Strike!

Namaste!

Wow the days are going by way to quickly! My days are packed... I've realized that I have not seen a lot of the essential tourist sites around the Kathmandu area (even 20 minutes from my house) because I've spent most of my time w/ the volunteer work. I know that sounds noble and altruistic, but the truth is that I just didn't bother to schedule it. I am going to try to get to the Monkey Temple and Baktapur before I go. However, I won't get to everything, so I guess I just have to come back... :)

Yesterday I woke up at 4:30 ( I usually get up at 5:00 or 5:30) I went to the roof and watched the sunrise. The smog is pretty bad, but you can see the outline of the Himalayas in the mornings. I love the mornings because from 5 to about 8 the weather is tolerable. After 830 it just gets hot. Even the evenings are pretty bad. We haven't had rain for a while... the rain usually cools things down.

I have a new respect for filmmakers... I spend all of my free time working on this project. Insomnia is actually helpful.

A couple updates: The leader of the landless community was able to return after paying a ransom fee. He is unharmed which is an indication that the Maoists are a little less severe than a few years ago, when abducted persons would regularly be tortured or killed. Despite the situation, the road was able to be installed in the community. This was a joint effort with the people and VSN. Each house along the road was asked to give 20 rupees (about 30 cents) and 5 bags of sand. VSN subsidized the costs and provided the trucks to transport the gravel.

This past week, there has been a slightly different mood in Kathmandu. On Sunday the Maoists led a transportation strike. All transportation (not just public) was forbidden. If someone attempted to ride their motorcycle or use their car... their tires would be set on fire. This happens frequently, but usually it is for buses only or taxis only. I've seen and smelled a lot of burnt tires, but nothing in action. It's interesting... all the volunteers found a way to make it to their commitments... Bryony (who usually takes a bus an hour to get into Pepsicola, our neighborhood) rented a bicycle and rode here on the empty streets. Two other volunteers walked an hour or more... Every volunteer was at our volunteer meeting that evening (even though many of the Nepali staff were unable to attend). We are all so committed! It is awesome!

For almost two weeks, there has been a teacher's strike. It is unclear who initiated it, but there is no organized union, so many teachers are unhappy about the strike even though it is an effort to raise their meager salaries. Apparently in the beginning days of the strike some teachers who tried to return to work were beaten. In the meantime... the students and teachers listen to the radio every morning to see in the strike is over. I visited my kids in Gottathar... they work in the fields, but mostly they are just hanging out. The strike worked in our advantage last week because when we visited the orphans all children were available to see the doctors and go to our workshops.

I want to tell you all about my kids in Gottathar as well as my knitting group. And I was in the sound studio all yesterday... that was an adventure! I met a Nepali pop star! Anyway, I have to go, so you'll have to hear about it later.

Namaste