One week in Kathmandu down! It has been incredible, to say the least. Looking back, this week seems to have flown by, and I can't believe that I only have 7 more here. What a shame!
[ Saturday ]
The only day this week that I was able to sleep in--usually the sun greets me bright and early--if you count sleeping in as waking up at 8:30 am! This morning, Sascha (an Austrian house-guest) taught me the basics of Nepali! It is such a difficult language for me to remember because it bears no resemblance to English, except for many modern words which actually are English! It does, however, bear a resemblance in structure (at least with conjugation of verbs) to Spanish, and I've found that connecting it with Spanish does help a bit! I've picked up on a few choice sentences (please don't mind the spelling, it is romanized anyways).
- Hello / Goodbye.
- My name is Abby.
- I am from America.
- What is your name?
- The food was very delicious.
- I am full.
- I don't know.
- Whatever!
It is hard not to switch around letters and sounds! But back to the story. :) For lunch, I was invited to Aditi's (my boss!) house, where I met her husband, Arindam, and some other people that we work with or that she used to work with. In particular, Bikul, a current intern (I think intern? Many people are coming and going at ICIMOD so it is difficult to determine which are interns and which are not), was really interesting to talk with. He had minored in anthropology, and was telling me about some of the traditions of the Tibetan culture that he is from. For the death ceremony, instead of cremation or burial, they break all of the joints of the deceased and carry them to the top of a mountain. Once there, they deposit the body with the purpose of allowing vultures to feed upon it. In this way, they are holding to their belief that everything has a purpose, a use to other living things, and that nothing should be wasted. While a little unusual in most parts of the world, I think that the thinking behind it is beautiful. The food was superb as well; even Ashok says that Aditi is a good cook (and that is a great compliment coming from him!). After this, I went out with Sascha, Barbara, and Lettie to see Thamel (Tah-mell), the tourist and shopping district of Kathmandu.
Shopping in Thamel was the most overwhelmed I have been yet. It is incredible. Everyone is set up for blocks and blocks with all of these items hanging from the building. There aren't any chain stores--everyone is trying to make it for themselves. However, some of the items do start to repeat, especially the I <3 Nepal shirts (but those are pretty cool--let me know if you would like one, as they are very cheap, only $2!).
As you walk along the streets, vendors are coming up to you with every manor of merchandise, persistently pleading with you to buy their item, as it is the best quality, least expensive, etc. It is all so much to take in. On top of it all, everything is marked up ridiculously high for the tourists (and, unfortunately, skin color is mostly used to determine who is and isn't. This makes me a very viable target!). It is expected that you bargain for everything you buy, meaning that you never really know how much something is going to cost in this area. But this is the culture and part of the fun!
We ate dinner on a rooftop of a nearby building, enjoying the view of a nearby temple. Unfortunately, this restaurant lived off the view and not its food. There were also several gigantic humongous monstrously large cockroaches patrolling the area, which caused us all a little anxiety (poor Barbara has been sick ever since...although it has now turned in to a cold as well :( ). This wrapped up our Saturday, and we all (with one sickly exception) slept very well into Sunday.
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| Do you enjoy the focus on this one? My computer's editing software isn't horrible I think! |
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| There are temples scattered throughout the shopping center. It is so incredible to see pujas here. |
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| Just your every-day mustache trimming in front of the pottery Mecca! |
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| It is so beautiful. I love pottery to a fault. |
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| Look at all those little creations! |
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| Oh, and these were adorable too! |
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| More temples. |
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| The inside is even more elaborate and spectacular. |
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| The streets were hectic and crazy, especially when cars came through. |
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| At night, they lit small oil lamps at the temples and placed them on the shrines of Hindu gods and goddesses. |
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| A sample of the merchandise--if you like, please contact me! |
[ Sunday ]
Sunday morning, I did not have any plans--so I made some for myself! I spent four hours hunting down and figuring out how to wear traditional Nepali clothes (kurtas). I successfully have four tops (two from Thamel, the day before, and two from Kupondole, the street over from the guesthouse) and two pants (one from Thamel, the other Kupondole). They are airy and comfortable and I think kurtas and saris are some of the most beautiful clothes in the world. It is wonderful to see all the bright colors, and I am told that when you drive by rice fields you can see the women out there as splotches of the rainbow against the rice.
My enthusiasm was evident each time I burst into the guesthouse to show off my latest find (and, unfortunately, to find out how much I overpaid for it, as happens with almost all tourists).
I also got to see a cow up close and personal on the sidewalk. They chill around on the streets here because farmers keep the females for milk and calves, but throw the males out because they are unable to support them.
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| Motorcyclists and cars "queue up" as they wait for gasoline. When there is gas here, it is a big deal; the supply is often cut off because Nepal doesn't always pay the bill to India, where it gets most of the gas from. This is partly because the citizens of Nepal go on strike whenever prices rise, keeping them at such low levels that a profit can't be made by the government to pay for it. |
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| This is one of the widest roads, and it actually has sidewalks! How nice! |
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| There is some really neat street art around! |
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| Case in point. :) |
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| Oh hello there cow! Just checking out a new ride, are we? |
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| Don't worry, I used the zoom. :) |
After my shopping excursion, Ashok and Katrin treated me to Tibetan food at a restaurant near Boudanath, a favorite place for many that I've talked with. I can understand why they love it so much! There is a huge stupa (temple) surrounded by cobblestone and quaint and quiet shops. The best part--I think--is that no cars are allowed, so it is a center of refuge in the midst of this lively city. The food itself was delicious and the atmosphere of the restaurant left nothing to be desired!
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| It is good luck to feed the pigeons! |
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| In the corner are Ashok and Katrin with baby Aryan! |
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Only an 'after' picture this time--there was so much food!
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With a late lunch (it was almost four before we returned home!), I only had a little bit of down time before heading out again. It was a great opportunity to catch up with Lettie (whose name is actually spelled Laeti, I recently found out!) and Barbara. After about two hours, I went out to dinner with Prabesh, a coworker from ICIMOD from the Geospatial Theme. Laeti had recommended Chai Chai restaurant, so we attempted to track it down, but did not have luck until walking on the way back. It is hard to see signs that are directly above you! The momos were good (you can never go wrong with momos) and dinner was really enjoyable.
That night, I Skyped with my parents to celebrate Father's Day in America. It was nice getting to see them again, and that wrapped up my first full weekend in Kathmandu!
I am officially past the one week stage, and, despite, some tiredness on Monday, I believe my time here will pass by far too quickly.
A sidenote to the next intern (assuming there is one!)--Ashok and Katrin have electrical adaptors here, so no need to buy many for the guesthouse! However, there is only one plug in that works, so a power strip might be nice when you want to run the fan, charge your laptop, charge your camera, and plug in the mosquito repellent. :) Also, try to bargain for at least 30%-40% off, if not more. :)
Finally, I want to leave you with this picture of Stroopy. Barbara helped me name him: Stroopy means bed-head in Austrian. This dog is always resting outside of the gate, and I make sure he receives a proper greeting each morning before I head off to work. He would be a rather dashing dog under different conditions!
More to come! :)
Peace and love,
Abby
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