Well, Jenn and I made it back to Canada safe, but not entirely sound. We are now trying to adjust to living life in Canada again and to be truthful, it's been more difficult that I had originally anticipated. My first thought was that it will just be nice to soak in all of the conveniences... things like electricity all the time, clean drinkable water from the tap, a dishwasher, a clothes washer!!
Now that we have been back for a few weeks, I now long for the simpler life back in Nepal. Life seems to be so out of balance here in Canada. There is so much emphasis on stuff and wealth and just keeping up with the Joneses.... people don't have enough time for friends and family and work seems to rule everything. It seemed so civilized in Nepal when you would go into a store and they would sit you down and offer you a cup of tea. Here, if you go into a store you are lucky if you are acknowledged at all and if you are greeted, it is only a tactic to prevent you from shoplifing...
So, enough complaining. It is nice to be back in Canada, and just like the culture shock that we experienced in Nepal, the only way to approach reverse culture shock is to accept things as they are and to try not to fight it. You will only exhaust yourself and make your life unhappy....
It remains to be seen whether or not Jenn and I stay in Calgary, as we must go where the jobs are. Neither of us would mind moving out of Calgary. We are keeping our eyes open for opportunity and we are looking at importing some goods from Himalayan BioTrade to see how we might make a business of it. Everything is up in the air, but that seems to be the way things have been for the past year or so....
I will continue to post our trials and tribulations. I will have to figure out a new name for the blog....
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Goodbye Kathmandu......
My blog can no longer be called Court in Kathmandu.... We left Kathmandu yesterday and I am now blogging from the lovely city of Bangkok. Our last few days in Kathmandu were super busy. We were trying to fit everything in, including shopping, visiting friends, and of course finishing off my work.
Even though in many ways we are ready to come home, it was really tough to say goodbye to Nepal. At times both Jenn and I felt a bit choked up. It was particularly rough saying goodbye to our didi Gita. She is such a wonderful person and we will both miss her. On our last night in Kathmandu we took her for dinner to Cafe Mitra with her and our friend Moose. We had a really nice meal, but after the dinner when we were taking photos, the waterworks started. Poor Gita she really didn't want us to leave....
The last few days were a whirlwind. Jenn and I managed to get to a few of our favorite spots in Kathmandu before we left which was really nice. Got some good photos too. Boudha and Swayambu both have such a wonderful aura about them. When the days are so crazy, and the honking and traffic are getting to you, it's a wonderful thing to go circumambulate around the stupas to settle you down.
Even though in many ways we are ready to come home, it was really tough to say goodbye to Nepal. At times both Jenn and I felt a bit choked up. It was particularly rough saying goodbye to our didi Gita. She is such a wonderful person and we will both miss her. On our last night in Kathmandu we took her for dinner to Cafe Mitra with her and our friend Moose. We had a really nice meal, but after the dinner when we were taking photos, the waterworks started. Poor Gita she really didn't want us to leave....
We got to visit with some friends as well before we left which was really nice. We left behind some great Nepali friends and some bideshi (foreigner) friends as well. On the way to the airport we made one last stop at the Himalayan Bio Trade office where we took a photo of the staff at HBTL. I am going to miss their smiles and kindness.
We are looking forward to heading back to Canada, but first we will spend some time in Thailand and perhaps Cambodia. So, the next blog entry may be from Cambodia, who knows??
So, Goodbye Kathmandu. We will miss you.....
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Process of Packing
Nobody really enjoys packing and moving, but I must admit that I have mixed emotions about the process this time. I am happy on one side, as it means that I am getting closer to the point where I will come home to Canada and see all of my friends and family. I am also feeling a bit wistful about leaving Nepal. In many ways, Nepal has been hard on both Jenn and I. We have both had some pretty tough health problems to deal with, but I still feel a sadness in the idea of leaving.
The process of packing itself has been not too traumatic, and we have given ourselves enough time to sell a lot of the stuff that we have accumulated over the year. We still have a few things to go... I am still trying to sell my bicycle, my guitar, and a bunch of kitchen stuff.. plates, bowls, utensils, pots, etc.
We are also in the process of acquiring stuff as well, as we are wanting to purchase a bunch of stuff to take home with us. Through CECI, the iNGO that we volunteer through, Jenn and I are allowed to bring back 100Kg of cargo, plus whatever we are allowed to check-in on the plane. It seems like a lot right? Well, considering all of the stuff that we brought with us, and all of the stuff we have accumulated, the weight adds up quickly. So, it will be interesting to see how this all gets managed.
We will be heading to Thailand one more time on our way home. This time we will take some time to enjoy ourselves and decompress after our mandate in Nepal. Looking forward to it.
Lots of work needs to get done between now and the end of September. Only a few weeks to go... cross your fingers for us!
The process of packing itself has been not too traumatic, and we have given ourselves enough time to sell a lot of the stuff that we have accumulated over the year. We still have a few things to go... I am still trying to sell my bicycle, my guitar, and a bunch of kitchen stuff.. plates, bowls, utensils, pots, etc.
We are also in the process of acquiring stuff as well, as we are wanting to purchase a bunch of stuff to take home with us. Through CECI, the iNGO that we volunteer through, Jenn and I are allowed to bring back 100Kg of cargo, plus whatever we are allowed to check-in on the plane. It seems like a lot right? Well, considering all of the stuff that we brought with us, and all of the stuff we have accumulated, the weight adds up quickly. So, it will be interesting to see how this all gets managed.
We will be heading to Thailand one more time on our way home. This time we will take some time to enjoy ourselves and decompress after our mandate in Nepal. Looking forward to it.
Lots of work needs to get done between now and the end of September. Only a few weeks to go... cross your fingers for us!
Catching up on my photography
As we get nearer to our departure date, I realized that I have been quite lazy when it comes to taking photos. I know that I have taken a lot of photos, but they all have seem to come on special occasions or excursions etc. So, now I have started the process of photo documenting (more for myself than anyone else) my life here in Nepal.
This has been a good exercise so far in that I am opening my eyes to things that I have started to take for granted. I went out last night for a while and took some photos out on the street to document what it's like in Kathmandu in the evening. Hope you like them.
This has been a good exercise so far in that I am opening my eyes to things that I have started to take for granted. I went out last night for a while and took some photos out on the street to document what it's like in Kathmandu in the evening. Hope you like them.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Bhojan Griha
The CECI crew and remaining volunteers went to a restaurant called Bhojan Griha the other night, and I can't believe I had not been there it until now! I had heard it was a good restaurant, but now I regret not having gone sooner. It is located in Dilli Bazaar in Kathmandu in a wonderful old building that has been nicely restored.
The meal was one of the nicest Nepali set meals that I have experienced yet. In case you are wondering what a Nepali set meal is, it is essentially what Nepali people refer to as Daal Bhat. Daal Bhat is the staple meal of Nepali people which consists of Daal (lentil soup) and Bhat (rice). Usually along with the meal will come vegetables (some form of leafy vegetable such as spinach - saag, or cauliflower etc.), a curried potato dish, and sometimes meat such as mutton or chicken.
What sets Bhojan Griha apart from many restaurants is not only the atmosphere, but they also provide entertainment. We were treated to some traditional Nepali music along with traditional dances from four different indigenous groups of Nepal. This included dances from the Gurung, Tamang, Thapa and Newar indigenous groups. The performers were very lively and looked like they were having a lot of fun!
The meal was one of the nicest Nepali set meals that I have experienced yet. In case you are wondering what a Nepali set meal is, it is essentially what Nepali people refer to as Daal Bhat. Daal Bhat is the staple meal of Nepali people which consists of Daal (lentil soup) and Bhat (rice). Usually along with the meal will come vegetables (some form of leafy vegetable such as spinach - saag, or cauliflower etc.), a curried potato dish, and sometimes meat such as mutton or chicken.
What sets Bhojan Griha apart from many restaurants is not only the atmosphere, but they also provide entertainment. We were treated to some traditional Nepali music along with traditional dances from four different indigenous groups of Nepal. This included dances from the Gurung, Tamang, Thapa and Newar indigenous groups. The performers were very lively and looked like they were having a lot of fun!
Friday, August 14, 2009
My Thai Fish Pedicure...
On our first trip to Thailand, Jenn and I were wandering through the Suan Lum Night Market when we happened upon a little shop with a bunch of fish tanks set up inside. I didn't think too much about it until I saw somebody inside with their feet dangling in the tank...
I had heard about a treatment where a certain species of fish will eat the dead skin off your feet, or hands or any part of your body really. Some may think this sounds really creepy (I think Jenn still does). It seemed really strange, but oddly intriguing to me. I debated having the treatment done, and then cast it from my thoughts. Besides, I didn't have my camera with me to document the event anyway.
A month later, we found ourselves back in Bangkok again on an unscheduled visit. While we weren't there to be tourists this time, I made the decision to go back to the night market. My decision to go back wasn't solely for the fish pedicure, but I must admit, I felt as though I missed out on something the last time around.
So we went to the market armed with money and a camera in tow.
A little bit of information about the Garra Rufa fish (also known as the Doctor Fish)...
small tropical fish is in the cyprinid family of fish. It is a non-migratory freshwater fish that can be found naturally in Jordan, southern Turkey and nothern Syria. It is normally a bottom feeding type of fish. It was discovered in Turkey in a hot spring that the fish would feed upon dead skin, and not only that, had some positive health effects on those who have skin conditions such as psoriasis.
So, after locating the shop amongst the myriad of stores in the night market,
paid my money, washed off my feet and dipped them in the fish tank. It was a bit disconcerting to see all the fish immediately swarm around my feet and ankles. It looked as though they hadn't had a meal in weeks! They started nibbling my the bottom of my feet where I am notoriously ticklish (perhaps I should have thought this through before trying it), but after a fit of laughter I started to get used to it. The only way to describe the feeling is to liken it to the pins and needle type feeling when parts of your body fall asleep or have their circulation cut off. It definitely didn't hurt, but it was a little weird and definitely surreal. I could see someone getting freaked out by it with the thought of ferocious pirañas attacking your flesh. But it was nothing like that, they were gentle but quite persistent. So I had my 15 minute treatment and I got to document it with photos. Just another day in Bangkok....
I had heard about a treatment where a certain species of fish will eat the dead skin off your feet, or hands or any part of your body really. Some may think this sounds really creepy (I think Jenn still does). It seemed really strange, but oddly intriguing to me. I debated having the treatment done, and then cast it from my thoughts. Besides, I didn't have my camera with me to document the event anyway.
A month later, we found ourselves back in Bangkok again on an unscheduled visit. While we weren't there to be tourists this time, I made the decision to go back to the night market. My decision to go back wasn't solely for the fish pedicure, but I must admit, I felt as though I missed out on something the last time around.
So we went to the market armed with money and a camera in tow.
A little bit of information about the Garra Rufa fish (also known as the Doctor Fish)...
small tropical fish is in the cyprinid family of fish. It is a non-migratory freshwater fish that can be found naturally in Jordan, southern Turkey and nothern Syria. It is normally a bottom feeding type of fish. It was discovered in Turkey in a hot spring that the fish would feed upon dead skin, and not only that, had some positive health effects on those who have skin conditions such as psoriasis.So, after locating the shop amongst the myriad of stores in the night market,
paid my money, washed off my feet and dipped them in the fish tank. It was a bit disconcerting to see all the fish immediately swarm around my feet and ankles. It looked as though they hadn't had a meal in weeks! They started nibbling my the bottom of my feet where I am notoriously ticklish (perhaps I should have thought this through before trying it), but after a fit of laughter I started to get used to it. The only way to describe the feeling is to liken it to the pins and needle type feeling when parts of your body fall asleep or have their circulation cut off. It definitely didn't hurt, but it was a little weird and definitely surreal. I could see someone getting freaked out by it with the thought of ferocious pirañas attacking your flesh. But it was nothing like that, they were gentle but quite persistent. So I had my 15 minute treatment and I got to document it with photos. Just another day in Bangkok....
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thailand Part 2.
The saga of our health problems continue, as no sooner than we got back to Kathmandu from our trip to Thailand, both Jenn and I came down with the flu. A really bad flu... While we cannot confirm it, because we did not get any tests done, we are pretty sure that it was the H1N1 strain that the world has been on alert about.
I spoke to a doctor on the phone about it, and he told me to treat it like any other flu. We just waited for 5 days and it passed, but not without lots of aches and coughing, fevers and such... Had we reported it, we probably would have been quarantined in a hospital... not my idea of fun. We would have been the 4th and 5th case reported case of swine flu in Nepal!
So only a couple days after recovering from the flu, I developed some strange symptoms. I went into the clinic and after a thorough check-up. I was told that I would need further treatment, which could be done here in Nepal or I could have it done in Thailand. The doctor told me that Thailand might be the better choice, as the ability to diagnose here in Nepal is somewhat limited. So, the next step was to talk to the insurance company to see if they would pay for my expenses to see a doctor in Thailand.
So we flew to Bangkok on July 22nd and had our consultations the next day.
spent a week going back and forth to the hospital, which was a fabulous facility! I have never seen a hospital quite like this one. It was extremely modern and comfortable. The rooms were equipped with a kitchen, a 42" LCD TV, WiFi for your computer, everything was on remote control, including the curtains! Crazy stuff...
Both Jenn and I had appointments to see the doctor.
procedures were all out-patient procedures, while Jenn had to stay in the hospital for a few days. I have included some photos of the hospital to give you an idea what it was like.
We didn't get a chance to do much touristy stuff, but we still managed to enjoy our stay a little bit. The food there is soooo good! I will post another blog soon on something else I experienced in Bangkok....
I spoke to a doctor on the phone about it, and he told me to treat it like any other flu. We just waited for 5 days and it passed, but not without lots of aches and coughing, fevers and such... Had we reported it, we probably would have been quarantined in a hospital... not my idea of fun. We would have been the 4th and 5th case reported case of swine flu in Nepal!
So only a couple days after recovering from the flu, I developed some strange symptoms. I went into the clinic and after a thorough check-up. I was told that I would need further treatment, which could be done here in Nepal or I could have it done in Thailand. The doctor told me that Thailand might be the better choice, as the ability to diagnose here in Nepal is somewhat limited. So, the next step was to talk to the insurance company to see if they would pay for my expenses to see a doctor in Thailand.
So we flew to Bangkok on July 22nd and had our consultations the next day.
spent a week going back and forth to the hospital, which was a fabulous facility! I have never seen a hospital quite like this one. It was extremely modern and comfortable. The rooms were equipped with a kitchen, a 42" LCD TV, WiFi for your computer, everything was on remote control, including the curtains! Crazy stuff...Both Jenn and I had appointments to see the doctor.
procedures were all out-patient procedures, while Jenn had to stay in the hospital for a few days. I have included some photos of the hospital to give you an idea what it was like.We didn't get a chance to do much touristy stuff, but we still managed to enjoy our stay a little bit. The food there is soooo good! I will post another blog soon on something else I experienced in Bangkok....
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Everybody is leaving!!!
I may have made mention before that one thing that has been great about coming to Nepal is how many great people that we have met. Not only have we met really wonderful Nepali people, but many other fabulous Canadian volunteers working with CECI. When Jenn and I arrived we were among a dozen volunteers that were mostly based in Kathmandu like ourselves. Since then, the numbers have diminished steadily.
A lot of our good friends are now back in Canada re-integrating, finding jobs and moving on to the next phase in their lives. With the departure of Gary, Craig and Kristin back in June, we were down to Paul, El Nasser (Moose), Myself, Jenn and Anne (who has finished her mandate but spending some extra personal time in Nepal).
So, now, Paul, our good friend and neighbour upstairs from us is leaving to take a position with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Sudan! He will be leaving in a few weeks. It’s a great career opportunity for him, so I am glad for him, but a little sad for us…
Moose is leaving us now for a month to head back to the US for his brother’s wedding, so basically for the time being it’s pretty much just Jenn and I. How did this happen??? It’s really not very long before it will be our turn to head home, but I wonder about the next batch of volunteers.
I know that Jenn and I benefited greatly by having a group of volunteers to help us integrate into life in Kathmandu. It’s not that easy a task to figure out how things work, where things are, etc. We were glad to have a group of people to show us where to shop, what prices to negotiate, where to look for an apartment, good places to eat. Given that Jenn and I may be the last of the existing volunteers to leave, we may not have a chance to pass on this knowledge before a new crop of long term volunteers arrive… The new volunteers may have to learn the ropes on their own…
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Back from Thailand
We arrived back in Kathmandu from Bangkok on Saturday, and although we were screened at the airport, we still managed to get swine flu!! That is not the only souvenir that we got from Thailand. We collected lots of great memories and a few purchased items as well...
So, how was Thailand? It was great! A really nice holiday from Nepal. While it is true that Kathmandu has pretty much whatever you need for daily living, Bangkok has whatever you want. Jenn and I both marvelled at the modernity of Bangkok and the tropical beauty of the island Koh Chang. So what were the highlights? Here is a list in no particular order.
1) Going to see the movie "Up" in 3D.
The Siam Paragon theater in Bangkok is the nicest movie theater I have ever been in.
2) Relaxing by the pool
at the Siam Beach Resort in Koh Chang.
3) A night on the town with Craig, Kristin, Paul and Emily on our first night in Bangkok. We had a wonderful meal and a great time just hanging out...
4) Shopping and more shopping.
Bangkok has great markets, from the tourist area of Khoa San Road to the Suan Lum night market, to the grocery store in the Siam Paragon mall! It was nice to be somewhere where everything is at your fingertips. The grocery store at Siam Paragon was unbelievable (better than any Canadian grocery store I've seen!)
5) Wat Po.
An amazing complex of temples. Jenn and I went in the evening and were there pretty much all by ourselves. Peaceful, relaxing and beautiful!
6) Cobra Show in Kanchanburi.
This was fantastic. People were kissing cobras on the head, capturing snakes with their mouths! Crazy stuff!
7) The Tiger Temple.
A group of monks are operating a tiger reserve where you can go in and actually hang out with the tigers! You can only pet the young tigers, but the experience was really cool.
8) The food!!! The food in Thailand is really good and we had some excellent meals and some indulgent ones as well. I must admit, after 8 months in Nepal it was nice to see some of the familiar fast food chains. We had lots of sushi and was introduced to the Japanese Mos Burger. Yum!
9)Minime.. We were at the Patpong night market and an entourage of people walked past us. One of those people (riding on an electric wheelchair), was Vern Troyer or Minime from the Austin Powers movies. We were a bit stunned, but he did say "Hey" to Jenn. Kinda creepy actually, we think he was on his way to one of those infamous Bangkok "shows".
So that about sums it up. Our first time in Thailand was way back in 2001, and I don't think we enjoyed it as much last time as our most recent trip. Perhaps it is about perspective. Having spent time in Nepal with load shedding, burning garbage and dogs barking all night, Thailand was a breath of fresh air and a step into modernity.
So, how was Thailand? It was great! A really nice holiday from Nepal. While it is true that Kathmandu has pretty much whatever you need for daily living, Bangkok has whatever you want. Jenn and I both marvelled at the modernity of Bangkok and the tropical beauty of the island Koh Chang. So what were the highlights? Here is a list in no particular order.
1) Going to see the movie "Up" in 3D.
The Siam Paragon theater in Bangkok is the nicest movie theater I have ever been in.2) Relaxing by the pool
at the Siam Beach Resort in Koh Chang. 3) A night on the town with Craig, Kristin, Paul and Emily on our first night in Bangkok. We had a wonderful meal and a great time just hanging out...
4) Shopping and more shopping.
Bangkok has great markets, from the tourist area of Khoa San Road to the Suan Lum night market, to the grocery store in the Siam Paragon mall! It was nice to be somewhere where everything is at your fingertips. The grocery store at Siam Paragon was unbelievable (better than any Canadian grocery store I've seen!)5) Wat Po.
An amazing complex of temples. Jenn and I went in the evening and were there pretty much all by ourselves. Peaceful, relaxing and beautiful!6) Cobra Show in Kanchanburi.
This was fantastic. People were kissing cobras on the head, capturing snakes with their mouths! Crazy stuff!7) The Tiger Temple.
A group of monks are operating a tiger reserve where you can go in and actually hang out with the tigers! You can only pet the young tigers, but the experience was really cool.8) The food!!! The food in Thailand is really good and we had some excellent meals and some indulgent ones as well. I must admit, after 8 months in Nepal it was nice to see some of the familiar fast food chains. We had lots of sushi and was introduced to the Japanese Mos Burger. Yum!
9)Minime.. We were at the Patpong night market and an entourage of people walked past us. One of those people (riding on an electric wheelchair), was Vern Troyer or Minime from the Austin Powers movies. We were a bit stunned, but he did say "Hey" to Jenn. Kinda creepy actually, we think he was on his way to one of those infamous Bangkok "shows".
So that about sums it up. Our first time in Thailand was way back in 2001, and I don't think we enjoyed it as much last time as our most recent trip. Perhaps it is about perspective. Having spent time in Nepal with load shedding, burning garbage and dogs barking all night, Thailand was a breath of fresh air and a step into modernity.
Friday, June 12, 2009
We've Got Fleas.....
So, as an addendum to our "little visitor" story that I wrote about a couple weeks ago. I think you know where this one is going... Jenn woke up one morning a week or so ago with some little red dots on and around her ankles. At first we thought that a mosquito or mosquitos had attacked her during the night. Her leg must have been exposed. Then the bites turned into little open sores and they did not heal like mosquito bites.... hmm. That's weird.
Jenn speculated that perhaps this was an outbreak of bedbugs? But the bites didn't have the characteristics of a bedbug bite (usually small bites is a straight line, not far apart from each other). These ones were more random but grouped into two's. I must admit, I kind of dismissed them as something that would go away, but over the past week they have been proliferating on Jenn. I don't seem to be as greatly affected by the bites as I don't have big welts, but I have started to feel as though I am being bitten.
So, when Jenn discussed this with other friends she found out that what we are experiencing are flea bites! Apparently, fleas are very tiny in Nepal. Almost too tiny to see. So, guess where we got them from??? You guessed it, our little visitor that I wrote about earlier... Now I am not so enamoured with that little dog anymore!
So, now we are in fumigation mode. I bought some flea killer spray this morning and we apparently have to vaccuum the entire apartment every day for the next while. Loads of fun. Sure am glad we are escaping to Thailand tomorrow....
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Happy Birthday to Me!!!
It's that dreaded day of the year. My birthday has rolled around again and it has been a good one so far! How old am I??? It surprises me sometimes when I tell people that I am 38 years old... where have the years gone??? I still feel like I am not yet grown up... I think Jenn feels the same way about me sometimes.
Last night we went out for a birthday dinner with our friends(actually it was a birthday celebration for Paul and myself). The food and company were both great! We went to a restaurant in Thamel called Kilroys and had good old fashioned north american style cuisine! The dinner was followed by brownies/cupcakes that were baked specially for us by Jenn. They were the highlight of the meal! Wish I had gotten a photo of them, as Jenn had placed a letter shaped candle on each cupcake spelling out Happy Birthday. How fun is that?!?
So, after a fitful night of sleep with our ever present mosquitos I woke up to a wonderful breakfast of pancakes with syrup and coffee! Another nice birthday pleasure. So, what did I get for my birthday? Well, first Jenn bought me a plane ticket to Thailand and a bit of a vacation! Sounds pretty nice huh? We head out on Saturday afternoon and will be gone for 2 weeks. I am really looking forward to this! Second, I had received a birthday gift from Jane a couple months back and I had been waiting to open it. Very patient of me, if I may say so.... I opened it up last night at midnight and low and behold it was a box of "Hot Tamales". Candy from home is always a treat. Does this mean Jane thinks I am a hot tamale???
I am busy at work today trying to get some progress done before I take time off. I should have time for one more blog entry before we go....
Last night we went out for a birthday dinner with our friends(actually it was a birthday celebration for Paul and myself). The food and company were both great! We went to a restaurant in Thamel called Kilroys and had good old fashioned north american style cuisine! The dinner was followed by brownies/cupcakes that were baked specially for us by Jenn. They were the highlight of the meal! Wish I had gotten a photo of them, as Jenn had placed a letter shaped candle on each cupcake spelling out Happy Birthday. How fun is that?!?
So, after a fitful night of sleep with our ever present mosquitos I woke up to a wonderful breakfast of pancakes with syrup and coffee! Another nice birthday pleasure. So, what did I get for my birthday? Well, first Jenn bought me a plane ticket to Thailand and a bit of a vacation! Sounds pretty nice huh? We head out on Saturday afternoon and will be gone for 2 weeks. I am really looking forward to this! Second, I had received a birthday gift from Jane a couple months back and I had been waiting to open it. Very patient of me, if I may say so.... I opened it up last night at midnight and low and behold it was a box of "Hot Tamales". Candy from home is always a treat. Does this mean Jane thinks I am a hot tamale???
I am busy at work today trying to get some progress done before I take time off. I should have time for one more blog entry before we go....
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
How liveable is Kathmandu???
Well, the results are in and it doesn't look pretty. Paul, our neighbour upstairs, who is a fellow volunteer from Vancouver pointed an article out to me the other day. Every year the Economist's Intelligence Unit puts together a ranking list of the most liveable cities in the world (and least liveable...). It is a ranking out of 140 cities around the globe. So, to put things into context, the index is rated from 1 to 100. 1 being completely intolerable to 100 which would be ideal. Each city is scored on 30 factors broken into stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. To give you a sense of scale, the top city this year scored 98 and the lowest 37.5. So, where is the best place to live in this world of ours??? Well, it's Canada's own Vancouver! In fact, Canada placed three cities in the top 10, as did Australia. Pretty good huh? Vancouver placed 1st, Toronto 4th and Calgary tied for 5th!
So, where does Kathmandu fit into that list?? Well, not so high... Of the 140 surveyed cities, Kathmandu came in 133rd. So folks, I moved from the 5th most liveable city in the world to the 7th least livable city in the world. Was it a good move??? I guess I know now that if I can live in one of the least liveable cities in the world, I can live pretty much anywhere.
Apart from the pollution, bandhas (strikes), and the load shedding, there is much to enjoy in this city. Yes, the infrastructure is bad, but the city is also intensely interesting. Where else can you go and see on your street wandering cows, altars and shrines, prayer flags, street vendors on bikes calling out what they are selling, incessantly honking cars, and the bustle of people everywhere... This city is full of life and a world apart from the clean, almost antiseptic streets of Calgary. So much living goes on in the streets of Kathmandu, I am sure it will be something that I will truly miss when I depart in 4 months time.
So, where does Kathmandu fit into that list?? Well, not so high... Of the 140 surveyed cities, Kathmandu came in 133rd. So folks, I moved from the 5th most liveable city in the world to the 7th least livable city in the world. Was it a good move??? I guess I know now that if I can live in one of the least liveable cities in the world, I can live pretty much anywhere.
Apart from the pollution, bandhas (strikes), and the load shedding, there is much to enjoy in this city. Yes, the infrastructure is bad, but the city is also intensely interesting. Where else can you go and see on your street wandering cows, altars and shrines, prayer flags, street vendors on bikes calling out what they are selling, incessantly honking cars, and the bustle of people everywhere... This city is full of life and a world apart from the clean, almost antiseptic streets of Calgary. So much living goes on in the streets of Kathmandu, I am sure it will be something that I will truly miss when I depart in 4 months time.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Our Little Visitor
Jenn and I had a little visitor at our apartment yesterday. I came home from work to find a cute little dog on our doorstep... What is odd about this is that: 1) the dog made it past our guard. 2) the dog managed to get inside the gate which is normally closed and 3) the dog came into the building, up the stairs two flights and sat in front of our door. I can only assume that she was trying to find a way to stay out of the rain?
At first, she was very cautious about us. It was so cute to see her inch her way forward on her belly as we coaxed her inside with a piece of buff jerky (that's right not beef jerky, it's actually buffalo). I think we won her over pretty quick with the treats. She took to exploring our apartment and after an hour of visiting, she decided to take a nap at our front door. Pretty damn cute. The thought briefly flitted through our heads that we should keep her, but I know she has an owner and we were guessing that she lives at the orphanage down the street. How bad would that be stealing a dog from a group of orphans! After her nap, we sent the dog on her way.
All I can say is that the episode made me miss our dog Angie that much more.
After a long break.....
Someone pointed out to me the other day that I hadn't posted anything since March 11th! It has been a long time and a lot has happened since then.... I have passed the halfway point of my mandate here in Nepal and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the weeks fly by. I am going to make a point of updating this blog more frequently, as with everyone else I tend to get caught up in life and forget about updating people on my activities. So, what have I been up to???
Well, it's been pretty much the same as before. I have been working and also realizing that my outputs have been a little less than what I would have liked. I am out of my market research phase and into the strategy and planning phase for Himalayan Bio Trade marketing, which is good and much more exciting! While I am in the strategy phase, I also intend to start into the production of promotional materials for HBTL (who doesn't love a brochure!!).
On the homefront, Jenn and I have had our ups and downs as far as health is concerned. I spent my first four months here without a day of sickness, but more recently I have had my bouts. On Jenn's birthday, I had planned a nice celebration that included a bunch of friends going to one of the big Nepali festivals at Pashupati. The only problem was I ended up getting really sick and Jenn had to go without me... Since then, I have had gastrointestinal problems off and on. As I write this, my gastrointestinal problems persist. Jenn has been very unlucky with her illnesses and has suffered sinus problems and headaches persistently for seven months now. I feel for her, but am also incredibly proud of her for sticking it out this long. I can only hope with the onset of the rainy season that she will start feeling better with less dust in the air.
In late April, my mom and my aunt came to visit us and with them came treats from home!!! I will write a more detailed blog entry about their visit. As we approach June, we are losing more of our social network as three more long-term volunteers are leaving. I am feeling sad about their departures. Even though we should be used to it by now, it always an adjustment. It is particularly sad to see Gary leave, as he, Jenn and I went through our initial training together in Ottawa before we left for Nepal. We even arrived in Nepal on the same day, so it seems a bit weird to be saying goodbye.
I read in the newspaper yesterday that the monsoon season has officially arrived in Nepal and what better way to celebrate it than a full day of rain yesterday! I must admit that it is nice to have the rain to cool things off. Jenn has some mixed feelings on the matter, as we have seen an increase in the number of insects in our home these days. Of course, with the increasing number of insects come an increased number of geckos as well. I personally like the little guys, but Jenn is still a bit creeped out by them. I have had to catch a couple of them and give them to Paul (our neighbour) for safekeeping.
more updates soon....
Well, it's been pretty much the same as before. I have been working and also realizing that my outputs have been a little less than what I would have liked. I am out of my market research phase and into the strategy and planning phase for Himalayan Bio Trade marketing, which is good and much more exciting! While I am in the strategy phase, I also intend to start into the production of promotional materials for HBTL (who doesn't love a brochure!!).
On the homefront, Jenn and I have had our ups and downs as far as health is concerned. I spent my first four months here without a day of sickness, but more recently I have had my bouts. On Jenn's birthday, I had planned a nice celebration that included a bunch of friends going to one of the big Nepali festivals at Pashupati. The only problem was I ended up getting really sick and Jenn had to go without me... Since then, I have had gastrointestinal problems off and on. As I write this, my gastrointestinal problems persist. Jenn has been very unlucky with her illnesses and has suffered sinus problems and headaches persistently for seven months now. I feel for her, but am also incredibly proud of her for sticking it out this long. I can only hope with the onset of the rainy season that she will start feeling better with less dust in the air.
In late April, my mom and my aunt came to visit us and with them came treats from home!!! I will write a more detailed blog entry about their visit. As we approach June, we are losing more of our social network as three more long-term volunteers are leaving. I am feeling sad about their departures. Even though we should be used to it by now, it always an adjustment. It is particularly sad to see Gary leave, as he, Jenn and I went through our initial training together in Ottawa before we left for Nepal. We even arrived in Nepal on the same day, so it seems a bit weird to be saying goodbye.
I read in the newspaper yesterday that the monsoon season has officially arrived in Nepal and what better way to celebrate it than a full day of rain yesterday! I must admit that it is nice to have the rain to cool things off. Jenn has some mixed feelings on the matter, as we have seen an increase in the number of insects in our home these days. Of course, with the increasing number of insects come an increased number of geckos as well. I personally like the little guys, but Jenn is still a bit creeped out by them. I have had to catch a couple of them and give them to Paul (our neighbour) for safekeeping.
more updates soon....
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A night out at the bar…
I had forgotten about this story and now that I have it on my mind I might as well share it with all of you. Go wayyy back to November, shortly after Jenn and I had arrived in Kathmandu . It just so happens that when I arrived in Nepal Canada Nepal
We had arranged to meet in the evening at a popular jazz club in the Lazimpat area. Jenn wasn’t feeling well that evening, so I went by myself to meet up with Wes. I arrived a little late and having phoned Wes, I knew that he was already at the bar. I didn’t have any difficulties finding him, but when I did see him he blended right in and looked to me as if he could be Nepali! I sat down, ordered a drink and we proceeded to catch up on each others lives. It was great hearing what he had been up to. Wes has been working for a non-profit group that runs dental clinics in developing nations. The organizations recruit dentists from the
We caught up on each other’s family news and I told him what I was doing in
I was now feeling kind of pressured and I wasn’t being allowed to ignore it. I turned to Wes and told him “If I drink this and it is drugged with something, you have to take care of me ok?”. Wes laughed and assured me that he would. So, I mustered up my courage and mentally prepared for the assault on my stomach. I licked the salt that was provided to me, and downed the tequila! I had prepared the piece of lime to follow the tequila shot, but having tasted the liquid I immediately knew that I had been the butt of a big joke. The shot was water!! I looked around the bar and sure enough, Craig and Gary (my fellow Canadian volunteers) were on the other side of the room laughing and pointing at me! They had set me up! I had failed to see them as I was scanning the bar earlier. They both knew that I am not a big drinker, which made it all the funnier to them. I felt like an idiot, but laughed at how the whole scenario played out. I introduced Craig and Gary to Wes who was kind of confused as to who these two jokers were, but we all had a pretty good laugh in the end. The night ended in typical Nepali fashion at 11pm when the police came by to make sure that the bar closed at the proper curfew time. Wes and I said our goodbyes and he hopped into a cab to take him back to his hotel. Craig and I walked home amidst the other bar patrons and transgendered men that sometimes frequent the area. It was another interesting evening in Kathmandu to be sure….
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Climate Change Issue in Nepal
We all know how climate change has become one of the biggest global concerns that man has ever faced. It is an issue that leaves no person unaffected. As it is a global problem, it is expected that there should be a global solution and that it is the responsibility of every nation to address. Having left Canada and my job at Climate Change Central for a marketing position in Nepal, I didn’t really expect to be doing climate change work, but as it turns out climate change has become a pretty big policy issue in Nepal. Of course there are a lot of pressing needs that the government must address that concerns more basic needs (poverty, education, electricity etc..), addressing climate change is still emerging as a major problem and an opportunity in Nepal.
Some background… Nepal is a highly rural country with 80% of the population living in non-urban centres. In addition, the GDP per capita of Nepal is among the lowest in the world. Don’t quote me on this, but I believe that it is the 11th poorest nation in the world. As such, the overall ghg emissions from this country and on a per capita basis are undoubtedly one of the lowest in the world. Even though Nepal produces relatively little ghg emissions, it stands to be affected a lot by climate change. Being a mountainous nation, the Himalayas provide an abundance of water to Nepal and neighbouring India. With the melting of glaciers, floods could become a larger issue in the short term and in the long term drought may occur when glaciers melt away. Being a highly agrarian society, changing weather patterns will also greatly affect Nepal in that agricultural crops may suffer from drought or flooding or even just shifts in temperatures and growing seasons. Subsistence farmers may face a situation where they are no longer able to subsist.
Impacts aside, a strategy needs to be adopted in Nepal that not only addresses adaption, but also to look at mitigation strategies that reduce ghg emissions for the greater global good, and that also can benefit Nepal financially. Possibilities exist to leverage action on reducing ghg emissions into revenue for certain sectors on the Nepalese economy. This may be done through mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) process through the Kyoto Protocol, or other voluntary measures like the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS). Simply put, a developed country (that has binding ghg reduction targets) or an organization (that has a regulatory obligation to reduce ghg emissions) can, in effect, reduce emissions by investing in projects in developing nations (Annex II countries signed on to the Kyoto Protocol) or projects that are outside regulated activities. There are many complicating factors that make things quite convoluted, but this is the gist of it.
So, for example, if a company is looking to reduce it’s emissions but implementing process changes internally to reduce emissions are cost prohibitive, they may look to other ways to reduce emissions in a more cost effective manner. This might include investing in an “emissions offset” project which would reduce emissions in a developing nation. The emission reductions that are created due to the project would then be counted as an emission reduction for compliance by that company. Because climate change is a global issue, it theoretically does not matter where the emission reductions take place, as long as they truly take place…
So, if a community forest area in Nepal manages to reduce it’s carbon output through sustainable harvesting practices and they “sell” their emission reductions to a private firm from North America, both parties stand to gain. The Community Forest User Group gains a economic benefit for their sustainable harvesting practice, and the company gets carbon offset credits which help it achieve regulatory compliance at a cheaper rate than investing in costly upgrades to reduce emissions internally. Simple right?? Well, not really, but that will be a discussion for another day. There are always other complicating factors such as risk of project failure or reversal, problems of additionality (whether the project is truly incrementally reducing ghg emissions), project implementation and documentation… the list goes on.
So where does Nepal stand? Well, things are in the fledgling stages, but theoretically there is plenty of opportunity for carbon offset projects including: carbon sequestration through forestry practices, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects (ie. using bio-briquettes for heating, biogas and biodiesel for alternative fuels). There is a great deal of interest currently and projects will have to be initiated on a pilot basis to determine feasibility and cost viability, but there is no doubt as there is increasing worldwide carbon constraints the viability will continue to rise….
Some background… Nepal is a highly rural country with 80% of the population living in non-urban centres. In addition, the GDP per capita of Nepal is among the lowest in the world. Don’t quote me on this, but I believe that it is the 11th poorest nation in the world. As such, the overall ghg emissions from this country and on a per capita basis are undoubtedly one of the lowest in the world. Even though Nepal produces relatively little ghg emissions, it stands to be affected a lot by climate change. Being a mountainous nation, the Himalayas provide an abundance of water to Nepal and neighbouring India. With the melting of glaciers, floods could become a larger issue in the short term and in the long term drought may occur when glaciers melt away. Being a highly agrarian society, changing weather patterns will also greatly affect Nepal in that agricultural crops may suffer from drought or flooding or even just shifts in temperatures and growing seasons. Subsistence farmers may face a situation where they are no longer able to subsist.
Impacts aside, a strategy needs to be adopted in Nepal that not only addresses adaption, but also to look at mitigation strategies that reduce ghg emissions for the greater global good, and that also can benefit Nepal financially. Possibilities exist to leverage action on reducing ghg emissions into revenue for certain sectors on the Nepalese economy. This may be done through mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) process through the Kyoto Protocol, or other voluntary measures like the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS). Simply put, a developed country (that has binding ghg reduction targets) or an organization (that has a regulatory obligation to reduce ghg emissions) can, in effect, reduce emissions by investing in projects in developing nations (Annex II countries signed on to the Kyoto Protocol) or projects that are outside regulated activities. There are many complicating factors that make things quite convoluted, but this is the gist of it.
So, for example, if a company is looking to reduce it’s emissions but implementing process changes internally to reduce emissions are cost prohibitive, they may look to other ways to reduce emissions in a more cost effective manner. This might include investing in an “emissions offset” project which would reduce emissions in a developing nation. The emission reductions that are created due to the project would then be counted as an emission reduction for compliance by that company. Because climate change is a global issue, it theoretically does not matter where the emission reductions take place, as long as they truly take place…
So, if a community forest area in Nepal manages to reduce it’s carbon output through sustainable harvesting practices and they “sell” their emission reductions to a private firm from North America, both parties stand to gain. The Community Forest User Group gains a economic benefit for their sustainable harvesting practice, and the company gets carbon offset credits which help it achieve regulatory compliance at a cheaper rate than investing in costly upgrades to reduce emissions internally. Simple right?? Well, not really, but that will be a discussion for another day. There are always other complicating factors such as risk of project failure or reversal, problems of additionality (whether the project is truly incrementally reducing ghg emissions), project implementation and documentation… the list goes on.
So where does Nepal stand? Well, things are in the fledgling stages, but theoretically there is plenty of opportunity for carbon offset projects including: carbon sequestration through forestry practices, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects (ie. using bio-briquettes for heating, biogas and biodiesel for alternative fuels). There is a great deal of interest currently and projects will have to be initiated on a pilot basis to determine feasibility and cost viability, but there is no doubt as there is increasing worldwide carbon constraints the viability will continue to rise….
What am I doing in Nepal??
There are days when I ask myself that repeatedly, but really I am enjoying myself being here.... on a serious note.I have not written much about my work yet, so this is an opportunity to let people know what I am doing here in Nepal. I am working for a natural products processing and trading company called Himalayan Bio Trade. The main products that they sell are essential oils (7 types including wintergreen, juniper, rhododendron, jatamansi, zanthoxylum, Artemisia, and abies) and handmade paper products (books, stationary, gift bags and gift boxes, picture frames, lanterns etc.). My job is to assist with their marketing efforts by putting together a marketing plan and helping with international marketing.
One of the many challenges that small essential oil producers face is capacity and ability to deal on an international level. This has been made easier through the increasing popularity of the fair trade movement where the value chain is shortened and the producer comes in more direct contact with the retailer of the product. By cutting out middlemen (wholesalers), producers can take home a bigger piece of the pie!
One of the great advantages that the Himalayan Bio Trade has is that their essential oils are wild crafted and not cultivated. This means that the raw materials are harvested from the forest and not grown in cultivated crops. When harvested in a responsible manner, this is a much more environmentally friendly and sustainable way of utilizing resources. In addition, Himalayan Bio Trade has certified organic products, so consumers can be assured that there are no unnatural chemicals (ie. Pesticides) applied to the raw plant material or the oils.
An objective in Himalayan Bio Trade’s mission is to provide economic benefit to the rural communities and rural disadvantaged groups. Often it is difficult to make a living in rural Nepal as it is a heavily agrarian society with often difficult terrain and marginally arable land. The challenge is to find ways to bring economic prosperity to these communities. Himalayan Bio Trade offers employment to many rural poor by giving a fair wage to those who harvest the raw materials for both production of essential oils and handmade paper.
Himalayan Bio Trade also does what we call “value add” processing which sees the distillation of essential oils and also paper manufacturing in the rural areas. Where other operations may ship raw materials to the city or even sell and export raw materials, more value can be derived by exporting processed products, but also shipping costs can be reduced by processing in the field.
So… my job is to develop a marketing strategy and messaging that can help Himalayan Bio Trade grow. To increase market presence, but not so much that they cant deliver “the goods” so to speak. The organic certification and Forest Stewardship Council certification will help in creating a unique selling proposition. Overall it’s been a really good experience so far and I am proud to help a company that has it’s heart in the right place.
One of the many challenges that small essential oil producers face is capacity and ability to deal on an international level. This has been made easier through the increasing popularity of the fair trade movement where the value chain is shortened and the producer comes in more direct contact with the retailer of the product. By cutting out middlemen (wholesalers), producers can take home a bigger piece of the pie!
One of the great advantages that the Himalayan Bio Trade has is that their essential oils are wild crafted and not cultivated. This means that the raw materials are harvested from the forest and not grown in cultivated crops. When harvested in a responsible manner, this is a much more environmentally friendly and sustainable way of utilizing resources. In addition, Himalayan Bio Trade has certified organic products, so consumers can be assured that there are no unnatural chemicals (ie. Pesticides) applied to the raw plant material or the oils.
An objective in Himalayan Bio Trade’s mission is to provide economic benefit to the rural communities and rural disadvantaged groups. Often it is difficult to make a living in rural Nepal as it is a heavily agrarian society with often difficult terrain and marginally arable land. The challenge is to find ways to bring economic prosperity to these communities. Himalayan Bio Trade offers employment to many rural poor by giving a fair wage to those who harvest the raw materials for both production of essential oils and handmade paper.Himalayan Bio Trade also does what we call “value add” processing which sees the distillation of essential oils and also paper manufacturing in the rural areas. Where other operations may ship raw materials to the city or even sell and export raw materials, more value can be derived by exporting processed products, but also shipping costs can be reduced by processing in the field.
So… my job is to develop a marketing strategy and messaging that can help Himalayan Bio Trade grow. To increase market presence, but not so much that they cant deliver “the goods” so to speak. The organic certification and Forest Stewardship Council certification will help in creating a unique selling proposition. Overall it’s been a really good experience so far and I am proud to help a company that has it’s heart in the right place. Thursday, February 12, 2009
Update and General Goings On
It’s been a while since I last updated the blog, and I have no specific topic to address, but thought I would give a little update on our status here in Nepal.
On living conditions…. Things have shaped up in our apartment. We no longer live as complete minimalists and we have replaced our plastic patio table and chairs with a real dining room table. We now are the proud owners of a spare bed, so all those who stay with us can sleep on a real bed!
Electricity has been the biggest inconvenience so far, as we are now operating on 8 hours of electricity per day. We get 4 hour chunks of electricity interspersed between 8 hour outages. Very difficult to get work done, or anything done for that matter! Sometimes that 4 hour chunk will come at 4 in the morning, so the useful hours of electricity in one day can sometimes be only 4 hours!! Crazy! I have heard that the hours of electricity will increase come March, but I will have to see it before I believe it.
On the weather…. Things are warming up here in Kathmandu. It feels as though the winter is over. The days are warming up (although the days never really got that cold), and the nights are definitely not as cold these days. We do not need to use our heater nearly as much and I have stopped wearing my long underwear! This must mean that winter is over right???
On friends…. We have seen quite a few friends come and go now that we have been here for over 3 months (getting close to 4!). It is a bit of a transition period for the Uniterra Program that I am working for. The program is up for renewal and until the minister signs off on the program, there will be no more recruitment of volunteers here in Nepal. So, the numbers of Canadian volunteers is dwindling as people finish up their mandates. Since Jenn and I arrived we have seen about 7 long term volunteers leave and only one arrive! They have been a good support group though and have definitely made our transition to Nepal easier. We also have made friends with a number of wonderful Nepali people and have spent some time visiting with them in their homes… I will write about that another time.
On language… Jenn and I have started taking Nepali language lessons. It’s pretty slow going, but we can do some counting (ek, dui, tin, char…), ask people their name and how they are doing (tapai: ko naam ke ho?) and conjugate a number of verbs. It’s not very useful yet, but we’ll get there.
On entertainment… Sometimes it is difficult to entertain ourselves when we are sitting in the dark, but we have been able to keep up with recently released movies. Nepal has a thriving bootleg DVD market with numerous shops around the city selling recently released movies on DVD. So, we have seen a number of the Academy Award nominee films on DVD already including Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road etc. The quality can be somewhat suspect, but for the most part they are watchable. Jenn and I have also been catching up on television series that we had previously missed, such as Heroes and Carnivale. We are trying to keep up with the Lost series as well, but it takes us forever to download the files off the internet. The first two episodes took me 4 days to download! The power kept cutting out, so it would interrupt my downloading…
On health… I have been very healthy (knock on wood), but Jenn has had difficulties adjusting to the polluted Nepali environment. For the first two months, Jenn really suffered with a very bad case of sinusitis and one cold after another. She felt better for a little while and since then has gotten sick again. It’s been really frustrating for her, as she wants to do the things she had planned but her health has been getting in the way.
It’s been a difficult past couple of weeks and at times both Jenn and I have been Nepaled out. The electricity situation can be demoralizing, and on top of that the constant onslaught of pollution. Recently Jenn got her hair cut and she had asked for just a trim (less than an inch). What she got was 6 inches cut off and a Nepali style haircut called a "step cut", which is apparently just 4 chunky layers (not even blended). She was horribly upset as it had taken her sooo long to grow out her hair to a length that she liked.
To make things worse, we had purchased a very expensive Thangka (Tibetan religious painting) a while back. It was a beautiful piece of art! We were heading out to get it framed and we got distracted as we got out of the taxi… we forgot the thangka in the back seat and he drove off. By the time we realized it, he was long gone. There are so many taxis in this city, that there is no way we could ever find him again. C’est la vie! It just kind of topped off our week. In protest of our rough week, we went with a friend out for dinner and had a nice big helping of steak and beef burgers!
On living conditions…. Things have shaped up in our apartment. We no longer live as complete minimalists and we have replaced our plastic patio table and chairs with a real dining room table. We now are the proud owners of a spare bed, so all those who stay with us can sleep on a real bed!
Electricity has been the biggest inconvenience so far, as we are now operating on 8 hours of electricity per day. We get 4 hour chunks of electricity interspersed between 8 hour outages. Very difficult to get work done, or anything done for that matter! Sometimes that 4 hour chunk will come at 4 in the morning, so the useful hours of electricity in one day can sometimes be only 4 hours!! Crazy! I have heard that the hours of electricity will increase come March, but I will have to see it before I believe it.
On the weather…. Things are warming up here in Kathmandu. It feels as though the winter is over. The days are warming up (although the days never really got that cold), and the nights are definitely not as cold these days. We do not need to use our heater nearly as much and I have stopped wearing my long underwear! This must mean that winter is over right???
On friends…. We have seen quite a few friends come and go now that we have been here for over 3 months (getting close to 4!). It is a bit of a transition period for the Uniterra Program that I am working for. The program is up for renewal and until the minister signs off on the program, there will be no more recruitment of volunteers here in Nepal. So, the numbers of Canadian volunteers is dwindling as people finish up their mandates. Since Jenn and I arrived we have seen about 7 long term volunteers leave and only one arrive! They have been a good support group though and have definitely made our transition to Nepal easier. We also have made friends with a number of wonderful Nepali people and have spent some time visiting with them in their homes… I will write about that another time.
On language… Jenn and I have started taking Nepali language lessons. It’s pretty slow going, but we can do some counting (ek, dui, tin, char…), ask people their name and how they are doing (tapai: ko naam ke ho?) and conjugate a number of verbs. It’s not very useful yet, but we’ll get there.
On entertainment… Sometimes it is difficult to entertain ourselves when we are sitting in the dark, but we have been able to keep up with recently released movies. Nepal has a thriving bootleg DVD market with numerous shops around the city selling recently released movies on DVD. So, we have seen a number of the Academy Award nominee films on DVD already including Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road etc. The quality can be somewhat suspect, but for the most part they are watchable. Jenn and I have also been catching up on television series that we had previously missed, such as Heroes and Carnivale. We are trying to keep up with the Lost series as well, but it takes us forever to download the files off the internet. The first two episodes took me 4 days to download! The power kept cutting out, so it would interrupt my downloading…
On health… I have been very healthy (knock on wood), but Jenn has had difficulties adjusting to the polluted Nepali environment. For the first two months, Jenn really suffered with a very bad case of sinusitis and one cold after another. She felt better for a little while and since then has gotten sick again. It’s been really frustrating for her, as she wants to do the things she had planned but her health has been getting in the way.
It’s been a difficult past couple of weeks and at times both Jenn and I have been Nepaled out. The electricity situation can be demoralizing, and on top of that the constant onslaught of pollution. Recently Jenn got her hair cut and she had asked for just a trim (less than an inch). What she got was 6 inches cut off and a Nepali style haircut called a "step cut", which is apparently just 4 chunky layers (not even blended). She was horribly upset as it had taken her sooo long to grow out her hair to a length that she liked.
To make things worse, we had purchased a very expensive Thangka (Tibetan religious painting) a while back. It was a beautiful piece of art! We were heading out to get it framed and we got distracted as we got out of the taxi… we forgot the thangka in the back seat and he drove off. By the time we realized it, he was long gone. There are so many taxis in this city, that there is no way we could ever find him again. C’est la vie! It just kind of topped off our week. In protest of our rough week, we went with a friend out for dinner and had a nice big helping of steak and beef burgers!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A Little Bit About The Nepali Political Landscape...
It is difficult to fully understand the political situation in Nepal being here for just 3 months, but it is fascinating and also uncomfortable at times (like residual effects such as load shedding). As many of you may already know, Nepal has had turbulent times over the past decade. Problems with the monarchy, massacres in the royal palace, growing discontent in the populace, insurgency, the rise of the Maoists, dissolution of parliament, the list goes on…One thing that is fascinating is the rise of the Maoists over the past 10 years. When dad and I came here in 1998, there were no real concerns regarding the Maoists and the monarchy seemed to be liked or at the very least tolerated. Life seemed peaceful in Nepal. After our visit, things degenerated, as the Maoist movement grew. This occurred mostly in the rural areas that were and still are very poor. From the outset the Maoists were regarded as, at best a voice of opposition to the government and at worst outright terrorists. Physical violence did occur and people went missing or were even killed.
The Maoists gained traction often through threat of violence but also because they represented change and offered prospects of better prosperity for the rural poor. Even though violence was a part of their strategy, the Maoists continued to gain traction and popular support. By the time Jenn visited in 2002, riots and demonstrations were taking place in Kathmandu, and things were a whole lot less stable. Leading up to our return in 2008, the Maoists had gained credibility and status as a legitimate party. They had abandoned their hideouts in the forests and set up shop in Kathmandu. In the most recent elections in the fall of 2008, the transformation was completed with the Maoists officially forming the government. Now the anti-establishment had become part of the establishment, and that is where we are today.
We are seeing a first time government struggling to develop a new constitution and make better of a country that has been long unstable (greatly in part due to their own activity over the past decade). We will see how things unfold…. There have been a great deal of stalls and impediments put up from the opposition party (Nepali Congress) and an increasing number of unmet promises on the part of the Maoists. There are already rumors floating around the country of a coup…. Interesting times indeed. The current Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (nicknamed “Prachanda” ), was quoted the other day saying that if his party were to be voted out or thrown out they would reacquire power by force. So, there you have it… now you know a little about Nepali politics. I hope I didn’t bore you too much with the limited amount that I know.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Load Shedding Revisited….
Ok, I’ve talked about this before but now I am officially complaining. Load shedding has taken hold big time, as most of Nepal is without electricity for 16 hours per day. Yup, that’s right. Electricity is on for only about 8 hours every day. So, as I mentioned before, the problems have been mounting as we are faced with an electricity supply “perfect storm” as it were. We are in the dry season, so water levels are low and Nepal traditionally cannot produce enough electricity through it’s hydro-electric dams to meet the demand of the country. Couple this with infrastructure problems with one of the dams. Nepal also normally imports electricity from India to make up it’s electricity shortfall, but due to flooding last spring of the Koshi river, power lines were damaged and electricity imports stopped. Beyond the situational problems, the chronic shortfall is also a comment on the inability of the government to install new generating capacity over the past decade due to a variety of reasons including political turmoil. In fact, Nepal’s current electricity demand is in the neighbourhood of 800 Megawatts (MW) and the current supply is roughly 260 MW. Thus…. 16 hours of load shedding. So, now we wait in the dark for… 1) the snow to melt (to bring water to the dams) 2) infrastructure repair, and 3) the monsoon rainfalls
Incidentally, I had mentioned before that because of our close living proximity to the Prime Minister we were not getting any load shedding. This privilege has disappeared. Fortunately we are not experiencing 16 hours a day like most areas, but that being said, our power outages can be quite unpredictable.
The effects of load shedding have taken a terrible toll on businesses. Getting work done can be incredibly difficult. Some solutions are power inverters (like a battery back-up) but this tends to compounds problems as when the power is on, there is an increased load due to people powering up their inverters. There is also the generator solution, but this also comes at added expense with only a small amount of generative capacity (enough to keep the lights on, but not much more). There is also the additional problem of a sizeable increase in GHG emissions and air quality degradation (as if that needs to get worse!) with the burning of diesel fuel. There is definitely no easy solution to the problem and the government faces real challenges with electricity supply. There have already been many protests regarding load shedding and articles in the newspaper about it almost every day….
Incidentally, I had mentioned before that because of our close living proximity to the Prime Minister we were not getting any load shedding. This privilege has disappeared. Fortunately we are not experiencing 16 hours a day like most areas, but that being said, our power outages can be quite unpredictable.
The effects of load shedding have taken a terrible toll on businesses. Getting work done can be incredibly difficult. Some solutions are power inverters (like a battery back-up) but this tends to compounds problems as when the power is on, there is an increased load due to people powering up their inverters. There is also the generator solution, but this also comes at added expense with only a small amount of generative capacity (enough to keep the lights on, but not much more). There is also the additional problem of a sizeable increase in GHG emissions and air quality degradation (as if that needs to get worse!) with the burning of diesel fuel. There is definitely no easy solution to the problem and the government faces real challenges with electricity supply. There have already been many protests regarding load shedding and articles in the newspaper about it almost every day….
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