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.