Cricket....please explain it to me........again!

I have started reading two new books. One is Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl and the other is entitled Leadership and Self-Deception. I had started reading both of them years before, but got side tracked with school and all. It is nice to have guilt-free time to read books I have been meaning to read for years. What a good decision to come to Nepal.

I was supposed to hear today from Dr. Harish. He is the guy I am to be working with on the hospital. Apparently he is a leading Nephrologists here in Nepal. I am looking forward to meeting him and starting out work together on the hospital. Perhaps I will hear from him tomorrow.

I went and got a sim card for my cell phone so it will work here. That will give me the freedom to head out during the day and not worry about missing any calls. I would post the number on here, but I doubt anyone would call. So we will just have to resort to email to keep in contact.

It is amazing how progressive this country in becoming, especially as it pertains to the women. I don’t recall ever seeing a Nepali woman in jeans before. Now it is a pretty common occurrence. This is in just 5 years. Also for the first time today I saw a Nepali man and a Nepal woman walking down the street arm in arm. Any sort of public affection between man and woman has always been forbidden. I asked Kiran about it, and he said things are changing quickly in that area as well as others. It is interesting to note that where public affection between man and woman was always frowned upon; public affection between individuals of the same gender, especially men, is very common and very accepted. It is common to see men walking together arm in arm, or holding hands or embracing. I was a bit taken aback by it my first visit to Nepal, but quickly learned that it is not shrouded with it the same negative connotations that would be placed upon it in the states. Where it is not something that I am accustomed to, I think it is great that a society accepts and encourages open displays of affection between individuals of the same gender. I will probably take some crap for saying that, but whatever…. be narrow minded if you must.

Rich and Nige came by last night to pick up their bags. They had left them in my room while they went on a rafting trip. Apparently their raft flipped over in a dangerous stretch of the river and they both came back pretty banged up and feeling lucky to be alive. They ended up coming up to my room to watch some soccer and cricket that Rich was interested in. Rich struggled to explain Cricket to me but try as he might, I just was not getting it. I am not going to lie to you, I felt pretty retarded and I am sure that is what he was thinking of me at the moment. We went back to watching soccer, which makes perfect sense. I think they are headed out on a trek today. They will be gone for 12 days, have a week to recuperate and then they head home. They have been traveling for about 6 weeks now, and have just three left.

I have to say, I came here thinking that nine weeks in Nepal was a very significant amount of time for a “vacation”. What I learned is that we as Americans get hosed when it comes to vacation time, and that 2 months is pretty standard for travelers from other counties. I have found that most of the Europeans I have met get two to three months off a year as paid vacation. As Americans we are obviously obsessed with work, and I think we need to look to our European cohorts for an example of how to structure vacation time. I will have to keep this in mind as I go home and start negotiating contracts……yeah right!

Do the Dew

Ahhhh..........need I say more?

Could it really be?

Spam: The meat that transcends cultures and bridges all borders....you gotta love it!

Everest

I was walking down one of the back streets of Thamel today. I looked ahead of me and noticed a group of people who looked to be Chinese being followed by a group of what were obviously sherpas. All their faces were appeared to be very weathered. I noticed that one of the sherpas was wearing flip flop type shoes and each of his toes were individually wrapped in gauze. I noticed that several of his fingers were wrapped also. Apparently my casual gaze had turned into a curious stare, as the sherpa said the word Everest. I looked up to see that he was looking at me. It was only then that I noticed that his nose was black as charcoal. Being a bit caught of guard by the act of our eyes meeting all I could think to say was “excuse me?”…and he pointed to his toes and said “Everest.” At that moment it all made sense. He obviously was a sherpa to the Chinese people he was following around Kathmandu. They had just returned from Everest. He had not fared as well as the foreigners he had helped on Everest. I wondered if he would lose his fingers and toes. It was at that moment that it really dawned on me how close I am to one of the most amazing mountains in the world. I have seen Everest many times from the comfort of an airplane and know it exists, but it has always been in the abstract, seeing these people who had just returned from the mountain and the injuries they sustained........made it very real.

I was finally able to make contact with the Doctor with whom I will be working on the hospital. He will be coming into Kathmandu tomorrow or the next day and we will meet. I have heard quite a bit about the hospital, and am excited to be involved on what ever level. Even though the conversation was short, it made the day feel productive.

A Nepali friend of mine told me that the airlines pay you money if they misplace your bags. I have never heard of this. When he told me it was like $50.00, I decided I it would be worth my while to go find out. So I headed out to find the Thai Airways office today. Once I finally did find the office, I was told that in fact they do pay for delayed bags. I walked out $40.00 richer than when I walked in. $40.00 is significant in US terms and multiply that times 10 for Nepali terms. I could have been rich from all my bags that have been lost over the years.

Rich and his girlfriend Nige stopped by today. He apparently got really sick last night. He appears to be doing well today. They were headed out to Swayambhunath, one of the many temples in the Kathmandu Valley. Later today we are going to hang out at a Jazz festival that is going on in Durbar Square. I feel like such a bum, not doing anything really productive. Ah whatever, I am over it.

Rich, Nige and I went down to Durbar Square, but could find no sign of a jazz festival. We ended up walking over to a little shop where the have amazing chocolate cake. We sat and ate cake, drank tea and talked for an hour or more. We then came back to my hotel and sat in the garden and played cards. I am not a big card payer as my family will attest, but it was so enjoyable to sit there enjoying the night and the company. We then went to get some dinner at a little hole in the wall restaurant. The food was good, but none of us could finish what we ordered. I guess my mom was right....I'll ruin my appetite by eating chocolate cake before dinner. Rich and Nige take off tomorrow to go rafting for a couple of days. The ended up bringing their back packs over to my room so I can keep an eye on them while they are gone.

Bungy pictures

KC and his bike

What day is it anyway?

Chris and Liz left yesterday. It was kind of a weird feeling realizing that I am alone in a country several thousand miles from my home. I am fortunate to have quite a few Nepalis as friends, so I am not really alone, just without my American friends. Besides it is easy to meet other foreigners here. Rumor has it that this is the best tourist season for Nepal in like 8 years. It is notable in the streets with all of the foreigners you see and the many different languages you hear spoken. I am lucky that English is the mainstay. As I have spoken with other foreigners it amazes me how many languages they speak. One guy from Israel spoke like 5 languages. Back home I think I am cool because I speak 2.

Things with the hospital are obviously getting off to a slow start. The individuals that I need to meet with are both very busy and have not had the time to get together. That has left me a lot of free time, which is not such a bad thing. I brought several books that I have wanted to read for quite some time, and am about half way through them already. Fortunately there is a book store next to my hotel. You can buy a book from them and when you are finished reading it, they will buy it back for half the price. A pretty good deal since in the states I buy them, read them, and then give them away. I finished The Count of Monte Cristo, a book I have read several times, but one of my all time favorites. I then read The Alchemist, a book given to me as a graduation present. I finished it last night.

I went yesterday and had lunch at an Israeli restaurant that has quickly become my favorite. The name is OR2K. Weird name, but the food is amazing. It is a little on the pricy side. I think my meal yesterday was 180 rupees so a little less than $3.00. There are other restaurants where you can get a meal for about 50 to 75 cents. I went to a monastery the other day with Liz while Chris was in a meeting and for both our meals it was less than $2.00. Anyway, while at OR2K I met up with a couple of guys that we met out at the Bungy site. They had been out there for a couple of days and had made multiple jumps. One is a Brit and the other a Canadian. We had a good long chat. They will be around Kathmandu for a while so maybe we will run into each other again.

Part of the deal of getting my airfare paid was that I will lead an expedition for CHOICE humanitarian. It will arrive in about three weeks. It is a rather small group, I think maybe three or four people which will be the smallest I have ever lead. It is all women too. I think it will be a good experience. I spoke with Kiran (the in country director for CHOICE yesterday and it seems like the expedition will be focusing on building a school house. I guess I will find out more as it gets closer.

Here in Kathmandu there are these three wheeled bicycle things that can carry two people. I am not sure what they are called…not really a tuk tuk but also not really a rickshaw. Anyway, there is a driver of one of these that is always outside the hotel in the morning when I leave. His name is KC…he says jokingly that it is because he is from Kansas City. He has made me promise that one day I will let him take me for a ride around the city. He reminds me of that promise every morning. One of these days I will go for a ride.