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 :)