Our Whirlwind Adventure

Part I – To Atlanta

When we flew into Kathmandu in August, there were no problems, in fact we were out of customs and on our way almost too soon! Flying out of Kathmandu airport, however, was another story entirely. The good news is that we got to the airport in plenty of time. From the time we got to the airport until the time we got on the plane, all we did was stand in one line after the other. (Although I guess that’s like most airport experiences?) First there was a long line at ticketing, about 20 minutes wait. Then we had to go through emigration, another line. Then there was a line to go through security, separate lines for men and women. Then there was a post-security checkpoint, and then we had to wait in line to get into the waiting room, one big room for all the outgoing flights. It was almost completely full of people. We waited there for a while, having sat next to some old man who tried to give Leela a Snickers bar, and put his finger to her lip (is it rude to just yank your child away?), and watched a Bollywood musical on mute. Suddenly (and with no prior announcement that we could hear from the back of the room), all these people started heading for the gate. Is that our flight? Let's just go see . . . Look, those people were in line at ticketing with us . . . Turns out it was our flight, because the next thing we knew we were on the plane!

The flight to Abu Dhabi was uneventful and relatively short. When we arrived and tried to get a taxi to our hotel, the first driver we got didn’t know how to get there, and several different people tried to explain the route to her, to no avail. Finally, we got into a different taxi and it was fine. The hotel this time was nicer (and more expensive) than the one we stayed at before. The wireless Internet didn’t work when we first got there, so we went to sleep. I awoke the next morning (4 or 5 hours later) to Dave freaking out! He had gotten 2 separate emails from our travel agents in Ann Arbor: “We need some information (age, sex, and address of the passengers) and if we don’t get it, your reservation could be affected!” Well, I’ll spare you the panic attack, and skip to the part where we got to the airport even earlier than we originally planned, and everything was fine. The next flight was back to Chicago and it was long, but uneventful. Our flight attendant got us an entire row to ourselves. It was very thoughtful, but the armrests didn’t go all the way up for some reason, so it wasn’t as great as it could have been. I got to watch a couple of movies while Leela was sleeping, “Cyrus” – pretty good, actually; and the first 30 minutes of “The A-Team” – not great, but entertaining.

Once in Chicago, we had no problems in customs or with rechecking our luggage, which was great. As we had a 6-hour layover, we went to the children's "museum", really just a big play area. There was this Swedish (or some sort of Scandinavian) family there who seemed to have about 6 kids. When we arrived, they were running all over the place and whaling on each other with these block cushions that were there. As you could imagine, the biggest kid reigned.

We got grilled cheese and a beer at an airport bar. We then got on the plane to Atlanta where Leela had her first and I think only major meltdown of our journey. We were in the back of the plane where all families get relegated. We got to Atlanta around 11:00 and took the Marta to our hotel. Leela’s first train ride!

Part II – Atlanta

Our hotel was pretty nice, and not very far from the Marta stop. We ended up watching Invictus until 3 am, and when I woke up the next morning I was sick with a sore throat. My parents and sister arrived around 1 pm, and Tammie and I went shopping while my parents napped and Dave went to the conference. I know I must sound incredibly lame, but I missed Whole Foods. Leela did not miss being in a car seat, though; because she screamed from the moment we strapped her in until she got out of the car. That night we went out for dinner with my brother and his family. A party of 12 on a Saturday night! We ended up driving to this big mall place (Atlantic Station), which turned out to be a bad idea because there were too many options and too much walking involved. After some standing around and hemming and hawing and bitching and moaning, I took the initiative and finally found a place close by that could seat us right away (the first restaurant I went to had a 3 hour wait). It was pricey (probably why they were so empty), but it was good and I think everyone enjoyed it. Tammie and I stayed up late drinking beer and chatting, it was great to hang out with her. On Sunday I was sicker than the day before – achy and feverish, so I ended up sleeping most of the day, and spending the night in the hotel while my family did Halloween up in Woodstock at my brother's house. We did at least manage to get Leela in her panda costume. The photographs show that she would not have worn her costume for very long had we gone to Jay’s. (Turns out I got everyone sick. Sorry!) Monday was mellow – we said goodbye to my family and spent the day at the Olympic Park where there was a nice playground and grassy areas for sitting (or in Leela’s case, crawling and walking around). Then we had dinner at a local brewpub (the beer was just ok) before heading to the airport.

Part III – The worst decision I ever made (or close)

We got to the airport about 2 1/2 hours before our flight was scheduled to take off. Plenty of time, right? Wrong. We got stuck in line behind 50 (give or take) missionaries on their way to Africa and who were on our flight to London. Of course there was only one ticketing agent for all of them!! They were all wearing blue polo shirts and most of them had their travel neck pillows attached to their backpacks. It was clear that this was the first time flying anywhere for most of them. I saw one teen get to the desk only to turn around and ask some adult for his passport and flight info. What also took so long was that each of them was checking in a big Rubbermaid bin full of their missionary supplies (whatever that means). At one point, I was wandering around the line area, and came across one of the missionaries with her family. Two of her boys were just fascinated by Leela, and the mom said to me, "They just love babies! They're always asking me to have another one, but I have seven already!" At hearing this one of the boys, about 6, said, "Yeah, Mom, you should have another baby!" And the mom said, "I don't know, son, I think I'm too old!" And then the son said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to keep praying!”

Anyway, I think we were standing in line for over an hour. By this time we had to rush to get to the gate on time. In going through the security line, I had set down Leela’s and my passports and boarding passes in order to unwrap her and go through the metal detector. We had gotten all back together and were on board the train to take us to the gate when Dave asked me if I had our boarding passes. Oh shit! I forgot them at security! We had to get off the train at the next stop. Did I mention that Atlana's airport is like 2 miles long or something? Dave took Leela and I started running back toward security. Did I mention that I was still sick? After dodging and weaving through lots of cranky and dazed passengers, I got to the end of the moving walkways. I saw before me 3 down escalators, an up escalator with a sign that said, “To Baggage Claim,” and an elevator, which also said, “To Baggage Claim.” In a moment of panic I thought, “Oh shit, I can't take the elevator or it will take me to baggage.” This left me with no choice. I had to go up the down escalator. Little did I know that this was to be one of the worst decisions I have ever made. Did I mention that it is a two or three story escalator? I had already run probably half a mile at this point, mind you, and did I mention that I was still sick? I got about halfway up (I'm gonna make it!). I go for another few minutes and I was starting to get tired (I better make it!). I got to about 5 or 6 steps from the top and by then, I was struggling. It was all I could do just to maintain my position (Oh shit, I'm not going to make it!). By then Dave and Leela had caught up, and were cheering me on from the bottom. I could see the floor getting farther and farther away; I was literally crawling at this point. At this point I spotted a security man. “Help!” I said, “I need to get back to security!” “Well,” he said, “you could take the elevator.”

I sunk down and rode it to the bottom. It was all I could do just to put one foot in front of the other. Somehow I managed to get onto the elevator, and we got our passports and boarding passes back. Thank God they were still at the desk. We took the escalator back down to the train, and I realized, “wow, this is a big fucking escalator!” Of course a train was waiting there about to leave, and Dave said, “Jill, quick! The train!” Quick?! I could barely walk! Somehow I managed to walk a little faster and we made it. I immediately laid down on the bench. The train ride was not long enough to recover, but some kind woman gave me a small bottle of water. When we got to the gate they had started pre-boarding (First Class passengers and people with small children, or those who need extra time), so we just went right up and got aboard. It wasn't until we were about to take off, that I had recovered enough to say to Dave, “That was a bad idea.” I then proceeded to pass out for the first hour of the flight, and thankfully, so did Leela. Dave woke us up by getting out of his seat. I don't think Leela or I slept for the rest of the flight! (About 7 hours.) We landed in London at 10:30 am and booked a bus to take us to Cambridge. We had to wait in the airport for about an hour. I was looking forward to checking out the scenery on the bus ride, but I was too tired. I couldn’t keep my eyes open! When we got to Cambridge it was 2:00 and our host and friend, Enzo, made us some lunch and then Leela and I napped until dinner!

Part IV – Cambridge

Cambridge is beautifully situated on the River Cam (hence the name). It was just lovely, and I wish we had more time there. Between Leela and my sleeping and napping, and Enzo's busy schedule, we barely spent any time with him. Dave had more time with him, which was good. To get around in the university, you must either pay visitor’s admission (separate for each college), or be with a student or faculty. Thus, I didn't get to see much of the university, but did manage to walk about the town. There is a nice river walk near Enzo's house that you can take into the historic part of town. There are lots of nice shops and restaurants. We went to a really good French bistro for lunch on Thursday, and a terrible pub for dinner the night before. I ordered a "gourmet" burger, which turned out to be a thick slab of gristle, well done. The chips were good and the beer was ok. I should have had my burger comp-ed, but I didn't want to be thought of as a picky American, so I didn't complain. One great thing about going to Cambridge was that we got to experience fall weather, and we got to see some beautiful fall foliage. But our stay was over too soon, and we were off to the airport early Friday morning. We spent a few extra pounds and hired a car instead of taking the bus. Well worth the extra money!

Part V – Delhi and Home

We got sat next to a nice Indian family on their way to visit family in Delhi. There was the mom and dad, a sister, and a grandma, and of course their daughter, who was 14 months old. She was very cute and just as fascinated with us as Leela was with them. Neither of the kids nor me or the grandma slept much on that flight. Actually, Leela was quite taken with the grandma, who held both girls on her lap a few times. I had to walk Leela up and down the aisles a bunch, and let her sit and play at the foot of our seat (thank god we had the bulkhead!). We got to Delhi at 1:30am, and headed straight for the international transfers desk. Evidently, an agent from the airline you arrive with has to “hand you over” to your next airline, but no one seems to know anything at all. Perhaps they do, but it’s hard to know. So despite the fact that when we arrived there were 5 or 6 agents at the desk, we ended up having to wait nervously for a couple of hours for someone from British Airways to show up so they could deal with our transfer. Actually, BA had a no-nonsense woman in charge, so things happened expeditiously for us. We only had to wait for 2-3 hours. Apparently, it’s a toss up as to when agents show up at the desk. While we were there, there were several passengers who had apparently been waiting for 12-14 hours and had missed their connecting flights waiting for someone. In the end, we got through and to the gate with plenty of time to spare. The flight to Kathmandu from Delhi was very short, only a little more than an hour. When we arrived in Kathmandu, we got all of our luggage and through customs without any problems. It was definitely a different feeling arriving in Kathmandu this time from the first time. For one, I knew what to expect, and despite how crazy it is here, it felt kind of like home!

Animal Update

The cat family is gone! We went away over night last weekend, and they flew the coop! We haven't seen them around at all since. I guess the good news is that is must mean that the kitten's eyes were healed enough to go out into the wide world. We miss them, though. I find myself listening for meowing at night.

We are in the midst of the biggest Hindu festival in Nepal, called Dasain. It started over a week ago and will last another week or so. One of the days of the festival is called Maha Astami. It is a day where thousands of goats are sacrificed to the goddess. It was on Friday-Saturday, and all that weekend, and in the days leading up to it, we could hear the goats screaming... It was like Silence of the Lambs around here ... very disturbing!

Cats and Dogs

Kathmandu is home to more street animals than I have ever seen before. Dogs sleep in the streets by day and roam wild at night. We are rarely out in the evenings, but when we are, it’s a bit scary, as there are more dogs than people on the street. Some dogs have nasty wounds, or are super thin. A lot of people have dogs as pets, and most leave them locked up outside at night. There is a part in One Hundred and One Dalmations where the dogs all talk to one another and relay messages across town. To the humans in the story it just sounds like a lot of barking. This happens here every night. If I can, I will try to record a conversation and post it. It is insane.

We have a family of cats that live on our roof. A mom, dad, and 2 kittens. One of the kittens has an eye infection, and we have taken to feeding them saucers of milk every day. The sick kitten is a lot smaller than his brother. We took him to the free street animal clinic the past 2 Saturdays, and have been giving him eye drops to clear the infection. He is very comfortable with us now, and comes for pets whenever we come to the roof for a visit. The momma cat will rub on my legs, but won’t let me pet her, and the other kitten is scared of me. They like hanging out, though, since they get milk from us. It’s no substitute for Oscar and Meeps, but it helps.

Last night the momma cat and kitten were meowing at our bedroom window looking for more milk. This morning I found them on the roof eating a bird that the momma had captured . . . so maybe they don't need so much milk after all.

A day in the life...

I realize I haven't posted anything in several weeks! I apologize, but I lost a week reading the Millenium Trilogy! (It was very good.)

We've been here over a month now, and we're definitely settled in. I found a regular playgroup here in Boudha, and it's great to see other moms and interact with other adults for a change. Leela seems to enjoy it also, even though she's the youngest one there by 8 months. Leela loves standing, and can get up to standing all by herself, and has already taken a few tentative steps. Crawling is still her preferred method of locomotion at this point.

Our daily routine is as follows (sort of): We wake up, play for an hour or two while I eat breakfast, and then it's nap time. After nap time we play more, maybe go shopping or go to the bank, and some days we go out for lunch. Other days we lunch at home on leftovers from the dinner the night before. One more nap in the afternoon, and then we play until dinner time. Our didi makes dinner on the week nights. It's usually rice and/or chapatis, dal, and a vegetable curry. On weekends, Dave or I make dinner, usually something easy like eggs and potatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches, or pasta and sauce. The other day I felt inspired and made hoecakes and tomato sauce... When we cook, we have to either cook the hell out of whatever we make, or make sure to use boiled or bottled water for cooking. If we're eating anything raw, we have to soak it in Chlorinated water for 15 minutes. It's definitely not as easy as cooking in the West.

In one of my last posts, I mentioned something about how in many ways living here is like living anywhere else. In some ways that's true, you get up, brush your teeth, shower, eat, sleep, all the usual stuff. However, here some of the daily routine stuff is just a little more difficult. Brushing teeth, for instance, you have to rinse with boiled water. Cooking, you need to be super clean and cook everything thoroughly (goodbye, eggs over easy), also we have no oven. Clothes, everything is hand washed, so clothes get stretched out. It's having to go through the extra effort that makes me miss and better appreciate all the conveniences of home. It's easy to live here, but also more difficult.

Karma

I have an irrational fear of spiders. When I see one, I usually have Dave "take care" of them for me. I am paying for my ordered killings now. There are all kinds of spiders in our apartment, at least 4 different species, and one species in particular is HUGE. It's body is at least the size of a nickel . . . and we find them everywhere. This morning I was forced to hang out with Leela in our bed because there was a giant one in the living room where we usually play, and another in Dave's office area where we also hang out a lot. I can only hope that one day I won't come home and find a giant spider head on my bed.

Kathmandu - Week 2

Ladies night went well. I ended up going with another mom who lives just up the street from me in Boudha, so I didn't have the negotiate the taxis or try to find the place (in the dark) by myself. I also went to her house last Friday for a play group. She lives just up the road from us. On Saturday we went on a tour of Patan with Shedra students. Our tour guide was very good, and gave us an interesting perspective on the historical heritage, urban planning issues, and the cultural formation of the city. Yesterday, I went to a different play group in Lazimpat, near the British Embassy. I only met one other mom, though, since most of the adults there were nannies. After the playgroup, I walked into Thamel, which is the main tourist area in Kathmandu. All I can say about it was that there were more white people than I've seen in a while, and every other shop was either a trekking supply or a pashmina shop. It was good for me to get out and about on my own, though, and the taxi rides were uneventful, and easy to negotiate.

Now that we’re all caught up on our past week’s activities, a little exposition about where we live. Our flat is on the ground floor of one of two buildings on a small compound. The compound grounds are really lovely, although we haven’t spent much time in them yet, as they are currently a breeding ground for mosquitos. There’s a large garden in the front by the gate, and a larger garden in the back where our landlord’s house is. In our building, there is another flat upstairs, but it is currently unoccupied. There are also stairs leading to the roof, where we have a nice view of the Boudha stupa and the surrounding mountains. The building itself is all concrete, though we have lots of screened windows, so we get a lot of light and airflow. The floors are either covered with a very thin carpeting, tile, or a roll of vinyl flooring. There are a few oriental rugs about which are nice. Leela’s play area is on one of the rugs, since it offers a little more padding for when she falls.

We are located just off one of the main roads in Boudha, the Mahankahl road. Evidently it was just paved a few years ago, but it is now so riddled with pot holes (or, rather, huge gaping holes), that the taxis have to swerve from one side of the road to the other. We are near the Karma Dorje Gompa, and a mere 5 minute walk to the Institute. From the main road, turn in where the café with the FIFA World Cup sign is, and then left at the cow, cows, or calf, depending on the day. We’re the second gate on the right. Seriously though, there aren’t very many street names here, so giving or getting directions usually involves drawing a map, or telling people to turn near the big tree, or the man with the wooden leg.

The sights and sounds here are different from anywhere else I’ve ever been (not that I’ve traveled extensively or anything), and the range of relative wealth to poverty is striking. We’ve seen squalid ghettos – one small room (6’ x 6’) for a whole family with no windows or doors, and a mud floor; to a beautiful mansion with gardener, driver, cook, and housekeeper. And all of this can be within the same square kilometer! As well, there are plenty of homeless people about (we were accosted by two children at Swayambunath, who followed us around for a good 5 mintues). The other day a beggar followed me to my front gate, and when I locked the gate behind me (I was glad for the lock!), started yelling after me and banging on the gate.

When I wake up in the mornings, it’s to the sound of gongs from the surrounding monasteries, barking dogs, cows, birds, and traffic. Later in the morning the horns start, and you can hear them for most of the rest of the day. Not horns from the cars and motorbikes, although there’s plenty of that as well, but from the monasteries. There are like 2 dozen monasteries in Boudha, so I’m not sure from exactly where the horns are coming from – probably a combination of several locations.

Walking around, there are cars, motorbikes of various kinds, trucks, bicycles, and people everywhere, and all crowded along the same narrow roads. You really have to be careful to walk in a straight line, because vehicles (motorcycles especially), will cut around you super closely, and not always honk their horns. Because it’s monsoon season, the pollution isn’t as bad as it can be, but it’s still pretty bad, especially on the main streets. (We’re even considering getting a carbon filter mask for Leela, if we can figure out where to get one, and if she’ll wear it.) There is trash everywhere, sometimes scattered about, sometimes in huge piles right by the side of the road.

I wouldn't say we've gotten into a daily routine (at least Leela and I haven't), but life is getting more comfortable (if you can call it that). The thing I miss the most is not having to worry about the cleanliness of the water and food. Other than that, it's not all that different from life anywhere else.

That's it for now, Leela needs her mom!