In the timeless words of Murphey -- if it can go wrong, it will. Taplejung is on its 14th day of a Maoist "Band" -- strike. This is a more strickly enforced than the Band in KTM yesterday. It is to the point that trucks delivering food have not been able to get to the District Headquarters and people are starving. This should not affect our trek -- we are taking a 24hour "night bus" to Basantpur and then trekking up to Phakumba but it does deter plans to visit the Headquarters.
Tomorrow, Suman is taking his driving test practical. David and I are going to SWC, picking up rice, dal, sugar, and tea, and preparing for our 2:00 bus ride. It will be our last access to internet for some time -- so we'll try to post again in the morning.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Meetings
Things have been happening so fast, we haven't been able to update as often as we would have liked. So here's the synopsis --
While in KTM, we have been trying to meet with as many people as we can. It started with a man who works for the National Fund for Education. (I don't have my notes from the meeting on me.) He explained the process of registering an NGO. It was incredibly complicated and there seemed to be a lot of "holes" in which money could leak. So we pressed a little, and found a much simpler process that falls more into our goal of working in communication with as many NGOs as possible.
Next, we met with Anil Parajuli of Himalayan Health Care (an Ashoka fellow and health-care provider). It was quite an honor and Suman, David and I chatted with him for 2 hours over tea about the specifics of establishing a health clinic. He pledged his support and, if appropriate, offered to teach us how to lead a medical trek to Phakumba. The most useful knowledge however, came in choosing a location. Though Phakumba is very rural, there may be other areas more central and accessible by more people (including Phakumbans) and we should scout them out. We plan to meet with him again on the tail-end of our trip.
Lastly for the day, we met with a leader of the Maoist party. Before I go on, however, I should emphasize that the Maoists, though prone to extreme practices, in this case, are just like any other political party. They are very established and, at this level, do not bare resemblence to the guerilla practices of '04. We were meeting for him to grant us his blessing and also his business card. Maoists in Taplejung could, potentially, give us some trouble. But, if we flash his card or, if necessary, give him a call -- all will be good. We will certainly elaborate on this meeting (that is, Suman will -- it was conducted totally in Nepali) -- but, in short, he thanked us for doing the work we were doing. We thanked him for meeting with us. We drank tea. He was philosophical. All was well and good.
Today, we met with a leader from the Communist Party. Nepal has 3 main parties, Maoist, Communist and Congress. We plan to meet with the latter (Suman's Aunt -- though not biological, on our return). We met, over tea, with Suman's father and (actual) Uncle -- Suman had to go midway through to take the written test for his driver's liscense leaving only David, Suraj and I. This meeting, for all intents and purposes, was symbolic. We wanted his blessing and support. Anytime we tried to ask a specific question, it was expertly circumvented. We got, however, a very nice summary of Nepal's economic and social make-up and an economcis book written in Devnagari (Nepali script).
Suman and I, later on, went to the Social Welfare Center to get a list of active NGOs in Taplejung. SWC is a lavish building with a large front yard. We arrived at 4:00 to find out most people have left, though it was not supposed to close until 4:30. We plan to go back tomorrow.
Another classic case of irony is seen in the Poverty Alleviation Fund building. It is by far the most modern building, comlete with air conditioning, that we have seen in KTM. But, not to dwell on the bad, such is life.
While in KTM, we have been trying to meet with as many people as we can. It started with a man who works for the National Fund for Education. (I don't have my notes from the meeting on me.) He explained the process of registering an NGO. It was incredibly complicated and there seemed to be a lot of "holes" in which money could leak. So we pressed a little, and found a much simpler process that falls more into our goal of working in communication with as many NGOs as possible.
Next, we met with Anil Parajuli of Himalayan Health Care (an Ashoka fellow and health-care provider). It was quite an honor and Suman, David and I chatted with him for 2 hours over tea about the specifics of establishing a health clinic. He pledged his support and, if appropriate, offered to teach us how to lead a medical trek to Phakumba. The most useful knowledge however, came in choosing a location. Though Phakumba is very rural, there may be other areas more central and accessible by more people (including Phakumbans) and we should scout them out. We plan to meet with him again on the tail-end of our trip.
Lastly for the day, we met with a leader of the Maoist party. Before I go on, however, I should emphasize that the Maoists, though prone to extreme practices, in this case, are just like any other political party. They are very established and, at this level, do not bare resemblence to the guerilla practices of '04. We were meeting for him to grant us his blessing and also his business card. Maoists in Taplejung could, potentially, give us some trouble. But, if we flash his card or, if necessary, give him a call -- all will be good. We will certainly elaborate on this meeting (that is, Suman will -- it was conducted totally in Nepali) -- but, in short, he thanked us for doing the work we were doing. We thanked him for meeting with us. We drank tea. He was philosophical. All was well and good.
Today, we met with a leader from the Communist Party. Nepal has 3 main parties, Maoist, Communist and Congress. We plan to meet with the latter (Suman's Aunt -- though not biological, on our return). We met, over tea, with Suman's father and (actual) Uncle -- Suman had to go midway through to take the written test for his driver's liscense leaving only David, Suraj and I. This meeting, for all intents and purposes, was symbolic. We wanted his blessing and support. Anytime we tried to ask a specific question, it was expertly circumvented. We got, however, a very nice summary of Nepal's economic and social make-up and an economcis book written in Devnagari (Nepali script).
Suman and I, later on, went to the Social Welfare Center to get a list of active NGOs in Taplejung. SWC is a lavish building with a large front yard. We arrived at 4:00 to find out most people have left, though it was not supposed to close until 4:30. We plan to go back tomorrow.
Another classic case of irony is seen in the Poverty Alleviation Fund building. It is by far the most modern building, comlete with air conditioning, that we have seen in KTM. But, not to dwell on the bad, such is life.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The Trek
We have decided to postpone out trek for a day or so. Today is a Bond (shortening of Bondo - which means closed). In political protest, everything in Kathmandu is closed. Roads, shops, you name it. The intent of this variation on a strike, is to generate conversation with the government. Though, to be honest, the entire ordeal was spread by word of mouth and not many people know the Why to this whole What. Nevertheless, we must walk everywhere today.
Also, slight changes, Dorchi will not be our guide for said trek out to Phakumba. His mother-in-law passed away in October and his sister-in-law, who is studying in KTM and staying at his house, was not able to go out until she finished her exams. He will head out on the 16th.
Today we are going to a festival at Pashupatinath. It is not very far, so walking won't be a problem. Suman lives in an area of KTM called Ratopul (though I've counted 3 varied transliterations) -- it means red bridge. There happen to be many cognates between the Sanskrit-based Nepali and even English, certainly with the more classical Indo-European Languages such as French.
Our Nepali is improving ever so slowly. So far, we know the numbers. How to say our name. A smattering of random, and almost entirely useless nouns. And two verbs. Cha -- it is. Chiana -- it is not. But, we're making due and we seem to be converging on a kind-of Nepali-ish.
Also, slight changes, Dorchi will not be our guide for said trek out to Phakumba. His mother-in-law passed away in October and his sister-in-law, who is studying in KTM and staying at his house, was not able to go out until she finished her exams. He will head out on the 16th.
Today we are going to a festival at Pashupatinath. It is not very far, so walking won't be a problem. Suman lives in an area of KTM called Ratopul (though I've counted 3 varied transliterations) -- it means red bridge. There happen to be many cognates between the Sanskrit-based Nepali and even English, certainly with the more classical Indo-European Languages such as French.
Our Nepali is improving ever so slowly. So far, we know the numbers. How to say our name. A smattering of random, and almost entirely useless nouns. And two verbs. Cha -- it is. Chiana -- it is not. But, we're making due and we seem to be converging on a kind-of Nepali-ish.
Our home in Nepal
After being picked up from the airport, we drove through the bustling, smog filled streets of Kathmandu to Suman's house. His house is a large vertical, apartment like structure tucked away from the main street by a litter of other homes and side streets. American homes, even in urban areas, tend to be built more 'horizontally' to increase the square feet of any single room. This, however, increases total land used. Suman's Nepali house constitutes four stories on a smaller plot of land, and a well utilized roof area that even, itself, has stairs ascending to a secondary roof area. At the second floor a rug ensues the remaining staircase and as I gathered from the piled shoes and sandals, no footwear were permitted beyond this point. Footless we dropped our belongings into a relatively large room belong to, well, I don't actually know who this room belongs to. Considering the hospitality with which we were treated, it could be Suman's mother's room for all I know. Hopefully its not. Subsequently, we were escorted upstairs onto the roof as food was being prepared for us. The view of Khatmandu from the roof of our new house, is enchanting to say the least. Each building caressed by the next such that a spectrum of soft colored edifices molded the cityscape. Past the outskirts of the buildings massive, venerable mountains stood at the perimeter overlooking the excited city.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
...We've Arrived
3 days later, we are finally here. Our flight got delayed 5 hours in Brussels -- so we took the time to go out and explore, though, with the ever-increasing jet lag, we did so in a state of near delirium. But now, we are here. Suman met David and Sage at the airport and we headed off to la casa de Giri. More to come...
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Packing - Sage
In under 2 hours, I will be, technically, en route. In this, there is a 2 hour shuttle to Denver Airport, a flight with a significant layover in Detroit -- then out to New York to meet up with David. We'll crash at his Aunt's place, then at 6:00PM the next day we'll be off to Brussels, Delhi and, very eventually, Kathmandu.
I am just finishing packing...last minute and neurotic as always. With a packing list 65 "things" long, and a frame-pack 70 liters large -- this is battle number 1. But, as of yet, things seem to be going swimmingly. To think that being in a house with a doctor (dad) and neuro-psychologist (aunt) and meteorologist (uncle) I am more than prepared for any physical, mental, or weather-related disaster that may come my way. Though, to be honest, there is something satisfying about packing light -- a sort of ad hoc sense of necessitated creativity. Here we are, about to embark on an adventure, replete with butt wipeys and pepto bismal. It seems, to a degree, to take away from the roughin' it aspect, surrounding ourselves with modernity to the extent of comically pointing out our reliance. On the flip side, this being my second trip, I know that certain creature comforts do get promoted to necessity and that the slight loss of adventure is fleeting -- a loss to be extinguished the moment we board our first plane.
I am just finishing packing...last minute and neurotic as always. With a packing list 65 "things" long, and a frame-pack 70 liters large -- this is battle number 1. But, as of yet, things seem to be going swimmingly. To think that being in a house with a doctor (dad) and neuro-psychologist (aunt) and meteorologist (uncle) I am more than prepared for any physical, mental, or weather-related disaster that may come my way. Though, to be honest, there is something satisfying about packing light -- a sort of ad hoc sense of necessitated creativity. Here we are, about to embark on an adventure, replete with butt wipeys and pepto bismal. It seems, to a degree, to take away from the roughin' it aspect, surrounding ourselves with modernity to the extent of comically pointing out our reliance. On the flip side, this being my second trip, I know that certain creature comforts do get promoted to necessity and that the slight loss of adventure is fleeting -- a loss to be extinguished the moment we board our first plane.
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