SUCH busy-ness

Oh my goodness I have been so so so busy. I have been going to school like everyday because they managed to get internet (very interesting process how they did it) and they had me make email addresses for every teacher... I tried to show them that they could do it themselves with the click of about 2 buttons, but alas, they would rather sit over my shoulder for 8 hours watching me click the buttons instead. Also, it's the end of the year (and thus the end of the school year here) so I've been helping the level 10 students study up on grammar for their exit exam. I'm sure you all can imagine what it was like for ME to teach people correct grammar. I have never felt such joy as when I got to correct the teacher on possessive pronouns versus possessive adjectives (FYI it's mine vs. my). Hellloooo nirvana. I also got to teach the kids a little bit o'Heads-Up-7-up and of course, the Macarena. The most fulfilling moment had to be (pre-games and dancing) when the bell rung and the Math teacher came in and the kids protested the end of the English lesson because they said it was way more fun and more interesting than the rest of their school day. I ended up teaching them straight through lunch. 4 straight hours of English grammar. By the end of it they were so good at identifying passive sentences from active sentences that Jenn Winger (my JOUR1002 "Critical Writing/Grammar" professor) would have never believed it. Damn, I am GOOOOD.
Since it's the end of the school year, the kids are going on a 40-day break so they don't go back until February. Sadly, that means my time at the school is done so they kids did a whole good-bye thing for me. It was adooorable.
Aside from that I don't have too much to say.... Anup had nose surgery and was in the hospital for three days week before last, so this past week he was staying with us since he was too drugged up to be living by his lonesone. That pretty much made my day because I just got to sit around with him and fight over the remote (we pretty much just argue over which is more boring, cricket or golf). He usually wins and I can now say that I have, in fact, spent 3 full days watching England play India in cricket. If you though baseball games were painful, imagine 3 days' worth of innings. UGHHHH!!!!
SOoo that is my update. I'm not dead, just busy. Oh, and if you ahve heard the rumors, disregard them. I'm not married. I may have a crush, but it's only by default (lack of male contact for too many months...) hehehe....

Communism is alive and well in America!!

Last Saturday I was supposed to go to Dhading to help tutor the levl-10 kids on English grammar for their final exit exam (in Nepal high school is only 2 years and the 2 after that are optional and called "college"). Well Min tells me not to bring my books or anything because we are taking a detour. Binod begs his dad to tag along, so the three of us were off to go somewhere that was supposed to be a "surprise" for me.
We get to this park and he tells me that it is a picnic with some of his work friends. It really wasn't that fun, but it was funny to watch all the men dance around and the food was pretty good. Most the time Binod and I just sat there laughing at people.
But we get to the point of the picnic where everyone is suppose to gather round and introduce themselves into a microphone. I can't understand a word of it but I gather that people are saying their name and where they work. The main guy insists that I introduce myself so I take the mic and say "Hi, I'm Alicia and I'm from the US. I am here teaching Engilsh at the Bhubaneswori School in Dhading." and I hand off the microphone. The main guy takes it back and translates. Then he says a whole bunch more in Nepalese. Then he translates what he said, "This is proof that the movement is not just here in Nepal but world wide. Communism is alive and well in America! Hail to Noam Chomsky." I immediately look at Binod and say, "What is this picnic?" He just shrugged and said he didn't know. I ask him to read the big banner to me and he says, "It just says 'Welcome' and something about 'CPN-UML.'" Hence the comment about communism. CPN is the Communist Party of Nepal. UML is the faction of the government that is non-Maoist (good) but still highly uncooperative and unproductive. As for the Noam Chomsky comment, I was thrown a little off guard by it. I'm no expert, but as I recall, Chomsky is a socialistic anarchist. Turns out, the guy running the rally got his masters in Linguistics. Soooo yeah.. hail to Noam Chomsky.
Glad I'm here to give the CPN proof that Americans believe in communism. Also glad McCarthy wasn't in attendance... he might've blacklisted me after that...

I'm not dead...

So I'm not dead. I'm quite alive. I've just been really busy making up for lost time now that I am out and about again.
So what have I been doing??
Well Saturday I went into town with Anup, Min's nephew. And we tooled around all over the city. We went to Patan Durbar first, which is a famous square in the center of town with a bunch of really old temples, huge tourist spot. But as we were walking in an army dude stopped me and insisted that I had to pay Rs200 to go into the square. Since I'd been there before and I didn't feel like wasting $2.50, we moved on to Thamel, the big tourist area in town. Thamel is the only place in the city where you can find shots of espresso and Rs500 beers. It's really clean and really expensive, but I like it because no one stares at me there. haha. At one point, we were sitting in a cafe snacking on momo and I was checking out a group of super duper hot German trekker-men walking past. Anup and his friend whose name I cannot even try to spell were arguing about something and I was paying no attention at all. Then Anup taps me on the shoulder and asks if it's true was he's read, the American girls have their first "physical relationship" around 12 or 13. I just walked away hysterical and went to check out the bootlegged DVDs across the street. Glad we have a reputation, girls.
After Thamel, we snuck into Patan Durbar the back way and sat on the steps of the center temple and watched tourists go past. All tourists in Nepal wear NorthFace coats and carry huge cameras. And as beggar children follow them for blocks and blocks asking for money, they just stare in horror. More than one passerby stopped to take a picture of the little blond girl sitting among the Nepali teenagers. As I watched them I pretended that they and I were having the same thoughts, "how did she get there?"
Sunday I went to Dhading to teach-even though I only had half an hour between finding out I was going there and actually hopping on the bus. But I managed to create a game involving cut outs of Britney Spears and Branjelina on the ride there. The kids loved it, naturally. Because they love me. Ok, maybe I'm just trying to convince myself.... but I am going back tomorrow and Friday to tutor the 10th graders and their exit exams. I'm actually happy to help students that might actually gain something from my lessons. Besides dancing skills. Though my 3rd graders are now experts Macarena-ers and I'm damn proud of it.
Hmm... what else.... Oh! Yesterday was a Newar holiday, and since our house backs up to a Newari village I got to watch the festival. It was basically just a bunch of kids dancing around to marching band music. But entertaining. Oh, and I saw some dudes smoking bidi from what appeared to me to be a bong. And I felt a twinge of remorse for Tina and Helen. Laura, tell the girls I miss them. haha.
My dad sent me graham crackers and marshmallows and hersheys bars so I've been making smores with the kids over the stove and I think the parents are not happy about me corrupting the kids diets, hehe. And now I am craving some charred mallow. So I'm gonna go...
Adios!

On a lighter note...

...I taught myself to play chess. And I am awful. But hey, it's not like I don't have time to practice. haha.
Also, I learned to make naan. And I'm awful at it, so I'll leave it to the natives.
I also want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Not that I celebrated :(
But there will be plenty of time for turkey and gravy over the next hundred years I plan on living.
Peace, Love, and Dal Bhat.

A Rare serious moment...

The English newspaper here drives me crazy. The stories are so poorly written, the pictures never relate, and the grammar is just plain wrong. It runs the strangest stories--yesterday I read about a Polish heavy mental band that disbanded in 2005 after the guitarist was killed in a car accident. They don't have a new album coming out, they aren't come to tour in Nepal, they have been dead for 3 years, yet on November 28, 2008, The Kathmandu Post ran a story about them. They run full page stories on new restaurants in town, but place protests that shut down the city in small boxes on the 3rd page. Regardless, I read the paper every morning.
Today however, was not such a good day to read the paper. The headlines this morning were, for once, all relevant:
"Terrorist Attacks Rock Mumbai: 125 Killed, 300 Injured"
"Gunmen target Americans, Britons"
"Emergency at Thai Airports: Rumors of Coup Swirl"
It's like the world around Nepal is crumbling. Meanwhile, I'm back under house arrest (as I have been the last two weeks, hence no posts) after the city is shut down AGAIN due to another protest. The bodies of 2 teenagers were found in the Thankot jungle and the people are protesting the police force's complete lack of competence in tracing the teens after they were reported missing on Nov. 16th. They are protesting in Kalimati, Teku, New Road, basically everywhere. So one more weekend where I am not going anywhere.
This strike began yesterday. Usually, we go pick up Binod from his school bus stop in Kilanki, about a 30 minute walk from the house, at 3pm. Yesterday, I decided not to go since I was finishing up a proposal I've been working on. Jasmin, who didn't have school since she found out that morning her bus was on strike, went to pick him up alone. She left at 2:30 and didn't come back until 6:30. After waiting at the bus stop for half an hour, she heard someone say that protesting had begun. So she had to walk across the whole city of Kathmandu to Lalitpur, where Binod's school is, to pick him up and then the two of them-a 7 yr old boy and a 17yr old girl-had to walk 2 hours home through the city at night during protests.

I don't care if there are divisions between the "hardline" Maoists and the "Establishment Factions." I don't care if they can't agree on the "People's Republic" or the "democratic republic" wording. I don't care if they are arguing about electing a woman or a minority party leader to the Constituent Assembly. All I know, is that when the government is spending too much time figuring out how to become a government, the city and the people in the city are losing valuable time. In the 2 months since I have been here, the kids have missed more days of school due to strikes than I have fingers to count on. I can't imagine how much income is lost to the shops that have to close down for days on end, or the food that expires while the trucks shipping it sit on blocked highways for hours and hours. I have walked the dead highways during strikes and I have seen the baffled white faces of tourists scrambling to make their way to the airport or understand what is going on--I know that is nothing compared to teenagers opening fire in hotel lobbies, but it sure doesn't look good.
The problems with power supply and water coverage, lack of teachers in community schools, even rural poverty, are all symptoms of a developing country that I think Nepal can one day overcome. But when I see a government that neglects its people to the point that daily life is consistently interrupted in the nation's capital, I have to sit and think, "If things are this bad here, how are they ever going to get better out there, in the rural, extremely impoverished areas?"

So many firsts...

So I have quite a bit to talk about, all involving first times...

First, I had my first encounter with Nepal's medical facilties. Specifically, a bench behind a curtain in a Pharmaceutical shop. I had to go because I had my first encounter with hives which have broken out all over my body and are itching the absolute shit out of me. The pharmacists tell you what meds you need, so there is no need for doctors I guess, and I was given a blue pill to take every night at bed time and some calamine-zinc lotion that looks like pepto bismol that I have to rub all over my body all the time. So apparently I encountered something that I am allergic to, which would be my first official allergy. Problem is, though this is my first encounter with hives it will probably not be my last because we have no idea what caused them. Seeing as how I have encountered quite a lot of new things lately, I could really be allergic to any of them. So there is no way to know and/or avoid what caused the hives. And they suck.
My second first would be my first political protest. I walked to the internet cafe I am sitting in because the road is shut down because there is a strike and there are trucks strewn perpendicular on the highway blocking the road. Apparently, from what I gathered, 2 people were killed and now there is a protest in Kalanki Chowk (the square where the buses and trucks are blocking the road)and the political party they were a part of is the cause for the commotion. Not that it is that much of a commotion, just lots of stalled trucks and lots of people hanging out in the middle of the road. The shops are all closed too. I had to walk WAY out of the way to find a place that was open.
I also had my first encounter with the orpanage foreigners. Well, not really encounter... I saw a tall blonde man playing with the children this morning while I was on the roof. Yes, I said tall blonde man. YOUNG man. Cha Ching.
I also made a friend who is my age. Though not blonde, he is tall and young. And he is Min's nephew, Anup. And he wants to take me out Saturday. And he spent a lengthy while asking me about being single and making sure I don't have a boyfriend back home. So while I agreed to sight seeing on Saturday, I am starting to get the feeling it is in a date context. Not that they date here, they just meet and get married...

So for now that is all I have in terms of firsts... But this won't be the last post, so maybe there are more firsts to come (bc I totally haven't had anough already, hah).

I wrote this last Saturday...

...But naturally it took me a week to find internet. And the keyboard I am using is AWFUL so bear with me...

So I am sitting in a hotel room in Pokhara-we left Myagdi this morning-and I am watching "The Daily Show: Global Edition" on CNN. Paul Rudd is on promoting Role Models which I am so sad I don't get to see... he is talking about Wet Hot American Summer, which I LOVE (" You taste like burger, I don't like you anymore") I am obviously starved for comedy considering I spent yesterday laughing at Rambo skinning a bear in First Blood.
During the commercial break there was a quick segment where they interviewed an Indian scientist about gobal warming. He was saying, "there is definite proof that global warming exists and the climate is changing quickly and if we don't do something quickly there will be HUGE consequences." My reaction to this caught me quite off guard. You see, the first thing I thought was, "just because we are the first generation of humans to scientifically prove that the climate is changing doesn't mean we have a right to stop it and avoid extinction." I had no idea I was such a fatalist. But I mean, suppose cavemen had the technology to foresee the ice age, would they have been able to do anything about it? What if global warming was the cause of Noah's flood? Who is this Indian dude to question the Almighty about wiping us sinners out?

One last thought... Talk Asia interviewed Daniel Carter of the All Blacks after the Daily Show. Holy hotness. I would let him spin kick a ball between my posts any day.
Totally inapropriate? Maybe. But do yourself a favor an google his Jockey ad. You'll see why my "R" rated innuendo is totally justified.

GOD I love people who say, "Eh!"

So I know this is going to sound like a stupid, dim-witted thing to say but I never really understood why people of the same race stuck together and felt like they had a bond.I mean, I respected it and I accepted it, but I never really quite got why black people always feel like other blacks are their brothas and whatnot. I'm sure it's because I am a little white tenth generation American who considered her cultural education to be truly complete when she learned both the Macarena and the Electric Slide. So like I said, I never really understood the whole "brotherhood" complex.
Until now.
There is something about seeing another Caucasian person when you've been living in a village and traveling on local buses and you haven't seen another white face in ages. You immediately are drawn to them in hopes that they might share a little bit of whatever it is that you've left behind or whatever it is that you are used to feeling. It's always a bit of a let down when you realize they are actually Swiss or German, but yesterday I met my first Canadian!
Her name was Christina and she was fantastic, she was from Otawaaaaa and thankfully she only spoke English, not french (hehe, inside joke but I had to slip it in there). She was on a tour through India and Nepal and they had just come from Chitwan (side note: Locals pronounce it like Chi-tone, tourists say Chit-wAAn. It's funny) and she liked Nepal way more than India. Another guy on her tour was from Eagle so I talked to him for a while about Colorado. They were both totally shocked when I pulled out my nalgene and took a swig ("You drink the WATER!!") but then I assured them that i carried a steri-pen in my purse. I do not have intestines of steel.
I was so nice talking to people who were on a first-tongue basis with English and telling them all about living here. I never wanted to leave them, but naturally soon my bus driver was yelling "Bitikaiiiii!!!!" so I had to leave them behind.But I was smiling the rest of the bus ride. It's moments like that that you are searching for when you approach a similar face... even though sometime they just look at you and say "spraken se deutsche?"
So now I can say that I have a totally new respect for the different bonds people share from culture. Next time I'm rolling through the hood and a brotha flashes me the black power fist I can respond appropriately. Lol.

The Life of Li

There are a few matters I wanted to share--Matters as opposed to events because I have come down with a nasty cold and the only events that have been going on since I returned home are sleeping and light reading. And drinking this thick, soupy liquid that is apparently Nepalese medicine that makes my snot taste like garlic as it runs down the back of my throat. I'll let that imagery linger with you for a bit...

In case you are wondering, I don't have a fever yet so I don't think I have malaria. Shocking given the mine-field that are my arms and ankles from mosquito bites. Even more shocking is that I haven't started coughing at all so I might get out of the cold without contracting pneumonia. Needless to say I did not make it to school today so my first official lesson plan will have to wait until next week.
So as I said there are some matters that I have been thinking about...
First, I wanted to mention something about my dreams. I am somewhat known by my ridiculously active REM cycles and my vivid recollections of my dreams, I think. I always dream no matter how short or restless or deep my sleep is and I usually remember all, if not most, of the details of my dreams. (Jess, I really quite miss your room being directly above mine. I have no one to share my dreams with every morning here). Anyway, since I came here my dreams have been even more vivid than usual. A strange note about every single dream that I had up until Sunday, they never take place in Nepal. Nepal always exists in the context of my dreams, I am often on hiatus in the States for a weekend or for Christmas. Earlier today I dreamed that I was just about to leave for Nepal, one dream took place about a week before I was leaving and one took place as I was packing up to leave the following day. Sometimes it's as if I know Nepal is there, lurking somewhere in my logic, saying that I must be dreaming since there is somewhere I am supposed to be, but never has my being in Nepal actually occured my dreams. With one exception, and that is Sunday- my last night of traveling. I didn't sleep well at all that night and I don't think I fell asleep until past 2 and I woke up right before the sun rose. I did have time tog et one dream in and I barely remember any of it. I have murky recollections of an Indian princess and a temple in Patan Durbar in Kathmandu. But that is all I really recall... aside from that one dream, I have never dreamed of the people or the things that I have come to know since being here. I have dreamed a million times of people back home that I haven't seen or thought of in years, yet everything that has been in my direct line of sight for the past month has escaped my subconscious completely. I don't really know why I am talking about this or why any of you should care, but it's an interesting little tid bit of information. I wish I could relay to you the specifics of all my dreams but they are far too many and involve a lot of details that only a select few readers would even understand. I will tell that I just woke up from a dream that took place in Sleazy's apartment back in Boulder (he was not present) and I was making French Toast sticks for my little sister and a red headed child named Piper. Mr. Chilton, my favorite high school teacher, walked in and asked me when I was leaving and I told him about a week and then went on to share how much I dreaded being without him and how much I will miss him when I'm gone. I have no clue when the last time I saw old Chilt was. I think it was sometime last January...

Aside from my dreams, I have been having some other interesting conversations with myself. I do that a lot now, since there aren't too many other people to talk to and I'm quite a talker. I have to entertain myself somehow... I came across "The Life of Pi" while I was in Chitwan and I decided to pick it up and read it again. I figured I would have a whole new appreciation for it given my current situation. I was reading today and I got to the part where Pi is discussing the different things he started eating while he was stranded at sea. How he never could have imagined a turtle's kidney and liver could be a magnificent ten-course meal to him until it became truth. Then he went on to talk about the meals he dreamed of and the foods he yearned for from back in India. I was thinking about foods that I was yearning for at the instant, and I was amused that I didn't think of anything that I had been yearning for just a week ago. I didn't have a single thought about milkshakes or chicken salad or cheese of any shape or kind (though now that I write that I am starting to have twinges of remorse). I thought of the chai I had at the pit stop our Micro Bus took back to Kathmandu. It was even better than any I had drank before, not quite as sweet but not too strong either. So good. And then I thought about the rasbasari I had for breakfast which is this bread with sugar water inside, not a lot of sugar water, just a tiny little bit like a funnel cake that is trying to be a jelly donut. Funny how quickly things like food urges can change...
Tonight at dinner Min was saying that he thought maybe part of my sickness was all the different foods I was eating and things I was doing. He said that as impressed as he was with how well I was taking to the culture, he thought maybe in Pokhara (we are going on Wednesday) I should dabble more in tourist food so that I don't get any sicker.
I was touched the other day when we were sitting at a little cafe overlooking the Rapti River when Min and I were talking about all sorts of things and he said he never imagined he could be so impressed with one person. The night before we had spent at Hira's farmhouse and he apparently had been up late into the night talking with her parents in-law about me after I had gone to bed. The mother-in-law, who I said before seemed to adore me even though I couldn't understand her, couldn't believe that I was traveling alone and trusting Min to be my only translator. They were shocked when he told them that I had eaten every thing people had put in front of me and never complained about the buses or the hotels or expressed remorse at being completely alone.I guess people don't often give Americans, or foreigners in general, much credit when it comes to adjusting to new situations. I told Min that I was thankful he felt that I wasn't trouble and I wasn't as impressive as I seem. I can't say that I've loved every minute, but I'd rather suffer silently than make him or the family feel like they weren't providing for me sufficiently. Not that I've really been suffering by any means!!!
I was thinking about that conversation when I was reading the Life of Pi today and thought how funny it was that so many times in life we can be put in situations that resemble being stranded at sea with a tiger in your lifeboat and how differently every one handles it...
p.s. Another fun fact, the rupee was at a historical high against the dollar (80Rs=$1) then the second Obama was announced as the president elect the rupee fell to 72Rs. I'm glad I exchanged my money before the election :)

My week in review... feces, farmhouses and elephant butts.

So I spent all last week travelling around Nepal... the most memorable part, I must say would be the various hotels we stayed in. I remember laying in bed at one guest house after the toilet had decided to spit up on me and someone else's feces were decorating my right foot, and I was laying there thinking, "wow. Never again will I have a complete stranger's feces on my foot. I hope. Aaah, memories." Luckily, I had just finished watching a movie on Star World (India's premier english movie channel!) where Queen Latifah finds out she has 3 weeks to live and decides to just live it up and go crazy. Naturally, it turns out that she was misdiagnosed, but she learned a damn good lesson in the mean time. So as I was saying, luckily I had just finished watching this movie so I really wasn't too freaked out about the whole hotel situation. I was just amused. I mean, you are only young, alone and in Nepal once. I cherish all the awful awful dirty beds I slept in last week (and the one very decent one at a farmhouse belonging to Min's colleauge). I also think that when I leave here I will miss the food very very very much. I am really sick of rice, but I drink about 6 cups of milk tea (chai) a day and I freaking love all the different breads and curries. The one thing that I really have to get used to is the idea that you literally have to lick your plate clean. If you don't lick your plate clean people think something is seriously wrong with you. And they give you A LOT of food. And the meat is very bony and fatty and while I am getting used to eating the fat, the idea that the bone is "soft bone" so you can chew it and swallow it still scares me. I dreamed the other night that I chocked on a mutton bone and I really think my digestive system is paying dearly along with my conscience for my bone ingesting. For being such a poor country, the population as a whole is not very skinny. These people eat a lot. I mean, I can eat and these people out eat me every single meal. Last night I was almost in tears my stomach was so full. But the naan I was eating really was fantastic and I didn't want the cook to think I didn't like it. So I ate. And ate. And ate. And Katie thought I was going to starve here, ha!

But anyway, we went to Chitwan National park and it was AMAZING. We saw rhinos and monkeys and crocodiles and I saw twin baby elephants that were born THE DAY BEFORE. And I rode an elephant. And I actually have a rather large bruise from a baby elephant that was angry at a man trying to force feed it a banana so it went AWOL and head butted me. Elephants are not soft or cuddly. They are rather wiry and rough. And their heads are very very hard. It was not pleasant.

The night before we went to the park we stayed at Min's collegue's house that was about half an hour from Chitwan. It was a farm house with no power or indoor plumbing but it was pretty cool. I got the best night's sleep I've had since getting here that night. Hira's (collegue) mother in law was this little old lady who spoke no English but she just adored me. She kept grabbing me and hugging me and pinching me. And saying things to me which I couldn't understand but seemed very endearing. Her grandfather in law slept on a bed on the porch. It was very Charlie and the Cholocate Factory. I have so many pictures I'll post a couple in a little bit... oh man, what a week!

Blonde Bushes

So I shed a lot. I am always losing hair, and I think since coming to Nepal the problem has gotten worse. Furthermore, since I am the only blonde person in sight, when I lose my hair it is very very obvious that it is my hair and I simply cannot deny that I am balding. So when I was on the bus the other day and looking around I realized that my hair was everywhere. There was a blonde hair hanging off the seat in front of me and a blonde hair on my neighbor's bag. As the man standing up next to me got off the bus I has to reach out and grab a blonde hair sticking to the pocket of his trousers. It got me thinking, imagine if strands of hair were like seeds. Wherever they landed a large tree would grow. I would single handedly be responsible for blonding the Nepalese landscape. All the blonde bushes you saw, you could attribute to my locks. It's heartwarming really. But since my shedding hair does nothing but decorate mens' trousers, I suppose I will have to shed in vein.

Another random thought: Nepal smells like bbq pork. Except on occasion when it smells like goat poop.

Playing Catsup

Hiii everyone. So I know it seems like I died, but I'm still very much alive. We ran out of internet time at the house and I haven't had anytime at all to go into town so that is why I haven't been writing anything. I have a TON to say, so I figure I'll probably write like 8 posts at once so if you don't really care about something you can just move on (like I used to do everytime Perez wrote about Lindsay or Hannah Montana. Which is why towards the end I was never reading any posts of his period. Man, I just realized how much catching up on Perez I will have to do in April.. or maybe by then I'll be weened. Hmm... anyway...)
First let me say that I am in Chitwan in the only hotel on the planet without CNN or BBC so I have no idea what is going on in the states with the election. Tragic, I know. Slighty relaxing though.
We went to this little fast food place for dinner and Min got Chowmin (which is basically chow mein) and he put catsup (ketchup?) on it. Lots of catsup. It was disgusting.
Anyway, like I said we are in Chitwan and I am going to the national park tomorrow through Saturday. I get to see tigers and elephants and stuff so I'm pretty excited. The drive here was crazy. We took this 4-wheeler microbus (like an izuzu trooper car) and it was like a 5 hour drive through the mountains on dirt roads. Not too pleasant but really beautiful. This little girl that we dropped off in a mountain town about half way spent the whole ride puking though so it wasn't the most attractive car ride, but beautiful nonetheless.
Other than that, just wanna say HAPPY ELECTION DAY. It's like 7am in the states right now so it's the perfect time to remind everyone to go vote today.
CNN World taught me a fun trivia fact this morning, by the way:
Why is election day on a Tuesday? Because way back when it was assumed that people needed a day to travel to the polls via horse and carriage in order to vote so they figured that everyone would go to church on Sunday, travel to the poll Monday, vote Tuesday and travel home on Wednesday. And in the name of tradition, that is how it still is today.
so GO VOTE.

Tihar and the magic tikka dance

So Tihar is like Halloween, Fourth of July and Christmas all rolled into one. Every night of the festival kids light firecrackers EVERYWHERE. And I don't mean little wimp firecrackers. I mean legit rockets being lit on roofs with sparks landing all over their neighbors' crops. The fireworks started right when the sun went down and last all night long. Mye ars are still ringing from the sounds of roman candles. Everyone decorates their houses with christmas lights and candles. We settled on one string of lights around the door, but the backdoor neighbor strung lights from roof the floor all the way across the front of the house. It was like the neighbors were competing with Tribuvhan International Airport for air traffic control.
Groups of little boys go from house to house at night singing songs for roti and money. Binod pulled in like 250Rs one night. The songs are really funny, the kids make them up as they go. The only rule is that at the end of every line they all shout "dosuya."
I went with Min to his friend's house one of the days and the men were all doing the same thing. They were standing in a circle singing and at the end of each stanza someone would go in the middle of the circle and start dancing while everyone would clap in rythym. It was only for the men but Min insisted I join in on the magic tikka dance. When I entered the circle, a little girl followed me. When her sister freaked out she grabbed onto my belt loop so say that she was standing her ground. Soon enough all the little girls joined in despite their mothers' protests. It was like I started a mini revolution. Susan B. Anthony, watch out!
The last day is devoted to brothers so Binod sat on the floor of the kitchen while his sisters drew tikka marks on his forehead in all different colors. Then we ate roti til we wanted to puke. I am still bleeding pure starch.
Halloween came and went and I tried to get the kids to trick-or-treat with me but they didn't catch on. I dressed up as a big lobster with stuff I found around the house and they still didn't get it. I ended up finishing off the last of my ginormous Toblerone in a completely depressed state. Now I am out of chocolate. Must go buy more...

Miss Alicia: Teacher Extroidinaire

So yesterday I went to Dhading and taught for the first time. I spent the morning watching classes and then I taught Class-3 (third graders. ADORABLE)
I taught them the meaning of "I can" and "I can't." It was highly amusing. None of the English teachers at the school actually know English except one so I have my work cut out for me. But I think it will be fun. I'm making a game for next week that is a hybrid between Bingo and Simon Says for my class-5 (5th grade) next week. I also sat in on class-6 and learned about George Stephenson who invented the first engine or something like that. You would think I would know more about him since the teacher for the class thought the best method for teaching was to read the short biography from the text book a HUNDRED times. But all I really caught on to was the George Stephenson was born in 1881 and he watched a rich man's cows til he was 12. Oh, and his son's name was Robert and his wife died in 1905. It's pretty ridiculous that of all the things I heard a million times those are the facts I retained. Note to self: If I ever become a history teacher, teach the important stuff, not how many kids an inventor churned out. I was thinking something along those lines when the teacher asked the class what George Stephenson is famous for at the end of the story and I started cracking up when I realized that I had no idea what the answer was. Naturally, the girls next to me started cracking up too and I created mayhem. Woops.
I don't have any good bus stories since I managed to avoid the bus home by catching a ride on one of the teacher's motorcycle. Not so safe, but let me tell you. You haven't lived until you have sped along himalayan cliffs on the back of some guy's motorcycle with AC/DC blasting on your iPod.
So that was my first teaching experience. Binod says he will help me learn Nepalese to help the kids if I teach him Spanish. I think that is a decent trade off.
Can I teach english to a bunch of 7yr olds? YES I CAN. hah. I hope.

Happy Tihar!!!

Preface to this blog post: I am up in the kitchen this morning after lunch (remember, that is at 9am here) with Priyanka and we are sneaking around trying to find more cookies and as I open the cabinet, the handle comes off right into my hands. So we try to screw it back in so we don't get caught. Naturally we couldn't get it, so we just left it hanging on the screws (it basically looked fixed, but it wasn't).

Today is the 4th day of Tihar, the Nepali festival of Lights. Fans of the Office might recall the Diwali episode--this is Nepal's version of that. Tomorrow is the 5th and final day (Bhai Tika day) where all the festival-ing goes down. We've been spending all day preparing for tomorrow. Everyone has their house decorated with lights a la Christmas in the States. Jasmin made yarn wicks out of cotton with red chalk at the end so that we can burn oil lights with red flames tomorrow. All afternoon everyone has been in the kitchen making special Roti for the festival. Roti is my faaaavorite. It's bread made from rice flour that is really thin and crispy and yummy. It's the most complicated process I have ever seen. They mix the dough and knead it for a while and then they pad it out thin and rub a coat of this thick sugar paste on it. Then they roll it up like a cinnamon roll and cut it in to small circles. Then they take the small circles and flatten them out into little rectangles that they place on top of eachother.en they fry each one individually and all the layers come apart. Intense. But tasty. So as we are doing this, Jasmin tells Binod to get the rolling pin out of the cabinet. He goes in to whip open the cabinet door, the handle goes flying with him attached to it and he lands straight into a bowl of flour. His mother was less than thrilled. Priyanka and I just looked at eachother and as she brought her finger to her lips we started cracking up. Whoops. I'm current seeking asylum in the tv room. I've got Shwayze playing and Binod is jamming out. He would make a pretty good rapper. If he wiped all that flour off his face he could easily pass for a gangster black kid.

Late Update: I was just informed that tomorrow morning a bunch of people will come over for food and balleeeeee which apparently means dance. They asked me if I danced in big groups and the conversation progressed into me teaching the family to Crank That. Priyanka is the best Soulja Boy ever. You should have seen how she threw her hands in the ayer. Ok, I'm off to go decorate the house.

What did I do today...

I struggled with the internet for hours.




Ok but really... we went to go see an old friend of Min's, Raj Endre, he is a member party, of the Constituent Assembly (Nepal's parliament). He wanted to make it very clear, however, that he was not part of the Maoist party but of the UML party (the Leftist party). They spoke the whole time Nepalese so I didn't follow it. Instead I stared past them and watched a documentary on the Governator. It was truly riveting. Did you know that Arnold has many ties to the Nazi party in Austria? Hah. But basically the discussion with Raj revolved around a plan to build a hydropower plant in the disrict in order to supply energy (we are currently sitting in the dark for the 3rd night this week) and to supply jobs... also riveting stuff.

That is about all I got for ya today.
Have a good Saturday. Mine was pretty cool...
Hasta la vista. I'll be back.

In Case You Want To Send Me Presents

Here is my address:
Alicia Harmon c/o Min Shahi
Rato Bangala School
Patan Dhoka Latipur, Nepal
PO Box 202

TGI Buzzed

Ooh how the mighty have fallen. Since it is Friday (yay) we decided to have a little "party." By that, basically, we had some beer with dinner. And I drank one and a half and was basically plastered. Yes, I, esteem title holder of Flip Cup Champion of the World, Keg Stander extroidinaire, Chugmaster Harmon, was unable to finish a SECOND beer without slurring her words. My first thoughts were "Wow. One month without drinking and check me out." Then I realized it has not nearly been a month. Nay, it has been allllmost 2 weeks. Two weeks tomorrow, I believe, except that it is Friday morning in the US right now so it is 48 hours short of 2 weeks. Pathetic.
But that got me thinking. Last Friday I was here. But where have I been the Fridays before that? Here is a list of Friday in the the World of Alicia:
Last Friday: Kathmandu Two Fridays Ago: High as a kite with Gabe's friends watching Knocked up (awwwwkward). Three Fridays Ago: Boulder for homecoming, @ the Attic having a merry ol' time. Four Fridays ago: Driving through Virginia (the LONGEST state in the Union to drive through) on my way to NYC. Five Fridays Ago: Hah, like I remember life over a month ago, probably sitting around eating cookies, possibly after a long day of working. Six Fridays Ago: Uhh, NYC? Boulder? Who's to say?
But seriously- how time does fly! I can't believe that in a month from now all those Fridays will have been so long ago. And all the other Fridays in my life! And a year from now it will have been 52 Fridays ago that I got drunk off a single beer.
So, my fellow blog-reading minions, think about where you were 52 Fridays ago. I was at the Taj *tear.

PICTURES

Thanks, Jaime.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2322352&l=b528a&id=10218477

God I miss cheese...

Have you ever heard the question, "What would you rather give up: Chocolate or cheese?" I've always said that was a ridiculous, terrible question. Hung jury. You could put a gun to my head and I would still answer "Chococheeeeeeese!" But, it seems, I have forced the answer upon myself. We have neither. I actually went out and bought a GINORMOUS Toblerone bar the other day that I have stashed in my room and I allow myself to eat one chocolate, nougat-y morsel a day. But if you know me, you know that I have an insatiable appetite. I mean I am downright glutonous. And one piece doesn't do me justice. Period. As for cheese, there is none. God I would KILLLLLL for cheese. Last night instead of rice we have homemade tortillas and it was glorious. They call it something else... ughh... I'm not going to destroy their language by trying to remember. One day I will learn. But anyway, I was trying to explain Chipotle and they lost me at salsa. But got does a quesadilla sound good. Or a grilled cheese. Or velveeta. Mmmm. I don't even miss ice cream. I don't even really like dairy (except Chocolate Milk). But if anyone sends me a big fat hershey bar covered in melted Gouda I will love you for all time. Seriously. Everyone else will be out of the running in the competition for my heart. If you send James Franco to deliver that hershey bar, well, only God could produce such a miracle, I suppose.
Yesterday Jasmin and I talked about boys for like, 2 hours. And it's funny how different her view is than say, my little sister's. First, I found out that her parents were in an arranged marriage, as are most parents. The wole boyfriend/girlfriend love thing is really unique to her generation and still sort of rare. And I asked her what she would prefer and she said she would go either way. Especially since her parents would have to approve of the boy and she would introduce him and get their OK from Day 1 or else it was a closed case and he was out. I'm sorry parental units, you are not choosing the boy I marry. As much as I know you would like me to be Mrs. Duncan (or Darwin, or whatever), mother. But regardless, she is glad she goes to an all girls school because she doesn't like talking to boys. And she can onlly think of one time she thought a boy was cute and she can't even really remember him. Then I told her about bus boys and sexy men and frat boys and hockey boys and she quite enjoyed it. She said I would probably have no luck here, and I seconded that motion. Ohhh goodness, I think the saying I'm looking for is "pray for hotties." Haha.
Things are going pretty good, I am trying to plan a trip to Chitwan National Park in early November (specifically so that I am in a hotel with good TV reception on November 5th) so that I can see some elephants and cheetahs. That is what Binod says, "the elephaaaaants and cheeeetahs!!"
Speaking of the election, this is apparently an Obama house. They don't know tons about the candidates but Priyanka and Mrs. Shahi like to parade around the house chanting "Oh-bah-ma. Berrak Oh-bah-ma." I think they were in a little bit of shock when I informed them that he wasn't actually president yet, he still has to win an election.
So I will leave you with one final thought, courtesy of Binod:
An American and Indian and a Nepali come across a river. The American throws his hat in the river and the Indian says, "Why did you throw your hate in the river?" The American replies, "Because in America we have lots of hats." The Indian then proceeds to throw his shawl in the river and the Nepali asks, "Why did you throw your shawl in the river?" The Indian replies "because in India, we have lots of shawls." The Nepali shrugs, looks at the Indian and tosses him into the river.
Peace, Love, and Velveeta. xox.

Giving in...

I have to admit, I gave in to my need for first world civilization. I'm sitting in the lobby of a fancy 5-star hotel eating cake that I bribed Jasmin with to come here. I needed wifi so I could upload pictures. And I've done it! Well, the comprehensive album of pictures is on Facebook because a girl can only upload so many times! But I really haven't done much with my life in the last few days. I'm currently reading The Stand by Stephen King. It's a great book, but it was a terrible idea to read it right now. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it's about a superflu that kills off the entire population. The few who survive then move to Boulder (for the good) and Las Vegas (for the bad) and then good and evil duke it out. Reading about everyone you love dying right after you leave everyone you love is bad. Reading about the survivors going to your hometown and loving it is worse. Every time they describe the flatirons or Pearl Street or Mapleton Hill (where Mother Abigail, aka Jesus, live, naturally) I want to cry. Good thing I can look out my window and see the himalayas. Ok, so it's not SOOO bad.
Love you all!
xox

The Electric Nepal Acid Test

I wish I could think of a word that could accurately describe my day, but so far every word I have considered I have subsequently dismissed as inadequate.
The short version was that we went to visit the school I will be working with. It's about an hour's bus ride away in Dhading. It was decided that I will trek out there every Monday to teach English to the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and then teach computer classes in the afternoons. Then I will spend Friday mornings in Dhading helping the teachers with their own English skills. After all this was decided, we headed home. The End.
But the real kicker comes from our journey on the bus. Unlike the Micro Buses of Kathmandu, the buses that take you out to Dhading are larger and reminiscent of Ken Kesey and his merry pranksters. There is one main highway that runs through Nepal, from Kathmandu to Delhi and everywhere in between. The buses that run on this road don't run on a time table or an itinerary; they just run. In order to catch one of these buses, you simply stand by the side of the road and signal when one drives by. Then you hope it slows down enough for you to jump in. Think NYC taxi meets ski slope quad-lift.
We caught a bus fairly easily on our way there. The ride however... well, to all the people that have ridden on I70 through Silverthorne during a blizzard with me behind the wheel, I am SO sorry. I now understand your pain and I sympathize with all who have chastised me for my careless and reckless driving habits. But seriously, this was SO much worse. We were careening down hills at 50 mph, passing trucks around blind curves with oncoming traffic. In the words of Ferris Bueller, after this ride I was so uptight you could have shoved a piece of coal up my ass and by the end you would have had one helluva diamond.
I do recall about 3 seconds of solace when I realized that this far outside the city, the sky was clear enough to see t white peaks of the Himalayas in the distance.
The peace was broken when I looked up to find our bus inches from flying off the side of the mountain while being simultaneously t-boned by a 1980 Toyota hatchback and passed on the right by a truck with "ride me" painted across the bumper. Since I am supposed to ride this bus twice a week for the next, ohhhh... 21 weeks, I would like say here and now that I never said "I love you" enough to Anita, and therefore when I die she gets everything. Except the IRS debt. Dad, you can keep that.
The ride home was a completely polar experience. Our driver was Filipino Bono in the flesh, and inside our bus was (and I swear I am not embellishing for the sake of storytelling): 3 Bob Marley stickers, 1 asian with dreadlocks, 2100 eggs divided into 12 cartons (I counted), 3 goats, 2 playboy tattoos, and the most AMAZING Canadian tuxedo that I have EVER seen.
I will never forget that bus ride.
Cheers to the next 84 rides I have left to weather.

Breakfast

So I told the kids about the infamous Pancake Challenge last night. I woke this morning to find that we were having rice pancakes for breakfast. Everyone gathered around me as I ate them and they were all terribly disappointed when I could only manage three. They were good though, I mean goooooooood.
:)

Heading back a few centuries

So yesterday when we were going up to the temple, we had to walk through a bunch of little villages that were all right next to each other but they seemed really far apart. Everyone walks here (unless they drive those damn 2-wheel death mobiles some call Vespas) so things that seem ridiculously close are in essence, quite far away. For example, I am staying in Naya Naikap which is technically not Kathmandu. But it's about as far away from Kathmandu as Wash Park is from LoDo. You just can't walk there, you have to take the bus. And heading up to this temple, we walked through so many towns that were all right next to eachother... maybe 100 feet apart, yet they were completely separated. It's like driving to Steamboat and driving through all those little mountain towns... but you are walking.
And as we were walking we came across so many people going about there daily business, and I was thinking that I feel like I stepped back into Medieval times. People were showering right in the street, using buckets of water that they just dunked their head in. I saw a young man loading stones into a bag that rested on an older man's head (it made my back hurt just watching) and then the old man walked a few feet and rested the stones at the foot of a building that was "under construction." Made from the stones pulled straight out of the ground a few feet away.
Another thing I always notice is at night, once it goes completely dark, how few lights there are in the city. You see the stream of headlights off in the chaotic distance, but everything in between is dark. Judging simply from the lights glowing in windows late at night, you would expect this area to be as sparsely populated as Alma, Colorado.
Right behind our house is an old building made from old bricks and mortar. I was watching it yesterday, looking at its inhabitants going about their daily life on the roof of the building. Min came up and told me that this building was the home of the native people of this town. There was a whole village within those rooms, each family having only one or two rooms and the rest of their lives conducted on the roof. They shower there, grow their chickens their, organize wheat there. Everything they need, within the space of a few feet. Seems far more applaudable than the self-sustaining environment of Freshman Dorms, eh?

In the Jungle, The Mighty Jungle....

So yesterday we went a few km into the hills and visited a Buddhist temple. Very cool. It was so colorful and clean and quiet... basically the complete opposite of the usual around here. The hike wasn't too bad, it reminded me a lot of hiking the flatirons. I could not believe how big the spiders were. We are at like 6,600 ft. They must be some freaking strong suckers. After we went to the temple we had a picnic that the wild cows were determined to confinscate from us. I also adopted a Buddhist dog. He, obviously, liked to have his belly rubbed.
The hike home was highly amusing because Binod, Min's son, insisted we sing. He knows more english songs than I do. Seriously. We finally settled on In The Jungle (I do a meeeean "Oh-wee-ma-way").
I showed Jasmin (the 17yr old) pictures of CU and I think I will make a buff out of her yet. Min asked me if I knew about how to get loans and scholarships for international students that want to attend CU, and I basically freaked out. We are going in to town later to an internet cafe so I can print off all the forms and get her a TOEFL book. I'll download all my pictures while I'm there, too. I've got zillions.
So electricity comes from solar-panels and when its cloudy out they don't work. So last night we did dinner by candle light, it was increeeeedibly romantic. Then I busted out some flashlights and we played flashlight tag. The night ended with Binod telling me racist Nepali jokes (the kind that start with "So there's an Indian, a Jap and a Nepali...") To be hoenst, I didn't get a single punch line. He is a really sharp little cookie. A pain, but a sharp little cookie.
I also got a run down of the situation with the schools that the ECC (the NGO) is working with and the problems they are facing. Today, I'm heading over to the school that I will be working directly with so I can see what is going on and talk to the principal, etc.
I had a dream last night that Kelly and Patrick got married at the top of Everest and Will insisted we ski to it. Then everyone died trying.
xox

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Champion has met his match

I have never seen anyone eat like Min's 7 yr old son. I tried to actually watch him from start to finish at dinner last night, but I couldn't resist the urge to blink and I missed the large majority of it. While I am busy dropping rice in my lap and spilling soup on the left ankle of my jeans (I have no idea how it got there), he is busy perfecting the art of silver polishing by INHALING his meal. And when he is done .7 seconds later, he just sits and watches the rest of us eat with this shit-eating grin on his face. Ridiculous.
I have to go now because the daughters are up and they want to have another Dance Party. I exposed them to the magic of Journey yesterday-I have officially sealed my fate.

What am I DOING here??

Where to begin...
First of all, pictures will have to come later because I am on a dial-up connection and there is not way I have the patience to upload pictures just yet. Especially seeing as I have taken a million and there is no way I can choose just one or two.
The first thing that I have to say is landing in the Kathmandu airport was like landing smack dab in the middle of the mountains. Picture landing a Boeing 777 at the Eagle Airport. Insanity. The mountains are so beautiful and completely different than the ones we have back in Colorado. The sky is really hazy and the pollution is really bad, but tonight while I was sitting at the dinner table I realized that behind the sillouhette of the near mountains were huge white peaks that I'd never seen before. It was awesome.
In terms of living, right now I'm at the chairman's house. Min and his family are fantastic. When I got here his youngest daughter, Priyanka, gave me a card that I'll post pictures of later. His oldest daughter, Jasmine, is 17 and she reminds me of Lu so much. She just gives these looks that crack me up.
The city is insanity. The traffic is so freaking scary. We took the bus into town today and I don't understand how the transportation works at all. The busses are basically those big VW busses but with like 4 rows and 50 people jammed in. On our way back from the market today I sat in a row with 5 other people. That is 6 people sitting side by side in something a little bigger than a Chrystler Town and Country. It smelled worse than the old Pi Kapp the morning after masters. For those of you that don't know what that was like, picture awful and take it up 3 notches.
I wish I had a funny little vignette to tell you but honestly I am too overwhelmed to be witty right now. I'm just trying to get my head on straight. The most common thought I've had thus far is "What am I DOOOOOOOING here?" Thus far, I remain answerless. I'll let you know when the epiphany strikes and I know...
The best way to sum it all up is different. So different. The people are very sweet, I just wish I spoke Nepali so I could actually communicate beyond a few words. I gotta find some English-speaking friends ASAP or I am going to get soooo lonely. What am I doing here?
Tomorrow we are going up to a Buddhist temple and I think it'll be really cool. It's about 3 miles away and we trek there on foot so I'll get some sweet pictures. Again, no garuntees as to when I'll feel like putting them up... after that we go see the school I'm going to be working at and then off to Pokhara. Turns out I'm here just in time to JAZZmandu, the greatest Jazz party in the Himalyas! so maybe I'll get to rock out with some nice yazz-flute. I'll let you know...
Miss everyone so so much.
Love from the Himalayas

Soooo Close

I'm sitting in the Seoul Airport watching the sun rise outside. This airport is pretty cool. I found a nice spot to camp out right by the cafe so when it opens I can be the first in line for some pudding. The flight over here wasn't too bad. As some people know, I like to tell really ridiculous stories to people I sit next to on airplanes. Generally, those stories hold no truth whatsoever. It's really my favorite part of flying. Unfortunately, I took an ambien the second I got on the plane and when I woke up the neighbor was fast asleep. The only words I got to say to her were "Sorry, I have to pee" and "Would you like my leftover pineapple jelly candy?" She seemed nice enough, too bad I didn't get to tell her about my husband who died in the New Finland Tsunami of '06, Kelly I know you are disappointed.
So that's really all I have to say. I've made it to the right continent, which is no small feat. See you in K-K-K-Kathmanduuuu.

Sitting at the gate thinking thoughts....

So this is random but ya know how it is... I'm sitting at my gate at DIA. And I'm feeling a little freaked out. Not a lot. Just a little. It's weird because I am flying through LAX and I can't even count how many times I have sat in front of a gate that said "Los Angeles." I feel stupid being all weird and freaked out in front of a gate that says "Los Angeles" because it seems like everyone sitting around me probably is JUST going to Los Angeles just as I have done a million times and they are probably thinking that I am JUST going to Los Angeles and I must have killed a man or something and that is why I am so freaked out... I mean I do still have the Swiss Army Knife that Katie gave me on my way here. Security missed it. They took my damn hand sanitizer and left my swiss army knife. So stupid.
But anyway, I suppose I could kill some one if I wanted to, since I have a knife and all. But that totally was not even my original point.
My point was that I dislike feeling weird in front of a gate going to LA. It should really say "Los Angeles-for everyone except for Alicia who is going much further away and that is why she looks like she is going to puke so stop judging her." The old dude across from me is totally judging. And the little gay man next to me is eating McDonalds and it smells delicious.
I am going to miss McDonald's. Not much, but a little. I love the smell of salty Mickey D's fries right after a hangover.... hello Hotties getting off the plane from LA that I will soon be boarding, heh, easily distracted... anyway, it's weird to think that I will miss smells from the States. I'm sure there will be so many new smells there. I feel like smell is something you really can't guess ahead of time, like you have to smell it to know. Ya know?
Speaking of hotties and smells....
(Laura and the rest of you Taj pervs, you may think you knew where I am going with this but you DON'T!)
Isn't it funny how men smell all rugged and Old Spice-y here, like woodsmen or something, when they are soo not rugged? Don't get me wrong, I love it. But I mean, I was trying to think about how men will smell in Nepal and I don't think they will smell like Old Spice. Yet if anyone is outdoorsy and rugged, its the Nepalese farmers working in their fields, right? Not our guys in their seven jeans and rebook kicks rockin' Hugo Boss eau de parfum.
Aaaahhh men and their wooded, spicy cologne...Just one more piece of an overly image-oriented branded America.

Wow... it's totally time to board my flight. What a good distraction....
Hasta la Vista!

Dirty Details

Courtesy of the CIA World Fact Book

• Population: 29, 519, 114
• Religion: 80.6% Hindu, 10.7% Buddhist, 4.2% Muslim, 3.6% Kirant, .9% Other )The only official Hindu state in the world)
• Language: 47.8 % Nepali, English spoken in business and government
• Literacy: 48.6% Total Population, 62.7% male 34.9% female
• School Life Expectancy: 10 years (males) 8 years (females)
• Unemployment Rate: 42%
• Population below poverty line: 30.9%
• Agriculture: Rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, milk, water buffalo meat
• Industries: Tourism, carpets, textiles, small rice and sugar mills, cigarette production 

Also, FYI

The time change is 11 hour and 45 minutes (from MST)

So right now it is 9:57PM on Monday in Denver, it is 9:43AM on Tuesday in Kathmandu.

Remember that when you call me. Oh ya, I won't have a phone. Suckers. 

T-Minus 20 Hours

Sooo I leave in less than a day so I figured I should get this up and running... I hope everyone likes reading blogs because I am far and away too lazy to write everyone emails. I'm thinking I'll try to get into town to post once a week, but you should check religiously (read: more than Perez) because I hate feeling like I am doing this for nothing. Except if I do find out that no one is reading this, then I might start writing complete garbledy-gook and really inappropriate things for the hell of it, could be entertaining... but I don't want to give anyone incentive not to read, so don't not read and wait around for the garbeldy-gook...

Anyway, for everyone that doesn't even know the basic 4-1-1, I am going to Nepal tomorrow to teach english for an NGO called "Education Concern Center, Nepal." I am going to be teaching primary schoolers, so they will, in fact, have minds young enough to be molded, shaped, and, alas, corrupted, by yours truly. 

I am going to be living right outside the capital, Kathmandu, I'll let y'all know about the living conditions post-arrival. At this exact moment I am as clueless about my living conditions as those of you who know me would expect me to be. 

I'm pretty stoked. And maybe a little nervous. Especially about missing Gossip Girl and 90210. But somehow I think I'll be able to overcome my GG withdrawls (Katie-can I get some methadone for that?) and enjoy the experience. 

Watch out Nepal,I'll see you in exactly 46 hours and 11 minutes... just realized how long the darn plane ride is. ugh.