Life in Kathmandu Valley

July 26 2006

So, I have not really filled you in on my situation here in Kathmandu. There is always so much to talk about – I never know where to begin! I am living in a house owned by Volunteer Abroad. It is four stories with two patios on each floor and an upper patio on the fifth level. I was in total amazement the very first time I laid eyes on it! I really had no idea what to expect. To me, it looks like some sort of palace but they have a totally different style of building homes here. A brick wall and an iron gate close it off. It looks quite extravagant from the outside in comparison to home. I like living here – it is very cozy and I feel at very home. The kitchen and dining area is on the fourth floor. We have those small tables with cushions on the floor. We all sit around to eat breakfast and supper together. It is fun – we are like a little family! Aha. I love the whole short table and cushion idea! I want to adapt it someday when I have a house of my own!

There were three volunteers already here for a while when I arrived – Laura, Lauren, and Harrison. They have been here since May and will all be leaving by next weekend to go traveling and or head back to there homes in Canada. Three other volunteers arrived the same week that I did – Gasing, Kayane, and Jeannine. So all together there are 7 of us Canadian volunteers here. DC, our cook also stays with us as well as Neer most of the time. We all get along really well – everyone is awesome.

Jeannine and I both volunteer at Bal Mandir. She works with the kindergarden children – they speak more English then the toddlers that I take care of. Gasing and Kayane both teach at a local school and Kayane also volunteers at a hospital. It is really interesting to come home in the evening and hear about how everyone’s day went at each placement. There are always so many stories. It is completely captivating! I love it here so much. I daydream of how I wish I were graduated so that I could extend my stay. I have to make it back here again some day!

Jeannine and I walk to Bal Mandir most days. We taxi if it is raining but it usually does not rain until the afternoon. It takes about 45 minutes to get there walking quite fast. We walk through Thamel on our way, which is the tourist district. It is full of really cool shops and boutiques. A lot of the stores remind me of South of the Border except everything is way cheaper!! We walk past the same shops everyday on our route to work, so we see the same shopkeepers. A lot of them know who we are – people here are unbelievably friendly and are always up for a chat. They are totally amazed at how fast we walk, which cracks me up. Sometimes people have followed up trying to keep up talking to us! It is entertaining, for sure! They ask us how we walk so fast! And they want to know why we are so busy. Some shop owners have told me that they see me everyday but I look so busy and they want to know why. They seem to be quite interested in what tourists and foreigners are up to. Life is so different here in Nepal with regards to time. It seems that nobody is ever in any kind of rush! It must be nice, however, to not have to worry about time. At home, I am constantly rushing around frantically trying to get things done and get places on time.

It took me a few days to get my head around how to find my way around here. Neer showed us around for the first week, which was a full 7 days of orientation. I didn’t sleep a wink on the over night flight from Doha to Kathmandu and I arrived 7am in the morning. Our orientation started that very morning at 10am! I was way too excited to go to sleep but I was totally exhausted! So, the lack of sleep didn’t help me any – I couldn’t remember how to get anywhere! I am perfect now though. I can get to all the places that I need to get with confidence. I am not nervous being out and about on my own – which is a great achievement for me!! Haha. I explore most days on my free time.

We live in Nayaa Bazar, which seems to be a place where only locals live. People seem surprised when they hear that it is where I live. It seems that most people expect me to say that I am living in Thamel. Our house is very close to Thamel though – less than ten minutes away by foot.

In the first few weeks that I was here the roads in Thamel were getting paved but there are still a lot of places where there are only gravel roads. In Nayaa Bazar there are no paved roads. So, I find it very hard to keep my clothes clean – the roads are often muddy and wet because of the rain. The mud flicks all over the back of my skirt daily from my sandals! Some days if I really want to stay clean, I try and skate/ slide along the road. In other words, I try to walk without lifting my feet! I must look pretty funny from the local’s perspective! I was washing my clothes by hand the first week when I arrived but my hands have such a bad infection now that I get my laundry done in Thamel.

Nighttime is quite an event here as well when it becomes time to sleep! If it was not for my earplugs I think I would be utterly exhausted! I would not sleep a wink! Dogs bark the entire night long! It is unreal! They are constantly barking and howling and screaming from fighting with one another. It is crazy. It is funny actually because it is 12:37am here now. Everyone is gone to bed and I am sitting here typing listening to these crazy creatures bark their heads off! I don’t know why they just can’t get along! It seems like most people in this city go to sleep reasonably early. I guess it is wise of them because the majority of locals are up and awake and starting their day by 5am! I know this because one morning we got up at 4am to watch the sun rise. It was completely dark out when we were walking and there were so many people already up! Some nights it is difficult to sleep because of thunder and lightening. I was never a fan of thunder and lightening and I didn’t really realize it was a regular occurrence here until I was rudely awakened on my fifth night in Kathmandu. I even remember the exact night! I got such a fright! My entire room was completely lighting up and the thunder was deafening. I was nervous but it has happened so many times since that I have grown quite immune to the whole ordeal now!

In the morning, roosters do their cock-a-doodle-do thing and all the crazy little animals wake up so early. It is quite entertaining actually, if you are not in the mood for sleeping! At about 8am ritually every morning this woman walks around through the streets screaming what sounds like bloody murder! She passes our house everyday. Finally, one day we asked Neer what she was blaring. It makes complete sense now! She is trying to sell the spinach that is in her huge basket that is strapped on to her head with a piece of cloth. We got quite the kick out of this but now, these days, I hardly hear her. It is funny how you can easily get used to different ways of life. One thing that I am not quite used to yet though is the sound of horns! Some days I feel like screaming my head off and I am not joking! Cars, motorcycles, and bicycles are literally all over the road and going in every which direction. Nobody takes turns and absolutely everyone is in some crazy race to get where they are going first. Imagine vehicles coming from all directions and they all want to go one way – and they literally do all go one way!! And they will lie on their horns if someone is blocking them in any form or fashion until they move. It could be for any reason. A car could be stopped because they are picking someone up, because a car in front of them is stopped, because there are actual human beings walking across the road – anything. The cars behind will blow their horns until they are able to move. It is hard to get around when the traffic is heavy. I have been half away across the street many times when I am literally sandwiched in between two passing vehicles. I am not exaggerating at all. It was truly nerve wrecking at first! I have learned to be brave and barge out into the streets because that is the only way you will get anywhere here but I have had some close calls! Nobody will stop for you on the road. It is either keep your eyes wide open and jump out of the way or close your eyes and say a prayer! It is craziness. Besides this, it is also very hard to get places sometimes because there are literally people chasing me trying to sell me things. Some days nobody bothers me but other days are the complete opposite. The kids are the most persistent ones. They beg for money and try to sell their drawings. It is really tough not to give in and pass them a few rupees - even now, after being here almost a month. They beg for biscuits are other things but if you buy it for them, they just walk right back in the stores and return it for cash. We were told not to give them anything because it only encourages them to stay on the streets. Street kids get more money by begging than some people get from working. The kids know about the shelters around town but they don’t want to go because they make more money on the street. It is really sad because they are so young. They are smart too – they truly do not give up – they are so persistent! Sometimes, when they are following for a long while I tell them to go to CPCS, which is a shelter for street kids. They will often turn away them because they know about these places and they realize that we know better. It still breaks my heart. I have told them that they can come to a restaurant with me and eat but the other volunteers say that this is just as bad as giving them money because that is less of their own money that they will spend on food. It is hard for me to wrap my head around it all some days. It is not a good feeling to turn kids away even if they are conniving and up to no good. There are a lot of woman who beg for money with their children as well. Sometimes, when I try to walk past them they try and block me. It is such an awkward situation to deal with because all I want to do is help but by giving in is worsening the situation. It is a sad part of our world. I am getting sleepy now but I think I have given you a better idea of a typical day here in Kathmandu. There is never a dull moment, that’s for sure! I will fill you in on some more interesting info in the next day or two.