[ A Love of Hiking ]

[ Thursday ]

The calf that waited with me Thursday morning for work

Thursday was a turning point! I have become increasingly interested in my work, and both Thursday and Friday flew by.  I also had something to look forward to Thursday night--something that I had looked forward to the entire week! Laeti's group of women had a sale for all of the purses, dolls, scarves, hats, etc. that they had made.  They were so adorable, beaming at everything and showing off their hard work. I ended up buying a few things to support them and for gifts to family and friends! :)
There was also a terrific duo that did renditions of old jazz songs. It was only their second time performing, but it was really good!

Magic. Or, for that night, The Band Formerly Known as Magic.

On Thursday there were also two new houseguests (unrelated to each other). One, Chris, is from Germany and in the process of looking for a flat. The other, Vanessa, is from California and will be doing an impact study once she leaves for the field in a few days. That is all for Thursday, so on to

[ Friday ]

Friday morning at work I was invited to one of Mandira's (a coworker's) presentation; the presentation was about ICIMOD with a focus on flooding--something I haven't included in my research (yet!). The group being presented to was entirely composed of American students! I met some students who are attending Bowdoin College. They were jokingly disappointed that I was attending Colby (Bowdoin and Colby are rival schools), but ultimately they reassured me that it is a great place to be. It was really refreshing to speak with other Americans because most conversations I have with people are not in their native tongue, and it can be exceedingly difficult to understand accents.  

When I arrived home, Laeti was just heading out the door to do some last-minute shopping (I now understand why!). We went to two really cute craft stores; I ended up buying some of these colorful leaves to hang in my room (and future dorm room, if that's alright with you, roomie).

They also had this Phone Dairy...there are many humorous misspellings here. :)

That evening the guesthouse celebrated Laeti's last dinner here. I treated everyone to open momos prepared at Cafe Gangri. Having the house together for dinner was so lovely; everyone was laughing and telling stories. In particular, Katrin and Ashok recounted their "how we met" story. The whole thing sounded like it was straight out of a movie! 

The shortened version of How Ashok and Katrin Met:

In the city of Goa, on the coast of India, Ashok owned a small bar. Katrin, with her best friend and best friend's sister, were traveling from Germany when they met, although Katrin wasn't interested at first, a little persistence from Ashok lead to them spending time in Goa. It was only a few days, however, and Katrin returned back to Germany, reminding Ashok that it would not work.

But he called every morning.

After three months of talking on the phone each day, he asked if she would marry him. The third time he asked, she said yes.

When she went to Nepal, she had forgotten what her husband-to-be even looked like! Once they met up, they went to a bar where a bar fight ensued, and the night ended at the police station. After a week in Nepal, they were still set on marrying. The rest is history!

Laeti had also bought gifts, and a gift exchange ensued. I couldn't stop smiling the whole night, I was so happy with what I took to be my make-shift family. Laeti had to leave for her flight early the next morning, so I woke up at 5 am

[ Saturday ]

morning to have breakfast with her! We said our good-byes and I have missed her ever since! 

About an hour and a half later, Arindam (Aditi's husband), Bikul (a coworker), and Tatiana (a friend of theirs) picked me up to go for a hike! We drove up to Hattiban resort...or at least, as close to it as we could get. The incline was steep and the turns were tight--Bikul's car wasn't quite up to it.

That is Tatiana on the other side! 

Although the carbon dioxide levels went up 2% within those 15 minutes spent on this curve, the view was splendid!

We parked the car about halfway up the unpaved trail and began out ascent. We started right away with a shortcut, which wasn't too well defined.

Nevertheless, it was beautiful and smelled so clean after the rain. Once we got up a ways, there was an amazing (if not a bit cloudy) view of the valley and Kathmandu sprawling across it. I even got a picture with it!

You can see the Bagmati river, a sacred river for many in the region.

Photo courtesy of Tatiana Zelenskaya!

At the top, you could see the crests of other hills. On the next closest was a temple with a stone path leading to it.

On our way back down the batto (path), we walked throug
h a cloud!!! I was overly excited, to put it nicely. :)

Once off the beaten trail, we traversed the road to Bikul's car while two dogs followed us the whole way!

More of Arindam's friends joined us for lunch (where I had pancakes!) and we talked about random control tests and religion. Exhausted, I finally made it home just in time to go right back out again!

Prabesh (the Chai Chai Cafe Prabesh, that is) and I walked over to the Patan Museum. (More or less) on the way, we stopped by a temple for Saraswati.

Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of learning, but there were also Buddhist shrines there!

Just across the road from the temple was what we would call a Buddhist monastery. As we walked, Prabesh was able to tell me a lot about different sites we passed and the history of the city. He made for an excellent tour guide, and it was much more interesting than seeing these buildings without any historical context!

Yes, it had started raining by this time! Welcome to the monsoon season. :)

Also on the way were several water sources! I was so excited to see more, as these are a main part of my research!

These sweet women nodded in agreement to the camera, even smiling for me. :) Unfortunately, the pit wasn't draining correctly.

On the other hand, this pond (pokhari) had dried up.

Just past this pond was Patan Durbar Square, where the King's Palace is located. The museum was inside this King's Palace!

The middle of the palace held a beautiful courtyard with a flowering tree. The rain had washed away some of the dirt and left the red brick glistening and bright.

The inside of the museum, however, was much more dim.

There were many ancient and intricate artifacts! On the whole, I thought the museum was really interesting. The little plaques in front of each exhibit were written in English--and quite well written, at that! Several times I gawked at the beautiful language of these momentos...it was really special, especially in a place where most people do not speak English that well! But that is just me and my love for the intricacies of language. Anyway, here are a few examples of what you might find in the museum:

I found the postures to be really interesting, as most all Hindu god(desse)s appear like this.

During this time, extra limbs and faces were added to express the multiple functions and roles of that god.

Vishnu (my favorite of the Hindu gods so far) is pictured here, soaring through the heavens (as the description says).

This is a miniature replica of Boudanath, the Buddhist temple I went to last Saturday!

This is the King's throne! It is plated in pure gold.

The museum did an excellent job of describing the different Hindu gods, Buddhist beliefs, and Tantric development. If you climb to the top of the museum, there is a bell tower that overlooks the entire square!

The ticket that granted us access to the King's Palace also gave us access to an architectural museum two doors down. The courtyard held another small temple.

The carving on the arches was beautifully done.

The carvings on the wood around the courtyard were also incredibly intricate!

The inside of this second museum was not as expansive: it was about three short hallways dedicated to columns.

The first hallway was pretty neat though!

Outside was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life.
I don't know the name of this stone spout. I forgot it. It was in the museum somewhere, I'm sure.
I found it so stunning; the carvings were so intricate, the spout itself so clean, and the whole layout aesthetically pleasing. I spent quite awhile just admiring it's beauty.

Girl in pink with umbrella makes her debut by this glorified drinking fountain.

Look at that radial symmetry! How splendid!

Two snakes surrounded the pit.

This is Vishnu again, still soaring through the heavens!

On the way back "home" we stopped by another stone spout/ dhunge dhara/ hiti (depending on the language!).

This one most likely had sewage flowing in, causing that grayish water by the spout.

Once home, I changed and got ready to go back out--again! Saturday night, Bharati (the woman I had met on the plane ride over) invited me to dinner. It was so much fun! She introduced me to her daughter, Jasmin, who is really cool. We all played Uno for awhile (a favorite game of mine! :) ) and then had a delicious dinner with kulfi (ice cream) afterwards.

This is Bharati and Jasmi holding the adorable little pots of Kulfi!

Bharati and I, courtesy of Jasmin! :) I went with traditional wear, although neither of them had it on! :)

That wraps up my Saturday! :) It was so busy, and I slept for a very, very long time.

[ Sunday ]

Sunday was uneventful--a day of rest for me! I didn't get up until after 10am!! My first meal was lunch, and after that I went out to find a new bag for my laptop (I had been borrowing Laetis because mine broke!). I found this great store called Dukatis, which was three stories high and had items from the Women's Skills Development Organization in Pokhara, Nepal.
For dinner, I went to El Meditteraneo, a Spanish restaurant just up the street, with Vanessa. It was such an enjoyable dinner, and I was really happy to have company after such a solitary day. Vanessa is really friendly and open-minded; she seems to make friends wherever she goes, and she has traveled many places! I hope to travel as much--if not more--than she has already! :)

This wraps up the weekend for me! I hope to have a post soon about the culture here; I am slowly compiling lists of customs and attitudes so I can share something a little more comprehensive with you all. :)
Have a great week!

Peace and love,
Abby