Since the last time I wrote I have had fresh litchi fruit from India a couple of times and it has become a new favorite fruit of mine. It’s so juicy and sweet. Hehe.

Yesterday, around lunchtime, I and my colleagues went outside of Kathmandu to a place called Sakhu, where we had been invited to the opening ceremony of the non-governmental organization PA Nepal’s new children’s home and school. It took about an hour to get there by taxi. The environment out there was really nice, peaceful and inspiring. It’s a great place for children to stay and learn. We stayed there for about two hours and got a short tour of the place by Indira Rana (chairperson of PA Nepal), met with various people, children etc. We were also served some snacks. I had a really nice time and it was nice to get outside of Kathmandu.

My Bonnie is over the ocean, my Bonnie is over the sea…

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The situation regarding fuel in the Kathmandu Valley is really bad right now and it’s getting worse. There is a huge scarcity of fuel in the valley, and many times people have to wait 6, 8, 10, 12 hours to get some fuel, if they get it at all. The fuel supply in Kathmandu is only 50% compared to the demand. I see people standing in line the whole days to get fuel. It’s a really difficult situation.

At work: I have been involved in developing proposals, I have made a visit to a home with prisoners’ children etc. I’m constantly learning new ways of looking and working with children and I try to open up my open mind as much as possible.

Road Trip 110 km outside of Kathmandu – 10-11 May
In the morning, on the 10th of May, I packed my stuff and made myself ready for a road trip together with my friends Prabesh and Aalok. We left Kathmandu around 9 am and drove in the Arniko Highway towards our destination; The Last Resort. Along the way we stopped in a few places to take photos, stretch our legs, have lunch and so on. This day I was feeling really sick, my nose was clogged and it felt like I had a fever. We arrived at The Last Resort after noon and we had a nice buffet lunch where they served continental food. I enjoy it, because having continental food is something I rarely have nowadays. The place in itself, The Last Resort, was a really nice place, located in a very scenic and peaceful surrounding. To reach the resort, we had to cross a suspension bridge hanging over the Bhote Kosi River. After resting after the lunch, then Aalok made himself ready to bungy jump. While he jumped (160 meters), I and Prabesh were taking photos and video clip. I told them both, never in my life I will do that jump. After Aalok had climbed up the hill and had his rest, then we took our car and went up to Kodari, which is the border town to Tibet (China). When I was there and saw the city of Khasa in Tibet on the other side of the border, I really wanted to go into Tibet and travel there. I received a special feeling at the time. We then returned to our resort and had drinks, before having our dinner. One of the dishes in the buffet was spaghetti with meat sauce, it was really yummy! Hehe. We had a great time in the evening, chatting, eating, drinking and spending time together. Our accommodation was a tent with one single bed and one double bed, I slept in the single one because of my sickness.
The following morning I woke up to the sound of the river and various birds making noises as well as fresh air. It was nature, just nice. I really enjoy these times in life. We had a nice breakfast buffet this morning and after checking out we then started our journey back to Kathmandu. Along the way we stopped in a few places. On this day I was feeling better, but still with a touch of the cold. We got back to Kathmandu in the early afternoon after have been on a great road trip giving inspiration in beautiful sceneries.

Last week I was invited one evening to have dinner together with my landlord’s family and a neighboring family as well. I really enjoyed the Nepali food being served and spending time with them. That day I got many positive words in my ears from different directions, so I was happy.

This past Wednesday there was a strike in the Kathmandu Valley, because of an earlier murder of a well-known figure. This day no vehicle movement was allowed, and most stores were closed, so most people were walking around.

Postcards – Thank You all for sending me postcards.

Strolling among toys in a department store…

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Post – I have received my first load of postcards as well as a music CD from a friend. It was really nice to get, Thank You all for sending it to me.

One day while I watched one of the channels on my TV it was showing a movie with Swedish subtitles and Swedish commentators interpreting the movie, I laughed when I saw it. It felt strange seeing it. I don’t know about the movie, but there were Swedish actors in it.

The past Sunday I and Aalok went to Bhaktapur (another district in the Kathmandu Valley) to do a little sightseeing. We went there by taxi and as we walked into the Durbar Square in Bhaktapur I got a feeling of something old. It was really nice to see the typical Newari architecture in the temples, buildings, houses etc. We walked around in Bhaktapur for a couple of hours. When I saw the Nyatapola Temple I was really excited, the temple is beautiful and it felt powerful. I truly enjoyed Bhaktapur as it has a much more traditional Nepali atmosphere compared to the areas where I’m usually spending my life.

This past week while on the way home I have been thinking about the street dogs, as they are inevitable. They roam around everywhere. One day while I was walking home there were three street dogs barking at me. It felt like they could attack at anytime. They made me a bit scared. I really dislike the street dogs, at the same time it’s a sad sight as their conditions are extremely poor and it’s easy to see that they suffer most of their time from various diseases as well as difficult environments. Still, I don’t like them. They’re becoming too many in the streets.

Speaking of dogs, I heard a rumor this week that Ludde is not the same as before, his color has changed. Hang in there Ludde! Haha!

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March 26 – After work all of us from the office attended a party in celebration of a colleague’s daughter’s rice feeding ceremony. The party was held in the army headquarters in Kathmandu and I had a really nice time this evening; great chats with people, great snacks and food and the environment in itself gave a really relaxed party feeling. There were more than 600 people at the party and I was there for about three hours.

A few days later, on my day off from work, I was invited to a neighbor’s house for lunch (just across the street from my home). As the sun was shining and the weather was sweet I preferred sitting in the garden with a few other people just relaxing and enjoying the delicious Nepali food and then rounding it up with ice cream. We all chatted and enjoyed ourselves, I really had a nice time at this lunch.

Two weeks ago I went out two evenings after work to spend time with some of my friends from work, one of the evenings we were four people who went to a restaurant called Zest, which had a very cozy ambiance. We chatted and laughed while having nice food and drinks.

That same week on Friday, the weather conditions really changed. All of a sudden it started falling hailstones from the sky, and when I saw the hailstones lying on the ground, then I got a feeling of winter.

Trip to Eastern Nepal (8-13 April)
On Tuesday (last week) after finishing the work in the office, my colleague Shankar and I went to take our bus to Itahari in Eastern Nepal (we were also accompanied by his uncle). The bus journey started from Kathmandu at 5 pm and the bus in itself was ok, except for the fact that I had insufficient room for my legs, which made the 11 hours and 30 minutes of traveling quite uncomfortable for me. It was only in the beginning, while we were driving just outside of the Kathmandu Valley, that I could enjoy the scenic views of the nature. Then the darkness came.

The bus arrived in Balgram at 4:30 am the following day, Wednesday (9 April), and when we got to Shankar’s family house Gyanendra (Shankar’s brother), mother and grandmother welcomed us. After ten minutes or so we went to bed, and it felt really good to sleep in a bed after sitting on that bus for so long. I only slept for a few hours, but it was enough. When I got up in the morning I chatted with Shankar’s family members, relatives, friends and neighbors. I also had a very refreshing bucket shower before having “lunch” (here in Nepal they use the term “lunch” for the meal in the morning as well). In the afternoon I, Shankar and two of his friends visited the city Itahari (which lies about 3 km east of Balgram), I felt it was a very peaceful town with a slow traffic movement made up by rickshaws, buses etc. The temperature there was much hotter than in Kathmandu, during the daytime it was +30 degrees Celsius and above. Later that same afternoon Gyanendra was showing me around in their village (Balgram). This whole day I was laughing and enjoying my time enormously. In the late afternoon I spoke with two very intelligent 15-years old boys (living in the same compound as Shankar’s home), one of the boys was using an English language that amazed me, he was talking about how “the world is dynamic”, both of the boys were really enlightened. While we were discussing, another group of people were talking to each other close by us, and according to the boys the group was chatting about “how friendly and handsome I was”. It felt nice hearing the good words about me after such a short time in the village. In the evening I was having dinner with Shankar’s family, and his mother cooked every meal with Nepali food deliciously, I really liked the food. At the dinner we were laughing and Shankar’s grandmother was laughing and happy, she also told that she already felt like I was grandson. Imagine hearing that after spending less than 14 hours in a home for the first time.

The 10th of April was a big day; it was time for the Nepalese people to vote in the Constitution Assembly election. So, in the morning when Shankar, his brother Gyanendra together with friends and relatives went to vote, then I relaxed and chatted with the same young boys I was talking with the day before. Because of the election I spent most of this day around the house, except for in the afternoon when I went along when it was time to buy vegetables in the market. In the early evening Shankar and I together with a couple of his friends went to the SOS Children’s Village, which is located in Balgram. It was interesting to see, and I got a small tour by an officer. The environment there is very child-friendly, with an enormously peaceful atmosphere. Almost all evenings after the dinner when I was in Balgram I sat outside of the house and looked at the stars, it was so nice watching the universe while being in these peaceful surroundings on earth.

The next day we were all together six people who went by bus to Bhedetar to have a view of the hills. While we were standing on the top of a viewing tower I got sand in one of my eyes, which really hurt and it stayed in my eye for one hour. Hehe, I know someone who will find this information about sand in my eye quite important while reading my diary (he has enjoyed uncountable Double Rosannas with extra onion). We continued downhill towards the city of Dharan and along the way we visited a couple of Hindu temples. Dharan is a city with a lot of green vegetation around itself, to me Dharan was more beautiful than Itahari. This whole day’s trip was really nice and I enjoyed seeing different views the whole time.

The following morning Shankar’s brother Gyanendra took me by rickshaw to the school where he works and gave me a tour of it. When we got back it was time to get ready for a motorcycle trip towards east. Just before 11 am Shankar, I and his two friends started our journey as Shankar and I was supposed to deliver a condolence letter to a family in a village about 85 km east of Balgram. We did a few short stops along the way, we stopped at a lake, tea gardens etc. The ride there took about two hours, and the whole time the nature kept on changing and many of the parts, which we passed by was very beautiful. After delivering our condolence we started our journey back towards Balgram. We stopped in the city of Damak and had lunch, the motorcycle I was on also had a flat tire there, which we had to get repaired. Our two motorcycles kept on riding and after some time, our other bike got a nail in its rear tire, so once again a flat tire. Although we had flat tires, it was a great trip. That evening the lightning and thunder started and it was followed by a forceful rain and stormy weather. I got a bit chilly, but I like coolness while sleeping.

Yesterday was my last day in Eastern Nepal, it was also the first day of the Nepali New Year (2065). I got up as the sun was rising, had my tea and inhaled the fresh countryside air. I packed my things and made myself ready, as I was taken to Biratnagar for a short tour of the city, before getting dropped at the airport. I flew from Biratnagar to Kathmandu with Buddha Air, and it was very comfortable traveling between these two cities in less than an hour. I got home to my apartment around 5 pm and when I look back at my five days in the Eastern Terai than I’m not only grateful and happy that I got the chance to be welcomed into a great family, but also that I got see a completely different environment compared to the one I’m used to here in Kathmandu.

Today is a holiday and tomorrow our work will resume.

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About 15 minutes walk from my home I have a really good bookshop, Pilgrims Book House, even though I don’t engage to read in my leisure time I get inspired at looking at all the books about spirituality, Buddism, Tibet etc. I’m not a reader, I’m a man who looks at books. Hehe! Just across the street from the bookshop, there is a nice hotel called Himalaya Inn, I had my haircut there last week.

This past Saturday was a great day. It was the first day that I spent sightseeing since I arrived in Kathmandu and my friend Aalok guided me to a few sights. We met before noon outside a supermarket and started walking towards Durbar Square in Patan. I really enjoyed walking in these quarters, as the style of the Newari architecture is something new to me (the majority of the inhabitants in the Kathmandu Valley are Newaris). The temples, buildings and structural design around Durbar Square gave me a very special feeling. It’s really beautiful. After spending some time in and around Durbar Square, we then we took a taxi to Swayambhunath. It is a great Buddhist temple on a hill west of Kathmandu. The view from Swayambhunath looking over the whole Kathmandu Valley is astonishing, but I enjoyed the feeling better at Durbar Square. The sun was shining all day and it was warm.

Yesterday it was back to work as the Teachers’ Training Program continued. We also held the Training Program today and tomorrow will be the last day. I really enjoy learning on how to deal with young children; how to make them feel happy while learning, having joyful moments in the classroom and encourage their minds to create. It is all an inspiration to me.

One thing that needs to be mentioned is that I have to bend my back while washing the dishes and cooking, because the height of the basin in my kitchen is a little lower than usual, I think.

I’m always here…

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The weather is much colder than in Dhaka, especially in the evening and nighttime when it can go down to as low as +10 degrees Celsius, but it’s getting warmer as time goes on.

On my second day in the Kathmandu Valley, I walked around together with Sudharshan in the district where I’m living; Lalitpur. We passed by a gas station and there were more than 150 motorcycles waiting in line to get fuel, Sudharshan told me that it’s common to wait minimum 6 hours and sometimes up to 10-12 hours to get fuel. He helped me with showing a supermarket called Saleways, it was a good one and they had all kinds of Himalayan products. Ejaculation? As we bought quite a lot of groceries we took a taxi home to my apartment in the area of Jwagal. It’s a very peaceful area and I really like it, it makes it easier to relax, it makes it easier to think, it’s just great. In the evening I was treated for dinner by Dhirendra, he’s the Country Director of ICRI-Nepal, the organization I’m working with. Together with his wife and daughter we all had a lovely dinner with introduction of each other and discussions about our work. It will be a true pleasure working with him and his colleagues.

One thing I would like to mention is that I have a couple of cable TV channels e.g. HBO, CNN, ESPN, BBC, Discovery Channel, VH1 etc. and that is really nice, so I can watch things like news, sports, TV-series etc. in my leisure time. Another thing I should mention is the load-shedding schedule for the electricity, everyday the electricity is shut off between 3-4 hours two times (which means 7-8 hours with no electricity every day). A good thing is that there is a schedule and they follow the schedule so it’s quite easy to plan the living. A third thing which is comfortable is the closeness of small grocery shops and some other small stores as well where it is possible to buy the most necessary things for the household, in 5 minutes I can walk to buy vegetables, bread etc.

A friend of Sudhan is living just across the street, his name is Raja, he’s a very nice man. I met him last weekend in his home and when I told him that I have studied social anthropology, then he brought out a book and showed me and immediately I told him that “I read this book in one of my courses in Stockholm University”, then he told that he is the one who has taken the cover photograph. What a small world! Here I am, talking and discussing Nepalese culture and language with a Nepali who has taken the cover photograph on a book I used in one of my courses during my education in the university. The cover photograph is showing a demonstration in Kathmandu in 1999. In the evening, that same day, I was talking to Rijan, he’s a very nice and intelligent young man, 16 years old. It’s been quite some time since I met someone this knowledgeable and he speaks very well English too.

On Sunday, last weekend, Sudharshan and I walked more or less the whole day. It felt like there was no end our walking. We first went to different telecom offices and after meeting with the Managing Director, he luckily sent me to one of the branch offices where I picked up my new sim card. It’s incredible, the waiting time to get a sim card is normally 6-7 months, they are not distributing any sim cards to people at the moment, but I was lucky enough to get one. But you know me, Mr. Charm himself. Haha! Anyway, Sudharshan and I continued walking as I had to run a couple of errands in different areas around the city and we also walked around in the touristy Thamel. We also had a late lunch in a nice shopping mall called United World Trade Center (UWTC).

At work: This week I have been working in the ICRI-Nepal head office, starting to get acquainted with the staffs and the work in itself. I really like everyone in the office and it feels great being here, it’s a new environment with new assignments and new challenges. It will take me, naturally, some time before I get a good overview of the work, and luckily I will be working both in the office and in the field as time goes on. I haven’t mentioned it yet, but the head office lies in Sanepa, Lalitpur and it takes me approximately 35 minutes to walk to the office in a normal pace, which is a nice way to start the working day and finishing it as well.

I don’t have an Internet connection in my apartment, but there is an Internet café about 10 minutes walk from my apartment that I visit. The connection speed is not exactly like a rocket (6-7 kb/sec), but it’s the best possible option around.

One thing I have been thinking about this week are all the dogs running around in the streets here in Kathmandu, there are lots of street dogs and most of them seem to be suffering from different sicknesses. It’s sad to see.

Two days ago I had dinner with Aalok, a colleague of mine, after we had finished our work. I like him, we are joking everyday when we meet in the office, he’s one year younger than me. On the way to the restaurant he said to me; “Now we are going to have a candle light dinner, but I guess you would prefer to have a candle light dinner with Alexzandra instead”. Haha! (I laughed when I wrote this and thought about his joke)

Yesterday morning on the way to office I saw an elephant walking in the road, it was quite unusual to see.

Yesterday we had an Open House program in the ICRI-Nepal head office, and it was really nice to meet the different partner organizations, teachers and principals from schools, people from other organizations and institutions etc. I had interesting conversations with women and men representing different children’s organizations and I’m looking forward to meet the children and get to know the work of the member organizations of NCPD (Network for Children, Prisoners and Dependants). ICRI-Nepal is an umbrella organization for NCPD.

It has taken me more than 2 hours to upload the pictures and write this post. Do I have patience?

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