Neighborhood Wanderings

OK, I know it has only been a week and I really don't want to be one that complains, but what is there to do in a foreign country when you have no idea what to do; wander the neighborhood!!! This usually means getting Ethan and our respective cameras and walk up the street hoping that you do not get run over. Lots of horns and double takes, but I enjoy seeing the various shops and watching Ethan try to explain to anyone that will listen to his important fact for that moment.
He is really fun to watch when he has his camera. What is important to an five year and their perspective is quite interesting. He loves animals and tries to capture their image whenever possible, but quickly becomes upset because they won't stand still.Today we saw small chicks scrambling along the street and saw their predecessors dead and plucked awaiting a dinner tonight. The lady of the shop tried to gather the chicks and Ethan of course wanted to help. He got the last one and wanted to keep it, I said "No".We passed the local temple which always seems to have wandering animals, a goat here, some chickens there, and everywhere a cluck, cluck. Ethan took a picture of the chickens but they were blurry. He loves to take a picture and immediately look at and scrutinize it.At the end of the street (I will post a blog on getting around Kathmandu later, not for the light-hearted) there was a couple of shops and a small black puppy. Ethan "needed" the puppy and the shop owner handed Ethan the puppy many times to take. I had to say "No" at least 6 times. I asked the shop owner how to say dog in Nepali and I learned that she was from Burma and didn't know.All of the neighborhood kids gathered round and had their pictures taken by Ethan. I love the picture of Ethan taking their picture.That is just one of our many wanderings, we will soon have to move and wander another neighborhood. Until then.

Nemaste

Welcome to Nepal, Here Are Your Stool Cups.

I visited the embassy yesterday to do my inprocessing: badges, an immunization, security briefing and meeting lots of nice people. The facility is really new and quite nice.
I guess when you live in a third world country, the threat of illness is prevalent and staying clean is essential. I am learning more about bacteria, viruses and other bugs than I guess I ever wanted to. When you see signs posted at every eatery patronized by Americans that says beware of the Cyclospora, you need to be cognisant of those little things you can't see.
The "D" word is also spoken about openly and frequently. That word being diarrhea. Complete strangers have provided their experiences with the "D" word and every grumble in my stomach is turning me into a closet hypochondriac. This may be the ultimate weight loss success story or a story of worshipping the porcelain god; I hope neither but only time will tell.
The funniest thing that happened yesterday though was when I was leaving the health clinic and the nurse said "Let me get you some stool cups so you will have them when you need them." I responded "Okay." When I got home and opened the black bag and pulled them out and they immediately reminded me of "Tall" Starbucks coffee cup with top. I hope we never have to use them.
This wasn't meant to gross anyone out but I am providing a forthcoming experience of our lives in Nepal.
I thought I would include a picture of a toilet since it is different and in what other blog spot would it be more appropriate.

Nemaste

Day 2: A Yard Sale, A Protest and A Father's Day Brunch

I knew when I married my husband that he was one who never could sit still but really... My third day began with a yard sale at the Ambassador's house. We bought some neat things from many locales to help decorate our new house.

Then a taxi ride to some nice shopping turned into an adventure. We passed some police in riot gear and looked down a street that was filling up with people with Chinese flags and sitting in the middle of the street. Soon we came to a traffic jam with no place to go. We payed the taxi driver and decided to walk back the way we came. After a long walk we found another taxi going the opposite way and left the scene. The protesters apparently wanted to shut down the government but succeeded in disrupting the city. Life in foreign country...what an adventure!!!

I was a little miffed at what just transpired and wanted to return home to Ethan. Mike decided to go Bhatbhateni- Kathmandu's "smartest" department store. I would call it the American equivalent to Wal-Mart but with much higher prices. Philadelphia cream cheese is $10 a stick but when you consider what it took to get that product from America to Nepal and keep it refrigerated, and you want it... you buy it.

We then returned home, picked up Ethan and went to the Hyatt Resort for Mike's Father's day brunch. The food was great, a jazz band played (Ethan showed some of his best Elaine Benes dance moves) and we had a euphoric moment of peace and calm. Which may explain why I wanted to head to the Bouddhanath Stupa.

A short walk to the Stupa from the hotel reminded both Mike and I of the little streets in Florence, Italy. It was such a nice day and walk did us well after some great food. A Tibetan monk befriended us and led us around the Stupa. We prayed at various points and then wrote our names on prayer flags that drape over the large Stupa. We were told to prayer and we were blessed by the monk.

This area is home to many Tibetan refugees and the colors of the flags and their dress puts a box of Crayola 96 crayons to shame. They were so vivid, indescribable. Ethan decided he needed something so we obliged with a fossil of a shelled creature.

We made it back home and of course took a nap and did not wake up until 3:30 the next morning. I hope to be getting over jet-lag soon.

The Adventure Begins

Who would have thought that a small time girl who grew up in a place that doesn't exist on a map would be living in Kathmandu for two years, not me, but here I am. I thought that I would share my adventure with all of our loved ones we left behind and whoever else may stumble upon my blog.

Preparing for any move is an arduous process but throw in the fact that you are moving half way across the world (and yes this is half way across the world). Makes the move an almost impossible task. Throw in the fact that you have a five-year-old who insisted upon bringing everything, the four months up to the plane trip to Kathmandu was very busy. Did I mention the fact that my husband was gone 4 weeks of the last 6 weeks before the move? But I must let bygones be bygones and say that I arrived in Kathmandu after a 22 hour trip with Ethan and 4 cats with my sanity in tact and a smile on my face when I saw Mike (he requested the smile so I obliged).

The first day was pretty much left to naps for both Ethan and I. Mike had arrived 10 days earlier and had over gotten over the jet-lag. Ethan and I both woke up at 2:30 in the morning and hungry. Mike got up too but was still tired . Our first morning we watched a quiet city wake up to a cacophony of roosters crowing, traffic and the buzz of urban living. I am not a morning person but I enjoyed watching the transformation of our new city.

After a very early morning breakfast, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the Patan Durbar, a UNESCO world heritage site. The architecture is a fine example of the ancient Newari style and there are many temples to visit. Morning Puja (worship) was taking place when we arrived and Ethan enjoyed spinning the prayer wheels. The smell of incense was intense inside the temples and the smoke from the candles and incense had blackened the ceiling and walls. The ringing of the Puja bell interspersed with prayers being recited created a noise that had hung in the air and never changed.

Pigeons are abundant in the square. They are well fed and watered and until Ethan arrived probably at peace with life. The chasing of the pigeons commenced when Ethan yelled "pigeons." Fortunately, children are highly regarded here. He chased the pigeons for many minutes and provided an unusual site for passersby at such an early hour.

Watching people take part in their early morning rituals: brushing their teeth, getting water from the communal well and getting their early morning libations was fascinating. Ethan told everyone "Hola, that is Spanish for Hi," of course no one knew what he was saying. We corrected him by saying "Nemaste," but I believe the Dora and Diego influence has provided no turning back in his greetings.

We checked out the Phora Durbar, the "country club" of the embassy. It has a pool that Ethan tried out, soccer fields, a commissary (with American items) and other various activities. It is a nice respite from the hectic life outside the walls surrounding the facility. A neat place right across the street is "The Garden of Dreams." A former palace garden, the place is a beautiful oasis. Beautiful flowers, lily ponds and a beautiful restaurant. Mike had mangoes with ice cream and Ethan had a milkshake. I think both Mike and Ethan liked the mangoes and ice cream because they left nothing on the plate.

After a long day, we were all tired and came home to take a long nap.