KATHMANDU — In Northern India, Sam and Ahni and I saw a t-shirt hanging in a store window with the words, “What a long strange journey it has been” crudely stitched above a pair of shoddily sewn hiking boots. As I sit here in Kathmandu formulating my final blog entry my mind keeps wandering back to that phrase – one that so perfectly seems to summarize the past five months.
What a long strange journey it has been…..
Sam and Ahni left me a few days ago, and are currently somewhere between Paris and America I would assume. I, on the other hand am catching my flight back to the states in around 12 hours.
Sam, Ahni and I spent the past month traveling throughout northern India and then Nepal. The day after arriving in Delhi and the delightful 100+ degree heat we left via train to Amritsar, the capital of Punjab which borders Pakistan. We went to the famous “border closing ceremony” where the Indian and Pakistani National Armies conduct an elaborate huffing, puffing, high kicking ritual before ceremoniously closing the gate between the rival nations. It is the only place where people can legally move between the two countries. With music blasting over the loudspeaker and a sort of strange “MC” doing call and response with the HUGE audience, it felt like some sort of odd sporting event. In Amritsar we also visited the Golden Temple — the holiest Sikh temple — which, in my view rivaled the beauty of the Taj Mahal.
From Amritsar we ventured north east to Dharamsala and the home of the Dalai Lama in exile. We had a difficult time finding a hotel upon arrival and for the first time since being over here we accepted the aid of a man on the street in finding a good hotel. The streets are full of people trying to take you to “their” hotels where they reap a sizable commission that often is added on to the price of the hotel – therefore it rarely helps anything to accept there help. But, this time it ended up working perfectly. The man led us up this dark dirt path to a large place under construction that was run and owned by a lovely Nepali family. We had the honey moon suite on the top floor, all windows, that looked out over the valley and the city and aside from the fact that our balcony was frequented by monkeys it was pretty ideal.
A 15 hour over night van ride from Dharamsala took us to the hillstation of Manali where Sam and Ahni got their first views of the Himalayas. We arrived at five in the morning and were immediately overwhelmed by the cold. Luckily Ahni and I had purchased shawls – which is actually a fun story in and of itself. The shawls are soooo soft and beautiful and had stickers that we THOUGHT said “100% wool” or something and it wasn’t until we had already purchased them that we realized the stickers only said “100% shawl” and sure enough a burn test indicated that they were in fact polyester. Ke garne?
We spent a few days wandering around Manali and stayed in this nice little guest house on the outskirts right across from a famous temple that doubled as a nice area for local families to dry their hay and “graze” their cattle. Our room had a nice musky, cow shit odor.
From Manali we decided to go to Leh – the capital of Ladakh, a region within the Jammu & Kashmir province that is almost entirely Buddhist. Unfortunately there is no easy and cheap way to get there. Tourists are given two options: 1) fly and pay lots of cash or 2) take a 23 hour mini van ride from Manali. Of course, we chose the latter and what an experience it was. The road that links the two cities is the second highest motorable road in the world and crosses multiple passes that reach more than 16,000 feet into the sky. In addition our mini bus had no heat so I was huddled in Sam’s sleeping bag and at one point we ran into a snow storm of sorts during which the entire inside of the bus iced over. Perhaps the most memorable moment came during the storm when I was huddled in the sleeping bag, unable to feel my toes and the inside of the bus was iced over. Our driver was smoking a cigarette with all the windows up and with his other hand was scraping the windshield with Sam’s nicely donated credit card.
Somehow we survived the journey and arrived in Leh which is about 3500m and in a small bowl surrounded by mountains. We ended up staying at a nice homey guesthouse run by a Ladakhi family who woke us up each morning with delicious tea. We spent a few days exploring the city and practicing our Ladakhi, which now consists of being able to say “hello” or “Joolay!” The namaste of Ladakh. We hiked to the city’s Old Fort and wandered around a bit until we decided to do a trek.
We ended up arranging through a trekking company a six day trek through the Markha Valley – one of the most famous hikes in the area that crosses two 5000m(ish) passes. The three of us were accompanied by a sizable crew – five mules, a mule boy, a guide cum cook and a helper. To my delight the helper and guide cum cook were both Nepali so I once again got to practice my skills. Many Nepali trekking and climbing guides go to Ladakh in the Nepal’s off season so that they can work year round, it’s quite interesting. The trek itself was pretty spectacular, unfortunately Ahni had some digestive struggles for much of it, but she was a champ and was much more upbeat than I would have been. Both days we crossed the passes the weather was iffy and stormy so we didn’t have the best views, but I guess you can’t win them all.
In an effort to avoid having to take the 20 hour bus ride back to Manali we checked the price of flights every day, but much to our dismay they weren’t within our price range. We were therefore forced to take the 20 hour bus ride (which was much easier the second time around) back to Manali where we spent one night and then caught an afternoon/overnight 15 bus back to Delhi. This is what got us….the bus to Delhi was huge, like a normal size USA tourist bus so we thought it would be fine and assumed we would get lots of sleep. Boy were we wrong. The three of us had the back “seats” which were in fact not seats at all, but just a bench with no cushion behind us, and to make matters worse the bus drive drove so erratically and sooo fast that we were really only ON the seat for like half the time. The other half of the time we were in mid air/slamming into the seat in front of us. Needless to say we slept zero and the night is sort of a blur, all I know is that we arrived in Delhi around 8am just in time to catch our 1:00 flight to Nepal.
Stepping onto the tarmac at Tribhuvan International Airport and entering the dungeon-like interior was oddly like coming home. I understood what people were saying and after two freaking months everything was finally familiar. I tried to prepare Sam and Ahni for the horrors of Thamel – the tourist district where we would stay. I freaked them out with tales of insane numbers of tourists, of crazy rikshaw drivers, tiger balm hawkers and people offering to sell you drugs I have never even heard of. Sure enough we arrive and the place has freakin’ cleared out, and is soo chilled out. I guess the monsoon scared everyone away.
We had a wonderful 10 days in the city, getting up late, drinking lattes, beating Sam at cards, reading, going to all the religious sites you have to see, buying shawls, scarves, paper products and all the other cool things Thamel has to offer. It was really really nice to just relax and slow down after three weeks of crazy travel I think we were all ready for a break.
And now here I am, having just finished an omelet and croissant, still sucking down my iced coffee thinking about going home in twelve hours. 12 HOURS. What a ride it has been. It’s hard to even reflect on all the things I have seen, and experienced, all the times my world as I know it has been turned upside down, all the things I have learned and all the ways that I have changed. I have spent more than five months away from home to the extent that now Kathmandu feels like home. In many ways I feel like I have been ready to be in Vermont for months now, and yet, now that it’s actually time to leave panic has begun to set in. Everyday in Nepal/India is exciting, different, scary, and exotic and while it’s overwhelming and exhausting it’s also so so great and so perfectly chaotic.
I look forward to coming home to some stability, though, and I can’t wait to drink water out of the tap, brush my teeth with sink water (!!!) and never again buy bottled mineral water. Twenty-four hour hot showers and electricity and even the occasional hamburger all sound delightful as well. And yet at the same time I will miss those nights when the power goes out (BATTI GAYO!) and six hours later you wake up with all the lights on and the fan going full speed.
So I guess this is the end for my blog. Sorry it has been so erratic and so frequently neglected – ke garne?
SO: thanks for reading it, thanks to Sam and Ahni for coming alllll the way here and being thrown into the fire in Delhi’s tourist district after their terrifying introduction to India via rickshaw! Thanks to Aleeza and Salome for allowing me to latch onto their India travels and for making me laugh harder than I have ever laughed in my entire life. I miss you two so much. Thanks to SIT for everything and for introducing me to people I will never forget, many of whom have become my best friends. Finally, thanks to Mom and Dad for making this whole thing possible, for supporting my decisions to delay my return flight over and over again and for being such amazing parents and friends.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
India Phase 1 Complete :(
Hi From India's Capital City!
Here I sit in another crowded internet cafe...Salome and Aleeza, my SIT buddies left yesterday and now I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of Sam and Ahn this evening. It's hard to fathom just how quickly the first part of my India adventure went by and to process all the things we saw, experienced, ate, and did in just under three weeks. We nearly traveled the width of the country -- our adventures took us from the far east and Calcutta to Jaisalmer, 115 degree heat and a mere 100 km east of the Pakistan border. We saw bodies cremeated along the Ganges River in Varanasi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, rode camels in Jaisalmer, sweated profusely in Jaipur and then relaxed in Delhi. People tried to sell us leather whips, fake beards, monkeys, toy trains, illicit drugs, babies (we turned them all down). We stared poverty in the eye for so long that we became ashamed and scared by how de-sensitized we have become. We became exhausted from bargaining for everything from hotel rooms to bottled water to rickshaw rides and we from the difficulties associated with being a young woman in this country. We got a taste of what it must be like to be a celebrity as we were frequently stopped and thrust into Indian family portraits or other photos with young women or men. As we sat in front of the Taj Mahal people seemed more interested in taking photos with us, than taking photos of one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
What is next you ask? Perhaps a journey to the isolated north of India and the hidden valley of Ladakh -- "little Tibet" if you will. Who knows. All I know is that I still have a month to enjoy this place.
Here I sit in another crowded internet cafe...Salome and Aleeza, my SIT buddies left yesterday and now I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of Sam and Ahn this evening. It's hard to fathom just how quickly the first part of my India adventure went by and to process all the things we saw, experienced, ate, and did in just under three weeks. We nearly traveled the width of the country -- our adventures took us from the far east and Calcutta to Jaisalmer, 115 degree heat and a mere 100 km east of the Pakistan border. We saw bodies cremeated along the Ganges River in Varanasi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, rode camels in Jaisalmer, sweated profusely in Jaipur and then relaxed in Delhi. People tried to sell us leather whips, fake beards, monkeys, toy trains, illicit drugs, babies (we turned them all down). We stared poverty in the eye for so long that we became ashamed and scared by how de-sensitized we have become. We became exhausted from bargaining for everything from hotel rooms to bottled water to rickshaw rides and we from the difficulties associated with being a young woman in this country. We got a taste of what it must be like to be a celebrity as we were frequently stopped and thrust into Indian family portraits or other photos with young women or men. As we sat in front of the Taj Mahal people seemed more interested in taking photos with us, than taking photos of one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
What is next you ask? Perhaps a journey to the isolated north of India and the hidden valley of Ladakh -- "little Tibet" if you will. Who knows. All I know is that I still have a month to enjoy this place.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Oh, India....
Hi from Jaipur!
It's hard to believe, and quite sad really that our trip is now more than half over. We have had just an amazing time so far and have attempted to adapt to the heat. Literally the first thing anyone says to us is, "You are in India in the worst part of the year, this is hot even for us." Oh, and it always makes us feel so special. Ha.
I guess the last time I wrote we were in Varanasi, but since then we have visited Agra -- the home of the Taj Mahal and are now in Jaipur, the first big city in Rajasthan. We spent four amazing days in Varanasi, went on sunrise and sunset boat rides in the Ganges River, got scammed out of money, visited the Mother Theresa house on the river bank, watched cremations -- nearly 300 people are burned each day on the burning ghats. We met an adorable old man who happily led us through the city's alleys, bought us chai and made us feel so comfortable in a foriegn city. The back alleys are so overwhelming and suffocating. Cows, HUGE bulls, goats, people, rickshaws, motorcyles, dogs etc pack into these alleys that just reek of fecal matter, urine and dust, people are constantly sweeping the street in front of their shops which just churns up all this shit on the ground and makes it almost impossible to breathe.
From Varanasi we took a night train to Agra, and again we stayed in the lowest class, or sleeper section of the train. There are sort of sections in the train but no real doors, and there are six people and beds in a very small area with just about a foot and a half in between, an upper, middle and lower bunk on each side. We kept the small windows open and the fans going but it was almost impossible to sleep between the heat, the thick layer of dirt and sweat that covered me and the small insects that landed on me every two seconds. We arrived in Agra exhausted but so excited to see the Taj. We spent the morning visiting the Agra Fort and the "Baby Taj" before venturing off to see the real thing at sunset and it certainly didn't let us down. It is perhaps the most breath taking man made structure I have ever seen -- though I will say that the experience is a bit tainted by the hoardes of people trying to sell you Taj Mahal snowglobes and carvings and the ridiculous number of people that you are forced to share the experience with. In addition, the beautiful white marble is yellowing from pollution, though, despite all these things it was still just unbelivable. A reflecting pool lies in front of the actual building and mosques frame it on either side. Huge gardens surround it, and we spent a bit of time lying in the grass in front, somethign I have been wanting to do for months.
After a sleepless night in Agra as our hotel room "had air conditioning" but it in fact did not work at all -- we woke at 4:30 to have breakfast and head to the train station to catch our train to Jaipur. We ate breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel where we could see the Taj glowing in the early morning light. As we ate our honey toast and sipped some "coffee" the morning became alive with muslim prayer. We could barely see each other it was so dark but the air was alive with chanting from all over the city.
Our train to Jaipur was quite late so we had to endure three hours on the train station at the platform with creepy men surrounding us, monkeys cruising the rafters, rats scampering around the tracks and the overwhelming stench of human waste. The train tracks are just full of poop and litter and children looking for recyclables -- it's a hard time to spend any signficant length of time. The ride to Jaipur was nice though, we got to watch the landscape turn into desert, watch as camels starting appearing in the windows and the wind throughthe window got unbearably hot. We were greeted at the Jaipur train station by a nice man holding an SIT sign who whisked us away into a Toyota -- the first large, air conditioned car we have been in in four months and took us to the SIT Jaipur program house where Azimji, the academic director for the first half of our semester in Nepal works. We had a great time catching up and had lunch together before we jetted off to our hotel to relax before getting dinner with him. It was so nice to see a familiar face and someone who we enjoy spending time with so much! We had a delightful dinner and in a few days are headed to Jaisalmer and then back to Jaipur to spend more time with Azimji, then we aer going to all driev together to Delhi and part ways on the 31st! Hopefully I will time to post more before then, but I hope this helps a bit.
xoxox
It's hard to believe, and quite sad really that our trip is now more than half over. We have had just an amazing time so far and have attempted to adapt to the heat. Literally the first thing anyone says to us is, "You are in India in the worst part of the year, this is hot even for us." Oh, and it always makes us feel so special. Ha.
I guess the last time I wrote we were in Varanasi, but since then we have visited Agra -- the home of the Taj Mahal and are now in Jaipur, the first big city in Rajasthan. We spent four amazing days in Varanasi, went on sunrise and sunset boat rides in the Ganges River, got scammed out of money, visited the Mother Theresa house on the river bank, watched cremations -- nearly 300 people are burned each day on the burning ghats. We met an adorable old man who happily led us through the city's alleys, bought us chai and made us feel so comfortable in a foriegn city. The back alleys are so overwhelming and suffocating. Cows, HUGE bulls, goats, people, rickshaws, motorcyles, dogs etc pack into these alleys that just reek of fecal matter, urine and dust, people are constantly sweeping the street in front of their shops which just churns up all this shit on the ground and makes it almost impossible to breathe.
From Varanasi we took a night train to Agra, and again we stayed in the lowest class, or sleeper section of the train. There are sort of sections in the train but no real doors, and there are six people and beds in a very small area with just about a foot and a half in between, an upper, middle and lower bunk on each side. We kept the small windows open and the fans going but it was almost impossible to sleep between the heat, the thick layer of dirt and sweat that covered me and the small insects that landed on me every two seconds. We arrived in Agra exhausted but so excited to see the Taj. We spent the morning visiting the Agra Fort and the "Baby Taj" before venturing off to see the real thing at sunset and it certainly didn't let us down. It is perhaps the most breath taking man made structure I have ever seen -- though I will say that the experience is a bit tainted by the hoardes of people trying to sell you Taj Mahal snowglobes and carvings and the ridiculous number of people that you are forced to share the experience with. In addition, the beautiful white marble is yellowing from pollution, though, despite all these things it was still just unbelivable. A reflecting pool lies in front of the actual building and mosques frame it on either side. Huge gardens surround it, and we spent a bit of time lying in the grass in front, somethign I have been wanting to do for months.
After a sleepless night in Agra as our hotel room "had air conditioning" but it in fact did not work at all -- we woke at 4:30 to have breakfast and head to the train station to catch our train to Jaipur. We ate breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel where we could see the Taj glowing in the early morning light. As we ate our honey toast and sipped some "coffee" the morning became alive with muslim prayer. We could barely see each other it was so dark but the air was alive with chanting from all over the city.
Our train to Jaipur was quite late so we had to endure three hours on the train station at the platform with creepy men surrounding us, monkeys cruising the rafters, rats scampering around the tracks and the overwhelming stench of human waste. The train tracks are just full of poop and litter and children looking for recyclables -- it's a hard time to spend any signficant length of time. The ride to Jaipur was nice though, we got to watch the landscape turn into desert, watch as camels starting appearing in the windows and the wind throughthe window got unbearably hot. We were greeted at the Jaipur train station by a nice man holding an SIT sign who whisked us away into a Toyota -- the first large, air conditioned car we have been in in four months and took us to the SIT Jaipur program house where Azimji, the academic director for the first half of our semester in Nepal works. We had a great time catching up and had lunch together before we jetted off to our hotel to relax before getting dinner with him. It was so nice to see a familiar face and someone who we enjoy spending time with so much! We had a delightful dinner and in a few days are headed to Jaisalmer and then back to Jaipur to spend more time with Azimji, then we aer going to all driev together to Delhi and part ways on the 31st! Hopefully I will time to post more before then, but I hope this helps a bit.
xoxox
Friday, May 15, 2009
Greetings from Boiling Calcutta!!
Hello All!!
Sorry it has been so long since I have updated, honestly I have just been overwhelmed by the thought of trying to write about my ISP experience that I haven't sat down to do it. I think I will have to save those stories for when I return state side (on july 4th!!)
I'm currently in India with two of my friends, Aleeza and Salome (yes, we all have very weird names) from the SIT Program. On the 12th we flew from Kathmandu to Calcutta where we have stayed until today. We are leaving this evening to head to Varanasi on a night train! It is unbelivably hot here, by 7am it is often well over 95 degrees and the humidity feels like it has to be nearly 100%. Air conditioned hotel rooms are really the only reason we are still alive. However, we are having a great time, Calcutta is an absolutely gorgeous city compared to Kathmandu. The British influence is very apparent in the city's huge, wide boulevards and tree lined streets. That said, there are still thousands of people everywhere, beggers and garbage lining the streets and men yelling rude comments to us 90% of the time. The buildings though are so old and beautiful and the city is just much more developed than anythign we have seen since we got to Nepal. We saw our first McDonalds and were so suprised, it was like we had almost forgotten they existed. We have wandered around quite a bit, seen the Victoria Memorial, Mother Therea's tomb, a beautiful planatarium, the Indian Museum, New Market etc etc. We are trying to take the heat in stride, but we literally walk out the door and are dripping sweat, and look absolutely horrible. We have also noticed that no one else appears to really be sweating that much, which has perplexed us to no end. We also have seen shockingly few women on the streets which has been very interesting, and I saw for the first time women wearing Burkas, which I can't even begin to imagine must be sooooooo hot. We have been quite frustrated by the language barrier, after being able to speak so freely to people in Nepal. Nepali is actually quite similar to Hindi so we can undrestand it a big but we can't really speak it. I think our combination of Nepali and english has made it very difficult for people to understand anything that we are saying! Also, the food here -- not so great, something about hot food and hot weather that doesn't fly with me -- though i have had the best chicken kababs ever here.
I will try to better in the coming months about updating (and because many of the net cafes are air conditioned i feel like i will often be taking refuge!). Also, I want to say hi to Grammy and Uncle David, as I hear they are avid blog readers!! I miss you both and can't wait to see when I come back in July!
Lots of Love from India!
Roz
Sorry it has been so long since I have updated, honestly I have just been overwhelmed by the thought of trying to write about my ISP experience that I haven't sat down to do it. I think I will have to save those stories for when I return state side (on july 4th!!)
I'm currently in India with two of my friends, Aleeza and Salome (yes, we all have very weird names) from the SIT Program. On the 12th we flew from Kathmandu to Calcutta where we have stayed until today. We are leaving this evening to head to Varanasi on a night train! It is unbelivably hot here, by 7am it is often well over 95 degrees and the humidity feels like it has to be nearly 100%. Air conditioned hotel rooms are really the only reason we are still alive. However, we are having a great time, Calcutta is an absolutely gorgeous city compared to Kathmandu. The British influence is very apparent in the city's huge, wide boulevards and tree lined streets. That said, there are still thousands of people everywhere, beggers and garbage lining the streets and men yelling rude comments to us 90% of the time. The buildings though are so old and beautiful and the city is just much more developed than anythign we have seen since we got to Nepal. We saw our first McDonalds and were so suprised, it was like we had almost forgotten they existed. We have wandered around quite a bit, seen the Victoria Memorial, Mother Therea's tomb, a beautiful planatarium, the Indian Museum, New Market etc etc. We are trying to take the heat in stride, but we literally walk out the door and are dripping sweat, and look absolutely horrible. We have also noticed that no one else appears to really be sweating that much, which has perplexed us to no end. We also have seen shockingly few women on the streets which has been very interesting, and I saw for the first time women wearing Burkas, which I can't even begin to imagine must be sooooooo hot. We have been quite frustrated by the language barrier, after being able to speak so freely to people in Nepal. Nepali is actually quite similar to Hindi so we can undrestand it a big but we can't really speak it. I think our combination of Nepali and english has made it very difficult for people to understand anything that we are saying! Also, the food here -- not so great, something about hot food and hot weather that doesn't fly with me -- though i have had the best chicken kababs ever here.
I will try to better in the coming months about updating (and because many of the net cafes are air conditioned i feel like i will often be taking refuge!). Also, I want to say hi to Grammy and Uncle David, as I hear they are avid blog readers!! I miss you both and can't wait to see when I come back in July!
Lots of Love from India!
Roz
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Escalating Political Situation
Things are getting a little tense over this way, Nepal even made the New York Times. I thought you might be interested in reading the article.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Photos
Hi All,
I'm back safely in Kathmandu after a three weeks of cruising around in the mountains. I have managed to upload more photos that are in no particular order which makes it confusing even for me, but they are up none the less. Check out this link and this one too.
And, stay posted for a blog update. I'm overwhelmed by everything I have to say, the task is daunting and for now I must focus on writing my ISP.
Hugs and Kisses from Kathmandu!
I'm back safely in Kathmandu after a three weeks of cruising around in the mountains. I have managed to upload more photos that are in no particular order which makes it confusing even for me, but they are up none the less. Check out this link and this one too.
And, stay posted for a blog update. I'm overwhelmed by everything I have to say, the task is daunting and for now I must focus on writing my ISP.
Hugs and Kisses from Kathmandu!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Trapped in Kathmandu
It's times like these when I realize I am in Kathmandu. This morning I was scheduled to leave on a bus headed to Besi Sahar at which point I would begin my journey north. Instead, I am currently in Kathmandu's Thamel District, perhaps the most overwhelming, and horrifying part of the city. It's the tourist district where packed masses of people mingle amist orphaned boys high on glue, tiger balm hawking men, taxi and rikshaw drivers and everything else you can imagine. It's no wonder most tourists want to get out of this city as quickly as possible, I can hardly imagine getting in a taxi from the airport bound for Thamel.
Anyway, the country's transportation systems were all shut down today because of a bhand, or strike. Thus, no busses, taxis, minibusses etc ran to Pokhara or the Terai, or anywhere. Thus, I am hanging out in Thamel for the day with some friends and hoping we can catch a bus tomorrow, if the bhand is over. Thing is, in Nepal, you never know. It could last one day or eight. We are making the most of it though, getting in our last cold sodas and pizzas before venturing into the more remote regions of the country.
On a parting note, I will share with you three experiences that took place yesterday that made me reflect on why Nepal is such an interesting place to spend any time.
1. On my walk to school I was actually hit in the face by a flying pigeon. I assume it miscalculated in deciding how high it needed to fly as I am roughly 2 feet taller than everyone in this country.
2. I was bluff charged by the largest bull I have ever seen that was hanging out in the road between my house and school. It was a terrifying experience that ended well.
3. Last night, my last night with my host family, and my siblings and I watched a group of men, for roughly two hours, attempt to capture a HUGE black pig that had apparently escaped. The hullabaloo took place quite far from our house, but nevertheless we could see the crowd, and hear the shrieking pig.
Finally, my last update. I have extended my flight home and have decided to travel around northern India with a few friends for about 3 weeks after the program ends! Woo!!
And, now I venture off to the land with no internet. When I return I hope to hear that the UConn women have completed, for the third time in their history, an undefeated season. I can't tell you how hard it is to be away from March Madness. I clearly did not factor this into my decision to travel abroad in the spring.
xoxox
Anyway, the country's transportation systems were all shut down today because of a bhand, or strike. Thus, no busses, taxis, minibusses etc ran to Pokhara or the Terai, or anywhere. Thus, I am hanging out in Thamel for the day with some friends and hoping we can catch a bus tomorrow, if the bhand is over. Thing is, in Nepal, you never know. It could last one day or eight. We are making the most of it though, getting in our last cold sodas and pizzas before venturing into the more remote regions of the country.
On a parting note, I will share with you three experiences that took place yesterday that made me reflect on why Nepal is such an interesting place to spend any time.
1. On my walk to school I was actually hit in the face by a flying pigeon. I assume it miscalculated in deciding how high it needed to fly as I am roughly 2 feet taller than everyone in this country.
2. I was bluff charged by the largest bull I have ever seen that was hanging out in the road between my house and school. It was a terrifying experience that ended well.
3. Last night, my last night with my host family, and my siblings and I watched a group of men, for roughly two hours, attempt to capture a HUGE black pig that had apparently escaped. The hullabaloo took place quite far from our house, but nevertheless we could see the crowd, and hear the shrieking pig.
Finally, my last update. I have extended my flight home and have decided to travel around northern India with a few friends for about 3 weeks after the program ends! Woo!!
And, now I venture off to the land with no internet. When I return I hope to hear that the UConn women have completed, for the third time in their history, an undefeated season. I can't tell you how hard it is to be away from March Madness. I clearly did not factor this into my decision to travel abroad in the spring.
xoxox
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