Have you eaten?

"Khana khannubhaiyo?"
This informal greeting in Nepali I've learned, used in the place of namaste, is much more suitable for me. Although it is a mouthful- pun intended! !- remember to ask me next time you see me, and bring food.

Fourth day in Kathmandu. The city breathes such life in the daytime. It is a syncophany of sights, sounds and smells. In the back of your throat you dwell in constant tensity and fear, of having your feet run over by a rickshaw or worse, a tourist bus. The minute you lose focus and agility when maneuvering the cobbled pathways, you are jolted to life by the staccato honk of a car literally a hair's length away from you. These are the sounds of Kathmandu. A symphony of cars honking, dogs howling, children playing, and a whole load of random ruckus. It's consistent about waking me up every morning at 8, but thankfully the city rests early.

view from the roof:


It's winter here and its sunny all the time, with the temperature rising to the low 20s in the afternoons. But before you tie your knickers in a knot of jealousy, let me tell you about the disparity in temperature from afternoon to night. It gets as low as 5 celcius, and you say what is that eh compared to Canada. But I never realized how much I took central heating for granted. There is no AC or heating in most homes here and it gets so miserable climbing into bed that I feel like cutting a limb off to get some blood flow. Yes i think about these things. In the unfortunate light of not having a sharp object on hand, I resort to wearing more clothes to bed than i do during the day. Longsleeved shirt, t-shirt, fleece sweatshirt, sweatpants, fluffy socks (shoutouts to rajnee) wool hat, down parka of the playboy label courtesy of mum (lolz!). This is more clothes than I've ever worn in my life! lolz

But I did get a tan on my face yesterday from sitting on the hotel roof all morning for my Nepali lessons. I'm actually picking up some of the language and it's only been two classes. I can't wait to learn it over the next month. I say Dhaniyabhat a lot, which means thankyou. Mero nam Jenny ho, means my name is Jenny. not what you're thinking you jerks. Pheri petaula means hope to see you again soon! Add -ji to the end of a name to indicate endearment. and Maile bhujina means I don't understand, something I use quite often.

Our teach is supa cool and nice. A very beautiful Nepali girl named Youzina. She talked to us about the culture in Nepal quite a lot too. Society here works on a caste system just like in India. We talked about how people were first divided into the different castes because it was thought that society would function more efficiently if certain people just filled certain professions. Sadly, efficient would not be the proper word to describe the country today. The people of the lowest castes are not granted the same freedoms and opportunities to education that others are. That makes it hard for them to rise above the toils of manual labour, and avoid subtle undertones of descrimination. There's also not much chance of change to come because the lowest classes, ones who have the most to gain from the elimination of the caste system, do not hold the decision making power in office. But this is a controversial and sensitive issue, so the ignorant foreigner shall not digress any further.

We've gone sightseeing quite a bit around Kathmandu as well. The city is famous for its beautiful temples, with the largest Hindu temple in the world! And theres so many monkeys! Heaps and heaps of them! Aggressive monkeys who steal little children's potato chips and point and laugh while the devouring the bags whole! I asked our guide why so many monkeys in the temples and he said, maybe even monkeys want to be near God. good answer.

I have finally been placed in my orphanage! It is in Pokhara, about 6 hours by perilously bumpy bus ride from Kathmandu. It is one of the most beautiful places in Nepal, with the picture perfect mountain and lake scenes that is the stuff of postcard dreams. I AM SO EXCITED. There are only 6 kids in my orphange, and I CANT WAIT TO CORRUPT THEM ALL. um. what? i said make a positive impact in their lives. It is a bit out of the city centre, and another volunteer who was there earlier this month told me that the people there were some of the most happy people he had ever met. They were just genuinely appreciative of waking every day, and any little thing, inconsequential to us, would make them smile for hours on end. I asked in my ignorant way, so what do they do for money? They don't, he said, they just live off the land. I remember being completely taken aback. We really are in such a hyperbubble. What? the Ivey grad says, people don't worry and strife about an ibanking internship in today's economic condition?? What of the value of their portfolio??!? They work hard, sow, plow, harvest, live, and love their families, which means everything to them. There's nothing that you can't rejoice when you are a villager in Nepal. We all have something to learn from these people and I can't wait to head over and soak it all up.

This has been quite the rambling diatribe, and I shall stop soon, but not before telling you the exciting news that I'm booking a trek tomorrow! The last couple of weeks in Nepal will be spent doing the highlights of the Annapurna trek ( most breathtaking views of the Himalaya) with my own guide followed by a side trip into the Jungle safaris of Chitwan on the back of an elephant! Also, Pokhara is the capital of paragliding, and i'm going to live there for three weeks!!! jealous yet, cus it doesn't end there! Nepal is also the capital of bungee jumping with 180 feet jump and I will also attempt that one of these weekends!!!

ok my head is starting to hurt, i've been on the computer way too long, and we came back from an authentic Nepali welcome dinner at this fancy restaurant where there was traditional music and dancing and AMAZING curries, DHAL BHAT (national dish of lentils and rice which I will apparantly become very comfortable with, cus that's ALL i'm getting in the village) and RUXY. lol which is their national drink. the Nepali version of the Chinese Mao Tai. At 60% alcohol we were doing shot for shot tonight, and I was up to about 10 or 11. Had to explain where I got my Irish from, and again, just blame it all on popa gao. lolz. crazy nuclear physicists get away with everything. as do their offspring.

ok Jenny-ji out.

my inbox is lonely. update me on your lives once in a while. i miss my friends!

pics from around Kathmandu valley:

teeheeee

buddha eyez r watching u

view from buddhist temple

eating rice!

cute kid. yummy. what?



the flags are a buddhist symbol of harmony between the elements; fire wind earth water, and one other i forget

monkey flood!!! spot the baby under its mommy

smoke from cremation at Hindu temple



just a bull, chilling on the road

Nepali dancer during our dinner tonight


xo