Mystery and Winter
Yesterday we awoke to the first rain I've seen since arriving in Nepal, which ushered in the four-layer-penetrating cold that I will learn to cope with through the next few months. There's no custom of central heating, so this experience of being nonstop with the cold element will be a new and challenging one for me. Last night while walking back from our 3-person yoga class, I slowed my steps as my colleague Tom and I came upon a small group of Nepali crowded around a road-side trash-burning fire. The women, dressed in the traditional colorful flowy sparkly wraps, invited us in with warm smiles.
But we kept on, needing to get home before my 'curfew' of 8:30pm when they lock the gate below. I'm always welcomed home by smiles and a plethora of questions from my brothers and sister. Since my sister Rupa is in exam time for her Rural Development course, the older brother is uncharacteristically doing the cooking. Here the tradition is to 'take rice' between 10 and 11 in the morning, and again around 9:30pm at night. The rice, bhat, is typically served with dahl (lentils) and either a vegetable curry or egg dish of some sort. These days there is bound to be lots of chya tea-drinking.
There are many small aspects of my life here I've come to treasure, such as the smell of incense my brother lights in the morning and evening as he does his prayers at the small shrine which holds pictures of several different Hindu gods and goddesses. At the end is always the ringing of a small bell. The calming smell of incense also greets me at the top of the staircase to the roof, where there is a small prayer room. Temples and special prayer spaces are around every corner, and the depth of their meaning is beyond my imagination...
The other weekend I was invited for a rafting and hiking adventure a 3-hour curvy drive north toward the Himalayas. An adventure indeed, as I was the only one to fall into the raging, chilly Bote Khosi river after my paddle got stuck between the boat and a boulder and took me over. But the team was a supportive and strong one, and I was rapidly back up into the front of the boat and ready to go. I felt more relaxed on the steep hike the following day, being on two feet-- we got to glimpse the peaks of Tibet in the distance and visit a rural school. On the way, I gained great insight from my fellow global social working friends who are involved in an array of peacebuilding activities in Nepal and elsewhere.
My favorite 'life classroom' was sitting on the top of the bus as we charged up to our campsite. I sat next to the manager of the adventure business, Don, who is just 28 but has quite a life history. He has been in and out of Nepal for over a decade, and so has seen this conflict over the span of time. Currently, he is involved in one important chunk of peacebuilding, which is the reintegration of the Maoist soldiers. He is working with Maoist leaders to push through the Constituent Assembly a policy which creates 1,000 jobs for these soldiers to work as anti-poachers. Tigers and rhinoceri are killed daily for the aphrodesiac qualities of their tusks, liver, etc. which are principally produced in China. What to do with the remaining soldiers, at least 10,000 more, is a plaguing question. I read the papers and sense an impatience that threatens more armed struggle in the rural regions... again, I am blessed to be here at such a pivotal time in Nepal's history.
Tom and I were also guests at a wedding last week, which lasted two days-- one day at the groom's house and the second at the bride's. We saw the latter, which was again so rich in tradition, thick with symbolism and meaning of which I could only skim the surface. The day's description could last another ten paragraphs, but work calls as we're an 18-day countdown from the Youth Social Forum...
I pray you are well. Thanks for reading:)
But we kept on, needing to get home before my 'curfew' of 8:30pm when they lock the gate below. I'm always welcomed home by smiles and a plethora of questions from my brothers and sister. Since my sister Rupa is in exam time for her Rural Development course, the older brother is uncharacteristically doing the cooking. Here the tradition is to 'take rice' between 10 and 11 in the morning, and again around 9:30pm at night. The rice, bhat, is typically served with dahl (lentils) and either a vegetable curry or egg dish of some sort. These days there is bound to be lots of chya tea-drinking.
There are many small aspects of my life here I've come to treasure, such as the smell of incense my brother lights in the morning and evening as he does his prayers at the small shrine which holds pictures of several different Hindu gods and goddesses. At the end is always the ringing of a small bell. The calming smell of incense also greets me at the top of the staircase to the roof, where there is a small prayer room. Temples and special prayer spaces are around every corner, and the depth of their meaning is beyond my imagination...
The other weekend I was invited for a rafting and hiking adventure a 3-hour curvy drive north toward the Himalayas. An adventure indeed, as I was the only one to fall into the raging, chilly Bote Khosi river after my paddle got stuck between the boat and a boulder and took me over. But the team was a supportive and strong one, and I was rapidly back up into the front of the boat and ready to go. I felt more relaxed on the steep hike the following day, being on two feet-- we got to glimpse the peaks of Tibet in the distance and visit a rural school. On the way, I gained great insight from my fellow global social working friends who are involved in an array of peacebuilding activities in Nepal and elsewhere.
My favorite 'life classroom' was sitting on the top of the bus as we charged up to our campsite. I sat next to the manager of the adventure business, Don, who is just 28 but has quite a life history. He has been in and out of Nepal for over a decade, and so has seen this conflict over the span of time. Currently, he is involved in one important chunk of peacebuilding, which is the reintegration of the Maoist soldiers. He is working with Maoist leaders to push through the Constituent Assembly a policy which creates 1,000 jobs for these soldiers to work as anti-poachers. Tigers and rhinoceri are killed daily for the aphrodesiac qualities of their tusks, liver, etc. which are principally produced in China. What to do with the remaining soldiers, at least 10,000 more, is a plaguing question. I read the papers and sense an impatience that threatens more armed struggle in the rural regions... again, I am blessed to be here at such a pivotal time in Nepal's history.
Tom and I were also guests at a wedding last week, which lasted two days-- one day at the groom's house and the second at the bride's. We saw the latter, which was again so rich in tradition, thick with symbolism and meaning of which I could only skim the surface. The day's description could last another ten paragraphs, but work calls as we're an 18-day countdown from the Youth Social Forum...
I pray you are well. Thanks for reading:)
posted by Amanda Joy at 6:25 PM
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