“From Nepal:” Email One
Hello All!
I'm going to try to fit all of these last couple of weeks into a reasonable email length. I suppose chronologically would be best. But first of all, everything is going well and I haven't gotten sick (yet). The weather is a bit strange now at the tail end of the monsoon, it will be roasting hot one minute and then the thunderclouds roll in. The rice fields are at their best now, in my point of view, very green and tall. Right after it rains the mud can be pretty bad, but people put a brick or two here and there in the middle of the big puddles so you can make your way across without stepping in deep water/mud. As you may remember, when I got here there was a curfew imposed on Kathmandu - I was staying in my program director's huge house. Apparently they showed the beheading of the twelve Nepali hostages in Iraq on TV here, which really upset a lot of people and then the apparently uncontrollable young men took to the streets and caused damage to a number of Muslim buildings. Everyone I've talked to of course thinks that this was horrible. Once the curfew was lifted I got to explore the city a little bit with another girl who is a Fulbright grantee. She is here to study Tibetan music though so isn't as interested in Nepal exactly. I went with her to help her find an apartment in Boudha, and we ended up finding one right near the stupa (the dome shaped Buddhist structure with the famous eyes on the top).
After deliberating for a while, I decided to accept one of the Fulbright furnished apartments here in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. This is about a half an hour away from Kathmandu by slow bus, and is closer to both my host families from my study abroad program, as well as being inhabited by more of the ethnic group I proposed to study. I originally didn't like the idea of living in the city, as it is noisy and all, but my apartment is surprisingly quiet (besides the icky dogs of course, and the occasional hollering of the monkeys in the zoo next door) and it's close enough to a bus stop and stores to be pretty convenient. I've learned how to cook there, much to all the Nepalese' surprise (they figure I'm basically incapable of anything - which is only partially true!). The landlord's family is very nice, but since I'm living separately it feels kind of weird compared to how I was living before. It is relaxing to have an apartment but I'll feel better once I get the internet there, so I can find some of you online in the evening (your morning), or vice versa.
It doesn't seem as though this city has changed too much... there are some new styles of kurta suruwal (loose pants covered by longish shirt/dress with shawl) the kurta (dress) part is getting shorter and shorter, and now you can get the pants part in different cuts, like leggings almost, or regular pants. More older women are wearing the kurtas, also, but only in the city. In the villages not much has changed. After I had been here a week I had time enough to take a day each to visit my host families from two years ago. I went first to Bungamati (just because it was closer, I didn't really know how else to choose who to see first), which takes around 20 mins by bus. My didi (older sister) and I were very happy to see each other, I found her in her women's cooperative sewing shop at her sewing machine (think old style Singer with foot pedal) and she was surprised. I met the rest of my family and some of her friends, and it was surprisingly much the same as two years ago. They have built a small pen and stationery store on the bottom floor of their house, and my nieces are bigger. In Bungamati they speak Newari, so I usually can't tell what they're talking about unless they tell me... Whenever I go there it reminds my how nice it is to speak Nepali, or else it would be like that wherever I went in Nepal! My didi tried to go buy me a coke (which still comes in thick refillable glass bottles, far smaller than the US versions) but they were having a shortage due to the Maoists forcing a shutdown of certain companies. Apparently this shutdown was lifted yesterday, after many protests by the people working in the companies. Anyhow I had a great visit. I found out that some "naughty boys" have cut the phone line to Bungamati three times in a row, and now they aren't in much of a hurry to reconnect anything.
The next day I went to visit my first host family near Balkot, in the village called Utephal. To get there you need to take a tempo, or tuk tuk, to a nearby village. The best way to imagine this is a very old riding lawnmower with a covered area for people to sit, in the back, made entirely of some sort of metal. There are benches in the back, and I'd say maybe at top capacity 18 people fit in there. You wouldn't believe that it's possible though - I'd gauge it at a maximum 12 people, just seeing it. Tempos are a great example of the sort of communal efforts people go through here, the way everyone smashes in a very small place so that nobody has to wait for the next tempo. The only downfall to this is you can't see out the slats in the side to see the rice-field-scenery very well, without the person across from you thinking you might be looking at them. Not that I mind that too much, since I get stared at all the time like I have a second head or something. Anyways this particular tempo ride was quite bouncy, you have to hold on. My aunt (host dad's brother's wife) happened to be in the tempo, so I got to talk to someone while periodically being tossed in the air. This went on for about twenty minutes, and then I walked for about three minutes to my house. My host mom was at another uncle/aunt's house (all the brothers live in the same place, which is usual in Nepal), because my aunt had had a baby just four days earlier. My aamaa (mom) and I were also very happy to see each other, and she was very cute about not telling any of her kids right away when they got home that I had come back, so they all got a shock when they came in the door. There also surprisingly little has changed, most remarkably in the fact that my host dad is still in the hospital, which is where he was when I left two years ago. He had been in a motorcycle accident and his leg was broken very badly, in four places. My didi (older sister) is still teaching (I had a dream that she had gotten married but I'm glad it's not true yet), my older brother is working at a clothing store (where apparently I'm going to have to go shoppng from now on) and my younger brother has finished one level of school and is now studying economics in college and then teaching science afterwards (he had wanted to study science in college but apparently it is very difficult to get into a science program here). I ended up staying the night there, after eating my aamaa's daalbhaat (rice with lentil soup and curry vegetables, which is still the best I've had).
They have a phone in their house now, so I could call my landlord's family and tell them that I hadn't had anything dire happen, and also my program director because from that house we had heard a bomb blast and I wanted to let someone know I was accounted for. The bomb ended up being at a crowded bridge, one of the only day bombs I've heard of-- apparently the police were trying to defuse it and only stopped one lane of traffic, so when it went off quite a few people were injured. There haven't been too many of these violent incidents, but there were two small bombs thrown over the fence at the American Center, which is different than the embassy but happens to be where the Fulbright office is located. Nobody was injured and there was only minor damage, but as this was the first sign of aggression towards Americans (they actually aren't sure who threw the bombs, the Maoists haven't made any comments and usually they confess or deny their part in it) it was of major concern. They've activated an authorized departure for the Fulbright students (there are 6 of us) which means if we wanted to go back to the US they would pay for our ticket. Nobody wants to go back though, as in our respective homes we all feel safe and haven't had anyone harrass us. The Peace Corps, however, is a bit more conservative and concerned because they have people posted in very rural and often Maoist-controlled areas... they have suspended their program in Nepal and sent everyone home. I'm trying to explain this as objectively as possible, so that you all aren't worried but do know that if any other aggression towards the US happens over here there's a high chance I could get sent home. I don't feel an overwhelming sense of danger and in fact feel the safest when I'm visiting my families in the villages.
These past couple of days I've been at my families house in Utephal, for the festival of Tij (Teej). The night before last me, my aamaa, didi, and my aamaa's older sister's daughter, all ate a ton of sweet foods, called daar, in preparation for fasting yesterday. This meant eating rice pudding, which is my favorite, tied with chocolate which I haven't had much of here... maybe none, actually, I should go get a cancy bar. Anyways for Tij you're supposed to go to the nearest temple to Mahadev to do a puja, religious offering, but because my aunt just gave birth the whole family must abstain from doing puja or going to temples for 11 days, until the Nuharan ceremony this Sunday. PS this is what I'm here to research. :) So we stayed inside and dressed up in red saris and took pictures. Tomorrow morning at around four they are going to the river to do the ceremonial washing with red mud. This I'm considering just watching, as two years ago it was a pretty difficult task to try. My aamaa said that's ok. At any rate they told me this morning that I'll be sure to find a good husband now because I fasted yesterday... sheesh. My culture shock level seems to have started up right where it left off, as if I never left... it gets frustrating here, knowing something but not really being able to catch everything. I have to make sure I'm always looking at things with a sense of humor or it can be overwhelming... Just imagine always feeling like you're too much of an idiot to do anything right. That's about how it goes. It's awfully beautiful here though, and people are still so happy when they learn I know some Nepali. The roads and driving are still pretty awful, but at least it isn't as much of a shock as it was before. I've only had to cover my eyes like three times.
My apartment is big and empty and if anyone feels like coming to Nepal (I know of a handful that might be planning it, at different times and all) there's definitely a place to stay with me. It is possible the situation will improve enough to make everyone feel comfortable... if not then I'd probably be heading home anyways. The mountains (well, they call them hills because that's what they are compared to the himals) are really striking in the clouds two wives and one sister of people I know in LA, to give their families what their husbands/sisters sent along with me. They're all really beautiful and friendly and want me to come visit their house and eat daalbhaat (which I did once, even though I'd already had a snack).
Well this is longer than reasonable email length. I'm checking my email frequently in internet cafes, so drop me a line. This coming week I should have internet in my apartment so when I'm sitting around after nightfall and before bedtime, I'll definitely have time to write back. I'm thinking of you all and hoping all is well over there (wherever there is). Alani
I'm going to try to fit all of these last couple of weeks into a reasonable email length. I suppose chronologically would be best. But first of all, everything is going well and I haven't gotten sick (yet). The weather is a bit strange now at the tail end of the monsoon, it will be roasting hot one minute and then the thunderclouds roll in. The rice fields are at their best now, in my point of view, very green and tall. Right after it rains the mud can be pretty bad, but people put a brick or two here and there in the middle of the big puddles so you can make your way across without stepping in deep water/mud. As you may remember, when I got here there was a curfew imposed on Kathmandu - I was staying in my program director's huge house. Apparently they showed the beheading of the twelve Nepali hostages in Iraq on TV here, which really upset a lot of people and then the apparently uncontrollable young men took to the streets and caused damage to a number of Muslim buildings. Everyone I've talked to of course thinks that this was horrible. Once the curfew was lifted I got to explore the city a little bit with another girl who is a Fulbright grantee. She is here to study Tibetan music though so isn't as interested in Nepal exactly. I went with her to help her find an apartment in Boudha, and we ended up finding one right near the stupa (the dome shaped Buddhist structure with the famous eyes on the top).
After deliberating for a while, I decided to accept one of the Fulbright furnished apartments here in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. This is about a half an hour away from Kathmandu by slow bus, and is closer to both my host families from my study abroad program, as well as being inhabited by more of the ethnic group I proposed to study. I originally didn't like the idea of living in the city, as it is noisy and all, but my apartment is surprisingly quiet (besides the icky dogs of course, and the occasional hollering of the monkeys in the zoo next door) and it's close enough to a bus stop and stores to be pretty convenient. I've learned how to cook there, much to all the Nepalese' surprise (they figure I'm basically incapable of anything - which is only partially true!). The landlord's family is very nice, but since I'm living separately it feels kind of weird compared to how I was living before. It is relaxing to have an apartment but I'll feel better once I get the internet there, so I can find some of you online in the evening (your morning), or vice versa.
It doesn't seem as though this city has changed too much... there are some new styles of kurta suruwal (loose pants covered by longish shirt/dress with shawl) the kurta (dress) part is getting shorter and shorter, and now you can get the pants part in different cuts, like leggings almost, or regular pants. More older women are wearing the kurtas, also, but only in the city. In the villages not much has changed. After I had been here a week I had time enough to take a day each to visit my host families from two years ago. I went first to Bungamati (just because it was closer, I didn't really know how else to choose who to see first), which takes around 20 mins by bus. My didi (older sister) and I were very happy to see each other, I found her in her women's cooperative sewing shop at her sewing machine (think old style Singer with foot pedal) and she was surprised. I met the rest of my family and some of her friends, and it was surprisingly much the same as two years ago. They have built a small pen and stationery store on the bottom floor of their house, and my nieces are bigger. In Bungamati they speak Newari, so I usually can't tell what they're talking about unless they tell me... Whenever I go there it reminds my how nice it is to speak Nepali, or else it would be like that wherever I went in Nepal! My didi tried to go buy me a coke (which still comes in thick refillable glass bottles, far smaller than the US versions) but they were having a shortage due to the Maoists forcing a shutdown of certain companies. Apparently this shutdown was lifted yesterday, after many protests by the people working in the companies. Anyhow I had a great visit. I found out that some "naughty boys" have cut the phone line to Bungamati three times in a row, and now they aren't in much of a hurry to reconnect anything.
The next day I went to visit my first host family near Balkot, in the village called Utephal. To get there you need to take a tempo, or tuk tuk, to a nearby village. The best way to imagine this is a very old riding lawnmower with a covered area for people to sit, in the back, made entirely of some sort of metal. There are benches in the back, and I'd say maybe at top capacity 18 people fit in there. You wouldn't believe that it's possible though - I'd gauge it at a maximum 12 people, just seeing it. Tempos are a great example of the sort of communal efforts people go through here, the way everyone smashes in a very small place so that nobody has to wait for the next tempo. The only downfall to this is you can't see out the slats in the side to see the rice-field-scenery very well, without the person across from you thinking you might be looking at them. Not that I mind that too much, since I get stared at all the time like I have a second head or something. Anyways this particular tempo ride was quite bouncy, you have to hold on. My aunt (host dad's brother's wife) happened to be in the tempo, so I got to talk to someone while periodically being tossed in the air. This went on for about twenty minutes, and then I walked for about three minutes to my house. My host mom was at another uncle/aunt's house (all the brothers live in the same place, which is usual in Nepal), because my aunt had had a baby just four days earlier. My aamaa (mom) and I were also very happy to see each other, and she was very cute about not telling any of her kids right away when they got home that I had come back, so they all got a shock when they came in the door. There also surprisingly little has changed, most remarkably in the fact that my host dad is still in the hospital, which is where he was when I left two years ago. He had been in a motorcycle accident and his leg was broken very badly, in four places. My didi (older sister) is still teaching (I had a dream that she had gotten married but I'm glad it's not true yet), my older brother is working at a clothing store (where apparently I'm going to have to go shoppng from now on) and my younger brother has finished one level of school and is now studying economics in college and then teaching science afterwards (he had wanted to study science in college but apparently it is very difficult to get into a science program here). I ended up staying the night there, after eating my aamaa's daalbhaat (rice with lentil soup and curry vegetables, which is still the best I've had).
They have a phone in their house now, so I could call my landlord's family and tell them that I hadn't had anything dire happen, and also my program director because from that house we had heard a bomb blast and I wanted to let someone know I was accounted for. The bomb ended up being at a crowded bridge, one of the only day bombs I've heard of-- apparently the police were trying to defuse it and only stopped one lane of traffic, so when it went off quite a few people were injured. There haven't been too many of these violent incidents, but there were two small bombs thrown over the fence at the American Center, which is different than the embassy but happens to be where the Fulbright office is located. Nobody was injured and there was only minor damage, but as this was the first sign of aggression towards Americans (they actually aren't sure who threw the bombs, the Maoists haven't made any comments and usually they confess or deny their part in it) it was of major concern. They've activated an authorized departure for the Fulbright students (there are 6 of us) which means if we wanted to go back to the US they would pay for our ticket. Nobody wants to go back though, as in our respective homes we all feel safe and haven't had anyone harrass us. The Peace Corps, however, is a bit more conservative and concerned because they have people posted in very rural and often Maoist-controlled areas... they have suspended their program in Nepal and sent everyone home. I'm trying to explain this as objectively as possible, so that you all aren't worried but do know that if any other aggression towards the US happens over here there's a high chance I could get sent home. I don't feel an overwhelming sense of danger and in fact feel the safest when I'm visiting my families in the villages.
These past couple of days I've been at my families house in Utephal, for the festival of Tij (Teej). The night before last me, my aamaa, didi, and my aamaa's older sister's daughter, all ate a ton of sweet foods, called daar, in preparation for fasting yesterday. This meant eating rice pudding, which is my favorite, tied with chocolate which I haven't had much of here... maybe none, actually, I should go get a cancy bar. Anyways for Tij you're supposed to go to the nearest temple to Mahadev to do a puja, religious offering, but because my aunt just gave birth the whole family must abstain from doing puja or going to temples for 11 days, until the Nuharan ceremony this Sunday. PS this is what I'm here to research. :) So we stayed inside and dressed up in red saris and took pictures. Tomorrow morning at around four they are going to the river to do the ceremonial washing with red mud. This I'm considering just watching, as two years ago it was a pretty difficult task to try. My aamaa said that's ok. At any rate they told me this morning that I'll be sure to find a good husband now because I fasted yesterday... sheesh. My culture shock level seems to have started up right where it left off, as if I never left... it gets frustrating here, knowing something but not really being able to catch everything. I have to make sure I'm always looking at things with a sense of humor or it can be overwhelming... Just imagine always feeling like you're too much of an idiot to do anything right. That's about how it goes. It's awfully beautiful here though, and people are still so happy when they learn I know some Nepali. The roads and driving are still pretty awful, but at least it isn't as much of a shock as it was before. I've only had to cover my eyes like three times.
My apartment is big and empty and if anyone feels like coming to Nepal (I know of a handful that might be planning it, at different times and all) there's definitely a place to stay with me. It is possible the situation will improve enough to make everyone feel comfortable... if not then I'd probably be heading home anyways. The mountains (well, they call them hills because that's what they are compared to the himals) are really striking in the clouds two wives and one sister of people I know in LA, to give their families what their husbands/sisters sent along with me. They're all really beautiful and friendly and want me to come visit their house and eat daalbhaat (which I did once, even though I'd already had a snack).
Well this is longer than reasonable email length. I'm checking my email frequently in internet cafes, so drop me a line. This coming week I should have internet in my apartment so when I'm sitting around after nightfall and before bedtime, I'll definitely have time to write back. I'm thinking of you all and hoping all is well over there (wherever there is). Alani
posted by Alani Price | 8:55 AM
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