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.  

Visiting the Monkey Temple

Today there are strikes, called “bandh,” across Kathmandu, so the government, schools, and most businesses are closed for the day.  There are only a few of us at ECCA –mainly the people who live close enough to walk or use their bicycle.  Strikes in Nepal are actually quite fascinating, and relatively peaceful.  The strikes today are in protest to a ruling that the Nepali government made two years ago that the official language across Nepal be Nepali, not the local ethnic language. In Kathmandu, the Newars are the highest class (and caste) in society and as such, are protesting the fact that Newari is not the official language of Kathmandu.

Or, at least that’s how I understand it.  But I’m finding that you can ask five Nepalis the same question and get five different answers, so for all I know this strike is about something totally different. Anyway, the city was so quiet and empty on the way to work today because there are no vehicles running. The police and military are out in full force, but besides people hanging flags to show their support, not much is happening in my part of Kathmandu.  The strikers are in other parts of the city, not where I live or work.  From what I hear, even these strikes are relatively peaceful and organized.  Nonetheless, foreigners are well respected here so I’m not too concerned one way or another.  Nepal is an interesting place.

I’m leaving tomorrow for South Lalitpur for three days of travel through three villages to the South. ECCA has programs in the schools in these villages, so I am traveling alongside ECCA staff member Binod as he observes the projects going on in the schools. We’ll be meeting up with a group of ECCA field staff that are monitoring all 11 villages in the region.  It’ll be a good time for me to start my research, in theory, on the role of conflict in child development in Nepal.  Also, I get to hike through the hills to visit two of the villages, which I’m pretty excited about.

On Friday I went to Swayambhunath (also called the Monkey Temple) on the western part of Kathmandu.  It was constructed hundreds, maybe thousands, of years ago in honor of Buddha.  Like everything else in Nepal, there is a lot of mysticism and folklore surrounding the the temple.  According to legend (and archeology), this area was once a huge lake. Upon visiting the valley, Buddha drained the water from the region standing on the hill where the temple is now located.  

I am not so much a fan of monkeys, but these little dudes were all over the place, which was pretty cool. Swayambhunath also offers a beautiful view of the valley.

There is also a Hindu temple on this site.  Though two separate religions, Hindus accepts Buddhism as part of Hinduism.  It’s quite interesting.  There’s a lot of other meaning behind this place, but I’ll allow the pictures to speak for themselves.

Love, Lisa

See? I'm really in Nepal!  It's impossible to capture everything on this site in one photo.  The temple is the white and gold dome, but there are a number of other statues and smaller temples as well.  The Buddha's eyes are watching in every direction. 

One of the views of the valley, with the hills in the distance.  You can only seen the mountains on a really good day. 

Meeting a new monkey friend.  

One part of the Hindu temple also on this site. 

Another part of the temple site.  It's incredibly high off the ground and you have to climb up quite a few stairs to get there. There are Tibetan prayer flags EVERYWHERE - it's beautiful.  There are a number of monks that live here and are responsible for upkeep on the temple and the grounds. There's also trash everywhere. Shocking, right? 

Reasons I Want a Motorbike

1. They are so much more convenient than cars in Kathmandu
   
2. Road rules don’t really apply
   
3. My hair flows nicely in the wind
   
4. I can see the city better
   
5. My balance is improving
   

Reasons a Motorbike is Bad News

1. Accidents in motorbikes are worse than cars
   
2. Riding a motorbike in the rain is not fun. Ditto for mud roads.
   
3.  I still haven’t figured out how to gracefully sit on the bike (and am reminded of this daily)
   
4. Bugs in your mouth = not delicious
   

I’ve been here a week now, and have experienced a range of emotions in regards to this city and its people.  Every day is a different challenge, although I find myself liking it more and more.   I am content here, at least for the time being at least. It’s so fascinating to me that this life is not chaos to the rest of the city’s residents – just me.

The ECCA staff is really nice and has gone out of their way to take me to different ECCA projects across the Kathmandu Valley.  They’ve also been great at answering my random questions. Here’s some of what I’m learning so far:

•     Arranged marriages, though long a tradition in Nepal, are no longer status quo. Some youth now date and choose their own marriage partner, while others ask their family to choose then take time to get to know the person before the marriage.  Several of the guys I work with have girlfriends, so it’s definitely different these days. People date and go out in groups, though its still largely a family-oriented place.
•     Though many women work in Kathmandu, men still own the stores and make the rules.  There are a few women working at ECCA - most are men in between 25 and 40. ECCA relies a lot on volunteers, most of who are college age students.  I am treated 100% as an equal here.  I am trying hard to learn Nepali so I can keep up with everyone’s jokes. 
•      Anyone who can afford to do so purchases big jugs of clean water from stores to use for cooking and drinking. I’ve not had any problems with the water thus far, because I can purchase a jug for my house for 50 Rupees (less than $1), and ECCA and quality restaurants use this kind of water as well.  Water shortages are a problem across Nepal, and the quality of water remains poor even in the wealthiest areas.
  
•     The majority of the upper class in Kathmandu (the caste system is still strong though not widely acknowledged) are part of the Newari ethnic group, so most people in Kathmandu speak both Nepali and Newari. Most children learn English in the schools as well.  
  

On Tuesday, I traveled outside the Kathmandu Valley to a small town called Macheagaun, where we introduced ECCA’s sanitation and water program in a secondary school. I quickly fell in love with the mountains and small towns.  Nepal really is a beautiful country.  It’s very green here, with rolling hills and mountains, and temples everywhere. 

Those of you who have asked for my address: funny story, actually. I live in a part of Kathmandu called Anamnagar, which translates to “place without a name.”  Seriously.  So anyway, I don’t actually have an address.  If you’re interested in mailing me, let me know and I’ll give you my work address. I live right by a huge government compound, which is surprisingly safe. I am very happy to be living away from the tourist areas – this is the “real” Kathmandu here.

As requested, here are some photos that I’ve taken so far. Photos with people in them are infinitely more interesting, but I still get kind of freaked out about that. Give me another few days and I’m sure it will be fine. I’m clearly not in these photos, but I’ll remedy that soon enough.  

The entire Kathmandu Valley is full of beautiful buildings and statues

Homes along the Bagmati river. It's the most polluted part of Kathmandu because of all the sewage and trash that flows into it.  As the monsoon rains raise the river level, it will grow more and more polluted. I pass over this river every day on the way to work. 

Women selling fruits and vegetables along the street.   

A street near my flat and a trash-eating cow. There are cows, chickens, goats, and dogs everywhere.

Kindergarten children in one of the schools I visited today.  

The children practicing their concentration by learning to walk in a straight line holding specific objects that weigh down their walk. 

Houses in the hills outside Kathmandu Valley. The top of the hill will eventually hold a giant Buddha statue that you will be able to see from Kathmandu. 

Speaking about ECCA projects and proper sanitation and water practices in a secondary school in Mancheagaun. 

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?)

The First 72 Hours

I’ve never been in a city quite as busy or as fascinating at Kathmandu.  There’s so much to take in.  To keep this interesting, I’ll focus on some observations from my first few days here:

The traffic: there are no stop lights, stop signs, or crosswalks.  Want to cross the road? Just make your way through the taxis, cars, bicycles, motorcycles, buses, minibuses, and three-wheel public transport vehicles that are weaving in and out of a 4 or more lanes. Piece of cake.  

The sidewalks, where they exist, are equally crowded. On the way to work, I saw several stray dogs and a disgruntled cow hanging out on the sidewalk. On the way back? Monkeys.

My internship:  I am working at ECCA, a Nepali nonprofit that runs a number of programs focused on environmental conservation and community development.  Their programs increase sanitation and health practices and improve the quality of education in the central, southern, and eastern regions of Nepal. I’m very excited to be working here for the next 2+ months. I just got back from a meeting at the Bagmati river (most polluted part of Nepal) with one staff member and I’ll hopefully be visiting some government schools later today with another.   

ECCA staff is very nice and, because the organization publishes most of its work in English, nearly everyone speaks at least some.  Though I’m hoping to learn Nepali, it’s really nice to have English as an option.  My contact, Prachet, (chairman of ECCA) has gone above and beyond to make sure that I’m settling into the organization and the city.  I’m so thankful for his support!

My apartment: I’m living in a cozy (bright pink!) flat in the southeast part of Kathmandu. I’m renting the flat from a retired doctor and his wife.  When I mentioned I was from Ohio, he started chatting about a visit he once made to Dayton, Ohio for medical training. Small world. I have a housemate through May, Lilian, but she's been traveling with ECCA so I won't meet her until tomorrow. 

The City: ECCA is located across the river to the south in the town of Lalitpur, which is an easy 35 minute walk from my apartment.  Most of the touristy and historic areas of Kathmandu are in the northern part of the city, but it should be easy enough to visit different areas of the city by walking or using public transportation.  Kathmandu is really the only city in Nepal, so I’m looking forward to visiting the villages and rural areas.   

In Kathmandu, people work from Sunday to Friday, so Saturday is the only day off.  We have power outages every day (called "load sharing"), but they're on a schedule so you can plan your activities around them.  

Okay, that’s all for now. I will post pictures soon.  I have to admit that I haven’t taken many yet. You know how intimidating it is to try to take a picture when everyone within 50 feet of you is staring directly at you? I’m sure I’ll start caring less, but it’s certainly unnerving. 

Miss you all and please keep in touch through email! I’m not entirely sure how often I’ll be able to skype, so email is probably the best way to get in touch at this point. 

Love!