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!