I know what it's like to be in Kathmandu in the dark. Some of you will remember that I spent two and a half months there volunteering in 2009. I lived in a volunteer house not far from Thamel, the tourist hub of Kathmandu, yet our little neighbourhood was so Nepali, that it felt like we were in another world walking down the street.
I arrived in Kathmandu at night and so didn't see much during the car ride to the house. As I walked into my new 3 storey home I remember being struck by how cold it felt. I distinctly remember asking the volunteer coordinator if the heat was turned on, to which he replied that there was none, and which made me think, Oh My God, I'm going to be miserable here. I realized quickly that I stupidly hadn't done enough research on Nepal before arriving; which is embarassing to say especially as it wasn't the last time. I distinctly remember months later flying into Cusco, Peru, one of the highest altitude cities in the world (which means cold if you didn't know), in flip flops. But anyway, in all fairness, my 9 other roommates were in the same boat as me so turns out I wasn't the only dummy.
The day after arriving we received an orientation to Kathmandu and specifically Thamel where we could have some of our western needs addressed. Once we had free time we all went from shop to shop buying hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, warm socks..everything you could imagine. It was on that first day that I met my now good friend Prakash, who sold me my beloved "100% yak wool" blanket. This blanket became the big joke of our friendship as it turns out that it, and probably every other "100% yak wool" blanket in the country are fake. He admitted to the heist when we became friends,yet I didn't hold it against him as I love that blanket. And it's something to still bug him about which is always fun.
In those first days I also bought a legendary pair of knitted, fleece filled slippers filled from my now friend Sushila. They are now pretty tattered, but were the warmest, most comfy slippers ever and I still love them.
So anyway, we not so hearty Canadians all did our best to outfit ourselves in order to survive a Kathmandu winter.
I remember being so cold for most of my time there, especially January and February. The first week we had Nepali language lessons for hours and we would lay there with our hats and gloves on, wrapped in sleeping bags, watching our breath as we talked. You would get up in the morning and dread sitting on the toilet because it felt like you were sitting on a block of ice. And the infamous butt hose which in principal I love, would literally freeze your privates because the water was so cold. It was a real shock to the system that's for sure. We would sleep in full gear with hats and all. So the cold was one thing I remember well about Nepal.
The other shocking aspect of life in Nepal that I had absolutely no clue about (must have missed that part in the trip notes as well) was load shedding. Load shedding is the country's attempt to conserve energy as they simply don't have enough. That translates to the power being shut off for hours each day. Some months it is less and others it's the majority of the day. The worst days while I was there involved 16 hours with no power. Can you imagine that? What that meant was at times not being able to blow your hair dry in the morning, showering in the dark with only a candle, eating and washing dishes by candlelight. Not being able to use the internet, and walking through the streets when it was dark, dark, dark. And it's not like the streets are paved which can be a bad scene for clumsies like me. No use for high heeled boots I learned quickly.
It's amazing how one adjusts to different environments though, as over time we did. We started to enjoy eating by candlelight, and it became routine to check the load shedding schedule so we could plan our day around when we would have electricity. Not to say that the schedule was always accurate, as you would be counting down the last minutes before the power was to go out, trying to get something done, and poof, it would cut out before it was supposed to. But then again there were also times when you were expecting to have no power, and then it would magically come on, making the world such a great place at that moment. That was the best...
You come to really appreciate the small luxuries, that's for sure. Warmth, light and power. This is one of the lessons I learnt from Nepal. That we are so lucky here, to not have to go without those things.
Since the devastating earthquake in Nepal, which I have been back to visit since, I have been consumed with worry for the friends that I now have there and for the Nepalese people as a whole. Thankfully I was able to talk to Prakash quite quickly, and learned that he and his family, many of whom I now know, are all ok. Sadly they have lost their homes in their native village, but at least no lives were lost. Many complain about Facebook, but it does have an amazing ability to reach across the world, and through it over the first couple days I learned that most of my friends are safe. Thank goodness. But the pictures coming out of this tragedy have been hard hitting, as so much of what I see is familiar to me. The beautiful temples are now piles of rubble, thousands of people are camped out in the open out of fear of the aftershocks. And one of the most scary things for me was seeing a tall white tower collapsed.
The significance of this tower is that I believe it is in an area called Sundhara which is right by the prison I used to visit almost daily. The tower is a tourist attraction but I remember it being an area where Nepalese congregated to eat and chat. The sight of this crumbled tower was so scary to see, as I have been so worried about Proscovia since I heard about the earthquake. For those who have read my blog, you will remember Proscovia as my Ugandan friend who has been incarcerated in a Kathmandu prison for the last 7 years or so. If the Sundhara area was hit, the prison could have been as well, which makes me so scared for her. Whereas most Nepalese are sleeping outside, I highly doubt that the prisoners will be allowed outside. So all I can think about is the panic inside with people feeling the shocks of the earthquake, knowing that they are trapped inside with no ability to get out. What is also hard is that I may not know for a long time, if at all, if Proscovia is okay given how bad the situation is.
Since last night I have been thinking about the darkness there, which I know about myself. I cannot imagine how terrifying it is for the Nepali people to be in their homes in the darkness, homes already damaged, feeling the aftershocks coming, and wondering what is next. I can't imagine those huddled in the streets and fields amongst thousands of others wondering about their future and that of their country. Can you imagine the chaos when the shocks come? Prakash's last message to me said that it was now raining which makes the situation even more awful. And it is only going to get worse as monsoon season is coming. I found that season hard too, walking down the dirt roads and it being muddy all the time. That was nothing compared to how it will be now with all of the dust and rubble. I just can't imagine.
I will await further word from my friends, and watch the news for all the updates. I will donate for the relief efforts and hope for the best for a people and a country that I care deeply about. I hope the world will too....
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