White Baboon

O what a night

It is exactly 2 am, and I sit here writing in my bed, giving off a little start every time the power surges and the lights become so bright they look like they might pop. The sound of the rain should be calming, as it is constant- not pounding, but always there. But the rain is part of my little problem.

Why up at 2 am you ask? Well, when else would I get up taking turns with my boyfriend, running for the bathroom to expel the evil falafel that has over taken both of our digestive systems?  During my last run to the facilities, I encountered something I never have before here in Nepal, and just when I think I have seen every oddity, every strange encounter, every exotic dress, reality comes and smacks me in the head and reminds me I have just seen the tip of the ice berg for strangeness here.

As usual, I digress. I left the bathroom praying I wouldn’t have to go in there again till morning, when shock of all shocks, somehow in the time I had been in there my “lobby” as they call it here, or entrance way as we call it in the west, was over taken with frogs. Was. Ha, there is no past tense, they are still there.  Tons of frogs. Little frogs, big frogs, high jumping frogs and skinny frogs. The rat of course, was not to be outdone by the frogs and made an appearance. We have seen traces of his existence, left huge amounts of poison in every corner of the house, but never actually seen him. That is, until tonight. I will not describe monster mouse as a rat- for a rat he is not. He is more like a Persian cat with a really long tail. Not a small Persian cat, not a kitty, but a full grown monster of a Persian cat with a bad temperament caused by age and the certainty that I am trying to kill him.

So, we have drawn the lines, this nasty rat and I. We both can see in each other a worthy nemesis, and neither one of us is going to leave the other without a fight. I have decided to do something I would not ordinarily do, I have decided to get a cat. Not that I am cat adverse, I actually like them. It is just that I feel bad getting any animal if I am away from home so frequently, as I am. But I am sure the cat will be on my side in this matter and take care of the rats, frogs and snakes that seem to enter my home on their whims, rather than my invitation.

Fast forward a few days….

I am reading what I wrote only days before and thankfully, feel so far removed. Today is my happy birthday, and I am sitting in a beautiful, clean hotel room in the resort town of Pokhara with an amazing view of Machhupachaare- or Fish Tail Mountain; called such because it suddenly jumps up from the rest of the Himalayas, coming to a perfect triangular point.

I have always been a birthday lunatic. A seriously self absorbed, make everyone celebrate for me, birthday fanatic. I don’t request attention on my birthday, I demand it. I know this sounds like a rather unlikeable trait, but once I make everyone around me aware of my birthday- I also make them participate in the fun of it. What is a birthday rather than a celebration of not having to face the alternative? And if for just a little while we remember this, rather than think of all the life sucking normal daily activities, then I consider my birthday a success. I can’t help but get a little squishy and sentimental here, but looking back and now looking out my window, I cannot believe what a good life I have had. I have done some truly amazing things, met remarkable people, traveled to places that many just read about. So thank you, my parents for having me, and thank you, my Ricky for letting me.

Today is not any ordinary day for Nepal, either. Today, the government will finally be formed. See, we have a different perspective in the West about what is and what is not government like behavior. Here, all bets are off. When we have elections in the United States, for example, the candidates do not try to kill the other one, or kidnap their relatives. Our candidates just spend lots of money on plane tickets and TV ads.  When a candidate has been elected, we have predetermined dates when they take office. That would be far too simple approach for the government of Nepal. Since the elections usually don’t happen on time, (this last one was postponed three times), there is no way to determine when and how who has won will actually ascertain their position by, oh, I don’t know, actually making government based decisions.

Even though I know I personally have nothing to do with it, I still think it is cool that this is the day the government decided to “form” and hold their first real meeting to make some (hopefully) forward moving decisions for this little nation. On the check list of things to be done for the nation from a publication called the Nepali Times:

·         Keep the peace process on track

·         Reassure the people of Nepal that a State still exists

·         Provide consumers with basic needs (petrol, cooking gas, rice)

·         Ensure food for the neediest, Nepal is now on the UN’s hunger hot spot list

·         Crack down hard on those blocking highways on whatever pretext.

·         Ensure Maoists return seized property, stop YCL hooliganism (the YCL is the Young Communist League, the youth section of the Maoists, and currently their out of control three year old.)

·         Reform the police to prevent more mutinies, warn them that they are being watched.

There are many more, but these are the main points that jump out at me and remind me so frequently that I am in the “Wild West”. Up until a few years ago I never thought societies like this really existed. There has been more of an anarchy here for the past two years than there has a functioning form of government. Sure, the whole place seems to fall apart at the seams at times, like when garbage is not picked up for weeks on end and is left roadside, blocking traffic and even cows from passing by, but the people here pick up the pieces when the government can or will not.

So, today is the celebration of the birth of a functioning government in my adopted nation and a celebration that I am here to witness it. Birthdays are so much better than the alternative.

I am doing it once again. I am leaving. That long trek across the globe that is as unforgiving as it is tedious. No longer do I feel the excitement of being on a plane, traveling unfathomable distances in mere days. Instead, knowing that I have done this before, I give into a quiet resolve. Only counting the day before I arrive into the parallel universe that is my other home, Nepal.

There is a strange cocktail of emotions that I experience every time I leave. Nostalgia, sadness, excitement at seeing what has changed, anxiety, trepidation, missing my family and friends even before I have left them. I inevitably try to cram in as many experiences as possible to produce fond memories until the next time I see them…

And, of course, a certain amount of inner chaos, guilt, and questioning goes on in the days leading to my flight… “Why do I do this? Why do I leave? Am I doing the right thing? Will I ever settle down again?”

The answer is always compelling to me, because I am not certain “why” I just “know.”

I am fully aware what is in store for me. I am taking the route I enjoy the most and with the best in flight movies. I love leaving Newark, New Jersey and waking up in New Delhi, India. It feels like crossing worlds, not continents.

As soon as I step off the tarmac, pass through immigration and grab my luggage and make my way towards the crowds of people yelling, the smell always hits, this overwhelming masala of smells that can only be found in Delhi. It is a combination of rotting garbage, sweet smells of chat stalls, curries, exhaust, and the essence human beings all mixed into an aroma that is choking the first time you smell it. Then and only then does the brain register the heat.

The heat is impossible, or one would think, but millions of people are still able to live- and thrive- in it. It just takes the body a little while to realize “I can do this…” All it takes is a little more focus than usual on breathing, and realizing that it really is impossible to suffocate because of the dense nature of the air.

I know I am going back to a Kathmandu that is in the throws of political chaos, fuel, water and food shortages, and limited electricity, which is really nothing new. In fact, I love getting a front row seat to the beginning of a new (maybe) Republic.

So this is just the beginning of yet another adventure. I invite everyone reading this to come along, as I am certain it will be as uncertain, chaotic and entertaining as before.