BEHIND ON THE BLOG

I was mistaken when I thought that the first week of my trip when we traveled around the country would be the busy week and the rest would be R&R. Since returning to Kathmandu, I have been busy almost non-stop. I moved over to the Kathmandu Guest house to be closer to some friends and to the area where I am doing some shopping for items that I hope to sell when I return to the USA (with the hope of offsetting some of the costs associated with the trip). It has been interesting, to say the very least, to return to Thamel and see many of the same people doing the same things. The same street vendors are walking up and down the same streets selling the same wares, the same beggars are still begging, and Thamel is still as crazy of a place as ever. The one thing I have noticed is the continual move from traditional Nepali culture to Western culture. I commented on it my last trip and things have just gotten noticeably worse. Most notable are the new drugs that are being offered on the streets. In previous years it has been hash and marijuana that have been discretely offered as you walk down the streets, now it is cocaine and heroin.

Some things have not changed in Nepal. Although the elections last year brought the Maoist political party into power, the government here continues to be in shambles. The Maoists were elected after months, if not years, of violence, threats of violence, lies and manipulation. I have had the unfortunate experience of meeting several Maoists, some of whom were leaders in the party, and I have yet to find one who is intelligent, articulate or honest. The knowledge that they are in a position of leadership in this country causes me to shutter when considering the future of Nepal. This fear was only supported by a comment made by the current Prime Minister in a recent speech. He basically said that if anyone tried to take him or his party out of power for not doing what they said they would do, they would start killing people again. I fear that Nepal will soon be completely controlled by communists.


It has been nice to catch up with some old friends. Ganesh, from OR2K, was at the airport to meet me and I have had the chance to spend some time with him. He wants to start a restaurant her in Thamel someday. We have talked about it quite extensively, and if either of us were in different financial situation, I think we would probably do it. Kiran came to visit yesterday. He came to say hello and to meet with Ganesh about the school building that we still want to build in his village. The design and cost estimating has been finished and we are now starting the process of organizing the funds. Due to the shortage of land in the area, we will need to make this a 2 story building, which increases the difficulty and the cost. Bishnu from CHOICE Nepal has done a great job with the design, and now, like I mentioned, it is all about raising the funds. The overall cost of the building will be $30,000 US dollars. The overall cost will be shared between the village, perhaps the government, and then the money that we will contribute. In the end I think we will need to raise about $12,000 to $15,000 US dollars. I am hoping that we will be able to raise the funds and make this school a reality.