dear friends.
i apologize.
it's been too long.
My typical daily schedule here in Nepal:
8:30 - wake up, go downstairs to where Kamala is preparing our morning daal bhat, and make myself my cup of coffee. I then head upstairs with my coffee to the roof terrace to have my morning "survey of the world" looking at the my mountains (Himal) for these few months (see pic above), if it is not raining. ps- I took the picture during a "monsoon season-is-over fake out." It's not over. Hopefully soon though. The pointy peak in the pic is Machupuchhre (aka Fishtail), and the other peaks are one of 1-5 Annapurnas.
9:15 - Eat daal bhat. This is what all Nepalis eat. Twice a day. Kamala, is a neighbor / cook for the family I am staying with. Don't worry, there's a driver too. Did I mention I'm staying with a high society family here in Pokhara? Life's rough. My room and bed are bigger and nicer than my place back in Boulder. So much for fully engaging with a country that 40% of the people live below the poverty line. That's not entirely true, though, more to follow. ps- I got this fierce infection from an ingrown fingernail in my thumb. Good thing the brother and father of the family I am staying with own a pharmacy. Good thing the surgeon is attached to their pharmacy. Why good thing? When I asked how much I owed the doctor for my minor surgery (locals / scalpel / all on some newspaper with a reading lamp on a table), he said, "You are a friend of theirs. No charge." Uhhhh. okay. And when I asked how much I owed for the antibiotics, a similar reply of, "You are our guest." No charge, fair enough. In the ski industry under such circumstances you hook your technician up with with a 6 pack of good local brew. I'm not quite sure that beer is the appropriate answer in this case, however.
10:00 - arrive at school (Gandaki WOCAS school) with the bhidyahtis (students) who take well to me, and the principal who is not quite sure. I can't tell if she likes me, simply because Nepalis are overly kind to guests, especially foreign guests. But I think she has a certain distaste. Good thing I'm getting paid. Oh wait---
I teach 2 English classes, and one science class. It's difficult, because it's an English medium school (they supposedly learn in English), but if they are still learning English, how are they to learn science in a language they do not know? Malai thaha china (I don't know). It's quite a challenge. But, I have learned that I really enjoy teaching. Good thing, because otherwise I would jump out of the window sometimes.
12:30 - leave school, change clothes and head either to Mahandrepul or Lakeside where I type at people (such as now), and / or read at my local cafes. But, apparently I have plenty of time to read while waiting for new pages to load on these jurassic computrons. I just finished The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky (highly recommended), and am now reading the autobiography or "The Story of My Experiments with Truth" written by Ghandi. Interesting. I still plan on eating meat despite his experiments in dietics. Sorry, I have Kansas farming blood in me.
5:00ish - Leave aforementioned places and head to the home of the six boys I'm trying to give some older male influence to for the first time in their lives. Usually I have a little bit of reprimanding (since I am also their teacher), and then some physical reprimanding via wrestling, or help (and much encouragement) with their homework. More on this to follow.
8:30 - Eat evening daal bhat with Kamala Bahini and Varsa Didi (Pamela's friend, my connection to my accomodations). Maybe even watch Prushant Tamang win freaking Indian Idol. ps - he's Nepali, so we were all quite stoked when he beat the Indian fellow.
10:00 go to bed. Not much else to do. Sometimes I have an evening survey of the world, with Santosh, Kamala's brother, who also lives next to us.
So, that's how it is right now. This schedule will apply for the next two weeks until the Nepali "Christmas" happens for a month. Maybe it's more like summer break, I can't figure it out. ps- the students, and teachers for that matter, have to go to school 6 days a week. I'm considering writing the UN about this violation of human rights. pps- I have never seen so many UN vehicles in my life, as there are around here.
And friends, enjoy the picture below. I did. I took it at a cafe on the water in Lakeside (the tourist area I go to at least once a week for my "white fix").
Peace.
sorry. apparently pictures can't load on these computers. "you mean the files are in there?" -Zoolander. hopefully soon I'll get them up.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
pokhara, nepal
true. i have indeed made it to my destination. i will write about it soon. but first, this should actually be titled, "everything i've wanted to say for one month, but haven't been able to."
ps- if you're chinese, or have chinese friends, which you probably do, understand this has not to do with the specific people (for I did find some very helpful chinese people) but moreso the government etc.
okay. where to start.
i realized once that the chinese government is like a very bad father. he has too many kids to be able to take care of them properly, but insists on having more due to its drunken lust for power. because of this drive for power, it is afraid to afford any of its kids their own individuality. so, it forms a grid that everyone must exist in. what houses they can live in, what jobs they can have, etc. by the way, this is called communism (which it denies that it is). this father attempts 'freedom' by starting a voting election. it only goes so far, however, when there's only one political party. it's like when henry ford back in the day said, "people can pick any color for their new automobile. As long as its black." well, what you drive and who runs your country are on two slightly different levels. Because China has more people than it knows what to do with, and because they don't allow freedom in the market, they have to create jobs. These created jobs mean to do one thing, 5 people are necessary making any government practice (i.e. getting a visa), completely inefficient and last about 10 times longer than is necessary. Thanks China.
i was unable to see my blog for a whole month. china is very particular with what internet sites it lets its people see. china has shaky relations with "google," it doesn't want google, but realizes that it can't really do anything without them. this angers the bad father. but, even though my blogger is through google, china bans that. Sometimes when you're surfing the internet, a little pop-up window appears, and that means that the Chinese government is watching you at the very moment. If you're wondering more about this structure of government, try reading a novel titled 1984 by George Orwell. many times you cannot get onto the website that you want, because china is very afraid. You can't get a Lonely Planet (the most popular tourist guide in the world) of China or Tibet, because they say things that are true that China doesn't want people to know. Thanks China.
North Korea. Ooh. China really hates this one. The school I stayed at in China is a front for projects that run in North Korea. In the school we couldn't talk out loud about North Korea, because people, Chinese government people, are listening. background: North Korea is probably the most oppressive situation in the world right now complete with concentration camps and actual brainwashing. i.e. If you have a house in North Korea, you must have a picture of the present leader, and his father, and if they are dirty or broken, you can be sent to one of these camps. So, people try to flee NK because it is bad. These are called refugees. If China catches a refugee, they will send them back to NK, where they and their family for 3 generations spread, will be sent to a camp. They do this because it is illegal for a NK citizen to be in China. (uhhh, that's why the UN acknowledges 'refugee' situations. China does not comply with this however, they are angry that these foreign people are in their country. China knows that if these NK refugees make it into a South Korea embassy in China, they will be freed from the tyranny by being given South Korea citizenship (South Korea is semi-reluctantly empathetic to the NK situation), but the Chinese prefer to catch them and send them back to NK. There is video of people running past guards (similar to capture the flag) at the South Korea embassy so that they can be freed, and the guards tackling them to arrest them. ps, the guards have no pre-knowledge they are NK refugees until they see them desparately trying to walk into the embassy. Why? Because China would rather establish their own national justice than allow people to experience freedom in a life or death situation. Power. Thanks China.
Tibet. Tibet used to be its own country. Until China decided that it would rather have it around 50 years ago. So, they went in with military force (which the Tibetans have little concept of modern military force since they are essentially a nearly indigenous people), so were easily taken over. Congratulations China, you're bigger, and have more people to 'take care of.' Good luck with that. Oh wait, you just make people's lives worse. For instance: China in vast majority has no concept of religion. But, they know they don't want Buddhism, so despite the fact that this religion has been deeply ingrained in the culture for centuries, China declares it illegal (not even with anything to replace it), and runs the Dalai Lama out of his home in Lhasa. Thanks China. Instead of preserving the beautiful land, China says, 'let's mine it, and trash it out.' Moreso, while all of Chinese culture was forced on the Tibetans, while they were stripped of theirs, Tibetans do not share the same privileges of the typical Chinese citizen. I met a Tibetan that had to sneak out of Tibet, spent time in Nepal and India, and when he tried to sneak back, he was thrown in prison for 2 years. Why? Because China does not allow Tibetans to enjoy the same priviledges as their 'other citizens.' So, my question is, 'Tibetans are forced into Chinese government, but aren't allowed any of the priviledges of Chinese government?" Interesting. Thanks China.
Then, the Chinese are on an fearful insecurity kick of tourists right now, because some people from our country (our bad) burned a Chinese flag and raised a 'Free Tibet' banner / flag at the Mount Everst base camp and streamed video of it before the Chinese could censor it. All to say, now you can't do anything as a tourist in Tibet outside of having a guide. This means that you can't travel with freedom as a tourist (which I suppose is a priviledge and not a right, fair enough), and has caused a monopoly in the guide industry which has skyrocketed prices. Further more, this enables China to establish what I call 'white tax.' This is the extra amount I have to pay for a normal service because I am foreign. For example, a jeep to the border of Nepal direct from Lhasa, which is the cheapest, legal way to do it, costs me 600 yuan, and my Chinese friends 500 yuan. Why? Because I am foreign. I suppose in my next job I should charge extra for any Chinese citizen for a typical service. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to travel all around Tibet in a jeep with some nice Chinese people I met. After investigation we found that there was no way I was allowed to legally travel Tibet with these people even though we told them we were friends. I could have seen all of Tibet for so cheap, but no dice. Thanks China. Hope all that power works out well for you.
When I needed a service from a Chinese service agent, as soon as they realized I could not speak much Chinese they would wave at me to go away. Thanks China. Sometimes there was someone nice enough around who spoken enough English to help me out which was amazing. So frustrating. Some people I talked with didn't have this problem. But, they were people who stayed in nice hotels, ate in nice restaurants, etc. I can't afford this luxury. Apparently courtesy can be bought at a price. Thanks China.
The Chinese constantly litter. In China it's perfectly normal to throw your bag or bottle out the bus or train window. And the benefits of this are clear. The benefits line the roadways and trainways, and heap up in the street. They constantly smoke, even indoors, even in cramped jeeps without bothering to roll down the window. Thanks China.
After being their just one month I was so ready to get out. To leave the constant oppression of the government at every corner, the tyranny, the inefficiency, etc. And I was there only one month. Imagine spending your whole life there. To those who constantly complain about America and all the injustice and bad things about America, please, relieve your misery and go spend a year in China.
I'm so glad to be out.
Namaste Nepal.
Farewell Big Red.
ps- if you're chinese, or have chinese friends, which you probably do, understand this has not to do with the specific people (for I did find some very helpful chinese people) but moreso the government etc.
okay. where to start.
i realized once that the chinese government is like a very bad father. he has too many kids to be able to take care of them properly, but insists on having more due to its drunken lust for power. because of this drive for power, it is afraid to afford any of its kids their own individuality. so, it forms a grid that everyone must exist in. what houses they can live in, what jobs they can have, etc. by the way, this is called communism (which it denies that it is). this father attempts 'freedom' by starting a voting election. it only goes so far, however, when there's only one political party. it's like when henry ford back in the day said, "people can pick any color for their new automobile. As long as its black." well, what you drive and who runs your country are on two slightly different levels. Because China has more people than it knows what to do with, and because they don't allow freedom in the market, they have to create jobs. These created jobs mean to do one thing, 5 people are necessary making any government practice (i.e. getting a visa), completely inefficient and last about 10 times longer than is necessary. Thanks China.
i was unable to see my blog for a whole month. china is very particular with what internet sites it lets its people see. china has shaky relations with "google," it doesn't want google, but realizes that it can't really do anything without them. this angers the bad father. but, even though my blogger is through google, china bans that. Sometimes when you're surfing the internet, a little pop-up window appears, and that means that the Chinese government is watching you at the very moment. If you're wondering more about this structure of government, try reading a novel titled 1984 by George Orwell. many times you cannot get onto the website that you want, because china is very afraid. You can't get a Lonely Planet (the most popular tourist guide in the world) of China or Tibet, because they say things that are true that China doesn't want people to know. Thanks China.
North Korea. Ooh. China really hates this one. The school I stayed at in China is a front for projects that run in North Korea. In the school we couldn't talk out loud about North Korea, because people, Chinese government people, are listening. background: North Korea is probably the most oppressive situation in the world right now complete with concentration camps and actual brainwashing. i.e. If you have a house in North Korea, you must have a picture of the present leader, and his father, and if they are dirty or broken, you can be sent to one of these camps. So, people try to flee NK because it is bad. These are called refugees. If China catches a refugee, they will send them back to NK, where they and their family for 3 generations spread, will be sent to a camp. They do this because it is illegal for a NK citizen to be in China. (uhhh, that's why the UN acknowledges 'refugee' situations. China does not comply with this however, they are angry that these foreign people are in their country. China knows that if these NK refugees make it into a South Korea embassy in China, they will be freed from the tyranny by being given South Korea citizenship (South Korea is semi-reluctantly empathetic to the NK situation), but the Chinese prefer to catch them and send them back to NK. There is video of people running past guards (similar to capture the flag) at the South Korea embassy so that they can be freed, and the guards tackling them to arrest them. ps, the guards have no pre-knowledge they are NK refugees until they see them desparately trying to walk into the embassy. Why? Because China would rather establish their own national justice than allow people to experience freedom in a life or death situation. Power. Thanks China.
Tibet. Tibet used to be its own country. Until China decided that it would rather have it around 50 years ago. So, they went in with military force (which the Tibetans have little concept of modern military force since they are essentially a nearly indigenous people), so were easily taken over. Congratulations China, you're bigger, and have more people to 'take care of.' Good luck with that. Oh wait, you just make people's lives worse. For instance: China in vast majority has no concept of religion. But, they know they don't want Buddhism, so despite the fact that this religion has been deeply ingrained in the culture for centuries, China declares it illegal (not even with anything to replace it), and runs the Dalai Lama out of his home in Lhasa. Thanks China. Instead of preserving the beautiful land, China says, 'let's mine it, and trash it out.' Moreso, while all of Chinese culture was forced on the Tibetans, while they were stripped of theirs, Tibetans do not share the same privileges of the typical Chinese citizen. I met a Tibetan that had to sneak out of Tibet, spent time in Nepal and India, and when he tried to sneak back, he was thrown in prison for 2 years. Why? Because China does not allow Tibetans to enjoy the same priviledges as their 'other citizens.' So, my question is, 'Tibetans are forced into Chinese government, but aren't allowed any of the priviledges of Chinese government?" Interesting. Thanks China.
Then, the Chinese are on an fearful insecurity kick of tourists right now, because some people from our country (our bad) burned a Chinese flag and raised a 'Free Tibet' banner / flag at the Mount Everst base camp and streamed video of it before the Chinese could censor it. All to say, now you can't do anything as a tourist in Tibet outside of having a guide. This means that you can't travel with freedom as a tourist (which I suppose is a priviledge and not a right, fair enough), and has caused a monopoly in the guide industry which has skyrocketed prices. Further more, this enables China to establish what I call 'white tax.' This is the extra amount I have to pay for a normal service because I am foreign. For example, a jeep to the border of Nepal direct from Lhasa, which is the cheapest, legal way to do it, costs me 600 yuan, and my Chinese friends 500 yuan. Why? Because I am foreign. I suppose in my next job I should charge extra for any Chinese citizen for a typical service. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to travel all around Tibet in a jeep with some nice Chinese people I met. After investigation we found that there was no way I was allowed to legally travel Tibet with these people even though we told them we were friends. I could have seen all of Tibet for so cheap, but no dice. Thanks China. Hope all that power works out well for you.
When I needed a service from a Chinese service agent, as soon as they realized I could not speak much Chinese they would wave at me to go away. Thanks China. Sometimes there was someone nice enough around who spoken enough English to help me out which was amazing. So frustrating. Some people I talked with didn't have this problem. But, they were people who stayed in nice hotels, ate in nice restaurants, etc. I can't afford this luxury. Apparently courtesy can be bought at a price. Thanks China.
The Chinese constantly litter. In China it's perfectly normal to throw your bag or bottle out the bus or train window. And the benefits of this are clear. The benefits line the roadways and trainways, and heap up in the street. They constantly smoke, even indoors, even in cramped jeeps without bothering to roll down the window. Thanks China.
After being their just one month I was so ready to get out. To leave the constant oppression of the government at every corner, the tyranny, the inefficiency, etc. And I was there only one month. Imagine spending your whole life there. To those who constantly complain about America and all the injustice and bad things about America, please, relieve your misery and go spend a year in China.
I'm so glad to be out.
Namaste Nepal.
Farewell Big Red.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
lhasa, tibet, china
different from beijing, being stuck in lhasa is a good thing.
I need to upload photos, but for the time being I just can't be bothered.
to fill you in, lhasa is at just under 12,000 ft. of altitude. it's in a valley in between two small ranges that are part of the himalayas. the valley has the lhasa river that rolls through it. unfortunately, there's a lot of chinese influence in lhasa, since they took over 50 years ago. The irony is that had china not taken over i wouldn't be here, along with all of my fellow travellers in this great city. i think the trick is to get out of lhasa and see the real tibetan countryside. unfortunately, about 5 months ago, some passionate Western protestors (probably similar to that of a typical Boulderite) decided it would be a good idea to set fire to chinese flags for their own personal 'free tibet' campaign. Not only did they fail to 'free tibet' from chinese rule (surprisingly china didn't have compassion for their cause), but they imprisoned foreigners from being able to travel tibet freely. I met some rad chinese people who wanted me to accompany them all the way around tibet in their jeep, seeing everything tibet has to offer, for dirt cheap (splitting gas and accomodation), but we discovered that it is 100% impossible for a foreigner to travel outside of lhasa without a certified guide. certified guide = mucho denero, which of course the prices sky-rocketed ever since the protestors caused a monopoly in the market for tibetan guides. i mean, perhaps they carried a good message, but a poor method. maybe they should get a degree in communications from an accredited texan university. but i digress.
yesterday i did a hike of one of the local mountains. I have never had so much trouble and exhaustion form a mountain. I was actually unable to peak the summit I was attempting, because of altitude and how much effort it took me to get to it (there are no trails, just some random cow trails). In the distance I saw some Tibetan 'cattle ranchers' gathering their cattle and driving them down into town. Walking around the Himalayas directing their cattle at 17,000 ft. with long sticks apparently is just another day at the office. Needless to say, I established my gaper status in the Himalayas, and am mentally and emotionally recovering from my first failed summit ever. The conditions were perfect, I just couldn't hang with going probably 3 or 4,000 feet than I have ever gone before. Fair enough.
I will leave for Kathmandu, Nepal soon. I cannot wait. Wu ai lhasa, and I hope to return someday- maybe when i have more money to pay someone who will drive me all around tibet.
peace friends.
I need to upload photos, but for the time being I just can't be bothered.
to fill you in, lhasa is at just under 12,000 ft. of altitude. it's in a valley in between two small ranges that are part of the himalayas. the valley has the lhasa river that rolls through it. unfortunately, there's a lot of chinese influence in lhasa, since they took over 50 years ago. The irony is that had china not taken over i wouldn't be here, along with all of my fellow travellers in this great city. i think the trick is to get out of lhasa and see the real tibetan countryside. unfortunately, about 5 months ago, some passionate Western protestors (probably similar to that of a typical Boulderite) decided it would be a good idea to set fire to chinese flags for their own personal 'free tibet' campaign. Not only did they fail to 'free tibet' from chinese rule (surprisingly china didn't have compassion for their cause), but they imprisoned foreigners from being able to travel tibet freely. I met some rad chinese people who wanted me to accompany them all the way around tibet in their jeep, seeing everything tibet has to offer, for dirt cheap (splitting gas and accomodation), but we discovered that it is 100% impossible for a foreigner to travel outside of lhasa without a certified guide. certified guide = mucho denero, which of course the prices sky-rocketed ever since the protestors caused a monopoly in the market for tibetan guides. i mean, perhaps they carried a good message, but a poor method. maybe they should get a degree in communications from an accredited texan university. but i digress.
yesterday i did a hike of one of the local mountains. I have never had so much trouble and exhaustion form a mountain. I was actually unable to peak the summit I was attempting, because of altitude and how much effort it took me to get to it (there are no trails, just some random cow trails). In the distance I saw some Tibetan 'cattle ranchers' gathering their cattle and driving them down into town. Walking around the Himalayas directing their cattle at 17,000 ft. with long sticks apparently is just another day at the office. Needless to say, I established my gaper status in the Himalayas, and am mentally and emotionally recovering from my first failed summit ever. The conditions were perfect, I just couldn't hang with going probably 3 or 4,000 feet than I have ever gone before. Fair enough.
I will leave for Kathmandu, Nepal soon. I cannot wait. Wu ai lhasa, and I hope to return someday- maybe when i have more money to pay someone who will drive me all around tibet.
peace friends.
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