30/12/2014

The day before New Years Eve. From my understanding, this has become one of the biggest holidays in Nepal...and in particular, in Pokhara. The population here is about 250,000. They estimate that there will be around 500,000 people here during this time. The main street has been all but completely shut-off to motor vehicles, and instead replaced by endless tables piled high with "discounted" merchandise (mainly athletic ware as the primary shoppers are now locals from the surrounding hills all flocking to this area to stock up on merchandise for the cold winter months...or so we have ascertained).
Yesterday, during our 6 hour power outage, I made my way to the lake where I spent several hours sitting on the stone wall, watching the boats and para-gliders, reading my book, telling a toothless old man that I was not, in fact, interested in his left-over hash, and chatting with a Tibetan woman who started by trying to sell me handicrafts but then, upon being told that I had no money, decided that she would sit with me and describe her various ailments until another prospective customer came along. She was rather crass, I think she even referred to the Chinese as "the bull shit Chinese," which took me quite by surprise, and would stick her tongue out to indicate a joke had just been made, but I liked her and enjoyed our brief interaction.
One thing I think I am growing to like about being here, is the inevitable treasure hunt-esque shopping experience whenever you need to buy something. Each shop specializes in something different, and there are slight variations in what each theme of shop offers. For example, when I first got here, I bought biscuits, peanut butter, sugar, tea, a cup, oranges, and an electric water heater. That entailed going to about 10 different shops for 7 different items. It is a nice way to interact with the locals, who always seem friendly and willing to help. The problem I found in Kathmandu, is that when you are not out spending money, you become very isolated. Part of that, in my situation at least, was simply that unless I absolutely needed something, I didn't really care to go out of the house. The home where I was living, was considerably nicer than anywhere I could have made it to on my budget, and while I normally don't mind walking an hour or more, it is pretty unpleasant when you have to wear a face mask that gets hot and sweaty, and don't see much more than the occasional decapitated goat or shrine intertwined among the buildings.
Well, after waking up with a pinched nerve in my shoulder, that was only exasperated by spending the day kayaking around lake Phewa, I think I have to retire for the evening and "do" something that doesn't require movement.
   

28/12/2014

Once my mom starts to push me to engage more with social media venues, I know it is time to get with it and jump on that band-wagon. So, here I am...my first blog.

It's difficult to know where to begin as I have now been in Nepal for nearly 3 months. I am certainly not going to even humour the idea of re-capping this entire time, at least not in any significant detail, as the thought of extending my commitment to working on my computer is a thought I find unbearable. Between the load shedding, a.k.a. power outages, for at least 9 hours out of the day, in addition to the unreliable internet connection, and dealing with a computer screen that will periodically turn half-black, I exhaust my patience for anything electronically related on a daily basis.
Instead, I have found myself often longingly gazing at those working in their fields or guiding their water buffalo down the streets, wishing that were me. Had I stayed in Kathmandu, I think I would have abandoned the 'civilized world' (and yes, I use that term rather generously), to try and work in the small farm behind where I was living. Every morning, I would watch the cows ushered out of the barn (again, a generous term given the wood posts precariously held upright with a tin roof secured by large rocks, and a tarp covering the entrance), an old bathtub filled with water for the cows to drink as they stood bound in place by a rope threaded through their nose which was then attached to a nearby post, and both the women and men working their vegetable plots. I am sure I have managed to conjure a romantic image in my mind of returning to the simpler times, but I still feel that is the Nepal I want to get to know. Not the westernised, or even affluent Nepal, which I will not deny being infinitely grateful for initially...especially going several days with the fear that I would find myself homeless on the streets of Kathmandu, but that is a story for another time. Once I settled in, however, had a place to live, learned how to cross the streets, shop for food, and communicate on a very basic level, I didn't want to be an outsider looking in. I wanted to understand and get to know the culture and the people on an intimate level.
This is now my 5th time to Nepal, and I will say that this experience has giving me a better understanding of the area, and I am proud to say that I have managed to pick up on a decent amount of Nepali since being here. That's not to say I have mastered the pronunciation, but I can at least occasionally convey my message, and with a bit of imagination on the part of the other, even be understood. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges I have been confronted with that has taken me a bit by surprise after having lived in five different countries on three different continents, is how lonely I have felt since being here. It's not that I haven't met or interacted with a variety of people during this time, and I am sure it would have been infinitely better if things had worked out with the NGO I was supposed to be involved with while here, but at the same time, there is this pressing void lingering in the background that makes me yearn for the company of my family and loved ones. I spoke with a friend of mine who is living in Kuala Lumpur -- he's Haitian/ German -- and he said it's been the same for him, as well. I suppose a lot of it comes down the complete lack of familiarity...with anything. A completely different language, culture, lifestyle. Heck, even the vegetables and fruits look different here! Half the time I didn't even know what I was buying or cooking with in Kathmandu, and sometimes this turned out more successfully than others.  I don't regret coming here, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone again nearly 5 months from now. Wow, that is a long time. Especially considering I didn't even know how long I would be gone for when I left. I figured at least 1-3 months, but the side-project I was working on started to take shape, and now, well, I will be gone from the States for a total of 7 1/2 months. Funny to think that over the past four years, I have spent essentially two years outside of the US. But again, I think this experience has provided bigger and more obstacles to overcome. In theory, this will be a good thing.