It seems as though I've got a touch of the manic depressant in me because my moods can so quickly ping pong in this stinking city. This morning I arrived at NDC relatively unscathed and spent the day altering a concept proposal I’ve written for a funding project, drinking chia with my coworkers, and taking a lengthy browse on facebook. I left the office, in a pretty good mood, and headed toward the bank. At my brisk unhindered pace I considering how cool my life is- “I’m living in Nepal, learning a new language, seeing something new on a daily basis, yeah yeah this is great!” As soon as I emerged from the side roads to the larger more bustling main street my mood began to go down hill. The pollution hit me square in the face. I could actually see the gray thickness in the air, I had to take two haggard breaths to take in enough actual oxygen that one breath normally gets me.The increasing crowd interrupted my pace and I was harried by the time I reached the bank, and of course the person I needed to see had left 20 minutes before I arrived. Typical. So back out into the chaos I went. My walking mantra resumed as I tried to navigate my way through the street, “Just give me a space, just give a space, just give me some space!” Nepalis pay no attention to what side they’re supposed to walk on and frequently just stop in the middle of the thin sidewalk to chat or set up a blanket with trinkets, socks, cigarettes, and whatever else to sell. This annoys me. I hate not being able to walk at my natural pace, having to constantly stop, swerve, duck, and dodge every single time I step outside. By the time I’m about a ¼ mile from my guesthouse I’m all riled up and frowning in displeasure. My “just give me a space” mantra has changed to “*itch get out the way!” Then, I see a boy with his mother a few paces away selling strawberries taking a dump right there on the sidewalk and that’s it…I’m totally fed up! These effing people have no regard for others, poverty makes people utterly self-centered! There is no respect for mutual space. Kathmandu is an utter shithole, quite literally.
Now believe it or not I really love Nepal, truly I do, and I know that being here is a unique experience, and I’m happy to be doing this. But daaaamn days like this make me LOVE... and miss... The US.
Oh and Happy Birthday Mom!
