Living Nepali: “Never let your schoolwork get in the way of your education”

I’ve made a few short references to the fact that weekend adventures are easy to come by and so much better than sitting around Kathmandu. And after a week of having Nepali classes kick our butts and experiencing extreme exhaustion from city/Nepali life, it’s good to get “away”.

So last weekend, a few of us decided to meet up with our friend Amrit who lives here in Kathmandu. He took us to Nagarjun, a national park a short taxi ride outside of Thamel. Of course (in typical Nepali style) we came across a couple stumbling blocks and things didn’t go quite as planned, but after some negotiating we were able to get in and we began a hike up the “hill”. Nearly the entire trek was up a set of rather steep stairs (a strange concept… switchbacks of stairs leading all the way up a mountain). And we even passed by several Nepalis adding to the stair construction.

Up, up, and up we went, and eventually we made it to the top – on what turned out to be arguably the clearest day since our arrival to Kathmandu. With the Himalayas lining the horizon to the left and the entire Kathmandu valley scattered to the right, the view was gorgeous. There was a Buddhist temple at the top, hundreds of prayer flags strung all around the haven that made us feel miles outside the city. After an impromptu nap in the grass, we were back on our way and after a quick stop in Thamel, Jack, Nikki and I (again, as an impromptu decision) decided to hop in a cab to meet up with several other students in Nagarkot in the hills on the edge of the valley.

We arrived just as the sun was setting, and wandered a bit til we found the guest house where the rest of our group had checked in. A meal of Tibetan Thukpa (noodle soup) and some delicious crepes later, we met up with everyone and listened to a bit of a guitar and drum concert (by candle light, thank you loadshedding) by the men who owned the hotel decided to put on for us – an impressive performance (American songs and all).

We got up early the next morning to find that we were locked inside the guesthouse (the metal garage-type door was pulled down and everyone else was still asleep). So we proceeded to find a back door and do a bit of fence hopping so we could hike up the road to another guesthouse overlooking the Himalayas. We sat down for some Nepali chiyaa (tea) and waited in awe as the sun slowly came up over the snow-capped peaks. Pretty surreal. (And, as a side note, my first glimpse of Everest was also a momentous occasion.)

We hopped on a couple busses and after getting to Kathmandu, we decided to head to Bhouda, the Tibetian district with our new favorite café. It overlooks the Bhouda stupa, a beautiful white dome completely encircled by restaurants and shops selling countless beads, jewelry, scarves, and trinkets. Weekend? Success.

So on Monday, it’s off to Annapurna. Two weeks of trekking, a rural village homestay, and more Nepali lessons as we head to the mountainous region and travel through the deepest gorge in the world. Excited? YES!