kickwax.org

Beautiful Nepal

How do you do it Nepal, you champion of turmoil? You rise each day for what you know will be another day of hopeless, crushing poverty. You are the 12th poorest nation on the planet, and yet somehow, you don't realize it. You continue to hammer out a meager existence because your family depends upon you working like no westerner has ever worked. You do it all without complaining, and somehow you manage to survive. Given the nature of your overt exclusion from the benefits many in this world enjoy, you will never thrive. You will be perpetually sick. But you know what Nepal? You are beautiful. You are the closest to the truth I have yet discovered in my short life-span, and already you have taught me more than I could have learned had I not taken that massive leap of faith to expose my vulnerabilities to your daily machinations.

The Return of the Maoists

Earlier today I ran smack dab into an impromptu rally of the Communist Party of Nepal (otherwise known as "Maoists"). The police and members of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) stood by, essentially helpless, as the Maoists shut down a stretch of highway roughly 3 km long for the purposes of their demonstration. Clashes between Maoist forces and the RNA have a long and sordid history too lengthy to detail here. Suffice it to say that there is little love lost between the two parties, although for the past while there has been relative peace and stability here in Nepal. Perhaps that situation is again taking a turn for the worse.

In slightly lighter news, the haze of pollution has momentarily lifted from the Kathmandu Valley yielding impressive views of a several hundred kilometre-long stretch of the Himalaya with it's stunning white-capped peaks and grandiose beauty. Somewhere, out there in the Himalaya, a Yeti is kicking back in it's cave with a leg of goat and a Tuborg beer with which to wash the goat meat down.

Tihar officially ends today, which means no more firecrackers! It also means traveling will be easier, and thus there will be buses running to Pokhara tomorrow that will allow for a short escape from the valley (which, in turn, means that there will be resultant relief from this pollution-induced headache I have been nursing for several days now!). It will be my first taste of true Nepal (i.e. the Nepal which lies outside the congestion of the Kathmandu Valley, which represents the life and times of roughly 80% of the Nepali population).

For all those back East, enjoy the Fall colours. For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, try to stay dry! For those of you in other strange and fabulous locales, enjoy the beauty and lessons of your surroundings. And I always love emails! Cheers.

The Great Buff Momo

Yesterday, my Nepali language instructor Sujan (pronounced "Soo-zahn") and I took a day-trip to Patan, which, along with Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, houses the bulk of the population within the Kathmandu Valley. We took in the usual tourist sites and then retired to the confines of a local eatery to gorge ourselves on "buff" momos and chicken drumsticks. "Buff" is the logical name people here give to the water buffalo, which stands in for the cow here in Nepal. Nepal is, of course, a predominantly Hindu country, and thus the cow is very much off-limits for consumption.

Anyhow, a momo is a lot like a perogie, and can be filled with meat such as buff or chicken or even "tarkaari" (i.e. vegetables). At the volunteer house, there is a tradition of making and consuming copious buff momos the night before a volunteer leaves the country. I was able to partake in the momo-making festivities last week prior to the departure of a volunteer from the U.K.

After our momo and chicken drumstick consumption was finished, we were forced to wait-out a torrential downpour which turned the streets into fast-flowing rivers which, given the proper circumstances, could effectively carry a small child off to an undisclosed location. The kids (and parents for that matter) didn't seem too concerned, however, splashing around and getting completely soaked. When we finally realized that the rain would not let up, we made our way to the taxi stand but couldn't manage to find a taxi operator who would use his meter (i.e. during rain storms the taxi drivers know they've got you, so they charge an exorbitant fixed price for even shorter trips and refuse to use their meter, meaning they make an absolute killing off the backs of those who need to get places - that's a standard business practice in these parts). Clearly, the 300 Nepali Rupee fee being requested of us was out of the question, so Sujan and I opted for another of the great modes of conveyance here in Kathmandu: the Kathmandu "tuk-tuk". The tuk-tuk is a three wheeled contraption which, if you saw it, would in no way understand how it could house 13-14 individuals (until you remember that people here are very skinny and not fussy at all about how they get around). Anyhow, the tuk-tuk got the job done, delivering us to the proper bus stop and the final leg of the trip home.

More stories to report shortly. Until then, my friends, take care.

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

Around me there is pitch blackness, save only for the candles and lanterns which are illuminating the overcast Nepali evening. Spirited chanting, approaching a frenzied climax, can be heard in the distance. A cow with a necklace of orange flowers meanders across the muddy road directly in front of me. Firecrackers explode like bombs in the distance. This is "Diwali" (aka Tihar), a five-day religious festival celebrated by Hindus here in Nepal.

The past few days have been both interesting and routine at the same time. I am beginning to become unsettled with the pollution and frustrations that come with life in the Kathmandu Valley. There is much more to this incredible country, I feel this realization acutely. Trips into central Kathmandu have become a grinding affair of excessive energy while fielding far too many stares. It's also become cold all of a sudden, which has me dreaming of warmer locales. So logically, I will be making plans to head into the mountains (go figure) where at least there will be fewer stares, fewer requests for rupees, and considerably cleaner air. As for the white rice? Impossible to avoid.

Volunteering is going well, although the clinic is SO slow! I will be switching clinics for a short time while I am in Pokhara, staying with a different Nepali family in a village called Kaski. I'm looking forward to the change of pace as Pokhara is a much more serene setting close to the Annapurna mountain range. More updates in the days to come.

The Arrival of Ben Ayers

I seem to have found a home and a role in one of the local clinics here. It's a bare-bones affair, but the spartan and minimalist nature of the clinic suits my temperament perfectly. It's medicine stripped down to it's core. Medicine for the community, run and operated by members of the community (both paid staff and volunteers alike).

Anyhow, yesterday I had my first shift as a volunteer, which was wonderful. I expect I will remain at this particular clinic for the duration of my stay in Kathmandu, before moving on for a brief stint in a healthpost in Pokhara (which lies outside the Kathmandu Valley)...oh gosh...not now - I feel trouble brewing in the nether regions. Lower gastrointestinal distress. Shaggy blaring on the loudspeakers isn't making the situation any better. I hope this cyber-cafe has a bathroom...

...yup, they had one (of the squat variety, but hey, I'm not one to complain when lower GI issues are involved). I'm feeling much better now. The truth is, you have to be prepared to be struck down by illness at any point here. There's almost no way to keep your immunity high, given the dietary options and people's penchant for spicy foods. Oh poor ileocolonic valve, forgive me for inducing your spasticity with curried pickle.

I spent the morning at Swayambunath, otherwise known as the "Monkey Temple". Swayambunath sits perched atop a hill overlooking the city of Kathmandu. It is believed that at one point on the geological time-scale, the entire Kathmandu Valley was submerged under water, and the hill Swayambunath resides upon was actually an island in that lake. Pretty cool stuff. Anyhow, the monkeys at the temple are quite bold and will snatch almost anything they can get their hands on. Not good news for parents with small children.

In other news, I have a couple of recorded interviews lined up for next week with the leaders of several prominent NGOs here in Kathmandu: Amnesty International Nepal and Porter's Progress. Amnesty, of course, is a worldwide organization devoted to the promotion of human rights, and it will be interesting to delve deeper into the human rights situation here in Nepal from the ultimate sources. Porter's Progress was founded by an American by the name of Ben Ayers, who, lucky enough, will be arriving here in Kathmandu in a few days time, and we are trying to sort out a time and venue for our interview.

Today is Saturday, which means that it is a day off here in Nepal. Still seems pretty busy if you ask me. Have a great weekend all.

The Great Buff Momo

Yesterday, my Nepali language instructor Sujan (pronounced "Soo-zahn") and I took a day-trip to Patan, which, along with Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, houses the bulk of the population within the Kathmandu Valley. We took in the usual tourist sites and then retired to the confines of a local eatery to gorge ourselves on "buff" momos and chicken drumsticks. "Buff" is the logical name people here give to the water buffalo, which stands in for the cow here in Nepal. Nepal is, of course, a predominantly Hindu country, and thus the cow is very much off-limits for consumption.

Anyhow, a momo is a lot like a perogie, and can be filled with meat such as buff or chicken or even "tarkaari" (i.e. vegetables). At the volunteer house, there is a tradition of making and consuming copious buff momos the night before a volunteer leaves the country. I was able to partake in the momo-making festivities last week prior to the departure of a volunteer from the U.K.

After our momo and chicken drumstick consumption was finished, we were forced to wait-out a torrential downpour which turned the streets into fast-flowing rivers which, given the proper circumstances, could effectively carry a small child off to an undisclosed location. The kids (and parents for that matter) didn't seem too concerned, however, splashing around and getting completely soaked. When we finally realized that the rain would not let up, we made our way to the taxi stand but couldn't manage to find a taxi operator who would use his meter (i.e. during rain storms the taxi drivers know they've got you, so they charge an exorbitant fixed price for even shorter trips and refuse to use their meter, meaning they make an absolute killing off the backs of those who need to get places - that's a standard business practice in these parts). Clearly, the 300 Nepali Rupee fee being requested of us was out of the question, so Sujan and I opted for another of the great modes of conveyance here in Kathmandu: the Kathmandu "tuk-tuk". The tuk-tuk is a three wheeled contraption which, if you saw it, would in no way understand how it could house 13-14 individuals (until you remember that people here are very skinny and not fussy at all about how they get around). Anyhow, the tuk-tuk got the job done, delivering us to the proper bus stop and the final leg of the trip home.

More stories to report shortly. Until then, my friends, take care.

Rangichangi

I can feel the creative juices beginning to flow through my veins. I have been just long enough removed from the rigors of a regimented schedule to feel the desire to be a producer of energy and not a consumer of energy as usual. The task of documenting this experience is daunting, but it feels great to have the process rolling.

Nepali language lessons are going OK - I love linguistics but I find it really quite difficult to immediately pick up the nuances of sentence structure and vocabulary. Mero puraa naam Martin Hughes ho. Tapaai:ko puraa naam ke ho? Ma sabaibhandaa rangichangi rang monparchhe. Literal translation: My full name is Martin Hughes. What is your full name? My most favorite colour of all is ALL COLOURS! ("rangichangi", which means "multi-colour", is pronounced ron-gee-shon-gee, which makes it pretty much the coolest word ever).

Yesterday and today I visited two separate healthposts here in the local neighbourhood. Conditions are...shall we say, spartan at best. But that's what one would expect from the abject poverty and lack of social services in this part of the world. A large reason for engaging in this experience was to gain an understanding of how the 4000+ NGOs operating within Nepal (a truly staggering number for a country this size) help to bridge the gap in social services for the Nepali people.

Anyhow, the observation sessions were great. There is a real need here for chiropractors and naturopaths. Please, if any of you are ever thinking of devoting your alternative medicine talents to the world following graduation, take a long, hard look at the good you could do in countries like Nepal. The healthposts operate with next to no overhead, which means it is well-suited for a DC or ND or acupuncturist to step in and immediately make a staggering difference in the health of an entire community.

The rest of this week will see a few more visits to local healthposts and a continuation of Nepali language lessons in addition to more touring of the classic sites of Kathmandu. At this point, I feel totally comfortable taking local buses and taxis while communicating in broken Nepali with bus drivers/taxi operators. This means freedom to come and go outside of the organized volunteer activities.

Perhaps the most interesting day-trip of all thus far was to a place within Kathmandu called Pasupatinath. Here, many devout Hindus are cremated after death on funeral pyres on the ghats lining the Bagmati river. The place is CREEPY, not only because you are inhaling somebody else with every breath, but also because there are strange and unpredictable holy men (saddhus) all over the place. The saddhus wear next to no clothing, and have beards often to the level of the umbilicus. The snake charmers are also unpredictable as they tend to let their king cobras just slither around near your feet. Never trust the holy men or the snake charmers.

The weather here has been a little unpredictable: mostly warm and sunny (~85 degrees F) during the day with evening showers. The nights cool off considerably and the soft glow of the moon casts a haunting glow over the rice fields, which are currently in the process of being harvested. Strangely, nobody here even knows what brown rice is - that is how engrained processed and polished products have become in this part of the world; and trust me, this consumption pattern is strikingly evident in the eyes of the people here.

I must discontinue my writing now in order to pick up some eggs and fruit to supplement my "diet of degeneration" prior to the day's language lesson. I'll look to update again soon. All the best to you my friends.

Namaste All

Well folks, I must apologize for not replying sooner. There is a massive holiday going on here right now called Dasain (which means most of everything is shut down, including Cyber cafes!!!). During Dasain, many of the workers from the city return to their villages, but based on the congestion which still choaks Kathmandu, you would never know that anybody had left!

Well, here I am - I made it successfully to Nepal. I can't tell you the wave of relief and excitement I felt as the plane was descending into the Kathmandu Valley. The Himalaya range poking through the clouds, the luscious green fields gracing terraced hillsides, and the local architecture all spead out before me like nothing I had ever seen before. It immediately felt like a homecoming. There is such peace and profoundness here.

Everything here has been amazing. I am currently staying with the director of the volunteer organization (VSN Nepal) and his family. They are so incredibly kind and generous. Their house is just on the outskirts of Kathmandu and is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of life in the city. The days thus far have consisted of the following: wake up, journal writing for a couple of hours, reading some AK material, snapping a few photos, Nepali language lessons, and then typically a day trip to one of the many sites of interest around the city taking some Super 8 film, after which I usually have something to eat (typically rice and beans in curry sauce prepared by my hosts - but that's a whole other story and you can all laugh at me later). I will be in Kathmandu for another week, working on Nepali language skills before heading out for the placement in Pokhara (Central Nepal).

Nepali's only take Saturday off, so that means that today is a day off! I have come into the city with a fellow volunteer (Brian from NYC), and we are currently in an internet cafe in Thamel (which is the tourist centre of Kathmandu). During our trips into town, Sugundha's kids (Sugundha is our host and the director of VSN Nepal) have been showing us around. It's definitely nice to have some local kids showing us the ropes because this city would eat us up and spit us out otherwise. I recall parts of India being crazy, but Kathmandu is INSANE!!!! The chaos is unbelievable, but somehow it works and everyone gets to where they need to be. I can't explain it. The suffering here is immense, but there is also such happiness. It is everything I have come to love and loath about Asia, and it's all part of the experience. Yet again, life here has knocked me squarely on my butt, and I truly hope everyone gets an opportunity to experience this life at some point in their lives. It is life-altering and character building if you keep an open mind and an open heart. There is so much overwhleming stimuli constantly bombarding the senses - I LOVE IT! It is also really dirt cheap to stay here. Our hotel room for this evening was $4 - and that's super expensive here!!!

Again, my apologies for the shoddy updating. I hope you are all well!!