Because of the new hater mail, I refrained from relaying any stories about being mugged by monks, my conversations with a head monk about Leonardo Da Vinci, or how absolutely true the supposed cliché about the utter tranquility around these beautiful people is. I withheld these said stores because I feel this reader, having a certain adoration for Buddhism, would undoubtedly feel let down by my garbled tongue.

“but dude, for real, get someone to edit your words. i know its written exactly the same way you talk, but it looks bad”

“you are going to have to have some grammar skills… people dont like reading stuff that is written poorly”

“i would probably beat you up during a bandah, so i am sure the natives would too.”

This certain reader actually seems surprised that I am a bad writer! For that, I feel graciously complimented. Sorry to let you down, mr. purveyor of pretentious pronouncements. Anywho…

I have gotten around 75 visitors this month on this site. Truly amazing! Thank you, Dhanyabaad! So, i ask you, the reader, what do you want to see? Do you agree with the above statements that this site would be much more enjoyable without me writing? Or, even further, are there any certain things you want to know about Nepal? I don’t have a newspaper to work for anymore, and no one else wants to see my pictures, so if any of you have any curiosities about Nepali/Buddhist/Hindu/ etc culture, I will gladly try to answer any and all questions through picture stories. Let me know… cone.rc[at]gmail.com.

Interned for a maoist newspaper: check. (I might go back).

Totally depressed/culture shocked/wanting American 24 hr. electricity/convenience/etc: check.

Agonizing case of diarrhea because of buffalo meat: check.

Currently – Ma lai dairy khu-si cha (I am very happy)/Dissipating into Nepali culture and chaos smoothly: check.

Excited/Nervous/Confused/Unknowing/Open about the upcoming “elections”: check.

Figured out public transportation (kinda): check.

Ready to get out of Kathmandu and explore the mountains (w/out the tourists): check!

Applied to Korean teaching positions for the summer: check.

Learned to read/write/speak Nepali:      . (currently immersed in 4 hr/day classes, give me a month)

Decided to stay longer in Nepal: check.

Decided to give up my idealistic photography dream: ?. (and pursue a practical career such as a rock star and/or farmer)

Everyday at a different, unknown time the electricity throughout all of Nepal simply blacks out. Most of Nepal’s energy (maybe all) comes from hydroelectric power, and during the dry season, October through May, there is neither enough dams nor water to power the country. Everyone knows of this as load shedding, which does exactly that: sheds the load on Nepal’s electrical grid. For a country trying to develop itself, losing power 3-4 hours a day (sometimes more) certainly does not help their industry or productivity in any way. Newspapers talk of many solutions, from nuclear energy to more dams, but all solutions require excessive amounts of money that Nepali’s do not have. Above, Sita cooks in the dark. Obviously, unlit cooking happens everywhere, but in a major metropolitan area, in a middle class home? Yea, weird.

Coupled with an absence of electricity, petrol has become a much sought after commodity. The past weeks have seen indefinite strikes in an area known as the Terai, mainly the southern half of Nepal. These strikes are linked to one of Nepal’s many ethnic groups, the Madeshi, feeling left out of the political process. In fact, they feel so underrepresented in the fledgling political sphere, they want their own country. These strikes, or “Bandahs” in Nepali, are situated along the Nepal-Indian border where a majority of Nepal’s imports, including petrol, cross into the country. As a result, and at least in Kathmandu (I haven’t been or seen it anywhere else), long lines form at the limited number of petrol pumps around the city.

Inextricably linked to the border stand-offs, the supply of kerosene, used for cooking and the heating of people homes, has not escaped the bamboozling turbulence. More long lines, more waiting, and as can always be predicted: the distributor runs out. People walked home with empty jugs, just as they sometimes walk away without fuel in their gas tank. What amazes me is these people simply shrug their shoulders and walk away. (notice they have coca-cola and an ipod, but still empty jugs)

My first 3 days in Kathmandu there was another bandah in the city proper. Tires were burned in the streets, people shouted passionately, and all businesses and traffic were shut down. Unfortunately, I was very green and didn’t have the courage to take any pictures. This bandah was pointed at the government and their announcement to raise fuel prices. After 3 days of screwball shenanigans (the tires smelled terrible, some busses were destroyed with bricks), the government reneged the original price hike, much to the people’s happiness. Following the analysis of these events, I’ve concluded absolutely nothing. Economically speaking, prices for fuel go up. Simple. The people of Nepal are very poor. Complicated. Looking at things socially complicates it even further. No fuel for heat, for cooking, or for day-to-day business, not only exasperates poverty, it creates poverty. So with all that very roughly said, what is the solution? My solution: tell the 3.8 people who read this site regularly about a very tough situation and hope their superior intelligence and creativity produces better ideas than I ever will.

First, I am no anthropologist or cultural guru.  So, most of what happened on this day I didn’t understand at all.  This little guy is the center of the attention for the day.  Previously, a few days back, he was stripped naked at a temple and his head was shaved with only a small tuft left on the upper, back of his head.  After those proceedings, he has had his head wrapped since (pictured).

At about noon, a contingent of men, maybe 20-30 of them, left the house and walked in a long line to the temple.  In this procession, were many instruments, including big hand drums and flutes, people carrying the food that will be eaten later to be blessed, and, lastly, and most importantly, a goat.

As the procession arrived at the temple, the band started to reach a crescendo and circled the temple once.  Then, quite unexpectedly, the goat was dragged into the temple, its throat cut and bled into a cup at the feet of a god statue.  Once, the goat was bled out, it was dragged outside of the temple and thoroughly cut up.  First the head, then the neck.   The above picture is where that happened.

Because of Chang (rice beer) I was unable to shoot a lot of the party, so here are some preparations, and than some dancing.

FUN! Everyone was incredibly inviting, and wanted to see nothing more than a silly American dance. (in my opinion all the dancing I see from the Indian Pop tv is quite bad). I got down. I know about three indian songs, and they are the ones who use english for their choruses. “pump up the jam” is my favorite, or “do you want a partna?”, or even a bit of spanish for that mexicali- indian flavor: “maria, maria, seniroita maria”. Admittedly, I was quite drunk and having a good time.

Parties end the same way they do here as in America just in a different language, or very broken english. Su -Bas, mentioned before, sat me down and a. made me promise to come back for Krishna’s wedding b. make sure I understood he is my Nepali brother and “you my American broda”, and, lastly, c. making a promise that went something like this: “any Nepali disturb (points aggressively) you, I…(stumbling, drunk not sure of the word)…I…(slashes his index finger across his throat)” He did and said this about 5 times. I got the picture, and said “thank you, that is a very generous offer”