This morning I woke up to a big pot of tea and a wonderful conversation with a Visnja, a Croatian from Zagreb – the city that I fell in love with when I visited - a VSO volunteer that I met last night. This is one of the best things about traveling, I think. The people I get to meet, their stories and life experiences and perspectives they share. To be able to have an intimate, honest conversation with someone the first time you meet is rare. But when you are traveling, you know that you might not ever get to speak to this person again, so you should make the time count – to be real. The situation creates it’s own rules for engagement, I think. And – as someone who doesn’t find small talk fulfilling – I am always grateful to have good conversation wherever and however I can find this.
She has left, however, and right now I am enjoying 3 hours of blissful, uninterrupted electricity. I’m in my room lazily reading emails, and am enjoying hot tea and the knowledge that my computer is recharging itself. Interrupted only by street theatre outside my window- a creative way to gather a crowd and to maybe get a few rupees. The actors are stellar. Saturday is also my day to recharge. To sleep in a bit, think about what I need to do this weekend while I am still in Kathmandu, and to enjoy not having a schedule.
Last night I enjoyed a fabulous evening across town, at a place that felt worlds away. It was African night at a local restaurant that is run by Maria, from Ghana. She hosts these parties once every three months. They are famous at this point and it felt like every foreigner in Kathmandu must have been there. At least all of the Africans must have been… my friend, Peter, from Uganda – traveled 7 hours from where he lives just to attend.
There were perhaps 300 people at the restaurant – all outside and warmed by small fires scattered about. People from local NGOs, volunteers, UN staff, some expats who have settled here. African music all night. I think I only recognized a song or two all night. But my friends from Africa knew them all. It was so fun to see them hear a song that they loved, to get so excited and to run up to the dance floor. I enjoy watching how music connects us to memories, to one another, to joy, to a feeling of home, or perhaps the exotic.
The best part? They had injera bread!!! Anyone who knows me well knows how much I LOVE Ethiopian food, and injera bread. I couldn’t have been happier. A warm fire, injera bread, people absolutely enjoying each other’s company through music and dancing…. life is good. I know I must be getting acclimated to Nepal when a full dance floor after 9:00 pm and food other than daal baat feels really foreign.
It was also a nice way to celebrate ending the week – and finally having my placement get settled. For the last 2 ½ months there has been a question about whether my placement would get switched to be based here in Kathamandu working out of my organization’s head office instead of Hetauda. I was feeling pretty flexible about either outcome, as I can understand the interest in having me in either place. But not knowing where I would land and settle month after month has been wearing. At this point I’ve been living out of a suitcase, packing, repacking, packing for the last almost three months.
I miss my morning routines that seem to get disrupted, feeling settled in a place that is “my” home, and I really miss being able to shop and cook for myself.
It was decided that I will be living in Hetauda as my main base, and supporting the head office and other district offices from there. I feel like it is the best of both worlds. I’ll get to support the district offices and live in a sweet town, but will be working in close contact with the head office and everything that happens there, doing lots of travelling. So – two more weeks to enjoy Kathmandu and to think about what I can do here that I won’t be able to do in a small town for awhile. Pretty sure they don’t have African nights in Hetauda….
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