ParyaTaks

Yesterday we did the tourist thing (tourist in Nepali = paryaTak, sounds like partyattack, how wonderful is that?) and went to Durbar Square to see Kumari, the child goddess, lead a procession through the streets of Kathmandu. The square was overwhelmingly packed with people trying to push past Nepali guards. As we made our way through the crowd to the line of guards, they suddenly parted for us, letting myself and my friends pass through, while continuing to hold back hundreds of Nepalis. I assume we were aloud to pass because we obviously stuck out as partyattacks. It was as if being white gave us and unmerited power… it felt very strange and wrong but completely worked in our favor. To add to our status as partyattacks, we were shown later that night on Nepali TV. My aamaa was very pleased I finally made my debut on Nepali television, even if I wasn’t dancing.

I spent the past week in the hills of India in Darjeeling. Unfortunately in order to get to and travel anywhere around Darjeeling, we had to spend many hours in jeeps on the horrendously maintained roads that felt more like an Indiana Jones ride than a mode of transportation. To make the car rides more bearable, we had Shakira playing on loop, our driver’s favorite artist (note- our driver was a male in his late 20s) and shag carpet lining the dashboard to spice up our ride.

Just two minutes from our hotel we caught a glimpse of 3^rd highest mountain in the world! I believe it is called Katchunjunga… or something along those lines. We arrived at the site around 6am but as always, it was too foggy to see anything. Some locals informed us that “she” was scheduled to clear at 6:30am and that we should hang around for the view. Sure enough the clouds parted right on schedule and we all stood in awe of the spectacularly huge mountain before us. The whole week it felt like we were living in a cloud, but on the rare occasion the fog cleared, we realized we were surrounded by lush green hills in all directions. The area looked like it should be pristine but trash had found its way from Kathmandu all the way to the hills of India. We came upon a beautiful drainage only to look down and see it littered with trash. It was sad, but the falls were breathtaking nonetheless.

Returning to a place for the first time is always an interesting experience. I wasn’t anticipating a warm return to Kathmandu, but I’ve been happily surprised by the familiarity of the city and how much Kathmandu feels like home. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve adapted to this environment--it’s been exactly four weeks since I arrived here. I remember how overwhelming and inaccessible the city felt during the drive through Kathmandu from the airport. I can’t say I have a clear understanding or real grasp of Kathmandu but I do feel like I’m starting to find my place here.