Attack of the monkeys

There’s a big field in our neighborhood where all the kids play soccer. Because of the monsoons, parts of it are flooded, especially their goal area. So this morning a bunch of kids were putting dirt in whatever they make-shift containers could find and attempting to fill in the muddy holes with rocks and dirt. They were making very little progress, but it was so cute!

Today I told everyone that they could only speak Nepali on the bus rides. This was partially because we are such a big group and tend to get loud and a little rowdy on the buses. This is in contrast to the Nepalese who sit quietly and stare. So they practiced their Nepali and the people ate it up. Chelsie is especially brave. Gelu helps them, and fortunately I’ve mastered all their language concepts so far, so I can correct them too. They’re saying things like: what is your name?, where are you from?, etc.

We went to Bouddhanath, a world heritage site of one of the largest Buddhist stupas. For those of you unfamiliar with Buddhism, you should know that you always walk around a stupa clockwise. This is huge, so if you visit all the shops and monasteries along the way, it can take a while. You can also walk around the top. I like Bouddhanath because it is quiet, and unlike the other touristy areas of Kathmandu, vendors leave you alone for the most part. I also love to see all the little women in their traditional dress. You can see them in the shot from on top of the stupa. They’re wearing what looks like aprons. The colors are great too. It looks like the Solokumbu region where I trekked… all the homes are really great colors…the colors of my house actually.

Gelu is Buddhist, and he explained to me the meanings of the prayer flags. There are five colors, and each represents a different place where the prayer/mantra is sent or what the prayer is for. Red – fire, white – heaven, blue – sky, green – earth, yellow – art …cool eh?


This other picture is from inside some monasteries. In one, the monks were doing their traditional chanting and rituals, which was cool to see. Part of the ritual includes throwing rice as an offering to the gods. We saw a little mouse come out and steal some rice. That may be horrifying, but I thought it was cute. I picture some little monastic mice colony living behind the shrines. In another monastery a monk stopped what he was doing to answer his cell phone… so irreverence has reached the corners of the world!

We then went to Pasurpati. This is a very holy place in Hinduism. You are able to observe – close up cremations. Again, I’ve been here before, but it is fascinating to see. The kids found it interesting too. They were a little hesitant to go when I told them what they would see, but w stayed for quite a while and watched the process. Fortunately they got to see a cremation from the beginning. There were about eight or so going on while we were there.

There were 7 or 8 boys swimming in the water right next to the cremation sight. They were completely naked and not at all phased by the fact that the ashes were constantly being scraped into the water.

This is a little boy who is imitating the monkeys. His name is the same as a famous actor which is appropriate because he hammed it up for us... he wanted money




The biggest hit was the monkeys. Here they run wild with the cows and dogs. One of the monkeys stole a gum ball from Chelsie's hand... literally pried it out of her fingers, unwrapped it and started chewing the huge green gum ball. It was hilarious! Another one was convinced that I had a stash somewhere and grabbed me... he wouldn't let go. Katie captured the moment for you...

One of the domestic helpers (i.e. paid servant), Laxmi, came into the office today to say hi. She asked about my family and told me about her children. I knew her from last year. Anyway, I was able to carry on a full conversation with her… she speaks no English. I was a little surprised with myself. But it gave me a boost. I think last year I let Rick do most of the talking, so now it’s my turn. Tej mentioned how confident and brave my group is. I think they are just brave, confident kids, but he insisted it was my grasp of the Nepali way of life… or something to that extent.