Rooftop!
Yesterday, Ama showed me the fantastic two-level roof deck on her building. I enjoyed a small pot of coffee while sitting up top and chatting with her. Her building is situated on the end of the hill just a bit below the temple and it has amazing views of the Himalayas. I'm there right now, enjoying another pot of coffee and trying to get into some kind of daily routine. From here, I can hear people in the village talking, insects and birds in the trees below, the occasional cow or chicken, and, every once and a while, the beep of vehicle horns off in the distance. From time to time there is a little noise from a plane or helicopter as well. It is relaxing but I'm a bit surprised at how constant the noise is.
The light background noise helps me to get up at a reasonable time. This morning I woke up a little after 6a. The sun had been up for proably about 30 minutes and the people outside had gotten up with it. Since most people here go to bed no more than an hour or two after the sun goes down, it isn't surprising they get up so early. I have definitely found sleep each night, so far, to be quite refreshing although I did wake up several times last night for no clear reason.
I'm trying to get into a routine here but it will probably take a solid week before that happens. I'm trying for early morning rising, coffee on the roof and misc personal things (journal, emails, reading, studying Nepali, &c) maybe until breakfast but maybe a few hours of rubble work too, breakfast, work all days (usually until 6p-ish), clean up at Ama's, dinner, and then more personal things before bed. That seems like a good balance to me and one that I can mostly carry back over to the US.
Kathmandu
Yesterday we went to Kathmandu for the day. Overall, we were gone for about 6 hours but the time went by fast. It is an incredibly crowded, bustling city and the damage from the earthquake has made it even more hectic. The destruction of the historical sites is extensive and really depressing. There is a strong air of sadness in the whole city; it is visible on peoples' faces everywhere I looked. I spent a while sitting with the two men who run an art shop where Kamel sells his work and they remarked on the same feeling.
The newspapers are still full of stories of tragedy and destruction everyday. The one man said it had gotten to the point where he can't even bring himself to do more than quickly scan a paper before he has to put it down and try to forget about it. Everyone is trying very hard to get back to normal though. The shops are open and there is shopping going on (albeit at a reduced rate) but it is mostly because everyone wants, at least, to put on the facade of normalcy. There are tent camps and military everywhere. Food and water stations are set up but the overall damage to the city is minor compared to many of the outlying villages.
Time to Think
With all the hustle of getting here and getting into a routine, I've had no time to think about anything about the present moment. Although that is good in many ways, I need to find some time to think about things; that is part of what I wanted to get out of this. A totally new setting, away from everything, in a place totally foreign to my experience is really going to help clear a lot of the mental blocks I've been running into the last few years. I also have the time to be organized and focus on one thing at a time without feeling rushed. I look forward to how this goes and hope that I can keep the clarity I gain once I return home.
