Boiling Point:

I watched a show once called boiling point. The jest of it is that people are put in a situation where they are pushed and pushed for a certain period of time. If at the end of the time they don't lose their temper, they win $100.00. Well today I would have not won the money.....

If I ever wondered where that boiling point was for me..... I found out today. Today was one of the most out of control days I have ever had. I am a little chagrined that the ugly American side of me came out a time or two.

It all started last night when I went to hire a truck to take all of the supplies for the water project and also our food, water and sleeping pads to the village. There is a certain part of Kathmandu where all of these trucks park when they are idle and looking for work. I had talked with Ramesh, the project adviser, about how big of a truck we needed. He told me that we would be bringing 5 kilometers of pipe to the village. In my mind that would mean we need a rather large truck. To make a long story short we negotiated a price with one guy and today after loading all the supplies in the truck and after the truck had left Kathmandu he decided the price was not enough. I asked several of my friends to accompany our supplies to the village so they called me from the truck saying that if we did not agree to the higher price he was going to take our stuff to another city. I was so frustrated! To make matters worse this all went down when I was with the Waterfalls (oh yeah by the way the Waterfalls made it here safely and with all their luggage…which is amazing)

I can sometimes be a pretty patient person…but today all patience was lost….and I boiled over in front of everyone…..I think the crowning moment was when I yelled something like…” well just kick him in the nuts” in the middle of this tourist area with everyone looking on. In the end I had no other choice than to pay more money for the truck and that just infuriates me, but what can I do now. The funny thing is that he wanted $15.00 more…which in terms of dollars isn’t much…but in terms of rupees that is a significant amount. So tonight, after a great dinner with the Waterfalls at OR2K, I am taking a deep breath and preparing myself for the next few weeks which I am sure will prove to be amazing. We will travel tomorrow to Bandipur which is a small resort village to spend the night. The next morning we will travel into the village where we will spend 3 days working on a water project. Following that we will travel to Pokhara and prepare for our 5 day trek in the Annapurnas. This will be the same trek that I did several years ago. I am really looking forward to it.

So I am off. I doubt I will not write for the next couple of weeks…so family, don’t worry if you don’t hear from me. I imagine I will have many stories to tell…I just hope there are no more about my boiling point.

One More Month

I decided to extend my stay for one more month. I am not certain why, but for some reason it just seems like the right thing to do. I have been fortunate to be able to pursue different job opportunities back in the states, and I am certain one of them will work out. In the mean time I am here in Nepal trying to help as much as possible with the hospital. Actually, as I went back and read through the blog I realized how painfully little I have written about the hospital. I decided that I would spend some time and write more about it……unfortunately that will have to wait for a week or two. The Waterfalls arrive today and the next few weeks will be crazy at best. Actually the last two weeks have been crazy in trying to get everything organized for the Waterfall group of 11.

Nice Picture

I have a confession to make.....It came to my attention today that one of the pictures on my header and that is also in my slide show is a picture I did not take. (the little girl in orange saying namaste) It is actually one of Liz Tanner's (one of the choice participants) While she was here she downloaded all of her photos onto my computer and somewhere in there a file was created where some of our photos got mixed together. Liz of course being gracious has never said anything about this.....i just happened to notice it today as I was going through one of her folders on my computer and saw the same exact picture.....Arg! It is such a good picture too. She is a great photographer. Maybe not first place....but second place for sure....(inside joke) I am soo kidding Liz.

A short list of the craziest things I have ever done……

1) Putting the airplane I was flying into a nose spin so I was barreling towards earth at hundred of feet a second, just to see if I could pull out of it.

2) Believing my older sister Kim, when I was 4 years old, that she would NOT turn on the dryer if I crawled inside of it.

3) Driving a motorcycle through downtown Kathmandu.

Ganesh asked me to accompany him to his village about 4 hours away so I could meet his family. My understanding was that we were going to take a bus, but when we met up yesterday morning he said he thought it would be better if we rented a motorcycle instead. Who was I to disagree? So we rented a motorcycle and off we went through Kathmandu. Unless you have been here you might not fully understand the significance of riding a motorcycle through Kathmandu….but I can say this….it is one of the craziest things I have ever done….But I learned quickly and before long I was dodging oncoming buses, driving on sidewalks and playing chicken with taxis. It was a pretty dang fun! Once we got out of the main part of the city, things mellowed a slight bit, and the drive was amazing. We were headed directly towards Everest, but due to the clouds around the mountains…we were not able to see them. We rode for about 4 hours both on and off paved roads and finally made it to Ganesh’s village. The weather was perfect, the air was clean, the sun was out and we were high in the Himalayas….life does not get much better than that.

It was immediately apparent that not too many foreigners make it to his village as I was instantly the center of attention. The young kids smiled, greeted me with a namaste, and tried to practice their English with me. The old people looked at me with suspicious eyes, I am sure wondering what an American was doing in their quaint, isolated village. After a quick introduction to his aunt and grandparents who he lives with, we went walking the dirt paths and roads through the village. We stopped in front of the primary school and Ganesh proudly informed me that he had done most of his schooling there. Suddenly there was a commotion and the once quiet school suddenly erupted with excitement. I wasn’t sure what had happened, and then I noticed 20 or so faces in each of the windows looking out right at me. From around the corner came a man that I assumed was the headmaster of the school...he walked directly towards us, and I knew we in trouble….so reminiscent of my days in school. But instead of scolding us for interrupting his school he gave me a respectful namaste greeting and invited us in for some hot tea. Before I knew it I was seated at a large table in the office with different teachers and school leaders all around. They informed me that they have never had a foreigner in their school before and indicated that they were honored to have me there….Before long we were talking about the school, the number of students, and of course their needs. I was amazed to learn that they have 500 students. This is just a primary school that has students from level one to level ten. A few years ago they had to send the students from level eleven and twelve to different school about 10kms away since there was no longer room for them. That means that the older students have to walk over an hour in each direction just to get to classes each day (that sounds like a story my parents used to tell me…except without it being uphill both ways and in 10 feet of snow). They had a paper on the wall that indicated how many students there were in each classroom. I was amazed to see that some rooms had 65 students even with the current 10 classrooms; they were bursting at the seams. That became far more significant for me after I had the opportunity to walk inside one of the rooms with the 65 students. They were crammed onto these small benches with equally small tables to write on. I noticed that they had to take turns writing notes, as there was not enough room for them all to write simultaneously.

The English teacher informed me that they really wanted to add on to the school. The government had promised them 4 more teachers if they could build more rooms, but due to a lack of money there was no way they could do their part. At that moment I wished I had enough money to just pay for the project as I realized how much of an impact it would have on the village. After our cordial goodbyes, Ganesh and I continued our walk through the village stopping occasionally so he could greet friends and neighbors. As we walked we talked. Ganesh and I met about a month ago at OR2K (my favorite restaurant). He is a waiter there. One night when it was slow he came over and sat with me and we chatted for what was probably an hour or two. By the time I left that night I knew that I would have a very kind, honest and trustworthy friend in Ganesh. Over the past month we have spent a lot of time together talking. He talks and I listen mostly. He has talked of his childhood in the village and how he fell out of a window leaving a notable scar on his left cheek. He told me that his father had left them when he was young. He said he was going to Kathmandu to work so he could send home money, but rarely contacted them after that time. He shared with me the experience he had of watching his mother die in a hospital when he was 11 years old because they did have the money the doctor required in order to provide the treatment for her condition. (This story only strengthened my desire to stay in Nepal and make a difference, as things are still exactly the same…if you have no money, you get no treatment) He told me that his dad refused to help financially and he has had a difficult time forgiving him ever since. He has talked often of his true love….they have know each other for several years and are madly in love, but will never be able to marry because she is from a higher cast. Her parents have told her that she will marry next year, and that they have someone picked out for her (arranged marriages prevail here in Nepal….only in the past few years are some of the more progressive thinkers allowing their children to marry for love, but they are few and far between). I learned quickly with Ganesh that I cannot bring up the topic of her getting married next year as tears well up quickly in his eyes if I do….He talks of finding a more respectable job than being a waiter in a restaurant and hopes that if he does it might be enough for her parents to consent to their marriage…but he admits it is just an unrealistic dream.

As we walked through the village he talked about wanting to make a difference in Nepal and especially in his village. He said that he would be happy to live as a poor man as long as he could help others. Twice in one day, I wished I had an unlimited amount of money, as I would give much to Ganesh…..and I am certain he would make every penny count.

As we sat on a hill looking down at his families home we watched the sunset in the distance. His grandmother was putting the buffalo and the goats inside the first level of their home to protect them from the cold of the night. Ganesh pointed out an old man walking up the street with a strap around his head which held the large bundle of wood he was carrying on his back. He proudly told me that it was his grandfather. He and his brother had moved in with their grandparents when their mother died. He said they were always well taken care of and knew they always had an extra measure of love. I love listening to Ganesh talk…..I think it reminds me of how things in the world really should be.

A little while later his aunt came and told us dinner was ready. I knew before even sitting down what would be served. For a Nepali family it is always the same….Dal Bhat. Dal is a lentil soup and Bhat is rice. I have never heard a Nepali claim any other food as their favorite other than dal bhat. It is almost always served with spinach, some sort of curry, and a pickled something or another (not sure what this is, I do know that it is HOT!) We all sat on the floor of the first floor of their home…the goats were over in one corner and the small open fire pit in another. The room reeked of aged smoke from the 70 years of fires in the same open pit which cooked their meals. Their home now has electricity, a new addition in the last 3 years….but we ate by candlelight as the nightly rolling blackout had come. There are just two plates in their home so we took turns eating. Ganesh and I were of course first. His aunt piled the rice high then added a few scoops for good measures. I looked at Ganesh with pleading eyes trying to let him know that I was never going to be able to eat so much food….he just smiled…. He began eating with his fingers, the way most Nepalis eat. His aunt stuck a spoon into the hot embers of the fire to sterilize it, and then handed it to me so I could join Ganesh. I worked on the pile of rice for what seemed like 30 minutes and barely got it all down. I can’t ever remember being that full…not even on Thanksgiving. Ganesh and I then went upstairs to talk…there is not much else to do…no television etc…I got the guest bed which happened to be in Ganesh’s room (private rooms are a luxury they cannot afford). There are only two bedrooms in the house. His grandparents are in one, Ganesh in the other and the aunt in the room with all the food storage.

I don’t know how long I laid there talking with Ganesh before I dozed off, but then next thing I know I woke up having to go to the bathroom like never before. I thought that maybe I might be able to lay there until dawn so not to disturb anyone. I looked at my watch and was shocked to find that it was only 8:30 pm….I had no other option than to wake Ganesh as I had no clue where the bathroom was. He was more than happy to wake up and show me. I was a bit surprised when he walked me over to the back of the neighbor’s house and pointed to the wall of the house and said that is the bathroom….so I peed on the neighbor’s house…(something I would have loved to do with certain neighbors I have had in the past)

The rest of the night was…..well long and painful. There is no such thing as comfortable or soft mattresses here. Falling asleep the second time was much more difficult than the first. By the time morning came I think I slept maybe two hours and both of my hips were bruised. I was grateful when Ganesh woke at 6 and said “let’s get on the road for Kathmandu to beat the traffic.” When I walked outside I noticed two things right away. One was that it was very very cold…the coldest I have felt it yet here and two…there were the most amazing mountains right there in front of me. The clouds that had obscured them the day before were gone and they sun was just beginning to shine on them…..it was a sight to behold. After taking in the view as long as possible…it was time to get on the road.

As if the cold was not bad enough, after only 10 minutes on the road we encountered a heavy, dense fog. The air was frigid and wet. It didn’t take long for us to be covered in water droplets. I zipped up my soft shell and wrapped my scarf higher around my face and hunkered down for the long 3 to 4 hour drive. It wasn’t long before my body was shaking uncontrollably. The face mask on the helmet was cover in dew, so I had to keep it raised. I soon realized that both Ganesh and I appreciated the occasional blast of diesel laden warm air from the exhaust of passing busses and trucks as we would both sigh in appreciation of the momentary warmth. About 2 hours into the drive we reached the summit of the mountains surrounding Kathmandu….and suddenly the fog cleared and the temperature went up by about 10 to 15 degrees. It felt amazing…. We were on the home stretch and I was anxious to get to the hotel for a hot shower. If I got there before nine am I would be assured hot water, but anytime after and it would be cold for sure….My mind was on my hot shower when from the corner of my eye I saw a traffic officer point at me and then point to the side of the road. My initial response was to keep going….if for no other reason that to be on time for hot water….but had I known then what was going to happen after pulling over, I would have kept going for sure. (he didn’t have any transportation with him and its not like he was going to run after me). Being the obedient citizen I am, I pulled over and he asked me for my license. I was out of luck….I never carry my wallet when I travel. I just keep my credit card and money with me and occasionally carry my passport. I told him I had my license at the hotel and would be happy to go get it and bring it back….yeah right…like I would miss out on my hot shower for him! He said he didn’t want to see a license from the States; he wanted a Nepali license….something that I can’t get without being a citizen of Nepal….I knew immediately he had ulterior motives. An hour later Ganesh had his license confiscated and the office was threatening to impound the motorcycle and arrest us and a myriad of other things. I got on the phone with the American Embassy and also had a call into a friend of mine whose dad is a retired chief of police. I went over and stood in front of the officer and wrote his name down in my notebook I keep in my pocket. I am not sure if it was that or what, but he suddenly let us go if we promised to return with money and the owner of the motorcycle (we had rented it if I didn’t already mention that)…In the end it cost me 200rs which is about $3.00US. It could have cost me so much more. Needless to say, I was happy to make it back to the hotel and have a cold shower.

Gratitude

Someone recently asked me what I love about Nepal. I have since thought much about the question and the answer. What I came up with is….so many things. But if I had to choose one it would definitely be the people. I have been fortunate in my life to travel a fair bit, but I think I would be hard pressed to think of a people that are collectively as kind, gracious, caring and giving as the Nepali people. I can think of example after example of the immense kindness shown to me in my short stay. From the hospitality of the villagers of Pasachuar, to many invitations I have received to visit peoples homes (especially during Tihar), to the many gifts given to me by friends and sometime by mere acquaintances. Nepal…… it’s just an amazing country. Please don’t get me wrong, I love America! I miss it greatly. I just think there are many lessons we could learn from this “developing country”.

I recently had occasion to sit in a casual meeting where both Americans and Nepalis were present. I was one of three Americans with about 15 Nepalis. The subject of Thanksgiving came up and we were asked what exactly we were celebrating. I sat and listened as one of the Americans talked about gratitude and giving thanks. I was somewhat surprised at the turn the conversation took when he said that the Nepali people did not know how to show gratitude since they are not in the habit of saying thank you and you’re welcome. The American went on to tell them the importance of saying those words, as without them you can not show true gratitude….

Regretfully, I chose at the time to not get involved in the conversation. Looking back I wish I would have. I should have said something like…..every culture shows gratitude differently. In Nepal the people show true gratitude by using both hands when the hand a person something or when they receive something from another….or they offer a slight bow of their head as a sign of gratitude and respect….a far cry from how we as Americans hand something to someone (about 20 minutes earlier he had tossed a book to me from about 10 feet away that he wanted me to see) Words are just that…words. If they are said with meaning… they become more that just words. I think that often times as Americans, we think that we have everything figured out….and feel that since it works for us in the USA then it must be the right way…Egocentrism at its worse….it is hard to not be egocentric when you travel…especially to a developing country. I am as guilty as the rest….but over the years and through all my travels I have become significantly more aware of it and try to avoid it. I decided long ago that I would always try to learn new things from the countries that I visit and I believe that I am a better person for it.

Sunsets in Nepal

Sunsets in Nepal

Sunsets in Nepal

The ladies after shedding the first round of leis...gotta love the Tikas

Christmas in Nepal

Despite listening to the Christmas music that I had loaded onto my ipod prior to coming to Nepal, I have found it really difficult to feel any sort of Christmas spirit here. Nepal is of course not a predominantly Christian country…..it is made up primarily of Hindu and Buddhist…..and as such they do not celebrate Christmas. Yesterday while returning from lunch the taxi I was in passed a store which had a Christmas tree in the window. It was the first visible sign of Christmas that I have seen here. I have spent Christmas abroad before, but never in a country that did not celebrate it. It will be an interesting experience to say the least. I am grateful that the Waterfalls will be here in Nepal with me on Christmas as I think it will make all the difference between being terribly lonely and having a great Christmas experience in Nepal.

I definitely miss my family back home. It will be the first time in many years that I have not spent Christmas with them. I appreciate the fact that they at least try hard to understand my desire to travel and be abroad. My mom and dad are homebodies, and as such don’t travel too often. I think (we have never really discussed it) that they sometimes think I am nuts because of my incessant desire to see the world. I know for a fact that it is particularly difficult on my mom. I have traveled to some pretty crazy places (Colombia being one of my favorite places to visit), and I know that she worries day in and day out while I am abroad….. They are awesome and I love them beyond words!

Unofficial job offer

While in Chitwan this past week, Eric and I were able to spend a considerable amount of time with Dr. Harish and others who are involved in the hospital project. We also were able to tour the construction site of the hospital. It is amazing the amount of work that they have gotten done in the short three weeks since I was there last. Their goal is to have the first two floors of the hospital completed by August 2008. They then hope to finish the upper two floors by September 2009. While at dinner one night with Dr. Harish, his family, and Bishnu…… Dr. Harish mentioned that they would like to hire me to be the administrator over the hospital. He went on to say that he envisioned it being at least a 4 year position.

There is a huge part of me that would like to stay and be part of this amazing project….but like I have mentioned before there are many reasons to go home and get back into life there. I went to PA school because I love practicing medicine, and I doubt there will be much time or opportunity for me to do so if I took that position. I guess I have a lot to think about over the next few weeks.

Recovering in Kathmandu

It was really nice to have the ladies from the expedition and Eric Woodruff here in Nepal, but at the same time it was really nice to just be able to do what I wanted yesterday. I spent the morning reading, I met some friends for lunch, then I went to the zoo in the afternoon….I figured since I didn’t see any wild animals in Chitwan…I would see them here. I spent the afternoon working on stuff for the hospital.

For dinner I decided to go to a little café I have passed many times down the street from the hotel. (Café Mitra) It was a nice little restaurant, but pricy to say the least. I think dinner was about $15.00…which would be what I would typically pay for 3 or 4 meals. The food was amazing…I had tiger prawns and pasta. A nice change from Dal bhat….. which I have eaten quite a bit of lately. Dal bhat consists of rice and a lentil soup and then there is typically some spinach and a curry of some sort. On occasion you will get some sort of a meat whether it be chicken, fish or buffalo (more of a water buffalo… not the American type….since Nepal is/was a Hindu state…..cows are considered sacred and not generally eaten. If you go to a fancier restaurant you might just find beef that was imported from another country)

Rebuttal by the ladies

The ladies from the expedition wanted to read the blog. I was a little concerned about giving them the address since I had made some less than positive comments about their luggage situation. None-the-less, I gave them the address….. sure enough there are some rebuttals….

Apparently there was only one hairdryer at that point in the expedition….one was purchased later AND none of them have used curling irons since the 80’s. My bad! As for the make up…I stand by my comments…..C’mon Liz you know it true….lol Lorraine has not yet read the blog, so there may be more to come…..

I will say this…..it was a great expedition. I have never led such a small group before, and it was really nice. We were able to completely customize the trip and the ladies were able to do pretty much everything they had wanted to do…plus more I think.

Santosh continued……

As the time was drawing near to leave the village, it was apparent that the ladies in the expedition had become quite attached to Santosh and visa versa. Santosh referred to them as “my guys”….He would ask me things like “are my guys happy?” and “did my guys sleep okay?” At the same time I was not looking forward to saying goodbye again. My mind went back to the time that we left his village 5 years earlier. Santosh lived in a small house on the side of the mountain where the village was situated. After we had said goodbye to the all the villagers and started our hike down the mountain we had to pass by Santosh’s home. He waited there to personally bid us farewell as we passed by. He was teary eyed and found it difficult to say goodbye. He gave us all a handful of flowers as a sign of respect. As we walked down the path, every so often when he could see us through the trees and when we made it to the valley below we could hear him yelling goodbye from the mountain side above…as we looked back we could see him waving both of his arms over his head…..where we were all grateful to have met him and the other villagers, the walk out of the village was difficult for all of us. I knew that we would have a similar experience leaving this village and leaving Santosh at the same time would have made the experience even more difficult.

The night prior to our departure Santosh told me that his professor was traveling so he had an extra couple of days off. I asked everyone if they would be okay with inviting him to come to Pokhara with us. The response was unanimous and so after a long emotional farewell from the villagers the next day we all set off to Pokhara to spend a couple of days relaxing and recreating. The excitement he felt to be spending time with us was visibly notable. I don’t think the ear to ear grin left his face the entire trip. I think that the first hot shower he had ever experienced, and the meals in the restaurants, even the new jacket to keep him warm in the colder climate were all highlights for him...but none exceeded the experience that the ladies provided him by taking him para gliding. I was not able to be there as I was in the hotel sick, but from the accounts told by the women and the pictures I was shown, I knew that it was an experience that he would never forget. Part of the instructions given prior to running off the side of the mountain is to keep your arms pulled into your chest and run hard and fast. The picture of Santosh running off the mountain shows him with his arms extended out to his sides, perpendicular to his body, and the biggest grin you can imagine….a grin that is duplicated now anytime you say the word “para gliding”. I am grateful to know Santosh. He is one of the most kind and gracious people I know……. although his kindness and tenderness are traits that you will find in most Nepalis.

Off to Chitwan with Eric Woodruff…..

Eric is a friend of mine from Park City who came on a Choice expedition to Nepal with me in 2003. When I told him I was coming back to spend a few months in Nepal it took him almost no time at all to decide he was coming to visit. He arrived about 3 days before the ladies from the Choice expedition were to leave allowing them the opportunity to meet.

Eric and I have always wanted to go to Tibet, so our plan for his time here was to take off to fly into Lhasa, then drive back to Kathmandu stopping at Everest base camp on the way. Well….. unfortunately the timing did not work out like we had hoped, so we were not able to go this trip. Instead we decided to head down to Chitwan National Park on the border of Nepal and India. The park is a wild animal refuge boasting animals such as rhinos, tigers, crocks, monkeys, smaller cats, deer, etc… The cool thing is that the resort where we stayed was on an island and you can go look for wild animals on the back of an elephant. Upon arriving we hear stories from other tourists of all the animals they had seen over the two or three days of their stay at the resort. Eric and I were excited to get and photograph the wildlife…..No such luck… after 5 to 6 hours on the back of an elephant over our two day stay the only animal we had seen was the ever illusive “jungle” chicken. Now, I am not sure exactly what the difference is between a “jungle” chicken and your common “farm yard” variety of chicken…but apparently one exists…or so we were told. If you ask me, the bird was nothing more than a lucky chicken that escaped becoming dinner for a group of hungry tourist and has since taken refuge in the dense jungle. All said and don’t it was a great trip even though we did not see a rhino.

Eric will be leaving tomorrow to go trekking in the Everest region of Nepal. I have opted out this time as I am still not feeling 100% and am coughing quite a bit. It was a hard decision, but with the Waterfalls coming in a few weeks, I want to be at the top of my game…..