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.