The Sweet Air of Kathmandu

(Photos coming Thursday. I promise!)

Every day, as I walk to work, I look for the mountains that surround Kathmandu in every direction. Yet every day, I can just barely make out their outlines.  And every day, I am told that it’s a shame that it is too “cloudy” to see the mountains, but surely I’ll be able to see them tomorrow. 

I’ve composed this letter as a response to these comments.

Dear people of Kathmandu: 

The air is not cloudy here, it is polluted.  We are not breathing in “cloudy” air, we are breathing in lung cancer.  Please stop telling me that the weather conditions are bad. I know just as well as you do that this disgusting filth that I am breathing in comes from the traffic, trash fires, and the polluted river.  It is not natural – it is manmade.  And no, I will never get a good view of the mountains from Kathmandu, because it is not going to magically “clear up.”   Also, I do not have a cough because I don’t eat enough food: I have a cough because my lungs are very angry with me. And with you, for making your rivers, grounds, and air so polluted that they make sewers in the U.S. look refreshing.  I never thought I’d miss the sweet, sweet Washington, DC air.  Thank you, Kathmandu, for giving me a reason to buy a darling purple mask.   

Love,

Lisa and her lungs

(if you're lucky, I'll send photos of me wearing my purple mask while on a motorbike! How cool am I, really?)