

The temple was pretty small and not crowded, which was nice.  It was also much better to go in a large group of Nepalis rather than my usual large group of Westerners.  There was one really cool part- on the way down, the path passed through this narrow rock passage.  Mekh got some video of everyone coming out of it.  I was mostly surprised that I fit, seeing as how I’m bigger than most everyone else here.

We got some tea and crackers there, and also bought water as our water supply at the house ran out and the refill truck hadn’t come yet.  By the time we got back to the house breakfast was pretty much ready.  Unfortunately, instead of pancakes it was dal bhat.  I think when I get back to my host family I’ll beg Kaki for no dal bhat for a couple of days (as it was lunch and dinner as well today).

Finally, after everyone was fed, we went over to the big house to start the workshop again.  We started off today by going over everyone’s work from yesterday and doing critiques.  It was pretty neat to officially see everyone’s work, and also hear how ideas had changed over the night.  The one thing that everyone had failed to do was show interiors (my inner set designer cried; also because nothing was scale).  We broke from the conversation after reviewing everyone’s work to fine tune the models and show how the interior space will function.

Piero and I continued to work with Rabita on the cup and saucer idea, which is becoming much cooler by the day.  We ended up re-creating the model entirely, using something more durable than paper.  Also, Ashmina wanted us to be able to show a sort of cross-section of the interior, which would have been nearly impossible with the paper model (I say nearly because I’m sure there’s a way to do it, but I’m not going to bother to figure it out).

Along the way we took a ‘brief’ (brief for us is usually in the 1-2 hour range) lunch break and then went back to work.  Before lunch, though, we were having a little fun with our model, creating the Leaning Tower of Guggenheim (it looked like a cross between the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Guggenheim Museum), a funky lampshade hat, and watching Piero ‘drink’ out of a giant teacup (once we put the handle on).  After lunch we continued to work until around World Cup time, which still wouldn’t work.  Oh well, it will still be on when we return to the city.

T

The Leaning Tower of Guggenheim!

We sat around for awhile, watching the one channel that would come in- Kantipur, which shows so many World Cup ads but not the World Cup itself.  Once the power went out, we sat around waiting for dinner.  I ended up observing a conversation about art and its politics which got summed up in translation every so often.  The power ended up coming on before dinner was served, which was a nice change.

I miss peanut butter

18 June 2010 Jyamirkot

Today was a much more relaxed workshop day. As usual we started off with pancakes for breakfast- this time with peanut butter! Until today I hadn’t realized that I even miss peanut butter. It’s just one of those small things.

As our moderator left early this morning (she had a wedding to attend), I became the recorder for this session. We started off by going over what everybody had thought of and come up with between the end of yesterday’s session and the start of today’s. There have been some really great ideas coming out so far. After everyone went around the room and shared their ideas, they were then sent off to creat models of their designs, using whatever materials they could find.

This for me was the coolest part so far, to see how people translate their thoughts, words, and drawings into a three-dimensional object. I think that was always my favorite part of scene design class as well. Up until lunch I was pretty bored, as I wasn’t really involved in this step of the process. I did, however, take a lot of pictures and videos to record the process.

After lunch, Ashmina put Piero and I to work with Rabita, to help translate her original model and idea into something that could accurately represent the space she intended to create. Due to all my training (or some may call it an anal-retentive search for understanding and control), I tried to focus more on a scale model, as I believe that they give the most accurate representation. After scene design, I can’t imagine things not in scale.

Around 4:30 we all stopped working so the projector could be set up for the World Cup- Germany vs. Serbia (Go Germany!). After about a half an hour or so, we finally got the channel. We lost it for good about 5 minutes later because some people wanted to get a better signal. In my experience (and I was certainly correct here), when you’re camping or whatever, there is no such thing as a ‘better signal.’ You suck it up and be grateful for what you have.

Our intent was to do a final review of today’s work after the game, but we figured people were pretty upset over the lack of the game and therefore wouldn’t be in the best mood to do that. Eventually the power went out anyway (I’m starting to dislike you, load-shedding) so everyone headed to the other house to wait for dinner.

I played with Aba a lot today; apparently he’s taken quite a liking to me. While we were waiting for dinner he really enjoyed making me clap my hands. Peek-a-boo is another favorite. After awhile he got tired and cranky, and climbed upon my lap because it was reflecting the light. I started rubbing his back as he was close to crying, and he promptly fell asleep. Adorable.

Art camping!

17 June 2010                                                      Jyamirkot

Today was the first day of the artist’s workshop that I am assisting with.  We arrived yesterday afternoon/early evening, getting everything set.  Suniti and I had met Ashmina at a nursery, where I continued on with Ashmina to the Ring Road, where we waited for the rest of the things to meet us.  They came in a huge truck, which we took all the way to where we are now (outside Kathmandu, I’m still not sure where).

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One of the houses where we stayed

We’re currently based out of an old house, which is quite basic (single bulbs in the rooms, and I was surprised to see them there.  There are doors and windows, but they’re pretty much just holes in the walls.  Anything can get in- I swear I saw a rat run across the room and into the attic yesterday.  Also, I’m slowly being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  Apparently it’s because I’m ‘beautiful’, according to one of the male artists here.

Anyway, the house.  I’ve been told that’s it’s very ‘traditional Nepali.’  I believe it’s made out of red clay bricks (and red clay), with a bamboo-supported, thatched roof.  It’s quite basic.  There’s two houses here.  The women are in the smaller one, and the men are in the bigger one.  That’s also where the workshop is being held, as the top floor is quite large.

The workshop today was conducted mostly in Nepali (Piero, the other American here, gave his presentation in English), but they made sure to translate the important parts.  I’m looking at it as a way to test my Nepali and hopefully learn more.  The beginning of the workshop consisted of an introduction of everyone, an introduction to the project, and Piero’s presentation on art and collaboration.  It was interesting to find out that some of the great artists of the world didn’t actually physically produce their works.  This was supposed to get the ball rolling on the collaboration process we’re doing here.

The next step was to get people’s objectives and expectations of the project.  It seemed to have gone very well.  One of Ashmina’s friends, a social architect and landscape artist, was a sort of moderator for the session, leading the participants through the process.  Next, they were asked about their feelings about what a Live Arts Hub is, and what it needs.  After that, there was a break period (a ‘thinking break’) to show or describe what a physical Live Arts Hub would look like.  Ashmina and our moderator discussed how an architect/engineer would be coming, but they didn’t have him yet.  At this point, I mentioned that in the meantime, they had a set designer.  After I finally conveyed after some confusion (‘We should have a set designer?  Yes, I agree’) that I was the set designer, I immediately got put to work drawing as well.  Luckily we didn’t have to show our drawings, because next to all these painters and artists, my drawings look even more atrocious than usual.  I’ll make myself feel better by saying that I draw in a much more practical drafting style, so anyone constructing my designs knows exactly what I mean.

The discussion of the spaces was very interesting.  Some people were still stuck in the mental, theoretical step without proposing anything physical (except for location, which wasn’t wanted anyway).  A lot of people seemed to favor an open space, which should make the first step of combining ideas easier.  Collaboration is so much easier when there is at least one common starting point.  Otherwise, it can take forever just to agree on that first step.

The next step was a little more difficult- what in the space will tell people coming in that it is ‘art’, apart from the activities going on.  As it seems that everyone is either a painter or a sculptor, they got stuck in that paradigm.  I think that way of thinking can definitely be related to politics (see, I’m working!).  They think only of their own needs, and not the needs of others that will be occupying the same space.  Hopefully over these next few days we can get them to think past that.  As someone with a different perspective, I suggested shaping the environment with lights, that could morph in pattern and color and set different moods.  I also said not to be limited in color, that they should use all colors available, as many of them were suggesting certain color schemes or patterns.  Our leaders were glad that I said it, as they had been wanting to say it themselves.  The reaction was interesting- one painter was concerned that the lights would throw off the aesthetics of paintings in the space.  I assured him that all lights are programmable, and that they could be programmed in one place to support any paintings displayed there.  Plus, I just think it would be super cool to have light coming from behind the wall as well as from ceilings/walls/usual places.

After some final thoughts on the day and a note to think about who would be visiting the space and how their designs would change, we were all sent off to dinner, right before which the lights came back on.  Hooray!

Nepal is pretty chill

15 June 2010                      7:32pm                 Old Baneshwor

Today was my first ‘official’ day at Gurukul, even though I didn’t get there until 1:30pm.  I did at least have a very relaxing morning reading the newspaper and typing up blog posts (hopefully I can post them later tonight).  [Note: clearly that never happened!]  I ate lunch at home today, which was nice.  It’s very awkward though, being served when you’re the only one eating.  I think I’ll just add it to the list of things I need to adjust to.  On the other hand, I think I’m adjusting much better now.  Kaka and Kaki have been so understanding and just all-around great.

I left for work soon after lunch (dal bhat again, but this time with finger chips!).  When I got there I met with Jeebesh, the communications director, whom I’ll be working with.  We set out what they wanted me to do for them, but when it came to what they could do for me I got a little stuck, as my original idea for a project doesn’t seem like it’s going to work out.  I have to work on what I want to do and get back to them on that.

Today I looked at the organization’s website, as one of my roles is to help them update it.  At first glance their website looks fine, but after going through it thoroughly there are a lot of changes that could be made.  Hopefully tomorrow I can start working on that so that I can move on to other things.  I was thinking I would directly edit the website, but apparently they have an outside expert who does it for them.  At least I don’t have to worry about teaching myself web design.

After work I went with Jeebesh to a local restaurant down the street which is apparently the Gurukul hangout.  I had Nepali tea and some sort of soup, neither of which I cared for.  I thought it would be rude though to say ‘Malaai chiya Nepali ra khaane piro man pardaina.’  Even though I think they would be happy as I was speaking Nepali.  I think I should make a goal, like one new sentence every day or 5 new words every day.  Something to motivate me.

A little while after I got home Ashok came over, as he had yet to meet my family.  The meeting went well, and I also found out this is my family’s first time hosting a student.  I feel bad, they’re going to think all Americans are big fat crybabies or something equally super lame.  But hopefully not, I think they understand.  I’m just glad that now I know I’m not the only one going through a new experience.

I also arranged everything with Ashmina about going tomorrow, which should be fun.  I’m basically packed, so I’m all set to go.  Now I just am relaxing.  I was watching the Portugal/Cote d’Ivoire game (go Portugal!) but go figure, the power went out.  Hopefully it’s not like in Bangladesh (if I remember correctly) which I read about this morning, where people started rioting when the power went out during a match a couple of days ago.  I think that we’ll be ok though, for a country in transition Nepal seems pretty chill about stuff like this.

Metallica never sounded so sweet

14 June 2010          7:35pm          Old Baneshwor

Well, the power’s out.  I think back home I would at least jump or have some reaction, but I just looked up at where the light was and then went to find my cell phone, which has a flashlight on it.  I guess that means I’m adjusting to life in Nepal.  At least, I hope I’m adjusting to live in Nepal.

I had a pretty rough sleep last night.  I kept turning the fan on and off, depending on how hot or cold I was getting.  After the sun rose, I kept waking up again, mostly because I thought it was later than it really was (5am), but also because of the noises inside and outside the house.  I managed to keep mostly to myself in the morning, taking a shower and getting ready and such.  Breakfast was good- bread and boiled eggs.  Apparently the power was out this morning as well, so there was no power to toast the bread.  It still tasted good anyway.

Despite my assurances that I could get to work on my own, Kaka insisted upon dropping me off in the car.  The one reassuring thing on the ride was Prashant playing Metallica on the radio.  Usually I’m pretty ambivalent about Metallica, but somehow they sounded so good to me this morning.

I met Kashish at Gurukul this morning so that we could go over the details of my internship with them.  Despite my discussions with Kalpana last night, apparently I’m still working on updating their website.  Also, I will be helping them apply for a Ford Foundation grant, as they need someone with a high understanding of English to help.  Hopefully, I will also be able to help with a new production they start working on next week.

After our short meeting (I also met with Jeebesh, who I will be working with), I decided to stay at Gurukul rather than go home, as they have nothing for me to do until tomorrow afternoon.  Jeebesh had given me a few books, so I spent all of today reading through one of them and taking notes on it.  I have a feeling that my internship is just going to end up being research.  I may start looking into alternate internships if I can’t do anything substantive at Gurukul.

Throughout my long day of reading I did come up with some thoughts.  The first was an idea for a short film/documentary which would examine the various types of performance in Nepal and then discuss the political or societal aspects of them all.  I also had an idea for a play, based off of a blog post I had written a couple of days ago.  It would deal with frustrations of language as well as the dangers of homogenization of language.  At the very least it’s a chance for me to test out my writing skills.

After 5pm I decided I was done ‘working’ for the day but as I couldn’t find anyone to tell, I just left.  I stopped by an internet café, as I still don’t feel comfortable using the computer here, to write to people back home and of course check up on things on facebook.  I really am addicted.  When I was done there I stopped by another café to call my mom, which I desperately needed to do.  The good thing is that I talked for almost a half an hour and it only cost Rs. 48- less than a dollar!  I’m totally going back there, it’s better than the Rs. 6/minute that Ncell charges.  It was good to talk to my mom.  I was able to tell someone exactly how I was feeling that could sympathise and help me through it (everyone here has just said ‘it’s ok, don’t cry’, which really doesn’t help.

The phone connection finally broke so I left and started walking home, calling my mom back once I got off the main road.  It was just so good to hear her voice.  When I got here I started arranging my room, as the closet had arrived while I was gone.  After a little bit Kaki came into my room and had a snack of noodles with me.  Now I’m just sitting in here, waiting for dinner and working on my computer as I desperately need some ‘me’ time, which is very hard to find in Nepal.

Moving day

13 June 2010          10:20pm          Kathmandu- Old Baneshwor

Almost caught up!  Yesterday was a good day, it was our first completely free day since coming to Kathmandu.  So, how do we spend our day off?  Shopping.  Kashish came by the hotel around noon (late start!) and took us to one of the new shopping malls close to the hotel.  One thing I noticed- mall walking is a universal phenomenon.  Ridiculous.

Along the way to the mall we stopped at some stall so that people could try pan if they wanted.  What pan is- I have no idea.  What pan looks like- jello cubes, nuts, sprinkles and some sort of syrup wrapped in a leaf and skewered on a toothpick with something that looks like a cherry.  How pan tastes- like eating Vicks vapo-rub, according to Aya (one of the brave souls that actually tried it).

Apart from the supermarket on the ground floor, nobody actually bought anything at the mall in a move that some [me] may classify as a ‘fail.’  We stopped at one store along the way to get towels, and then hit another shopping complex.  At this point I was already frustrated and tired by going out and getting nothing that I needed.  We did find one store that sold kurtis, though, and I ended up getting a nice top there (ok, so that may have been more a want than a need).

Soon after we went back to the hotel, but only to quickly drop things off so the remaining group of five could go in search of pants, which we had failed at earlier.  We stopped in one store by the hotel and spent ridiculous amounts of time there, both trying on clothes and haggling for them.  I tried on the MC Hammer-style pants, mostly because I’ve seen them everywhere.  I now understand why I’ve been avoiding them- Aya said it looked like I had a loaded diaper back there when I walked.  No thank you!

Funnily enough, the balloon pants (elastic at the ankles) looked pretty good, so 4 out of 5 of us got a pair.  We’re totally going to be pimpin’ in these.  After spending at least 20 minutes haggling for everything, we continued on our way.  At one shop we met a pretty cool guy and had a thorough World Cup conversation.  As shops were closing we returned home, stopping for a bite to eat.

My goals upon returning were to get everything packed up and stay up to watch the USA/England match.  Technically, I was successful on both ends, but I did end up falling asleep soon after England’s first goal (so like 4 minutes into the game).

Today we moved into our host families, which was quite an interesting experience.  I wasn’t leaving until 2pm, so I had a lot of time to prepare and do last things around Thamel.  Mostly I spent time packing, and then went to lunch with everyone else who was waiting around to leave.

Kalpana and I left the hotel sometime after two and went to Old Baneswor, which is where I now live.  When we got there, only the son was at home.  He had just finished his exams (he’s somewhere around high school age) and the parents were both out.  We stayed there for a little bit, which was when I first started to feel so overwhelmed with everything.  I hadn’t really met my family, I had no idea what was going on with my internship, and everyone around me was speaking only Nepali.  Kalpana eventually took me to Gurukul, which is where I’m supposed to be interning, so that I could find my way and meet people.  Unfortunately, they were getting ready for a performance so everyone was busy, but I got a brief tour of the place.

We ended up staying for the performance, which was A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen.  I was somewhat familiar with the play but had never actually read it, which made it hard to follow.  Of course, it was all in Nepali.  The play was very well done, and I enjoyed how they made use of their space- it appeared to be an old warehouse building.  I also enjoyed the costume design- I was at least able to see Nora’s transformation through her costumes.

After the performance Kalpana and I walked back to the house where I finally got to meet my host family (after they were done with prayers).  The husband and wife were introduced as Kaka and Kaki (uncle and aunt), which helps with the worrying about what to call them.  The husband speaks English, and the wife a very little bit.  She spoke to me mostly in Nepali, which didn’t help with me feeling overwhelmed.  We sat in the living room for awhile where the World Cup was on tv, so I had something familiar to watch.

We had a traditional Nepali dinner (dal bhat, chicken, potatoes).  It was just me, Kaka, and Kaki- Prashant, the son, was out with friends, celebrating.  It was quiet, as I don’t understand most Nepali and Kaki doesn’t understand much English.  After dinner we went back to the living room and watched some more tv.  I answered some questions about myself and my family using as much Nepali as I could, which mostly consisted of ‘bais’ and ‘dui-jana dai.’  I eventually excused myself for bed as I was tired, overwhelmed, and not feeling well.

World Cup!

12 June 2010                        12:42am                               Kathmandu

I think I may be finally getting myself caught up!  Today was another easy day; we spent most of our structured time doing a walking tour of Patan.  For this, Ashok invited Anil Chitrakar, who is an engineer by profession but is really a jack of all trades- environment issues, consultation for the World Bank and development agencies, etc.

His walking tour of the city was fantastic.  A lot of his talk dealt with how you can tell about the history as well as the culture of cities and the people living within them just by examining structures and public places.  At one temple, Anil-ji had us look at all of the carved wood, showing the various ages of each piece.  As the region is often hit by destructive earthquakes, he said, there had to be artisans who could recreate what was destroyed.  Therefore, a seven-year old beam could be on a 2,000 year old structure, whereas in the West it would be unimaginable to add a new piece onto an ancient structure.

A

A mix of old and new

His explanation of well cleaning and the snake gods was fascinating as well.  After pointing out how all of the wells have snakes carved on the sides, he explained how people would pray to the snake gods before cleaning their wells.  They would send lighted lamps down into the wells, and if the light went out, the snake gods were angry and therefore it was not safe to clean the wells.  Scientifically, Anil-ji explained, this was actually a carbon monoxide test.  If the light went out, it meant that there was no oxygen in the well, which is obviously not safe for people going to clean the wells.  Anil-ji described this as folklore/religion explaining science.  Still, though, all the wells have snakes on them.

After our walk we had lunch at one of the guest houses in Patan, where we may stay after living with our host families.  As we waited for our food to come (seeing as it takes forever in Nepal), Anil-ji gave a more focused lecture on environmental issues in Nepal, particularly on water but also discussing climate change and new technologies to harvest alternative forms of energy.  Anil-ji is just such a fantastic speaker- even after lunch and the end of his ‘official’ talk, everyone continued to engage with him and listen.  I think this was one of the very few moments in my life when I didn’t want a lecture to end.

I also spoke with Ashmina at lunch, who is not only one of Ashok’s friends but a noted artist in Nepal.  I had read about some of her works back in New York and offered my assistance should she need it.  As a result, I will be attending an artist’s workshop where they are working to develop a community art space, documenting the process.

We had the whole afternoon free after we returned from Patan.  Before that, though, we walked a little bit around the main square there, checking out the sites.  After, we returned to the hotel where everyone either used internet (like me) or rested up for the beginning of the World Cup.  The whole group went to this one fancy bar in Thamel where they were also showing the game on a big screen- South Africa vs. Mexico.  We all had a great time rooting for South Africa (at least, most of us were rooting for South Africa) and an even greater time laughing at Ashe falling asleep and then waking up just in time to see South Africa’s goal.  All in all, it was a great way to wind down and relax.

A free day

11 June 2010                        7:22am                  Kathmandu

Yesterday, luckily, we had a less early start to the day.  We had our language class pushed from 9am to 10am, which helped with the whole sleep thing.  Class was still hard, but slightly better than the past couple.  I’m just hoping that someone in my host family speaks good enough English to help me out with my bad Nepali.

After class we stayed at Café Mitra, where we had lunch as well as a discussion of our internships and host families.  I will be working at Aarohan/Gurukul, a theatre company.  Apparently I will be helping update their website and do some grant research, with the possibility of working on some productions as well, which is what I had initially proposed to do.  My host family consists of a police officer, his wife, and a son of an unknown age.

For once, after our lunch and meeting we had a free day!  Keesler, Dee and I went shopping as Dee wanted to get a kurti, either pre-made or hand tailored.  We went into a few different shops but ended up in one shop at the Bishal Bazar (which literally translates to the ‘big market’).  After spending a significant amount of time there, Dee decided to have one set and one shirt made, and I had a set made, with the pre-existing shirt tailored.  I’m hoping the clothes end up being lighter than what I currently own.

After that we went to dinner at Fire and Ice (again) to take advantage of the free wi-fi.  It is awesomely fast!  The lasagna is pretty awesome as well- can’t forget about the food!  The desserts aren’t too bad, but I think there’s other places here that I’d go to first.  I think I’m really starting to get used to Kathmandu if I’m already developing preferences for certain restaurants.

Oh, dance bars

10 June 2010                        11:28pm                               Kathmandu

We have been kept so busy this week I’ve barely had time to write anything!  Yesterday we had a very early start- we departed for the Swayambhu Stupa at 6:00am.  Which meant that I had to be up by around 5am in order to get ready and shower.  It was rough, I really didn’t want to get up in the morning.  I guess it was worth it, though.  The entire Swaymbhu cultural area is full of life early in the morning, and the views are wonderful.  The stupa overlooks the entire city of Kathmandu, so it is possible to see almost the whole city from this one spot.  Once again we had an excellent guided ‘tour’, this time led by Dambar.

Despite the area’s beauty. we eventually all started to succumb to our hunger and returned to our hotel, where I did not order nearly enough breakfast.  Luckily my appetite has returned since being in Nepal, but the downside of that is everyone wondering how much weight I’m going to gain over the summer.  Clearly they don’t realize how much food I eat at home.  After lunch I did a little bit of website work that I’ve been meaning to do, but mostly just crashed.

Too soon after we departed for CEADS, where we were to have our language class as well as our lecture/discussion.  Our class was joint this time, and along with learning the language we also learned some culture.  One of the most difficult things for me is going to be sitting cross-legged for a long time and not being able to stretch out, as it is inappropriate to show the soles of your feet.  That, and the whole no privacy thing are going to be huge adjustments.

I must say, the lecture and discussion were fantastic.  The speakers were Prof. Krishna Khanal and Dr. Seira Tamang, whose works we’ve read extensively in New York.  Prof. Khanal gave a thorough talk on the political (I.e. governmental) history of Nepal, interestingly comparing it to America’s governmental process (US independence 1776, Prithvi Narayan Shah uniting Nepal 1769).  It was also enlightening to put it in the Cold War context, as (in my opinion) much of today’s international political discourse still revolves around that standard.

Dr. Tamang’s lecture was fantastic, even if it was a little “doom and gloom,” to use her words.  She focused a lot on the issue of excluded groups, and the fact that even if members of excluded groups are in the CA, they aren’t allowed to stray from party lines.  She and Prof. Khanal both described it as exchanging one monarchy for another- the Shahs for the elitist CA.  Still, it’s just a group of privileged men making decisions- the paradigm has not changed.

We had a short discussion period with the two, and actually continued the talk in smaller groups after the program was officially over.  Dr. Tamang was pretty much backed into a corner because people kept coming over to listen to her.  Soon after we departed, most of us for dinner as we had eschewed lunch for naps.  We ended up going to Café Kaldi, another place on our recommended list.  It has amazingly fast wi-fi and the food is pretty good as well.  It’s smaller food than a full dinner, but still good.

On the way back, Ashe had the brilliant idea to step in one of the dance clubs on the way back, to check it out and get a drink as well.  A note about these dance clubs: we had been informed earlier in the week that the term ‘dance club’ is just a term for basically strip clubs.  ‘Shower clubs’ are the same thing, but the girls are in shower booths.  As you can imagine I wasn’t the most enthusiastic about going, but I figured what the hell, why not.  Luckily, this dance club lived up to its name and featured people just dancing.  Either that, or we were there too early.  I figured it was safe as there was a young boy in the audience, but later learned that that isn’t an accurate indicator (or an indicator at all) of whether the place is ‘family friendly.’

We left after a short period, especially after we thought Ashe might have to dance to pay for our drinks!  Either that or the one girl just really wanted to dance with him.  All in all it was a fantastic day, and an equally interesting and entertaining night!

Wait, this is kind of profound

9 June 2010                          9:31am                  Kathmandu

Yesterday we were up early for another lecture hosted by USEF/Fulbright in Nepal.  It was another discussion on contemporary politics, this time with writers and commentators that were a little less biased than our last speakers.  This lecture was equally excellent- as working academics, researchers, and writers, they each had a great perspective on the issue.

After the lecture we departed for our field trip to Bhaktapur, which lies a little ways outside of Kathmandu.  It seems to be much smaller than Kathmandu, and is apparently still very much a farming town.  We at lunch right after we got there in what appeared to be a former temple-type building, converted into a restaurant.  We received lots of food, which was when some people finally got to use the word ‘pugyo!’  There was also a special yogurt served that used to be made for the kings in Bhaktapur, while there were still kings there.  Apparently it was really good, but I don’t do yogurt.

After we were done, we continued on our tour of the city.  We saw the various temples around the city and also learned a lot about the people living there, as well as the history of the city and Kathmandu Valley in general.  We also went to another temple, the Changunarayan Temple, which had its own interesting history.  Like many of the other temples we’ve visited, this one also had a structure that was apparently discovered, not built.  It was a giant stone pillar, which was destroyed during a Muslim invasion of Bhaktapur and now rests in separate pieces.

After a long day in Bhaktapur we headed back to Kathmandu, were I went shopping briefly (I had no clean clothes, and besides, I brought too many jeans) and then headed out with a few people for dinner.

Malaai brain man parchha... so stop killing it with Nepali!

8 June 2010                          8:22am                  Kathmandu

Yesterday we had our first language class since being in Nepal.  It was hard, I felt like my brain was melting.  Luckily, Adam’s classes helped out, but we found a lot of gaps in our knowledge.  Hopefully once I start my internship and get settled into a family I’ll be able to manage.  Although Adam taught us a lot of questions, for some of them we didn’t learn the answers.  We learned those with our new teacher, as well as professions, numbers, and family relations.

After class I was brain fried, so I went back to the hotel to rest a bit.  A group of us went to lunch together at the Korean restaurant across the street.  It took us a couple of tries finding the place- the first time I’m pretty sure we walked into someone’s house.  Then again, the Korean restaurant appears to be run out of someone’s house, but the first one was pretty much non-commercial.  Whoops.

My first experience of Korean food was interesting.  I ordered sweet potato noodles, which came out nothing like I was expecting.  The taste was decent, but the consistency and texture was something that I just couldn’t handle.  So, in reverse of usual fashion, everyone else started eating my food.

Once lunch was over, we went back to the hotel to meet the group to go to our roundtable discussion at Social Sciences Baha, featuring a Maoist and a member of the Nepali Congress.  The talk was very enlightening and interesting, mostly because we got to hear these ideas from the people involved themselves, not from a third party.

After the lecture we went to the Pashupati Temple, also known to English tourists as one of the monkey temples.  And there were a lot of monkeys.  The temple complex was very interesting to see; it is apparently one of the holiest temples in Hinduism.  It is right next to the Bagmati River, which is the holiest river here but also unfortunately extremely polluted.  Cremations are done next to the river, and as we were there we witnessed two cremations and the preparation of a third body.  We also listened to highly entertaining renditions of Hindu myths by Kashish, which were way better than anything I ever heard in religion classes.  Some classics were, “because I’m Shiva!” and “…he took her to Sri Lanka, and then Sita had problems getting a visa…”  I’m voting that Le Moyne makes their REL 200 classes like that- people might actually pay attention!

I am the frog

6 June 2010                          4:45pm                  Kathmandu

Our first official/full day in Kathmandu!  We had our first day of orientation today, which consisted mostly of introductions to the staff.  We also got a schedule for the upcoming week, which consists of language classes every day.  Thank God, my Nepali is terrible.  There are also lectures almost every day on different topics, as well as field trips to cultural sights.  Some of the staff are also taking us on walking tours of the city so that we can get oriented around the city.

After the orientation we had a group lunch at the same restaurant we were meeting at.  Much of the lunch was still a conversation with people discussing internships and projects as well as general things about Kathmandu and living here.  We put some of our new knowledge straight to use by finding a laundry service- the Tibet group has been running pretty low on clothes.

6 June 2010                          11:37pm                               Kathmandu

It has been a very long and interesting rest of the night.  We met up with Ashok and Kashish around 5:30 to go explore some of the city.  I have determined that I really enjoy traffic laws, as there appears to be none in Nepal.  That and traffic lights (although I suppose you would need the laws first anyway).  Cars and motorcycles seem to drive wherever they want to, whenever they want to.  The horn honking is almost unbearable.  New York is going to seem so peaceful when I get back.  For a city that seems like there are more pedestrians than motorized vehicles, it is surprisingly pedestrian un-friendly.  Basically, crossing streets in Kathmandu is like playing Frogger, except you are the frog.

We got to see much of Thamel on our walk, which is where we’re currently staying.  During our walk we passed by quite a few temples, which are actually fairly small, scattered about the city.  We ended up in Durbar Square, which along with hosting a large number of temples also holds the former royal palace.  Also, the residence of the Kumari [living goddess] is there as well, across the way from the old palace.

After we left Thamel we had much less people bothering us, as it seems they mostly stick to the tourist areas.  We still had some people trying to sell us things, so we learned the useful phrase ‘chaindaina’: ‘I don’t want it.’  I said it to one guy who kept following us, who then quizzed me on what it meant.  He seemed pretty happy that I knew, and then asked ‘Tapaai jaanuhunchha?’  I did know what that means (Where are you going?), so yay Nepali skills!  I didn’t, however, know the answer and probably shouldn’t have told him anyway.

Kashish took us back towards Thamel after Durbar Square, stopping to buy cell phones and eat dinner.  As most stores were closing our options were pretty limited for phones, but we all managed to find pretty cheap ones.  For dinner, we went to a place called Aqua Java Zing, which had the most amazing shake, a Kit Kat shake.  Made with blended Kit Kats and a whole one sticking out like a swizzle stick.  They served a variety of food, but the menu seemed mostly Western.  It really was a fantastic restaurant, and the chef kept bringing out complimentary food for us.  I will definitely be returning there, as it is apparently famous for its desserts.

Also on the way back from Durbar Square, we stumbled into a wedding procession.  For some of us, this was the second one in as many days.  The wedding procession consists of a brass band in front, a parade of people, and then the wedding car.  The last one was pretty tame, but this one was full of people singing and dancing.  As we were walking along, Dee started dancing and everyone started swarming around her, trying to dance with her.  It was ridiculous amounts of fun.

I think we're going to die

5 June 2010        10:33pm        Kathmandu

Despite the arduous and often unpaved road we encountered along the way, we finally made it to Kathmandu!  We kicked our day off early with breakfast at the Sherpa Restaurant next to our hotel.  As par for the course in China and Tibet, our order got screwed up and we ended up with two extra plates of eggs.  Luckily Keesler and Dee hadn’t ordered, so everyone got food all around!

After breakfast we loaded up our van one last time and set out for the border.  We made pretty good time- we actually got there before the border opened.  There were a lot of Romanians in line, waiting to cross as well.  Dawa had us skip in front of the Romanians, as there were easily 40 of them with tons of crap each.  This, of course, prompted an argument between Dawa and some of the other guides.  As this was all going on, we met a really nice couple who also lived in NYC.  Small, small world.  One of the guys gave us their cards, with promises to exchange blogs and meet up in Kathmandu for dinner some night.

We cleared Chinese customs eventually and said goodbye to Dawa, who turned us over to his Nepali counterparts.  After departing from Dawa, we had to walk across the bridge that was the border between China and Nepal.  This also meant that we went back over 2 hours in time due to the weird, messed up time zones.  Same time everywhere in China!  We hit Nepali customs, got ourselves all set there, and then loaded up into the van that would take us from Kodari (the border town we entered in) to Kathmandu.

The road was ridiculously bumpy and at points scary.  Especially the point where people were working on the road, and throwing rocks from above.  Along the way we stopped for lunch.  This may not have been a good thing as I became quite uneasy with all the bumping along.

Eventually, the adventure ended and we reached our hotel in Kathmandu.  It was perfect timing- Ashok had just pulled up to see if anyone else had arrived.  We soon met up with Aya, Martin, and Eugenia, whom we hadn’t seen since finals in New York.

We had quite a bit of resting time, which many of us used to take advantage of the fact that we had wi-fi and full access to the internet again.  It felt fantastic to log into most websites again!  After internet/resting, we met up with the whole group at Himalayan Java, a coffee shop down the street, to organize ourselves for dinner.  They took us to this great restaurant where I finally got to have some real Nepali food!  (We stopped for lunch on the way to KTM, but it was kind of gross- it sort of tasted like ashtray.)

After a quite long dinner, we eventually left and made our way back to the hotel.  I have at least learned one thing.  I do not want to be out after the sun sets- no street lights!

Tomorrow we start our orientation, which means the end of vacation and the start of work.  Oh well- that’s why we’re here.

"One of you can marry me!"

4 June 2010     11:26pm     Zhangmu

One of the most surreal experiences is waking up in a Tibetan tent, going outside, and seeing Mt. Everest directly to your right.  Of course, before we could get out of the tent we had to get out from under the 50lbs of blankets our Tibetan ama heaped on us last night.  I guess it worked out pretty good, because I was sweating last night but it was freezing out from under the covers.

After getting ourselves adjusted and fed (mmm, store-bought muffins), we headed back out to the actual base camp to see the mountain one last time.  Dawa had told us that it's better to go in the morning because it's less windy and cold.  Dawa is a liar- it was ridiculously cold and windy!  I must remember to write to Columbia- that jacked held up pretty good, I could only barely feel the wind cut through.  The mountain of course was beautiful- it was cool to see bits of sunshine peek through and hit the snow.  Beautiful, but a little hard to look at due to all the brightness.

We had written postcards to Ellen and Kyrie last night with the intent of sending them after we returned to camp from the base of the mountain.  As it was 10:30am and the post office (yes, there is a post office- in a tent!) doesn't open until 11:00am, Dawa called to see if the postman could open up early.  Unfortunately, he had left camp for the day and was where we are now.  Epic fail.  Our intent was to stop at a post office on the way, but that didn't work out either.  No matter what, I am determined to send these postcards out before I leave China!

As the post office adventure failed to take off, we left the camp instead.  Of course, we made sure to say good bye to our hosts for the night and especially Karma.  Dee taught him to blow kisses- adorable.  We also got a group picture taken with the family.  By far, I think that's the best hotel I've ever stayed in.  Where else do they tuck you into bed?  I can't even get that at home!

The drive from Everest to Zhangmu was long.  And bumpy.  And dusty.  I think it's a miracle our van survived the journey.  I fell asleep a few times on the ride.  Mostly it was on roads that we'd already been on (we had to backtrack a bit from the base camp back to the highway), but also because there was nothing else to do, and I felt tired.

Once again we stopped in a small village for lunch, where almost all of us (minus Katie) ordered potatoes for our meal.  At least it made ordering easy.  There was an adorable, yet stray dog that kept coming in the restaurant.  I had to keep telling myself that he most likely has diseases and that I can't touch him.  It worked, but those sad eyes got to me.  I made sure to at least get a picture of him.

After lunch we kept driving to Zhangmu, which was pretty uneventful except for this one 1km stretch of highway that wasn't finished.  There was construction materials on both sides of the 'road', which was basically mud (it was raining) and rocks, very uneven.  Also, no guardrails of any sort next to a sheer drop.  After that drive we decided to up our driver's tip- he got us through alive!

In another kilometer, we finally arrived in Zhangmu, our final stop in Tibet before the Nepali border.  This town is incredibly steep and twisty- the one road basically lies parallel to itself, making multiple sharp turns down the mountainside.  We're staying in the Sherpa Hotel, which is amazing.  We have absolutely beautiful views, and it opens up onto a rooftop patio, which gives a beautiful view of the town itself.  We made friends with some children on the roof, one of whom kept trying to teach Cecilia some complicated hand gesture.  I think the girl eventually just gave up.

Soon after arriving and getting settled in, we decided to eat.  Each of us got outfitted in our rain gear to go find a restaurant.  We didn't have to go far- it was literally right next door.  Dinner was pretty good, even though we all ate Western.  We also made another new friend at dinner, Teshi, who works at the hotel/restaurant/somewhere.  He kept calling out to us 'beautiful girls' and tried to get us to go out with him tonight.  Oh, and marry him.  Details.  We found him again outside, where he gave Cecilia the lovely new nickname of 'Sizzler'.

All in all, it has been quite an exciting journey.  I can't believe that tomorrow evening we're going to be in Kathmandu and see the rest of our classmates.  First, though, I must go to bed, which may be difficult with all the music that I'm pretty sure is coming from the Sherpa Nightclub next door.  Oh, joy.

Why do I keep getting all the noodles?

3 June 2010        8:58pm        Everest base camp

    After a 6-hour car ride along one of the bumpiest/scariest roads ever, we finally made it to the Everest base camp!  We're technically 4km outside of the actual base camp, but this is the more permanent setup.  There's a bunch of large tents, all with signs outside of them declaring it to be 'Such-and-such Hotel.'  Best hotel ever!

    The owner's baby is here.  His name is Karma, he is 1 year and 5 months old, and he is the cutest little thing I've ever seen!  He's become our form of entertainment.  Earlier he was playing with a ball of yarn, and then a bowl.  He is absolutely too cute.

    We went up to the actual base camp to take pictures.  It's the closest the Chinese government will let people go if they're not actually hiking the mountain.  There's a military checkpoint right before the camp, and everyone has to be registered to go past it.  We still had to walk from the bus lot up to the observation area- that took my breath away, literally.  Not enough oxygen!  I did get some amazing pictures, right before my camera died.

    After we returned to our hotel, we cooked up our ramen and settled into more Karma entertainment.  I'm surprised he's still up and going!  We also had a very fun moment when Dawa started playing 'My Heart Will Go On' on his cell phone.  Absolutely hilarious!  Also amusing was the fact that every time I reached the bottom of my bowl of noodles, everyone would dump some of their own noodles into my bowl.  Gotta feed the bahini!

    We're getting a kind of early start tomorrow so we're going to bed, and our Tibetan ama is coming to tuck us all in!  So amazing, best hotel ever!  However, this also led to the most pathetically nerdy joke ever- "It's like the Borg, but instead of assimilation it's being tucked in."

    Also, there is nothing like peeing outdoors at night, with fresh air on your exposed parts at Mt. Everest.  Amazing.

"Hello how much!"

2 June 2010     7:44pm     Shigatse

Holy hell I can't take any more monasteries!  I'm monastery-ed out!  As I'm sure is apparent, we went to yet another monastery today in Shigatse, the Ta Shi Lhun Po monastery.  It was fairly small, which was a relief.  There was one cool part- a huge statue of the Maitreya Buddha.  I believe our guide said it was the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world.  I can't remember the exact height, but I do remember that his shoulders are 11m across and his pinky is around 1.8m high, or as tall as an average white man.  [Note- Dee actually remembered, my memory is terrible.  Thanks, Dee!]

I must say we were in quite the giggling mood this morning.  Dawa laughed along with us at some points, but he had no idea what we were laughing about.  I'm pretty sure he thinks we're a little crazy.  Anyway, the monastery.  Before 1959 there were over 3,000 monks in residence.  Now there's only 800.  The number is so high because this monastery cooperates with the Chinese government.  Others don't cooperate as much, which is why their populations are smaller.

After the monastery Dawa dropped us off a ta local market, where we were greeted with the sounds of "Hello how much!"  It's surprisingly standard.  That, and "lookie lookie, cheapy cheapy!"  They are quite insistent.  I found it so much easier to deal with seeing as how I only had 20 yuan.  Out of nowhere, one woman offered me some jewelry for 5 yuan.  It was nice to look around, even though most of the stalls were offering the same things.

Dawa came to pick us up after about 45 minutes.  We all started walking towards the van as we were done shopping there, and a bunch of the saleswomen swarmed around us, offering us more jewelry.  We tried to pile in the van as quickly as possible and the women still stuck their stuff into the van, trying to sell it to us.  Poor Keesler got stuck outside with a couple of women.  Once the ones at the van realized we refused to buy anything, they went over to the other women who were still trying to sell stuff to Keesler.  Somehow, she made it out of there.

We went to lunch after that, finally at a different restaurant than the one we've been eating at.  I had yak noodle soup and garlic naan- I'm pretty sure I'm going to get so fat just off of naan, it's so good!  I've been trying to eat more Tibetan food and less western stuff.  The total off-ness of Western food here definitely helps me try to avoid it.  After this past week and a half, I think I like Tibetan food more than Chinese food.  I'm getting really used to yak meat.

We did a little more shopping after lunch, this time at actual shops.  There's way less pressure to shop there, even though things are usually more expensive.  Nobody really bought anything!  I think we just enjoyed browsing without feeling any pressure to buy.  After shopping we went back to the hotel to nap.  That was so refreshing.

After naptime we had Dawa take us somewhere to get warm stuff for Everest.  Once we got to the market, we found out that stuff could be rented at the camp and that we didn't actually need to buy anything.  We went to the supermarket instead to get food for the next couple of days.  Once we were done, we managed to leave our guides and go out on our own for a bit.  We went to the internet cafe to take care of things, and then walked back home, stopping to get noodles for dinner.  We have now had a thoroughly enjoyable evening eating bowls of noodles and dubbing Chinese television into English.  Not a bad evening of entertainment!

That's a lot of Buddhas

1 June 2010     10:00pm     Shigatse

After an extremely long car ride with many stops along the way, we finally arrived in Shigatse.  We left Lhasa at 9:00am.  I'll admit I was a little sad to leave.  We drove on the Friendship Highway from Lhasa, which has some incredible views but is ridiculously scary.  The road is two lanes (one in each direction), but it has a ton of hairpin turns going up the mountain, and some places on the road have no form of guardrails whatsoever.

Early on in the drive we stopped to see the stone Buddha, which is a Buddha carved into a stone wall.  It is quite impressive.  We also passed by an absolutely beautiful lake.  At one point we stopped high up to get pictures from there.  As we eventually descended, we got to stop by the lake itself.  We also saw crazy amounts of sheep and yak, so about every 5 minutes someone would yell "Sheep!" or "Yak yak yak yak yak!," our favorite call.

We stopped in one town along the way for lunch, and passed by a lot of people playing billiards outside.  I couldn't believe how many pool tables were just sitting outside on the sidewalk.

Leaving there, we stopped by the Kharola Glacier.  The altitude at the stop was 5,560m, or 18,242 feet.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Soon after the glacier we visited Pachu Monastery, where in one of the stupas there are 10,000 images of Buddha.  This monastery was built in the 1400s, and all of the paintings inside are the original artwork- no touch ups have been done.

After a little more driving, we finally arrived in Shigatse around 6:30pm.  They got us set up in our hotel, which seems like a 5-star resort compared to our last hotel.  It's even got a ridiculously fancy shower!  We have one more day and night in Shigatse, and then we're off to the Everest base camp!

No way was I posting this in China

31 May 2010     9:59pm     Lhasa

Today was quite the adventurous day!  After getting ready and such, our van came to pick us up to go to Potala Palace, which is the residence of the Dalai Lama (except for the current one, obviously).  The palace is huge- it has over 1,000 rooms and towers over the city.  It's quite imposing.  The palace has 2 sections, red and white.  The white palace is closed to the public, as it has been taken over by the government.  Apparently it currently houses the fire department and police.

It was quite a hike up to the red palace, which houses most of the religious relics and where people are allowed to go.  I think this is the first time that the altitude has really hit me.  I definitely noticed it tonight climbing up the stairs of our hotel (sad that it makes me short of breath, I know).  Anyway, the palace.  It almost seemed neverending, the number of rooms we went through.  We have an excellent guide, who explained so much to us.  I learned almost too much about Tibetan Buddhism today.

As tours are only allowed to be an hour long, we eventually came back down where we met Tony and his associate Tenzen, who was to be our guide for the rest of the day.  They took us to a very local place for lunch- apparently foreigners just don't eat there.  We had what I think may be the second-best meal of the trip: Yak meat soup with noodles.  It was so good, but ridiculously spicy!  I ended up having to get a less spicy bowl instead.

We had some brief time to ourselves before we went to Jokhang Temple, which is within walking distance of our hotel.  Tony's associate Tenzen was our guide for this, as our regular guide was busy securing border crossing permits for us.  The temple was also amazing.  It is a functioning temple, although not up to its previous capacity.  There are only a little over 100 monks left in the monastery, as opposed to the 3,000 (I think- can't remember exactly) that used to occupy it before the Cultural Revolution.  The temple is way smaller than the palace, but Tenzen kept talking about everything so it felt equally as long.  One cool part though was that we got to see the ritual for re-doing the floor.

We got to go to the roof, which gave us some good views of the market below as well as Potala Palace.  Seeing as how we were all temple-d out, we left to enjoy the next couple of free hours shopping.  I picked up some cool stuff.  The best part is bargaining.  Basically, if you pay the asking price for anything at an outdoor market, you're an idiot.  My bargaining skills are far from perfect, but I think I managed quite well.  It's much easier when you're not completely in love with something or if you can find it elsewhere- then, you're less likely to settle for a higher price.

After a couple of hours we met back up with Tenzen, who took us to a 'traditional' Tibetan dinner with dancing.  It basically just felt like culture on display.  I think I would have been ok with it if the dancing were more of a show, and not just an accompaniment to dinner.  Plus, they had Chinese food alongside Tibetan food, which doesn't seem very traditional to me.

The food was alright- I thought lunch was better.  I did try two new things, though- barley beer and yak butter tea.  The beer was eww, but then again I hate beer so that should be expected.  It wasn't as bad as other beers that I've tried in the States though.  The yak butter tea was interesting- it mostly tasted like super salty melted butter, mixed with a little bit of water.  Weird, but not wholly intolerable.

The dancing was very interesting.  Their first dance was a yak dance, featuring a man and two yaks (obviously people dressed as yaks).  They were pretty crazy, and then started coming into the audience, 'attacking' people.  The look on Dee's face as the yak came at her is priceless.  The other dances were good, but the yak one sticks out as the most memorable.  At the end, the dancers formed a giant chain, dancing around the tables and getting people to join them.  Dee was the only one out of our group who would go.  I'm still a little gun-shy about spontaneous dancing in public.  If I'm dancing in public, I best know what's going on beforehand.

We got dropped back off in front of our hotel for our last night in Lhasa.  So, of course we went shopping.  Well, I browsed- I'm almost out of cash for the time being.  It was still enjoyable to check out everything on our street, as we hadn't been able to explore it much before.  As it was getting dark and stalls were closing, I headed back to the hotel to pack everything up and get some rest.

I picked up on some of the history of Tibet/China and the tensions between the two.  Our first guide didn't seem to want to talk much about it, stating that as long as people didn't argue that Tibet belongs to China, things were ok.  Our second guide was a little more candid.  He seemed to have a more negative view of China, many times mentioning the bad changes that occurred after the Cultural Revolution.  He also mentioned that more and more, Tibetans need to learn Chinese in order to survive.  Soldiers don't speak Tibetan, nor do they want to learn.  New Lhasa is dominated by Chinese, and many Chinese tourists come to Tibet.  Basically, in order to get a job, Tibetans need to learn Chinese.  It's pretty scary to see this cultural annihilation in progress.  I think if the Chinese have their way, Tibet will be limited to 'cultural tours' and kitschy items.

Observation: Tibetan food stains do not easily wash out of clothes.

Observation: I'm pretty sure we heard the Tibetan Evanescence on the train.