Bits and Pieces

I'm exhausted and don't feel like writing a cohesive blog. Deal.

- I started my job as full-time teacher on Monday. Things have gone well so far, but I have had to be stricter than I expected. Some 8 year olds just can't stop talking, and hearing 14 different voices asking me variants of the same question simultaneously makes my head hurt worse than anything I have ever experienced, aside from the day after drinking the majority of a bottle of cheap tequila and having numerous scrapes/cuts all over my body. That being said, the job itself is rather enjoyable. For the most part, the kids are sweet and don't give me much trouble. Only having power at the school on Thursday and Friday makes things difficult, but I'm adjusting. I have a newfound respect for teachers and parents; on Friday when I got back, I collapsed on my bed for two hours and didn't move. Kids can be thoroughly exhausting.

-My only blunder this week was not permitting a student to go to the restroom upon request. He asked to go right after Child #1 went, and I assumed they wanted to just leave and talk in the hall (two of the troublemakers). I asked if Child #2 could wait for the Child #1 to return; he said he could. Oops. When Child #1 returned, Child #2 waddled out of the room, having wet himself and the pillow he was sitting on. Lesson learned, always grant permission for the bathroom.

-I went to a tattoo convention last week with artists from all over the world (pictures soon). The buzz of 60+ needles made the room feel like there were thousands of angry bees buzzing about, and watching people getting inked was entertaining in a creepy way. I spent a lot of time watching a guy get a butterfly-like creature tattooed on his face. I'm all for expression, but this felt like a poor life decision. The guy kept flinching, which probably made life difficult for the tattooer. Nobody wants an asymmetrical butterfly tattooed on their face. My favorite individual was a gentleman named Rishi, who had all of the flags of the world tattooed over his face and body (poorly). He enjoys breaking Guinness records, and was talking about attempting to set some record involving using 50 drinking straws simultaneously to drink something. No clue on if he reached his goal, but you have to respect the ambition. (http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarahbellecher/1/1303795732/tpod.html)

-I have decided to become vegetarian, not for tree-hugging reasons but for the fact that I get ill every time I eat meat. However, there is something slightly unnerving about seeing living goats roped up outside of a butcher shop while other goats' heads and bodies are laying about, but such is life. If I leave for work early enough, I sometimes get serenaded by the horrific sounds of slaughter. Not the best way to start one's day. Unlike America, being vegetarian is pretty easy here, as vegetables are more plentiful and there are many meatless options that are wonderful. I still eat meat if it is part of a dish and I have no other substantive options, but plan on avoiding it otherwise.

-I have replaced American Idol with Dexter as my guilty pleasure TV show. The premise is weird and the acting is bad, but I can't turn away. We just started season four where Dexter is after some new serial killer. Fun times, at least compared to Idol.

-The NBA playoffs have been great so far. Even having only seen three games in replay, I would contend that this could be the best playoffs of my life as a sports fan, which started around 1992-93. The Grizz just knocked off the Spurs in the West, I saw one of the best games of basketball I have seen in years between the Nuggets and Thunder and Chris Paul torched the Lakers single-handedly in what should have been a sweep for LA. CP3 is my favorite player in the league, and I hope that he ends up somewhere in 2012 on a contender, and not with Carmelo in NY.

-As much as I root for the Bulls and hope they win everything this year and every year, I don't really like the players. I love watching the team and think they're among the most entertaining in the league, but being from NC and absolutely hating Duke, I have a hard time rooting for Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. Joakim Noah was my most hated college baller of the last decade, and while I like him now, I still find him hard to look at. I love His Holiness Derrick Rose, but he did come from a sleazy Memphis program and forged his SAT scores, which the media has brushed aside. Regardless, blood is thicker than water, and I hope Chicago wins it all. The Eastern Finals should be legendary.

Peace

Pokhara

We woke up at 5:15 in the morning to meet with the group near ___ (Freak street) to depart to Pokhara. Techno music started to blare around 7, and rainfall soaked everyone before we left around 9. Our first stop was about 20 minutes out of Kathmandu and then we were onwards. We had lunch about halfway through down by a river, and the weather got extremely hot. Afterwards, I apprehensively got onto a motorbike and rode with a biker for nearly an hour. Once I gathered my bearings it was nice, but the fear factor never went away. We were zipping past bikes and around buses and turns at around 80 km/hr. The scenery was beautiful, aside from seeing a freshly decapitated goat getting eviscerated by the roadside. We would go past several little villages on the way, where people were going about their daily routine and paying us no attention. I felt every minor bump in the road between my legs and was numb for hours upon stepping off at one of the stops. Once nearing Pokhara I got my first glimpse at real mountains in my life and spent the remainder of the trip in awe of my surroundings. We got to the hotel around 7, and I was thrilled to discover that I had a TV and unlimited power in my room. I was unaware of the result of the Chelsea-ManU game, and watched Chelsea waste yet another Champions League campaign by playing Fernando Torres in the first half, who did nothing and was promptly subbed out (End rant). We ate dinner around 9 and then partied to live music late into the night to bring in the Nepali New Year.

The next day Shehrish and I got up and started making our way through Pokhara. Everything was so much cleaner than Kathmandu and I was taking deep, full breaths for the first time in a month. Shehrish thought that Devi’s Fall was worth seeing, so we paid Rs. 1500 to take a 5 minute cab ride to see a glimpse of a dried up waterfall that was hugely disappointing. Turns out it was nearly half of what we spent, but whatever. Later on we took a boat out on Phewa Lake with a guide and watched the sun set over the Himalayas and snapped pictures whenever the clouds broke. The night life was similar to Kathmandu, little bars and clubs with live music. One nice thing about Pokhara was that everywhere had happy hours where we could get beers and snacks for cheap.

Pokhara was amazing, everything was cleaner, people were friendlier to tourists and the weather was nicer (albeit hotter). The one complaint I had was that the food wasn’t as good as Kathmandu. On the last night we went to a restaurant with live music, and I ordered a hot dog from the continental menu, as I was tired of eating mediocre Nepali food. I have no idea where they got their concept of a hot dog, but they brought me something that looked like a southern style biscuit on a weird bun with a half-cooked runny egg on top. I ate it and was sick two hours later. I guess it serves me right for ordering a hot dog in Nepal. We got up early on Sunday and made the trip back to KTM. Hope everybody is doing well.

Random Anecdotes

Last week, Shehrish and I were in Thamel at night having dinner and listening to music. I had mentioned to her earlier that the streets felt a bit shadier than normal, as less people were out and a lot of shops were closed early. While waiting to check out at the super market, we saw some Nepali guy run up to a girl, punch her in the face, and run off. People tried to apprehend him, but he was gone in a flash. I was really rattled after this, and we went to the main entrance area of Thamel to get a cab back. Shehrish always negotiates price before I get in the car, as the drivers tend to rip white people off. She approached the cab, and the driver motioned for her to quickly get in. She did, the driver slammed her door shut, a kid came and hit the trunk of the cab with a stick, and he peeled off into the night. At first I thought he just didn't see me, and I was running to catch it, but after about thirty seconds of sprinting barefoot through tourists, beggars etc. it became clear that he wasn't stopping. At this point I am in panic mode thinking that she was just kidnapped or something, as the guy was just weaving through cars and driving erratically as if he were trying to escape capture. He finally stops after I have sprinted for about two minutes, and I get in. Shehrish and I start yelling at him, but he just keeps driving, saying he doesn't understand. The guy was definitely on something, as his driving was all over the place even on empty roads. At one point we nearly get into a head on collision with another cab, and when we get to her house, he demands Rs. 300 (we had agreed on 200). Shehrish says no, and the guy threatens to follow us and stay until we pay. I cough up the extra 100, and he left. We have been back to Thamel since, but have avoided taking cabs from there at night.

We went to Durbar square recently, and it was absolutely beautiful. Being white, I was supposed to pay around Rs. 400 for entrance, but we went a roundabout way to avoid having to pay. I find it funny when I have to pay more for entrance than SE Asian people. Garden of Dreams cost me twice as much to enter as it did for Shehrish. Not exactly the best message to send when the country is promoting tourism for 2011. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked as we went late afternoon and it got dark quickly, but all of the carvings on the temples were so intricate and beautiful. Most of the temples in the area are over a thousand years old, and the area had a peaceful vibe. We spent an hour or so having tea at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the entire kingdom. My only complaint was the amount of dust/fumes. The high walls seemed to trap everything, and breathing was difficult.

March/April seem to be prime birthday months in Nepal. I only know probably around 30 people by name so far, and have been to four or five birthday parties in the last few weeks. An average party involves a lot of eating, drinking and playing guitars and singing. I am amazed to have actually lost weight since being here given the amount of food served at any given time. People eat gargantuan portions at every meal, I have no idea how they stay thin. I recently went to one last Saturday when the cricket final was going on. India won, and everyone was in full on celebration mode. We ended up staying until around 1 in the morning, quite late for Nepal. Most nights we get back around 10 or 11.

I am currently on a two week break from work, as the school is between terms. On Wednesday we are leaving for Pokhara, a city about seven hours from Kathmandu by car. Shehrish's dad organizes an event every year for motorcyclists, going from KTM to Pokhara and back (www.enfieldpokerrun.com). I will be going in the car; I have been on a motorbike since being here and it was terrifying. The Nepal new year is coming up, and that will be celebrated as well. I am really looking forward to the trip, as the pictures look beautiful and I could use some fresh air.

American Idol has gotten so bad. America voted off the best singer this week, Pia, in a 'shocking' turn of events. I think Steven Tyler is on or off drugs again, as his comments have been really succinct, like "I loved it". Most of the contestants have nauseating personalities, but my least favorites are Scotty, a country singer who is a dead ringer for Alfred E. Neuman of Mad comics, and James, a pro wrestling enthusiast who looks like a cross between Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) and Sloth from The Goonies. Our Saturday and Sunday mornings are devoted to watching the program. I'm amazed by how many Nepali people seem to enjoy it year after year.

Hope everyone is well back home.