On writing and rain

Dear all,

So as my mother noted, now that I have a new super sleek laptop, I have no excuse for not writing. So I will try, though I can’t promise, to write more. That said, if my blog becomes progressively more boring, I will take no responsibility. That, mom, is your fault.

Let me start with a brief knitting update (I warned you this was going to get boring.) I have finally finished the super cool shawl I’ve been working on for the past year or so. It turned out beautifully and I’m really happy with it. However, it turns out I’m terrified to wear it because there always seems to be something on the street threatening to snag one of those lacy loops. I’m more than a little disappointed (afterall it looks so cute), but I just can’t stand to see all that hard work unravel. On the bright side, finishing a knitting project can only mean one thing: It’s time to buy more yarn.

So I headed to Asan bazaar the other day in search of the yarn shops I’d been hearing all about. Asan bazaar may be one of the craziest, most crowded places in all of Kathmandu. Essentially, it’s street after winding street of tiny shops filled with everything from pots to shoes to the newest Britany Speare’s album. Really, you can find pretty much anything you like in Asan, as long as you know where to look. Heading out, I was a little worried, because I hadn’t been able to find the yarn shops before, but this time, I was fortunate enough to ask the right person, and after only a minute or two of confusion, I found myself in a small shop surrounded by yarn. Of course, the selection isn’t quite what it would be at home, but I managed to find a pretty sport weight yarn for a hat I’m making, and a pretty blue/purple mix whose future has yet to be decided. And yesterday, I finally found a shop that carried the fabled “sari silk” yarn. I have purchased any yet, but I’m not certain I can resist the temptation for much longer. I have no idea what I’ll do with it, but it just looks so pretty. If any of you knitters have any patterns that are perfect for a super colorful heavy weight yarn, please send them along. I’m just waiting for the right excuse. :)

Other than knitting, I’ve been pretty busy “writing”. By writing, I mean reading, thinking, meeting with other students, doodling, writing poetry, and consuming a large number of coffee-ish beverages. However, I’m fairly certain that all of these activites are, in fact, fruitful, and that eventually, I’m going to open my notebook (which like Lassie, follows me everywhere) and discover a brilliant paper on one of the pages. Seriously though, my ideas are coming together really nicely and I’m really very happy with the progress I’m making. On the other hand, trying to write has turned me into a complete computer junkie. It’s gotten so bad that the other day, I considered making a trip out to one of the most famous buddhist temples, Bouddha stuppa……to see if I could get wifi there and write for awhile. In fact, if it weren’t for the entrance fee, I’d probably still do it. But hey, don’t judge me to harshly, it really would be a beautiful place to write.



I’ve also been busy with various classes (and not just salsa, though that’s by far my favorite.) I’m taking a refresher course in Dhimali, which is really proving to be helpful. However, it’s also a little difficult as it means that I have to get up at 5:30 every morning, and thus it’s cutting in to my evening work time. But I was able to write a letter completely in Dhimali to my mom and dad today so I think it’s paying off. Additionally, I’m taking a class to improve my nepali reading ability. Right now, I’m reading a small book about caste discrimination in Nepal. The book itself isn’t very exciting, but I get giddy every time I read a big word and actually know what it means. I’m hoping that before I leave here I’ll at least be profecient enough to read the news.

Oh, and perhaps most exciting of all, the rains have come! We aren’t quite to the point where we have rain every day, but we’ve had a few good storms. The rainy season here is absolutely magical, and I feel as though that first rain washed away all the dust, frustration, and complacency that was starting to build up in me, and I’m looking at Kathmandu with fresh eyes once again. Storms here are particularly wonderful because when it rains, it’s as if the whole city simply stops, sits and waits. Perhaps that will go away as the rains become more frequent, but right now, I feel as though we all stop together and take a moment to just breathe in the rain washed air. I cherish those moments of communal meditation, and I’m looking forward to a long monsoon. Even now, as I write, the thunder is shaking my house, and the city is sleeping quietly underneath it. The rain and thunder only make the peacefulness that much more apparent. But the more I think about it, the more inviting my bed and my book of poems seems, so if you’ll forgive me, I’m going to go fall asleep to this raindrop lullabye.

My love for all of you only grows with the distance!

Big hugs,
Sarah

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Holi

Dear All,

Tomorrow is Holi, a huge day of celebration here in Nepal, but largely the fun has already begun. I’m fortunate enough toi be at Didi’s house today, which means I’m sitting at a desk facing a huge wall sized window with a mountain view. On the rooftops of the neighboring houses, the faces of young girls and boys are popping up over the railings like gophers in a carnival game. For a moment, a young girl’s face appears. She launches a small plastic bag filled with cold water over the edge of the roof. There’s a peel of laughter but I can’t say if it came from the girl or her intended victim. Either way, the girls already vanished, her long black pigtails chasing her back behind the railing and to safety. She hides there, protected from similar attacks from neighboring roofs. I’m told that in other parts of Nepal, Holi is only celebrated on the actual date of Holi and that friends and family chase each other around covering each other with colored powders. Here in Kathmandu, water balloons have been in flight for 2 days already. Sitting here and watching, outside the center of the city, the games seem sweet and playful, and since the little girls are joining in the fun, I’m enjoying the scene (even as I remain inside; safe, dry and hidden). But the holiday does leave me feeling a little critical. What right now seems to be innocent fun can easily turn to antagonism and bullying. Back in the city, many little boys were showing their worst side, picking on women of all ages without impunity. Ironically, today is international women’s day, and yet neither Didi nor I have been brave enough to venture out of the house unless forced. (And even when Didi did rush out, she dressed as though it had been pouring rain all day.) All the same, the giggles of that neighbor girl have put me in too good of a mood to be overally critical. Though I can’t give her all the credit. The sky is decidedly dark and gray today and the hope of rain gives me butterflies. It’s been months since I’ve seen rain and while the monsoons mean I’ll soon be leaving, I’m still waiting for them with the greatest anticipation. After all, the rains were one of the first things I fell in love with here and after enduring the heat of the summer, and the cold of the winter, I’m anxious for my season to start.



Of course there are a million other things I could tell you all, but I’ll finish only with this bit of news: I’ve started writing my paper. I’m not entirely caught up in it yet, so there are pages of letters and poems filling the spaces between thoughts but I’ve started all the same, and I’m content with where I am thus far. But that’s all for now.

All my love.

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First week of Feb

Dear All,

I know I haven’t written in awhile, but please don’t confuse that with a lack of affection. I miss you all just as much as I did the moment we said goodbye!

In any case, the last week or so has been remarkable, and I’ve been happier (and for a change healthier) than I’ve been in a long time. That’s not to say that I was unhappy before, but this is one of those times when the sun shines just a little bit brighter, and there seems to be a little extra joy in the world. Which is why I’m sitting down to share my new found treasures with you all!

In fact, I’ve recently learned that Kathmandu may be the greatest city in the whole world. And it’s not only because last week, I danced bachata with an incredibly talented dancer. (Bachata, can you believe it!?! I still get giddy thinking about it.) and it’s not only because my neighbor downstairs has a new puppy that is as cute and fluffy as any puppy can be. It’s because the other day as I was walking down the street a sign for a dance studio caught my eye. It said lessons were available for all types of dance, and then it began listing the classes currently offered: traditional nepali, bollywood, hip hop, salsa, western, break dance, and here’s the big one……ROBOT!! That’s right! You can take Robot lessons here, for all those days when you just have to break out the techno music and let the little robot in your heart out to dance. How dreamy is that! Sadly, there’s barely enough time for the Salsa I do now. So I won’t be getting my robot on any time soon, but I’m still fairly certain that proves Kathamandu to be as close to Paradise as you can get here on earth.



But I have managed to squeeze Salsa in lately, and I couldn’t be happier. My teacher is incredibly talented, and while the classes are great, I’ve found the open dance to be a great way to pick up some of the more advanced moves at a pretty quick pace. I was surprised how many really great dancers there are here. I’m really having a great time, even though, I still have the occasionally longing for an Ella Fitzgerald song and a great swing partner. But all in all, Salsa’s been a blast.

Finally, this Saturday, my friends all rallied to give me an amazing send off (I’m leaving for the field on Monday so long as the strikes in Biratnagar are quieted by this evening). So yesterday morning, the guys picked me up from my house bright and far too early at 7am. We headed straight to the movie theater, where we watched the recent Amir Khan film, Ghajini. It’s basically an Indian version of the movie Momento with the addition of Bollywood style song and dance numbers. It managed to make me laugh, cry, and hide behind my hands when the bad guys showed up, so I’d say it’s a pretty great film. I think my friends had as much fun laughing at my reactions as they did watching the movie, but I’m just glad we all had a good time.

After the film, we climbed back on the bikes and sped over to a local tea shop for lunch. We ate, chatted, ate some more and then headed over to another theater. The crew hadn’t informed me of the day’s plans, because they were trying to surprise me, but they’d planned a full day of theater for me. The second theater was a very Western style play house, where we watched two semi-professional plays. The two plays were very “artsy”, and thus a little difficult for me to understand. My Nepali is good, but not great, and there was a lot of political content in both the plays. Still, it was great fun to see another slice of Nepal’s society, and since most of my friends are artists of one sort or another, it was fun to see them in this light. Additionally, the first play made some really interesting use of costumes and discussed dress to a great extent, so my friend has requested a copy of the script for me to use in my work.

After the first two plays, we hit yet another tea house, and then we drove off to the final theater of the day. The last theater reminded me very much of some of the smaller theaters I’d been to in Ann Arbor. It was very small and intimate feeling, and most of the patrons sat on rugs on the floor directly in front of the stage. This play was a translation of a French play (le Just) set in pre-communist Russia. It was again in Nepali, but I understood most of it and found it to be really enjoyable. The actors at this theater were fully professional, and did a fantastic job. In fact, I noticed that one of the actors playing a smaller supporting role had recently starred in the full length Nepali film, Sano Sansar. It was interesting to see a “big” star cast in a small role, but the other actors were so talented, I didn’t doubt the casting for a moment.

By the time the final play had finished, we were all tired and each bike headed off in a different direction. But it was a wonderful day, full of art, serious ponderings, and as is always the case with my friends, tons and tons of laughter.

Tomorrow, I’m hoping to fly back out to the field, so it will be awhile before I’m back in front of a computer, but I’ll do my best to write you all a note or two from the field.

All my love!!!

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