Going on day two in Kathmandu. I have been bad at blogging while in Holland, but I promise that with this adventure I will do better. For those of you who haven’t kept up with me, I am in Nepal as a part of my master’s degree and am doing an internship for a small NGO which assists poor girls in rural areas to go to school. My job will be to do an impact study of their program, which will take me to two districts in the mountains where I will conduct interviews, focus groups, and investigative work with local stakeholders. When all is done at the end of May, I will leave a report for my org and go back to Europe where I will write my master thesis based on my findings. Unlike with the Peace Corps where everything in the beginning was nicely organized, this is solely on me and at this point I am still without a local number or any friends, (hmmm maybe i should have taken notes on how they did things...). I am currently living in the upstairs apartment of my supervisor’s parents. They live on the East side of the city (which is considered to be part of the Old Kathmandu) in a big compound above a small department shop. Its really nice, with the only problem being that it’s kind of far from the center.
Kathmandu is unlike any place I have been to. First off, there are more people and cars than anywhere else, and honking twice per minute while driving is the norm. The fumes and pollution are bad due to the amounts of cars, motorbikes, and mopeds and I am seriously considering joining the many Nepalis that wear face masks. Currently, the city has 11-16 hour power cuts per day (load shedding), with the exception for today, because evidently the Gods are cooperating. My apartment has a light in my bedroom which works during power outages and one plug which is connected to a generator. The water situation is ok , because it runs all the time, unlike many other places who don’t have water or even plumbing. I have to take bucket baths, because the pressure is not strong enough for the shower to run, but I don’t mind since Azerbaijan prepared me well (Thank you, Peace Corps!). I may move to somewhere else if opportunity permits and if I find something nicer and closer to the center, but at this point I think i will stay here, plus the family downstairs is really nice and let me use their computer and internet which are connected to the generator.
I went out exploring yesterday and took it easy today, with the plan to go out again tomorrow. The city is really interesting and impressive from what I have seen and am excited to check out some more places tomorrow. Yesterday, I went to Durbar square, which is full of beautiful Buddhist and Hindu temples that date back to the 17th century. There you can see people praying, cows running around, pigeons pooping, animals being sacrificed, and many interesting people (a bit of a sensory overload).
Following, I went to ‘monkey’ temple or Swayambhunath, which is an incredibly beautiful Buddhist monastery overlooking central Kathmandu. I found some scammer tour guide, or actually he found me, but in the end I didn’t mind paying him REALLY well, because I was alone, on my first day, and needed someone to show me around. I ended up in the Thamel (tourist district) where most the tourist hotels, shopping and restaurants are and walked around aimlessly for 2 more hours until I finally made it back.
There are so many first impressions that I don’t know where to start….Hindus, Buddhists, hippies, traffic, military, three wheelers, holy men, oh my! I will get through them all since I plan to be a good little blogger. I start work with my NGO on
Monday, so I have until the end of the week to explore and do some shopping. There are amazing things to buy here, and additionally I have to get some traditional Nepali wear for my site visits in rural villages. Locals are really friendly, the city is so exciting, and am sure that the rest of the country will be amazing as well! I will end on the note that after feeling like a midget living in the Netherlands, I now feel quite tall, which for me is always amazing!
Going on day two in Kathmandu. I have been bad at blogging while in Holland, but I promise that with this adventure I will do better. For those of you who haven’t kept up with me, I am in Nepal as a part of my master’s degree and am doing an internship for a small NGO which assists poor girls in rural areas to go to school. My job will be to do an impact study of their program, which will take me to two districts in the mountains where I will conduct interviews, focus groups, and investigative work with local stakeholders. When all is done at the end of May, I will leave a report for my org and go back to Europe where I will write my master thesis based on my findings. Unlike with the Peace Corps where everything in the beginning was nicely organized, this is solely on me and at this point I am still without a local number or any friends, (hmmm maybe i should have taken notes on how they did things...). I am currently living in the upstairs apartment of my supervisor’s parents. They live on the East side of the city (which is considered to be part of the Old Kathmandu) in a big compound above a small department shop. Its really nice, with the only problem being that it’s kind of far from the center. 
Kathmandu is unlike any place I have been to. First off, there are more people and cars than anywhere else, and honking twice per minute while driving is the norm. The fumes and pollution are bad due to the amounts of cars, motorbikes, and mopeds and I am seriously considering joining the many Nepalis that wear face masks. Currently, the city has 11-16 hour power cuts per day (load shedding), with the exception for today, because evidently the Gods are cooperating. My apartment has a light in my bedroom which works during power outages and one plug which is connected to a generator. The water situation is ok , because it runs all the time, unlike many other places who don’t have water or even plumbing. I have to take bucket baths, because the pressure is not strong enough for the shower to run, but I don’t mind since Azerbaijan prepared me well (Thank you, Peace Corps!). I may move to somewhere else if opportunity permits and if I find something nicer and closer to the center, but at this point I think i will stay here, plus the family downstairs is really nice and let me use their computer and internet which are connected to the generator.
I went out exploring yesterday and took it easy today, with the plan to go out again tomorrow. The city is really interesting and impressive from what I have seen and am excited to check out some more places tomorrow. Yesterday, I went to Durbar square, which is full of beautiful Buddhist and Hindu temples that date back to the 17th century. There you can see people praying, cows running around, pigeons pooping, animals being sacrificed, and many interesting people (a bit of a sensory overload). 
Following, I went to ‘monkey’ temple or Swayambhunath, which is an incredibly beautiful Buddhist monastery overlooking central Kathmandu. I found some scammer tour guide, or actually he found me, but in the end I didn’t mind paying him REALLY well, because I was alone, on my first day, and needed someone to show me around. I ended up in the Thamel (tourist district) where most the tourist hotels, shopping and restaurants are and walked around aimlessly for 2 more hours until I finally made it back. 
There are so many first impressions that I don’t know where to start….Hindus, Buddhists, hippies, traffic, military, three wheelers, holy men, oh my! I will get through them all since I plan to be a good little blogger. I start work with my NGO on 
Monday, so I have until the end of the week to explore and do some shopping. There are amazing things to buy here, and additionally I have to get some traditional Nepali wear for my site visits in rural villages. Locals are really friendly, the city is so exciting, and am sure that the rest of the country will be amazing as well! I will end on the note that after feeling like a midget living in the Netherlands, I now feel quite tall, which for me is always amazing!
1 comment:
Girl, great to see you blogging again!!! It's amazing to hear about your experience in Nepal..Please don't forget to be a good little blogger!:) I'm taking a social entrepreneurship class this semester and reading bunch of books, and also planning to volunteer for one microfinance org in SF.. Hope one day I can see what you see with my own eyes :) Miss you! Mila
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