Day 2

We did so many things today, I’m having a hard time remembering them all. We began our day at Ason market. Because Saturday is the Buddhist and Hindu day of worship, it’s also the day when many families do their shopping. I can’t imagine how these people make any money. On the same street, there are dozens of pashmina shops, or dozens of electronics shops, or dozens of tailors, and they are all exactly the same. We later went to an underground market that was much less crowded, and much sadder. Chris said that many of those vendors probably lived in their shops, and were possibly low-caste so not as many people shopped there. Roaming around the market are holy men who basically attack you with what is called a tika, or a blessing of vermillion powder placed on your forehead—sort of like ashes, for all you Catholics. Once they come up to you, you really have no choice but to receive it and then give them some money as an offering. We’d successfully avoided them for most of the morning but of course eventually ended up being branded, too.

After the markets we all ordered momos for lunch, which are sort of like little dumplings filled with meat or vegetables. We then went upstairs to a coffee shop, where Chris interviewed Hannah and me for a film that he’s making—more on that later. I hate being awkward on camera. Ugh.

Every taxi ride is an adventure—traffic laws don’t really seem to apply in Nepal. Although drivers technically drive on the left, this rule is pretty flexible and taxis, tuk tuks (little 3-wheeled buses that pack in ridiculous numbers of people), motorcycles, and bicycles weave in and out. Traffic signs, traffic lights, sidewalks, and crosswalks are nearly nonexistant and crossing the street is a pretty exciting endeavor, to say the least.

My favorite part of the day, and possibly of the trip so far, was visiting Swayambhunath, a Buddhist and Hindu place of worship at the top of a 385-stair climb. It’s amazing to me how Buddhism and Hinduism exist in complete harmony, for the most part, even to the point of sharing some of the same gods and, in the case of Swayambhunath, holy sites. The climb up was rushed because we were trying to beat what looked like an impending storm, but once we got to the top (and I caught my breath) the view was indescribable. We could see the entire city, framed by the Himalayas (Technically, the foothills, but I’m from North Dakota. They’re mountains to me.). It was peaceful, and beautiful, and I took dozens of pictures that I’m sure won’t even come close to doing it justice. It’s nicknamed the Monkey Temple because of, fittingly, all the monkeys running around the area. Monkeys are animals that, to my mind, belong in zoos, so to see them running wild is sort of surreal. After we’d had our fill of scenic pictures, we went inside a Buddhist monastery and heard the monks saying their evening prayers. They used drums and horns along with their chanting and one of the Nepali men standing nearby said they believed that God could hear the instruments because they were so loud. I think my favorite part was watching the young monks sitting at the edge of the room who couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 years old. I’m pretty sure they were supposed to be devoutly praying, but as soon as they saw me take out my camera, they began totally hamming it up and making goofy faces at me.

On our way back down, we found a little side path and decided to follow it. It took us through a wooded area to the back side of the temple, where we had a much less crowded view. Hannah went to take a picture of an adorable little boy climbing a tree and accidentally stepped on a stray dog that snapped at her and freaked her—and us—out. There are sooo many stray dogs everywhere. It’s really kind of depressing, but I suppose not as depressing as the beggars (sometimes holding dirty and clearly malnourished infants) we also see around the city.

On our way back to the neighborhood our hotel is in, our taxi got stopped by a man handing out brochures about Tibet and asked us to sign a petition demanding that China stops terrorizing Tibet and asking for UN interference. We got out of the taxi, looked to our left, and saw a huge group of people sitting on the ground, chanting, and spinning Buddhist prayer wheels. Nearby signs explained that they were fasting to protest against the Chinese government. They flashed us peace signs, and our hearts broke for them. We signed the petition, Chris left a donation, and we got back in the taxi and tried to process the scene.

We’re off to another relaxing and delicious dinner. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your comments. It’s great to hear from you all!

Day 1 in Nepal

I'm in an internet cafe in Kathmandu, after a sweaty but exciting day of

seeing the city. I'm much happier today than I was yesterday--I was supposed

to be in KTM by 5 pm but instead was stuck in the Bahrain airport until the

afternoon because a vehicle ran into the plane we were supposed to be taking.

Seriously. Anyway, I got out of the KTM airport around midnight, where Chris

was waiting with a taxi to pick me up. I was exhausted, and just generally

annoyed with traveling, and kept mentally questioning why the hell I had ever

decided to come to this country. I was actually kind of worried that I might

hate Nepal. What if I absolutely hate everything about it and am stuck here

for a month? That possibility hadn't crossed my mind before. Thankfully,

that was just my jet-lagged brain talking. I woke up this morning at 6:45, after a restful sleep, and couldn't wait for Chris and Hannah to get up so we could go explore.

And explore we did. We started at Boudhanath, the world's largest Buddhist stupa. We watched monks doing their morning prayers, spun enormous prayer wheels, and walked around the stupa several times. Hannah and I got our picture taken, awkwardly and without warning, by one of the monks on his camera phone. Chris made an offering and received a blessing, which was pretty interesting. Later he was talking with another one of the monks who then gave Chris another, even cooler blessing and then invited us all to have a glass of soda water with lemon with him at a tiny hidden cafe. It seems like the Nepalis love a Westerner who can speak their language, because Chris makes easy friends wherever we go. Of course, it turned out that the monk was also soliciting a donation for the monastery, but whatever. It was still pretty neat. On our way out of the area we were looking at thankas, extremely intricate Buddhist paintings, when the salesman invited us upstairs to watch them being painted. I don't even think I can describe how small the paintbrushes are, and how intensely detailed these paintings are. It was amazing to watch.

We then went to Pashupatinath, the holiest Hindu cremation site in Nepal. It's located on a river, and bodies are cremated all along the bank so the river is essentially full of dead people. The water is a greenish-gray. In fact, while we were standing there, watching the fires burn, I'm pretty sure that we each inhaled about half a person. We watched both the ceremony that takes place before the body is burned (horribly sad, especially because one of the grief-striken relatives was completely distraught and here we were, stupid gawking tourists) and the final ceremony, where the family takes a final saved
piece of the body and buries it in the river bottom. Chris got us a tour guide, who was full of information about the Hindu religion and also helpful because he took us to some photo-op places I wouldn't have found otherwise.

I think we're going to do a little more walking around yet today, and then hopefully back to the hotel for a nap. What a great first day!

I'M HERE!

After some unexpected delays--more details later--I'm here in Kathmandu, safe and sound (along with my luggage, which I consider to be a small miracle). And now I am going to bed.

Lo and behold, free internet in the Dubai airport!

Well, after wasting 7 of my 10 layover hours in the Dubai airport, I finally discovered that they have a little computer station with free internet. Had I found this out earlier, I would have posted in much greater detail. Here's the brief update so far:

I flew from Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Dubai, and in 3 hours I am leaving for Bahrain and then FINALLY Kathmandu. Hooray! When I arrived in Dubai I had to get a new boarding pass and as I was waiting in line a woman next to me wearing a head scarf and toting 4 small children said, "You're American, too, huh?" I said yes, and then she said, "Minnesota." I mentally reviewed my clothing, not thinking I had worn anything UMM related, and said, "Yes, how did you know?!" She said, "No, I'm from Minnesota. You are too?" And then we marveled at how ridiculous it was that we were both in the same line on the other side of the world. She's from Minneapolis, on her way to Somalia for 3 months.

Anyhow, there is a whole line full of people waiting to use these computers so I will make this brief. I'm in Dubai, and alive. Someone please tell my mother, because I'm sure she is freaking out. Next update: Kathmandu!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome, and thanks for reading! If you don't already know, I am a recent college graduate who, rather than, you know, getting a job and earning some income after graduation, decided instead to spend a month in Nepal traveling and volunteering. Why Nepal? I became interested in traveling there because my academic advisor, Jennifer, does her research on gender and education in Nepal. Jennifer and her husband, Chris, opened a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Pokhara, Nepal in 2007. The home is called Sam's House, and it will be my home as well for approximately the next 30 days. I'm traveling with Chris and Hannah, another student--unfortunately, Jennifer will be back in Morris teaching a summer class so I won't get to travel with her. While I'm there I'll be doing lots of sightseeing, hopefully some (light) trekking, maybe paragliding--if I work up the courage, reading, relaxing, playing with a bunch of Nepali kids, and volunteering to help teach English.

My flight leaves tomorrow from Minneapolis. From there I go to Amsterdam for a brief layover, and then Dubai for 10 HOURS. Ick. I'm not looking forward to that at all. Thursday morning I fly from Dubai to Kathmandu, where I'll meet up with Chris and Hannah. Even though I leave tomorrow, I still feel like it's just another day. I'm getting a little nervous, but mostly that I get all the little things done before I leave, like closing my Morris bank account and leaving my house keys on the kitchen counter.

For more information about Sam's House, check out the links on the right. The homepage includes pictures of all 20 ridiculously adorable children. Chris will be updating his blog throughout the summer as well, so it will be interesting to read our different perspectives on the same events.

I'm not really sure how busy I'll be and what my schedule will be like when I get to Nepal, but I hope to update often. There are a lot of internet cafes in Pokhara, but I'm not sure how often I'll get to them. The next time you hear from me, I'll be in another country, far, far away...