This and That

Well, Wynn's travel documents were not ready today as we had hoped. We're to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Hopefully they will be ready then. This means that most likely we won't begin traveling home until next Wednesday. Without his travel documents, we cannot have our interview with the U.S. Embassy and apply for Wynn's visa. And the visa takes up to four business days. I was disappointed because somehow I had it in my head that we had a chance of traveling home this weekend. I really wanted to get home to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom. Oh well.

To shake off our disappointment, we decided to go out to lunch and then head to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I've always said that while ice cream (and chocolate) don't solve all things, I haven't found either one to hurt any given situation. Typically we go to Thamel, the tourist district, for meals but today we decided to stay in our own neighborhood of Lazimpat. Our new found friends from Pittsburgh had recommended a restaurant so we tried it -- it was very good. After ice cream we did some souvenir shopping in a really nice Free Trade Organization craft shop. Then we came back to the apartment just in time to avoid the now daily late-afternoon thunderstorm. They don't last long and tend to cool things down and clear the air a bit, so it's a good thing. I guess it was our neighborhood's turn for a blackout because we lost power right around dinner time. I was able to cook something for the kids on the stove top. (a wok and some olive oil with leftovers goes a long way here.) Even now, the generator is running but the electricity is weak as is the Internet signal.

Since that was the extent of our day today, I thought I'd share some random Nepali observations. I'll let you decide whether or not they are interesting.

1. We were surprised how many dogs there are here. In such a poor country, the ninth poorest country in the world, we thought, "Who would keep a dog?" Now mind you, these dogs are not living the life of Millie, or any of your dogs. We would venture to guess that 99% of them live outside or on the streets. But they are fed and cared for. I think we've only seen one or two dogs on a leash with a collar being walked by an owner.

2. If you're looking for a place to stretch your tourist dollars, this is the place. The biggest expense is the airfare to get here. Once you're here, everything is really very inexpensive, including food, hotels, souvenirs and taxis.

3. We were also surprised how many schools are here. They are all private schools, including Montessori, kindergarten and up. In our neighborhood alone there is a Jewish school, a French International school, and several grade schools. Sadly, there doesn't appear to be a public education system. Children get to go to school if their parents can afford it. Every day we see kids walking to and from school in a variety of uniforms. I feel sad for the kids that we see during the day just hanging out, knowing that they won't receive a formal education because their parents cannot afford it.

4. This is a very poor country with many problems. As our landlord Arjun said again today, "No petro, no water, no electricity, and no government." Fourteen hours a day of electricity is about the average. We're lucky to be staying at a place with a back-up generator, but even that runs only when they have the energy to run it. Water is brought in to our building by a water truck. We see long lines of motorcycles, cars and buses waiting for gas (petro). And yet, with all of these problems, we continue to be amazed at the gentle, layed back nature of the Nepali people. Despite the horrendous traffic, there is no road rage. People do not seem to be short tempered. I read a sign in a local restaurant that said, "Don't change Nepal. Let Nepal change you."

5. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Bob Marley is very popular here. I've seen his face on bumper stickers and posters in shop windows. The only Bob Marley song I have on my iPod is "Don't Worry, Every Little Thing's Going to be Alright."

6. Young Nepali children drink warm milk. I tried to give Wynn cold milk one day and he wouldn't drink it. Then I remembered him drinking warm milk and bread at the orphanage. I heated his milk in a sauce pan and he drank it immediately.

7. A term of endearment for little Nepali children is babu (pronounced ba-boo).

8. The national greeting to everyone you meet is "namaste," (pronounced nah-ma-stay), which you say while holding your hands in a prayer position at about chin-level.

9. One driver that we had one day told us that we are only a 90 minute drive from the southern China border.

OK, that's enough for tonight.

Picture captions - Leah at the restaurant where we ate lunch today; additional pictures from our trip to Nargarkot (including water buffalo in case you're like me and have never seen one before).