Hello again! One week in and things are on a roll, or should I say roti (bread in Nepali). Finally starting to feel like I know the area as I proved today when we were asked to walk around Kathmandu alone for 4 hours and find our way back. So I hopped on a bus and then had to get out because there was a 300 car traffic jam that the driver told me wasn't moving and just continued walking. Found a man and a young boy playing a game called Ludo and over the next hour I became known as the "Ludo masta". As I continued walking someone overheard me asking for directions and asked if I wanted a ride there on his motorcycle as most people ride. I know my mother said to not ride with strangers but he seemed so nice and the walk was far and it really looked so cool. Don't worry mom, he was harmless and took me to his Sari shop where I watched a man embroider Saris by hand and tried one on myself. He may have introduced me to his whole family who may have thought I was trying Saris on for a potential wedding between us but I quickly explained it was not the case and politely excused myself from the store. For those that may know me, I've never been known for my sense of direction and especially at night in a foreign country, but somehow I found my way by constantly saying the name of my town and with lots of arrow pointing, as dark as it was, most people could not see that I was a tourist and for once we were all just people walking through the town.
Yoga is a common practice here so a couple of days ago a couple of us woke up at 4:30 in the morning to go meet 75 other Nepalese people as they sat near the Monkey temple and did yoga for an hour and a half. A guru sat on top of a large podium and right as I crossed my legs, a large crackling sound interrupted my attempt at finding peace within my thoughts and I realized the guru was speaking into a microphone and there were 3 large speakers surrounding us. Technology certainly has its place but this did not seem right, especially as monkeys were constantly moving around us (and walking one foot from my head) and I felt almost more like a Richard Simmons video than a yoga class. Despite the sound system, I soon stopped thinking about it and focused on my breathing and the poses as people looked at me with encouraging looks as they could tell this was obviously my first time and flexibility is certainly not in my genes. We went to a bar last night in which I met 4 Nepalese men who spoke English and told me they were all "brothas from other mothas" and I find it so interesting how certain phrases make it half way around the world. There is a curfew in the city so we had to sneak out of the bar into an eerily quite road and quickly hopped into a taxi. 10 minutes later, we got a flat tire and attempted to help ( okay the three boys I was with attempted to help, I was there for moral support). Nothing worked so we eventually just walked home and as we walked I thought about the beauty and excitement of the unknown and was grateful for the ability we have (or hope to have) to adjust to almost any situation and embrace it. So much more to say but for now I will just say that I am excited to be visiting all of the sites we will be working at this week to better understand how we will be involved and finally start putting some of our knowledge to use.
Yoga is a common practice here so a couple of days ago a couple of us woke up at 4:30 in the morning to go meet 75 other Nepalese people as they sat near the Monkey temple and did yoga for an hour and a half. A guru sat on top of a large podium and right as I crossed my legs, a large crackling sound interrupted my attempt at finding peace within my thoughts and I realized the guru was speaking into a microphone and there were 3 large speakers surrounding us. Technology certainly has its place but this did not seem right, especially as monkeys were constantly moving around us (and walking one foot from my head) and I felt almost more like a Richard Simmons video than a yoga class. Despite the sound system, I soon stopped thinking about it and focused on my breathing and the poses as people looked at me with encouraging looks as they could tell this was obviously my first time and flexibility is certainly not in my genes. We went to a bar last night in which I met 4 Nepalese men who spoke English and told me they were all "brothas from other mothas" and I find it so interesting how certain phrases make it half way around the world. There is a curfew in the city so we had to sneak out of the bar into an eerily quite road and quickly hopped into a taxi. 10 minutes later, we got a flat tire and attempted to help ( okay the three boys I was with attempted to help, I was there for moral support). Nothing worked so we eventually just walked home and as we walked I thought about the beauty and excitement of the unknown and was grateful for the ability we have (or hope to have) to adjust to almost any situation and embrace it. So much more to say but for now I will just say that I am excited to be visiting all of the sites we will be working at this week to better understand how we will be involved and finally start putting some of our knowledge to use.
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