Since the last post, I've moved to a new guesthouse in Thamel called Pilgrims Guesthouse. It's a little cheaper, and the only real difference is that a maid doesn't come in every day to make my bed. Which is fine, because I always make the bed before the maid comes anyway. Can't get ready or start the day without a made bed...you know I'm Dawn Olivier's child! I love the new guesthouse, and I've made friends with the restaurant manager, Sunny. Sunny has quickly become one of my best friends here!! He's been the manager for years and meets so many tourists that he's fluent in English, Spanish, German, and French. He hopes to visit America soon.
Last week was my first full week working at Heifer! I learned the ropes, and I now better understand the significance of backyard poultry here in the city. As promised, here is a picture of Heifer International in Nepal!
For two days Alina (the sweetest, most helpful partner) and I scooted around the city to talk to people in backyard chicken production. She translated, and I just smiled and scribed. Our first stop was an informal market on the side of the road. This man, Mr. Lama (same name as my personal taxi driver who is actually Sunny's uncle), sells about 100 chicks per week. He gets the chickens from Jhapa District. Cool! Because that's the district where I'm going to start following the supply chain! When we first showed up, he was "dressing" a chicken for a customer. That means chopping the chicken's head off, pouring out the blood, heating it up in a boiler, peeling the feathers off, butchering it, wrapping it, and putting it in a baggie...all on the side of the road. From start to finish it took Lama about 5-10 minutes. The fresh chicken was sold for 550 Nepalese Rupees + 40 NPR for Lama to dress it. 590 NPR is just under 7 USD.
Most of the vendors we talked to sold backyard chicken in informal markets, but we did interview one guy who sold in a formal market. That just means he rents a spot and is certified by the District Livestock Service Office. It's a totally different environment than those selling in informal markets--different regulations and challenges. Note taken for my report.
Thursday evening after finishing work it was raining pretty hard so Alina and I decided to post up in a cozy coffee shop on Freak Street. (Freak Street is famous for once being a popular hangout among hippies in the 60s and 70s.) Hours later, the rain had not stopped but only gotten worse. I told her to not worry about taking me home on her scooter. I would find a taxi. Usually, taxis are honking at me nonstop to solicit business. "Madame, taxi??" "Good morningggg, taxiii?" Usually, it is not pouring rain. There were few taxis, and all were full. I stood under an awning to stay dry while strategizing. I saw a tourist opt for a rickshaw, whose drivers are also usually soliciting business from tourists. I thought "Hey, that foreigner is doing it. I'll do that, too." I climbed in a rickshaw and minutes later the driver was pedaling through foot-deep water in alleyways dodging screaming Nepalese and half-sunk motor scooters. People were pretty much going crazy. I felt as if the moment was surreal--as if I were in a movie. About fifteen minutes later when we made it to Thamel (home sweet home) I gave the rickshaw driver a whole lot of American money and a whole lot of respect. I promised myself I would take at least one leisurely rickshaw ride before I left the country--not in the rain.
During the weekend I wanted to do last minute sightseeing since I knew I'd be leaving for the countryside soon. On Saturday Sunny took me with him to Boudha Stupa where people were worshiping for Buddha's birthday! I watched a form of worship where they go through the motion of lying on the ground and getting back up, placing their hands in prayer position over their heads then hearts, over and over...I THINK this is a form of a sun salutation like practiced in yoga. Shout-out to you yogis, especially at Barefoot Studio! Breezy, anyone, help on this subject would be fabulous! The motion is done 108 times per deceased family member they wish to pray for. 108 is a significant number in the Buddhist religion as there are 108 beads on the japamala, prayer beads.
In contrast to experiencing Buddhist culture on Saturday, I went to Catholic mass on Sunday at Assumption Catholic Church. Their custom was to take off shoes before entering. Instead of pews, they had mats for you to sit on and kneel on. As far as actual order of mass, everything was the same. It was a beautiful traditional mass mixed with the local customs such as the taking off of shoes and greeting others with hands in prayer position under the chin. I found out about the church because I met a Nepali guy Alex who randomly asked, "Are you Catholic?" I thought he was psychic! He said he meets a lot of foreigners who are Catholic. Turns out he is as well, which is why he asked. Christianity makes up about 1.5% of the population, so it's strange and beautiful that in this huge city I met Alex, a Nepali Catholic.
This weekend was especially fun because Emily arrived!! Emily starts work next week at Read Nepal in KTM. She, Jo, our new friend Alex, and I went to the Palace Museum and to one of our favorite hangouts to celebrate her arrival with momos (Nepali dumplings) and drinks. Emily slept from 5:00 p.m. that day until the next morning. It's exhausting getting here, but so worth it! Tonight we are all going out to eat for my Jhapa send-off. I fly out Tuesday a.m.
Thanks everyone, again, for the encouragement and support! I'm really feeling settled in now, and I'm excited to have another two full months to experience Nepali culture! Good luck to Tyler, Cathrine, and Lauren who are also implementing value chain analyses for Heifer in Cambodia and India. They've arrived safely to their respective countries and will be starting soon as well!
Jo and I had a tour guide last week who wrote in my notebook,
Never
End
Peace
And
Love
Namaste!
Abby
Last week was my first full week working at Heifer! I learned the ropes, and I now better understand the significance of backyard poultry here in the city. As promised, here is a picture of Heifer International in Nepal!
For two days Alina (the sweetest, most helpful partner) and I scooted around the city to talk to people in backyard chicken production. She translated, and I just smiled and scribed. Our first stop was an informal market on the side of the road. This man, Mr. Lama (same name as my personal taxi driver who is actually Sunny's uncle), sells about 100 chicks per week. He gets the chickens from Jhapa District. Cool! Because that's the district where I'm going to start following the supply chain! When we first showed up, he was "dressing" a chicken for a customer. That means chopping the chicken's head off, pouring out the blood, heating it up in a boiler, peeling the feathers off, butchering it, wrapping it, and putting it in a baggie...all on the side of the road. From start to finish it took Lama about 5-10 minutes. The fresh chicken was sold for 550 Nepalese Rupees + 40 NPR for Lama to dress it. 590 NPR is just under 7 USD.
Most of the vendors we talked to sold backyard chicken in informal markets, but we did interview one guy who sold in a formal market. That just means he rents a spot and is certified by the District Livestock Service Office. It's a totally different environment than those selling in informal markets--different regulations and challenges. Note taken for my report.
During the weekend I wanted to do last minute sightseeing since I knew I'd be leaving for the countryside soon. On Saturday Sunny took me with him to Boudha Stupa where people were worshiping for Buddha's birthday! I watched a form of worship where they go through the motion of lying on the ground and getting back up, placing their hands in prayer position over their heads then hearts, over and over...I THINK this is a form of a sun salutation like practiced in yoga. Shout-out to you yogis, especially at Barefoot Studio! Breezy, anyone, help on this subject would be fabulous! The motion is done 108 times per deceased family member they wish to pray for. 108 is a significant number in the Buddhist religion as there are 108 beads on the japamala, prayer beads.
In contrast to experiencing Buddhist culture on Saturday, I went to Catholic mass on Sunday at Assumption Catholic Church. Their custom was to take off shoes before entering. Instead of pews, they had mats for you to sit on and kneel on. As far as actual order of mass, everything was the same. It was a beautiful traditional mass mixed with the local customs such as the taking off of shoes and greeting others with hands in prayer position under the chin. I found out about the church because I met a Nepali guy Alex who randomly asked, "Are you Catholic?" I thought he was psychic! He said he meets a lot of foreigners who are Catholic. Turns out he is as well, which is why he asked. Christianity makes up about 1.5% of the population, so it's strange and beautiful that in this huge city I met Alex, a Nepali Catholic.
This weekend was especially fun because Emily arrived!! Emily starts work next week at Read Nepal in KTM. She, Jo, our new friend Alex, and I went to the Palace Museum and to one of our favorite hangouts to celebrate her arrival with momos (Nepali dumplings) and drinks. Emily slept from 5:00 p.m. that day until the next morning. It's exhausting getting here, but so worth it! Tonight we are all going out to eat for my Jhapa send-off. I fly out Tuesday a.m.
Thanks everyone, again, for the encouragement and support! I'm really feeling settled in now, and I'm excited to have another two full months to experience Nepali culture! Good luck to Tyler, Cathrine, and Lauren who are also implementing value chain analyses for Heifer in Cambodia and India. They've arrived safely to their respective countries and will be starting soon as well!
Jo and I had a tour guide last week who wrote in my notebook,
Never
End
Peace
And
Love
Namaste!
Abby
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