Turning 25

I have plenty of photos to share from my adventures in the field earlier this week, but figured that post could wait a few days until I finish going through my notes.

So, let’s talk about my birthday instead.  Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful messages and emails - I loved them and they meant a lot. 

They do celebrate birthdays in Nepal, but they use three different calendars here (international, Nepali, and Newari), so it’s a little complicated to determine which day most people celebrate. Their rituals are different than in the U.S. as well, though I didn’t actually observe any of them.  I am pretty sure that an egg is involved, but don't know too much more other than that. 

I started my birthday out with a trip with Lilian to the tourist district of Kathmandu - Thamel - where I happily had a fattening American breakfast to start my birthday off right (coffee, croissants, eggs, bacon, hash browns – yum!).  We then traveled to Boudha, the largest Buddhist stuppa (religious site) in Nepal and an area heavily influenced by Tibetan culture. After exploring Boudha for some time, we traveled back to Thamel for some shopping, where I bought myself a nice birthday present.  We then met a work colleague, Ram, for drinks in the main square in Patan (to the south of Kathmandu).  The sky was so clear for once, and we were able to see the real mountains of Nepal in the distance.  FINALLY.   

After drinks, Lilian, Ram, and I headed to a restaurant in Patan for dinner and drinks with the most of the full-time ECCA staff. Though conveniently taking place on my birthday, it was also a goodbye party for Lilian, who is now on her way back to Switzerland.  We had delicious food and drinks, listened to a musician play Hindi and Nepali music, and ended the evening with a surprise chocolate birthday cake.  

It made for a great day, which ended promptly at 9 because everything closes here early and we work on Sundays.

Anyway, I’ll just share some photos because that’s got to be more interesting than me going on and on about my birthday.

Love, Lisa

At Boudha. It's very peaceful. And much bigger than it appears in the photo. This was first constructed sometime before 900 AD and was rebuilt in the 1300s. 

Monks putting up new prayer flags

View of Patan Square, south of Kathmandu. It's one of the most historic parts of the Valley.

It's hard to see from this photo, but the Himalayan mountains are outlined behind the hills of the Kathmandu Valley. 

 To put it in perspective: the hills are about 1700 m high, while the mountains are over 8000 m. (Switzerland's highest mountains are between 3000 and 4000 m)

Photo with Lilian on her last day in Nepal. 

Dinner with ECCA staff. Binod is on left and Yogendra on right. 

With Jai. 

Ram, Lilian, Sushil, and Siddhi.  These three males, along with Jai,  Yogendra, and a few others, make up the full-time staff of the main office of ECCA. ECCA has quite a few field staff in other parts of Nepal, as well as a HUGE coalition of volunteers and part-time staff. 

With Prachet - the reason I am in Nepal.

My birthday cake. It had chocolate shavings, four cherries, and two birds.  Apparently there was no theme. It was quite good. Not too long after this picture, load shedding began and we sat in the dark for a few minutes while waiting for the backup power to come on.  Good times, good times.