Beruit by day; Bethlehem by night

Looks like we made it through the airport in Bangkok just in time! A few days ago the anti-government protesters blocked a main highway to the airport, two days ago saw two blasts in the terminal, and yesterday both of Bangkok's airports were shut down, delaying hundreds of flights and putting the whole region on edge. Meanwhile, we've spent the last week getting into the on-again off-again groove of Kathmandu.

On the surface this city is large, noisy, and dirty. The smog is thicker and more acidic than I ever imagined smog could be. The roads are a chaotic honking free-for-all where pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, cows, goats, and dogs all compete for space. You can't drink the water, the showers are cold, the power is sporadic, dogs bark all night, and most buildings aren't heated. Yet there is something about this town and its people that has been drawing me closer day after day, a warm embrace that beckons us to extend our stay and return often. The people here are kind, thoughtful, skilled, and remain deeply connected to their cultural roots. A lot of delicious food (from rice to wheat to cows, goats, and chickens) is grown and raised within the city limits, and I imagine that the bulk of our intake the past week has originated within fifteen miles of here. Because the bulk of the population is poor, material possessions are often prized and taken care of, and almost nothing (except for packaging) is discarded.

The inherent problems of pollution and waste that have come from diesel engines, brick-making factories, incinerators, and western packaging seem insurmountable. The costs involved to institute a waste management program and clean-air standards are beyond the scope of this poor nation. But with small groups of committed citizens at work all over the Kathmandu Valley, I feel there is some hope that this city will one day have clean streets and be clear-aired.

We've been staying at the volunteer hostel portion of NOH's Papa's House 2 (above the boys home--a girls home, Papa's House, is just up the road). Here we've shared the top two floors of a very nice building with between five and seven other volunteers hailing from the States, England, France, and Sweden, and here for a variety of durations and purposes. Most of us share a common bedroom, and we all share a bathroom, kitchen, and office. The place is actually much plusher that either of us had imagined it would be. Downstairs live 24 boys between the ages of five and fifteen, supervised by their "daddy," Vinod, a native of Kathmandu in his early 20s, and several didi's (female caretakers). The boys are a riot, and have been a lot of fun to play with, teach, and learn from. Most of them speak pretty decent English, so they've been easy to communicate with, and have helped us learn our first few Nepali phrases.

As I write this Ashley is over at the girls house with another volunteer, Tamra, helping to teach an art class to the girls who haven't yet been admitted to the local private primary school, Skylark, where most of the boys and girls spend their days Sunday thru Friday (Saturday is the day of rest here). With the exception of Michael Hess (Papa), males aren't allowed in the girl's home, so my only interactions with the girls have been in their courtyard and on the way to school. They seem like just as much fun as the boys.