Sorry, I'm running behind...
Good News!!!
After 8 days and 3 trips to the airport - 4 if you count arrival - I HAVE MY BAG! What a frikkin hassle. Even the past 2 days... The evening before last I got a message: "Your bag was found and sent to Delhi. It will come on Jet Airways this evening or tomorrow." SWEET! Off to the airport after skipping out of work at 2.
Jet Air Rep: We don't have your bag.
Me: But... But... But... But...
JAR: Go check lost and found.
Lost and Found: We don't have your bag.
Me: But... But... But... But...
LAF: Go check the carosel, a Jet Airways flight just arrived.
Me: But... But... But... But...
No bag. Frustrations galore. Ke Garne? What to do?
I returned home after my evening reconnoiter of the bazaar. A MESSAGE!
"Your bag was delayed in Delhi customs" notoriously slow BTW "and will be sent on Indian Airways tomorrow." YIPPEE!
So another day of leaving work early and another 175 rupees down for the "Thak-shi" And the Indian Air office is closed. Many expletives later, I was out the door and down the way to their check in counter where a man greeted me by name (Robin Scott) after telling another woman that they didn't have her bag and before I said anything but "Sir?" Paperwork, an hour, and all that and I have my backpack again. Still haven't taken the opportunity to open it up to make sure all my crap is still there, but I figure - if its empty, it would have been much lighter.
All told, a happy Scott is in the house.
So. Work. ForestAction. www.forestaction.org Ekantakuna, Jawlakhel, Patan. That's where I spend the day now. Its alright for now, even before I get a grasp on what the hell goes on around there. As far as I understand, they are an NGO that performs research in collaboration with several international funding agencies (IGES, DFID and the like) to understand how best to empower women and marginalized populations - typically the Dalit caste members - through community forestry. Most employees speak at least some English, but they all seem quite nice and are all fairly laid back, even though they are in a good position to affect national policy. I have several of them keeping their ear to the ground for an apartment for me (and Sarah) as well as looking into language school to fully round out my days.
Netra, the big boss, is quite short. Somewhat round. Intense in a laid back sort of way if that makes any sense at all... I still trying to figure it out. Jaya and Amrit are the admin staff and web/print layout lackeys. Both young and energetic and teribly cool. Easy on the eyes as well - a perk. Hari and Hari and Mani. Not quite sure what all they do, but they certainly look busy most of the time! All foresters by training, presumably doing some version of research and writing. Another few I have not yet met as they have been out in the field since before my arrival at the office. Last but far from least - Laxmi, the tiny little cook lady who brings me drinking water and tea and cooks lunch like a mad woman! Oh so cheap, oh so clean, oh so tastilicious!!!
We breifly went over my TOR/Job Description. Whatever I want to do seems to be the guiding principle. Well... They'd really like me to focus my efforts on editing all the writing that they are doing, plus that which comes in for submission to their biannual (semiannual? whatever - twice a year...) jornal. Other items could include: marketing the journal stateside, web design, researching research oportunities (calls for proposals and such), and oh so much more! But since Monday, I've buried myself in books learning about their methodological approaches (governance and research appraches), history of forestry policy and practices in Nepal, their annual reports, their journals... All sorts of stuff. Too much information to process.
Yeah. So that's work for now. Didn't I call this e-mail little things? Whoops. Here are the little things, those that I have found interesting/amusing/fun/disturbing/other:
A 3/4 starved dog in Thamel being antagonized by a street kid, yapping and cowering.
Corn roasted on small charcoal fires.
A guy asking me to smuggle gems to the states for him.
A silver plated ram(?) skull with four horns. A symbol of protection for one's house, or something like that...
Pineapple bits sold on the street - sliced off the fruit, put on a wet plate (eek!), and terifyingly dunked in water. Yeah. I ate it...
Carom - a game something like a cross between pool and finger shuffleboard. Quite fun, though I totally suck at it.
Herds of schoolgirls running down the street with their twin braids flying above pleated skirts.
"Paper" plates made out of leaves, and secured into place but little bits of dried grass.
Teeny Tiny People!
The variety of faces
Beggars, able and not, young and old
A kid who showed me around his school for Thanka Painting
4 young boys, not far from being street punks, showing me around and bringing me into the Golden Temple after it had officially closed.
The joys of getting shaved with a straight razor.
The joys of that shave being followed by a lengthy and thorough head/scalp/face/neck/shoulder/arm massage
The joy of that only being 50 rps. 75 cents-ish.
Going through Q Tip withdrawl - soon to be remedied now that my bag is here.
The women who sweep the streets in the evening.
The unidentifiable poops on the road. Dog? Cow? Human?
Watching people (kids too) at their trade, making drums, shoes, stone carvings, bronze/copper/gold statues.
Advertising.
Tibet Guest House - the TALLEST guest house in Thamel!
Bagpiper Whisky - Nepal's Largest. World's No. 3. (If the latter is popularity or taste, I will have to knock that number down quite a ways...)
Real Fruit Juice - Tastes like eating a fruit!
Yeah. So that's the news from Lake Wobegon; where the men are men, the women are men, and the livestock is nervous.
Love to you all!
After 8 days and 3 trips to the airport - 4 if you count arrival - I HAVE MY BAG! What a frikkin hassle. Even the past 2 days... The evening before last I got a message: "Your bag was found and sent to Delhi. It will come on Jet Airways this evening or tomorrow." SWEET! Off to the airport after skipping out of work at 2.
Jet Air Rep: We don't have your bag.
Me: But... But... But... But...
JAR: Go check lost and found.
Lost and Found: We don't have your bag.
Me: But... But... But... But...
LAF: Go check the carosel, a Jet Airways flight just arrived.
Me: But... But... But... But...
No bag. Frustrations galore. Ke Garne? What to do?
I returned home after my evening reconnoiter of the bazaar. A MESSAGE!
"Your bag was delayed in Delhi customs" notoriously slow BTW "and will be sent on Indian Airways tomorrow." YIPPEE!
So another day of leaving work early and another 175 rupees down for the "Thak-shi" And the Indian Air office is closed. Many expletives later, I was out the door and down the way to their check in counter where a man greeted me by name (Robin Scott) after telling another woman that they didn't have her bag and before I said anything but "Sir?" Paperwork, an hour, and all that and I have my backpack again. Still haven't taken the opportunity to open it up to make sure all my crap is still there, but I figure - if its empty, it would have been much lighter.
All told, a happy Scott is in the house.
So. Work. ForestAction. www.forestaction.org Ekantakuna, Jawlakhel, Patan. That's where I spend the day now. Its alright for now, even before I get a grasp on what the hell goes on around there. As far as I understand, they are an NGO that performs research in collaboration with several international funding agencies (IGES, DFID and the like) to understand how best to empower women and marginalized populations - typically the Dalit caste members - through community forestry. Most employees speak at least some English, but they all seem quite nice and are all fairly laid back, even though they are in a good position to affect national policy. I have several of them keeping their ear to the ground for an apartment for me (and Sarah) as well as looking into language school to fully round out my days.
Netra, the big boss, is quite short. Somewhat round. Intense in a laid back sort of way if that makes any sense at all... I still trying to figure it out. Jaya and Amrit are the admin staff and web/print layout lackeys. Both young and energetic and teribly cool. Easy on the eyes as well - a perk. Hari and Hari and Mani. Not quite sure what all they do, but they certainly look busy most of the time! All foresters by training, presumably doing some version of research and writing. Another few I have not yet met as they have been out in the field since before my arrival at the office. Last but far from least - Laxmi, the tiny little cook lady who brings me drinking water and tea and cooks lunch like a mad woman! Oh so cheap, oh so clean, oh so tastilicious!!!
We breifly went over my TOR/Job Description. Whatever I want to do seems to be the guiding principle. Well... They'd really like me to focus my efforts on editing all the writing that they are doing, plus that which comes in for submission to their biannual (semiannual? whatever - twice a year...) jornal. Other items could include: marketing the journal stateside, web design, researching research oportunities (calls for proposals and such), and oh so much more! But since Monday, I've buried myself in books learning about their methodological approaches (governance and research appraches), history of forestry policy and practices in Nepal, their annual reports, their journals... All sorts of stuff. Too much information to process.
Yeah. So that's work for now. Didn't I call this e-mail little things? Whoops. Here are the little things, those that I have found interesting/amusing/fun/disturbing/other:
A 3/4 starved dog in Thamel being antagonized by a street kid, yapping and cowering.
Corn roasted on small charcoal fires.
A guy asking me to smuggle gems to the states for him.
A silver plated ram(?) skull with four horns. A symbol of protection for one's house, or something like that...
Pineapple bits sold on the street - sliced off the fruit, put on a wet plate (eek!), and terifyingly dunked in water. Yeah. I ate it...
Carom - a game something like a cross between pool and finger shuffleboard. Quite fun, though I totally suck at it.
Herds of schoolgirls running down the street with their twin braids flying above pleated skirts.
"Paper" plates made out of leaves, and secured into place but little bits of dried grass.
Teeny Tiny People!
The variety of faces
Beggars, able and not, young and old
A kid who showed me around his school for Thanka Painting
4 young boys, not far from being street punks, showing me around and bringing me into the Golden Temple after it had officially closed.
The joys of getting shaved with a straight razor.
The joys of that shave being followed by a lengthy and thorough head/scalp/face/neck/shoulder/arm massage
The joy of that only being 50 rps. 75 cents-ish.
Going through Q Tip withdrawl - soon to be remedied now that my bag is here.
The women who sweep the streets in the evening.
The unidentifiable poops on the road. Dog? Cow? Human?
Watching people (kids too) at their trade, making drums, shoes, stone carvings, bronze/copper/gold statues.
Advertising.
Tibet Guest House - the TALLEST guest house in Thamel!
Bagpiper Whisky - Nepal's Largest. World's No. 3. (If the latter is popularity or taste, I will have to knock that number down quite a ways...)
Real Fruit Juice - Tastes like eating a fruit!
Yeah. So that's the news from Lake Wobegon; where the men are men, the women are men, and the livestock is nervous.
Love to you all!