Spring adventures and Nepal

21/April/2010 A Cacophony of Experience

The strangest of worlds we live in. The past three weeks have been filled with the most extremes of experiences, all of which have been amazing. LAHR had her first birthday, Lexton his (not first birthday) John and I had our anniversary, Isaiah his birthday, New York, meeting Steven Sondheim (shut up Chrissy) Bloodsong of Love with featured daughter Katrina—many activities. And to top it all, the volcano in Iceland that has stranded passengers, and we hope not us!

Mumbai, Kathmandu and refugee camps. We had dramas with our tickets, and somehow John managed to frighten the purser. Who knows how… We arrived in Mumbai at midnight and took a hysterical taxi ride to our hotel. The taxi driver spoke no English, nor did he know where our hotel was located. We drove around the empty streets of Mumbai. He stopped at each corner and asked directions none of which apparently helped him. Finally I saw the hotel sign. Three hrs of “sleep” & 4 hrs. later we were on our way back to the airport. We found that the hotel was not 1.5 hours away from the airport, but rather 10 minutes. Similar answers, you are going Domestic? No, we are going international…Domestic? No, International a minute passes, Domestic? No International. We were dropped off at the Domestic side of the airport, and then—oh no International and finally we checked in.


Arriving at Kathmandu was a familiar experience, as the airport arrival is small and general chaos seems to be a theme. Our friend met us & settled us in the International Guest House ( hard beds FYI). “Shattered” as she said, we engaged in meetings with the UNCHR, and TPO, two main agencies involved with the Bhutanese Refugees. Happily, we were given permission to go the camps and do some assessment. We prepared for our flight to Bhadrapur and the trip to the refugee camp near Damak.


As we drove through the streets, thought of what Gordon & Doug would think of the city today. It is trekking time, & nearly all our guest house are trekkers getting ready to hike the mountains & Everest itself. It was hard to imagine these stringy and/or smoking youth loaded up with gear would be successful in climbing the highest mountain on earth. The narrow streets of Kathmandu are ready for them as everything is on sale.

12-hour electricity. This means rotating hours, always posted, thank goodness I have my battery fan.


Nothing about the preparation experience really made up for flying to Bhadrapur & Damak and the camps. Yeti airlines are tiny planes, carry-ons on our laps. The highlight was flying right next to the Himalayas, and the high peaks of Everest and surrounding. It was not a clear day, but was awesome just the same. Jutting peaks of snow, while underneath desolate land, tiny farmers attempting to force corn to grow, & harvesting pathetic grass for the buffalo and cows. As we walked off the plane, we met members of IOM (the major immigration organization) and quickly tried to manage a meeting-sadly not to be. I thought of Vietnam, then Ethiopia, then Moshi, Then back again.

People bravely eking out an existence on land that is totally dry with sudden monsoons flooding the area making some areas completely inaccessible.





Our hotel, Damark View Guest House, had no power but we were assured we would have it later. We toured Damak courtesy of Katy, a young woman doing her Fulbright with UNHCR. We had lunch at the "Fine" Restaurant-note the dot of the i are lips! Currently, she works with causes of persons declining to resettle.


We also bought some diet cokes for John, and noticed that the window of the shop displayed only healthy products, particularly nutritional supplies for babies. That is quite unlike the alcohol and sweets products that we saw elsewhere.


It is 2067 here in Nepal. We arrived on the New Year. This means parties everywhere; thus not a lot of sleep on our hard mattresses in our Guest House.


We had an amazing visit to the refugee camps after we met with various aide agencies involved in the camps. They are working hard. People have many problems. Most agreed that things were better before the resettlement began because they had an identity in the camps and better organizations & schools; however, many are eager to resettle. 22 years in these camps seemed to be both comforting and horrible because there are so many restrictions on what activities the refugees can participate in. By the time we had come, most of the higher classes had already left. This means that the best teachers were already gone, and those speaking the best English.



(This is the way food and water are heated-great environmental soundness isn't it!)
Still, groups meet to try to work out the best arrangements that they have, and information sessions take place with questions and answers about resettlement and mental health meetings occur to try to solve some of the very difficult problems occurring in the camp. There is quite a lot of alcohol use particularly at night because of no electricity and nothing to do. We met with individuals and families who have many dreams, but many problems. I must admit it was overwhelming. Most of these people do not know where they are going until a few days before their departure, and some have been waiting for 2 years to hear if they are accepted for resettlement.

We also flew out with refugees, which was a wrenching experience and knowledge that the volcano had stopped air traffic through Europe was dreadful news to us for these people who are headed to a totally new world. I believe our students will have a fulfilling 6 weeks in the camps and return with a better understanding of global complexities.






Kathmandu has a plethora of religion & history. The day after returning from the camps, we toured 3 holy spots. We were escorted close to 1 cremation and 1 preparation for cremation. Somehow it didn’t seem grotesque or horrifying because the bodies were so well draped and prepared. We went to a Mother Theresa Hospital for the Elderly. We saw “holy men” whose faces were painted in dreadful colors. Buddhist and Hindu temples that sort of mixed together were overshadowed by the most famous Bodha-lovely and calming. The last day of “festival” was the day we left so we experienced many drum & dancing teams (questionable quality), tons of people & fanfare. Highly recommend the Northfield Café-fabulous reasonable food. Some day, it would be wonderful to return.



Don't worry all, the Maoist flag (mostly flown near the Damak area) signifies the presence of very peaceful Maoist's in the area. Several local people asked us why the US keeps Nepal on the countries who are dangerous because of the Maoists. We don't know either, and it hardly seems fair to such a kind place.