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.
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